Note: Yet another crossover! This time around, it's YGO and Star Wars, with a hint of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Oh, and even though it's spelled "daemon", it's pronounced "demon".

Disclaimer: Own YGO, SW, and HDM I do not.

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Yu-Gi-Oh Galaxies Book One: The Sphinx Crystal

Chapter One: A Bounty Worth Claiming

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There was no doubt about it- Seto Kaiba was the galaxy's best bounty hunter.

His origins were shrouded in mystery. All that was really known was that he had been born on a planet that was constantly torn apart by war for some reason or another. He had a little brother, as well-it was said that his brother was the reason Seto had taken up a bounty hunter's life. It was the only way he could make enough sovereigns to keep his brother safe and well-cared for.

However, it wasn't just his back story that awed those around him, it was his mere presence. Tall and intimidating, Seto had the air of a natural leader and gained respect instantly. His daemon, Ilena, also added to his intimidating presence. She was wolf-formed, tawny-furred with bright green eyes that seemed to pierce through to a person's very soul. There was no finer pair of human and daemon in the galaxy.

That was exactly why they had been summoned to an interview for a new job.

………………….

Mokuba looked around the space station in fascination. Seto had turned him loose in here while he had gone off to his job interview. Mokuba was filled with anticipation; he had never set foot in a space station before. Seto had always left him on the ship before when they stopped to pick up supplies or a new job.

Mokuba's daemon, who was currently in her shyest form as a mouse, sat inside his shirt pocket. Her name was Liasara, and despite her shy attitude, she was just as eager to see a space station as her human was.

Liasara poked her ruffled little mouse head out of Mokuba's pocket and spoke. "It's very crowded in here. I don't like it. Too many strange people. And aliens, too!"

Mokuba looked left and right. Liasara was right, it was crowded. He was used to it just being him, Liasara, Seto and Ilena. Now, finding himself surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces, human and daemon alike, made him feel slightly uneasy. However, the sight of the aliens made him feel downright shocked.

Seto had told him that the major thing that made aliens different from humans was the fact that humans had daemons and aliens did not. No one knew why this was, Seto had told him, but it had always been that way, and it always would be. Seeing the truth of that now made Mokuba regard the aliens with a mixture of fascination and nervousness.

"They really aren't like us at all, are they, Lia?" He asked his daemon.

Liasara crawled out of Mokuba's pocket and changed into an owl, staring wide-eyed at all the daemon less aliens.

"I wonder if they ever get lonely, all by themselves like that," Mokuba mused to himself.

Suddenly, Liasara leapt to the floor and changed into a wolf, very much like Seto's daemon, except Lia's fur was snowy white. "Mokuba! There's kids over there! Human kids…and alien kids, too!"

Sure enough, a ragtag group of children where heading over towards them, the humans with their daemons flying, trotting, or slithering alongside them, while the alien children walked by themselves, not a part of the group entirely; only loosely attached.

Liasara walked forward and touched noses with the lead child's daemon, a tough looking cat.

"Hey, you're new 'round here. I never seen you here before," the boy who appeared to be the gang's leader said contemptuously. "You're a drifter, aren't you?"

Liasara growled at the boy, disgusted with the way he was talking to Mokuba. The boy's cat daemon changed into a rat. She climbed up onto her human's shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

Almost immediately, the boy's attitude towards Mokuba seemed to have changed.

"You're Kaiba's brother? What are you doing here? I'm Alkanet, by the way."

"I'm Mokuba," Mokuba said cautiously. "We're here because Seto's looking into a new job."

"Really." Alkanet didn't seem impressed. "I bet you're rich. Do you have a lot of money with you now?"

Without warning, Alkanet's daemon became a lioness and leapt at Liasara, who, caught off guard, was helpless as the lioness daemon started scratching at Liasara's fur in earnest. Alkanet took advantage of the distraction the daemon's fight was causing, and leapt at Mokuba, bringing him to the ground.

"You do have money with you, right? Give it to me!" Alkanet was bigger than Mokuba, and held him easily down. Mokuba shook his head, crying out when the lioness daemon struck Liasara. Alkanet brought his fist back, ready to punch the smaller boy.

"Al! What to you think you're doing! Stop it right now!"

Someone had grabbed Alkanet and pulled him off of Mokuba. Mokuba scrambled up to see a human girl that was older than Alkanet pulling him off. Alkanet's daemon had been pulled away from Liasara as well, by a large fisher who, Mokuba realized, must be the girl's daemon.

The girl was berating Alkanet.

"Mom's told you again and again to stop stealing from other kids! You are going to be in a lot of trouble this time! You and your friends better get out of here. NOW!"

