Star Wars: Will of the Force: Spirit of Plagueis (2nd part of trilogy)

by Ahsoka Tano the real one

Five years have passed since the death of Sith Lord Darth Sidious, but much work is still to be done for Jedi Masters Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. The two Jedi have taken it upon themselves to rebuild the fallen Order, but the Spirit of an ancient Sith Lord has other plans for the Jedi.

Star Wars: Will of the Force: Spirit of Plagueis

1

The Plan

Mitth'raw'nuruodo, a blue-skinned Chiss Admiral of the Galactic Empire walked down the crisp black and grey hallway of the Star Destroyer Chimaera and into his dimly lit office. The Chiss sat down in his black leather chair, a stark contrast to his crystal white uniform. He shook his blue head at the state of the once glorious Empire. Ten years had passed since the death of Emperor Palpatine and, despite the best efforts of the Imperial Ruling Council; the inevitable destruction of the Empire had merely been slowed, not prevented. An Empire demanded an Emperor, not a Council of power hunger Moffs and Governors.

The Empire had also suffered another loss almost as detrimental as Palpatine's death: the betrayal of Darth Siege and Darth Nexus. Not much was known about the two Imperial enforcers, only that they wielded crimson lightsabers and were trained to destroy the surviving Jedi Knights. Unlike most in the Empire, Thrawn knew about Palpatine's being a Sith Lord. This knowledge, however, was not because of anything his analytical mind was able to deduce, no, it was because the spirit of the ancient Sith Darth Plagueis had told him so.

He got up from his chair and walked over to the wooden display shelf he kept many ancient Jedi and Sith artifacts on. The Chiss picked up a black mask designed to be worn by a being with a face longer than that of most other humanoids. A few years ago shortly after Palpatine's death, Thrawn had been admiring one of his favorite Sith artifacts, the mask of Darth Plagueis. The mask however, had a mind of its own. Apparently, the Dark Lord had contained some small part of his spirit within the mask and when Thrawn picked it up, the spirit bound itself to Thrawn's soul.

Over the years, Plagueis and Thrawn had come to a compromise of sorts: Plagueis would let Thrawn keep his soul and Thrawn would let Plagueis use him as a host. Both Thrawn and Plagueis knew that the Empire needed leadership, together they would be that leadership, and the galaxy would be in its rightful place: under the thumb of the Sith.

Thrawn heard a knock on his door.

"Enter."

The door slid open and in walked a little grey ape like creature. The little beast walked up to Thrawn and handed the Chiss a holoprojector.

"Thank you, Rukh."

Rukh said nothing but he did nod his grey scaly head once. He walked out of the room on all fours and the door shut behind him.

Thrawn looked at the door for a moment, remembering how he found Rukh many years ago. Thrawn along with the 501st legion was sent to Honoghr, the homeworld of the Noghri people, to destroy a small rebellious cell of Noghri. Thrawn led the attack personally and he, along with the stormtroopers destroyed the Noghri, all except for one. Thrawn ordered his troops not to fire as he looked upon the injured but still living Noghri. The Noghri told Thrawn his name: Rukh, and pledged his loyalty to the Admiral. Thrawn had since employed Rukh as an assassin and bodyguard, tasks that the Noghri performed well.

Thrawn laid the projector down on his desk and activated it, projecting a miniature version of Governor Wilhuff Tarkin.

"Admiral," the Governor said in a clipped well-modulated voice.

"Governor."

"Let us get down to the point. You know as well as I that the Empire is in utter ruin."

"I do."

"I have a proposition for you."

"Do continue."

"I have been observing your career for many years now and I know of your intelligence and cunning."

"I am flattered."

"I am not trying to flatter you Admiral. I am merely stating the truth. I'm sure you know of the cabal of idiots known as the Imperial Ruling Council."

"I do."

"I want you to have them killed. No witnesses, no survivors."

"I understand. Although I do have one question: what's in it for me?"

"A better Empire."

"Oh, you'll have to do better than that."

"Fine. If you have this done I will promote you to Grand Admiral and give you control of the entire Imperial Fleet. In addition, I will grant you access to top secret Imperial projects that very few know about."

"I accept. But again, I must ask a question: why do you want the Council destroyed."

"Without the opposition of the Council an individual could become Emperor with little to no opposition."

"So I see. Who do you plan to become Emperor?"

"I will tell you that when the job is finished."

"No deal. I need to know now."

"Fine. I plan for myself to become Emperor."

"From what I am seeing this is more of a quest for personal gain rather than a mission to better the Empire."

"Who would you suggest become Emperor if not me?"

"Me."

"That sounds as selfish a quest as mine."

"Look at it from an objective point of view. I have strong ties with my people, the Chiss."

"And why would that matter?"

"It matters because they have hyperspace routs you've never even heard of. They have analysts and tacticians who make the Empire's look like untrained children. They have capital ships capable of destroying a Star Destroyer in one shot. And most importantly they have weapons designed to kill Jedi: the only real threat to the Empire."

"You make a convincing argument, Admiral. I accept, but I want something in return."

"Name it."

"If indeed the Chiss have capital ships as powerful as you say I want a small fleet of them."

"Deal."

"Deal."

Thrawn shut off the holoprojector. How would he crush the Council? Would he have Rukh kill them? No, a squad of elite death troopers protected the Council at all times.

"We could just do it ourselves," Plagueis said.

"Are you brain dead? I would be identified by the Imperial authorities and I can't exactly become Emperor if I'm in prison."

"The solution is quite simple: wear a mask and cloak."

"You must be joking."

"I am not one who jokes. Think about it, you cannot be identified if you wear a mask and your physical features cannot be identified if you wear a cloak or possible armor."

"I see."

"You know that if you allow me I can teach you to use my power to access the dark side."

"No, I much prefer when you take control in those moments when we need to use the Force. Your spirit can connect to it much better than I can."

"Fair enough."

Thrawn walked over to his shelf and picked up a white mask with circular black eyes. This would do. No one in the Empire knew of this mask's existence let alone that Thrawn had it in his collection. He walked back to his desk, got on his knees under the desk, and pushed a button hidden on the underside of the desk.

A spot in the floor suddenly opened up, revealing a staircase leading to a dimly lit room that reeked of dried blood and rotting corpses. Thrawn walked down the stairs, holding his nose as he did.

"I really don't see why you keep all these bodies down here," Thrawn said.

"You know why. I need to discover the secret to resurrection through the dark side."

"Why?"

"Imagine if you died. Would you want to stay dead or would you want to be brought back to life to continue to rule the Empire?"

"I suppose I'd want be brought back to life."

Plagueis briefly took control of Thrawn to use the Force to unlock a small door at the back of the dark and bloody room. The Chiss walked down a long hallway, which also reeked of blood and into a room with a tall durasteel case containing ancient pieces of Sith armor. Thrawn typed a cod into the locking mechanism and the safe opened to reveal the Sith armor and robe.

Its chest plate was a dark silver, although that silver was somewhat dulled by the blood covering it. Its gauntlets, once a bright gold, were now a dull bronze and its once black boots were now a mix of red and brown. It wasn't brand new, that was for sure.

Thrawn took the robe and slipped it over his white uniform. He then took the heavy durasteel chest plate and slipped it on. The Chiss took the bronze gauntlets and slid them on as well. He then removed the mask of Darth Nihilus, slipped it over his face, and pulled the robe's hood over it.

"This is absurd!" Commander Krennic yelled.

"I stand by my actions to put project Stardust on hold," General Tagge said.

"Give me one good reason why the project should be delayed!"

"I'll give you two. One: more and more beings across the galaxy are rising up against the Empire and we need to focus our resources on Star Destroyers and TIE fighters to keep them in line. Two: we simply do not have the resources to continue the project. We would have depleted our resources for a half completed battle station."

Krinnic said nothing, merely clenched his gloved fist under the table at which the Council was meeting.

"I…" he began.

However, he was cut off when the thick durasteel door was ripped from its place. Krinnic and the other officers removed their blaster pistols from their holsters. A figure clad in a black robe and white mask slowly, almost lazily, strolled into the room. The officers began firing at the individual but the being raised a red sword like weapon and deflected the bolts toward the ground. He lifted his hand and Tagge began to choke.

"Jedi!" Krinnic yelled. "Run!"

The officers didn't need to be asked twice. They scrabbled from their seats to exit via a back door, but the Jedi froze them in place and pulled five of them toward him. He decapitated all five of them. He then lifted the remaining seven with the Force and snapped their necks.

"It is done," Thrawn said to the projection of Tarkin.

"Impressive. But I do have a question: how did you find a Jedi and convince him to kill the Council?"

"You know as well as I that the Jedi hate the Empire. I know that several Jedi have become bounty hunters, using their abilities in the Force to collect their bounties. I put out a bounty, but in it I used a secret Jedi code phrase, therefore insuring the bounty hunter would have to be Jedi to understand it."

"Once again I am impressed. But why not hire a normal non Jedi bounty hunter such as Boba Fett or Cad Bane?"

"The Empire needs a reason to unite and what better symbol to rally against than the infamous Jedi?"

"You make a good point."

"When shall I be made Emperor?"

"Today I am calling a press conference so you are able to give your response to the "terrorist attack" and declare yourself Emperor."

"I look forward to it, Governor."

"Today marks the death of the Imperial Ruling Council," Thrawn said in front of a crowd of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of reporters and journalists. "But it also marks the day the Empire brought itself back from the brink of destruction!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

"The Empire is in need of a ruler who can make things the way they were always meant to be! The people need someone to rally behind, someone who can give them hope!"

The crowd erupted again.

"I will bring in a new era of peace, prosperity, security, and equality among all beings! We will not be deterred by the futile attack of the Jedi! We will not be frightened by their mystic ways! We are stronger than that!"

"Thrawn! Thrawn! Thrawn!" the crowd cheered.

"As your Emperor I will make this galaxy a better place for all!"

"Thrawn! Thrawn! Thrawn! Thrawn! Thrawn!"

"Well done," Tarkin said after Thrawn's speech.

"Thank you Governor."

"You are welcome my Emperor."

"There, you have your wish," Thrawn said to Plagueis.

"Indeed, but was it not your wish as well?"

"Not necessarily."

"Explain."

"I never wanted to become Emperor."

"It didn't seem that way when you talked with Tarkin."

"I wanted to become Emperor only to bring peace to an Empire at war. You should know that if you can indeed sense my feelings."

"I do indeed."

"The point is," Thrawn said. The Empire is now under the control of the Sith, just as you wanted."

"Indeed, my host."

"Never call me that again, parasite."

"Fine."

Riveced felt a disturbance in the Force. He turned his lamp on and got out of bed. Clearly going back to sleep wasn't an option. Around a year ago Riveced, Darrgan, Ahsoka Tano, and Anakin Skywalker had found the planet, or rather the realm of Mortis, a world incredibly strong in the Force. During the Clone Wars, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka had responded to an ancient Jedi distress beacon and found the world of Mortis and on it were three beings: the Son who embodied the dark side, the Daughter who embodied the light side, and the Father who embodied the balance.

The Ones, as they were called welcomed the Jedi, well the Father and Daughter did. The Son however, being the embodiment of darkness itself, saw an opportunity in Anakin; an opportunity that could help him escape Mortis. The Father told Anakin that he was dying and that because he was the Chosen One, Anakin could take his place and keep the Son and Daughter in balance. Anakin declined, however, telling the Father that he was a Jedi, but the Father persisted and pleaded with Anakin to stay.

When Anakin, Kenobi, and Ahsoka's shuttle took off, the Son managed to get on the shuttle and take Ahsoka back to Mortis, forcing Anakin and Obi-Wan to return. The Son eventually possessed Ahsoka and used her to attempt to kill Kenobi and Skywalker. While Obi-Wan and the Daughter retrieved the Dagger of Mortis, one of the few weapons capable of killing the Ones. The Son however, managed to retrieve the Dagger and killed Ahsoka when her purpose had been served. He then attempted to kill the Father but the Daughter lunged in front of him, taking the wound upon herself. She then used the small amount of life force she had left to bring Tano back to life. In a final confrontation, the Father used the Dagger to impale himself, taking way the Son's immortality and allowing Anakin to kill him.

Riveced put on his robe and walked outside the grey, pyramidal shaped monastery the Jedi had been using as a temple. What had this disturbance been? Whatever it was, Riveced knew it had something to do with his former master Darth Sidious. Over a decade ago Riveced along with Darrgan had been the Sith apprentices of Emperor Palpatine. The two had been sent to destroy Anakin and Ahsoka, but over time, Riveced and Darrgan began to see the error in their ways and allied themselves with Skywalker and Tano to destroy Palpatine.

Whatever the disturbance was, it could not be good. He then fell to his knees in pain, not physical pain, but mental. He heard names: Magmus, Mesmerious, Kryat, Jade, Momin, Thrawn, and Plagueis.

In the morning, he would have to tell Anakin, he current Grand Master of the Jedi Order. He would know what to do.

2

New Empire: New Emperor

Thrawn, Emperor of the Galactic Empire, stood on the bridge of the Star Destroyer Chimaera. Just a few days after he became Emperor, he and small portion of the Imperial Fleet set off for the planet of Csilla, the homeworld of the Chiss, deep in the Unknown Regions.

"You have done well," Plagueis said quietly.

Thrawn nodded his head once.

"Make the jump."

"Yes, my Emperor," a technician said.

The Chimaera jumped into hyperspace

"I'll be in my quarters. Inform me when we arrive."

"Yes, my Emperor."

The Chiss turned around and walked towards his quarters. Many Imperials marveled at why Thrawn had not used his newfound power to live lavishly as the late Emperor Palpatine had. Thrawn had disagreed of many of Palpatine's methods, such as the spending of countless valuable credits on lavish furniture, palaces and impractical battle stations instead of on Star Destroyers and TIE fighters. Now that he was Emperor, Thrawn could spend resources as he saw fit.

When he reached the door to his office, he typed in the code and walked inside. When he got inside, he sat down at his desk and closed his red eyes. Thrawn knew for sure that the Chiss would help him. But would they help the Empire under his command? He would not know until they reached Csilla.

"Your people will rally behind you," Plagueis said.

"I know they will. What I don't know is if they will serve the Empire."

"They will. I guarantee it."

"Is that a threat to my people?"

"Not at all."

"Then what is it?"

"I have no interest in destroying your people, Thrawn. In fact, I need them if I am to complete my grand plan."

"And just what is that grand plan?"

"All in due time."

"We still have quite a while until we reach Csilla," Thrawn said.

"I know."

"How exactly do you know that? The Csilla is hidden from every starmap except for those that are Chiss in origin."

"That is merely what your people believe."

"Explain yourself."

"Long ago, the Sith crash landed on a world of ice and snow. The ancient Sith made their way to one of the cities and in them they found blue-skinned, red-eyed humanoids. The Sith detected many of the Chiss had a strong connection to the Force, the dark side in particular."

"Only young Chiss have a connection to the Force," Thrawn said. "And those who do slowly lose that connection as they grow older."

"The more modern Chiss, yes. Your ancestors, on the other hand were strong in the Force because, despite their tactical mind, they were able to open themselves up to the Force, to believe the unbelievable. The modern Chiss, however, only stay connected to the Force when they are young because as children they do not yet have the tactical and analytical mind the older Chiss do. Your analytical mind destroys your connection to the Force because the Force defies reason and understanding."

"How is it that you seem to know more about my own people than I do?"

"I know because the Sith of that time took several Chiss to become Sith Lords."

"Did the chosen ones succeed in becoming Sith?"

"Most of them did, yes."

"What about the others?"

"We killed them," Plagueis said. "Although I do have one question: why are most Chiss with a strong connection to the Force female?'

"We have never discovered that."

"Were most Chiss Sith female?"

"Yes, although there were acceptations."

"So tell me," Thrawn said. "Do you have anyone in mind for an apprentice? Or do you even want an apprentice?"

"Oh, yes, I do want an apprentice. But if everything goes according to plan I will not need one."

"Just what is your plan?"

"I will tell you after we recruit the Chiss and take their vessels."

"You will not be taking anything," Thrawn said.

"I meant after you negotiated with them."

"If you deceive me, I will be your host no longer."

"I will not deceive you, but if I did, you would have no power to drive my spirit out."

"You would be surprised."

Plagueis said nothing. He knew what Thrawn would not tell him: the Chiss Emperor was Force-sensitive, or he was. Thrawn was one of the few male Chiss to have been born with the gift of the Force, but like most Chiss, when he grew older, he grew more analytical and less willing to understand the eternal mystery that was the Force. Despite all of this, Thrawn still had a powerful connection to the Force. This connection was the only reason Plagueis was able to use the Force through Thrawn. Granted, Plagueis spirit greatly enhanced that connection, but if Thrawn had no connection, Plagueis would never be able to use the Force.

"I sense your anxiety," Plagueis said. "But I also sense your excitement to return home to your people, one in particular."

"You will see her when we arrive."

"She? Who is "she"? A lover? A daughter? A mother?"

"In due time, my friend."

The Destroyer jumped out of hyperspace to the icy world of Csilla. Thrawn's comlink buzzed.

"Yes?"

"We have arrived my Emperor," a voice said.

"Thank you. I will be out in moment."

Thrawn got out of his chair, opened the door, and walked to the Chimaera's bridge. Once he reached the bridge, young human officer in his early twenties walked up to Thrawn.

"I apologize for interrupting, my Emperor, but you told me to inform you when we reached Csilla."

"Thank you, officer."

"My lord, we are receiving a transmission from the planet," another officer said.

"Put it through."

"Unidentified vessel, you are trespassing on Chiss territory. Identify yourselves or be destroyed."

"This is Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendency and I, along with my forces, wish to land."

"Permission granted."

The Destroyer breached the planet's atmosphere, the ice and snow began to freeze the Destroyer, but the heat of its engines kept that from happening. The Chimaera landed by what looked like a military base of some kind.

"Stay with the ship," Thrawn said.

"Are you certain, my Emperor?"

"Yes."

Thrawn walked down the Chimaera's ramp to meet with a crowd of four Chiss, three males, one female. The female was the image of beauty to a Chiss male. She was tall, around 1.8 meters. Her red eyes pierced the soul of any who dared looked into them. Her face was utterly flawless, no imperfections. Her hourglass figure and trim appearance were able to seduce even the most analytical and heartless Chiss. Her name was Ar'alani and she was Thrawn's wife.

"Thrawn!" she yelled as she ran up to him.

When she reached her husband, the two shared a kiss for what seemed like an eternity.

"Well done," Plagueis whispered, obviously referencing Thrawn's wife.

Ar'alani pulled back.

"I've missed you."

"I have missed you as well, my dear."

"Why have you come back? Not that I don't want you back, of course. I just thought you wouldn't be coming back for a while because of your service to the Emperor."

"I am the Emperor."

"You must be joking."

"Not at all."

"What happened to Palpatine?"

"He was killed over a decade ago by Jedi."

"I thought the Jedi had been whipped out."

"Most of them have. A few, however, are proving quite difficult to kill."

"How long have you been Emperor?"

"A few months."

"I see."

"I have come because the Empire had need of our finest ships, weapons, and analysts."

"So you didn't come back just to see me?"

"I have need of you too, my love."

"And what is that?"

"A king cannot be without his queen, much the same way an emperor cannot be without his empress."

Ar'alani remained silent, deep in thought.

"Come with me. Let us rule the Empire together."

"Alright, I will come."

Thrawn smiled and kissed his wife once again.

"When do you need the supplies?"

"As soon as you can get them."

"You!" Ar'alani yelled to one of the male Chiss. "Get our finest weapons, ships, and men, now!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Let's get inside," Ar'alani said.

"I agree."

The two Chiss walked inside the base.

"What exactly has the Empire been doing without an Emperor for all these years?" Ar'alani asked.

"It has been slowly destroying itself; at least it was until I took over."

"You do have that effect on people."

"So I've been told."

"We still have a while until the supplies are ready," Ar'alani said with a flirtatious look on her face. "How about we spend some time alone?"

"I would very much like that."

The two Chiss walked into a room at the back of the base and shut the door.

Anakin swung his blue lightsaber at Ahsoka's green ones. The little Togruta blocked a strike aimed at her face with one lightsaber and one aimed at her legs with the other. She back flipped out of the way of two heavy-handed swings from Anakin. Anakin blocked and attack aimed at his helmeted face and used his superior strength to bat Ahsoka's strikes aside. He unleashed a Force push, only for Ahsoka to absorb it and redirect it back at him, sending Anakin flying back. Ahsoka sprinted at Anakin, but he recovered just in time to block Ahsoka's lightsabers. He got to his feet and used his superior height to smash away at Ahsoka's defenses. Ahsoka, however, dodged two strikes from Anakin and disarmed him of his saber, using a technique Anakin had taught her back in the Clone Wars.

"You are beaten."

"Nice job, Snips," Anakin, said as he removed his helmet.

Ahsoka extended her hand to help her former Jedi Master, and now lover, Anakin Skywalker.

"You know I was holding back, right?" Anakin asked.

"Please, if anything it was me who was holding back."

Anakin removed his helmet, revealing the face Ahsoka had fallen in love with so many years ago. When Anakin and Ahsoka, along with former Sith Maul, Riveced, and Darrgan, went off to kill Palpatine, Anakin had professed his love for Ahsoka, knowing that they might not make it out alive. Ahsoka had expressed her love for Anakin as well. Fortunately, for the two of them, they had survived the whole ordeal, allowing them to spend more time with one another.

Ahsoka gave Anakin a kiss. They really need more time alone, but they had a Jedi Order, or the start of one, to run.

"Hey, I completely agree," Anakin, said, appearing to read Ahsoka's thoughts.

"Well, we still have a little time before we need to go out into the galaxy."

"I'm glad to hear it. But I do a have a question. Do you think we've seen the last of Palpatine?"

The look on Anakin's face betrayed his shock at Ahsoka's question.

"Of course I do. You cut his head off, after all."

Ahsoka nodded. Over a decade ago, Ahsoka, Anakin, Riveced, Darrgan, and the former Sith Lord Maul confronted the Sith demon possessed Darth Sidious. When all seems lost, the Jedi enacted Anakin's plan: transferring all of their powers in the Force into one being, that being was Ahsoka. Her skin was a radiant light and she had performed feats with the Force that Anakin would have called impossible. Sidious somehow took Ahsoka into his heart or soul and the two waged a metaphysical war, but Ahsoka turned the tide, using the same ability on the Dark Lord. The two fought in Ahsoka's soul, an area of pure light, light that severely weakened Sidious, allowing Ahsoka to transport them back to the real world and remove the Dark Lord's head.

"I guess I asked that wrong," Ahsoka said. "Do you think we've seen the last of the dark side? I feel like someone else will rise up to fill Sidious' place as a Sith."

"Ahsoka, the Sith are dead. We destroyed Sidious and along with him the chances of the Sith returning ever again."

Ahsoka nodded, but deep down she knew Anakin was wrong.

"Anakin, something is coming."

Anakin had known Ahsoka for a long time and by the look on her face, he could tell she was serious.

"Do you know when?"

"Soon."

"Don't worry, Ahsoka. We'll defeat whatever this darkness is. We killed a literal demon. This should be nothing."

"I know."

She gave Anakin a quick kiss and walked away.

Thrawn and Ar'alani had gathered the weapons and, along with the help of Chiss soldiers and stormtroopers alike, loaded the Chimaera. Several Chiss had agreed to join the stormtrooper corps, but most Chiss had requested to work in some form of intelligence, much as Thrawn expected they would. The Chiss Star Destroyers, however, were another matter altogether. The Chiss Destroyers were roughly the same size and shape as an Imperial-class Destroyer, but that was where the similarities ended. The Chiss Destroyers' hyperdrive could travel twice the distance in a fourth of the time and its weapons and shielding made an ISD look like an Old Republic vessel. In addition, the Chiss Destroyers, although the same size as an ISD, required less than a third of the crew of one and used a fraction of the fuel.

"Are they fully crewed?" Thrawn asked.

"Yes."

"Good."

"I will return home on the Chimaera. You can join me, if you'd like."

"If anybody else was asking me to ride aboard that retched, primitive ship, I would decline, but since you are the one asking, I will gladly join you on the Chimaera," Ar'alani said.

"Thank you. But I do have a question to ask: will our people be loyal to the Empire?"

"Only if we are treated as equals among the human Imperials."

"I will make sure it happens."

"We will only follow you if the Emperor and his successor and his successor are Chiss."

"As Emperor, I have the power to name my successor and I ensure you that my successor will be Chiss."

"And who exactly is your successor?"

"You are, my dear."

Ar'alani smiled.

"I knew you'd like that," Thrawn said. "Come, my dear. We need to return to Coruscant."

"Alright."

"I know that look. I can tell when something is bothering you. What is it?"

"I just wish we could stay here on Csilla." Ar'alani said with a sad smile on her blue face.

"As do I, my love, but Coruscant is the center of galactic power, home to starship manufactures and weapons companies."

"But the Chiss have better supplies than the Empire does."

"I agree. However, Coruscant is symbolic, in a sense. It is a symbol of power and of stability."

"I see."

Thrawn smiled and looked into Ar'alani's red eyes.

"We will return to Csilla often."

"I know."

"Now come. Let us go home."

"We have a lot of things to discuss," Anakin said. "So let's get to it."

The four Jedi were seated in a room dimly lit room with dark grey walls and four dark grey chairs. These makeshift Council chambers were not as luxurious and elegant as the ones on Coruscant, but then again, the Father's throne room wasn't designed to be a Council meeting room.

"Master Skywalker," Riveced said.

"Yes?"

"I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I had vision not long ago."

"What was it of?" Anakin asked with a look of concern on his face.

"Well, I guess vision is stretching it a bit. I heard several names."

"What were the names?" Ahsoka asked.

"Magmus, Mesmerious, Kryat, Jade, Momin, Thrawn, and Plagueis."

"Do those names mean anything to you?" Anakin asked.

"No. Wait, I take that back. I don't know how, but I feel a connection of some kind with Magmus."

"Thrawn," Anakin said quietly. "I know that name."

"How do you know of this Thrawn?" Darrgan asked.

"Towards the tail end of the Clone Wars, I met a Chiss warrior named Thrawn. He and I formed an alliance to destroy a Separatist droid factory. He told me he was a scout for the Chiss Ascendency and he was trying to determine if the Republic was a suitable ally for the Chiss. He determined it wasn't."

"The Chiss," Riveced said. "Aren't they the blue-skinned aliens who live in the Unknown Regions?"

"Yes," Anakin said.

"Why do you think he has returned to the galaxy?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps after we killed Palpatine, the Empire was weakened enough for the Chiss to invade the galaxy and destroy the Empire."

"Perhaps," Ahsoka said.

"What about Plagueis?" Anakin asked. "Somehow I know him, or know of him, at least."

"With the exception of Thrawn, are these beings all Sith Lords?" Ahsoka asked.

"Most likely," Riveced said.

"I guess the Rule of Two has been thrown out the window completely," Anakin remarked.

"Wait," Darrgan said. "Momin, I know that name. Momin was an ancient Sith artist and his life's work was to create a masterpiece worthy of the dark side."

"How do you know that?" Riveced asked.

"When we were still Sith apprentices, Palpatine told me about him. He said I had the potential to become the next Momin."

"I wonder why he never told me about this Momin," Riveced said.

"He told me why: he said that you were like a hand grenade, a lot of power, but no focus."

"Ouch," Riveced remarked.

"His words, not mine. Sidious said that because of my ability to focus and desire to create, that I could become like Momin. He also told me that Momin created a mask: a mask that, if worn by an individual, could possess them."

"I wonder why Momin would be in your vision if he's dead," Anakin mused.

"I'm not sure," Riveced said.

"You said the name Jade was in your vision, right?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes. Why do you ask? Do you know Jade?"

"No, but I know of a bloodline under the name Jade. The Jades were a family incredibly strong in the Force. Throughout the centuries, many became Jedi but just as many became Sith. Around 2000 years ago, the Sith Jades and the Jedi ones waged war on one another. The Jedi eventually killed their Sith brothers and sisters, all except for one. This one Jade managed to escape and remain hidden from the Jedi for the rest of his life."

