[IC] Star Wars: Rise of the New Empire (Accepting new players)

[Kalistar]

Serra sits at a large ornate table made from the wood of a wroshyr tree across from Navik Roosh and his security detail. They are in a large yet cozy conference room where the Grand Protector normally met with offworld dignitaries. Though Navik had a full compliment of bodyguards and other security personnel with him, the Rodians had insisted that Serra’s security team wait for her meeting with the Grand Protector to end in a separate waiting room. The request was met with resistance from Barthon, however, he reluctantly accepted the terms when Serra had insisted.

Serra is uneasy. Though Navik was a friend to her parents, they are gone. She does not have the benefit of years of friendship that her parents had enjoyed, and she knows that it is because of her parents, that she was even granted this meeting in the first place. As the meeting had progressed, she got a sinking feeling that her words had done very little to sway Navik, and thus the people of Rodia.
“So you see, Grand Protector. I believe that not only does Rodia stand to benefit greatly from its continued relationship with the Republic, but the Republic needs Rodia’s leadership if we are going to continue to flourish.” Serra concludes, hoping to appeal to Navik’s notorious vanity to her advantage.

<”Leave us.”> Navik says to the others in Rodian, and waits until they do as he instructed. When the last of his security detail leaves, Navik looks back to Serra and exhales deeply.

“Serra, my dear. I understand where you are saying and I agree whole heartedly that Rodia’s best interests are served by remaining with the Republic. Yet, there are those among my people who do not feel the same way.” Navik tells her.

“Can you not just tell them your opinion? You are the Great Protector, your word is law among your people.” Serra responds.

“I’m afraid it is not that simple. That may have been true in the past, but things have changed. My position is but a ceremonial post these days, the true power lies with my advisors and the other politicians. Sadly, many of them do not share my feelings about the Republic.” Navik admits.

“But surely, you know that Rodia’s people need the Republic, without the Republic’s aid you’re government cannot sustain her people.” Serra says.

“I know this, and I will do my best to convince my people that-” Navik is cut off as explosions suddenly rock the Senatorial Palace. Navik and Serra look at one another with shocked confusion as another round of explosions continue to shake the Palace.

Suddenly, Navik’s security detail rush back into the meeting chambers with Barthon and the rest of Serra’s security team right behind them.

“What is going on?!” Navik asks as the two security teams approach.

“We’re under attack.” One of Navik’s men exclaims.

“Is it the pirates?” Navik demands.

“No Grand Protector, it is- Someone else.” The Rodian says.

Navik rushes over to the far wall and presses a button, suddenly the wall opens revealing a set of blast doors. With another press of a button, the blast doors open, revealing a set of windows. They gather in front of the windows and are speechless as they see the numerous wedge shaped command ships overhead. Suddenly, the screeching whine of TIE fighters can be heard overhead.

“By the stars!” Serra exclaims as it dawns on her what exactly it is that she is witnessing. As a child, she learned the history of the Republic. She watched the historical holovids of the rise of the New Republic after the defeat of the Empire, and she, as well as every being in the room with her knew all too well exactly what they were seeing. “It’s impossible.”

“Senator Eclipse,” Navik says in a formal tone. “You must come with us, there is a bunker below the Senatorial Palace, it is our only chance.” He finishes speaking and closes the blast doors covering the windows and motions for Serra and her team to follow his men and he down to the sublevels of the Palace.

[mattmanganon]

Disgust crept across Orias' face as he heard the girls mentor comfort her. "I thought Jedi were supposed to have no emotional bonds. Dammit, no wonder Lord Vader nearly wiped you out... I could have done it if you are going to treat them like that. Give them a pat on the head, a cookie and say "You'll do better next time" You should kick her ass, tell her that she messed up and make sure that she doesn't make the same mistake twice." As the shuttle came in for a landing on one of the landing pads. The ramp descended and Orias slowly walked towards it. He then looked at Eevy "When you go after one such as I, remember one thing... You cannot try to uphold the law. A wise man once said. 'Do, or do not. There is no try.'" he said. The guard handed him his lightsaber back to him, he bowed to the guard before leaving. The man was thoroughly confused, he had never heard of Sith having any form of manners before.

[NeutralNexus]

“He did what?!?”

The words of vitriol from the Emperor rang throughout the royal chambers on Anarris, deeply situated within the heart of Empire controlled territory, having dominated the land during the First Order’s retreat from their loss decades ago with the resistance. The sheer anger and outrage from Emperor Tyroc was outright palpable, causing both Moff Bolair and Admiral Zerat to shrink back as he slammed his fist upon the armrest of his throne room.

“H-h-he did what he thought was best, my lord.” Admiral Zerat began. “Rodia was going to side with the Republic, we couldn’t stand idly by while more territory was snatched up by--”

“How dare you keep this from me, Zerat! He had been planning to make a move like this, but I never thought he would go behind my back like this!” The Emperor said, rising from his seat and marching down the steps to his subordinates, his eyes fixed on the cowering man. “I am going to had the Grand Admiral’s head for this, and then you will suffer a similar fate for this...this...treachery!”

“And what will that accomplish, my lord?” Moff Bolair chimed in, trying to hide his trembling hands behind his back as he stood firm in the face of the most powerful man on the Planet. “You punish two of our most prominent admirals and then what? The damage will still be done, and we’re going to need them!”

The Emperor whirled on his feet, locking eyes with the Moff as he spoke harshly from behind gritted teeth. “What is that supposed to mean, Moff Bolair? Would you care to elaborate such a careless stance? Or should I punish you with the rest of the apparent traitors?”

“Emperor Tyroc, I know you’ve been trying to make an olive branch to the Republic...but the endeavour is hopeless. They steal lands out from under us, undermine us whenever they get the chance. We lose resources day by day, we lose people to the Republic, we lose everything! It is clear that old hatred clouds their minds, and it’s time for us to act accordingly.”

“I can’t accept that, and I can’t accept this vile attempt to undermine my authority!” The Emperor shouted back, walking back up the stairs to his throne. “Assemble a squad of Stormtroopers to apprehend Grand Admiral Seyall.”

“My lord, listen to reason.” Admiral Zerat said. “The Grand Admiral did what was necessary, and even if you do punish him for his transgressions, is that really going to stop the Republic at this point? What are you going to do? Apologize for his actions and grovel at their feet for forgiveness? We’ll only be forced to give up more of our precious resources as reparations and be in a worse position than we already are.”

“So you expect me to forgive Seyall for dragging us into a new war kicking and screaming?”

“Forgive? No of course not.” Moff Bolair chimed in, following the Emperor back up the stairs. “But with the ensuing backlash the Empire is going to take from this attack, you are going to need his skill in commanding the fleet.”

The Emperor did not respond immediately to the Moff’s words, exhaustedly flopping down to his seat and burying his head in a free hand, elbow propped on the armrest as a deep, disappointed sigh left his chest.

“All that work...the years of repairing the bonds that were broken down in Galactic Civil War…” Tyroc’s words were shaky, a mixture of intense breathing and trembling in an attempt to supress the very real rage and fear the man was thinking. “We were making good progress, every attempt we made was really building true peace between the Empire and the Republic, and that idiot breaks it down in a matter of hours.”

“You know what we have to do, My Lord.” Moff Borial said, glancing with Admiral Zerat and nodding, their secret purpose confirmed in their eyes as they both approached the throne. “The Empire will not survive this war divided in purpose...we must show the Republic that we have not disappeared into the darkness after Palpatine and Snoak. We are still the Empire, and its time we show the Galaxy it’s still under our control.”

The Emperor’s head rose from his hand, glaring at his two subordinates with a vicious scowl on his face.

“Leave me,” The Emperor proclaimed. “I-I need...to process this, prepare the troops and the fleet for retaliation by the Republic.”

The two men bowed to their Emperor, another glance shared between them as they left his throne room, a wry smile crossing their faces as they both were aware their part of the Darth’s plan is one step closer to completion.

One way or another, The Empire and the Republic, bitter and eternal enemies, would once again be at war.

[Sohtem]

Kasari glanced over at the assumed Sith, listening to him disrespect Eevy, as well as the Jedi order, though it did not get a rise out of her, unlike Eevy, who she could feel through the force, starting to get frustrated.

“You know what-” Eevy started before Kasari raised her hand up in front her, both wanting her to relax as well as not get herself into further trouble. “Unlike the Sith, the Jedi forgive those that have done wrong,” She glanced over at Eevy and then back at Orias, “My former student is a good Jedi and we all make mistakes, whilst you could have been approached in a more diplomatic manner, you weren't harmed by her, so a strict punishment does not seem necessary.” She finished as the ship shuttle finally touched down to the surface.

Eevy was glad to see the man leave, though she'd be lying if she wasn't hoping he'd do something to mess up before he left the system, giving her a reason to capture him again. Though when he exited and collected his things, she was a little surprised at his politeness towards the guard, whilst some things made her think he was Sith, the more she reflected on what he had said and done during the short interrogation as well as his action just now, perhaps he wasn't Sith after all. She might have to look into what a gray Jedi was after the meeting with the Jedi Council, though she hoped that went well, she knew from old records she read that different eras of Councils were either strict or lenient with wrongs that a Jedi did, she put her faith in the force that it was the latter, perhaps only getting a slap on the wrist.

