Hey again guys! This is a short teaser of my new The Old Republic fic. This is a sequel to my Darth Revan: The Prodigal Knight story.

PROLOGUE

SOMEWHERE IN DEEP SPACE

The black void of space lit up as a vessel dropped out of the nether-dimension of hyperspace and into reality. Floodlights activated on the bow of the vessel as it hovered near the wreckage.

"Life signs?" The tall Zabrak man asked. He had dark skin and short-cropped hair. His cranial ridges were isolated to his forehead. He had a Hawkeye Merr-Sonn TB-H2 blaster strapped to his belt, and a worn dark green flak jacket and stained brown flight pants.

"None, but I'm detecting an active power source." This came from the woman manning the forward station of the small cockpit. She was a Twi'lek in her mid fifties, with green skin and eyes that conveyed the years of wisdom behind them.

"Our database confirms it. A J-32 Faray-class freighter. Manufactured by the Terok-Sian Company." The Cathar sitting next to the Twi'lek said. He scratched his furry head and stared back at the Zabrak "Joran, that's been out of business for over three hundred years. You sure this is what our guest is looking for?"

"This is it." That came from a young human male. He was dressed in an armored brown flight suit and had a silver tube clipped to his belt. He fiddled with the energized phrik gauntlets on his wrists "I'm sure of it."

"You heard the man. Leeva, status of their life support?"
"Offline. There's extensive damage to their aft section. Their engine might be offline. But if we dock, I'm sure I can power them up using the Dragon's power."

"Okay. Davor, line us up with a docking tube and suit up."

The doors opened. "Power source is located on the lower deck. Might have to cut our way there." Davor said, his voice amplified through his suit's microphone. "I'm reading an atmosphere." He removed his helmet and coughed violently "Gah, it's stale, but breathable."

"You heard him. Helmets off, everyone." The four beings in the hatch access compartment removed their helmets and stepped into the darkened room of the boarding lobby.

"Emcee, lights."

[Roger, Master.] MC-D3, a former Republic Assault Droid which Joran Garushon had scavenged from a junkyard on Ord Mantell, activated the searchlight attachment on his head hood and began scanning the room.

[Captain, no life signs detected on this deck. However, I am detecting several power sources on the deck below us, approximately ten meters to our left. Turbolifts are non-operational. Suggest breaching the deck.]

"That's what I said." Davor grumbled.

"Shut up and start cutting." Davor brought out a plasma torch, but the young human nudged him aside.

"Allow me." The man unclipped the silver tube from his belt and held it in his hand vertically. A brilliant bar of green plasma erupted from the tip and he cut a neat rectangle in the metal floor.

"Show-off." Davor muttered. Joran elbowed him and handed the Jedi, Milo Danoveer, a flashlight. The Jedi dropped down the hole and disappeared.

"What do you see?" Milo's voice came over their comlinks.
"Corridor. There's a door. Someone's sealed it shut. Hang on…cutting through. I'm in. Fierfek…there are three bodies encased in carbonite slabs. Also four droids. Oh man, these slabs are still active."

"Okay...um...got it. Leeva, go back to the Dragon and prepare the med-bay. Have Tekla and Armon stand by with a transport cart."

Joran watched as Leeva and Armon Torath, a Duros man, examined one of the carbonite slabs. This held a young human teenager. Another was an older human woman. The final was that of a Bothan woman. A further examination of the ship by Davor and Milo had turned up several dozen bodies and numerous wreckage. The bodies, frozen from exposure to vacuum, were perfectly preserved, and they were able to distinguish them to be human, Twi'lek, Bothan, and some unknown reptilian species.

"Carbon-freezing. They used to use this as a way to transport settlers before hyperdrives were invented." Tekla said, shaking her head. The Mon Calamari doctor was an old friend of Joran's. During the previous war, he had run medical supplies to her clinic on Chandrila. Since then, she had taken up the role as ship's doctor.

"What should we expect?"

"Blindness, dizziness, basically extreme sensitivity of all the senses. Possible amnesia, considering how long they've been in storage. If we don't do this carefully, they might go into shock once we bring them out. We're going to need to get oxygen masks on them and medication to bring their heart-rates down. That said, they minimized the power to the slabs to ensure longevity, so there's a risk they might already be dead."