"Do you think the one I heard is a descendant of them?" Riveced asked.

"I do, considering you said they were Sith," Ahsoka said.

"Well," Anakin said. "I think it's time we make our move. If we return to the galaxy now, we can destroy what's left of the Empire and drive out the Chiss."

"It's settled then," Ahsoka said. "We leave tomorrow."

Darrgan could not sleep, although why he did not know. He got out of bed and walked outside to Mortis' dismal nighttime sky. He felt the need to kill the Momin, Krayt, and Plagueis, nothing unusual there, but what was unusual was the fact that he for one reason or another felt compelled to turn Magmus, Mesmerious, Thrawn, and Jade to the light side. Why would he want to turn only these four to the light, but not the other three? Was it because the four he felt compelled to turn wanted to turn but could not? He knew from experience that a darksider could indeed be turned to the light. He was living proof. He would tell Anakin and Ahsoka later, but for now, he needed sleep.

Ahsoka woke up to the bright, lively morning of Mortis. Day and night were unique to say the least on Mortis. The night killed everything on the planet, while the day renewed what had been destroyed. She felt Anakin's hand on her back.

"I see you're awake now," Ahsoka said.

"Indeed I am. Let's get going."

Darrgan, Riveced, Anakin, and Ahsoka boarded the Tantive IV, the CR90 corvette given to them by Bail Organa. Anakin took his spot in the pilot's chair while Ahsoka sat in the copilot's seat. Darrgan and Riveced went back to the makeshift training room Anakin had constructed not long ago.

Anakin fired up the thrusters and left Mortis behind.

"Anakin," Ahsoka said after the ship jumped into hyperspace. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Ahsoka," Anakin said with a slightly exasperated look on his face. "Why do you ask?"

"I can sense your anxiety."

"Oh."

"What are you worried about? You can talk to me, Anakin. I want to help you."

"I guess I'm just worried about the mission. It's been over a decade since we've been in the galaxy. What has the galaxy become without our help?"

Ahsoka's lips turned to a sympathetic smile.

"I wonder about that too. Sometimes I wonder why we came to Mortis in the first place."

"We needed time to grow more powerful, but I'm still concerned that we might not be powerful enough to free the galaxy from the Empire's grasp."

"I guess what matters, is that we're going back now."

"I guess you're right," Anakin said.

Riveced swung his white saber at Darrgan's. Darrgan blocked it and diverted its energy, sending Riveced stumbling forward. Riveced, however, recovered quickly and raised his saber in a defensive posture. Darrgan stabbed at Riveced with quick and precise movements. Darrgan parried a stab aimed at his helmet head, sidestepped a thrust aimed at his stomach, and slid under a heavy-handed strike.

Darrgan switched into the defensive Form III, blocking and dodging every one of Riveced's thrusts and strikes. Riveced lifted his saber high above his head and swung it down at Darrgan. Darrgan, however, was ready. He blocked it with his own blade and guided it down, lowering Riveced' guard and elbowing his helmeted head.

Riveced stubbed back, leaving himself open to a Force push from Darrgan. Darrgan sprinted at the downed Riveced, but Riveced was quicker, flipping over Darrgan. Darrgan froze for a slit second, but it was enough for Riveced. Darrgan tried to swing at Riveced, but Riveced easily disarmed him and sent him flying with a Force push.

"Ow," Darrgan moaned.

"You'll be fine," Riveced said as he helped Darrgan back to his feet.

"That's what you always say."

"And you're always alright."

Darrgan grunted.

"It's not my fault I'm better than you," Riveced said.

"I'll beat you one day."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Riveced slid off his helmet, revealing his sweaty, tired face.

"You're getting better, if it makes you feel any better."

"Oh, jeez, that makes me feel so much better."

"You're welcome."

"I have a question for you," Darrgan said.

"A master never gives his apprentice his secrets."

"No it isn't that. It's about your vision."

"What about it?" Riveced asked as the two left the training room, a room with dark grey walls and several shelves with lightsabers and helmets.

"I feel like we need to save Magmus and Mesmerious, although I have no idea why."

"It's odd you say that. I felt the same way."

"What do you think that means?" Darrgan asked.

"I'm not sure," Riveced said. "Wait. I might have an idea. You remember the visions we had back when we were Sith, right?"

"I do. Why?"

"I think the woman you saw is somehow tied to Magmus and Mesmerious. She said she needed you to save her and that she had been imprisoned by the Jedi."

"Are you saying she is either Magmus or Mesmerious?"

"I'm not sure, but I know she is tied to them."

"Don't worry," Riveced said. "We'll figure it out."

"Do you think Darrgan and Riveced are alright?" Ahsoka asked.

"I have sensed something off about them," Anakin said.

"Do you think it has to do with Riveced's visions?"

"Most likely."

The Tantive IV jumped out of hyperspace over the city planet of Coruscant.

"We're here," Ahsoka said. "It looks… different."

"I know. It feels different too."

"I'll go get Riveced and Darrgan."

Anakin nodded.

Ahsoka walked down the long white halls of the Tantive IV and into Anakin's training room.

"Riveced, Darrgan. We're here."

"Unidentified vessel identify yourself or be destroyed," a voice said as Ahsoka, Riveced, and Darrgan walked into the cockpit.

"Any ideas?" Anakin whispered.

"This is the Imperial Security Bureau code 48937 requesting permission to land," Darrgan said.

"Permission granted."

"An Imperial code I presume," Anakin said.

"Indeed."

Anakin flew the ship into Coruscant's atmosphere, although it looked far different then the last time the four Jedi had been here. The once clear skies were now black with smog. The once majestic buildings were now in utter ruin, a few of them were even on fire. The once shiny and luxurious airspeeders were now rusty and broken.

"What happened here?" Riveced asked.

"Even under Palpatine things weren't so bad," Darrgan remarked.

"This has to be the Empire's doing," Anakin said.

"I don't think so," Ahsoka said. "I think that because of the lack of an Emperor, the Empire has been unable to sustain itself."

"We didn't do anything to help when we killed Palpatine," Anakin said. "We just made things worse."

"Which is why we've come back to finish the job," Ahsoka said as she put her hand on Anakin's armored shoulder.

"How should we go about this?" Riveced asked.

"We can't do this on our own," Anakin said. "We need an alliance: and alliance of beings willing to fight."

"I agree," Ahsoka said. "But where do we even begin to look?"

"I'm not sure. But I do have an idea."

"What is it?"

"We need to show our power, strike a true blow to the Empire."

"How exactly will we do that?" Riveced asked.

"I sense that Thrawn is returning. We need to kill him."

"These are dark times and I fear we may have to bend our beliefs in order to succeed," Ahsoka said. "But I agree. We need to make a statement."

Anakin landed the ship by the old Jedi temple and he, along with the others, disembarked.

"I can't believe there are no guards here," Riveced murmured.

"It looks like the Empire's resources have been stretched thin," Darrgan said.

The four Jedi walked up the once shiny, now dull, and broken steps and opened the massive durasteel doors.

"So we're staying here until Thrawn comes back?" Darrgan asked.

"Yes," Anakin said.

"We might as well look around to see if there is anything of value here," Ahsoka said.

"I agree."

The four Jedi spread out. Anakin walked down a dark hallway and into the Jedi archive. During the Clone Wars, the archive held the most knowledge of the Force anywhere in the galaxy. That all changed, however, when Palpatine took over and ransacked the temple and most, if not all of the knowledge it contained. Anakin felt something calling him. He followed it and found a little wooden box. He opened it and found what looked like a little mural and on it were three very familiar figures: the Father, Son, and Daughter. Anakin gasped at the sight of it. He quickly put it in one of his robe's pockets.

Ahsoka walked down into the old Sith shrine under the Jedi temple. This was the place where everything changed. Over two decades ago, Anakin and she, along with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, fought the Sith Darth Sidious. Sidious had killed Kenobi and Yoda and relieved Anakin of all four of his limbs. She felt something calling to her. She followed its call and found what looked like a tile of some kind. She picked it up to examine it and noticed it had an animal of some kind on it, a wolf of some kind.

Riveced and Darrgan walked into the old Council chambers.

"Why exactly did we come in here?" Riveced asked.

"I felt something," Darrgan said.

"Whatever you say."

Darrgan reached out with his feelings, trying to locate whatever had called to him. He noticed what looked like a trap door of some kind. He opened it and found a holocron.

"Nice job," Riveced said.

"I know.

The four Jedi met back up in the Council chambers.

"What, if anything did you guys find?" Anakin asked.

"I found a tile of some kind with a white wolf on it," Ahsoka said.

"I found a small mural of the Father, Son, and Daughter," Anakin said.

"We found a holocron," Riveced said as he held up a small pyramidal shaped object. "It looks to be Sith in origin."

"It looks like we've made quite a haul," Anakin said. "Wait. I sense Thrawn and his forces. They've just reached the planet."

"When do we strike?" Darrgan asked.

"As soon as he lands."

The Chimaera dropped out of hyperspace to above Coruscant.

"Here we are," Thrawn said.

Ar'alani smiled.

"I'll be back in a moment," Thrawn said.

The Chiss walked back to his office and closed the door. Plagueis was trying to tell him something, although he had no idea what.

"Your feelings for you wife make your otherwise sound mind a jumbled mess of emotions," Plagueis said.

"Says the dark side user. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't those who use the dark side rely on emotions to feed their power, correct?"

Plagueis was silent.

"That's what I thought. I now you are trying to tell me something. What is it?"

"You are in danger. The four Jedi you have been hunting are here, on this planet and they plan to assassinate you."

"What should we do?"

"Just let me handle it."

"If you even think of letting me die…"

"Why would I sacrifice such a good host?" Plagueis interrupted.

"From a strategical standpoint you wouldn't but sometimes those who use the Force do not always do what is tactically sound."

"I will keep you alive, rest assured."

"Good."

Thrawn got out of his chair and walked back to the bridge and back to his wife.

"Commander," Thrawn said to and Imperial officer.

"Yes my Emperor?"

"Land the ship by the old Jedi temple."

"Yes, my lord."

"The Jedi?" Ar'alani asked. "I thought they were just a myth."

"Far from it, my dear. I once fought alongside a Jedi Knight. Anakin Skywalker was his name."

"Skywalker," Ar'alani said quietly. "Like our Skywalkers?"

"Not exactly," Thrawn said.

The Chiss people, in order to discover and map new hyperspace routes, used the talents of the young Force-sensitive Chiss called Skywalkers.

"Was he like the legends say?"

"For the most part. He wielded a blue lightsaber and was strong with the Force."

"Interesting."

The Chimaera landed by the Jedi temple.

"Stay with the ship," Thrawn said. "But send a few death troopers with us."

"Why?" Ar'alani asked. "Are we in danger?"

"No, but one can never be too safe."

The two Chiss, along with the black-clad death troopers, walked down the ramp and up the steps of the Jedi temple.

"He's here," Anakin said as he put his helmet on.

The four Jedi got out of their seats and began walking to the front doors.

"Open it," Thrawn said.

The death troopers did so, only to be tossed out by an invisible hand. Thrawn peeked inside and saw lightsabers and Jedi holding them.

"Hello there," the one in the mask said.

"Run," Thrawn said to another Chiss by his side.

"No. I'm staying with you."

Thrawn nodded.

"You four Jedi have been giving me a lot of trouble recently."

"We're good at that."

"Siege, Nexus, I am so disappointed you decided to betray our Emperor."

"Unlike you, we saw the error in our ways."

"Your Jedi self-righteousness disgusts me."

Thrawn turned his head to the figure in the mask.

"Hello Anakin."

"How did you know it was me?"

"I like the armor," Thrawn said, not in the least bit intimidated by four of the most powerful Jedi who had ever lived. "The helmet in particular. An alloy durasteel, plasteel, and obsidian is it not?"

"Yes."

"Ah."

"Why do you ask?"

"The armor was designed by the top scientists of Bail Organa was it not?"

Anakin nodded.

"That is only partially true. In reality it was designed by me."

"Why would you design armor for the Jedi?"

"Oh, I didn't design it for Jedi. I deigned it for Chiss warriors in case we ever encountered the Jedi. Your limbs are cybernetic, correct?"

"Yes."

"Ah, I designed those as well. They were made to give our soldiers reflexes equal to that of the speed granted to a Jedi by the Force."

"That's nice to know."

"But I also know its weaknesses."

The Chiss clicked a small button and Anakin dropped to the ground.

"Anakin!" Ahsoka yelled.

She put herself in front of the downed Anakin. Much to her surprise, Thrawn activated a red lightsaber and swung at her. Ahsoka blocked the strike and flipped back, avoiding two more. Thrawn unleashed black Force lightning at her, only for her to absorb it and redirect it at the female Chiss.

"No!" Thrawn yelled.

He sent Ahsoka back with a Force push and ran over to the female Chiss.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Riveced sprinted at Thrawn, saber held high, but at the last possible instant, Thrawn blocked it with his crimson saber. The Chiss stood up, guiding Riveced's saber up. The second before Thrawn could impale Riveced, Ahsoka sent the Chiss back with a Force push.

"Impressive," Thrawn said as he clenched his stomach.

Thrawn clicked a small button on his wrist and a few seconds later black clad death troopers ran in the temple and began firing at the Jedi. Ahsoka deflected several bolts aimed at Anakin, while Riveced and Darrgan deflected other bolts back at the troopers who fired them.

"He's getting away!" Darrgan yelled.

Ahsoka lifted the troopers with the Force and slammed them into the wall.

"Anakin, talk to me," Ahsoka said.

"Somehow he turned my limbs off. I couldn't move. I still can't."

"How will we fight him in the future if he can turn you off with the click of a button," Darrgan said. "No offense."

"None taken and to answer, I have no clue."

Ahsoka helped Anakin lie down.

"Don't worry; we'll get you working again."

Anakin suddenly got to his feet.

"Huh. It seems that when Thrawn deactivated my limbs it was only for a short time."

"A more pressing question is how Thrawn was able to wield a lightsaber and use the Force," Riveced said. "I thought he wasn't Force-sensitive."

"I'm not sure," Anakin said as he removed his helmet. "When I met him I couldn't sense the Force in him."

"What does that mean?" Darrgan asked. "Is it possible that, due to his power, he was able to hide his connection to the Force from you?"

"I'm not sure."

3

Survivors of the Order

Kanan Jarrus felt a shift in the Force, a drastic shift he had not felt since…since the rise of Darth Sidious and his Empire. He felt the darkness subsiding, but it was far from gone. How long had it been since the Sith Emperor was killed? If his memory served him as well as he though it did, it had been around fifteen years. However, he was concerned that he didn't feel the light growing in power. Kanan had done the best he could to renew the Jedi Order by taking on a boy named Ezra Bridger as his Padawan, but sometimes he felt like it was all for nothing.

"Hey," Hera Syndualla a green-skinned Twi'lek said as she put her hand on Kanan's shoulder. "I know this isn't for nothing."

"Even without the Force you know my every thought."

"Kanan, you know as well as I that the Jedi will return and I know that you will be the one to bring the Order back."

"Hera, I ran away from the Order when I was only a Padawan. I don't have that much knowledge about the Order and what knowledge survived the Clone Wars has been destroyed by the Empire."

"Kanan, that's why we've come here, our intel told us that this Imperial warehouse contains several Jedi artifacts."

"I guess you're right."

Hera landed Ghost, a heavily modified Corellian VCX-100, at the Imperial base on the planet of Mustafar. Hera lowered the ship's ramp, allowing Kanan to walk up to the base. The Jedi activated his blue bladed saber, plunging it into the thick durasteel door and carving a circle in it. He kicked the circle down and walked inside the base. He kept his saber activated so he could see in the dark hallway. He felt several beings in the Force, most likely guarding the artifacts their intel told of. Kanan turned left and opened a large steel door, revealing several armored stormtroopers.

"Halt!" the trooper yelled as he ran up to Kanan, blaster raised. "This is a restricted Imperial base! State your business!"

"Oh, great," Kanan murmured.

He outstretched his hand, sending several troopers flying back with a Force push.

"Jedi!" a trooper yelled. "Blast him!

Kanan deflected several blaster bolts at the troopers, redirecting them back at the troopers, killing them with their own blasterfire. He deactivated his saber and walked up to what appeared to be a box of some kind. Kanan opened the box and inside was…a small stone tablet with an image of a tall figure wearing a black cape, armor, and helmet.

"Blast!" Kanan whispered.

It seemed Kanan had come here for nothing. He began to sprit back to the circle he had carved, only to be intercepted by several stormtroopers. He reactivated his lightsaber and plunged it into the man's chest. Kanan lifted the other trooper with the Force slammed him into the wall.

Hera heard blasterfire. It seems Kanan had gotten himself into trouble, again. Kanan quickly sprinted out the hole, deflecting two shots from a stormtrooper, the second shot hit the trooper square in the head.

"Kanan! We need to leave!" Hera yelled.

"I'm working on it!"

Kanan Force pushed several troopers back and leaped onto the Ghost

"Go!"

The ship sped off.

"That went well," Sabine Wren said as she removed her Mandalorian helmet.

"Very funny," Zeb said.

"We were set up," Kanan said.

The Ghost crew, composing of Kanan, Sabine, a Mandalorian weapons expert, Hera, Ezra Bridger, Kanan's Padawan, Rex, a clone trooper that fought in the Grand Army of the Republic and Zeb, a Lasat warrior. The crew had been fighting against the Empire's oppressive rule for years, even after the death of the Emperor. Kanan had received reports that a Jedi, or group of Jedi had killed him, but he doubted it. To his knowledge, he and Ezra were the last remaining Jedi.

"Well we got our Intel from Hondo, what did you expect?" Hera said.

The Ghost left Lothal behind and jumped into hyperspace.

"Did you recover anything at all of value?" Zeb asked.

"Just this," Kanan said as he held up a small tablet with an image of a black clad figure wearing heavy armor.

"Wait," Sabine said. "I might be able to determine if it has any meaning."

"Sabine, I know you know art, but I don't know if you'll be able to pull anything from this."

"Just let me run look at some similar works of art in my collection. It can't hurt."

"Alright," Kanan said as he handed the tablet to Sabine. "Here you go."

"Thank you."

"Will we be coming back to Lothal?" Ezra asked.

Lothal was Ezra's homeworld and from the day they met, Kanan had felt Ezra's desire to free his homeworld from the Empire's oppressive grasp.

"We will, but it'll be awhile before we do."

Ezra nodded.

"I just wish we knew we were making a difference," Sabine said. "I wish we weren't the only ones fighting the Empire."

"So do I," Kanan said. "Wait."

"What is it?" Hera asked.

"I sense someone. I think… I think they're Jedi."

"But how?" Ezra asked. "I thought we were the last Jedi."

"So did I. It looks like I was wrong."

"Do you know were these Jedi are?" Sabine asked.

"I think… I think they're on Coruscant."

"They must be crazy to be in the capital of the Empire," Rex said.

"What matters is that more Jedi are out there," Kanan said. "We're going to need their help if we want to destroy the Empire."

"So off to Coruscant?"

"Off to Coruscant."

"We need to leave, now," Darrgan said. "Surely the Empire now knows of our attempt to kill its Emperor."

"Wait," Anakin said. "We need to stay for a few more days."

"A few more days?" Riveced asked. "We'd be insane to stay here a few more hours, let alone a few more days."

"Let me explain. I sense six beings coming and I sense their desire to destroy the Empire."

"So do I," Ahsoka said. "And better yet, I sense that two of them are Jedi."

"Jedi?" Riveced asked. "I thought we were the last Jedi."

"It appears not."

"How could we have not discovered them until now?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Kanan," Sabine said. "I've run some tests on the artifact."

"And?"

"Well, I have some footage to show you. I've received a small snippet of the confrontation between the Jedi and Palpatine."

"Play it."

Sabine did so. The video displayed a man in a black suit wielding a lightsaber with such grace and accuracy, Kanan would have thought impossible. Sidious thrust his saber at the man, but he expertly sidestepped. The clip suddenly ended.

"What am I looking at, Sabine?"

"This figure is the same figure you displayed on the tablet you found. This clip was taken fifteen years ago, but the stone is over twenty thousand years old."

"Twenty thousand?"

"Yes."

"What do you think that means?"

"I'm no expert, but I think this a prophecy of some kind. I think that the man in the suit is some prophesied Chosen One and his coming was seen by Force-users thousands of years before his birth."

"The ancient Jedi prophecy of the Chosen One," Kanan said. "I never believed any of it, not until now."

"Any ideas as to who it is?"

"The Jedi Council thought Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One, so I assume it's Anakin."

"General Skywalker's alive?" Rex asked.

"It seems so," Kanan said. "You served under him in the 501st, right?"

"That I did. He was…"

"Yeah, yeah, we can hear your war stories later. I found something else Kanan might find interesting."

"What is it?"

Sabine projected an image of a similar stone tablet, but this one displayed a Togruta glowing radiant white holding up a sword taller than she was."

"What am I looking at?"

"I've done some research and I found the very first Jedi prophecy, predating even the Chosen One prophecy, the Sword of the Jedi. The Sword is a being destined to draw the darkness out to be destroyed. I think this Togruta is the Sword."

"Wait," Kanan said. "Ahsoka, Ahsoka Tano is her name."

"How do you know?"

"I was in the same class of younglings as she was shortly before the Clone Wars. I never knew her very well because she was called to the frontlines to serve under the legendary Anakin Skywalker because of her skill in combat. I stayed behind, learning more of the Jedi ways."

"I see."

"Commander Tano," Rex said to himself. "The last time I saw her and General Skywalker was after the Battle of Utapau. Ahsoka said that we'd see each other again someday. I wonder how they've been."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to see you again."

Thrawn and Ar'alani walked inside the former's chambers.

"What was that?" Ar'alani all but yelled.

"I can explain."

"How in Malachor did you use the Force like that?"

"It's quite a complicated story."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"To put it simply, I was possessed by the spirit of a Dark Lord of the Sith."

"You where what?"

"The spirit and I came to a compromise. I would remain his host and in return I would gain the powers of the Force and still keep my soul."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"I do indeed."

"I said that wrong. I do believe you, I just, well, I'm just concerned for you for obvious reasons."

"I am fine, my dear. The spirit would not destroy me. I'm too valuable to him."

Ar'alani embraced Thrawn, letting him know just how much she loved him.

"Well that went well," Plagueis said.

"She was going to find out eventually. Her intelligence is higher than that of the average Chiss."

Thrawn fell to his knees in pain.

"Don't forget your place," Plagueis snarled.

"I could say the same to you. Without me, you are just a spirit. You cannot do anything without my body and you cannot rule the Empire without my face."

"Sometimes I wish I'd picked another host."

"As do I, but we need each other if we are to succeed."

"I hate it when you're right," Plagueis snarled.

"I know."

"It is inevitable that we will encounter these Jedi again."

"I agree," Thrawn said. "What shall we do about them?"

"Do you know of the ancient Sith Lord Momin?"

"I do not."

"Oh, you'd like Momin. He was unlike any Sith before or after him."

"Do tell."

"Momin was… different. Unlike all other Sith, Momin was an artist not a destructionist. He was a creator at heart, always had been. The Sith Lady Shaa eventually found him and made him her apprentice. When Momin became more powerful than his master, he killed her and set out to learn as much as he could, unhindered by her."

"I cannot tell that he is an artist by your story."

"I wasn't finished," Plagueis growled.

"Do go on."

"Momin eventually decided that the dark side was his only audience and he set out to create a masterpiece worthy of the dark side's admiration. He created a superweapon capable of freezing the fear and pain of its victims, creating an eternal shrine to the dark side. Much to Momin's dismay, the Jedi discovered his plans and they killed him."

"Interesting," Thrawn said.

"No, what is interesting is the face that he was able to infuse his spirit into his mask. In fact, I learned the technique from one of his holocrons."

"Do you know where this mask is?"

"I only know it's on Coruscant, but I do not know its precise location."

"We will find the mask."

"Yes, yes we will."

"They are here," Anakin said.

The four Jedi walked outside the temple and saw what looked to be a freighter of some kind, although Anakin could tell that it had been modified extensively. The ship landed a few meters in front of the Jedi. Darrgan and Riveced retrieved, but did not activate their lightsabers.

"Easy," Anakin said as he put his helmet on.

"I still don't understand why you wear that helmet," Ahsoka said. "I hate to break it to you, but if you think it makes you look intimidating then I'm afraid you're wrong."

"Do I not look even a little intimidating?"

"Not really."

The ship's door opened and out sprinted a human female, a male Lasat, a human wearing white and blue body armor, and a female Twi'lek, all holding blasters. The four Jedi activated their lightsabers.

"Stand down!" Anakin yelled, his voice deepened by his helmet. "We don't want to hurt you!"

"Sorry about that," a human male said as he and another human walked slowly down the ramp. "My crew can be a little mistrusting of strangers. Put down your weapons, guys."

The three did so. The Jedi likewise deactivated their lightsabers.

"Are you the Jedi we sensed?" the human asked.

"We are."

"Alright, I'm Kanan, by the way. This is Ezra," he said as he pointed to the human by his side. "Zeb," as he pointed to the Lasat. "Sabine," as he pointed to the Mandalorian. "And Hera. I know that you guys already know who Rex is."

"Rex? Rex is with you guys?" Ahsoka asked.

"Hello, Commander Tano," Rex said as he removed his helmet. "It's been a while."

Ahsoka walked up to the clone and embraced him.

"How've you been?"

"Oh, not bad. I see General Skywalker has developed a taste for armor."

"Do you not like my helmet?" Anakin asked.

"Eh. It could be better."

"Oh, Rex, you never refuse to tell someone what you think," Anakin said as he removed his helmet. "That's why I made you leader of the 501st in the first place."

"Wait. How do you two know him?" Darrgan asked.

"Rex was my second in command during the Clone Wars," Anakin explained.

"I see."

"Wait," Ezra said. "You're Anakin Skywalker, the Anakin Skywalker?"

"I am indeed."

"We'll tell you all about the good General's war stories on our ship," Ahsoka said.

"I'm afraid that won't happen," Hera said. "We are taking my ship."

"So you just want us to leave our ship here?" Darrgan said.

"What type of ship is it?"

"It's a CR90 corvette."

"Then ours will be able to latch onto it."

"Alright," Anakin said. "I guess we'll take off and connect the ships in space."

"Alright," Kanan said.

"The good General? Really?" Anakin asked.

"Would you prefer the bad General?"

"I guess not."

"That went well," Anakin said.

"I actually think it did," Ahsoka said. "I think that we made the right choice allying with them."

"So do I," Riveced said.

"I've seen Kanan somewhere before. I think he and I were younglings a little before the beginning of the Clone Wars. I remember him being headstrong and at times, a little full of himself, but he always meant well."

"I don't think he called himself Kanan back then," Anakin said as he removed his helmet. "Was he Master Billaba's Padawan?"

"I think so."

"I think his name was Caleb Dume."

"I wonder why he changed his name," Darrgan mused.

"To hide from the Empire most likely."

Anakin and Ahsoka sat down in the cockpit and the ship took off.

"I think we made the right choice allying with them," Kanan said. "Especially because of Anakin being the Chosen One and Ahsoka being the Sword of the Jedi."

"What is the Chosen One exactly?" Ezra asked.

"The Chosen One is a prophesied bringer of balance and of peace. It is his destiny to bring balance and he will not be stopped by anything or anything until his purpose is complete."

"I see. What of the Sword?"

"It is the Sword's purpose to maintain the balance brought by the Chosen One, to make sure it lasts for eternity."

"Wow," Zeb said. "I think we made the right choice."

"So do I," Hera said. "Anakin helped my world escape the Separatist's grasp on my world. I owe him my life."

"I'm a little skeptical," Ezra said. "If they didn't get whipped out by the Empire they why haven't they been doing anything to destroy it."

"Don't you see?" Kanan asked. "They are the Jedi we've heard stories about. They killed the Emperor."

"How do you know that?"

"The reports said something about a masked man and a Togruta: Anakin and Ahsoka."

"Didn't you and Ahsoka know each other?" Ezra asked.

"Not very well, no. She and I were younglings together. I always remember her being very sure of herself. She was incredibly gifted in the Force and a natural with the lightsaber."