“Master, I have a question,” She spoke as they began walking towards the Jedi temple, “Master Cluyr had called that man a Gray Jedi, what exactly is that?” She spoke with a quizzical infliction.

“Well they are ones who use both the light and dark sides of the force whilst not being part of the Jedi or the Sith,” She responded and then added, “I take it you are thinking about today's events?”

Eevy nodded, “Yes, when he bowed to that guard and well, him showing you more respect than me. Normally at least from the one we encountered and the others I read about, they're rude and try killing Jedi whenever possible. However not with him, he seemed...different the more I think about it now. Plus I didn't think there was anything other than the light or dark side of the force, at least that's what it always seemed like anyways.”

“That line that some have walked in the past can be dangerous, whilst they may not serve the Sith, they don't serve the Jedi and that makes them dangerous. They tap into the dark side as well as the light and something could influence them to where they only use dark side of the force and become an enemy to us.”

Eevy knew that the dark side had its own techniques that were sometimes beneficial though the execution of them at times could be harsh, still her interests were peaked now, “Master, couldn't some of the Sith teachings be taught without falling to the dark side? You and the other masters have stated there are beneficial techniques the Sith use,” She spoke a little more chipper than before.

“Yes, but we tell all the Padawans that when they are being taught so they are informed, so they don't fall to the dark side by temptations of such a thing. You know that and I hope you're not planning on trying to learn those, you're an upstanding Jedi, little rough around the edges still, but a fine Jedi nonetheless,” She smirked at Eevy a little.

Eevy smirked back and shook her head, “I know Master, I wasn't planning on doing any thing of the such, just that the idea of being able to use some of those abilities, it could help at times,” She spoke, her smirk eventually fadding a little as she transitioned to her next train of thought. “...I know I messed up today, but I'll be better. I want to someday sit on the seat with the Council members and be a Master as well, be able to pass on wisdom like all the great Jedi before me.”

“Well then, you need to be more patient in the future, alright?”

Kasari knew that Eevy had wanted to discuss the situation that happened further and since they weren't in any rush to be anywhere until tomorrow until tomorrow, a further discuss could be had.

“I will, again, I'm sorry about today.”

“Don't worry about it Eevy and don't worry about tomorrow, it won't do you any good to be worked up about it.”

Eevy knew her master was right, the council's decision would be made and there was no sense in her panicking over what she couldn't control. When she and Kasari arrived, they went to their respective rooms and went to sleep, a new day quickly arriving and one that would hopefully be better than the previous one. Kasari had met Eevy outside her room and then they both began walking towards the Council chambers.

“You ready for this?” Kasari asked, a little concerned.

Eevy nodded, “As I'll ever be, though I doubt you have much to worry about.” She joked slightly, trying to calm herself.

Kasari could sense Eevy was nervous and then used the force, sending a calming feeling through to relax her some, though she understood Eevy's worry. She was slightly worried herself, but would just try her best to address the Council. They eventually made it to the Council chambers and when they entered, saw the other two Jedi having already arrived a few minutes before them, “Well, time to see what they have to say,” Kasari thought to herself and Eevy as well as the other two Jedi waited to be addressed.

[nitemare shape]

Joren stood at the bottom of the Dreams’ loading ramp with Kelsa on his arm as Dono loaded the last of their gear onto the ship while Nyna was in the cockpit preparing the ship for takeoff. As the early afternoon heat from the desert planet’s twin suns bore down on Joren, being nearly unbearable, Brya came out of her home and stood by them.

“So you’re really doing this, aren’t you?” She asked Joren.

“Apparently.” Joren said, still unable to believe the events of the last few days. Joren had felt the shock that Dono, and everyone else for that matter, had felt when Joren revealed that he had once been a member of the Jedi Order. Dono in particular had been conflicted on the matter, as it was his people who had so long ago gone to war with the Jedi, causing massive casualties on both sides, and as the old saying suggested, nothing had a longer memory than a Mandolorian with a grudge. Yet, despite all that, it was Dono who had told Kaylee and Rush that Joren would return to the Order, or at the very least, meet with Grand Master Skywalker and discuss it.

“A Jedi.” Brya said as she shook her head in disbelief. “I never would have pegged you for a Jedi. Not in a million years.” She finished with slight amusement in her voice.

“Well, if it makes any difference, I haven’t been a Jedi in a long time.” Joren told her.
“So, where to next?” Brya asked.

“We’ll be heading to Coruscant to meet with Master Skywalker. After that, who knows?” Joren told her.

“Uncertainty. A trait unbecoming of a Jedi.” Brya teased, letting out a small laugh as she finished speaking.

“Well, that’s the story of my life these days.” Joren told her.

“And you.” Brya addressed Kelsa. “Are you alright with this?”

“I don’t know.” Kelsa confessed. “I have my reservations, but I think Dono is right, this is something that he should do.”

“Yeah. I can see that.” Brya said as the engines of The Darq Dreams roared to life. “I guess that’s your queue. You take care of her, Joren.”

“I will.” Joren said as he put his arm around Kelsa, giving her a small squeeze.

“And yourself.” Brya told him. “It’s a rough universe out there, you be careful.”

“I’ll do my best.” Joren chuckled.

“And do me one more favor, don’t forget about us out here. Come and visit again, maybe next time you’ll be able to meet Brixi.” Brya told him as she leaned in and embraced both of them in a hug.

“I promise.” Joren told her as they broke free and made their way up the Dreams’ loading ramp.

[Kalistar]

Kaylee sits silently in the co-pilot seat of their ship, The Phantom Dawn as it waits in orbit just above Tatooine. The ship itself was a Nubian starship, the very ship used by royalty from Naboo as well as dignitaries from all over the galaxy.

“Are you alright?” Rush’s voice breaks the silence.

“Huh?” Kaylee aks, somewhat startled.

“You’ve been awfully quiet since…”

“Since we found Joren.” Kaylee finishes for him.

“Yeah.” Rush says.

“I know. We just have…a history. It’s complicated.” Kaylee says.

“Yeah, I was there, remember?” Rush says, his voice far more admonishing that he had intended.

“I do.” Kaylee says quietly. It was true, after Joren had left the Jedi Order and disappeared into the galaxy, Rush had been there for her. She had been devastated when he left, however, in time she was able to move on. Yet, now that he was back in the fold, she feels as if she is back at square one.

“I really don’t want to talk about this right now. I have to send a message to Master Datch to let him know that the situation on Tatooine has been taken care of…as well as report on…unexpected developments.” Kaylee tells him as she produces a holorecorder.

"That's fine, but we should talk about this later." Rush says.

“Master Datch, the mystery of the strange deaths on Tatooine has been solved. I will be making my report to you when I arrive on Coruscant. There has also been an unexpected development, I have found Joren Kel and am bringing him to Coruscant as well. We will see you shortly, Master.” Kaylee shuts the holorecorder down as she finishes speaking, and once again sits in silence.

“Darq Dreams to Phantom Dawn, do you read?” The sound of a female voice breaks the silence over the com system.

“Darq Dreams, we read you loud and clear.” Kaylee responds.

“We’re preparing for the jump to hyperspace now, we’ll see you on Coruscant.” The voice says.

“We’ll see you there.” Kaylee replies, before making the jump to hyperspace.

[Kalistar]

The journey to the lower depths of the Senatorial Palace is anything but easy. Moments after the planetary bombardment ceased, dozens of landing ships, each carrying a full payload of stormtroopers descend on the city, and immediately begin storming the Palace. Navik’s security force leads the way as Serra and her support team follow closely behind.

“We don’t have far to go, the entrance to the bunker is just around the corner.” Navik tells Serra between labored breaths.

However, before they are able to reach the location that Navik mentioned, the clicking sound of footsteps can be heard closing in. Within seconds, blaster blots are flying through the air, just inches from their heads. Then, they see several white shelled Imperial stormtroopers just in front of them. Serra, Navik and the others are almost in shock as the stormtroopers, who still haunt the nightmares of small children to this day level their weapons at the small party.

“Freeze!” one to the white clad troops orders. Then, there is a sound almost like thunder as Barthon fires his bowcaster at the enemy, hitting the stormtrooper square in the chest, sending him flying several feet backwards. The remaining stormtroopers exchange blaster fire with Navik’s security force, as well as Serra’s team.

One by one, the stormtroopers fall. However, there are casualties on both sides as members of both Navik and Serra’s teams fall one by one. Serra pulls out the blaster that her father had given her and aims at one of the stormtroopers, she pulls the trigger and watches the Imperial fall as he is struck by the blaster bolt. “This way!” Navik calls as he reaches the entrance to the bunker and opens the door. As Serra and the remaining survivors go through the door, Navik’s personal bodyguard closes the bunker door just as more of the stormtroopers arrive.

The survivors rush down several flights of stairs until they reach a large set of solid black blast doors. Navik activates a security console and begins punching in a pass code. There is a brief pause after he finishes entering the code, and then the blast doors open.

