A/N: Hiatus is over, lovely people. Good grief that was long. Anyway, I'm back with technically the first fan fic I uploaded a bit ago. But I was a bit silly about it and uploaded it all at once which is not good. So I took it down, did a rewrite and here we are. I'll be uploading it on Firday mornings UK time. Enjoy and leave a review!

Chapter One

Hyperspace, 3653BBY

Republic Starship Valour

The Republic Warship, Valour, hurtled through hyperspace towards Kosis Prime. The ship, a Valour class cruiser, was upward of 500 meters in length with a bulbous centre, bristling with turbolaser cannons. Other weapons such as concussion missiles, ion cannons and point defence lasers dotted the ships massive frame. Within the hanger area, 117 Liberator class star fighters waited for the inevitable space battle that would ensue. The Valour was flanked by 28 Thranta class corvettes but even then, the battle group was small compared to the other fleets that populated the galaxy at war. The great Galactic War had gone on for years now and the Republic was feeling the strain. The Sith offensive had been brutal and unrelenting. Thousands of Jedi and hundreds of thousands of Republic troops had been slain. This all worried Jace Corath, a newly appointed Jedi Knight who sat atop a metal box on the hanger deck. He pondered his mission, drawing upon the force to illuminate his path. Jace was a tall young human male, standing at an inch over six feet with a toned build. He had long black hair, a long nose and blue eyes. His looks were neither pretty nor distinguished, instead appearing rugged with a simple frown adorning his face. Despite the frown, Jace was known for his warm smile, inviting others to talk to him. He wore a Jedi robe over a set of silver Jedi Armour. His belt had various items, including the token weapon of the Jedi, a lightsabre. His was cylindrical with the auberesh word for 'Force' scaring the silver weapon. Jace's lightsabre wasn't overly special or decorated, instead he'd opted for a simple design, one which was dependable when battle came. The hanger deck was bustling with Republic troopers, pilots, deck staff and other engineers, most of who were simply passing the time in good spirits. Jace gave a soft smile; seeing the crew in good spirits warmed his heart and reminded him that, despite the long, seemingly unending war, there was still hope. He opened himself to The Force, increasing his senses to the point that he could everything around him. Much of the conversations revolved around buying each other drinks after the war, how their families were dealing with the constant threat the Sith posed and even if the Jedi were capable of defeating the threat. Jace imperceptibly frowned as he caught, almost echoes, of individuals' thoughts. He disliked his telepathy, mainly because he wasn't as skilled with it as he was with other aspects of The Force. He could do the basics, predicting combat moves and a general impression of a sentient's thoughts and feelings but nothing else. It did leave him at a disadvantage when compared to his peers but Jace was never meant to be a Consular.

"Uh, General, sir!" A relatively light voice called out.

Jace shook off his focus and faced the voice, finding a trooper calling him. The trooper was a human male, of relatively average height with close cut bleached blonde hair, tanned skin and deep black eyes. His armour, sharp and vibrant white was accented by orange indents and completely spotless, signifying he was a new trooper. His blaster rifle was securely locked to his back and unloaded.

"Oh, it's Commander, not general?"

The trooper gave a confused frown, tilting his head to the right. "Uh, what difference does that make?" He asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, typically, Masters are Generals, I'm a knight so I'm officially a Commander." Jace explained.

The trooper considered it for a moment before nodding. "Well, it's nice to meet you Commander." He outstretched his right hand to shake Jace's. "I'm Private Samkris Mallrad, or Snicks for short."

Jace smiled and took his hand. "Jace, Jace Corath, Jedi Knight."

Snicks nodded, letting go of his hand before his frown returned. "So, bearing in mind I've never spoken to a Jedi before, but do you guys get basic hand to hand combat training?"

Jace raised an eyebrow, smiling at the seemingly out of the blue question. "Uh, yeah," he laughed softly. "We can. All Jedi are obviously trained to fight with a lightsabre and most of us get basic hand to hand training, depending on our specialities. My own Master wouldn't even let me touch a lightsabre before he taught me how to fight and defeat an adversary with my hands."

Snicks listened intently, before spinning on his heel and announcing. "Hey, Commander said they can fight hand to hand."