"Well the way I see it the more Jedi the better," Zeb said.

"So do I," Rex said. "We need all the help we can get."

The Ghost left the planet's atmosphere.

Anakin waited until Kanan's ship pulled up to the Tantive IV. Anakin activated the docking clamp and the two ships joined. The four Jedi walked through the air lock and onto the other ship.

"I like the ship," Anakin said.

"Thanks," Hera said as she and her crew walked up to the four Jedi. "We call her the Ghost."

"Why do you call it that?" Ahsoka asked.

"It can scramble its signatures to make it register as another ship," Kanan said.

"Nice," Riveced said.

"Where's our first stop?" Ezra asked.

Ahsoka's memory was jogged as she remembered the tile.

"I think I know," Ahsoka said as she pulled out the tile with the wolf.

"Hey, that's a Loth-wolf!" Ezra said. "Where did you find that?"

"In the Jedi temple."

"Loth-wolf?" Anakin asked. "The old Jedi legends say that the wolves held a deep connection to the Force."

"So Lothal?" Ezra asked.

"Lothal it is."

"Wait," Kanan said. "I have something to show our guests."

He retrieved the tablet from one of his pockets and placed it on a table for Anakin to view. Anakin's face betrayed his surprise.

"What is this?" Anakin asked.

"It's a depiction of the Chosen One," Sabine said. "This artifact is over twenty thousand years old."

"Twenty thousand?"

"Yes and I have something else," Sabine said as she activated a holoprojector that displayed a similar tablet, only this one was of a Togruta glowing radiant white and brandishing a sword.

"Is that me?" Ahsoka asked.

"It is the Sword of the Jedi," Kanan said. "And this one is over 100,000 years old."

"You're kidding."

"I'm dead serious," Kanan said. "Do you guys know what this means?"

"We were meant for something," Ahsoka said. "We have a purpose to fulfill, a destiny. The ones who made these tablets knew this and knew that the future Jedi must be made aware of these coming saviors."

"Yes," Anakin said. "Back on Ahch-To, Master Qui-Gon said that the Sword would help the Chosen One maintain balance, but it needed to be the Chosen One who ultimately brought balance."

"You spoke to Qui-Gon?" Ahsoka asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"At the time I thought it was an illusion, a trick of the planet, but know I know that it was Qui-Gon."

"Wait," Ezra said. "Who's Qui-Gon?"

"Qui-Gon was my first Jedi Master," Anakin said. "He was a mentor and almost like a father to me, until he was killed by a Sith Lord."

"I see."

"I wonder if the same person who made the murals of the wolves made the tablets of the Sword and Chosen One," Sabine mused. "The art styles look similar."

"It's very possible," Ahsoka said. "Very possible indeed."

4

Mask of Momin

"I know where the mask is," Plagueis said.

"Where?"

"It's in the Jedi temple."

"Let us not waste any time, then," Thrawn said.

The Chiss walked out of his room and onto the Chimaera's bridge.

"Commander, send ten death troopers with me."

"Where are you going, sir?'

"We're going back to the temple."

"My Emperor, I must object."

"No, you must not. I will not repeat myself."

"The troops are boarding your shuttle as we speak."

"That's better. Carry on Commander."

Thrawn walked into the Chimaera's massive hanger filled with TIE fighters, AT-AT walkers, and several Lambda-class shuttle. He boarded one of the shuttles.

"We will protect you, my Emperor," the death trooper Commander said, his voice scrambled by his helmet.

"Like you protected me the first time we went?" Thrawn asked.

"We will not fail you."

"Good."

The Lambda flew out of the hanger and down to the temple.

"I heard the reports, sir," the Commander said.

"What's your name trooper?"

"Rython."

"Tell me what you mean by "heard the report.""

"I heard that you used the Force to hold off the Jedi and that you wielded a lightsaber."

"You have nerve, trooper, I'll give you that."

"I do not fear death, sir. My only fear is disappointing my Emperor and my Empire. Death is nothing. Suffering is meaningless."

"And it is for that reason why I am sparing you."

"Thank you, my Emperor."

Thrawn nodded as the shuttle landed by the temple. Thrawn followed by the troops walked down the shuttle's ramp and up the temple steps.

"Follow me," Thrawn said and his troops did so.

Plagueis guided Thrawn down a hallway and to a door. Thrawn used the Force to unlock the door and he, along with his troops walked into a grey walled room containing many shelves of artifacts. Thrawn set his eyes on a blue-grey mask with red markings.

"That's it," Plagueis said. "The mask of Momin."

Thrawn picked up the mask, admiring its simple yet powerful designs.

"Our work is done here," Thrawn said. "We're going home."

"It is truly beautiful," Thrawn said as he held up Momin's mask. "Its design speaks of a soul whose desire was to be noticed."

"Noticed and feared," Plagueis added.

Thrawn put the mask over his head, only to be sent to the ground, writhing in pain and agony. Suddenly the pain stopped and Thrawn was in a forest. His eyes focused on a figure wearing black and grey robes and a very, very familiar looking mask: the mask of Momin.

"Hello there," the figure said.

"Are you Momin?"

"I am. Tell me a little about yourself Thrawn."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know everything about the one who wears my mask. I know of your wife, I know of the spirit of Plagueis, and I know of the Jedi Knights who tried to murder you. I can help you, unlike Plagueis."

"Plagueis has given me power I could have never imagined."

"Do you truly believe that? Or is that what Plagueis wants you to think?"

"I didn't come to you to destroy Plagueis. I came to you not as a new host, but as a fellow artist."

"Ah, you are an artist, a man after my own heart."

"I have always admired artists who were able to say something with one picture what could not be said with a thousand words. Take the mask you wear, for example."

"I'm flattered. But this mask is not my greatest work, not by a long shot."

"And what is?"

"I believe Plagueis already told you. Well, he told you what he thought was my greatest work."

"Do tell me of your greatest work."

"Shortly before my death, I created, or at least began to create, a structure capable of tuning the very energies of the dark side itself to create a veil between life and death"

"Fascinating."

"Before I had the chance to finalize the designs, the Jedi killed me, but I can never really die. As long as my mask remains I remain."

"Shall we complete your work of art?" Thrawn asked.

"We shall and I know just the place."

"Tell me where."

"Mustafar."

"Why Mustafar?"

"It is the home to an incredibly powerful dark side nexus and it will make the construction of the castle much easier."

"I see."

"I will help you begin construction when reach the planet."

Thrawn looked around to discover himself back on the Chimaera.

"Nice to have you back," Plagueis said. "I could not remain in your soul when you had the mask on."

"How did you survive?"

"I temporarily bound myself to a Jedi mask in your collection. Did Momin tell you anything?"

"He told me of his true masterpiece."

"His true masterpiece?" Plagueis repeated.

"Yes."

"Explain."

"He told me of a castle, a castle capable of opening veil between life and death."

"I wonder why I have never heard of this castle."

"Perhaps it was lost to history."

"Lost to history indeed. Where exactly does he suggest we build the castle?" Plagueis asked.

"Mustafar."

"Interesting, Mustafar has one of the purest connections to the dark side of any planet in the galaxy."

"Indeed. It is why he suggested we build it there."

"How will I survive this?" Plagueis asked. "If you wear the mask then I won't be able to remain in you and I can only hold on to the physical realm for a limited time."

"The situation is quite simple: I will put the mask on someone else."

"I like it."

"I knew you would. Now let's get to Mustafar."

Ar'alani turned around to see Thrawn walking towards her and she could tell by the look on his face that he was concerned about something.

"What is it?"

"I am going to Mustafar."

"Why? What's on Mustafar?"

"It's… complicated."

"If it has anything to do with the spirit I don't want to hear it."

Thrawn remained silent.

"I will be taking one of the Chiss Destroyers. You are welcome to join me."

Ar'alani looked out the Chimaera's viewport, deep in thought.

"I think I'll stay. Besides, somebody has to run the Empire while you're gone."

Thrawn smiled and gave his wife a kiss.

"I won't be long."

"I know."

Thrawn turned around and walked away.

"I need the top Imperial architects and designers," Thrawn said to a group of beings he had gathered in his newly constructed throne room.

"Choose wisely," Plagueis said.

"You," Thrawn said as he pointed to a human male in his late thirties. "What is your specialty?"

"I am an electrical engineer, my lord."

"Good. We will need a man of your skills."

Thrawn's red eyes looked at the small group he had assembled.

"You two," he said as he pointed to two Chiss, one male, the other female. "Tell me of your skills."

"We specialize in ship construction," the male said.

"Mm. Yes, we need you as well."

Thrawn's eyes settled on a human female in her early thirties with shoulder length red hair and piercing green eyes.

"What's your name?"

"Jade. Mara Jade."

"What is your specialty, Mara Jade?"

"I am an Imperial architect. I designed, or I should say redesigned, the Jedi temple for the late Emperor Palpatine."

"Impressive, for one so young."

"Thank you my lord."

"Come, we have use of your skills."

Thrawn, his crew, and the First Legion, an elite squad of death troopers walked to the hangar boarded Thrawn's shuttle, flew towards a Chiss Star Destroyer, and docked in it. The Destroyer jumped to hyperspace.

Thrawn along with his crew exited the shuttle to explore the Chiss Destroyer. For a moment, Thrawn forgot that he was the only one of his crew, with the exception of the male Chiss and what Thrawn presumed was either a girlfriend or a wife that had ever been on a Chiss vessel.

"Wow," a death trooper said.

"It's something else isn't it?"

"It is my lord. Its design is far more impressive than anything the Empire has created or ever will create."

Thrawn knew exactly what he meant. The Chiss Destroyers' interior was much more streamlined. Despite their identical size, the hangar of a Chiss Destroyer was capable of fitting twice the amount of fighters of the hangar of an ISD, merely because of how things were arranged. The bridge, unlike that of an ISD was sunk into the rest of the ship, making the bridge a much smaller target for enemy vessels. Its turbolaser batteries were able to fire bolts with twice the power and the speed of an ISD and its hyperdrive, due to advanced Chiss technology was able to travel twice the distance in a fraction of the time.

"Thank you," Thrawn said.

"Are all Chiss vessels this advanced?"

"Yes."

"It's nice to know we have a fleet of them."

"Indeed."

Thrawn's red eyes locked on the trooper.

"You are the trooper who questioned my use of the Force are you not?"

The trooper remained silent but he stood his ground.

"I am."

"I just wanted to know. Feel free to explore the ship."

"Thank you."

The trooper walked away, leaving Thrawn alone.

"There is something special about the one called Mara Jade," Plagueis said.

"Indeed. Her mind is advanced to say the least. I have looked at her work and I believe her intelligence is on par with, perhaps even superior that of a Chiss."

"Her intelligence is impressive, but I see so much more in her than mere intelligence, so much potential."

"Explain yourself."

"The Force is incredibly strong in her. She has the potential to surpass even the most powerful Jedi and Sith in history."

"Does she have the potential to surpass Skywalker or Tano?"

"It is remotely possible but highly unlikely that she could surpass Skywalker. Tano, however, is another matter entirely. Tano's natural abilities with the Force and the saber are unmatched. She has already surpassed her master."

"She has?"

"You fool! Can you not see?"

"Not in the way you can."

Plagueis growled, frustrated by Thrawn's lack of understanding.

"Tano has the potential to become a goddess in the Force. Tell me, have you heard of the Ones?"

"I have not."

"They were embodiments of different aspects of the Force. The Father embodied the balance. The Son embodied the dark and the Daughter embodied the light."

"What do they have to do with Tano?"

"She could surpass them! You fail to grasp her importance! If she reaches her potential, she could reshape the very fabric of the universe! Armies would kneel before her! Legions would crumble before her! She could erase everything in existence with a snap of her finger!"

"Are you quite finished?"

Plagueis growled.

"I do not speak that language," Thrawn remarked.

"My point is that she needs to die. If she reaches her potential not even you and your Chiss technology can hope to stop her. She will crush you Destroyers like tin cans. You will be but a child playing with toys compared to what Tano could become. She must die if we hope to succeed."

"I see."

"You had better, for your sake."

"You said something about Mara. I assume you want to train her."

"You assume correctly."

"I will convince her to become my, our apprentice."

"Good," Plagueis said.

5

The Father's Plans

The Son clenched his hand in anger, anger at his Father's stupidity for bringing them to this Force-forsaken land of Mortis. The Son and his sister had not always lived on Mortis, no, for the first few millennia of their lives the Ones where part of a race of beings known as the Whills, the first beings to develop a connection to the Force. But a Whill known as Snoke decided, to bring into existence mortal beings that could use the Force so that they could help him destroy the Whills and rule the newborn galaxy. The Son decided, due to his selfish and dark nature, to join Snoke. The Father and Daughter, however, joined forced with the other Whills. The Whills waged war in the Netherworld of the Force, with no side emerging victorious for thousands of years. The Son's darkness, as well as Snoke's, had tainted the Force, bringing into existence the dark side.

Snoke was killed, but the Father chose to spare his son. The Council of the Whills that proposed the Father take his children to the physical realm and the Father would one day bring into being a Chosen One that could finally undo the darkness caused by Snoke and the Son.

The Son was strong enough now, strong enough to kill his father and destroy the light side, leaving only the dark. He transformed into a gargoyle and flew off to his father's monastery. When he landed in his father's throne room, he transformed back into his humanoid form.

"Hello Son," the Father said. "I see you think yourself more powerful than me. Now prove it."

"Fool! You can't take away my STRENGTH! You're the one that's lost, you're going to fail! You can't take away my PRIDE! I won't be denied. Live free, or let me die!"

"Are you quite finished?"

The Son growled in anger and lunged at his father, but the Father was ready. He raised his hand and swatted his son aside with the Force.

"Please don't make me kill you," the Father pleaded. "I really don't want to."

"Fool! It will be me who kills you!"

The Son shot at his father with red Force lightning, but the Father raised his hand, although the force of the lightning slammed him back. The Father created constructs from nothingness and used the Force to hurl them at his son, knocking him back. The Son transformed himself into a gargoyle and launched himself at the Father, ramming into him and knocking him to the ground. The Son repeatedly punched his father, drawing a small amount of blood. As he reared back for another blow, the Father caught his fats, crushed it and kicked his son off. The Father shot at his son with pure white Force lightning, but the Son met it with his own red lightning.

"I'm sick of it old man! Nothing I do seems to matter. I try, but it's no use. My world is getting blacker. Every empty promise made is a reminder. Every single day I chase my own tail, like a rat inside a maze. No one can make this better! I am over it, bored to death! I am SICK OF IT!"

The Father lifted his hands and used the Force to yank the Son his way, blasting him with Force lightning the whole time. Once he was finished, the Father lifted his son by the throat with the Force, slamming his hand down with enough force to crack the stone floor. He flung his hand right, sending his son into a wall. The Son lifted his hand to shoot at his father, but the Father formed a dagger out of thin air and cut off the Son's hand, causing him to cry out in pain. The Father kicked his son's face, knocking out a tooth and sending him to the ground.

"Do you yield?"

"I guess I don't have much of a choice, but I must ask you this, Father, why do you spare me? I have tried to kill you countless times, but you always spare me. Why?"

"I love you, my son. I always have and I always will. It is your nature to be selfish and prideful, but I promise you one thing: I will create a being that will undo all of the damage you have caused. This Chosen One will destroy the darkness, returning the Force to its original state."

"Place your faith in this Chosen One if it pleases you, but I will find him and I will kill him."

"No, you will not," the Father said. "If you do indeed yield, I will heal you."

"I yield."

The Father outstretched his hand, healing the Son's damaged body and restoring his hand.

"Your mercy will be the death of you, Father."

"Maybe, but I will see to it that the Chosen One makes his way to Mortis when the time is right. I will also see to it that a Sword is born. The Sword and the One will bring and maintain balance."

"Believe that if you want."

"Leave me," the Father commanded.

"Alright, then. Good chat."

"I said leave," the Father growled.

The Son did so, leaving the Father alone to ponder if he should have just killed his son. No, the Chosen One and the Sword would do their work. It just wouldn't be for a long, long time.

"Father?" the Daughter asked. "What of my brother? What shall you do to him for his defiance?"

"I have shown him his place, my daughter. He will not challenge me for a while."

"A while? How long is a while? A year? A decade? An eon? Where does it end? You know as well as I that one day he will grow more powerful than you will. What shall you do when that time comes, when it is you begging for mercy instead of him?"

"I don't know, Daughter, but I know that the darkness he has brought to the Force must be cleansed."

"Not to question you, Father, but why can't you cleanse the darkness?"

"I cannot. I am more powerful than he is, but I do not have the strength to undo the damage he has done. I could partially purge the darkness, but it would grow in power. I would have to give up much if not all of my power in order to cleanse it. I would have given up my power for nothing. I am powerful, but I cannot change the Force. It is not my destiny. That task falls to another."

"The Chosen One and the Sword."

"Yes."

"I see. What happens once balance is restored? Shall the Force be as it was before the conflict? Will it be perfect again?"

"Yes.

6

World between Worlds

The Ghost dropped out of hyperspace to the once vibrant, now near lifeless world of Lothal.

"Things have gotten worse just in the short time we've been gone," Ezra said.

"I still don't know why the Force wanted us to come here," Riveced said. "What do these Loth-wolves have to do with anything?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Anakin said. "I know that there is a Jedi temple on this world. It's possible that there is knowledge there, knowledge that can help us end this war before it starts."

"War?" Kanan asked. "What war? The war against the Empire?"

"The only war," Anakin said. "The war against the dark side and those who would serve it."

"Ezra, this is your home," Ahsoka said. "Do you know the location of this temple?"

"I do. We're getting close."

"Does it look like the one on Coruscant?" Darrgan asked.

"No. It looks more like a mountain than a man-made structure."

"There," Kanan said as he pointed to a mountain like structure. "That's it."

Hera landed the Ghost by the structure.

"Oh no," Anakin said.

"What?" Sabine asked. "What is it?"

"This place is heavily guarded to say the least," he said as he pointed to the troops surrounding the perimeter.

"Stay here," Ahsoka said. "Anakin and I will deal with the guards."

"Fine by me," Sabine said.

The two Jedi walked down the Ghost's ramp. Anakin slipped his helmet on as Ahsoka removed, but did not activate her lightsabers. One of the troopers turned and walked their way.

"Halt! You are trespassing on an Imperial Science Division base! Leave now."

"You will let us in," Ahsoka said as she waved her hand in the trooper's face.

"Jedi," the trooper growled as he clicked a button on his gauntlet.

Over fifty stormtroopers and twenty death troopers came sprinting from the temple.

"Surrender Jedi scum!"

"We don't want to hurt you," Anakin said. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

The troopers raised their blasters.

"Alright, have it your way."

Anakin dodged two blaster shots from the closest trooper and pushed him and a few of his fellows back with the Force. He absorbed more blasterfire from the black-clad death troopers and pulled them to himself. Anakin held them up with the Force and slammed them with his robotic fist, knocking them to the ground. Ahsoka ducked and flipped out of the way of several blaster bolts. She sprinted into a crowd of about twenty troops, sending them flying up in the sky with a Force repulse. Two death troopers reared back to push her but she grabbed their fists and pulled them to her, sending the troops stumbling to the ground. One trooper threw a grenade. Ahsoka saw this, however, and caught it with the Force, sending back to its source.

"Oh," the trooper said before he erupted in a ball of fire.

Several death troopers fired her, but she extended her hand, absorbing every bolt. She lifted ten troops with the Force and sent them high into the air. One brave or foolish trooper threw a punch at Ahsoka, but she caught his fist, bent his arm behind his back, and sent him flying back with a Force-enhanced kick. Anakin deflected the blaster bolts from a frantic stormtrooper, sending them back into the troop. A death trooper ran at him from behind but he adopted Ahsoka's signature reverse-grip and impaled him. Ahsoka plunged her green lightsabers into the chest of a stormtrooper and sent several hurtling back with a Force push.

"Retreat!" a death trooper yelled.

Ahsoka drew the troopers to her and then sent them flying in all directions with a Force repulse. Anakin lifted a trooper with the Force and pulled him into his blazing blue saber.

"Was that all of them?" Anakin asked.

"I think so."

The two Jedi continued on their way as if nothing happened. Anakin felt the nexus of the Force in this temple. It was strong indeed.

"Is there a door anywhere?" Anakin asked as he looked around the temple.

"I can't see one. It's possible, however, that we can only access the temple with the use of the Force."

"That's probably the case. I guess we just concentrate on opening it."

"Wait," Ahsoka said. "I see something."

Anakin looked at where Ahsoka's finger was pointing.

"You're right."

The two Jedi walked over to what looked like a mural of three beings.

"Is that?"

"The Ones," Anakin said. "It is."

Anakin set his eyes on the Father, whose hand was raised in a position suggesting calm, but also a readiness to act. The Son's hand was clenched into a fist and the Daughter's in a position of placidness.

"Hey," Ahsoka said. "Look."

Anakin did so.

"Loth-wolves."

"Just like on the tile we found," Ahsoka said.

"Yeah."

"I think the hands are the key. I think we need to focus on the emotions they symbolize: the Son's anger, the Daughter's serenity, and the Father's balance."

"I think you're partially correct. I think that we need to focus on the Daughter's hand in particular."

"Why just the Daughter's?"

"This temple is symbolic. The light side is the source of life. The light is the key. The light opens door."

"I think you're right," Ahsoka said.

Anakin put his hand on the Daughter's. He centered himself in the Force, letting its warm embrace wrap around him. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Daughter turn her head towards the Father. The Father's hand then moved to the son's. Ahsoka saw the wolves' heads pop up. The wolves suddenly sprinted away.

"Anakin! We need to follow them."

Anakin and Ahsoka ran after the wolves, following them for a few hundred meters until they stopped dead in their tracks. The wolves then began to walk in a circle.

"I think this is our way in," Anakin said.

"I agree."

Anakin stuck his hand in the gateway created by the wolves and stepped inside, vanishing into the mountain. Ahsoka did likewise.

"Lothal!" Plagueis yelled.

Thrawn was startled awake.

"Do you mind? I do need sleep, you know?"

"We need to go to Lothal, now!"

"Why?" Thrawn asked as he rubbed his red eyes.

"The Jedi are about to access a power capable of rewriting history."

Thrawn sat up.

"Alright."

"No, wait," Plagueis said. "I have a better idea."

"What is it?"

"I will teach you an ancient Sith spell and you will use it to enter the power the Jedi seek to obtain."

"Teach me," Thrawn said as he began putting on his armor.

Thrawn suddenly fell to his feet in pain. He opened his eyes and saw his hands waving in seemingly random motions. His mouth was moving but he didn't understand the words.

"Nu dabar reiklauti tave zarchas midwan iv amzi zvelgti! tave visuom between worlds kash dabar manosi kia elgtis! Midwan prie amzi ir vieta kash atitrazi nuyak griebti!" Plagueis said through Thrawn's lips. Before Thrawn's eyes, a portal of some kind appeared.

"Reach inside the portal!" Plagueis yelled.

Thrawn did so and he stepped inside.

Ahsoka and Anakin found themselves in a black room with what appeared to be stars all around. The room, Anakin observed, was somewhat similar to the Father's throne room back on Mortis. The two Jedi walked down one of the many paths before them.

"What do you think this place is?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'm not sure," Anakin said.

"You think you can redeem me?" a female voice asked.

"I know I can," a male voice replied.

"I will burn this galaxy down and create it anew!" a droid like voice yelled.

"You think you've turned me, but I will never be your slave!" a female voice yelled.

"The balance has taken a new form," a soft female voice said. "You have become the avatar of the Force itself."

"Your master is dead, child!" that same mechanical voice yelled.

"I am the Bringer of Balance and I will not be stopped in my quest to force this galaxy to peace!"

"I am on a higher plain of existence," the voice of Ahsoka said. "I am the light made living and I will not let you destroy the life in this galaxy."

Anakin and Ahsoka looked at each other in utter confusion.

"What was that?" Ahsoka asked.

"I have no idea, but I heard your voice."

"So did I, although I am disturbed by what I said. I'm not like the Ones, Anakin. I am mortal."

"I'm just as clueless as you are, but we will figure this out. I know it."

"Some of those voices sounded familiar," Ahsoka said. "Do you know what any of them meant?"

"No."

The two walked up to what looked like a door or portal of some kind.

"Look," Ahsoka said as she pointed to a symbol toward the top of the portal. "That's the Sith symbol."

"Why? This is a Jedi temple."

"I'm not sure."

Ahsoka walked to another portal. The portal lit up and she saw a very familiar event. She saw Obi-Wan and Yoda inside the old Sith shrine. Obi-Wan redirected a few well-placed thrusts from Sidious, but was caught off guard by a Force push from the Dark Lord. Yoda used Sidious' distraction to leap at him, twisting and twirling about like a green tornado. Sidious however parried all of Yoda's strikes. Sidious gained the upper hand, lifting Yoda with the Force and impaled the little green Jedi. Obi-Wan raised his saber in a defensive position, but it was no use. The Dark Lord killed Kenobi in an instant.

Anakin saw his younger self in the old Sith shrine. He also saw Palpatine impale his wife Padmé and cackle as he did so. Anakin stood still, looking inside the portal. Did he have the power to save his wife? Could he make things the way he always wanted to be? This portal could be the answer he knew it.

"Padme'."

Ahsoka began to put her hand in the portal. She knew she could save Obi-Wan and Yoda. She could change the history of the galaxy. She could make things better. She could, but should she? Was it the Jedi way to control everything? No. Despite their power, the Jedi were not gods. A Jedi served the Force not themselves. With a tear rolling down her face, she pulled her hand out of the portal.

Anakin saw the blade in his wife's chest. He knew he could change that. He had to. No, he wanted to. A Jedi was not a slave to his emotions. If he changed this, what else would he change? If a Jedi had limitless power to shape the universe as he saw fit, he would become corrupted by that power. Anakin sighed and pulled his hand out of the portal. Ahsoka walked over to Anakin and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Anakin, I know how hard that was for you."

Anakin embraced Ahsoka. Ahsoka felt Anakin's pain through the Force and she wished she had the power to take it away. Nevertheless, she did not. She could only let Anakin know that she was there for him, always would be. He would do the same for her.

"We can make it," Anakin."

Ahsoka embraced Anakin.

"Thank you. You always put me at peace."

"I feel the same about you, Anakin. I feel you keeping me alive every day. I've always loved you."

"With you I feel the fear dissipate. When I hurt, when I bleed you're holding me. You are my serenity."

Anakin saw a portal in the distance light up and from it, a very familiar blue head.

"Thrawn!"

"Skywalker and Tano! At last I can destroy you!"

"We need to leave," Ahsoka said.

"I agree."

Thrawn shot a blast of Force lightning at the Jedi. Ahsoka, however, redirected it, sending it back towards Thrawn. The Chiss reached further into the portal but Anakin shoved him back with a Force push.

"We cannot let them get away!" Plagueis yelled.

"I know that!"

Thrawn sent a bolt of red Force lightning at Anakin. Thrawn designed the suit after all and he knew it was weak to electrical discharges. The bolt hit Anakin square in the chest, knocking him down.

"Anakin!"

Ahsoka sprinted back to Anakin and sent a blast of Force fire at Thrawn, causing the Chiss to scream out in pain. Ahsoka extended her hand and Anakin took it, allowing Ahsoka to pull him back to his feet.

"No!" Thrawn yelled.

The Chiss unleashed a blue flame of the Force. Ahsoka put out her hand, absorbing the blast, although Thrawn could tell it was straining her. Ahsoka Force pushed Thrawn back.

"Run!" she yelled.

Anakin used the Force to move his damaged cybernetics. The two Jedi sprinted back to the door they had entered through, but Thrawn reached out with the Force and grabbed Ahsoka.

"Ahsoka!"

Anakin sent Thrawn back with another Force push and helped Ahsoka to her feet. The two jumped back into the portal.

"No!" Thrawn yelled.

Anakin and Ahsoka found themselves back outside the portal.

"We need to get back to the painting," Anakin said.

Ahsoka nodded and the two ran back to the mural of the Ones. When they reached the mural, Anakin saw the Father's hand still pointing at the Son's.

"The Daughter was the key to opening the door," Ahsoka said. "The Son must be the one to close it."