“We’ll be safe in here.” Navik tells Serra and the others.
“We’ve got to get help.” Serra says to Navik.

“I agree. Follow me.” Navik says as he leads her deeper into the bunker. The Rodian leader pulls a tarp off of what Serra had at first assumed was some stored junk in the corner, but a closer look reveals an old communications array. “This should do the trick.” Navik says as he fires up the array.

A wave of relief washes over Serra as the communications array comes to life, and she sits in front the holo recorder.

“This is Serra Eclipse of the Republic Senate. I am on a diplomatic mission to Rodia, however, the planet is under attack by…” Serra pauses for a moment as she tries to find the right wording. She knows that to most of the galaxy, the Empire is dead. Should she say that Rodia is being attacked by Imperial stormtroopers, any help that would come might think that this is some sort of hoax. No, she can’t risk it. “an unknown aggressor.” She finally settles on. “We are currently in an underground bunker in the Senatorial Palace, but we won’t be able to hold off our attackers for much longer. Please help.” She finishes.

Serra looks to Barthon, and then to Navik. “Now we just hope that someone hears our message.”

---

Just before Kaylee and Rush make the jump to hyperspace bound for Coruscant, an incessant beeping sound begins going off on their comm system.

“We’ve got an incoming message.” Rush says to Kaylee.

“Well what are you waiting for? Play the message.” Kaylee tells Rush. The male Jedi does as he’s told and begins playing the message, while at the same time relaying it to the Darq Dreams.

“This is Serra Eclipse of the Republic Senate. I am on a diplomatic mission to Rodia, however, the planet is under attack by…an unknown aggressor. We are currently in an underground bunker in the Senatorial Palace, but we won’t be able to hold off our attackers for much longer. Please help.”

Kaylee and Rush sit in silence for a moment. Kaylee looks at the comm system, almost as if she is urging it to continue playing; silently begging it to give them more information. Then, she looks to Rush and sees the concerned look on his face. Although she had let Master Datch know that they were on their way to Coruscant, they couldn’t just let the senator be killed by whoever this mysterious attacker is. She opens a comm line to the Darq Dreams.

“Dreams, did you get that?” Kaylee asks.

“We got it.” Nyna’s voice comes back over the line.

“Good,” Kaylee says. “Set a course for Rodia. We’re going to save a senator.”

[mattmanganon]

Kalami sat on the shuttle, Serra had given her clear instructions to look after it. She had just stepped out to get some air, when the sky fell upon Rodia. The unmistakable sounds of explosions rang out as the green rain of death descended from the heavens, one such teardrop hitting the shuttle. The shuttle exploded, sending Kalami flying. As she got back up, she pulled her helmet off and her fin flicked up, she began rubbing her ears, trying to get her hearing back. Unfortunately, her sight was unaffected as she saw the vast city now ablaze. She began to run for cover, running towards the palace, any invading force would likely want to take the palace intact so as to more quickly and easily bring the population under heel, whereas any aggressor that was here to cause civil unrest would likely want the planets leaders either confirmed dead or alive as hostages. Planetary bombardments were messy and highly ineffective at confirming the death of a single target. They served more as a means to cause panic than to actually destroy a target.

Running through the streets, she finally put her helmet back on as she saw a squad of Stormtroopers advancing. She ignited her Pike and rushed into one of the troopers, impaling him through the chest, as the others in the squad turned their weapons upon her, she used the impaled stormtrooper as a shield, his dense flesh managing to support him on the end of the pike and taking the blaster shots. She rushed into the middle of the group, forcing them to abandon their blasters, as at this close range and surrounded by allies, they were much more likely to wound a squad-mate than the enemy. She flicked the blue blade off and the dead stormtrooper hit the floor, before she began to swing the pole around, cracking a Stormtroopers helmet as the thick pole smashed him into a building wall. One of the Stormtroopers got her in a Full-nelson, forcing her to drop the pike, whilst another tried to kick her in the chest.

With a swing of her body-weight, she managed to take the impact in her chest armour, then used the Stormtrooper that was holding her as ballast to throw both of her legs at the stormtrooper that had been kicking her. Her robotic arm then sprung to life, its gyros and servos proving stronger than his muscles as she powered out of the lock. It was at this point that several Rodians opened fire into the stormtroopers. It was obvious that the Rodians were local law enforcement, from their uniforms. Usually not standing a chance against a fully armed military insurgeance team, they had the element of surprise on their side, as, several of the Stormtroopers had pulled back to wait for a clear shot at Kalami, but now they, themselves, lay dead from the police's intervention. Kalami grabbed the stormtrooper that had been holding her, with her cybornetic hand and slammed his head into the ground as she, too, dropped to the floor. As the police's firing stopped, Kalami got to her feet. "Thank you for your assistance." she called, picking up the pike.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the Rodian who was clearly the sergeant.

"Unknown aggressors posing as Imperial Stormtroopers. Most likely a last garrison attempting one last attempt to bring back the Empire." she replied. She then looked at the rag-tag band. Only 4 of them were police. 2 were armed with blaster pistols, the sergeant was armed with a carbine and the last was armed with an automatic rifle. There was a civilian woman with a hunting-rifle and a ganger with a pair of pistols. With this bombardment, it seems as though it had driven the Rodians together, rather than apart. She was a little glad of that. "Come on, we need to get to the palace and make sure that the governors are safe." she called. The Ganger looked a little annoyed. "Any objections?" she asked.

"No..." he replied. It was at this point that Kalami began to strip the robes from her armour until she was left with just the combat armour The band began to run towards the palace.

[nitemare shape]

Nyna Shar had just enter the coordinates for Coruscant into the nav computer and was about to make the jump to hyperspace when the sounds of a cry for help flooded the cockpit. At first Nyna, nor the copilot Dono knew what they were listening to, but as the message played a knot began to form in her stomach.

“This is Serra Eclipse of the Republic Senate. I am on a diplomatic mission to Rodia, however, the planet is under attack by…an unknown aggressor.” The unfamiliar voice explained.

“Joren, are you hearing this?” Nyna said as Joren came into the cockpit to better hear the cry for help. Joren just nodded in acknowledgement.

“ We are currently in an underground bunker in the Senatorial Palace, but we won’t be able to hold off our attackers for much longer. Please help.”

“We need to get to Rodia.” Joren said simply.

Then suddenly, another voice came over the com system, this time it was the familiar voice of the Jedi, Kaylee Starsmore.

“Dreams, did you get that?”

“We got it.” Nyna replied.

“Good, set a course for Rodia. We’re going to save a senator.” Kaylee’s voice came back. Nyna immediately reset the coordinates to Rodia in the nav computer, and made the jump to hyperspace.

***

Sub-orbit of the ocean world of Ando

In the skies about Ando, the newest generation of the famous Rogue Squadron were engaged in suborbital combat training. Though the legendary squad had seen limited combat, mostly consisting of stepping in to stop territorial disputes that erupted from time to time, or the occasional skirmish with the growing threat of pirates, they still trained regularly to ensure that they were at peak performance should a real conflict arise.

“He’s got a lock on me.” Stealth Leader said from the cockpit of his experimental “Stealth X” X-Wing star fighter. The words had barely escaped his lips when he completed a barrel roll to escape his enemy’s target lock, then pulled up hard, looping up over the enemy ship and then coming back down behind the other craft, then he “fired” his proton torpedoes. Instead of a pair of the torpedoes vaporizing the enemy ship, a flash of red light washed over the opposing X-wing, indicating that it had been destroyed.

“Red 2 is down.” Stealth Leader said with a chuckle. “Better luck next time, Fel.”

“One of these days I’m going to get you, Stealth Leader.” Red 2 quipped back.

“Stealth Leader, we’re receiving an incoming transmission.” Red 4 cut in. “I’m playing it now.”

“This is Serra Eclipse of the Republic Senate. I am on a diplomatic mission to Rodia, however, the planet is under attack by…an unknown aggressor. We are currently in an underground bunker in the Senatorial Palace, but we won’t be able to hold off our attackers for much longer. Please help.”

Silence hung in the air for a moment, and a sense of dread replaced the lighthearted atmosphere which had been present just moments prior. Stealth Leader heard a flurry of beeps and whirs as his astromech began chirping at him.

“That’s right A-3, set a course for Rodia.” Stealth Leader said as he opened spoke into the open channel that the Rogues uses. “Rogue Squadron, we don’t have much time to waste. Rodia is just a short jump from here, we’re going in, and we’re going in hot.” He paused for a moment then spoke again. “Training time is over.” He closed the com as he made his way to orbit, where he and the rest of Rogue Squadron would make the jump to hyperspace.