With a glowering look at the older girl, Alkanet and his daemon pulled a hasty retreat with their friends following.

The girl turned to Mokuba, who had taken the once again mouse-formed Liasara and was comforting her. The fisher daemon came up beside the girl, and he spoke briefly with her.

"I'm sorry about my little brother. He's a rotten bully. My name is Katrina. Are you all right?"

Mokuba shook his head. "She hurt us."

Katrina smiled gently. "Why don't you come with us to the Cantina? They serve regular food there, too. I'm sure they'll have something you like."

Mokuba nodded, following Katrina and her daemon to the food center.

………………..

Seto couldn't sit still for very long; he got up and started pacing the length of the room he was waiting in. If there had been anyone else in the room, they would have made excuses to get out of the place-that was how intimidating Seto was while pacing. However, there was no one in the room except for Seto and his daemon. Ilena lay on the floor, her front paws crossed. She looked up at Seto.

"Do they intend to give us the interview in here?"

Seto stopped pacing. "Apparently," he said in a tired voice. "But I don't think it's exactly polite of them to keep us waiting like this."

Ilena swished her tail slightly. "You need to rest, Seto. We need to rest. It was a long journey here. It was hard on all of us."

Seto sat down again, and Ilena came up to him, resting her head on his knee. Seto gently ran his hand over his daemon's head. "After this interview is over, we'll go back to the ship and all four of us will get a nice rest."

The door at the far end of the room opened then, and two human men, one old and one Seto's age, walked inside.

Seto stood up immediately, going over to shake the older man's hand, while Ilena and the old man's daemon, a rather large turtle, acknowledged each other.

"Mr. Kaiba," the old man, who was dressed in an Admiral's uniform, spoke solemnly as he shook Seto's hand. "We are honored by your presence here. I apologize for the wait. One of customers at the cantina had a little too much to drink. It's taken care of now, though. Nothing to worry about."

"Admiral Motou. It's a pleasure to meet you, as well," Seto replied as he returned the Admiral's handshake.

Admiral Motou motioned to the boy Seto's age. "This is my grandson, Yugi. He's a tactical information officer, and he'll provide you with any information you need."

Seto nodded in Yugi's direction, and the spiky-haired young man nodded back. Yugi's mouse daemon was perched on his shoulder, grooming her whiskers. She paused long enough to glance at Ilena, who growled at her in acknowledgment.

"Please," Admiral Motou motioned towards the chairs. "Sit and we'll talk."

Once the three were situated comfortably in the chairs and the daemons were in their customary places beside them, Admiral Motou leaned forward, his manner turning serious.

"Mr. Kaiba, have you ever heard of an operation called intercision?"

Seto blinked. There was something hostile and evil about that word, and even though he had never heard of it before, he could sense it right away. He shook his head. "No, Admiral, I can't say that I have."

Admiral Motou sighed. "That's not surprising. It has only come to light very recently. It is an evil thing, and what's worse, there is an individual who is planning to do it in order to get something very important. What intercision is, Mr. Kaiba, is a method of cutting a human's daemon away."

Ilena's hackles rose and she growled deep in her throat. Seto sat in shocked silence for a moment, and then finally found his voice again. "Cutting…a human's daemon away? That's impossible!"

Yugi spoke next. "We thought it was impossible too, Mr. Kaiba, at first. But then, we…we…" Yugi couldn't continue. Admiral looked pointedly at Yugi's daemon. Daemons were normally silent around all humans except their own, but they did speak to others when the need arose.

The mouse spoke up. "We were far out in the middle of the galaxy, on a small planet called Malkarrs. We then came across something that was very strange. There was a young human man, only a year or two younger than us. He was on his own, without any daemon at all. He didn't make sense when he spoke usually, and he died soon after we found him. We learned from the locals that there was someone who was experimenting on the connection between humans and their daemons, and also trying to figure out why aliens don't have daemons. We didn't get a name, but we were told that this…this creature that had done it left the planet a few days after the half-man died."

Yugi, who seemed to have regained his composure, spoke next. "After we left Malkarrs, we soon came across another half-person. Even though she was in bad shape, and also died soon after we found her, she was able to tell us the name of the one who was heading the experiment."

Seto leaned forward. "Who was it?"

"Baccah," Yugi's daemon replied. "Baccah the Draconian."

"Baccah…" Seto said in surprise, a hard edge to his voice. "The same Baccah who rebelled against the Draconian King and killed hundreds of innocent people on the planet Bolvan?"

"The one and the same," Admiral Motou claimed.