Anakin put his hand on the Son's, letting the anger of the dark side flow through him. The Son raised his hand and lowered his head to the Father. The Father then spread his hands apart and slammed them together, causing the temple to shake violently.

"I think now's the time we leave," Anakin said.

"You think?"

The two ran back towards the Ghost.

"Uh, guys?" Kanan asked as Anakin and Ahsoka sprinted up the Ghost's ramp. "What's happening to the temple?"

"We'll tell you all about it," Anakin said. "But if we want to stay alive we need to leave now."

Hera nodded and the Ghost lifted into the sky. Ezra looked at the temple, wait, there was no temple. How could that be? Just a moment ago, the temple was still standing, but it just disappeared. Ezra shook his head. Maybe he had just seen things wrong, but he hadn't. The temple was gone.

"Idiot!" Plagueis yelled. "How could you let them escape?"

"I was, or should I say you were, outmatched! Your connection to the Force was too weak to destroy the Jedi."

Plagueis growled.

"I am fluent in many languages, that however is not one of them."

"They Jedi have destroyed the World between Worlds, but we have a solution to that."

"And what might that solution be?"

"I'm sure you remember when I told you of Lord Momin's castle."

"I do."

"We must begin construction if we truly wish to rule unchallenged."

"What of young Mara Jade?" Thrawn asked.

"You have a way with words. I'm sure you will be able to convince her to join us. She is loyal to her Empire and her Emperor."

"I will see what I can do."

"No," Plagueis snapped. "You will make her your apprentice, for your sake."

"Spare me the empty threats. You know as well as I that you will not destroy your host and more importantly to your grand plan, you will not kill the Emperor. You do need a body to rule the Empire after all."

"I know I can't kill you," Plagueis said. "But I can make you suffer."

Thrawn's hands shot up to his throat, trying to pry away a hand that was not there.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

Plagueis released Thrawn, leaving the Chiss gasping for air.

"Turn Jade to the dark side and then we will begin construction on the castle."

"I will.

7

Apprenticeship

Mara Jade walked down the halls of one of the new Chiss Star Destroyers, observing the beauty in its simplicity. She had noticed something about the Chiss: they were nothing if not efficient. Every design, whether weapons or ships, the Chiss designed everything to be practical. Beauty was secondary to the Chiss. Thrawn suddenly appeared in front of her.

"My Emperor, how may I help?"

"Tell me something Mara. Do you know what the Force is?"

"I do, well I know the basics."

"What if I told you that you had a very strong connection to it."

"I never knew I did. When you say strong connection do you mean I could become like a Jedi?"

"Oh, you could become much more than any Jedi."

"How would I learn this power?"

"I can teach you."

"You can use the Force?"

"I can. Do you want my training?"

"I do, my Emperor."

"Good."

"Thank you, master."

"I will begin your training when we reach Mustafar."

"I look forward to it."

The Chiss Destroyer jumped out of hyperspace to the volcanic hellscape that was the planet of Mustafar.

"We are here, my lord," a voice said.

Thrawn picked up his comlink.

"Thank you Captain."

The Chiss got out of his chair, opened the door, and walked to the Destroyer's bridge.

Thrawn felt Mustafar's strength in the dark side, felt its power.

"We will be landing in a few moments," the Captain, a Chiss male in his forties said.

"Thank you."

The Captain nodded.

"I will return in a moment Captain."

Thrawn turned around and walked back to his office. When he reached the door, he typed in the code and walked inside. This office was quite similar to his office on the Chimaera. There was one key difference, however. Unlike the Chimaera's office, this office had several newfound Sith artifacts that Plagueis and Thrawn had recently located.

Thrawn walked over to his wooded shelf and picked up the bluish-grey mask of Lord Momin. He then heard a knock on the door.

"Sir?" a voice asked.

Thrawn opened the door to see a death trooper. In an instant, Thrawn removed the man's helmet and put the mask of Momin in its place.

"Hello again," the trooper, now possessed by Momin said.

"Hello Lord Momin."

"Are we close to Mustafar?"

"Yes. We are but moments away from landing."

"Good."

"I have gathered the best Imperial architects and engineers. They are at your disposal."

"Good. I will make use of them to create my masterpiece."

"Come with me," Thrawn said. "We are nearly here."

Momin followed Thrawn to the Destroyer's bridge. Much to Momin's dismay, his blue helmet on the body of a black trooper drew some unwanted attention.

"Prototype helmet," Momin said.

The officers nodded.

"We are landing now," the Chiss Captain said.

Thrawn nodded as the ship sat down by one of Mustafar's many lava rivers. Thrawn and Momin walked to the architects' quarters.

"Stay here," Thrawn said.

"You're the boss."

Thrawn knocked on the door, revealing a Chiss female and what Thrawn presumed was her boyfriend or husband.

"Come in."

Thrawn did so. He looked around the once grey and black room, which was now covered in color. He said nothing, merely shook his head. Nevertheless, if the more lively walls helped his architects, he would just have to accept it. He then made his way to a Chiss designed meeting table surrounded with a dozen chairs.

"Are we on Mustafar?" a human male asked.

"We are indeed. Your work begins now."

The architects got out of their chairs and walked out of their colorful room.

"Mara, I need to speak with you."

Mara stopped in her tracks.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Do you know what we are here to build?"

"I was told we were designing a castle of some kind."

"And do you know the purpose of this castle?"

"I assumed it was to be your personal residence."

"It will serve that purpose, but that is not its primary purpose. Tell me, do you know of the Sith Lord Momin?"

"No."

"He was a Sith artist and sculptor. His designs were simple yet complex. They were designed to strike fear into the heart of all who looked upon them. Momin strived to please only one audience: the dark side. He created, or at least began to create a castle capable of breaking through the veil of time and space. Unfortunately for him, the Jedi killed him before he was able to complete his life's work."

"Are we attempting to recreate this?"

"We are indeed."

"How will we do that?"

"Momin," Thrawn said.

A black clad death trooper walked into the room. Mara, however, noticed one key difference: the blue-grey helmet.

"Mara Jade meet Lord Momin."

"Didn't you just finish telling me a story about how he died?" Mara asked.

"I did. I did leave one thing out however, I told you of his death, but I did not tell you that he imbued his spirit into a mask he created. The one who wears the mask becomes the avatar of Momin."

"I see."

"Momin will be giving us input on the castle's design. He will help us create the castle he deigned."

"I see," Mara repeated.

"Come. We must catch up to the others," Thrawn said.

The three walked down the ship's ramp to join the others. Mara looked at the almost pure black sky. She smelt the molten lava, felt the black glass sand under her boots.

"We will begin construction immediately."

"We are building a castle, right?" the human male asked.

"We are indeed."

"Do you have any ideas of what you want it to look like?"

"I don't but I know someone who does."

Thrawn made a summoning motion with his hand and not a moment later, a death trooper wearing a blue helmet came walking Thrawn's way.

"This is Momin," Thrawn said. "He will tell you what you need to know."

"We need obsidian."

"How much?" Mara asked.

"A Star Destroyer's worth."

"Alright. It'll be here in a day."

"Not good enough."

"I'll try to get it here as soon as possible."

"I insist you do so."

Mara took out her comlink, calling her supervisors at the Imperial Architectural Group as she walked back to the ship.

"What is it?" a stern male voice asked.

"We need a mineral and we need it fast."

"What mineral?"

"Obsidian."

"How much do you need?"

"A Star Destroyer's worth."

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

"When do you need it?" the man growled.

"Less than a day."

"Have you lost your mind? Even if we were able to gather that much obsidian in that massive a quantity, there is no way we would be able to get it to Mustafar in a day! Besides, Mustafar has obsidian already. Why not just use that?"

"The Emperor demands it and as for not using the native obsidian; it is unrefined and would take far too long. You know as well as I that the Empire has hundreds of thousands of tons of refined obsidian."

"He asks the impossible!"

"For your sake I suggest you make the impossible possible!"

"The best we can do is two days."

"The Emperor will be most displeased."

Mara sighed and crushed her comlink. Wait. How did she do that? That was a military grade comlink. She should not have been able to crush like that, but she did.

"Mara," Thrawn asked.

Mara walked back over to Thrawn and the other architects.

"The obsidian will be here in two days."

"It needs to be here sooner than that," Momin said.

"Two days is fine," Thrawn said.

"What?" Momin barked.

"You heard me."

"Fine," Momin growled.

"Think of it this way: you will have two days to come up with the initial design."

"I see."

"We can use this time to reach the sight of construction," Thrawn said.

"Where is the sight?" Mara asked.

"May I have a word?"

Mara nodded as Thrawn walked her way.

"What is it my Emperor?"

"Do you feel it?"

Mara remained silent for a few moments, but she eventually nodded.

"I do. I feel the dark side locus."

"That is where we will construct the castle."

"Are we going there?"

"We are."

"What about Momin and the architects?"

"Momin will come with us and the architects will remain with the ship."

Mara nodded her head. Thrawn turned around and walked back to the small group of architects.

"Mara and I will return in two days' time but I want the rest of you to stay with the ship."

"We will," the male Chiss said.

The architects turned around and walked back to the Destroyer, leaving only Momin, Thrawn, and Mara.

"You've felt it haven't you?" Momin asked.

"I have indeed."

"That is where our construction will begin," Momin said.

"Let's get going," Mara said.

The three warriors of the darkness approached the cave they had felt a few days ago. The cave resided over one of Mustafar's many lava rivers. The lava flowed out from the bottom of the cave, flowing straight down to a large lava river. Unfortunately, for the warriors, the journey to the cave was a vertical climb and to make matters worse the lava did not make climbing any easier.

"What should we do?" Mara asked.

"We climb," Momin said.

"You can't be serious."

"I am dead serious, girl."

"We have time to go back to the Destroyer."

"Art does not wait to be created," Momin scowled.

"Fine. Have it your way."

Momin leaped up and grabbed hold of a protrusion on the rock wall.

"Come on."

Thrawn and Mara did so, using the Force to amplify their leap. Thrawn looked at the flowing lava a few centimeters away from him. He could not afford to make mistakes. One slip up could cost him his life.

Mara felt the heat of the lava. This is not good, she thought. She wanted to go faster, but she knew that that would most likely cost her life. So she climbed up slowly, each and every centimeter exhausting her further. The lava's heat wasn't doing anything to help the matter.

Momin climbed up diligently. He had come this far and he would not be stopped by some petty mountain, although he was beginning to feel the heat of the lava flowing downwards a few centimeters away from him. He looked down to check on Thrawn and Mara. They seemed to be doing fine.

"Come on!" he yelled.

"Do you want us to die?" Mara yelled back.

"I will be honest. I do not much care for your life, Miss Jade."

"Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome."

Momin looked up. They were half way there. He thought back to when he began designing his castle so many years ago. He would have built it here, on this world thousands of years ago if not for the Jedi's intervention. He wanted to use its unique properties to tune the powerful dark side nexus on the planet. Therefore, he would be able to open the veil of life and death, ruling the galaxy unchallenged for all of eternity.

Thrawn looked up at Momin. This had better be worth it, he thought. Hailing from a world of ice and snow, Thrawn was not fond of heat, especially of this magnitude. He looked down at Mara. The young Sith seemed alright. He could see the sweat on her face and her once smoothly combed hair was now a mess. She would have to stop constantly to move it out of her face, forcing Thrawn and Momin to slow down. Momin had suggested Mara use Thrawn's lightsaber to cut it off. Mara, however, fiercely objected.

Momin clawed his way over the edge. He had made it. The Sith looked down at his allies. Once Thrawn reached the edge, Momin extended a hand to pull the Chiss up. Mara, Momin observed, had stopped yet again to readjust her hair.

"Hurry up!"

"I'm working on it!"

She reached the top and Thrawn helped her up.

"Good. Now let's get to the cave," Momin said, rather shortly Mara observed.

They walked inside the cave, letting the dark side nexus inside it overwhelm them. Thrawn's eyes quickly readjusted to the darkness. The red eyes of the Chiss could see in the infrared spectrum, making situations like this easier. Mara and Momin, however, didn't have that luxury, forcing them to slow their pace.

"This place is strong in the dark side," Mara said.

"Way to state the obvious," Momin quipped.

"What exactly makes me so unbearable to you?" Mara asked.

"I think you are hindering Thrawn's efforts, as well as my own. You are a nuisance and a distraction."

Mara growled in frustration.

"Now, now," Thrawn said.

"When will the obsidian arrive?" Momin asked.

"Patience, my friend," Thrawn said.

"That does not answer my question."

"They should be here in one day's time."

"What do you suggest we do until then?"

"Perhaps we should rest after our climb."

"Fine."

Momin laid on the ground, forming a makeshift pillow with his arms. Mara did likewise, leaving Thrawn the only one awake.

"Nice work," Plagueis said.

"Thank you."

"Momin could be a problem in the future."

"I agree," Thrawn said.

"When the castle is complete, kill him."

"And the mask?"

"Destroy it."

"I will. And what will become of Mara?"

"You shall continue to train her in the ways of the Sith."

"Should I reveal your existence to her?"

"No."

Thrawn pulled out his comlink.

"Yes my lord?" an Imperial asked.

"When the obsidian arrives tell the Destroyer carrying it to meet us here, on top of the lava fall."

"It will be done."

Thrawn put his com away.

The Chiss Destroyer Leviathan jumped out of hyperspace to the lava world of Mustafar. The Captain of the Leviathan Sletth'ahoawo'emu looked out the viewport at the world Thrawn and his architects had ventured to a few days ago. The Chiss' comlink buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Greetings Captain. The Emperor has demanded your ship to land on top of the lava mountain."

"It will be done."

Thrawn saw a Chiss Star Destroyer off in the distance. Good. The obsidian had arrived. The Destroyer approached and hovered a little above Thrawn. It then landed and lowered its ramp, revealing a fellow Chiss, the ship's Captain, Thrawn presumed.

"The obsidian has arrived," the Chiss said.

"Good."

"My troops will begin unloading immediately."

Thrawn nodded and walked back inside the cave to wake Momin and Mara. He tapped Momin's shoulder, causing the Sith to jump up in shock.

"What?" he demanded.

"The obsidian has arrived."

"Good."

Mara's head lifted up as she began rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"The obsidian is here," Thrawn repeated.

"Ah."

The three warriors of the dark side walked out of the cave to see several dozen stormtroopers unloading the black mineral and a Chiss male supervising them.

"My troops should be done in about a half day."

"A half day?" Momin questioned.

"Is fine," Thrawn finished.

"Thank you for your patience," the Chiss said.

The obsidian had finally been unloaded.

"It is truly beautiful," Momin said. "Shall we begin?"

"Do you have the schematics?" Thrawn asked.

Momin pulled a small holoprojector from his pouch. He then activated it, revealing his design.

"Most impressive," Thrawn said.

"We will begin immediately."

Two days had passed and the castle was still nowhere close to being completed. Only the base had been finished. The architects had done their job fine, but Momin was very, very meticulous. If even if one little thing was misaligned or out of place, the Sith Lord would go into a frenzy, yelling at the 'incompetent' builders for their stupidity. Thrawn always managed to calm Momin down, but even Thrawn's patience was wearing thin.

"No, no, no!" Momin yelled. "No! This is all wrong!"

"We're doing our best, sir," a builder said. "These designs are very complex."

Momin removed a blaster from his holster and used it to kill the poor man.

"We do not waist resources," Thrawn said.

"You are…"

An invisible hand clutching his throat cut him off. He looked at Thrawn, but the Chiss' hands were clasped behind his back. Mara had her hand clenched in a fist, squeezing Momin's throat.

"Do not question the wishes of my Emperor."

She let him drop, only to shove him back with a Force push, nearly sending him tumbling down the mountain.

"Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good," Momin said as the castle's tuning spires had been put into place. "Good!"

The past few months had been rough to say the least, but Thrawn's patience and Momin's determination had pulled through.

"It is truly beautiful, isn't it?" Momin asked.

"Yes it is, a true work of art."

"When do we open the veil?" Mara asked.

"Tomorrow," Momin said.

"Why not now?"

"The two of you need time to regather your strength while I fine tune the spires."

"We will," Thrawn said. "Thank you."

Momin nodded his head.

The cave that the three warriors had discovered was now hidden by the obsidian castle. The castle was built over the cave; therefore, it could use its tuning spires to focus the raw dark side energies of the cave.

Thrawn and Mara walked down into the cave. Mara struggled to keep up with the Chiss' infrared vision.

"What are we to do about Momin?" Mara asked.

"After he has helped us open the veil of life and death, we kill him."

"Why?"

"His knowledge of this castle could be turned against us if we do not kill him immediately after he opens the gate."

"I see."

"Now then, let's get some sleep. We're going to need it."

8

Portals and betrayals

Mara, Thrawn, and Momin were gathered inside the dark side cave underneath the castle.

"Now," Momin said. "Focus on opening the veil. Use the tuning towers to focus the dark side nexus."

Thrawn and Mara stretched out their hands, letting the dark side flow through them, feeling the tuning spires activate.

"Yes!" Momin yelled.

A portal began to open before the three Sith. Thrawn opened his eyes to gaze upon the portal. He took in the beauty of its radiant blues and reds. He reached his hand in, and, despite what its colors would suggest, felt cold and lifeless. Mara gazed upon the portal's beauty. Its bright, vibrant red and blue struck Mara as something too beautiful to have been formed by the dark side. She stuck her gloved hand inside the portal, only to instantly pull it out. She felt the portal's malice, its cold embrace.

"My Emperor," a voice said.

Thrawn picked up his comlink.

"What is it?"

"The fortress is under attack."

"By whom?"

"The natives."

"Mara and I will be out momentarily."

"Go," Momin said. "Defend the castle."

"We will."

The two Sith ran outside, leaving Momin alone. Good. Everything had gone according to plan. He removed his mask from this body he inhabited. The Sith reached inside the portal as he saw a very, very familiar figure: himself.

"Hello me," the present Momin said.

"Hello me," the past said.

Present Momin handed his younger self the mask.

"You've served your purpose Thrawn and Mara and for that I am truly grateful, but your usefulness is over."

Thrawn and Mara looked at the incoming attackers, Mustafarians riding their lava fleas.

"Destroy them," Thrawn said.

The death troopers began firing at the incoming Mustafarians, dropping several, but hardly slowing them down. Plagueis took control of Thrawn, unleashing a bolt of red lightning at the attackers. One brave or foolish Mustafarian leaped off the lava flee and sprinted at Thrawn. The Chiss lifted the Mustafarian with the Force and threw him into the lava river. Mara used the Force to enhance her already considerable reflexes, dodging and weaving way from blaster bolts. She pulled one Mustafarian toward her and shot him in the chest. She lifted a massive piece of obsidian and hurled it at the Mustafarians, killing several of them and wounding several more. Mara sprinted at several incoming Mustafarians and sent them flying off their mounts with a Force-enhanced kick. She lifted one with the Force and crushed his throat.

"No!" one of the Mustafarians yelled.

Mara felt his anger, let his rage and fear feed her power. The Mustafarian sprinted at Mara, wielding some primitive weapon. Mara lifted him with the Force and hurled him back, knocking down several of his fellows. Thrawn cut down two incoming Mustafarians with his crimson lightsaber and sent another two flying back with a Force blast. He gazed upon around twenty Mustafarians riding their lava fleas toward the castle.

"All too easy," he said.

The Chiss lifted his hand and shot out a blast of red Force lightning, which hit the first Mustafarian in the chest, bouncing to the next, and the next, until they died.

"Deploy the walkers!" Thrawn yelled.

Two AT-AT walkers stepped out from behind the castle and began firing on the Mustafarians. Thrawn's blue lips grew into a smile as he saw the enemies of the Empire fall. That smile, however quickly morphed into a scowl as he saw a massive wave of lava flow over the Imperial forces.

"Mara!" Thrawn yelled. "Create a Force shield!"

Mara and Thrawn lifted their hands to create a bubble to shield themselves from the incoming lava. The lava incinerated the troops. Thrawn and Mara's bubble was holding, but they could tell it wouldn't be for much longer.

"Mara!" Thrawn yelled as he pointed at one of the downed Imperial walkers. "Use the Force to bring that walker's head toward us!"

Mara nodded and the walker's head toward them. They got on top of the head and used the Force to leap from the head onto the surface. The two Sith landed on the black glass sand, hard.

"Ow," Mara moaned.

They deactivated their shield and just lay still on the ground. Thrawn was the first to get up, although he did so very slowly. The Chiss then extended his hand and pulled Mara to her feet.

"Let's get back to the castle," Mara said.

"Indeed."

Momin heard Thrawn and Mara approaching. The attack had stalled them, but not as long as he thought it would. He didn't plan on the surprise attack from the natives, but he did know they were protective of their homeland. Thrawn and Mara walked into the cave to see the portal still opened, only now there was a figure with two red lightsabers standing inside it.

"Momin, you deceitful…"

"Spare me," Momin said, cutting off Mara. "Deception is the way of the Sith. I am surprised that Thrawn did not notice my plan. It seems his reputation is blown widely out of proportion."

"I noticed," Thrawn said. "I just didn't anticipate on the natives attacking."

"I didn't just betray you for personal means, believe it or not."

"Please do enlighten us as to why you did."

"The two of you know nothing of the dark side. You seek to tame it, to make it do your bidding. I however understand the true nature of the dark side. I let it use me, not the other way around. If we seek to please the dark side with our service then it will notice and give us power."

Thrawn activated his lightsaber and tossed a spare toward Mara. Momin charged the two Sith, swinging wildly with his twin red sabers. Thrawn blocked two quick thrusts at his head, while Mara sidestepped a blow aimed at her stomach. Thrawn nodded once and together, Thrawn and Mara swung at Momin. Momin, however, back flipped out of the way, causing Thrawn and Mara to nearly kill each other.

"I'm disappointed," Momin said

Mara growled in frustration and charged Momin.

"Mara, no!" Thrawn yelled.

Mara swung at Momin's head with surprising speed and strength. The Sith Lord blocked both attacks, although it drained his stamina. Mara shot a blast of Force lightning at Momin, sending him to the ground. Thrawn swung at the downed Momin, but the masked menace blocked Thrawn's strike and rolled out of the way of a second. Thrawn and Mara attacked in perfect sync. Momin blocked two strike aimed at his head from Thrawn and three at his legs from Mara. Thrawn pushed him with the Force and Mara blasted him with lightning. Thrawn then used Momin's distraction to disarm him of one of his lightsabers.

"I'm impressed," Momin said.

He used the Force to redraw his second lightsaber, activating it as soon as he reached his hand. Thrawn blocked both of Momin's blades. Momin used his superior speed to leap away from two swings from Thrawn, feeling the Chiss' exhaustion. Momin slashed up, down, left, right with the blade in his right hand, luring Thrawn into a false sense of security, assuring him Momin would not use his second blade. Thrawn back stepped, avoiding two thrusts from Momin. The Sith blocked a blow from Thrawn. Using Thrawn's distraction to his advantage, Momin removed Thrawn's right hand with his lightsaber.

"Hmm. Perhaps I overestimated you," Momin taunted.

Momin looked over his shoulder and spotted an enraged Mara.

"Yes!" Momin yelled.

Mara stabbed at Momin with the grace and speed of Form II. Momin, however, blocked and dodged every strike and thrust. Momin felt Mara's rage and more importantly, her ability to channel it. Perhaps she could still prove useful. Mara flipped over a right thrust from Momin and parried a thrust aimed at her head. Momin blocked two lightning fast attacks aimed at his masked face and diverted two more toward the ground, sending Mara stumbling away.

He looked back at where Thrawn had been. Blast! The Chiss was gone! Thrawn came at Momin from above, giving Momin only a fraction of a second to react. He parried Thrawn's red blade with his own. Thrawn swung at Momin with his lightsaber, although his swing was sloppy due to his missing right hand. Momin front flipped over a sloppy left-handed swing from Thrawn and kicked his back, sending the Chiss to the ground. Thrawn quickly got to his feet, blocked a well-aimed thrust at his head, and diverted Momin's blade to the ground. Momin stumbled forward, allowing Thrawn to slash him across the back. Mara used the Force to rip Momin's one remaining saber from his grasp

"You cannot kill me," Momin bragged. "I serve the dark side. I have given my life to it. It loves me! It wants me to live! It..."

He was cut off when Mara used the Force to hurl a massive slab of stone at him. She then used the Force to push it against the wall, crushing Momin and killing him instantly.

"It seems not," Mara scowled.

"Well done," Thrawn said.

"I know."

"Although, now we have a slight dilemma."

"That being?"

"We needed Momin's help to open the portal. Now that he is dead I fear we will not be able to do so."

Mara nodded.

"I see. What do you suggest we do?"

"I suggest that we postpone opening the portal. We need time to gather our strength. Only when we are fully focused and aware can we open the veil."

"I understand."

"Good."

Thrawn and Mara laid their hands upon the dark side altar underneath their fortress. Thrawn felt the darkness flow through him, let its embrace envelope him. He felt the veil begin to open.

Mara felt the darkness wrap around her soul. She let it. She wanted it. She needed it. Let the veil be open, she thought. Let us conquer time. She gazed inside the portal and saw someone she had believed dead.

"Mom?" she asked.

A woman in her late sixties turned around to face Mara.

"Hello, my daughter."

"How is this possible?" a perplexed Mara asked.

"The veil, my child. The veil transcends all. Come with me."

Mara reached her hand inside the portal, but something stopped her from going in.

"No," Mara said.

"What do you mean no? Do you not want to be with me?"

"I was with you."

"You can be again, dear. Just come inside."

"No."

"Has your love for me faded over the years?"

"No."

"Then why don't you come with me?"

"My love for you was my weakness. I destroyed that weakness when I killed you and sent you to this place."

"Dear, it wasn't really you who killed me."

"That is a lie."

"You were manipulated. I don't hold that against you."

"No. I was shown what I could be, what I could never be if I spared you. Love and compassion are for the weak, for those who are too weak to forge their own destinies."

"That isn't my daughter talking."

"I am not your daughter. I am a daughter of darkness and of the Sith. I serve it and it alone."

Mara reactivated Momin's saber and impaled her mother, killing her once again. She felt something sliding down her cheek, a tear. She quickly wiped it away, disgusted by her own weakness. Thrawn? What happened to Thrawn? Her question was soon answered when she saw a blue hand on her shoulder. Thrawn had been watching the whole time.

"I am truly sorry," the Chiss said.

"She was my weakness, so I destroyed her."

"You never told me about your past, Mara. Please do so."

"I assume you remember Siege and Nexus."

"I do indeed."

"A few years after they betrayed the Empire, Palpatine felt me in the Force. He came to my home and found me as a small child. My parents struggled to keep enough food around the house. We were essentially starved. He said he could give me everything I had ever wanted. He promised me plenty of food, a warm bed, and the thing I had always wanted but could never hope to find, peace. He said that in order to get these gifts I would have to pay a price. Little did I know that that price was my parents' lives."

"I assumed you killed them."

"I did. I asked him for a blaster, but he denied. He said that I needed to kill them in a more personal manner. Sidious told me that I needed to focus my anger on my parents. I did so. My hate crushed their bodies. I fell to my knees, weeping at what I had just done. Sidious put his knarred hand on my shoulder and told me I had 'done well', but that we needed to leave the planet immediately."

"I do apologize for your experience," Thrawn said softly.

"Don't be. It was my choice and I have to live with it."

Thrawn nodded.

"Why did he ask this of you?"

"He said I could become his apprentice, a disciple of darkness. He began to train me in the basics of the dark side, but I failed to learn the more complex secrets and techniques due to Sidious' untimely death."

"That is why you used the lightsaber and Force lightning as well as you did. That makes since."

"So," Mara said. "What exactly are we supposed to do with veil?"

"I believe that Momin always planned to build this castle. However, he could not, for he was just a mask. When he discovered the Empire and its resources, he knew that he could use those resources to construct his castle. The mask gave its wearer the personality of Momin, but not his abilities. He needed the veil to travel back in time, give his younger self the mask, and resurrect himself, thus forming and endless cycle. He only needed us to open the veil. Once we did so, our use to him was complete."

"I see."

"I theorize that the veil was not to take over the galaxy, but to resurrect Momin's former self."