[mattmanganon]

-Above the Planet-

Of the 5 X-wing escorts that had accompanied the senator to Rodia, only 3 were left, 1 had been destroyed on the ground in the initial orbital strike, the pilot, a Gungun called Mak-Nog Laam, was with Serra, behind the barricades. The other was destroyed on take-off and the pilot Buddy Illam, a human, was dead. Now, it was Defenser's 2, 4 and 5 that were left. Defenser 2 had taken up position at the head of the wing as they headed for the fleet. They saw a large number of TIE Fighters headed for the surface. Any other squadron would consider this kind of attack to be suicide, but Defenser Squadron were some of the best pilots the Republic had ever known, trained for the main purpose of helping to run blockades of starships should Coruscant fall and dignitaries require escorting off-world. Their X-Wings weren't anything to be scoffed at, either. These had been fine-tuned by some of the Republics best mechanics to perform at peak efficiency. The TIE's had the numbers advantage, but the Defensers knew to force the TIE's into a 1vs1 situation where the Imperials would stand no chance.

"Defenser 2 to Defenser's 4 and 5, we've not got enough fire power to crack those Battleships, but we can ensure that they do not gain air-superiority over the capital. Aim for any fighter trying to make it to the surface. On my mark, break and attack, I'll go in and hit them hard and try to draw their escorts."

"Copy, Defenser 2" 4 and 5 replied. As they approached the great swarm of fighters, they could see that they were hopelessly outnumbered.

"Lock S-Foils in attack position." The S-Foils of the fighters opened and locked to allow a better firing arc. As they began to close to attack range, several escort squadrons broke off from the fighter swarm. Yamok began counting silently, until, suddenly, his X-Wing increased speed dramatically.

"This is it, boys. Accelerate to attack speed and break." he ordered. As he did so, the other two split from their attack wing. Marlow immediately dived upon the Bombers, with Umak choosing a wing of Lander shuttles. Thanks to their close proximity to the fighter groups, the Battleships wouldn't dare open fire upon them. They cared little for their own troops, but even they saw the folly of sacrificing hundreds of men to take out 3 fighters, when their own Interceptors would probably be able to take them. Yamok watched the Interceptors box him in with the classic Imperial Attack tunnel. Several wings of fighters swooping towards him, firing, but ultimately missing. This was an old imperial tactic to spook less experienced pilots into pulling away and straight into the line of fire. Yamok had seen this too many times and remained locked on course, before the Interceptors could turn around and commense the attack in earnest. Pulling away, he put himself right where he wanted himself, Going as fast as he was, it was highly unlikely that the Interceptors that were now coming about would be able to get a lock and destroy him as he was moving sideways across their vision and at a considerable range. They attempted to fire anyway, their weapons banks were fully stocked and they could easily afford to fire freely without care of running out.

Yamok's faint had worked, with his flashy attempt to break away first, the Interceptors had all gone after him, knowing him to be the leader. But, he'd be the first to admit that he wasn't the best in the outfit... Although, with Buddy's death on take-off, who was was now a mystery. Marlow's fighter dived upon the Bombers with only a few of the regular TIE's to intercede, but thanks to her ability to reach out and affect their minds, attempts to get weapons lock on her was proving impossible for the pilots, they couldn't think straight, they kept overcompensating for the movement of her fighter. She was in her element with only the 5 escorts, she had trouble affecting more than that amount of minds at once whilst in the cockpit.

Umak, on the other hand was keeping his distance. Gran's had 3 eyes, making their depth perception to be amazing. As such, his ability to hit targets at extreme distance was uncanny. Keeping out of effective range of the lander's defense blasters, he was able to easily shoot out the engines of 2 of them, before reinforcements arrived. But, with 2 of their loaders now plummeting towards the ground, he was able to pull back a little and try to stay out of range altogether.

With Reinforcements closing in on all of them, they were beginning to feel the strain. "Dammit, i'm hit!" came the voice of Defenser 2. "Just the tip of the wing, lost cannon 2. This isn't working. Fall back to the planets atmosphere, kiss the tarmac and mke sure they can't take you down."

"Defenser 2, you can't enter the atmosphere with your fighter in that condition. The asymmetry would make controlling that thing impossible." replied Defenser 4.

"Defenser 2, go for help, make the calculations and jump out." replied Defenser 5. The radio went dead for a few seconds, as the other 2 headed planetside.

"Understood." replied the comm. The 2 fighters headed into the atmosphere had, at the very least weakened the Empire a little bit, and with several fighters on their tails as they streaked into the atmosphere, they were drawing more fighters into a conflict that gained the Imperials nothing, but couldn't afford to be ignored.

[Phoenix]

The Creature's words meant nothing to him, but Ael didn't have difficulty ignoring the words, if only because there were many and he didn't have the patience to actually comprehend it all.

Javilla, on the other hand, was allowing the words to surround her and encase her in a doubt that paralyzed her. Ael covered her back with one of his hands, allowing a warming Light to penetrate through her heart and into her mind.

"You must escape," he said. His eyes remained on the girl. He focused intently upon the task to rid the Darkness within her.

"Your mind is stronger than your body," he continued with a complete sentense, now able to focus on constructing full sentences.

"You must fight Darkness with Mind as you would an enemy with Body."

The girl looked up at him. Her skin had turned a sickly green that slowly grew yellow. Ael would not know this, but it was a sign she was finding the courage and mental strength to combat some of the Darkness and find some kind of resolve.

She jumped up and sprinted through one of the tunnels. She had no idea where she was going, but she believed if she ran fast enough, she'd be able to reach the surface and figure out where she was.

However, this was quickly interrupted by another wave of Negativity that pushed her down, but she wouldn't let it fell her again. She braced herself against the curved wall and focused on her mind to at least counter all of the doubt welling inside her while rationalizing against what she could. She had to slow to a walk to perform this mental combat, but she pushed on, showing a kind of resolve that would make her Master proud if he had any idea the level to which she was affected.

But the Sith Lord was very much on her trail. The words he spoke were directed at the male, but it was only for the purpose of drawing him away. In the darkened corridors of the endless maze, Darth Seducus was more than capable of throwing his voice through the Force, offering misdirection and shadow to answer Ael's search for the Sith, while in truth his path was right on the heels of his Padawan.

"Still no answer, Master Jedi?" Seducus called to Ael, his voice echoing through the corridors as another light was shattered with a rippling snare of the force. "You must either be hiding a big secret, or you are really focused on trying to find me and keep me quiet....for your Padawan's sake, of course. Or can you just not form the words?" Ael's only response was to look around and attempt to feel the Creature through the Force. But, the Creature was all around him.

Another sinister and mocking laugh rumbled through the metal pipes, the combination of the echo and his attempts to mask his presence continuing to make him hard to track. He could see the girl now. His body hid underneath another darkened light, but he had succeeded in coming around through the tunnels to cut off her path. With a small step, he pushed himself into the open, his lightsaber now at his belt when coming into full vision of the young lady. She flinched when she saw the figure and gasped slightly. Her defenses shattered by this disruption.

"Well if he's not going to answer, perhaps you can," Darth Seducus asked, his voice dropping to barely over a whisper to prevent it echoing thorugh the tunnels and giving away his positioning to Ael, which he could sense was a bit far off, but could still get within striking distance of a matter of seconds. "What are you doing on Nar Shadda? Did he even tell you, or are you just being trained to follow him and not ask questions, lapdog?"

The girl attempted to compose herself, refusing the being any further control over her emotions, however futile. Her scaled hand dropped from the wall and turned into a fist at her side to match the other. She looked at the male's feet for a moment before gaining the courage to look into his mask. She tried to see if there was any way to see through the mask to get a look at his face, but there was no use in such a dark environment.

"Why do you even care so much?" she asked rhetorically. Her voice was shaking slightly, but she fought to keep a level tone. "And the Council wanted us to investigate into Le'Cudosch, that's it."

Her brows thickened into a furrow around her eyes. Her skin was faintly changing colors, though that would have been difficult to see in the blackness of the corridor.

A thought came to her, then. Yjaniphur extended its purple blade down toward the floor. Her only intention was to give more light to the situation. She knew better than to show aggression to someone clearly superior to herself.

"Do not fear. You are strong," a voice echoed faintly in her ear. "Run!" it then shouted.

Ael was attempting to reach her telepathically, and it worked in the most unrefined manner. She responded by leaping to her left onto the curved wall, pushing upward to maneuver around and behind the Sith. She flipped and allowed the blade of her lightsaber to sink into the metal wall to slow her descent and then race off away from the Sith.

At least that was her plan, and it would have worked if she was in control of the situation. However, as she touched ground to take off, she only found the Sith once more cutting her off as she turned to leave. Was it just a trick of her eyes? Had he really moved that fast? Or was he standing before her this whole time? His mind was clouding hers, the closer in proximity she was to him, the more his words would confuse her, his mental mind games constricting around her psyche, trying to suffocate her thoughts like a python strangling her prey.

"They send a pair Jedi to chase down gangsters?" Darth Seducus said, laughing.

"I-I didn't - say that," she stuttered. Her speech was clearly impared by the powerful Sith before her.

He continued as if she hadn't even responded. "You are correct in the assumption that I do not care if a gang lives or dies. There will always be another gang on this cesspool of a planet," he continued and waved his hand under his nose as thought crossing his mind reminded him of the stench of the sewers.

His attention seemed to shift, but Javilla was too concerned with keeping some control of her mind. "Do you not find it strange that they send Jedi, however?"

Oddly, the Sith simply released his grip on her, not bothering to crush or throw her, simply letting her to her feet as he spoke.