"Wonderful. Bring them out." Tekla nodded and stepped into the operating theater, shutting the door behind her. Joran watched through the observation booth's glass window as she stood each slab right-side up.

"Starting up de-icing sequence." Steam billowed from the slabs as the outlines of the bodies within began to glow. Tekla, Armon, and Leeva stood ready with oxygen masks and sedative syringes. The moment the steam became too thick to see through, they dived in.

Almost immediately, Joran knew something was wrong. There was flailing and yelling, and then Tekla began screaming for the crash cart. Armon dived out of the cloud, his faced bloodied and scratched, and he grabbed the cart with the defibrillator panels and ran back in.

"Clear!"

WHUMP

"Nothing!"

"Again!"

WHUMP

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

"She's flatlining!"

"Shit!"

After a few moments, the steam cleared. Lying on the floor were two bodies, the Bothan and the human woman. Sitting on the floor with Tekla monitoring him was the young human male. He flailed around. He was dressed in a skin-tight freezing suit; it was blue with orange sleeves that only went up to his elbows and knees.

"Calm down, you're among friends." Tekla said softly. The young man felt blindly around him.

"Sorran!" He stood up and fell back down "Sorran!"

"Who is Sorran?"

"My friend. She's a Bothan. Please, she was also in carbonite!"

"The Bothan…I'm sorry for your loss. She didn't make it." The young man collapsed and began sobbing.

"Can you tell me your name?" Leeva asked gently.

"C…I don't know. I think it began with a C, but…" Armon examined the young man's suit.

"Your tag says Colin Cel-Drem. Does that ring a bell?" The young man's eyes lit up.

"Colin…yes…but…oh god…we're under attack! Quick you have to get us out of here! The Sith will be coming back sooner or later!" Armon stared at the others. Joran left the observation booth and entered the room. He knelt in front of Colin. The young man sensed someone had entered the room and looked up.

"Son, I'm Captain Joran Garushon. Do you know what year this is?"

"Year…it's 22 AMW." Everyone took a quick intake of breath. Colin frowned "What?"

"AMW…after the Mandalorian Wars?" Joran asked.

"Yeah, what else do you think I meant?"

"Son…the Mandalorian Wars were over hundred years ago…" Colin froze.

"That's….that's impossible. I can't be that old…" He ran his hands across his face as if to reassure himself "Nononono…"

Colin sat in the ship's crew lounge, staring at the mug of hot chocolate in front of him. Tekla and Milo were sitting next to him. Milo had managed to heal the man's sight using Force healing, but not his mind. From what they had found aboard the ship in Colin's locker, they determined that he had been a Jedi, judging from the robes. Curiously, they also found Mandalorian beskar armor as well.

"So…the Sith invaded after all." He murmured.

"Yeah. I'm assuming you knew about them?" Milo asked. Colin sighed.

"We were fools. We launched an assault on Dromund Kaas. Meant to stop the Sith once and for all. Was stupid. They overpowered us. Lost almost all of our fleet, and Revan and Phiran as well…"

"Revan?" Milo asked.

"Yeah, Revan. I know, he was a big guy in the old days…"

"You mean he is, not was." Colin looked up.

"He's still alive?!" His eyes brightened. Milo lowered his head.

"No…well, I don't know." Colin's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"He apparently survived your assault on Dromund Kaas. Revan and the Jedi Exile led an assault on the Sith Emperor after she freed him from Darth Nyriss's stronghold on Dromund Kaas. The Exile was killed and Revan was held in stasis by the Emperor for over three-hundred years. He was freed by a strike team, and started producing war droids for us at an old Rakatan facility called the Foundry, but the Empire attacked it. They didn't find a body, but we're assuming he's dead. He might have escaped, but if he did, he hasn't shown himself since."

"Damn hero…" Colin chuckled softly.

"Colin, what happened to you?" Colin stared at Milo and cleared his throat.

"After the battle of Dromund Kaas, we were left with little under a dozen capital ships and less than two thousand soldiers and ship crew. As such, our goal became to rebuild and provide a task force big enough to give the Republic an edge in the eventual war. As the years passed, we began to amass ships. We'd hijack Sith transports and disappear without a trace. We'd also take wrecks long forgotten from previous wars, melt them down, and build new warships. We had over seventy at one point."

"A fleet like that would have definitely been a welcome sight." Joran muttered.