"So we built this fortress for nothing."

"Not entirely. The dark side nexus here is incredibly strong and it is possible that we could reconfigure the tuning spires to open a portal to time and space, for example, rather than one between life and death. It is also possible that we could configure them to boost our own powers in the dark side."

"Which option do you suggest we take?"

"I am not sure yet. Tuning them to boost our own powers would most likely be much simpler, but would have less of an effect in the end. Readjusting them to open a gate between time and space will likely take far, far longer but will be much more beneficial for the endgame."

"So you don't know."

"No, not yet. For now, I suggest we rest and gather our strength. We will need it."

"Alright."

Mara walked back up to the surface, leaving Thrawn alone in the cave. He put his hand on the dark side altar, letting its power flow through him, feeding off it.

9

New Recruit

Ahsoka blocked incoming blasterfire from a stormtrooper. She sprinted at him, impaled him with her two sabers, and Force pushed him back. Anakin lifted five more with the Force and crushed them. One desperate troop shot at him desperately. His shots did no damage to Anakin's all but indestructible armor, each bolt bouncing off him. He lifted the trooper with the Force and flung him backwards.

"I'm beginning to think our lead was a trap." Ahsoka said.

"You think?"

The two Jedi had recently received a lead informing them that an old Jedi temple had been rediscovered on the planet of Thabeska. The Empire, however, had sent out the lead, hoping to lure the Jedi into a trap, but it seemed the Empire had greatly underestimated Anakin and Ahsoka's power.

"The forces on Thabeska have been destroyed," a stromtrooper said to Thrawn.

"As I suspected. Mara, come here."

Mara Jade walked up to Thrawn.

"Yes, my Emperor?"

"I want you to journey to Thabeska. Destroy Skywalker and Tano."

"I cannot hope to defeat them."

"Oh, I think you can. The nexus on this world has boosted your power considerably. Besides, I have been working on a prototype armor capable of resisting lightsabers."

"Yes, my lord."

"The armor is on your ship."

"I will destroy them, my lord."

"Please do so."

Mara walked outside of the fortress she and Thrawn had constructed several months ago. Thrawn had yet to return to Coruscant, preferring his new dwelling on Mustafar. Today, however, he decided it best for the Empire if he returnd to Coruscant. Mara boarded her prototype TIE Advanced X1, the Empire's next generation of starfighters. She looked behind her seat and saw the armor Thrawn had referred to. It appeared to be inspired by the ancient armor, composed of a heavy chest plate, gauntlets, and helmet. The helmet, Mara noticed was very, very similar to that of Lord Momin. Knowing Thrawn, that was no random mistake. Was it Momin's mask? Mara believed so. Her TIE lifted off and jumped to Thabeska.

"I still feel like we were called here for a reason," Anakin said as he took his helmet off.

"Anakin, the message was just a trap set for us by the Empire," Ahsoka said.

"I know, but I still feel like there is some reason we need to be here."

"Look around, Anakin. This place is just a planet trying and barely succeeding to get by. I'm pretty sure if there was a Jedi temple on the planet, the local farmers would have noticed by now, but they're too busy trying to meet the Empire's demands for more crops."

"True, but I can't shake the feeling."

Ahsoka put her hand on Anakin's caped shoulder.

"Wow, your cape is dirty."

"It's the planet's fault."

Ahsoka laughed a little bit.

"No, I'm serious. This dust bowl of a planet is to blame."

"Whatever you say," Ahsoka said as Anakin put his helmet back on.

Mara's TIE jumped out of hyperspace to the farming planet of Thabeska. She landed her TIE at the reported coordinates of the Jedi's attack. The power of Tano and Skywalker was a beacon to those like Mara who were strong in the Force. She had them. They were walking to their ship.

"This ends now Jedi scum."

Mara set her eyes on Anakin and Ahsoka and fired a missile.

"Anakin! Look out!"

Anakin stretched out his hand to stop an incoming missile with the Force. He looked up and saw a TIE fighter of some kind.

"Blasted Imperials!"

Anakin used the Force to turn the missile around and let it loose. It collided with the TIE, causing it to erupt in flames and crash violently into the ground. The ship's cockpit was sent hurling from its place and out stepped a woman wearing a silver Sith armor, cape, and a blue helmet, her red hair flowing behind her as she strode confidently toward the two Jedi, activating a crimson lightsaber as she did so.

"Hello there," Anakin said.

"You Jedi filth have been a plague cursing this galaxy for too long and today I will destroy you."

"Good luck," Ahsoka taunted.

The Sith yelled in fury and launched herself toward Anakin and Ahsoka. Anakin blocked a furious thrust at his head and used his superior height and strength to hammer away at her defenses, driving her back. She blocked an attack fueled by rage aimed at her face, another at her legs, and another at her arm. Anakin faked a left thrust, using the Sith's distraction to punch her face with the strength of his cybernetics, sending her tumbling to the ground. She looked up at Anakin and used the Force to send him flying backward. Good. He was on the ground. Mara yelled in fury and leaped at the downed Anakin, but before she could impale Anakin, her blade was blocked by Ahsoka.

The Togruta slashed at Mara with a ferocity not at all akin to the look of pure serenity on her orange face. Mara back peddled from the onslaught of Ahsoka's attacks, blocking her two lightsabers with her single one. She diverted one of Ahsoka's blades to the ground, exactly as Ahsoka had known she would. Mara reared back to decapitate Ahsoka, only for the Togruta to backhand her. Mara stumbled back. When she finally recovered, she extended her hand, unleashing Force lightning at Tano. Much to Mara's shock, Ahsoka absorbed it with ease. To add insult to injury, Ahsoka's sent Mara's own lightning back at her, sending the young Sith hurtling back.

Ahsoka strode over to the downed Sith.

"You are beaten, Sith!"

Mara cackled sinisterly.

"Oh no, Jedi! I'm afraid it is you who is beaten!"

Mara pressed a button on her gauntlet, causing Anakin to stare at Ahsoka.

"Anakin?"

Anakin strode toward Ahsoka, activating his lightsaber as he did.

"Anakin, this isn't you."

"Are you sure?" Mara asked.

Anakin swung his blue saber at Ahsoka. Due to her shock, she only just blocked the attack, allowing Mara to flee. Ahsoka formed an x with her lightsabers. She then used her agility to flip over Anakin and slash him across the back. Wait, she thought. Anakin would have reacted quicker than that. The suit was being controlled by a computer of some kind, thus lacking the experience and knowledge of lightsaber combat that Anakin had. Ahsoka used this to her advantage, striking randomly as to confuse the computer. She blocked a strike aimed at her legs with her shoto, using the computer's lapse in judgment to kick Anakin's leg, sending him back.

"Anakin, I don't want to hurt you."

Anakin swung at Ahsoka, but she dodged it easily. The Togruta unleashed a flurry of rapid stabs and thrusts at Anakin. He blocked a right swing from Ahsoka, a left, an upward, a downward. Anakin swung at her with a lack of grace and focus Ahsoka found appalling. She back flipped out of the way of both sloppy swings and slashed Anakin's helmet, sending him to the ground.

"Sorry about this."

She stabbed both of her sabers in Anakin's chest, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Hey!" Anakin yelled.

"Sorry. I didn't have many options."

"I'm really starting to regret having these cybernetics installed."

"So am I. I really don't like when Thrawn or his lackey turns you off, or better yet, uses you against me."

"How did you know that would work? Or did you just want an excuse to impale me?"

"I figured that the cybernetics are connected to your nervous system. Thus, I came to the conclusion that if your nerves we temporarily overloaded, the cybernetics would reset."

"Jeez. Thanks"

"No problem."

Ahsoka placed her hand on Anakin and began to repair the damage with the Force.

"Who do you think that was?"

"I'm not sure," Anakin said. "I assume Thrawn has taken on an apprentice."

"That's not good."

"No, it's not."

"Well," Ahsoka said. "She couldn't have gone far."

"I sense she's already left the planet."

"How? She only left a few minutes ago."

"She probably contacted the local Imperial forces, using a shuttle or something to leave the planet."

"Probably so. Which reminds me, didn't we need to stay here to find something?"

"Ah. I did say that didn't I?"

"You did."

"Yes. I still feel like there is…"

Anakin let his sentence fade off as he focused on a girl off in the distance.

"Maybe she knows about a Jedi temple," Anakin mused as he pointed at the girl.

"You're joking."

"Nope."

"If no one else on this planet knows of a Jedi temple then why do you think a child would?"

"I just know."

Anakin attempted to get to his feet, but fell back to the ground.

"Sorry," Ahsoka said. "I thought you'd be better now."

"Very funny."

She extended her hand and pulled Anakin up, wrapping her arm around his waist to support him.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm alright."

The two Jedi began to jog after the girl that Anakin believed could help them. The two Jedi eventually caught up to the girl, causing her to turn around in shock. Now that he was closer, Anakin could tell the girl, or rather the young woman was much older than he had first believed. She appeared to be in her early twenties.

"Well," Ahsoka said to Anakin. "It was your idea. Go ahead and tell her."

"Hello there," Anakin said. "Do you know where we are?"

"You're strangers, aren't you?"

"It appears so."

"Oh. Strangers don't last long around here."

"We can take care of ourselves," Ahsoka said.

"That's what they all say."

"Can you give us a place to stay for a few days?" Anakin asked.

"Fine. Come on."

The two Jedi followed the woman back to what appeared to be a hangar of some kind.

"What's your name?" Ahsoka asked.

The woman remained silent for a few moments.

"Hedala."

Ahsoka nodded her head.

"Wait here."

Hedala knocked on the hangar door and walked inside, leaving Anakin and Ahsoka outside in the wind.

"She seems nice," Anakin remarked.

"Well in her defense, we are total strangers. I'd be a little skeptical if I were her."

"I feel something special about her."

"As do I. She is strong in the Force."

"I wonder how her parents, if she has any, will feel about us taking her to become a Jedi."

"As do I, but for now I think we shouldn't reveal ourselves as Jedi."

"Well," Anakin said. "We have lightsabers on our belts. I'm not sure how long we can hide the fact."

"Good point. We'll tell them we need a place to stay for a few days and that we'll leave if they don't want us in their home."

"Good plan."

Hedala came back outside; bringing with her a man in his late fifties that Anakin assumed was the girl's father. He also was wielding two blasters. Anakin grabbed but didn't activate his lightsaber, observing Ahsoka doing the same.

"My daughter tells me the two of you want shelter for a few days."

"She is correct," Anakin said.

"What's with the helmet? You some kind of bounty hunter?"

"Let's just say I am…highly capable."

"Should I tell him?" Ahsoka whispered.

"Why not?"

"Tell me what?" the man asked.

"We are Jedi."

"Jedi!" the man yelled as he raised and fired his blasters, causing Ahsoka to activate one of her sabers, deflecting the bolts to the ground.

"Stand down," Anakin demanded.

"Yes. You can stay."

"Thank you."

The four walked inside the hangar.

"Thank you for your kindness," Ahsoka said. "What can we do to repay you?"

"Just make sure the Empire doesn't track you here. Jedi are bad for business."

"So you're a smuggler," Anakin said.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"No. I was simply curious."

"That curiosity gets people killed."

"Fair enough," Ahsoka said.

"We appreciate your generosity, as well as your daughter's. There is something very special about her."

"Oh, great. I can tell where this is going. You're going to take her, aren't you?"

"Only if she wants to and if you will allow her. We don't want to take her without her approval," Ahsoka said.

"I'll talk to her."

"Thank you, Mr…"

"Fardi," the man finished.

"Thank you, Mr. Fardi," Ahsoka said.

Fardi left the two Jedi alone as he walked through a door leading back outside.

"Not much in the way of furniture is there?" Ahsoka asked as she looked around the empty hangar.

"It appears not," Anakin responded as he sat on the cold ground, removing his helmet as he did so.

He sat legs crossed and eyes closed, clearly meditating. He sensed Fardi's anxiety about the possibility of having Hedla taken away from him. He also felt Thrawn and his apprentice's growing power. It always seemed that once they defeated an enemy, a more powerful one would rise to take their place. Were they even making a difference, or where they fighting for nothing? He opened his eyes to see Ahsoka setting beside him, her hand on his shoulder.

"What is it?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'm just not sure we're making a difference. We killed Palpatine, only for Thrawn and his apprentice to take his place. Assuming we defeat Thrawn and his apprentice, what's next? Who else is out there? Sometimes I feel like we're fighting for nothing."

Ahsoka smiled sadly with a look on her face suggesting she had asked herself these same questions many times.

"So do I, Anakin. However, I know we'll get through this. We've come this far and we can go so much farther, you and I. Sometimes I have to tell myself that we are fighting for the galaxy, but we're also fighting for each other and that means something to me. You are what keeps me going, Anakin. You always were."

"Thanks, Ahsoka."

"Hey, I know we'll win. You are the Chosen One after all."

"I can tell if that's a complement or an insult."

"Oh, it's up to interpretation."

Anakin smiled, something Ahsoka rarely saw him do anymore.

"I'll chose to take it as a complement."

"Alright, Skyguy."

"How did you come up with that name for me anyway? At least my name for you was fitting. You were snippy, after all. I still really don't understand where 'Skyguy' came from."

"Well, I guess I couldn't come up with any better nickname at the time. I should have called you Ani. I know how much that gets under your skin."

"Wait, how did you know that?"

"Obi-Wan told me."

Anakin's smile turned into a frown.

"I'm sorry," Ahsoka said. "I should have known."

Over fifteen years ago, the death of Anakin's former master and best friend Obi-Wan Kenobi was still a fresh wound; a wound Ahsoka doubted would ever fully heal.

"It isn't your fault, Ahsoka. He was like a brother to me. I wish he was still with us. We could really use his help."

"I feel the same way. He always seemed to know what to do."

Anakin nodded.

"A Jedi?" Hedala asked. "They want me to become a Jedi?"

"They said they'd only take you if it was what you wanted. If not, they are perfectly willing to let you stay here," Fardi told his daughter.

"Of course I want to become a Jedi! Who wouldn't?"

"Is this truly what you want?"

"It is. Is it truly what you want?"

Fardi remained silent for a few moments.

"No, but I know it's what you want."

"So I can go?"

Fardi nodded his head.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Dad."

Fardi embraced his daughter.

"Good luck."

"Thank's Dad."

"They should be back by now," Ahsoka said.

"I agree. I wonder if Fardi isn't as welcoming as he led us to believe."

"Do you think he's calling the Empire?"

"I'm not sure."

As if to answer Ahsoka's question, the door Fardi had gone out opened and in stepped Fardi and Hedala.

"My daughter has agreed to go with you as have I."

"Thank you for your understanding," Ahsoka said.

"Come on," Anakin said. "We need to get back to our ship."

Hedala nodded.

"Goodbye, Dad."

"Goodbye, Hedala."

The Ghost's cargo ramp opened to reveal a very, very dusty Anakin along with Ahsoka and a woman in her early twenties.

"Who's our guest?" Zeb asked. "And what took you guys so long?"

"We ran into a Sith," Anakin said. "And that Sith is the student of the same Sith who designed my cybernetics, meaning they can just turn me off with the click of a button, or worse, use me to destroy you."

"That's not good," Sabine said. "No offense, but if you turn on us we will probably kill you."

"None taken."

"Uh, do we even stand a chance?" Zeb asked. "He is Anakin Skywalker, after all."

"I doubt it. You should have seen what the General did during the Clone Wars. You always gave Dooku a run for his money, didn't you, General?"

"I did indeed, but Ahsoka could beat me pretty quickly if she wanted to," Anakin said. "I really don't like it when she reminds me of that in our practice duels."

"Someone has to keep your ego in check," Ahsoka said.

"What about you?" Sabine asked as she pointed to Hedala. "Who are you?"

"My name's Hedala. Anakin and Ahsoka said I was strong in the Force and gave me the choice to become a Jedi."

"Always nice to have another Jedi," Zeb said.

Darrgan jumped down from the upper level down into the cargo bay.

"Do you have to do that?" Zeb asked.

"No, but I want to. Who's this?"

"I'm Hedala. Anakin and Ahsoka said I could become a Jedi."

"I think I know just the teacher for you," Anakin said. "Are you up to the task, Darrgan?"

"What? Why me? Why not you or Ahsoka or Kanan or…well, anybody but me. I'm not exactly teacher material."

"That's exactly what I said when I first met Ahsoka, but, not to brag, I think I did a pretty good job. I know you can do the same."

"Alright, but I'm not doing this because I want to, no offense kid."

"None taken. If it makes you feel any better, I would have much preferred to be trained by Ahsoka."

"Thanks," Ahsoka said.

"That actually makes me want to be a decent teacher, if for nothing else to one up Miss Perfect Jedi, over there."

"I'm far from perfect," Ahsoka said. "But I appreciate the compliment."

"Where to next?" Anakin asked.

"Should we head back to Mortis to train Hedala and ourselves for, let's face it, the inevitable battle with Thrawn and his apprentice," Ahsoka said.

"I agree."

10

Lies of the Darkness

Mara's TIE dropped out of hyperspace over the planet of Mustafar. Thrawn would not be please with her failure, not in the slightest. Her ship landed in the castle's hangar. She leaped out of it, throwing her lightsaber down in anger at her failure. She turned her head to see Thrawn standing right behind her.

"I assume by your childish outburst you failed," Thrawn said in his coolly modulated voice.

"You assume correctly," Mara said through gritted teeth.

"Ah, I should have known you were not ready. I assume responsibility for your failure."

"Good."

"I will train you further. Now come with me."

Mara growled and through her heavy armor to the ground, her skintight suit revealing the curves of her body and her toned physique. Her physical beauty ever so briefly threw off even Thrawn, a man of logic and strategy, but he quickly regained his focus. He did have a wife after all.

"I hate wearing that thing."

"I'm sure you do. Now come with me."

The two Sith walked down into the dark side cave. Thrawn activated his crimson saber and told Mara to do the same.

"Now," Thrawn began. "Tell me what you want, Mara Jade."

"I want to become this most powerful Force-user in history. I want to make Nihilus draining a planet look like child's play. I want to make the Rule of Two little more than a suggestion made by an ignorant fool who knew nothing of the darkness. I want to make Momin's tuning device look like a toy for a child. I wish to make Malgus' storming of the Jedi temple a mere afterthought."

"I see. Take your saber and kill me."

Mara didn't ask questions, thrusting her lightsaber at Thrawn, but the Chiss, blocked it with his own blade, using his superior strength to drive her back. Mara threw a kick at Thrawn, but the Chiss grabbed her foot with his free hand, guiding her leg away from him.

"Pathetic!" Thrawn barked. "Impress me!"

Mara shot a bolt of lightning at the Chiss, but he raised his hand catching the bolt and sending it back at Mara.

"Sidious should have left you to die on that world! You were worthless to him and you are worthless to me! Even though you held every possible advantage, the Jedi defeated you! You should have killed them, but Tano made an utter FOOL of you! She could have CRUSHED you, but her mercy spared you!"

Mara yelled and swung her saber down with a heavy overhand strike. Thrawn blocked it easily, diverting it away and kicking Mara in the stomach. Thrawn used Mara's anger to his advantage, kicking her face, causing her red hair to be covered by blood.

"Weak!"

Thrawn lifted her with the Force and slammed her into the ground. He thrust his saber at her, but she absorbed its blade with her hand, much to Thrawn's surprise. Mara yelled and flipped to her feet, her bloody hair tangled in her sweaty face. She swung left, down, right, left, driving Thrawn back with every swing. She kicked Thrawn to the ground, but the Chiss blasted her with Force lighting, throwing her back.

She growled the growl of a savage animal and charged Thrawn. He shot lightning at her, but she raised her hand, catching it and sending it back at Thrawn, hitting square in the chest. Mara thrust her saber at the downed Thrawn, but he kicked her knee, allowing himself time to get back to his feet. Mara, however, leapt back at him, pinning him down, and slamming her fist into his blue face. Thrawn's blue face was now a dark red from all his lost blood. Mara reared back, but Thrawn kicked her off.

"I'm impressed," Thrawn said.

"You don't know my power."

"Then show me."

Mara yelled and threw a fist Thrawn's way, but the Chiss caught it and used his saber to chop Mara's left arm off. Mara yelled out in pain, but that pain made her strong. She kicked Thrawn's chin, lowering his guard and allowing Mara to activate her saber and plunge it into Thrawn's chest, but he diverted it just in time and threw Mara back with a Force push. Thrawn leapt to his feet in time to block a frantic strike from Mara. He shocked her with lightning in the middle of a blade lock, allowing him to remove her arm. Mara cried out in pain as Thrawn kicked her to the ground.

"Yield!"

"I may be defeated, but I will never yield."

"That is the reason I'm sparing you. Now get up."

Mara did so.

"I have top notch medical droids that should be able to mend you."

Thrawn snapped and two droids carrying a gurney came rushing out. Mara got on.

"What about you?" Mara asked.

"I will heal in time."

Mara nodded.

Two days had passed and Mara had fully recovered from her injuries. She now sported a cybernetic left arm; its servomotors running otherwise beautiful form. Thrawn had purposefully kept it that way. She lost a limb due to her lack of skills and she deserved to be reminded of it every day. Besides, she placed far too high a value on her looks, one of her few flaws, and this would help her keep her mind where it belonged: on growing closer to the dark side.

"Stupid arm," she muttered to herself as she left the medical room.

"That arm is as much an asset as a hindrance," Thrawn said as he suddenly appeared behind her.

"I hate it when you do that."

"That is why I do it. That is beside the point. That arm has a much greater strength than your organic one. Use that in combat. Your strength is comparable to Anakin's cybernetics and you are far, far stronger than Tano."

"Good. I want to crush her orange throat with my new arm."

"She would still destroy you. Brute strength is nothing compared to talent and experience, two things Tano has a great deal of."

"Could I beat Skywalker?"

"It is possible, but you need more time to train, however I do have another task for you."

"Name it."

"I have seen reports of two other Jedi, Kanan Jarrus and his Padawan Ezra Bridger. Kill them. It should prove quite easy."

"Where are they?"

"My reports say Pilio."

"The Emperor's private storehouse?"

"Yes."

"I will go immediately."

"Do not fail me again, or the rest the body you take so much pride in will look like a malfunctioning protocol droid. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal."

Mara turned around and hopped in her TIE, setting off to Pilio.

"I am impressed with your ruthlessness in training Mara," Plagueis said.

"I do not do it out of malice. I do it to better her. I do not take pleasure in this, but pleasure and results rarely mix."

"Never the less, I think you are doing quite well. She is growing very powerful indeed, perhaps more powerful than her master."

"Do not even think of leaving me," Thrawn said. "I am the Emperor and my Empire would not take kindly to Mara murdering me."

"I hate you when you're right."

"You are not the first and I doubt you'll be the last. As long as you want the galaxy, which I assume is for eternity, you will keep me as a host. If I die, expect my Empire to avenge me."

"Fine."

"See, we can work things out."

"Let's just hope your apprentice can do the same."

"Let us hope indeed," Thrawn said.

Kanan and Ezra landed the Phantom, the small vessel that attached to the back of the Ghost, at the Imperial base on the planet of Pilio. Kanan had received word that the Emperor had a storehouse here for storing Jedi relics and Kanan wanted to see if that was true.

"This mission should be pretty simple, Ezra, but you know as well as I that missions rarely go according to plan."

"No kidding."

The two Jedi walked up to the base. Kanan activated his saber and cut a hole in the door, kicking it down when he finished.

"Come on."

The two Jedi walked inside the base.

"Hello, Jedi," a silky female voice said.

A crimson lightsaber activated, revealing a redheaded human woman in her early thirties.

"Hello gorgeous," Kanan said. "I must say, you're the best looking Sith I've ever seen, although I could do without the metal arm."

"It was a necessary price to pay for more power. Physical beauty is nothing compared to power."

"Whatever you say. I just wish you weren't a Sith, because, wow, you look good."

"Are all Jedi this obnoxious?"

"Nope. I'm one of a kind. And I could be yours, baby."

"No one calls me, Mara Jade, Dark Lady of the Sith 'baby'."

"And know I now your name. See? I can work my magic without you even knowing it."

"Die you Jedi filth!"

Mara launched herself at the two Jedi, swinging her saber at Ezra, but Kanan blocked it. Ezra slashed upwards with his saber while Kanan swung low. Mara, however, blocked both with complete ease, lifting Ezra with the Force and tossing him back. Kanan diverted two of Mara's strikes with his defense oriented Form III, but it was no use. Mara blasted him with Force lightning, sending him down.

"Is this incompetent fool your master, boy?"

"I ask myself that same question."

"You have no fear of death. I admire that and for that, your death will be quick and painless, unlike your master. I will make his death as slow and as painful as I possibly can. No you become one with the Force."

"Not if I can help it," a very, very familiar female voice said.

"Ahsoka Tano," Mara growled.

"I like the arm," Ahsoka said. "Ezra, Kanan leave now."

They did so as Ahsoka activated her green sabers and held them in a defensive position. Mara yelled and launched herself at Ahsoka. She swung at the Togruta, but Ahsoka blocked the attack, exactly as Mara predicted. She kicked Ahsoka back, blasting her with lightning. She yelled again and sent Ahsoka flying with a Force-enhanced kick. Ahsoka coughed and looked up at Mara.

"Care to surrender?"

"I'm not dead yet."

Ahsoka got back to her feet and sent Mara back with a Force push. Mara growled and swung high at Ahsoka, but she formed an x with her sabers, catching Mara's saber and forcing it back. Ahsoka kicked Mara's knee, and slashed at her with one of her sabers. Mara blocked the blade and sashed upwards, only for Ahsoka to elbow her in the face and slash at her robotic arm. The arm, however seemed to have a mind of its own. It turned into a blaster and shot Ahsoka in the stomach.

"Ow."

"Hey," Mara said. "Even I didn't know it could do that."

Ahsoka held her sabers in a defensive position. She couldn't win by conventional means, due to her injury. Mara thrust at Ahsoka, but she dodged it, lifting Mara with the Force and throwing her back. Ahsoka lowered to one knee, deactivating her sabers. Mara yelled and launched herself at Ahsoka, but Ahsoka was ready. She sensed Mara's saber coming down and caught it by the hilt. Ahsoka used the Force to deactivate Mara's saber, yank it away from her, and send her back with a Force push.

"That was a neat trick," Mara said.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises. Besides, you still don't have a lightsaber."

Ahsoka used the Force to enhance her strength to inhuman levels and crush Mara's lightsaber.

"Now you have two choices: come with me and live or stay here and die."

"Wow. This is a difficult choice indeed. I guess I'll surrender seeing how I have now weapon."

"You made a wise choice."

Mara got to her feet and the two walked back to the Phantom.

Kanan and Ezra heard the Phantom's door open to reveal Ahsoka and Mara.

"That took a while," Kanan said.

"She proved to be quite a handful."

"Oh, I could have told you that by the look on her face."

"How did you know we'd be in trouble?" Ezra asked.

"I felt a disturbance."

"Those pesky disturbances."

"Indeed. Do you guys have any handcuffs for our friend here?" Ahsoka asked.

Ezra handed Ahsoka a pair of handcuffs and she put them on Mara. Ahsoka crashed down on the seat next to Ezra, clutching her wound.

"That doesn't look so good," Kanan said. "Ezra, see if we have any bandages or something."

"Hope you don't die," Mara said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Kanan said.

"We've got nothing, Kanan," Ezra said.

"Great. Ezra, I'm going to need your help. I've taught you the basics of Force heal and now I need your help to heal Ahsoka."

"Uh, alright."

"Oh please," Mara said. "The two of you can't even hope to preform Force heal. Let me do it."

"Uh, how about no."

"Kanan, she's right," Ahsoka said.

"Ahsoka, we are not letting a Sith heal you. Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"I am well aware, but it's our best option."

Mara silenced her mind to begin repairing the damaged cells in Ahsoka, weaving them back together.

"There. It's done."

"Thank you."

"Shut up," Mara said.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Kanan said.

"Well it did," Mara said. "Now shut up and fly me back to your base so you can throw me in some cell and torture me for Thrawn's location."

"We aren't really big on torture," Ahsoka said. "That's not the Jedi way."

"Great."