Jace glanced at the gaggle of troopers forming behind them. "Betting?"

Jace focused in on the other troopers. "Betting?"

"Asking for a friend." Snicks clarified.

"Why?" Jace asked.

He pointed at a large trooper standing within the crowd. "He wants a piece." Jace eyed the trooper up; he was well over six feet tall, close to seven feet with biceps that caused his armour to strain every time he flexed. Even with the armour, Jace could tell he was an alien, perhaps one of the larger species. The trooper slowly removed his helmet, revealing dark green reptilian skin. The trandoshian was big, burly and looked as if he was grinning. "Bisk, here, thought Jedi were just reliant on their lightsabres."

Bisk spoke, his voice heavily accented with a slight lisp. "Yessss, Jedi, I wanted to test my might against a legendary warrior of the Jedi Order."

Jace held his hands up, a placating gesture, one his Master constantly reminded him to use when asked to fight. "Well, I'm not a legendary warrior," he gave a cunning smile. "But I don't mind testing my own might." He paused. "I've not seen a trandoshian in the army before."

Bisk shrugged. "I owe the Republic a great debt. This was just one way I could repay it." He gave a soft snarl. "Are you ready?"

Jace smiled. "Sure."

A small ring of troopers had formed around the fighting area which was between a deactivated loader droid and a set of crates. The crowd didn't really distract Jace from the crowd as he went through various mental exercises, subduing his own emotions. He removed his belt first, setting his lightsabre down on the ground before removing his upper torso armour. Bisk followed the same patter, adopting a fight stance with his fists clenched instead of brandishing his claws. Jace set about focusing on his opponent; Trandoshians were often employed as enforcers from gangs and bounty hunters. Their culture situated around the idea of the great hunt in which they had a gruelling feud with Wookiees, mainly about proving their strength superior to the might sons and daughters of Kashyykk. Bisk was an impressive specimen with bulging biceps that were as wide as Jace's torso and a wide torso that was thick with muscle. Jace imperceptibly smirked, eying several potential weaknesses before adopting his own fighting stance. As per his Master's training, he brought his palms up, leading with both his right palm and right foot. Jace was committed to the Jedi ideal of fighting only as a last resort and only in the defence of others. Humiliating Bisk would do nothing for his or the other troopers' morale and in the coming days, they would have to fight and possibly die together. He would let Bisk have the first blow. He dug his feet into the ground, waiting for the first strike. Bisk lashed out with a heavy right hook, trained and precise but easily evaded. Jace danced back, skilfully pushing Bisk's right fist high and responding with a left palm strike, stopping just before it connected. Bisk growled, slightly confused as he pushed Jace's palm aside, following it with a left jab aimed at his ribs. Again, Jace evaded, stepping behind Bisk and landing a sharp kick to the back of his right knee. Falling to his knee, Bisk quickly recovered, grabbing Jace by his throat and lifting him high into the air. Jace took a breath, restraining his emotions again and regaining his focus. He gripped Bisk's large forearm and swung his legs up, wrapping them around the Trandoshian's neck. He used his own weight and Bisk's surprise to flip him down to the ground. Bisk reflexively let go of Jace's neck, giving the latter a chance to strike. He lashed out with two palm strikes one to Bisk's upper torso and another to his shoulder. Bisk groaned in pain, the palm strikes almost completely bypassing the trandoshian's thick muscle. Jace rushed forward, blinding all present with his speed and went to land a final palm strike but stopped in the last instance. Bisk's eyes closed out of instinct but opened slowly as he realised Jace was offering him his hand, a smile adorning his face. Bisk took his hand and felt his bruised shoulder.

"That was some Jedi magic, wasn't it?" He said with a slight snarl.

Jace shook his head. "No magic, friend, just some simple palm strikes. Told you we could fight." The troopers around them all laughed voraciously as Bisk clasped Jace's shoulder.

"You're alright Commander, you're alright. I'll enjoy fighting beside you." He said putting his armour back on walking off with the rest of the troopers.

Snicks stopped behind, a giddy smile growing over his face. "Man, that was awesome. Didn't realise you guys could fight like that."

Jace put his armour back before folding his robe. "Trust me, I'm nothing special. Besides, I wasn't trying to hurt him."