"You do not find that a waste of your talents? Of your very training?" He asked, pointing at her. A weak groan, almost inaudible, began to leave her mouth. Her free hand came up to her temple as it pounded against her brain and caused a deep and aching pain.

"Last I checked...the Jedi Order was to bring peace to the Galaxy." He gestured outwards, motioning to the city above.

"Did you not sense the overwhelmeng Darkness permeating this planet? How is looking into one gang going to bring peace to anyone? If anything, this planet will face more turmoil with a power vaccum a group like Le'Cudosch were to suddenly vanish."

Clearly still defiant, she said, "You - know nothing." Her eyes were watering and turning red, but only seemed to darken in the purple blade's dull, yet intense, illumination.

He stood and waited for her next move, though he had not made attempts to be hostile after his grab with the force. While he made it very clear with his mind and pheremones to keep her allured to him, her focus soley on him. He would try to block the Jedi's influence out, bring this girl to a firm realization of her situation.

"And before you ask, I know you do not -think- you are here to kill anyone. Correct? That's what you were told, I assume. They say a Jedi enforces peace, and only carries tools of death to defend themselves. However...do you not see your very presence as a means of aggression? The Republic could have sent anyone, including people who aren't as...flashy..as our kind. Yet they send a militaristic Jedi and his Padawan to come to Nar Shadda...do you not find that as a means of aggression?"

Through the serpents and tentacles writhing through her mind, she was able to find some memories and lessons she'd learned during her time on Panatha. Though it felt like he was a distant and fading memory, she still felt like Ael's wisdom was valid.

"Intent trumps impression," she spat out. "And if aggression is the culture, then the solution or outcome may be aggression. And aggression, though not the automatic solution, may be the only solution. We are trained to respect death and the need for aggression, not revel in or cherish it." There was clear disgust in her voice, but her full attention was on the being in front of her.

She raised the pit of her blade directly toward the convex blackness of the male's helmet. "The mind is a powerful thing," she said with no hint irony.

"Bold words...spoken like a true Jedi. It is a shame the 'intent' does not cooberate the logic behind it." The Sith responded, offering a short chuckle. "I can feel your distaste of me, and subsequently the frustration you feel when we speak."

The Falleen female couldn't help but believe he was correct. Was she just believing what she was told? She tried her best to discredit him, but how could she know that she truly understood that what she was doing was morally superior.

He pointed at her. "I can feel the turmoil, the confusion by the contradiction of participating in such acts, you're simply puppeting what you were told to me...tell me, what do you really feel?"

"I-I..."

[nitemare shape]

Master Cluyr remained perfectly poised as the other Masters made their way to the Chambers or set up connections to them. She wasn't terribly impatient to begin the meeting, since she felt there were other matters more pressing at the moment. However, the recent behavior of one Jedi in such a public manner affected the entire's Order with the Galaxy at large. She hoped to bring some kind of reform for the girl and some tenents be enacted to prevent this from occurring in the future.

"Thank you, fellow Masters, for meeting with me under such short notice. I have called this meeting in regards to Eevy Hunt, a young Jedi Knight, and her recent actions on the streets of Coruscant a few days ago when I first contacted you all."

She didn't really wait for a response, for she was still prefacing the meeting's purpose. "As you should have been informed, the Jedi, Eevy, ignited her lightsaber in public over the notion that the Sith 'might have become aggressive.' No less did she perform this overtly aggressive act in the middle of a crowd of sentients on Coruscant. If it hasn't been reported on the news yet, then color me surprised."

She didn't follow the news herself, so she wouldn't have known. Her tone remained sturn yet level, as only she knew how. "I move for some kind of action be made to determine the future of Hunt within our Order. I also suggest some kind of lesson be added to the current training of Padawan so this won't happen again. Better yet, we screen potential Jedi with a higher standard and strictness that is the current meter."

Though her posture or tone didn't change, somehow it was understood that others were free to voice their opinions. She seemed to demand a certain level of attention and respect from the other Masters that was close to that of the Grand Master. However, this could only be due to the intensity of her usual demeanor.

Though he agrees with Master Cluyr that Eevy could have, and in fact, probably should have, shown more restraint, he does not agree that there are grounds for any sanctions. He also strongly disagrees with the insinuation that she be expelled from the Order.

“With all due respect Master Cluyr, we still don’t know who this particular ‘Sith’ was, or what his intentions were,” Master Datch says. “And from what I understand of the events, Eevy’s actions were well within reason for the situation. I’m not sure there is any need for sanctions of any sort against her.”

"There were no malicious intentions from the Gray Force User," Master Cluyr corrected without seeming condescending. "I'm not sure you understand what exactly occurred that day, however," she said, this time not bothering to conceal any condescension.

“Rush into a determination, we must not.” Master Byrdo said. “Reckless, though she may have been, punishment I do not think is required.”

“I don’t know,” Master Zune said. The Cathar Jedi Master was troubled by the very public encounter between the young Jedi and the alleged Sith, and was not ruling out sanctions against the girl. “The fact that young Hunt pursued this individual in such a public forum with little regard for public safety is most disturbing. I think that it would be just as reckless for us to rule out any punishment at this stage of the game.

“Reckless, she was. Shared by many young Jedi, this trait is.” Master Byrdo said. “No different was I when discovered I was. A defect of youth, it is, outgrown it must be.” As Master Byrdo finished, he looked to Master Cluyr to get a sense of her feelings.

"I agree," Master Verr added and took some attention away from the Nikto. Her pale brown skin and white horns somehow made her appear soft and caring. "However, that also puts into question our decision to promote the girl to Knight. I believe a Jedi Knight should be able to approach any situation with grace and great consideration."

"While I do agree that the situation could have been handled better, and the public matter that these events took place is quite regrettable, I don't believe that it is a poor reflection on young Hunt. Though you claim that there was no ill intention on the part of this supposed Sith, or Grey Jedi, or whatever he was, I am not entirely sure that we can just assume that he did in fact, have no ill intentions. His actions; from what I can see, do seem to indicate some form of malice." Master Datch argues.

Grand Master Roan Skywalker sat and listened to the arguments both for and against the young Jedi Knight Eevy Hunt without giving any indication of his position on the matter. Both sides presented valid arguments, and the Jedi Grand Master took their council to heart. As the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, he was made aware of the situation before it had come to a conclusion, and he had spoken to witnesses as well as seen holo recordings of the events in question, and he had questions of his own.
"I think we would be remiss if we rushed to judgement before hearing the girl out." Grand Master Skywalker said as the other masters on the council watched and listened. Skywalker paused for a moment as if in self reflection, and then continued. "Yes, I believe that we should withhold our judgement, one way or the other, until we've heard what Eevy Hunt has to say for herself."

[Sohtem]

Eevy stood there quietly as the Masters discussed her actions, glad that the entire council wasn't against her, though she couldn't help but glance at Kasari, who could easily see the small amount of worry on her face, but she just gave a subtle signal to remain calm and patient, she knew the Council wasn't unreasonable, but she understood Eevy's concern nonetheless.

Eevy continued to listen to them, unable to help but feel a little frustrated when Cluyr mentioned how 'reckless' she was, even though Eevy felt she didn't do anything too wrong, okay she perhaps could have approached the situation better, it didn't change the fact that a Sith had been on the planet and she felt that it was her duty as a Jedi to capture him first and then asked questions later, sure it may have been slightly dangerous thinking but she didn't want to think of the alternatives the could have happened. She quickly quelled her frustration however, knowing it wouldn't help her case if the sensed her frustration.

“I just would like to start off by saying that it truly is an honor to be in front of all you masters, though I suppose it could be under better circumstances...I know my actions were a little brash, but I only wanted to serve you all, to serve the Order like I was trained, to protect people as well as the Republic,” She paused for a moment, looking at the ground before looking back up at the Jedi Masters, “I had sensed the Sith or whatever he was in the crowd, I was just trying to be cautious, I didn't know if he was going to attack anyone or me and I didn't want to run that risk, so I opted a slightly more aggressive approach, do I wish I had taken a calmer and more diplomatic approach? Yes, but I decided to make a call, never once though did I forget about the well-being of the civilians and made sure that they weren't harmed in the chase.”

Kasari couldn't help but approach next to Eevy, gently placing her hand on her shoulder, “Astute Masters, forgive me for interjecting, but I just wish to add that she's not a wild Jedi, she may on occasion slip up, but who hasn't in their lifetime?” Kasari spoke, remembering her own follies when she was still a young and naive Jedi.

Then added, “She's level headed and she'll learn to approach things more calmly as she grows and has more experience as a Jedi. I've known her ever since she was little, she was entrusted to my care and if I hadn't felt like she wasn't ready, I wouldn't have recommended she do her trials. I strongly request that she not be punished for what the most part was a harmless act.”

Eevy was grateful for her master being on her side, mouthing the word 'thank you' to her before returning her attention to the Jedi Masters, she hoped that would convince the Council to not punish her, or if they did, that it at least wouldn't be so severe, but she would just have to wait and see what their response was to what was said.