The Phantom took off and jumped into hyperspace.

11

Intrigued by the Light

Ahsoka felt Mara's confliction, her worry. Ahsoka could have healed herself, she healed herself from far, far worse wounds, but she wanted to know what Mara would do, and her suspicions were correct. Mara still had light in her. The Phantom was sucked into the realm of Mortis.

"Wow," Mara said. "That was interesting."

"You get used to it," Kanan said.

He landed the ship back by the monastery, lowering its ramp. Anakin ran up to the ship.

"You," Anakin growled. "What is this Sith scum doing here?"

"It's a long story," Ahsoka said.

"I want to hear all about it."

"Well," Mara said.

"No, I don't trust a word coming out of your mouth. You're lying."

"What makes you so certain?'

"You're Sith. Lying is like breathing to your kind."

"Your Jedi stereotypes disgust me. No wonder you have so few Jedi around here. It's just so much easier to be a Sith."

"Those who embrace the darkness are weak."

"I could say the same for those who embrace the light."

"No. The dark side is a perversion of the true nature of the Force, that being the light side."

"Cool."

"Lock this Sith scum up in a cell," Anakin said.

"I'd be more than happy to," Ezra said.

"Finally somebody agrees with me."

"Anakin," Ahsoka said once the two of them were alone outside the monastery. "I know what I'm doing. When Mara and I fought, I sensed the light in her. She is not fully turned to the dark."

"You think she can be redeemed?'

"I'm not saying that, but I think it's possible."

"I see. We might need her in the coming fight against Thrawn. Can you convince her to turn?"

"It will take time, she's lived her whole life in darkness, but I'll try my best."

"Thank you Ahsoka. You always have my back."

"And you always have mine."

The two Jedi shared a quick kiss.

"You should find your new home quite accommodating," Kanan said as he guided Mara into a dark dimly lit cell.

"I swear that if I get out of here, and I will, that I will kill you first."

"Wow. I'm so beyond terrified."

"You should be."

"Come on Ezra," Kanan said. "Let's let the Sith have her beauty sleep. After Ahsoka nearly knocked the life out of her, she's going to need a lot of it."

"Might I remind you that it was I who struck a potentially lethal blow to Ahsoka, not the other way around."

"You might not."

"I didn't have to heal her, you know. I could have just let her die."

Kanan remained silent.

"I'll take your silence to mean I'm hitting pretty close to the mark."

"Yeah, but she didn't have to spare you, either. She could have easily plunged her lightsaber into your chest if she wanted to, but that obviously didn't happen, seeing as you're still alive."

Mara remained silent.

"I'll take your silence to mean I'm hitting pretty close to the mark."

"You are smooth with your words, Jarrus. I'll give you that much. If you were half as skilled with your lightsaber you would be on the level of Skywalker."

"Thanks, I guess. Come on Ezra."

The two Jedi walked away, leaving Mara alone in the dark, but not for very long. Mara heard footsteps and when she go closer, Ahsoka.

"Hello Mara."

"What do you want?"

"I have a proposition to make."

"Oh, great."

"I know you still have good in you, regardless if you care to admit it. If you want to help us to return to the light you can do that. Here's the other option: you help us and we let you free."

"You won't hunt me down?"

"We won't even try."

"What if I, I don't know, decide to murder a village of innocent beings just for fun? Surely you would come after me then."

"If you don't do anything to upset us, we you don't do anything to upset you. Do we have a deal?"

"We do."

Ahsoka opened the cell's barred doors and removed Mara's handcuffs.

"Don't try anything funny," Ahsoka said as she activated on of her green lightsabers. "Because if you do I won't be afraid to end your life here and now."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"I still can't get over this place," Rex said. "It really is amazing."

"Oh, you get used to it after a while, Captain," Anakin said.

Anakin heard footsteps and the distinct humming of a lightsaber and he could tell by the saber's green glow that it was Ahsoka's.

"Ahsoka? What are you doing?"

"I made a little deal with our friend here."

"You let her out?"

"I've been holding my lightsaber a few centimeters away from her neck until just now. She's well aware what happens if she steps out of line."

"I see. Tell me about this deal."

"She says she help us defeat Thrawn if we let her go."

"Let her go? As in she gets to roam the galaxy doing whatever she wants without our supervision?"

"She also knows how to deactivate Thrawn's control of your suit and cybernetics."

"I'm listening."

"Give me the helmet," Mara said.

Anakin did so while Mara stuck her hand inside. She fished around a bit before she pulled out a small inhibitor chip of some kind.

"This whole time it's just been that little chip?" Anakin asked. "I'm kind of surprised I didn't notice it."

"Thrawn concealed it to where only someone with extensive knowledge of the schematics could find it."

"Hey guys," Riveced said as he walked into the throne room. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, not much," Kanan said. "Ahsoka just let our little friend out because she promised to help us kill Thrawn and deactivated Anakin's little remote control feature."

"Very funny," Anakin said.

"What about his limbs?" Ezra asked. "Surly there is something in them that you need to shut off."

"Indeed there is."

"What do you need me to do?" Anakin asked.

"Nothing, but rest assured this will hurt, a lot."

"This is where the fun begins," Anakin sighed.

Mara's mouth twisted into a wicked grin as she shot hundreds of thousands of volts of Force lightning into Anakin's metal limbs, causing the Jedi to yell and thrash in pain.

"Ahsoka!" Mara yelled. "Use the Force to hold him still."

Ahsoka outstretched her hand, using the Force to pin Anakin down. Mara shot even more red lightning into Anakin's limbs, causing some of his real flesh to char. She lowered her hand, smiling sinisterly.

"We're done," she said.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka asked. "Are you alright?"

"I've been better."

"So his limbs needed to be overloaded with electricity?" Kanan aksed.

"Yes."

"Surely there could have been a less painful way to do that," Riveced said.

"There isn't," Mara affirmed. "Thrawn specifically designed the limbs so that only someone with an incredibly, almost unnatural, pain tolerance, which it seems Anakin has very much of."

"What about your cybernetic?" Rex asked. "Does Thrawn have control of that one too?"

"I'm not sure, although I assume he does. He is always in control. That is why he is unbeatable."

"No one is unbeatable," Ahsoka said.

"That reminds me of something Qui-Gon used to say," Anakin said. "There's always a bigger fish."

"But there is always one fish that is biggest," Mara said. "The fish that has no predators, only prey."

"For a second I thought you guys were talking about actual fish," Kanan said.

No one said anything.

"I thought my jokes were funny."

"Well no one else does," Mara spat.

"Tell us about Thrawn," Ahsoka said. "Tell us how we defeat him."

"You can't. His strategical mind is unmatched and he is incredibly strong in the Force. You cannot hope to defeat him."

"We faced worse odds."

"No, no you haven't."

"We've fought a literal demon. I think we can take Thrawn," Anakin said.

"When did you guys fight a demon?" Rex asked. "I'd have loved to see that."

"I'll tell you all about it later."

"The two of you can tell war stories later, but we need Mara to tell us everything you know about Thrawn. What is his endgame?" Ahsoka asked.

"He wants galactic peace, or order. I suppose order is a better word. And he will do anything to achieve it. He thinks the Jedi have the power to bring about order, but they fail to use that power, so Thrawn feels he must do it himself."

"Peace?" Anakin asked. "Sith do not want peace."

"Thrawn is different. He is unlike any Sith before him. He does not seek power for power's sake, but for the betterment of the galaxy."

"You mean you he honestly thinks what he's doing is right?" Ahsoka asked. "He truly wants peace?"

"Yes and no. Above all, he wants order. He thinks that the galaxy can only survive if its free will is taken away. He believes that beings, if left to the own devices, will destroy each other. He hates to kill, but he will when required. He does what must be done, no more no less."

"Thrawn," Ahsoka said. "Can he be reasoned with?"

"No. He will do what he feels is right, but he does have one weakness: his wife."

"He has a wife?" Kanan asked.

"Yes and she is his purpose. He does this for her. If you kill his wife, you kill him."

"No," Anakin said. "We won't kill her. She didn't want her husband to become a Sith. Did she?"

"She sure seems fine with it to me," Mara said.

"No," Ahsoka said. "We can defeat him without lowering ourselves to that."

"You Jedi are weak! You fail to take the necessary action! That is why the Sith always win!"

"No," Ahsoka declared. "It is the Jedi who win because we serve the Force and not ourselves. The Sith may win a few battles here and there, but it is the Jedi who emerge victorious from the wars."

"The Sith ruled the galaxy for years."

"We killed Palpatine," Anakin said. "Just like we'll kill Thrawn and any other Sith who rears their head."

"There are no other Sith," Mara said.

"That's what we thought before you and Thrawn came along," Ahsoka said.

"I see. We strike with unpredictability, the one thing, other than his wife, that Thrawn is weak to, other than his wife. Thrawn hates what he cannot control. Unorthodox, unorthodox is what kills Thrawn."

"What do you suggest we do?" Kanan asked.

"We go for the capitol. We storm the Imperial Palace."

"No one it their right mind would do that," Anakin said.

"That's why it'll throw Thrawn off. His security will be tight, but nothing we can't handle."

"When should we strike?"

"I need to report back to him on Mustafar. I will tell him I have gained your trust."

"I don't like this," Anakin said. "But I'm afraid it's our only option."

"A little trust goes a long way," Mara said.

"Just be quiet."

"As you wish, Master Jedi."

"Report back to us when he reveals his game plan," Ahsoka said. "He'll catch on pretty quickly if something's off."

"I agree, but I'll need my TIE back. We left it on Pilio."

"Oh, yeah, we did," Kanan said. "I'll go back and get it."

"Do you know the first thing about flying a TIE fighter?"

"No, but how hard can it be?"

"That really reassures me."

"Relax. I'm sure it's similar to the Phantom."

"Fine, you can retrieve my ship."

"Alright. Once we get it you need to get back to Thrawn as soon as possible so he isn't suspicious."

"I agree."

"We'll be back soon," Kanan said.

Kanan and Mara boarded the Phantom, left the planet's atmosphere, and jumped to hyperspace.

"Mara should have returned by now," Thrawn said to Ar'alani. "I sense she is planning to betray me."

"She wants to be the one Dark Lord, doesn't she?"

"She does indeed. I feared this might happen, but I have prepared for it, nevertheless."

"What is your plan, exactly?"

"I have placed a security camera in her TIE fighter. It is always watching her and she is oblivious to its existence."

"I see."

Thrawn took a small holoprojector out of his robe and pressed a button. By the live footage and the terrain, Thrawn assumed the ship was still on Pilio. He pressed a button, rewinding the footage several days. He saw Ahsoka Tano walking Mara back to what Thrawn assumed was Ahsoka's ship and jumping to hyperspace.

"She has allied, although begrudgingly, with the Jedi."

"And when she comes back she will try to act normal," Ar'alani said. "That way your suspicions will not be raised."

"Correct."

"Will you destroy her outright? Or will you use her to find the Jedi's base? My recommendation is the latter."

"I agree completely. I cannot destroy all of the Jedi through sheer power. Once she has unwittingly given me the location of their base, I, along with a squadron of my prototype Jedi killing droids will storm their base and destroy them."

"What are these Jedi killing droids? I didn't know you were working on those."

"They are very similar to the MagnaGuards used by the late General Grievous during the Clone Wars. Only these ones have much quicker reflexes, lightsaber resistant armor, and instead of carrying an electrostaff they carry a duel-bladed lightsaber."

"How many of these guards will you be taking?"

"Twenty. One can never be too safe. Once I have stormed their base, the Jedi will believe Mara has turned them in and they will turn on her. I will use their disorientation to my advantage, deploying my droids to destroy them."

"I see," Ar'alani said. "What will you do if they kill Mara?"

"Although regrettable, it is a necessary price to pay for galactic peace. I will, however, offer her the chance to join me once again, although I doubt she will take it."

"So we bide our time?"

"Indeed we do."

"Even with the droids do you think you'll stand a chance against all six Jedi?"

"I do indeed."

12

Traitor in the Ranks

Mara landed her TIE in the hangar of Thrawn's castle on the volcanic world of Mustafar. She leaped out of the cockpit to discover Thrawn waiting there, as if he had nothing better to do than wait for her return. Mara took a deep breath. Thrawn didn't suspect anything. He was just being his normal, observant self.

"Are Jarrus and Bridger dead?"

"They are my master."

"Do you have proof?"

Mara answered by tossing Thrawn Kanan and Ezra's lightsabers. Ahsoka had suggested that Mara take along their lightsabers in case Thrawn asked a question like this. At the time, Mara had thought it a bit much, but now she could not be more grateful for Ahsoka's advice. Thrawn looked over each weapon, putting them in his robe when he was finished admiring them.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure, Master."

"One can tell much about a Jedi, or a Sith for that matter from the design of their lightsaber. For example, I am able to deduce from his simply constructed lightsaber that Kanan Jarrus is a man of functionality, not of style. Much is the case with his apprentice Ezra Bridger. You can also determine their personality, to some extent at least by the color of their blade, you know?"

Thrawn activated Kanan's lightsaber, revealing its dazzling blue blade.

"Kanan for example, is a warrior at heart, not caring much for the more peaceful ways of the Force, merely in its combative gifts."

Thrawn deactivated Kanan's lightsaber and activated Ezra's emerald blade.

"His apprentice on the other hand, is incredibly strong in the Force and uses it for both wisdom and combat."

"I see."

"Come with me, apprentice. You may have defeated Jarrus and Bridger, but you still have a long way to go if you wish to defeat Skywalker and Tano."

"I agree, my master."

Darrgan swung his lightsaber and Hedala, who just managed to intercept his blade. She used her superior agility to flip away from two heavy-handed strikes from her master. Darrgan and Hedala's blades met. Hedala attempted to sidestep another blow from her master, but Darrgan used his speed to his advantage swinging at his apprentice before she had time to recover. Darrgan and Hedala blade locked once more and Darrgan spun his saber around, disarming his apprentice. He held his white saber to her throat.

"Yeild!"

"Alright, but you have to admit I did better this time."

"In a fight it does not matter if you do better or worse than before. What matters is victory."

He held out his hand, helping Hedala to her feet.

"How's it coming?" Ahsoka asked as she walked in the training room, a room with metallic silver walls, and a glossy black floor.

"Not bad," Hedala said. "I just want to beat my master one day."

"Hey," Ahsoka said. "You will. Once I couldn't even hope to contend with my master, but now I could beat him in a few minutes."

"It wouldn't be that easy," Anakin said as he walked in the room. "You are progressing fast, Hedala, much fast than most Jedi do."

"Thanks, Master Skywalker."

"How is Mara?" Anakin asked.

"She hasn't reported back yet," Ahsoka said. "I wonder if she's in trouble."

"No," Darrgan said. "Thrawn can't have any suspicions unless Mara betrayed us. Do you think she did?"

"No," Ahsoka said. "I would have felt it. She's still on our side, but I sense trouble coming. We need to be ready."

"What kind of trouble?" Anakin asked.

"I'm not sure."

"We'll make it through, Ahsoka. We always have and we always will."

Mara thrust her new crimson saber at Thrawn. Ahsoka's destruction of her first saber forced her to construct a new one Thrawn blocked her blade with his own. Thrawn guided Mara's blade down and swung his blade at her. Mara, however, had other plans. She brought her saber back up in an instant, blocking Thrawn's just in time. Thrawn blasted at her with red Force lightning, but Mara raised her saber in time to block it, but Thrawn could tell it was straining her. He increased his lightning's power, shoving Mara back and causing her to drop her saber. Thrawn lifted her with the Force, but Mara sent the Chiss back with a Force push, causing him to release her.

"You've improved my apprentice."

Mara smiled and sprinted at Thrawn, and thrust her saber down, but the Chiss caught her in the Force and began to blast her with Force lightning, causing her to cry out in pain. Thrawn threw her to the ground and held his saber to her neck.

"But you have not improved enough to defeat me. Do not let your overconfidence be your downfall."

"I won't Master."

"Rise."

Mara did so as Thrawn deactivated her lightsaber.

"However, you have grown strong enough to challenge the Jedi. I will send you to their base with twenty of my new Jedi killing droids."

"I will kill them all, Master."

"I know you will. Now go."

"I do have a question, though."

"What is it?"

"Why did you pick me?"

Thrawn's face softened sympathy as he placed his blue hand on Mara's shoulder.

"Chaos. Chaos is the killer of all and the ally of none. The Empire was created for one reason,

"You are not like Palpatine."

"No. I am not."

Mara nodded and turned to leave, but Thrawn put his hand on her shoulder.

"Remember who your loyalties are to, apprentice."

The air rushed from Mara's lungs. Had Thrawn seen through her? No, he couldn't have. He was just trying to keep his apprentice on his side.

"I am loyal to you alone, my master."

"I know you are. I have already prepared a shuttle for you. It is by your TIE."

"Thank you Master."

Mara left the Sith shrine under the castle leaving Thrawn alone. His plans were going according to plan. Mara suspected nothing and the location of the Jedi's base would soon be his.

Mara's shuttle was sucked into the realm of Mortis.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that," she said to herself.

She landed her shuttle by the monastery.

"Stay with the ship," she told the droids.

A droid stood up and reared his metal fist back.

"Hey, what are you…"

The droid's fist cut her off as it knocked her out.

Mara woke to the blue face of Thrawn. She had been captured. Great.

"Hello Mara."

"I see you figured my little plan out."

"I did indeed."

"How did you do it?"

"It was quite simple, really. I placed a camera in your TIE. I saw everything and I must admit, I am impressed by how well you were able to contend with and even wound Ahsoka Tano. I have trained you well."

"The Jedi will defeat you, Thrawn. Despite your power, you are just one man. You cannot contend with all of them. Ahsoka would throw you around like a ragdoll."

"Is she truly that powerful?"

"You should know how powerful she is. Her power is easily on par with some of the great Jedi Masters of old. Yoda was only a fraction more powerful than her and he had thirty times more experience than her."

"Indeed, but we are not here to talk about Ahsoka. No, no, no, we are here to talk about your treachery. Why did you betray me? Was it because you desired the Empire for yourself? Or was it something else?"

"It is the nature of the Sith. You should know that."

"No, it is something more. You want what the Jedi have: peace and understanding. You want the light. You crave it, thirst for it."

"I hate you and I wanted to kill you," Mara said. "The only way I could do that was with the Jedi's help."

"No."

"No?"

"Do you truly think you can deceive me? Even if I did not have the Force, I could tell you are lying by the way your face and eyes are positioned. You are sweating and your breathing has quickened. Your eyes are darting around looking for an escape. Rest assured you would not find one. Although I do have a question, why do you want the light? All you've ever known is the darkness."

"I don't want the light."

"Yes you do. Is it for peace? For redemption? For acceptance? Do you want to be accepted for who you really are by the Jedi? Tell me, Mara Jade, Dark Lady of the Sith, what do you want?

Mara sighed.

"Everything you listed."

"Everything I listed," Thrawn repeated. "Why?"

"You said it yourself. Darkness is all I've ever known. I want to be rid of it."

"Do you think the Jedi would accept you if they learned what you did to your parents? Would they look at you the same?"

"No, but forgiveness is the Jedi way."

"They will forgive you, but they will not trust you, but I do."

"Why? I betrayed you."

"You did and I am pleased."

"Pleased?"

"I am pleased that you betrayed me, but I am not pleased at the reason you betrayed me. I am disappointed in you Mara, but you can change that. We can change that."

"We can?"

"Yes. You will take me to the Jedi's base."

"I couldn't if I wanted to. The world, no the realm of Mortis would reject you. It only allows those who use the light to enter."

"You have unwittingly admitted you serve the light."

Mara's eyes widened at Thrawn's revelation. How could she have been so stupid?"

"Don't feel ashamed," Thrawn said. "I'm impressed you were able to keep it hidden for that long. And as for this realm of Mortis, I will find a way inside. I have faced impossible odds repeatedly. I always succeed, always."

"Mortis is different."

"Is it? It is a planet and it can be reached. I will calculate the best trajectory and rest assured, I will reach Mortis."

"Good luck with that."

"I do not need luck."

"Even if you get in, you'll lose. Ahsoka will decimate you in mere seconds. You must know you're no match for her. You are powerless next to her. You are a speck next to her might."

"Oh, I agree completely, but my mind is far superior to hers."

"It won't be when she shoves her lightsabers in it."

"Oh, I will defeat her without even activating my lightsaber."

"What do you mean?"

"You my dear."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. It's quite simple really. I will go to Mortis with you. I will hold my saber to your head. Tano will surrender herself in exchange for you. She knows you have good in you and she will be broken. She will bow to me, her new master."

"No. She never gives up. She never backs down. She will die before she bows."

"Is that so? Tano has only one weakness: her compassion."

"That could be said of all Jedi."

"It could, but Tano is different. She will do anything for the ones she cares about. She will do anything to save a life. Now come, we have a Jedi to capture."

"Mara should be back by now," Anakin said.

"She should indeed," Rievced said.

"Wait," Ahsoka said. "I feel her and…Thrawn."

"She betrayed us!" Anakin yelled.

"No. Thrawn used her, manipulated her. It's what he does."

"What's our game plan?" Kanan asked.

"I'm not sure."

The ISD Jedi's End dropped out of hyperspace to the realm of Mortis.

"You'll lose," Mara said.

"No. I never have and I never will."

"You might as well kiss that pathetic excuse of a wife goodbye, because it'll be the last time you see her precious blue face."

"If you think insulting Ar'alani will enrage me you are surly mistaken. I love her dearly, but my mind is not impaired when she is insulted. Besides, she cares not what you say about her."

"Ahsoka will crush you like the filth you are."

"You always use Ahsoka to threaten me. Why is that? Do you not think Anakin or Riveced powerful?"

"I do, but they are nothing compared to her."

"We shall see."

The ISD began to shake violently.

"Status report."

"The ship has taken damage, sir."

"What kind of damage?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. It seems our ship is being sucked into the planet, but at the same time, we aren't even moving. Our hyperdrive is gone."

"We can repair the hyperdrive."

"No, it is literally gone. As in it never existed."

"How?"

"Sir, the ship is being yanked down a pull of some kind. I'd say it was a Jedi, but no Jedi is that powerful."

"Ahsoka," Mara said.

"Your savior will not come!" Thrawn yelled. "Deploy the TIEs."

A squadron of fighters dropped from the hangar and flew to the planet.

Ahsoka slowly pulled the Destroyer down. It was draining to say the least. She pulled harder, damaging the ship even more. Ahsoka looked up to see twenty TIE fighters. She broke off her assault on the Destroyer and reached out to yank a TIE from the skies of Mortis. The ship crashed, killing the pilot. She threw one of her sabers at another TIE, crippling it and bringing it down. The TIEs let loose with a barrage of blasterfire, but Ahsoka deflected the bolts with her lightsabers. She centered herself again and took to the skies.

"Sir," a TIE pilot said. "Can Jedi fly?"

"Get a hold of yourself soldier," Thrawn said over the intercom. "It is merely a trick of the planet."

"Uh, sir. She's right behind me! She…"

The pilot was cut off by what Thawn knew to be the humming of a lightsaber. Jedi could fly? That was new.

Ahsoka leapt from one TIE to another, plunging her lightsaber into its cockpit and killing its pilot. She blasted two TIEs with electric judgement, a light side variant of Force lightning, short-circuiting their electronics, and set another two ablaze with Force fire. She leaped down from the broken TIE and landed gracefully on the ground.

"How in Malachor do you do that?" Ezra asked as he walked outside the monastery.

"The planet is the Force. I used that to boost my power."

"Showoff," Anakin said.

"Hey, Anakin. I could use some help."

"What do you need?"

"We need to pull that Star Destroyer down. Help me."

Anakin stretched out his gloved hand as did Ezra.

"Now pull!" Ahsoka yelled. "Use the planet to your advantage! Boost your power with it!"

The three Jedi took a hold of the Destroyer, pulling it down at increasing speeds. It crashed into the ground, crumpling like a tin can.

"Abandon ship!" Thrawn yelled as the Destroyer plummeted from the sky.

Thrawn and Mara, along with a few of Thrawn's droids boarded an escape pod.

"Didn't think you ship would crash did you?" Mara asked.

"I must admit, my plans have been altered slightly, but only slightly."

The escape pod crashed on the ground, jarring both Thrawn and Mara. Once they finally came to a stop, Thrawn opened the hatch, allowing both himself and Mara to exit the craft.

"You will tell me the location of the Jedi base."

"You should be able to feel it in the Force. Let me give you a hint, it's the overwhelming light side nexus."

"Let's move."

"I see you guys brought down an ISD," Kanan nonchalantly said as he walked outside to join Anakin, Ahsoka, and Ezra. "Cool."

"What isn't cool is that Thrawn survived," Anakin said. "He's coming this way and for all we know he's bringing an army."

"We'll be ready for him," Rex said.

"What do you think Thrawn's game plan is?" Hedala asked.

"His long term plan is to destroy us completely, wipe any trace of the Jedi from history," Anakin said. "He wants us dead so he can bring what he thinks is peace, but what is really any lack of freedom, to the galaxy."

"What baffles me is that Thrawn truly thinks he's doing what is right," Riveced said. "I almost feel sorry for him. Nevertheless, he must be stopped."

"He's here," Darrgan said.

Thrawn, Mara, and five droids holding duel-bladed lightsabers walked up to the monastery.

"Greetings, Jedi. Young Mara was quite helpful in helping locate your base.

"I know Mara didn't betray us," Ahsoka said. "So that approach isn't going to work. You'll have to face us head on."

"On the contrary," Thrawn said as one of the droids held its saber to Mara's throat. "Come with me, Tano or watch as her head falls to the ground."

"Ahsoka, it's a trap!" Mara yelled.

"I know," Ahsoka whispered as she tossed her sabers to the ground. "I surrender."

"Jedi, so very predictable."

"Ahsoka, don't!" Anakin yelled. "He's going to kill you!"

"He will try. You have to let me do this, Anakin. Trust me."

Ahsoka walked up to Thrawn, hands in front of her for the handcuffs she knew were coming. Thrawn obliged, slapping a pair of cuffs on her.

"Now hold up your end of the deal."

Thrawn motioned to the droids and they let Mara go.

"Come, Tano. We have much to discuss."

"Don't you know it?"

The Sith Lord and the Jedi walked off, leaving Mara alone with the other Jedi. She saw the look of raw fury on Anakin's unmasked face. If he really wanted to terrify his enemies, he should forget the mask. His look of pure hatred struck more fear into Mara then the mask ever did.

"I didn't have a choice," Mara said. "I didn't want this to happen either."

Anakin's look of hate quickly changed to one of understanding.

"I know you didn't, Mara. I know you did all you could."

"You're not angry?"

"With you? No. I'm angry with myself for failing her."

"You didn't fail her and she knows it."

"Thank you."

Mara nodded.

"What's our plan to get her back?" Kanan asked.

"We have no idea where Thrawn's taking her," Anakin said. "She might be able to send us her coordinates if she's lucky."

"No," Mara said. "Thrawn isn't that careless. He won't give her the chance. It's possible he's taking her back to Mustafar."

"What is on Mustafar?" Anakin asked. "I know that Sidious used it as a base to experiment on Force-sensitives during the Clone Wars."

"A few years ago, I helped Thrawn construct a castle on that world. It was designed to tune the dark side energies of the world to break the veil of life and death."

"Do you know why he would take her to Mustafar?"

"I'm not entirely sure. He knows she's the strongest Jedi among us, but I don't think he wants her dead."

"Why not?"

"He needs her alive for something, but what that something is I have no idea."

"He needs her," Anakin said. "No, no, no. He needs her power. He needs her power to destroy us. Mara, how does the castle tune the dark side?"

"We constructed two tuning spires. Why?"

"Could those spires be reconfigured to drain someone's Force power?"

"In theory."

"Would that kill her?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it would."

"We need to get there now!"

"I agree," Kanan said. "Ahsoka would do the same for us."

"Well then, off to Mustafar."

13

Captured

Thrawn's shuttle dropped out of hyperspace to the volcanic hellscape of Mustafar.

"You've been here before, haven't you?" Thrawn asked.

"I have indeed."

The shuttle pulled into the hangar of some massive black structure, a castle, or possible fortress.