Seto clenched his fist. "Bolvan was my homeworld. Baccah was responsible for the death of my parents. And now he's cutting daemons away from their humans? That's unforgivable!"

"That is why we want you to catch him and his followers, Mr. Kaiba," Admiral Motou said. "You are the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. You are the only one who can do it."

Seto stood up, breathing hard. "I'll do it…I'll bring that monster to justice."

Yugi stood up as well. "Calm down, Mr. Kaiba. You need to keep a level head if you want to catch him."

"My grandson is right," Admiral Motou said, looking at Seto in concern. The boy's reaction to the news of what Baccah was doing concerned him. "Cool your head here for a while. Once we get a firm grasp on where Baccah is headed, we'll let you know."

Seto took a deep breath, and nodded. "Right, I'll stay. Thank you for trusting me with this job."

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Mokuba had gotten a small meal at the cantina, and now he sat at a corner booth with Katrina. They had arrived there shortly after a fight had been broken up, so they had been able to get in line and order food quickly while those who had been distracted by the fight where trying to sort out exactly what had happened.

"So, what planet are you from, Mokuba?" Katrina asked as they ate their meals.

"I dunno," Mokuba replied. "I've lived in space ever since I can remember. I never asked my big brother where we came from."

Liasara, still in her favorite traveling form as a mouse, gave an excited squeak. Mokuba and Katrina turned to see Seto walking towards them.

Mokuba sprang up from his seat at once, Liasara jumping onto his shoulder as he raced towards Seto. "Big brother!" He gave his brother a big hug and smiled up at him. "How did the interview go? Did you get the job?"

Seto nodded, returning Mokuba's hug. "Yes, I got the job." He looked at Katrina, slight suspicion in his eyes. "Who are you?"

"This is Katrina and Martin," Mokuba told his brother. "They stopped her brother from beating us up!"

Katrina nodded. "My brother is a bully. I'm always stopping him from ganging up on younger kids."

Seto gave her a long look. "Thank you for helping Mokuba," he said at last. He turned to his brother. "Grab your food, Mokuba. We're going back to the ship."

"Okay, Seto," Mokuba grabbed his sandwich and drink, and then waved at Katrina. "Bye! And thanks!"

"Goodbye," Katrina said, watching as the two brothers left the cantina. She shook her head, pulled out a comlink, and spoke into it. "Sir? You're going to have Seto Kaiba on your trail. Do you still intend to carry on as planned?"

"Yes," a snarling voice replied from the comlink. "Keep an eye on them. In a few days, I'm going to make our presence known, and I want you to contact me as soon as they leave. I want to prepare a proper welcome for the famous Kaiba brothers."

"As you wish, sir," Katrina replied, shutting down the comlink. She continued to watch the receding brothers. She looked down at her daemon. "They seem nice, Martin. Too bad they are now in our way."

Martin said nothing. He watched Mokuba's daemon with a feeling of pity. Those poor young ones, he thought, they have no idea what's in store for them.

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On a planet far away from the space station, Baccah stood, watching the sunset.

Baccah was a full grown Draconian (Draconians were a dragon like race with retractable wings and high intelligence) and a powerful one at that. His right claw rested on the hilt of his blaster as he watched the approaching scouts. The wind blew his braids of dark hair back; narrowing his yellow-green eyes, he stared haughtily at the cringing forms of the scout Draconians.

"Well?" He said in a deep, growling voice. "Were you successful in creating an unsolvable dilemma for my foolish old clan to deal with?"

"Yes, My Lord," one scout said. "With the cavern sealed tightly off, no Draconians can get inside to perform the wing-growing ritual. The boulder blocking the entrance cannot be moved by any number of Draconians. Or any other race, for that matter."

"Perfect," Baccah growled. "Soon, my old clan's way of life will be completely destroyed. They'll fall into disarray, and that's when we'll take over."

Baccah clenched his left claws into a fist. "Soon, we'll have a whole city in which to conduct our experiments! Let the Tuatara Galactic Government try to stop us then!"

Baccah's insane laughter echoed throughout the mountains. The two scouts cringed, knowing full well that attempting to laugh along with their master would be a grave mistake. Baccah was violent and unpredictable, but he was also cunning and smart, and for this reason they followed him. He was a true leader, and they respected him. Anyways, they knew that any attempt to go against his orders only lead to one thing: certain death.

So the two scouts kept silent.

Baccah once again faced the sunset, an insane smile now working its way across his face. Soon, he vowed to himself, I will find the missing link. And once I have a daemon of my very own, no one will stand in my way! Not even the great Seto Kaiba!

His laughter continued to ring throughout the mountains as darkness overtook the sky.

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