“Well that's all I really have to say Masters, I do hope you'll forgive me, I honestly only had the citizens' and Republic's safety and best interests in mind.” She finished, well it was up to chance now with what they decided.

[mattmanganon]

Orias sat in a cantina with a shotglass of Juma in his hands. His helmet was on the table in front of him, he stared it in the eyes. "What'd you do?" he asked, before necking the shot. At that point, a Rodian female in slave attire approached him. "Well, if it isn't my lucky day?" he asked, putting up his "Nice guy" facade. The Rodian sat down on the table across from him. "I thought Slavery was illegal... Or are you just one of those kinds of girls?"

"Slavery contracts made outside of Republic space are still legally recognized within Republic space." She replied. "Anyway, we both know that i'm not here to ask you for 50 creds for a quicky." she smiled.

"Awww." he moaned, returning her smile. She was quite the beauty by Rodian standards and though there were a lot of humans who weren't into the whole bug-face, he was brought up not to particularly care, after all, his mother wasn't exactly humanoid. "So, what are you here for?" he asked. She slid him a small round device to him.

"Sorry about this, but, gotta keep up appearances." she said, before picking up her drink and throwing it in his face. She then said something in Rodian that, although he didn't understand, nonetheless assumed was something rather nasty about what his mother did up against walls with freighter captains.

"You don't HAVE to wear the helmet, I just like it that way." he called after her to keep the facade going. Several of the patrons snickered him. After a few minutes, the bar settled down and he was ignored again. He then pressed a button on the disk and a hologram of a Hutt appeared.

"My dear Darth Orias. How I know who you are and what you look like are irrelevant, just rest assured that I have eyes and ears everywhere. I know about the Imperial build-up and have taken a keen interest in the coming war. Now, I can't officially out my biased towards a Republic victory, because it's just bad business, but I know that you aren't overtly fond of the Empire coming back. After all, the Jedi will never pull their heads out of the sand long enough to see your rag-tag band of Vader worshipers, whereas the Sith will try their hardest to hunt your group down and either kill or assimilate them into their groups of Sith." Orias twisted his lip in contemplation, the slug had a point. For 200 years, they had been rather cozy on Endor without much Republic interference. The Republic were nicely incompetent at such noticing the little things... Such as an Imperial invasion force now making its way through the Republics back garden. "As such, i have paid your dock fee's and have given you a ship. Just a little something that I imagine you will find most appealing. It's not the one you've always hoped for, I couldn't find that one for love nor money, but it'll perform as well as any top-of-the-line military equivalent. All i ask in return is that, when I send you further instructions, you follow them as far as you feel comfortable following them." Orias was rather taken aback by this. A Hutt finding out about the Acolytes, surprising but not entirely out of left field. Him taking an anti-imperial stance, not entirely unexpected. But giving him something and then not asking for slavery in exchange? He didn't entirely trust the Hutt, but the force wasn't sending him any red flags about his intentions... Could they be completely benign?

Orias shook his head. He had no idea what to do at the moment, but the force had obviously only pointed him here for this particular event, staying only wasted time. Maybe if they expelled that Knight, he could snatch her up into the Acolytes. He shrugged and, grabbing the helmet, began to walk out of the cantina and head cautiously towards the Jedi temple.

[nitemare shape]

As the Dreams came out of hyperspace, Joren and the others were completely unprepared for what they saw. Filling the viewing window in the cockpit was a massive, wedge shaped ship, as well as several smaller versions of the same vehicle above the planet Rodia. Although none of them had seen these ships in their lifetime, they were all too familiar with them. Every child in the galaxy knew the ships of the Imperial Navy. So much time hadn’t passed since the fall of both the Empire, and the First Order that the galaxy had forgotten them.

“That’s not…” Kelsa started, the shock of what she saw leaving her speechless.

“I think it is.” Joren said as his eyes remained locked on the hull of the massive star destroyer.

“Joren, you might want to get to the blaster cannons, we’ve got company.” Nyna said as she watched a group of TIE fighters swarm towards them.

“Right.” Joren said as he rushed to the rear of the ship and manned one of the blaster cannon turrets while Dono took to the other.

“They’re coming in fast.” Dono said calmly as he took aim at the incoming fighters.

“I can see that. Buckle in boys.” Nyna said as she took evasive action, diving down out of the line of fire and then pulling back up on the controls, bringing the Dreams back up away from the planet.

Several TIE Fighters moved in, firing their cannons at the Dreams, their green laser fire either trailing just to the side of the ship or deflecting off of the shields. As Nyna tried to evade the starfighters, she saw that Kaylee’s ship was garnering the same level of attention as they were, and had several TIE Fighters on their tail as well. Nyna took quick action, bringing the Dreams around behind the TIE fighters trailing Kaylee’s ship, and firing several shots from the front mounted cannons, destroying two of the three TIE Fighters in pursuit of Kaylee.

“Nice shot ori'vod!” Dono called to Nyna even as he and Joren fired at the TIE Fighters tailing them.

“Thanks. But it’s not going to do us much good if we don’t get some backup soon. There’s too many of them!” Nyna said, her voice a mixture of fear and determination.

Within moments, several more ships came out of hyperspace, five X-Wings led by a matte black X-Wing, and they were accompanied by several dozen other star fighters and a single capital ship.

“I don’t believe it…” Joren’s voice trailed off as the X-Wings and the other fighters engaged the TIE fighters. “Now’s our chance, we’ve got to get to the Senatorial Palace.” Joren told Nyna, who relayed the message to Kaylee’s ship. And as the battle erupted above Rodia, The Dreams as well as the ship piloted by Kaylee and Rush descended to the planet’s surface.

[nitemare shape]

He had waited for this moment his entire life.

This was the moment that he brought the once great Empire out of the depths of space and took the first steps toward reclaiming what it had lost.

Control.

He stood at the massive view port watching the battle unfold before him. It had gone just as he had planned, the Imperial fleet had come out of hyperspace in close proximity to Rodia, and the planet was caught completely unaware. From the first salvo of the planetary bombardment which knocked out the massive shields which protected the planet’s cities, to the swarms of TIE fighters which further battered the planet, the entire operation had gone perfectly.

Even the pair of freighters that appeared out of nowhere and put up some resistance didn’t bother the Grand Admiral. Although they had managed to get past the TIE squadron that had gone out to intercept them, they too were playing into his hand. Even when the squadron of X-wings arrived on the scene along side a capital ship, the Grand Admiral was not disturbed.

Quite the contrary.

The Grand Admiral was well aware that a member of the Republic Senate would be pleading her case to the Rodian Grand Protector, and this attack was just as much a test of the Republic’s response as it was a display of his force’s power. When he saw the pitiful response that the Republic had mustered, Sayall was completely and utterly under whelmed.

“Sir, you have an incoming transmission from Grand Moff Dexen.” Captain Darklighter said as she approached from behind.

The Grand Admiral sighed, his distaste for the Moff exuded from his very being. Sayall felt that Dexen, as well as most of the other Moffs were spineless cowards who were fortunate to have well established familial legacies which aided them in gaining their status in the Empire. With the exception of Moff Bolair and a few others, they were puppets of a weak leadership. As far as Sayall was concerned, the Moffs offered very little to the Empire, and he saw no real need for their continued “service.”

“Very well.” Sayall said as he made his way to the bridge’s holoprojector. “Let us see what he wants.” He smirked as he opened the line.

“This is an unexpected surprise Grand Moff.” Sayall cheerily greeted the Moff.
“We can dispense with the pleasantries, Grand Admiral. You have exceeded your mandate with your unauthorized attack on Rodia.” Dexen said, confirming Sayall’s suspicions of the reason for this unscheduled conference.

“I disagree. My ‘mandate’ is to restore the Empire to its former glory, and that is exactly what I am doing. I am proving to the galaxy that the pitiful Republic cannot protect them, and soon, entire systems will come crawling to us, begging us to take them under our protection. I am doing what you, and the other so-called leadership of this great Empire have been unable, or unwilling to do.” Sayall spat, each word containing venom that few had seen from the normally cool headed Grand Admiral.

“Be that as it may…” The Grand Moff said with a grin that caused Sayall to want to slap the smugness off of his almost cadaver like face. “I have orders directed from the Emperor himself for you to call off the attack and return to Imperial Space immediately.”

So that was it. The coward Emperor Tyroc had again proven that he did not have the stomach to lead and had sent his lapdog to do his bidding. Though he maintained a cool façade, Sayall seethed beneath the surface.

“Very well.” Sayall said as he shut down the holoprojector. He stood there for a moment in silence before Captain Darklighter spoke up.

“Shall I recall the squadrons?” She asked as she reached for the open com line to all of the fighter squadrons as well as the troops on the ground.

“No.” Sayall said calmly.

“Sir?” Darklighter asked, stunned by the Grand Admiral’s response.

“We will proceed with the attack until I see fit to call back our forces. I will not allow the likes of that weasel Dexen or the foolish young Emperor undermine what we are doing here, in the name of the Empire.” Sayall told her. “No, we will press the attack until I say so.”