"I like your house," Ahsoka said. "It looks like something a Sith would live in."

"How ironic you say that. An ancient Sith Lord in fact designed it. His name was Lord Momin and he was quite the artist."

"You talk about him like you've met him."

"I have and I also killed him."

"I'm fascinated."

The two warriors of light and darkness exited the shuttle.

"Remove her cuffs."

The droids did so and Ahsoka sprang into action. She used the Force to draw the droid's saber to her. She activated its duel blades and spun it around, getting a feel for the weapon.

"Your move, Thrawn."

Thrawn activated his own lightsaber and rushed Ahsoka. Ahsoka held up her saber, stopping Thrawn in his tracks. She back flipped away from two overhead swings from the Chiss. Thrawn shot a bolt of lightning at Ahsoka, but she created a shield with the Force, blocking Thrawn's assault. Ahsoka trust her saber at the Chiss with surprising strength. Thrawn tried to light Ahsoka ablaze with Force fire, but she was ready, catching the fire in the palm of her hand and sending it back at the Sith Lord. Thrawn growled in anger. The Chiss snapped pressed a button on his gauntlet and the lightsaber in Ahsoka's hand emitted a powerful electrical shock, dropping Ahsoka instantly.

"That was a cheap trick."

"Cheap? No, merely effective."

Thrawn reared back, punching Ahsoka's face and knocking her out cold.

Ahsoka's eyes shot open. What happened? Had she been captured? Was she dead? She went to get up only to discover she was chained to a table.

"I see you're awake."

"Awake and alive. What do you want with me?"

"I want your power. I cannot hope to destroy the Jedi alone, but with your power and my own the Jedi would stand no chance."

"If you think I'll help you…"

"Oh, you will help me but it will be painful."

"I'm not afraid of torture."

"You will be."

"How did you become as skilled as you are in the Force? I thought Chiss, at least most Chiss, held no connection to the Force."

"It's a long story, but the basis is the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Darth Plagueis possessed me."

"I bet that was fun."

"It was…interesting. However, we came to a compromise. He can use me as a host and in return I keep my soul."

"How long ago did this happen?"

"A few years ago."

"So you can't use the Force without Plagueis?"

"I cannot."

"That explains why when Anakin met you in the Clone Wars, Anakin couldn't feel the Force in you."

"How is Master Skywalker?"

"He'd be better if I was back on Mortis."

"Indeed."

"How exactly do you plan to gain my power? Don't think for a second that you'll get it without a fight."

"This castle was designed to tune the dark side, opening the veil between life and death, but the tuning spire can be reconfigured to harness the Force powers of its target and transfer that power."

"That's quite the plan."

"I know it is."

"Good luck with that."

"The spires have already been reconfigured. Now all I have do to do is begin the process of draining your powers."

"You won't get them without a fight."

"Oh, I know I won't. Rest assure I will gain your power. It is just a matter of time."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Keep her there," Thrawn said to one of his droids. "If she escapes capture her alive. She's no good to me dead."

The droid nodded as Thrawn left the room. Ahsoka used the Force to draw the droid's lightsaber to her without it noticing. She activated it, cutting herself free. If droids could feel surprise, this one felt it. It retrieved a blaster, but by then it was far too late. Ahsoka cut the droid's head off. She picked up the droid's blaster and sprinted out the door.

"Sir, Ahsoka has escaped," one of Thrawn's droids said.

"Well get her back," Thrawn growled.

"Yes, sir."

The droid sprinted off to find Ahsoka.

"You cannot allow this to happen," Plagueis said. "Get her back."

"My droids will do their job."

"You idiot! She will destroy your droids in seconds."

"You are suggesting I confront her."

"No! She would kill you!"

"I held my own the last time we fought."

"Only because of her rigged saber!"

"If she has stolen another saber from the droids, then I can activate its shock feature as well."

"No. She will not fall for the same trick again."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?"

"We can kill her, here and now, but a price must be payed."

"What do you ask?"

"Your soul."

"I beg your pardon."

"We can kill her, but the man known as Thrawn will die. Only Plagueis will remain."

"I will do what I must, but I ask for one thing in return."

"What is it?"

"Let me say goodbye to my wife."

"Fine."

Thrawn activated his comlink.

"Hello?" Ar'alani asked.

"Hello, my dear. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this in person."

"Tell me what?"

"This is the last time I can speak to you. I am about to die."

"No. We can get you to a medical facility."

"It isn't like that. Plagueis must take control…forever. My spirit will die."

"Thrawn, don't do this! We can find another way!"

"I'm sorry, my darling wife."

"No!"

Thrawn crushed the comlink.

"Take control, Plagueis. Take control."

Plagueis attacked Thrawn's soul, using his powers with the dark side to suck the life from it.

"I AM REBORN!" Plagueis yelled. "DARTH PLAGUEIS LIVES AGAIN!"

Ahsoka saw her ride home, an Imperial TIE fighter.

"Not so fast!" a demonic voice yelled.

Thrawn appeared out of nowhere, saber activated.

"Thrawn."

"NO! THRAWN IS DEAD! I AM THE ONE TRUE SITH! I AM DARTH PLAGUEIS AND MY PLANS WILL NOT BE RUINED BY THE LIKES OF YOU, JEDI!"

"Plagueis," Ahsoka whispered. "The name in the vision."

"My coming has been foretold. I am the Chosen One of the darkness. I attempted to shift the balance to the dark side, to create a Forceful being capable of becoming the ultimate Sith. But the Force, or rather the Father struck back!"

"The Father," Ahsoka repeated. "You mean the Father of Mortis?"

"Yes. The Father created a being before I could. However, I decided I could use the Father's being instead of creating my own, but the Force protects his soul from me. Before I could discover how to inhabit his body, my apprentice Lord Sidious killed me in my sleep, or so he thought. My soul clung to the physical realm long enough for me to infuse my mask with my spirit. And now I stand here before you, reborn."

"You murdered Thrawn?"

"I did. He was weak."

"He had good in him. I felt compassion for him, to some extent at least. I feel no such thing for you, Sith. You are no match for me."

"No, Thrawn was no match for you. I am. He held me back. I was unable to unleash my full power because of his so-called morals. Those morals no longer hold me back. Now prepare to die."

"I've fought cyborgs, assassins, Dark Lords more powerful than you could ever hope to be, and demons of the dark side. You'll be a piece of cake."

"Let us see if that is true."

Ahsoka activated her crimson saber and charged Plagueis, but the Sith Lord broke her Force wall with a choke and sent her flying back. Plagueis lifted her with the Force, but Ahsoka quickly escaped his grasp. Ahsoka charged at the Sith, swinging her saber with the ferocity of a crazed animal and the grace and precision of an artist. Plagueis's blue face betrayed his shock at Ahsoka's power, but he blocked every one of her attacks, using his superior strength to guide her blade away. He Force pushed Ahsoka back, but she stuck her saber in the ground, bringing her to a stop. Plagueis blasted Ahsoka with Force lightning, but she responded with a flame of Force fire. Plagueis put up a shield, but he was a fraction of a second too late, the fire engulfing him.

"Nice try, Jedi."

Plagueis put out the flames and rushed at Ahsoka. He came at her with an overhead strike, a stroke that struck the middle of her duel bladed saber, cutting it in half. Ahsoka held up the half saber and smiled.

"Thanks. I'm really not a fan of double-bladed sabers, so barbaric."

Ahsoka flipped the saber around, clutching it in her signature reverse grip. Plagueis came at her hard, but she expertly deflected each of his blows.

"I expected a challenge," Ahsoka taunted. "Your apprentice was far more powerful than you. You are a pathetic excuse of a Sith."

Plagueis growled and thrust his saber at Ahsoka, but she sidestepped, causing Plagueis to stumble forward. Ahsoka blasted him with fire, but the Sith let loose with Force fire of his own, but Ahsoka held up her hand, absorbing the fire, although Plagueis could tell it was straining her a great deal. Ahsoka sent Plagueis back with a blast of Force fire, giving her time to recover. Plagueis leaped back to his feet and came at Ahsoka like a tornado of death. His whirlwind assault forced Ahsoka back, but she redirected the Dark Lord's blade each time.

"The Jedi will fail!" Plagueis yelled. "You are destined to! You cannot fight a god of the Force!"

"I've seen gods of the Force, I was even killed by one and trust me when I say they would crush you in seconds."

"Mara," Anakin said. "Do you know where on Mustafar Thrawn's castle is?"

"Yes. I have the coordinates here."

Mara handed Anakin a small data chip.

"I'm going."

"Anakin," Rievced said. "You're going to need our help."

"No. This is a personal mission and I can't risk you guys getting hurt for my sake."

"I understand."

Anakin put his helmet on.

"May the Force be with you," Hedala said.

"It will be."

Anakin boarded an Imperial TIE he managed to harvest from the battle and took off to Mustafar.

"Do you think he'll get her?" Ezra asked.

"I have now doubt he will. I'm just worried that his emotions will get the best of him," Darrgan said. "He is so emotionally tied to her."

"Emotions can be a powerful weapon," Kanan said. "But I agree with you. Anakin's emotions can control him if he lets them."

"Hey," Ezra said. "I think he knows what he's doing. He is the Grand Master for a reason."

"He kind of appointed himself," Darrgan said.

"Do you have a better option?" Mara asked.

"Ahsoka."

"I think Ahsoka is wiser, but I think Anakin has more experience," Kanan said.

"That makes literally no sense," Darrgan said.

"You know what I mean."

"I actually don't. Usually wisdom comes with experience."

"What I mean is Anakin understands the Force as well as he understands strategy and planning. Ahsoka is wise in the Force, but she is not the greatest tactician."

"Commander Tano is good a tactician as I've ever seen and I would know. I served under her in the Clone Wars," Rex said.

"Nevertheless, the Jedi need to decide who best to lead us," Kanan said.

"I see. Once they get back and Thrawn is dead I say we put it to a vote, that's what the Council's for right?"

The TIE jumped out of hyperspace to the volcanic hellscape of Mustafar.

"I'm coming Ahsoka. I'm coming."

Anakin landed the TIE in the massive black castle's hangar. He leaped out and activated his blue lightsaber. Two droids walked to Anakin, red lightsabers high. Anakin grabbed them and crushed them and tossed them aside. Two stormtroopers fired their blasters at him, but his armor deflected every bolt. He deflected their sloppy shots back at them.

"Halt!" a death trooper yelled.

Anakin slammed his foot into the trooper's chest, knocking backwards. Fifteen more stormtroopers came running his way, firing their blasters as they did. Anakin summoned his power, walking straight into the line of fire. His Force shield stopped their bolts and redirected them. Anakin turned down a long hallway. Where was Ahsoka? He felt a dozen death troopers coming his way. One death trooper blasted Anakin, but he effortlessly deflected them, killing the trooper instantly.

Ahsoka came at the Dark Lord with aggression unfitting of a Jedi, at least in Plagueis's mind. The Sith's blades and Ahsoka's met. Plagueis used his superior strength to shove Ahsoka back, but she back flipped away from two overhand swings from the Dark Lord. Ahsoka saw her opening. She thrust her saber at the Sith's face, but he blocked it. He backhanded Ahsoka, but she recovered quickly. Plagueis lifted her with the Force, slamming her into the ground multiple times. Plagueis was impressed by her durability.

"Care to surrender?"

"How about no?"

Ahsoka got to her feet, holding her saber in a defensive position. Plagueis showed no mercy, swinging at Ahsoka, but she caught his blade with her own, using the blade lock to swipe under Plagueis and glance his side. The Sith instinctively clutched at his wound, giving Ahsoka the chance to send him flying with a Force-enhanced kick.

"I'm impressed, Jedi. I wonder if Skywalker would have proved this challenging."

"I have surpassed him."

"How very arrogant coming from a Jedi."

"It isn't arrogance. It's the truth. I have surpassed him as I will surpass you. It is the way of things."

Plagueis blocked a thrust at his head, forcing Ahsoka back. The Jedi was tiring. She blocked two strikes from Plagueis, but the Dark Lord could tell it was out of desperation rather than technique. The Sith blasted her with lightning, Ahsoka raised her saber and deflected it. The blast from Plagueis overpowered Ahsoka's defenses by knocking her saber to the side and hitting her square in the chest, sending her to the ground. Plagueis continued his barrage of lightning, causing her to writhe in pain.

"Had enough?"

Ahsoka slowly got to her feet. Plagueis let her. He wanted to see what she was made of. Ahsoka swung right with her saber, a sloppy swing, but Plagueis admired her determination. He disarmed her and sent her back with a blast of Force lightning, knocking her to the ground, but like a machine, she rose to her feet. The Sith swung at her, but she somehow managed to dodge his blade. She used his distraction redraw he blade to graze the Dark Lord's arm. Plagueis lifted her with the Force, slamming her into the ground once again, but once again, she rose. Plagueis had seen enough. He blasted her with lightning until she moved no longer.

"You have courage greater than that of any Jedi."

Ahsoka's eyes opened slightly, but she couldn't move, although to her credit she tried.

"Your death will be quick."

Out of nowhere, a blue lightsaber came at Plagueis.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka asked.

"Master Skywalker!" Plagueis yelled.

Anakin growled, his voice deepened by his mask. Anakin swung left at the Dark Lord, but Anakin was far, far stronger. He pushed Plagueis back and kicked his stomach, sending the Dark Lord back and cracking his ribs. Plagueis blasted Anakin with lightning, but Anakin put his hand up, absorbing the blast and sending it back at Plagueis. In desperation, Plagueis set Anakin ablaze with Force fire. Anakin didn't even try to block it. His suit glowed with flames. If demons existed, Plagueis thought, he was staring right at one. Anakin growled and sent Plagueis to his knees with the strength a dozen Wookie warriors, fracturing the Sith Lord's jaw and knocking him to the ground.

"You can hope to stop me. You will fail."

"Will I now?"

Anakin sent his fist into Plagueis's face, knocking out several teeth and breaking his nose.

"Your…your anger makes you strong, Skywalker."

"I have no anger, just determination."

Anakin deflected two swings from Plagueis, disarmed him, and shattered his leg with a cybernetic kick.

"Surrender!"

"Never!"

Anakin slammed his fist into Plagueis face and much to the Dark Lord's surprise, Anakin shoved his fingers in Plagueis's eyes, clawing them out. Plagueis cried out in total agony. What in blazes was Anakin thinking?

"Anakin?" Ahsoka repeated.

"Hi, Ahsoka. I came to rescue you."

In an act of pure desperation, Plagueis sent a concentrated blast of Force lightning into Anakin's mechanical limbs, allowing the Dark Lord to escape."

"Well, it worked."

"Yeah, except I can't move and Thrawn escaped."

Anakin slowly got to his feet and helped Ahsoka do the same.

"No. Thrawn is dead."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked. "I just fought him."

"No. You fought Darth Plagueis."

"Plagueis," Anakin repeated. "The name in the vision."

"He killed Thrawn's soul. He claims to be the Chosen One of the dark side. He also said that he created you."

"What do you mean he created me?"

"I guess that's an oversimplification. He claimed the Father, the one from Mortis, created you before Plagueis could create the ultimate Sith. But Plagueis decided he could just use you as his ultimate Sith, but the Father place some sort of protection on your soul. I know. It's a lot to take in."

Anakin shook his helmeted head in disbelief.

"He also claims to be Palpatine's Sith Master and that Palpatine killed him in his sleep, but that he remained in the physical realm by binding his spirit to his mask."

"Wow. That's a lot to take in. Come on. We need to get you back to Mortis. It's a miracle you were even alive."

"I agree."

Anakin and Ahsoka boarded an Imperial shuttle and set off for Mortis.

"How did you find me anyway?"

"I felt your Force signature and I knew you were on Mustafar. That and it was pretty easy to find a massive black castle."

Ahsoka nodded.

14

Common Goals

Plagueis rubbed his broken, battered face. Anakin nearly killed him. He had felt Skywalker rage and, in some strange way, admired the Jedi for it. He wasn't afraid to embrace his emotions, a very, very Sith like trait. However, Skywalker refused to fully give into his rage, always holding it back, keeping it in check so as to not fall to the dark side. A true respect for Anakin and Ahsoka had formed in Plagueis's mind. He admired Ahsoka for her unwillingness to give up. The Jedi took punishment from Plagueis that should have and would have killed a Wookie. Her determination somehow made her near indestructible. The Dark Lord also admired Anakin for his might and willingness to let his rage control him, to a certain extent at least. He still kept his emotions largely in check Plagueis's shuttle dropped out of hyperspace to the Imperial capitol of Coruscant. He landed at the Emperor Thrawn Medical Facility. He opened the shuttle's ramp and limped out.

"Emperor Thrawn!" a medical droid yelled as it walked up to him. "We need to get you into surgery, now!"

"I agree."

The droid brought out a gurney, rushing Plagueis to the very back of the hospital. Two words caught Plagueis's eye: cybernetic rebirthing. Before he could ask what that meant he was already inside the room. The doors shut as a droid walked up to Plagueis.

"Sir, your injuries are extensive: broken ribs, broken jaw, broken nose, one leg broken, the other severely fractured, and your eyes are missing."

"What do you mean my eyes are missing?"

"Somehow you were able to fly your ship here without your eyes. I assume it was some sort of primal will to live that somehow enhanced your senses to inhuman levels, but I do not know."

"Well, put me back together."

"That's the thing, we don't know how, not exactly. We've been working on experimental technology that transfers your memories and personality into a droid body. It's risky, but it's our best bet."

"Do it."

"Let us begin."

"Emperor Thrawn?" a mechanical voice asked. "Are you with us?"

Plagueis opened his eyes, no, his visual receptors. Wait. No! He should have realized he could not use the Force in a droid body! How could he have been so utterly careless? What had he done?

"I need out of this body! Now!"

"Sir, we cannot."

"You must!"

"Even if we could, where would we transfer you conscience?"

"I'm sure you can find some willing subject!"

"We'll try our best, but there is no guarantee."

"Hurry!"

The droid ran out of the room, leaving Plagueis alone is his droid body. How could he have been so stupid as to put himself in a droid body? The droid soon returned with some humanoid figure behind it.

"My lord, a doctor at the hospital overheard your…dilemma and he has offered himself as a sacrifice. Your memories will be inserted into him."

"Do a midi-chlorian count."

"Why?"

"Do it now."

The droid did so.

"10,000 midi-chlorians, sir."

"Good. Begin the transference."

"My lord we are not ready. We…"

"Do it now."

"Yes, my Emperor."

The droid injected a needle into the man's neck, catching him as he fell.

"Did you kill him?"

"No. We merely suppressed any memories he formed over his life, giving room for your memories."

The medical droid plugged a cord of some type into Plagueis's droid head and the other into a hole drilled in the subject's head by the droid. For a brief instant, Plagueis's mind went blank, but his memories returned. He looked at his hands, his organic hands. The Dark Lord slowly sat up.

"Give me a mirror."

The droid obliged. Plagueis held the mirror to his face. His new body was perfect. His body was that of a Muun: his original species. He no longer had to be bound to Thrawn's Chiss body. The Dark Lord sat up, only to fall back on the table.

"You need rest, my lord. Your mind has been through a great deal and the hole I drilled in your skull needs time to heal as well. You should be fully recovered in a few days. Just relax. You'll be better before you know it."

"Alright."

"Just relax, my lord. You should be fully healed in no time."

The droid turned around, opened the door, and left Plagueis alone in his new body.

"Yes," the Dark Lord said to himself. "This will do nicely."

The Imperial shuttle Anakin and Ahsoka had stolen landed back on Mortis. The shuttle lowered its ramp to reveal all the Jedi waiting.

"Hey guys," Ahsoka said.

"Ahsoka," Kanan said. "You look terrible."

"Well, I did nearly get killed by a Sith Lord. I would have died if Anakin hadn't arrived in time."

"So Thrawn is dead?"

"Thrawn is," Anakin said. "But something far, far worse has taken his place."

"Oh, no."

"The ancient Sith Lord Darth Plagueis has been reborn."

"Darth who?" Ezra asked.

"Plagueis. He is an incredibly powerful Sith. If it says anything about his power, he nearly killed Ahsoka and would have had I not arrived."

"How do we stop him?"

"I messed him up pretty good. I broke his ribs, nose, leg, and clawed out his eyes, but he managed to escape, somehow."

"That sounds rather brutal," Darrgan said.

"It was."

"Do you have any clue to his whereabouts?" Riveced asked.

"No, but he's planning something big and he must be stopped."

"Mara," Ahsoka said. "Did you know anything of a Sith named Plagueis?"

"No. Thrawn never told me."

"Plagueis was how Thrawn got his powers in the Force. The spirit of Plagueis inhabited Thrawn, but once Plagueis had whatever he wanted from Thrawn, he killed him, or his soul, at least."

"If Thrawn is truly dead," Mara said. "Then Plagueis won't be able to run the Empire with the efficiency that Thrawn did. Plagueis may be more powerful but Thrawn was a much greater tactician."

"I agree," Ahsoka said. "I don't know much about Plagueis, but I know that his ego is one of his few weaknesses. He will grow overconfident, like all Sith eventually do and we will take advantage of that."

"Then what?" Anakin asked. "The Empire will still be very much alive. They need to be destroyed."

"I'm not sure, but I know we can't destroy it ourselves."

"The public has no love for the Empire," Darrgan said. "We can use that to our advantage."

"You're right," Mara said. "We need volunteers, soldiers."

"I think I know someone who can help with that," Ahsoka said.

"Who?"

"Bail Organa."

"Ahsoka," Anakin said. "You haven't been in contact with Bail for ten years. You don't even know if he's still alive."

"I know he is."

"Alright. What's your plan?"

"He hates the Empire as much as we do, but he has more powerful allies than we do, allies in the Senate with access to entire planetary defense corps."

"I see."

"I'll contact Bail while you guys develop a plan to defeat Plagueis."

Anakin nodded as Ahsoka walked back inside the monastery. Ahsoka retrieved her holoprojector and called Bail.

"Ahsoka?" a tiny hologram of Bail asked.

"Hello, Bail."

"Thank goodness you're still alive. I thought you were dead."

"No, merely busy."

"That's good to hear."

"We need your help."

"With what?"

"Once we kill Plagueis…"

"Plagueis? Who's Plagueis?"

"Oh, I haven't told you about him, have I?"

"No."

"Basically, he's a Sith spirit who killed the spirit of Emperor Thrawn and inhabited his body."

"I see. Do you need help to defeat him?"

"No, but we do need help to defeat the Empire."

"Meaning?"

"We need an army, Bail. A small group of Jedi can only do so much."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Bail."

"I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Ahsoka deactivated the holoprojector and walked back outside.

"Anything?" Kanan asked.

"He said he'll get back to us as soon as he can."

"When is that?" Anakin asked.

"I don't know. I guess we just wait for Plagueis to rear his head again," Kanan said.

"Wait," Anakin said. "I have an idea."

"Oh, boy," Hedala said.

"Hey, you haven't even known me that long. How do you know if my ideas are bad or not?"

"Ahsoka told me."

"Gee. Thanks Snips."

"Your welcome Skyguy."

"I don't know whether to say 'aww' or cringe at those nicknames you give each other," Kanan said,

"Save it."

"Ok, Skyguy."

"If you really want to get under his skin just call him Ani," Ahsoka said. "He hates it, almost as much as he hates sand."

"Sand?" Ezra asked. "You don't like sand?"

"Do you?" Anakin asked.

"Not really, but I'm not terrified of it."

"I'm not, but it's course, rough, irritating, and it gets everywhere," Anakin said. "What's to like about it?"

"Some sands are actually soft," Kanan remarked.

"As entertaining as this is, this debate can be had another time," Riveced said. "For now, we need to figure out how to kill Plagueis and destroy the Empire for good, assuming we can destroy it."

"Oh, yeah," Anakin said. "Back to what I was saying, I think Thrawn's wife could make a powerful ally."

"Explain," Hedala said.

"She most likely knows that Plagueis killed Thrawn and you can be sure she wants revenge. We convince her to help us, but we have one condition: the Empire surrenders its power back to the people, back to the Republic."

"She'll never go for that," Mara said. "She's not as reasonable as her husband."

"You'd be surprised what people will do for revenge," Anakin said. "Logical thinking goes out the window when your mind is consumed by vengeance."

"You have a point."

"Mara, do you have any way to contact Thrawn's wife?" Ahsoka asked.

"I can try."

Mara activated a holoprojector.

"You," a tiny hologram of Ar'alani growled.

"Hello, Ar'alani," Mara said. "I have a proposition to make."

"I don't have time for this."

"You can kill Plagueis."

"I'm listening."

"We need a squadron of your best troops, a squadron of TIE Defenders, and a Chiss Star Destroyer."

"No deal."

"You can kill him any way you like. If need be, I will restrain him with the Force while you bludgeon him to death. I will say nothing if you tear into his flesh with a knife. The point is that you can do whatever you like with him."

"Fine."

"We meet on Mortis."

"Mortis?" Ar'alani asked.

"I'm sending you the coordinates."

"Alright."

"I also have one other requirement."

"What now?" the Chiss growled.

"Depower the Empire. Surrender your power back to the people, to the Republic."

"No deal."

"Fine, only now the price is three squadrons of troops."

"Fine. I shall arrive with the squadrons in one hour."

"Don't be late."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Who was that?" an Imperial officer asked.

"Mara Jade," Ar'alani growled.

"Emperor Thrawn's enforcer?"

"No. Jade is a Jedi."

"Do you know her location?"

"She is on a world called Mortis."

"Mortis? It's not a planet I'm familiar with."

"She sent me her location."

"Should we commence orbital bombardment once we arrive at the planet?" the officer asked.

"I would say yes, but Jade has made a proposition that I cannot ignore."

"That being?"

"It is none of your concern."

Ar'alani punched the coordinates into the ship's hyperdrive.

"Make the jump."

The Chiss Star Destroyer jumped into hyperspace only to be yanked out by some gravitational anomaly.

"What was that?"

"We don't know. It seems the planet itself is pulling us toward itself."

"Well make sure our ship is not damaged."

"Yes, my lady."

"Is she coming?" Ahsoka asked.

"She is."

"With the troops?" Anakin asked.

"With the troops."

"Do you know when she'll be here?" Kanan asked.

As if to answer Kanan's question, a Chiss Star Destroyer dropped out of hyperspace. The Destroyer deployed three small gunships. Ahsoka reached out to feel the beings on board. She sensed their fear of the Jedi they were about to meet. In addition to the stormtrooper's fear, Ahsoka felt the white-hot rage of Ar'alani, but not rage for the Jedi, or even for Mara who, from Ar'alani's point of view, was a traitor to the Empire, but at Plagueis. The gunships landed in front of the Jedi, their doors opening and out leaping three squadrons of stormtroopers. One squad, however, caught Ahsoka's eye. It consisted of a stormtooper wearing an orange pauldron and a jetpack, a trooper with some sort of hood and cloak and some kind of sniper rifle, one with breathing tubes running into his helmet, one wielding a flamethrower, one with glowing blue eyes and a jetpack, and a trooper twice the size of a normal human. These were not normal troops.

"Who are they?" Ahsoka asked.

"SCAR Squadron," Mara said. "They're the Empire's Special Forces unit, each member specializes in on aspect of combat. When they work together, they are the Empire's best soldiers."

Once the troopers leapt out of the gunship, Ar'alani did the same, her blue-black hair waving in the wind. The troopers held up their blasters, but Ar'alani put up her hand, causing the troopers to lower their blasters.

"Master Tano," Ar'alani said.

"Ar'alani, nice to see you again."

"Why are we working with these Jedi scum again?" the trooper in the pauldron all but growled.

"Who are you again?" Anakin asked.

"I am Kreel, leader of SCAR squadron and servant of the Empire."

The trooper retrieved an activated a green lightsaber.

"Where did you get that?" Anakin growled.

"Didn't expect to see a lowly stormtrooper wielding such a weapon, did you?"

"How much did you pay for that?" Kanan asked.

"Nothing. It belonged to a Jedi but I took it when I killed him."

"You don't deserve to wield that weapon!" Anakin shouted.

"Why not? I killed the one who wielded it. It is mine now."