"What happened?" Leeva asked.

"We were experimenting with a new type of carbon-freezing; a way to store volunteers and ships until the day they were needed. We didn't do thousands of them; rather skeleton crews and hundreds of droids to be the rest of the crew. However, transporting the droids required moving through Imperial-controlled space."

"During an ion storm, one of our transports' stealth tech was momentarily disabled. It was only for five seconds. It was all it took for a Sith fleet track them and follow the ship back to our staging area in the Cronian Nebula and destroy our shipyards. My ship was one of the few to escape. We were on our way to a storage site where our reserve Saber Fleet was. Fifteen Hammerhead-class cruisers, six Foray-class blockade runners, one refurbished Praetorian-class frigate, even a Harrower-class dreadnought."

"The Sith attacked us. Their fighters destroyed our hyperdrive and weapons in their first strafing run. We were crippled. It was then the decision was made to freeze three of us and send the Shard into hibernation, so we could continue onto the fleet once the Sith left and even if everyone else was dead. Something must have gone wrong, because obviously Opila didn't reactivate as planned. So we remained in carbon-stasis for three hundred years."
"Shard…you mean the droids?" Joran asked. Milo chuckled.

"They're no more 'droids' than you or me. The Shard are living crystals. They use droid bodies to get around. The Shard Jedi are Shard who can use the Force." Colin said.

"Shard take names of lightsaber crystals as their names." Milo explained "I've never seen one in person until now though." He turned to Colin.

"Opila did reactivate." Milo said "His chassis must have been damaged during the battle. Melted his re-booting systems. But he's been sending out distress calls in the Force for centuries. I've felt him for years. It's what prompted me to ask Captain Joran to take his ship out here."

"I thank you for that, Captain." Colin said "I'm sure we might have been floating indefinitely unless you'd arrived. Probably until it became too late to save any of us."

"You said the Shard required droid bodies?" Leeva asked "Any droid bodies?"
"Yeah. Preferably something meant for combat."

"We've got those BX-14 combat droids in storage. Plus that XT-series tactical commander." Leeva said to Joran. He nodded.

"Install them into those bodies and power them up."

SEVERAL HOURS LATER

"Initiating power-up sequence."

[Whrrrrrr…status check…override…ahem…cough…thank heavens.] His new blue photoreceptors lighting up, Opila stood up shakingly.

[Odd to only possess two arms.] He examined his new body. It was grey-silver quantum armor with reinforced joints and two heavily-armored forearms, with datascreens built into them. [Still, this chassis holds many numerous tactical advantages to my old one.]

"Hey Opila." Opila raised his head and his spirits rose when he saw Colin standing in front of him. The young Jedi was dressed in a clean flight suit, though his lightsaber was missing.

[Colin!] Opila glance around him. A strange Twi'lek was tinkering with three other droids, presumably Rubat, Phond, and Adegan.

"Sorran and Thalia didn't make it." Colin said softly. Opila bowed his head in sorrow.

[May they find rest in the Force.] Opila said [Where are we? I felt another Jedi presence.]

"We're onboard a freighter. Cobalt Dragon. That Jedi is Milo Danoveer." Another young man stepped into the droid hold.

"Opila…it's a pleasure to meet you." He handed Opila four silver tubes "I recovered these from your old body. I've repaired and updated their tech. Colin's was too badly degraded for me to repair. He'll have to craft a new one."

[Interesting.] One of the other Shard said, sitting up. It began cycling through its body's photoreceptor options and settled on yellow ones.

[And he speaks again.] One of the others said. This one had orange photoreceptors and examined its chassis [Have I lost weight?]

[Quiet, Phond.] Opila snapped, addressing the orange-eyed one. He turned to the non-Shard [Where are my manners. That's Phond, our resident irritating no-brain. The yellow-eyed one is Rubat, our combat master. He speaks very little, but when he does talk it conveys his feelings well enough. The final one with the blue eyes is Adegan. She's our slicing expert.]

[Quite the pleasure to meet all of you.] Adegan said, shaking Joran's hand.

Suddenly, Davor's voice came from the intercom. "Captain, a D5-Mantis just came out of hyperspace. Their captain wishes to speak to us."

Joran's expression grew concerned. He walked up to the intercom panel "Davor, I'm on my way."