[mattmanganon]

--In Orbit--

Yamok's fighter was now being pursued by 6 TIE's in formation, his ship rocked a little, thanks to the broken wing. Green blasts flew past his cockpit. He cursed the navicomputer as it tried desperately to find a trajectory for hyperspace that wouldn't fly them into a sun. "Damn thing." He then saw red flashes behind him, looking out of the window, he saw the Capital ship arrive. "Reinforcements? A little quick." he muttered. He then turned sharply, headed for the capital ship. It was then that the X-Wing was hit by another bolt of TIE cannon fire. "This is Defenser 1 of Defenser Squadron, we've taken losses and I require an emergency landing." he said. He then pressed a button on his console to send the "Reinforcements" signal to the other Defenser's. His console then exploded in front of him, sending sparks and shattered glass into one of his eyes. "AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" he screamed as the Fighter headed to the Capital Ship's hangar-bay. The Burning ship shot through the oxygen field and crashed into the Crash-net, catching it as the fire-control droids began to swarm the craft, putting out fires, all over the craft.

--Outskirts of the capital--

Several of the local Fauna watched bent down to eat the grass, before their morning was shattered by the roar of engines. A pair X-Wings shot overhead, only a few meters above the ground. The TIE's would find it difficult to get a clear shot at them from their low altitude. Marlow's mental attacks helped keep the TIE's pilots from firing anywhere near them. "We're not going to be able to keep this up much longer." Umak dodged around a small hill, as a hail of blaster-fire leveled it.

"I disagree." replied Umak. The dashboard began flashing. "You getting this?" he asked.

"Reinforcements already?" Marlow asked. "Yamok was fast. Alright, we'll do a fly-over of the city and see if we can't get some of those bastards to follow us." she said.

"Roger." replied Umak. The Fighters accelerated rapidly to max speed and headed straight for the capital, Fighters swarmed overhead, but they quickly changed to intercept the bogies headed in at breakneck speed. Umak was able to pick several of them off before they shot over the capital.

In the streets bellow, Kalami and her small group witnessed the flyby. She smiled as she looked up and saw the Black X-wings, now being pursued by 10 Fighters that screamed after them. The X-Wings hailed blaster-fire at several lander-craft and TIE's before they rocketted skywards. Kalami saluted them before continuing her assault towards the palace.

[Abefroeman]

Joint Base Red Sands, Korriban, Outer Rim, Fuels Shop

Sergeant Story stretched out in his office chair, looking at his computer screen. He had just gotten on shift, looking over the new emails he had since received from last night until now. It was the usual mundane traffic. Fuel consumption rate projections for the next two months, a commander's call, a promotion ceremony, and the list went on. He sighed, clicking through them, making sure to save the important one, making appointment reminders in his calendar, and deleting the traffic that did not apply to him. He looked up, saying goodbye to Technical Sergeant Cas, his supervisor, and the shift that he was relieving.

"Cas, don't have too much fun tonight. I hear the sand storm is a category three. Keep your kite inside for this one." Ryan said with a smirk on his face. He had a good working relationship with his immediate boss, and enjoyed working for him. Cas chuckled, nodding his head, and replying back. "But Story, I just got that new Beletron Industries Mk IV Flyer. You sure I can't fly it? Haahaha, you take care Story, just the usual stuff. See you tomorrow." Cas was in a good mood today, which meant nothing had gone wrong, which, when did that not happen, so to speak?

Waving goodbye to Cas, Storyturned back to the computer, and began typing up the neccesary responses to the important emails. Figures that after all the talk of seeing the galaxy, you end up on some backwater planet in the middle of hicksville, but, at least it was quiet, peaceful, and allowed time to actually relax. Still, Story missed being on deployment with the main fleets, working long shifts to ensure fuel flowed to all aspects of the war effort.

Picking up his communication device, Story called up regional headquarters to inform them of a possible fuel shortage that may affect operations at Joint Base Red Sands. "As usual, the damned automated service..." Story says aloud, and then in a mocking tone, he repeats the automated voice system, "This is ILA, the Imperial Logistical Administration, Region 37, where your concerns and mission matter to us. If you know your..." He pressed the correct sequence of numbers to reach his extension, Captain Palka. The line rang a few times, before finally being picked up. "This is Captain Palka,how may I help you?"

"Captain Palka, Sergeant Story, Joint Base Red Sands, reference ID number THX-1130. Hows it going sir? I heard you made Major... congratulations, eh?"

"Sergeat Story, you always are in such a good mood. Thanks, but its going to be seven more months before I get to wear it... damn line numbers. So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, just wanted to keep you in the loop, we may go below our minimum fuel reserve levels for a week or so. I guess the contractor we are using to deliver the fuel, they are experiencing an overhaul of their ships at the moment, and will be unable to help us. So, just wanted to see what you want us to do here."

"Figures..." Palka muttered, before continuing. "We will get an expedited work order in, along with a interim contract, to make sure you guys don't fall below your minimums. Thanks for letting me know, and I will make the calls now. Take care Sergeant Story, hope to hear back from you soon. And, have a nice day. I hear Red Sands is storming tonight." And with that, the line went dead, leaving Story to resume his work, which after annotating a few items, and dispatching a fuel cart to a waiting vessel, was to sit around and enjoy some entertainment with his coworkers. This was the average day of Sergeant Ryan Story on Korriban.

[Phoenix]

"Javilla! Focus!" a deep voice reverberated against the metal surrounding them. "Run!"

Ael raised his left hand so his palm was facing the creature. It was a gesture as if make him cease his manipulation, or his movements. But, it was a threat. His silent gaze at the figure was an attempt to distract from whatever he was saying to Javilla. He reached out the Force to her, again blanketing her in a lightness the Sith hadn't experienced before.

Her eyes met her Master's and she seemed to snap out of the trance. But she looked back, remembering what he was saying, and made the mental note to actually consider the things he said. But now, she was concerned for her own safety, knowing Ael's stance meaning he was about to go on the offensive.

She turned toward Ael and took a leap before she would fall into a sprint. As this occurred, she was surrounded by an intense heat that created a wall between her and the Dark Creature. Javilla looked back at the flames, still considering the male's validity.

The Sith was forced back once more as the flames forced him to abandon his talk with the young padawan and focus his attention on the Jedi, who was clearly in no mood to consider any words that the Sith said. He was not here to debate philosophy, his posture was easily read as hostile.

The Sith would have to adapt.

"Well that was rude." Darth Seducus quipped, placing a hand on his lightsaber, the other reaching out to place a wave of cold over the flames. "We were only debating, if I had wanted to attack her, wouldn't we already be locked in combat?"

Ael was surprised to see his flames so easily extinguished. This Creature held great power over his own Acestral Influence. The Force showed no favoritism between the two.

He looked back to see Javilla stopped and looking back with concern. However, it was difficult to tell for whom she was concerned. His attention quickly returned to the Creature, blocking out the words and the overwhelming sense of oppression upon him.

Seducus paused, letting the Jedi get the first move, trying to provoke him with words, "Or is that not allowed? After all, her master can barely speak basic, I can only imagine that with a master like you, she has only learned the physical aspect of the force and nothing more sophisticated than that. After all, you are a warrior born, are you not? I can see that you speak with violence, not words."

Darth Seducus sneered, flipping his cape back to reveal his lightsaber was already in hand. "So why not speak to me in your native tongue? The language of combat?"

The Force flowed violently around and then into Ael's body. His chest, arms, and legs seemed to inflate, but he wasn't flexing more than necessary. The large Epicant lunged to his left and toward the wall of the tunnel. His hand fell through the metal sheet and his grip made it fold around his hand. He leaned forward into a sprint and tore the small panel off the wall upon which it was welded. It flew toward the Creature at an incredible speed.

The shadow was quick to draw his saber, a crimson flash rended the obstruction cleanly before faced with the long blade of his foe.

Ael knew this would not deter the powerful Darkness before him. Oew's pure white, one meter blade shot out of its two meter long staff. The nine foot weapon was larger than the man, himself, but it spun with some kind of controlled grace that tore into the sides and ceiling of the tunnel before falling down toward the Darkness.

Clearly he could see the tall man was intending to overwhelm and overpower him, with his large size and natural athleticism the Jedi was looking to end the fight quickly with the pure reach of his current weapon.

But Darth Seducus was a crafty sort, quick to sidestep the cutting blow and merely utilize the weapon's reach against it. As the white blade fell past its target, the tip touched the floor before the staff of the weapon was jabbed backwards and toward the head of the Darkness.

Seducus spun out of the way without much effort and swug his blade up to slice at the staff as a sort of half-hearted response and to see how the Jedi would react. He was surprised to see the staff was unaffected by the parry.

Ael used the momentum of the parry to swing the blade clockwise around and through the wall before meeting with the Bloodblade. The Shadow and the White were locked for a moment before Ael slid his hands down the staff and attempted to use the reach of the sabertaff to reach around and stab the Darkness in the chest.

Seducus leapt back and performed a tight backflip in order to remain out of reach before reversing his direction and straight toward Ael. The saberstaff spun and swung down at Seducus who simply evaded it with a quick tumble before jumping and slicing at the Jedi's head.