Anakin growled as he activated his lightsaber.

"Anakin, no!" Ahsoka said as she put a hand on his caped shoulder. "You're better than him."

Anakin turned his head around.

"I'm not actually mad at him," Anakin whispered. "But I can read his thoughts. He only respects those who are greater than him. He won't help us fight Plagueis if he doesn't respect us for our combat prowess."

"Ah."

"I've always wanted to fight the legendary Anakin Skywalker," Kreel said. "It's been awhile since I've had a challenge."

"Your move," Anakin taunted.

Kreel swung his lightsaber at Anakin, but the Jedi, easily, almost carelessly, dodged Kreel's blade. Anakin blocked two overhanded strikes from Kreel. Alright, Anakin was getting bored. He swung at Krell, causing the two blades to lock. Anakin used his far superior strength to shove Kreel to the ground.

"Surrender," stormtrooper," Anakin said as he held his saber to Kreel's throat.

Kreel deactivated his lightsaber and tossed it aside.

"Now if you're done being humiliated, we have a Sith to kill," Anakin said as he helped Kreel to his feet.

"I must admit, I've never been beaten that quickly."

"Get used to it."

"Who's our target?" Kreel asked.

"Darth Plageuis, Dark Lord of the Sith," Ahsoka said.

"Description?"

"Chiss male, average height, blue black hair."

"Location?"

"We don't know," Kanan said. "That's the problem. We were hoping Ar'alani could help us with that part."

"I have no idea where he went," the Chiss said.

"Do you have any guesses?" Ahsoka asked.

"It's possible he went to to the Emperor Thrawn Medical Facility on Coruscant."

"Well then, that's where we're going," Anakin said.

15

Trip to Scipio

Plagueis felt the power of the dark side flow through him. His creation, or rather the Father's creation, Anakin had grown quite powerful, more powerful than he believed possible. What troubled him, however, was the power of Ahsoka Tano, or rather, her potential power. She was on the same level as, if not above, Anakin. He thought of what Tano could become in ten years: a goddess of the Force. Plagueis himself had never payed much attention to the legends of the ancient beings known as the Ones, mystical beings of unrivaled power, that is he did until the Father interfered with the Dark Lord's plans by creating Anakin Skywalker. Was it possible Tano was a One? No, no. She was mortal. And that fact terrified Plagueis even more. Where was the limit of Force power? In terms of natural connection to the Force, Tano was unrivaled.

Her skill with the lightsaber was joke either. Her skill was on par with that of his apprentice Lord Sidious, one of the best duelists in the galaxy. Plagueis was more powerful than her, he knew this for sure. But how long would he stay that powerful? Tano needed to die. Now. The threat she posed was far too great. Anakin had trained her well. Could this have all been avoided? If he never created Anakin, or tried to, would the Sith rule unchallenged? The Father had cursed Plagueis for attempting to control life and death. If Anakin would not join him, he would die.

The Sith Lord rose from his meditation chair and activated his crimson lightsaber, admiring its blade and hilt design. He had caught a glimpse of Anakin's saber, a weapon designed in a time of war. Its design spoke of a Jedi who preferred effectiveness to beauty, a stark contrast to the smooth, elegant hilt of Plagueis. To each his own. He would need a plan of attack to destroy the Jedi. For all his power, he could not hope to destroy them outright. Ah ha! He had it!

Mind control! His mind control was nearly unrivaled by any Sith before him. He knew he could dominate the Jedi's will, except Anakin and Ahsoka's. Yes! He would wipe the others out, leaving only Anakin and Ahsoka. Yes. This would do nicely.

"Wow," Kanan said as he looked around at the clean, crisp walls of the ISD Jedi's End. "I've never been on one of these things before."

"Don't get used to it," Ar'alani growled. "Make the jump to hyperspace."

The Destroyer jumped into hyperspace.

"Although I'm not particularly fond of the name," Kanan said.

"That name will remind you of your place," Ar'alani said.

"Rest assure," Ahsoka said. "After this is over, we will destroy the Empire."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Kreel walked up behind the Jedi, only for Anakin to turn around and bump into the stormtrooper.

"Watch it," Anakin growled. "Get out of my way."

Kreel tightened his grip on his blaster, but granted Anakin's wish.

"How long until we reach Coruscant?" Kreel asked.

"A few days," Ar'alani said.

"Well," Ahsoka said. "What are we going to do until then?"

"What exactly is our gameplan for dealing with Plagueis?" Kanan asked.

"It's quite simple, really," Ar'alani said.

"Hey, who put you in charge of planning?" Anakin asked.

"Well, I do have the most tactical knowledge of anyone here."

"I was a Jedi General in the Clone Wars. If anything I am the one with the most battlefield experience."

"I was an Admiral in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet and I have the most experience."

"Just because you husband was an expert tactician doesn't mean you are."

"Anakin," Ahsoka said.

"Fine," the Chiss growled. "You can take command."

"Good."

"Well General Skywalker, what is this gran plan of yours?" Ar'alani asked.

"It's simple. Ahsoka, I, and the other Jedi take Plagueis head on, while Kreel and his troops provide covering fire, and a few of your best pilots provide air support."

"What a brilliant plan."

"Do you have anything better?" Kanan asked.

"I actually do."

"Let's hear it."

"Do you Jedi have some power to weaken you're enemies' connection to the Force."

"We do," Anakin said. "Why?"

"Because it is critical to my plan. Ahsoka, I know that Plagueis has a deep fear for Ahsoka."

"Me?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes. Thrawn told me that Plagueis feared how powerful you could become. You will confront Plagueis, lure him out while the other Jedi begin to drain his Force power. Once he is weakened, my troops will fire on him while you Jedi engage him in lightsaber combat, or whatever it is you do."

"That's actually a good plan," Anakin said. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to your advice."

"At least you Jedi know when to admit your faults. I always thought the Jedi too full of themselves to take advice."

"Thanks, I guess," Anakin said.

"We need time to prepare," Ahsoka said. "Kreel, are your troops combat ready?"

"We are."

"Good, because you're about to become a master of lightsaber combat."

"What do you mean?"

"For someone with no formal training, you possess great skill with a lightsaber," Ahsoka said. "I can train you further if you would like."

"I would like that."

"Ahsoka, are you sure this is a good idea?" Anakin asked.

"I am."

Anakin nodded.

"Ar'alani, where are the training rooms?" Ahsoka asked.

"Kreel will show you the way."

Ahsoka nodded and the two warriors walked off.

Anakin took his helmet off, setting it on one of the Destroyer's many control panels.

"Anakin, didn't Ahsoka say that Plagueis was your father?" Kanan asked.

"It's complicated, but yeah, basically. Why?"

"I think that we might be able to use that connection to our advantage."

"Explain."

"If we can somehow make Plagueis lower his guard in your presence, we'll use that to drain him quicker," Kanan said.

"I see."

Kreel opened the daurasteel door to one of the Destroyer's many training room's, revealing a small, grey room with racks of weapons, both ranged and melee.

"Let's begin," Ahsoka said.

Kreel activated his lightsaber and held in a defensive position. Ahsoka smiled and charged Kreel. Much to his credit, the stormtrooper did manage to block a few of Ahsoka's attacks, but it was futile. Ahsoka sidestepped an overhanded swing from Kreel, using his distraction to her advantage, Ahsoka kicked Kreel's knee, sending the trooper to the ground.

"Sloppy."

Kreel growled and leapt to his feet, swinging widly at Ahsoka, but she easily deflected his attacks. Once she'd had enough, Ahsoka backhanded Kree with strength of someone three times her size. Kreel staggered back, but he renewed his advance, swinging with heavy overhand strikes, but Ahsoka sidestepped all of them. She extended her hand and sent Kreel back with a Force push.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Kreel yelled.

"General Grievous killed many, many Jedi and he did not have the Force."

"Grievous was different. He was created to kill Jedi. Are you saying you want me to become the next Grievous?"

"Of course not. What I am saying is if you possess sufficient skill you can go toe to toe with a Force-user."

"I see."

"Technique. Technique is the key. You have greater physical strength than I do, but I beat you. Do you know why?"

"I'm guessing technique."

"Correct. A lightsaber is not like a sword. A lightsaber is, to some extent, alive. It can feel what you feel. Don't use it like a weapon. Use it like an extension of yourself."

"Alright."

"Let me show you a few of the basic move sets."

Kreel nodded his helmeted head.

"Alright," Ahsoka said as she activated one of her green lightsabers, prompting Kreel to do the same. "Swing down, up, right, right, down, up."

Kreel did so.

"Not bad, for a beginner. Now comes the fun part: choosing your Form."

"My Form?"

"Yes. There are seven Forms of lightsaber combat. Form I is great for taking on multiple enemies at once. Form II is designed to dismantle even the best swordsmen in the galaxy. Form III is great at defense, blocking and dodging all attacks until the time to strike is revealed. Form IV, one of the Forms I use, is the most acrobatic Form. It is designed to leap around and confuse your enemies. Form V, Anakin's Form, is designed for counterattacking, using one's enemies' attacks against them. I use a modified variant of Form V that uses a reverse grip. Form VI, yet another Form I use, is a blend of all the previous Forms, good at everything but great at nothing. And the final Form, Form VII, the Form of the Sith. It uses hate and anger to fuel its user."

"Wow," Kreel said. "I had now idea that there were Forms."

"Well now you know. Which one do you think you want to use?"

"Hmm."

"I think Form V or VI would be best for you."

"Let's do V."

"Alright. Now do as I do."

Kreel nodded as Ahsoka swung her saber right, as did Kreel. Ahsoka swung down, up, left, right, overhead, as did Kreel. Ahsoka began increasing her speed, causing Kreel to do the same. Ahsoka smiled at Kreel's progress.

"That's good."

"Thank you."

"Now comes the real test."

Ahsoka activated her sabers and leaped at Kreel, but the stormtrooper managed to block the attack, causing Ahsoka to grin in satisfaction. She leaped out of Kreel's blade, forming an x with her lightsabers and catching Kreel's blade. Kreel backsteped Ahsoka's spinning whirlwind, but Ahsoka kicked Kreel's helmeted face, sending him back. Kreel growled and rushed Ahsoka, swinging his saber overhead, but Ahsoka blocked and redirected his every attack. Ahsoka swung at Kreel, but the trooper blocked it with his blade and, much to Ahsoka's surprise, managed to glance Ahsoka's arm.

"Not bad, Kreel."

Ahsoka let loose, becoming a tornado of orange energy. Kreel blocked a few rapid attacks, but Ahsoka slashed upwards, gouging Kreel's armor.

"Ouch."

"You are beaten!"

"I noticed."

Ahsoka extended her hand, helping Kreel to his feet.

"You were holding back that whole time, weren't you?" Kreel asked.

"Possibly."

"Why?"

"A great warrior never becomes great if their teacher kills them. They must learn the basics first."

"Thanks, I guess."

The door to the training room slid open, revealing a masked Anakin.

"We're here."

"Already?" Ahsoka asked.

"Come on."

The three warriors walked out of the training room and onto the bridge of the Jedi's End.

"Hello, Master Jedi," Ar'alani said.

"Ar'alani," Ahsoka said. "Do you think this plan of yours will work?"

"I'm not sure, but I have faith in it."

"I don't," Kanan said.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," Anakin said.

"Hey, when did you take her side?"

"Ever since I thought about how good her plan actually is."

"Oh, ok."

"We will kill Plagueis," Kreel said.

The Destroyer breached the planet's atmosphere.

"Come on. We need to get to the gunship," Ar'alani said.

The Jedi and SCAR squadron followed while some TIE pilots ran to their TIEs. Once they reached the hangar, Ar'alani pointed to an old LAAT gunship.

"You guys still use those?" Anakin asked.

"We do indeed."

The Jedi and troops hopped on the ship and left for the Medical Facility. The ship landed. Ar'alani and Kreel leaped out as a medical droid came out.

"Mistress Ar'alani, what can we do for you?"

"Where is my husband?"

"He came here a few days ago."

"Where is he now?"

"I'm not sure, but I know how you might find him."

"How?"

"To make a long story short, his spirit is now in the body of a Muun. You know what one looks like, right?"

"I do."

"I wish you the best of luck finding him."

"Thanks."

The two Imperials turned to leave, hopping back on the gunship.

"Nothing?" Anakin asked.

"I did get something. He is now in the body of a Muun."

"Why?" Ahsoka asked.

"Probably because of how I damaged his last body," Anakin said.

"Well, where are we going to find him?" Kreel asked.

"Simple," Anakin said. "I would hope with all the Jedi we have that we would be able to find him in the Force."

"You make a good point."

Anakin, Ahsoka, Darrgan, Kanan, Ezra, Hedala, Mara, and Riveced all reached out with the Force.

"I see a world covered in snow," Ezra said.

"I see…I see a Sith temple," Anakin said.

"I feel a superweapon charging," Kanan said.

"I hear a voice casting a spell," Ahsoka said.

"I feel his spirit, the spirit of Plagueis. He's transferring himself into…into Anakin," Mara said.

The Jedi opened their eyes.

"What did that mean?" Hedala asked.

"I have no idea," Anakin said. "Visions never make any sense. I must admit, I am a little frightened at the prospect of becoming Plagueis's new host."

"An understandable fear," Kanan said.

"Worlds of snow," Darrgan said. "That hardly narrows the list."

"Could it be Hoth?" Kanan asked.

"No," Riveced said. "Hoth has no Sith temples. None that I know of at least. Darrgan, do you know of any Sith temples on Hoth?"

"No."

"How do we know that the temple is even on the snow world?" Ezra asked.

"Ezra makes a good point."

"Scipio," Ar'alani said.

"What?" Anakin asked.

"Scipio is the homeworld of the Muun people. Plagueis is a Muun and I'm sure that he would know of a Sith temple on his world."

"Is Scipio a snowy world?" Riveced asked.

"It is."

"Off to Scipio, then," Kanan said.

16

Confrontation

Plagueis landed his ship on his personal estate on his homeworld of Scipio. He would visit the Sith temple in due time, but for now he needed rest. He collapsed on one of his many, many pieces of furniture. His eyes closed as he fell into a deep sleep.

"Darth Plagueis," a female voice said.

Plagueis opened his eyes, only he wasn't in his house. He was at the Sith temple, lightsaber activated as he stared down Ahsoka Tano. She rushed him, swinging at him with the speed and ferocity of a true Sith. Plagueis blocked her every attack, but he could not defend forever. He pushed her back with Force lightning, but she outstretched her hand, catching the red bolt.

"I'm disappointed," Ahsoka said.

"As am I, a very, very familiar voice said.

Plagueis turned around to see his apprentice Darth Sidious.

"You died," Plagueis said.

"So did you."

"Fair point. Why are you here, Sidious?"

"I am disappointed in you, Master. Chasing after immortality instead of galactic domination."

"What good is power if one cannot wield that power for all eternity?"

"You selfish fool! You place your own wants and desires above those of the Sith! You deserve to be killed by the Jedi!" Sidious yelled.

"Remember that it was I who taught you the ways of the Sith. Do not lecture me."

"You did teach me the ways of the Sith, but you began to lose interest in those ways."

"You are small minded, Sidious. You never saw the bigger picture."

"And you are narrow minded, always setting your focus on one thing and disregarding everything else. The Jedi will kill you."

Sidious vanished without a trace, leaving Sidious and Ahsoka alone.

"Your master is right," Ahsoka said. "You are a selfish fool."

Ahsoka vanished.

"We will see."

Plagueis woke with a start. He looked around. Good. He was still in his house.

"Cursed visions," the Sith muttered to himself.

Plagueis rose from his chair and boarded his shuttle, taking off for the Sith temple.

The Jedi, Ar'alani, and SCAR squadron's gunship emerged from hyperspace to the planet of Scipio.

"I sense Plagueis," Anakin said.

"As do I," Ahsoka said.

"Well for those of us without the Force, we need his coordinates," Ar'alani said.

Ahsoka punched the coordinates into the ship's navicomputer.

"He's not far," Kreel said.

"If we can sense Plagueis, I think he'd be able to sense us," Kanan said.

"Good point," Darrgan said. "We need to hide our Force signatures."

The Jedi focused on making themselves small in the Force, making any sign of their power vanish.

"Remember what I taught you, Kreel," Ahsoka said.

The stormtrooper nodded as the gunship breached the icy atmosphere. Ahsoka, unlike the other Jedi, did not hide her Force signature in order to draw Plagueis out. She felt his power, but also his worry and his rage. The ship landed by a massive, pyramidal shaped Sith temple.

"This is our stop," Kanan said.

"Stay here while I draw him out," Ahsoka said.

"Good luck, Snips."

"Thanks, Skyguy."

Ahsoka leaped out of the gunship with SCAR squadron. The troopers set themselves up behind several large boulders, their weapons trained on the massive steel door. That same door opened to reveal a tall, lanky figure wearing a black robe with a hood and cape.

"Darth Plagueis," Ahsoka said.

"Ahsoka Tano, we met again."

"Surrender, Sith."

"I never surrender."

Ahsoka made a small motion with her hand, signaling SCAR squadron to be ready.

"You leave me no choice."

Ahsoka made a fist and SCAR squadron fired upon the Sith, but he pulled out his lightsaber, deflecting the expertly aimed shots. Ahsoka looked upwards as the Jedi leaped from the gunship.

"Nice trap, Jedi," Plagueis said.

"It was actually my idea," Ar'alani said.

"Ar'alani," Plagueis said. "Thrawn's wife. I can feel your hate for me. It feels good doesn't it?"

"Kill him," Ar'alani said.

Plagueis extended his hand, causing Kanan, Ezra, Mara, Hedala, Riveced, and Darrgan to fall to their knees and clutch their heads in pain.

"Kill them," Plagueis said.

The Jedi stood up, eyes glowing black.

"Oh, great," Anakin said.

The possessed Jedi growled and launched themselves at Anakin and Ahsoka.

"Back to back," Ahsoka said.

The two Jedi stood back to back. Kanan and Ezra swung in tandem at Anakin, but he intercepted both of their blades, forcing them back. Kanan growled and swung at Anakin with a heavy-handed overhead strike. The two Jedi met in a blade lock. Anakin kicked Kanan's leg, only for Riveced and Darrgan to blast the Jedi with Force lightning, sending him hurling back. Mara, Darrgan, and Riveced blasted Anakin with Force lightning, causing his suit to short-circuit. Anakin through sheer force of will stood and sent the possessed Jedi flying with a Force repulse.

Ahsoka blocked two sloppy strikes from Hedala and sent the young Jedi flying back with a Force push. Kanan and Ezra came from behind, but Ahsoka was ready. She spun around to intercept the two Jedi, blocking Kanan with one blade and slashing at Ezra with the other. Ahsoka lifted Ezra with the Force and hurled him into Kanan. Riveced and Darrgan broke off from Anakin to blast Ahsoka with red Force lightning, only to be lifted by Ahsoka and blasted by a Force push. Ahsoka intercepted an attack from Kanan, diverting his blade downwards and sending her knee into his face.

"Kreel!" Ahsoka yelled. "Get out here! The other troops can shoot without you."

Kreel jetpacked over to the Jedi. He blocked an attack from Hedala, using his superior strength to push the girl back, but Kanan came at him from behind. Krell jetpacked back, avoiding the would be death blow. He slammed his saber at the Jedi, causing Kanan to backpedal. The Jedi sent Kreel back with a Force push.

"Not fair," Kreel growled.

He got to his feet, pulling out his blaster and shooting at the Jedi, not to kill, but to injure. Kreel pointed his blaster at Kanan, but the Jedi began to redirect the shots back at him. Kreel jetpacked up, but Kanan pulled him down with to Force, slamming him into the ground. Kanan yelled and launched himself at Kree. The moment before Kreel's head was removed, Kanan's blue blade was caught by Ahsoka's.

"Thanks."

Ahsoka pushed Kanan back with a Force push. Mara and Rievced shot at Ahsoka with Force lightning, but she put out her hand, absorbing the bolts of lightning. Ahsoka redirected the lightning at the two Jedi, knocking them off their feet.

"Nice," Kreel said.

"KILL THAT SITH!" Ar'alani yelled.

The troops of SCAR squad fired at Plagueis, but he lifted all of them with the Force, crushing them and tossing them aside.

"Was that you plan?" Plagueis asked.

"Oh, no," Ar'alani said. "This is."

Ahsoka came at Plagueis from behind, causing the Sith to spin around. Plagueis redirected two strikes from Ahsoka and sent her back with a Force push. Ahsoka rose and sent a concentrated blast of Force energy into the Sith's cranium, causing him to lose control of Ahsoka's fellow Jedi.

"No!"

"It's over, Sith."

Ahsoka and Anakin leaped at Plagueis, swinging in perfect unity, attacking as one. Anakin backhanded Plagueis while Ahsoka knocked him off his feet with a Force push. Ahsoka stabbed low while Anakin came at Plagueis with an overhanded strike, but the Sith blocked both attacks. Anakin and Ahsoka swung in tandem, but the Sith Lord blocked their blades.

"You cannot win. Even though they are free from my control, the other Jedi will not recover in time to help you."

"We don't need their help to beat you," Anakin said.

The two Jedi sent Plagueis flying back with a Force push. Ahsoka leaped high into the air, crashing her blade down on Plagueis while Anakin swung at him from the side, causing a three-way blade lock. Plagueis lifted Ahsoka with the Force, nearly crushing her throat. Anakin growled in anger and sent Plagueis back with a Force-enhanced kick to the face.

"Ahsoka!"

"I'm alright, Anakin."

Plagueis lifted her again and blasted her with red lightning.

"No!" Anakin yelled.

Plagueis pushed Anakin back, but mush to the Sith's surprise, Kreel came at him from behind.

"Die, Sith scum!" the trooper yelled as he swung his lightsaber at the Dark Lord.

"Who are you?"

"I am a Jedi."

Kreel for the first time felt the energy of the Force flow through him. He sent Plagueis back, causing the Sith to release Ahsoka. Kreel blocked two attacks from Plagueis, but the Dark Lord quickly disarmed him and sent his crimson blade into Kreel's chest.

"Kreel!" Ahsoka yelled.

Plagueis pulled his saber out of Kreel's body.

Anakin and Ahsoka stood, holding their sabers in a defensive position. The two Jedi nodded once. Ahsoka blasted Plagueis with Force fire while Anakin held him in place with Force freeze, but Plagueis broke free from Anakin's grasp and sent the Jedi back with a Force-enhanced backhand. Ahsoka came at Plagueis with both blades held high over her head. Her yellow-green blades clashed down on the Sith's. Plagueis used his superior strength to push Ahsoka back, but the Jedi transformed her fall into a back flip as she avoided two swings from Plagueis.

"You can't beat me Tano."

"Want to bet?"

Ahsoka blocked two strikes from Plagueis. She slipped under a swing from the Sith and slashed him across the back, giving Anakin the chance to plunge his blade into Plagueis, but the second before Anakin's blade impaled him, Plagueis Force pulled Mara to himself, causing Anakin's blade to impale her.

"Mara!" Anakin yelled.

"You see!" Plagueis yelled as he rose and healed himself with the Force. "Nothing you do matters. You try but it's no use. Your world is getting blacker. Every time you fail, the Force has no answer."

Anakin growled in anger as he sent Plagueis back with a Force-enhanced kick. Plagueis rose just in time to block Anakin's blade and divert it to the ground. Ahsoka leaped over Plagueis to stab him in the back, but he spun around to block her blade.

"That won't work this time, Tano."

Ahsoka leaped away from Plagueis's blade while Anakin punched the Sith with his robotic strength. Ahsoka swung left, Anakin right. Plagueis blocked both strikes, but Anakin kicked his leg, knocking him to one knee. Ahsoka swung at him but he blocked. Anakin thrust his saber at him, but he also blocked it. He sent Anakin back with the Force and got back to his feet, swinging rapidly at Ahsoka, but she blocked his every attack with the grace of a Twi'lek dancer. Plagueis swung high, but Ahsoka grabbed his wrist, shoved him into a wall, holding the Dark Lord's saber above her head. She sent Plagueis back with a Force push, attempting to thrust her saber into the Dark Lord's chest. Plagueis held her arm back and used his free hand to send her back with a blast of Force lightning. Ahsoka stumbled backwards, giving the Dark Lord time to blast her again and kick her to the ground.

"That was a mistake," Anakin said as he rose to his feet.

"Why? Because you have no one left to die for you?"

"No, because you don't know how powerful I am when I'm angry and you just made me very, very angry."

"There is no emotion, there is peace."

"Yeah, well, the Jedi Code needs some changes."

Anakin swung his fist at the Dark Lord, but Plagueis caught it and bent it behind Anakin's back. Anakin growled and slammed his knee into Plagueis's face, sending the Muun back. Anakin swung his fists at the Dark Lord knocking him back several paces. Anakin slammed his fists into Plagueis's chest, his face, his, stomach. Plagueis felt Anakin's mind, analyzed his fight pattern. As Anakin reared back for another blow, Plagueis caught his hand. Plagueis kneed Anakin's stomach, cracked his helmet with a Force-enhanced backhand, slammed his head with an uppercut, kicked his stomach, and pushed him back with the Force.

"Surrender. Final warning."

Anakin's exposed eye stared into Plagueis soul.

"I can do this all day," Anakin said in a part droid part man voice.

Plagueis raised his hand to blast Anakin, when he felt something grab his leg. He looked down to see it was Ahsoka. Plagueis kicked the Togruta's face, giving Anakin the time he needed to come at Plagueis from behind, lift him high into the air, and slam him into the ground. Anakin slammed his robotic fists into Plagueis face, Force pulled his lightsaber to him, and plunged it into the Dark Lord's heart, killing him instantly. Anakin pulled the saber out and collapsed in exhaustion.

After what seemed like an eternity, Anakin rose to his feet and helped Ahsoka to hers. He looked back at Plagueis to make sure he was really dead and tried to feel his presence in the Force. He could not. Plagueis was dead.

17

Empire no More

"So what happened, again?" Hera asked.

"Basically Plagueis mind controlled all the Jedi except Anakin and Ahsoka, but Ahsoka sent a blast of energy into Plagueis's head, causing him to lose control of all the other Jedi. Anakin eventually killed Plagueis with his lightsaber," Kanan said.

"Did you guys loose anyone?" Rex asked.

"Yeah. We lost Mara Jade and Kreel."

"Kreel?" Sabine asked.

"Yes. He was a stormtrooper, but he died a Jedi. He fought with honor, sacrificing himself so Anakin and Ahsoka could kill Plagueis."

"How did you guys' mission go?" Ezra asked.

"Well," Hera said. "We've recruited several hundred soldiers and recovered a few Clone Wars era starfighters."

"It's a start."

"Mistress Ar'alani?" an Imperial officer asked. "Since the passing of Emperor Thrawn, who is the heir to the Empire?"

"The Empire has no heir. We surrender to the Jedi."

"We what?"

"You heard me. The Chiss members of the Empire will go back to Csilla while the other members will either transition into the New Republic or suffer the consequences. There is a dark force rising and we need to return to our home. This is my last command and I expect you to follow it."

"When should we begin the terms of surrender?"

"I have already begin the transfer of power. A Supreme Chancellor will be elected soon."

"What of the Jedi?"

"We have no qualms with them. Let them be. Anakin told me that the Jedi would retreat into the far reaches of space."

"They are fugitives from the Republic?"

"No, but they will not submit to it. They submit to the will of the Force alone."

"I see."

"Make the jump."

The ISD Redemption jumped into hyperspace.

"Kanan, what you guys talking about?" Anakin asked.

"We've enlisted several hundred soldiers to help us fight against the Empire," Kanan said.

"Oh, about that," Anakin said. "The Empire is no more."

"What do you mean?" Sabine asked.

"They've surrendered."

"They have?"

"Yes. They've transitioned into the New Republic. A new Supreme Chancellor is to be elected soon."

"That's great!" Kanan said. "But why didn't you tell us?"

"Sorry."

"What about the soldiers we've enlisted?" Hera asked.

"Uh, I guess they get to go home."

"Oh, alright."

"What about you guys?" Anakin asked. "Are you sticking around?"

"We might for a while," Kanan said. "You never know when trouble will come."

To be concluded…

165