"Is that why you let him have the first shot?" Snicks said. "I remember hearing Jedi only act in self defence.

"Spot on. Fighting is a last resort of most. There are some Jedi that forgo lightsabres, opting for diplomacy or other uses of The Force such as healing."

"What about you then? You a healer?" Snicks said with a slight smirk.

Jace returned the smirk. "No, my healing skills are pretty shocking. I'm training to be a Jedi Guardian, a peacekeeper of the order. We're trained in the finer parts of warfare and use The Force in a more direct manner." He explained.

"Do you guys steal children from their homes?"

Jace was dumbfounded. "Beg your pardon?"

"You know, Jedi steal kids to train them, right?" Snicks said innocently.

Jace was slightly aghast. "What? No! Force sensitive children are often found, and their parents are consulted with about joining the order. Hell, most kids still get to see their parents if they live on Coruscant."

Snicks realised he'd offended Jace. "Oh, sorry about that, buddy. What about you? Did your parents send you?"

Jace glanced away for a moment, wincing softly as if the question caused him pain. "No, uh, I don't know who my parents are. I was left on the temple steps as a baby, where the masters found me. My Master took me in and gave me his last name, treating me as his son. I don't even know what my real name is or where I come from."

Snicks was silent for a moment. "That's really horrible, man. I'm sorry about that. Didn't mean to dredge up any bad vibes, buddy,"

Jace regained his smile. "Don't sweat it, Snicks. Best thing about being a Jedi is that I have a new family.

"That seems like a good way to live, Jace." He gestured towards the nearby door. "Mess is probably still open. Let's go for a drink."

Jace nodded and left the busy hanger behind.

Valour bridge

Hilaria Movus gritted her teeth through a dull but persistent pain in her left arm. It was nothing malicious, just an old would that flared up now and again, especially during hyperspace jumps. She was a rather tall human woman, with greying blonde hair and slate grey eyes. She wore a Republic battle dress emblazoned with multiple medals and a blaster on her belt. Movus stretched and almost yawned but stopped herself. She had to be alert for the battle ahead of her. She was sure it would be sung in songs to come and remembered in historical texts for the ages. Kosis prime was an unassuming world, famous for nothing in particularly but it was situated in a hyperspace lane than led into the inner rim. While the Mandolorian offensive had further pushed through the rim borders, Kosis hadn't been touched. Now though, it had caught the eye of the Sith with Republic naval scouts identifying it as next in line to be attacked. Movus had been put in charge of the battle group to her surprise and chagrin. She wasn't afraid of battle but found defending Coruscant to be more important. Her interjections had been noted but ignored and here she was. There were many things annoying her about the orders she had been given. Firstly, her Valour cruiser should have been supplemented by at least eight other cruisers as well as a battle cruiser. The frigates would be Cannon fodder if any of the Empire's Harrower class cruisers were waiting. Secondly, she had been given two Jedi, who were young and recently promoted. Her normal Jedi General, Ardin Corath had been called away to another theatre of war. He had sent his former padawan in his stead. Ardin vouched for the boy but Movus was nervous. Whatever happened on Kosis Prime would test her forces to their limits.

"Captain?"

The voice of her first mate brought her back from thought. "Yes, Dace, go ahead."

Dace smiled; Dace was a tall, Cerean male standing clear of six feet with his enlarged cranium adding a few more inches. He was slender and wore a red Republic navy uniform. "Ships reporting weapons ready for immediate contact as well as fighters being fully fueled. Telemetry from communications on Kosis Prime reveal nothing out of the ordinary yet."

Movus' frowned, surprised about beating the Sith. "We're ahead of them?" She asked.

Dace spread his hands. "Either that or they're there and haven't made their presence known yet."

Movus scratched her left arm with her right hand and glanced away from her subordinate to the main view screen. "How long till we exit Hypersapce?"

Dace consulted his console. "About five minutes -." He suddenly stopped speaking as the proximity alert alarm went off.

"What the hell is that?" Movus asked, her voice calm but serious.

Dace again consulted his console. "I'm reading multiple contacts in Kosis Prime's system." He looked back at his Captain. "It's the Sith."

Movus' face turned dark and angry. "Alert the ships, bring us to combat level 1 and prepare for a fight."