Ael used the movement of the blade down to block the strike with the staff of his blade. Again, in a lock, Ael glared into the Darkness' eyes. With only the blackened glass, it was like the face of the Darkness was a void, and that was indeed what it felt like.

This time, Seducus was the one to break the lock. It seemed his Aura was not affecting the fellow near-human. There were few with the natural ability to resist such tactics. And with this man being clearly untrained in the art of using the Force in a mental manner, Seducus assumed the man was naturally resistant to tricks of the mind.

The Bloodblade twirled tightly around him to the point where Ael would not be able to follow its exact positioning. But Ael wouldn't be deterred and, instead, interrupted the flourish with several powerful swings and strikes. Ael's Snowstaff continued to tear into the sides of the small tunnel and soon began to sink under the pressure of the metallic structures above it. Seducus used his agility and Ael's own inertia to dodge and parry each blow. Though each were impossibly powerful, Seducus managed to exert little energy to defend himself.

Ael knew this man's speed and flexibility was clearly providing an advantage in such a tight space. So he spun Oew around in front of him and let the blade slice a perfect circle through the tunnel. Seducus' section slipped down a couple feet as the compromised structure of the tunnel above him began to shift and sink down.

"Interesting choice for a weapon." the Darth taunted. He wasn't as intimidated by the state of their environment nearly as much as the Jedi thought. "Do you always try to bisect the room you are in for combat? One would think an eperienced warrior such as yourself would care about the collateral damage he could cause...especially in such a volatile location."

Ael would remain silent and, instead, chanelled his emotions towards his Padawan and this Darkness into an intense flame that quickly filled the portion of tunnel in which the Sith was about to be crushed. Ael focused to make the flames as hot as he could before turning away and retreating Oew so he could sprint through the tunnel and into a safer, more spacious location.

The dark being had to react quickly, or risk a hazardous and painful demise. His path towards the Jedi was cut off, and the flames licked at his back. Focusing his darkness around him, he launched himself through the inferno, the flames parting at his entry as he leapt to a safe spot in the darkness. His lightsaber disengaged as he slipped through the tunnels, once more engulfing himself in shadow as he made his way around to meet his intense foe.

He had the advantage of surprise once more, disippating his presence as he crept toward the jedi's location, his poisonous words once more permeating the surroundings.

"If you keep this up, a good portion of Nar Shadda is going to lose power." He called, cutting around to once more try and head the Knight off at a nearby juncture in a large engine room. "Are you sure you are here to help? Nobody will be grateful if you destory the world's power sources."

As he spoke, he slipped through the room, once more smashing the lights to try and envelop the room in darkness, trying to enshroud the Jedi's view once more. As soon as the Jedi were to enter, he'd find another dark room. It seemed the Jedi wasted no time in attempting to cut through the Darkness with his own white blade. It only illuminated a small portion of the domed room.

Seducus would not wait for long, as the crafty Sith already had an offensive mounted for the encroaching warrior. Reaching out with his mind, he snared a small maintenance droid within the room, hurling it through the dark at the knight.

While this attack would be surprising, the damage would be superficial at best, but it would hopefully catch the Jedi's attention. While the droid came flying through the air, the Sith would reveal his position by once more igniting his lightsaber, trying to gut the Jedi in a surprise attack while he was defending against the droid.

Unfortunately, the Knight heard a small snap as the Sith gripped the droid with the Force. This small noise echoed only slightly, but the keen-eared Jedi Warrior kept his senses focused for any clue as to where the Sith might be located.

The droid smashed into the Jedi's face and produced a long scrape across his left eye and brow. It bled profusely but clearly caused the Jedi no pain. The large Epicant's only reaction was raising his blade and spinning around to meet that of the Sith.

"You speak much, Sith," Ael finally responded. "Your words empty of meaning and void of purpose."

Ael didn't break from the lock between the two blades. Instead, he decided to humor the Sith, at least to have the male cease in his talking.

"My mission not well-being of moon. My mission to seek out individual. Collateral damage not intended. Sith presense, not intended," he confessed with some kind of condescension. "I erradicate Darkness Beast," he confessed and broke the lock between them.

The Snowstaff whirred around quickly with as much power as the Jedi could provide. Each spinning slice toward the Sith seemed to pass through without consequence. The light of the two Lightsabers was more than enough to begin changing tactics.

Ael's grip on the staff shifted slightly and he weilded the Jedi tool as a double-bladed lightsaber. The Jedi could close the gap quickly with his large gait and the lack of length made the power behind each strike that much less, but each end pummled at the Sith with incredible speed which made the Sith block and parry with his own lightsaber instead of simply dodging each strike.

The Snowstaff then began to shift in length as one side would grow longer and then shrink. Ael was trying to keep the Sith on his toes and keep him from flipping and tumbling out of the way. The strikes were parried with more freqency until the Sith altered his own tactics and attempted a counter-strike through an opening.

But the Jedi did this purposefully and his bare and open hand met the Bloodblade. Ael was absorbing the immense amount of energy of the lightsaber to sustain his Force Body as well as almost immediately heal the superficial would upon his face, leaving a faint scar. The Snowblade could not be moved during this as the technique of Force Absorption required almost all of Ael's concentration. It was a very advanced technique, one he didn't use often. But Ael knew he was losing this duel as it had grown much longer than he knew he could sustain. The Darkness around them prevented his own contact with his Ancestors and he needed to end this duel quickly or manage to flee without being caught.

Seducus was surprised by the Knight's apparent proficiency with such an advanced technique. Ael pushed his hand forward and pushed Seducus' blade away before grabbing Hak from his belt and ejecting the puple blade within it. Now with the length of Oew and the extra coverage of Hak, Ael could attempt to utterly overwhelm the Sith, and quickly.

Ael leapt forward, Oew's white blade extended forward. Before Seducus had the chance to parry for flip away, Ael's right foot altered his momentum and he flipped high above and over the Sith. The Snowstaff spun in such a way that it would have struck the Dark creature four times before Ael landed on the other side of the being. The Jedi continued to take advantage of his reach, size, and gait to fall in and out of the Sith's immediate striking zone as well as striking at each zone almost simultaneously. Twenty strikes were thrusted or swung within a few seconds, but Ael had to leap back and disengage the use of Force Body for he could tell it was tearing him apart and he was about to become cripple without its continued use. He had to switch to the use of Force Heal and speed away from the Dark Creature.

Oew was thrust up into the ceiling, cutting through wires and gas pipes. Almost immediatly, an explosion erupted directly behind him and his long legs could barely keep him from the inferno growing behind him. The fire followed his every move through the tunnels as he attempted to find some sort of outlet.

Losing patience, he tore Hak into a wall and saw that it was directly connected to the outside. Oew reached ahead and tore a hole just large enough for the Epicant to leap through. The fires following him caught his arm and charred it from his elbow to his wrist on the outside, but Ael's focus was on rescuing his apprentice and escaping this moon still alive.

The Darkness faded and he could reach his mind outward while disengaging Force Heal. This made him wince in pain for he hadn't yet been able to heal all the damage done by Force Body. Still, he could sense Javilla a distance away. He also noticed the lights throughout the immediate area were off. Most likely due to the explosion within those tunneles.

He ran hard and fast for what seemed like an hour. His lungs burned and his legs were beginning to fail him. However, his mind was even stronger and he willed his body to continue until he found the female.

"Master!" a familiar voice yelled. The voice he knew he was looking for.

Javilla ran out in front of the path he was currently sprinting. Ael stumbled to a stop and fell to his knees before lying on his back with his chest rising and falling deeply. The girl gasped, noticing the burn on his arms and the way in which he fell to the ground, having never witnessed her Master to succumb to fatigue. She rushed to him and attempted her menial skills of Force Heal upon his arm. He couldn't find the strength to protest this meager attempt and could only lie there, focusing on breathing and not passing out.

"Master," she repeated, this time with tears forming in her eyes, "what was that?"

She had never experienced anything like it before. The overwhelming sense of dread and heartache and anger all at the same time. She wouldn't admit to herself that it was some kind of exhilarating, and she didn't have the time to even mull it over.

She didn't expect an answer, understanding the curren state of her Master, instead, she tried a different question, something that would be easier to answer. "Is he behind you?"

Ael shook his head slightly enough to be visible but wouldn't cause his brain to shake in his skull.

A few aliens began to form around them, assuming these two Jedi were the cause of the power-outage throughout the area. They weren't smart enough to fix the problem, but they were angry enough take it out on someone.

Javilla noted the negativity forming around her, however vastly different from the Sith's. She rose and ignited her lightsaber. "Return home!" she shouted with authority. "This is Jedi business!"

She didn't know what else to say, but some of them realized what had occurred and began to walk away. Others were to stubborn to comprehend context clues and want to take out their frustrations on anyone, including Jedi.

One lunged at her and she struck at his knee, making him fall with a cry of shock and pain. This was merely a warning to the rest of them who walked away - except for one.

A small female approached Javilla slowly, hoping to not provoke the angered Jedi. She held her hand out. Within the small pale hand was sack with contents Javilla couldn't identify. "Ointment for the man's burns," she said shyly before running away.