They reached the cockpit. Davor had already put the other captain's image on the holo-emitter. He wore a set of armor and a helmet with a T-visor. A Mandalorian. Colin disappeared for a moment and reappeared in his Mando armor, minus his helmet.

"This is Captain Joran Garushon. How can we help you?" Joran said. The other captain stared at him and motioned to someone offscreen.

"This is the Grand Champion of the Hunt. You have something my employer wants."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know…"

"They're scanning us, sir." Leeva whispered. Colin stepped up.

"Su cuy'gar, vode."

"Su cuy'gar, fellow Mando'ad." The Mandalorian said, bowing his head in acknowledgement "I don't recognize your armor."

"Clan Ordo. It's…an old design." Colin said. Joran coughed gently.

"What exactly do you want?"

"My employer is looking for the Force-user who you just pulled from that ship."

"Uh, what Force-user?" Joran made a cutting motion across his throat to Davor "Sorry, let me check our cargo manifest and I'll get back to you." Davor pressed a button and the hologram faded out.

"What the hell?" Joran said, wheeling on the others.

"Hey, it was a general distress call." Milo protested, "Obviously, I wasn't the only one who received it."

[Who was that?] Opila asked.

"That's the guy who assassinated Supreme Chancellor Janarus." Leeva hissed "Mandalorian. The Grand Champion of the Great Hunt. Also known by the callsign Scree in space combat. Big chum with Mandalore himself."

"Anything else we should know?" Colin asked.

[This man is responsible for the deaths of over a dozen major Republic and Imperial players in the galactic war.] Emcee said [Don't underestimate him. He registers as threat level 10.] Joran mouthed the word maximum level to Colin.

"What's the weapons situation on his ship?" Joran asked.

"Three retractable weapons foils-extended into firing position of course. One forward cannon. A proton torpedo launcher. Two missile launchers. Class 9 Shields. Duranium armor. Baktoid sublight engine unit. That thing could run rings around us."

"What's our weapons situation?" Colin asked.

"This is a Manta-class transport freighter, formerly in Republic service. We've got two forward dual blaster cannons, a top turbolaser emplacement, one missile launcher, and two aft laser turrets." Davor said.

"We also have two fighters, an APC, and one shuttle." Joran said "I'm not risking those though. We can outrun them…hopefully"

"They're hailing us again, sir." Armon said.

"Answer them."

Scree's image appeared again. "Captain Garushon, have you finished checking your cargo manifest?"

"Yeah, and you know what? Get spaced, metal-head." He nodded to Davor "Davor, punch it!"

The engine units on the Cobalt Dragon lit up, and it disappeared into hyperspace. After a few seconds, the Mantis patrol craft turned around and followed them.

"Captain, reading an unidentified mass-shadow signature dead ahead!" Leeva warned.

"Where's it coming from?" Joran asked.

[Unknown. This should not be in our flight path-we're dropping out of hyperspace. I've found the source-it's an interdictor field.] Emcee warned. The freighter reverted to real space. As the stars became normal, the first thing the crew in the cockpit saw was the glaring hulk of a Harrower-class dreadnought. They were in orbit over some unidentified planet.

"Sir, we're being hailed by that ship." Davor whispered, his voice full of fear.

"Put…put them through." Joran replied. Davor keyed in the holo-projector.

An image of an Imperial captain in a grey uniform appeared. "Private freighter Cobalt Dragon, this is Captain Adrian Thoran of the Imperial flagship Tyrant. You are carrying personnel which the Sith Empire requires. You are ordered to stand down all weapons and prepare to be boarded and searched."

"To hell with that!" Joran snapped "Davor, lock weapons and aim for their bridge! Cut transmission!" Captain Thoran's hologram disappeared. The ship shook.

"They've got us in a tractor beam!"

"Cut us loose!" Joran ordered.

"Firing!" Bolts of blue and red plasma shot forth from the freighter, hitting turbolaser emplacements and blowing them to pieces. The tractor beam holding them dissipated. Missiles shrieked forth from the launch tube and began bombarding the shield generators. The Tyrant responded with an ion bombardment that drained the Dragon's shields in seconds. A single turret turned towards them and fired, hitting their aft section.

"They just hit our reactor!" Leeva cursed "I've locked it down, but we're without weapons or propulsion. Shields are dead."

"Scree's ship just appeared." Davor warned "They're on an intercept course with us. I'm also reading two shuttles departing from the Tyrant's starboard hangar bay."

"They're going to board us." The ship rocked.

"Another tractor beam. They're bringing us in." There were three whumps as the ship shook again "The shuttles and the Mantis just docked. The Mantis is in one of our hangar bays. The shuttles are lined up with two of our docking rings."

"All hands, this is the captain. Battle stations!" Joran ordered. He unholstered his blaster pistol. "Leeva, keep trying to break free from that tractor beam. Everyone else, do not let them board this vessel!"

[Here] Opila pressed two of his lightsabers into Colin's hands [Since I no longer possess the requisite amount of arms to use all of my weapons, it seems fitting that they shouldn't go to waste.]

"Thanks." Colin activated the two blades; a normal one and a shoto "These should do fine."

Milo passed Armon and Tekla two triple-barreled blaster rifles from his trunk "These are RSF standard issue." He explained to them "I always carry spare kit with me whenever I travel. They automatically lock onto the targets you specify. They fire in bursts of three. Don't spray and pray. Keep calm and take your time." Armon, a former Duros special forces operative, removed the tibanna cartridge, nodded approvingly, and slid it back in. He slung the rifle over his shoulder.

"I've never fired a rifle before." Tekla protested "I'm a doctor, not a soldier!"

"Today, you're both." Milo indicated the medkit hanging by her side "Just be careful not to hit me when you're shooting that thing."

"The shuttles docked in the upper docking station." Davor explained to them all as he handed Emcee several impressive-looking weapons: two shoulder-mounted laser cannons, a missile launcher, a flame thrower forearm attachment, and a underhanded minigun "The Mantis is in Hangar 2. We've sealed it off, but they've got some tech expert slicing the door and it's only a matter of time before she gets through."

"I've activated the rest of the battle droids." Joran said "That's ten more bodies. Rubat and Adegan, I want you to join the droids and Milo at Hangar 2. Opila, Colin, Phond; you'll be with Davor, Emcee, and me in the docking station. Armon and Tekla, guard the bridge!"

The docking station group rode the turbolift to the docking station. It consisted of a large rectangular room with two airlocks on either side of the far end of the room. These allowed smaller freighters to unload cargo to the Dragon. In the center of the room was the cargo lift, a wide panel in the floor that could lower down to the storage bay. There were various cargo containers scattered around the bay; the contents of the last transfer. They quickly stacked the crates into barriers.

"How many of them will there be?" Joran asked as he pulled out a stun grenade. Colin activated his twin blades; so did Opila. Phond activated his maroon double-bladed lightsaber.

"Standard Imperial boarding protocols mean there'll be at most thirty infantry from each shuttle. Maybe five heavy troopers for each, and since they know there's Jedi aboard, there'll definitely be Sith." Davor said.

"I'll leave their saber-jockies to your saber-jockies." Joran said "Emcee, guard the turbolift. No one gets through!"

[Acknowledged.] Emcee, now in a battle harness, dropped the missile launcher and hefted the minigun in both hands. His shoulder cannons powered up.

There was a hiss as a red bar of light began cutting through each of the airlocks. "Here they come!" The doors fell inward with a groan. Joran tossed the stun grenade over the wall and ducked behind the crate as it detonated. The two Sith leading the charge managed to shield their eyes, but five Imperial troopers weren't so lucky, and were mowed down by Davor and Emcee. The Cathar grinned, barring his fangs, and fired the grenade launcher attachment to his rifle, blowing several more Imps to pieces. He ejected the attachment when it clicked empty. A dozen Sith apprentices charged out of the smoke and fire.

[Attack!] Opila and Phond leaped over the barriers, lightsabers in hand. Colin was right behind them. Joran aimed and squeezed the trigger of his pistol, taking out a heavy trooper. A trooper pulled out a vibrosword and charged the barriers. Davor blasted him. Several more broke past the dueling Sith and Jedi. Emcee mowed them down with his minigun. Emcee then magnetized the weapon to his thigh and grabbed the missile launcher.

Colin parried an apprentice's blade on his main saber before slashing him across the chest with the shoto. It had been a while since he had fought Sith up close and personal, even before he had gone into carbonite. Phond was swinging his double-bladed lightsaber like a buzzsaw, cleaving through Sith and Imperials.

Davor fired a burst before diving behind his crate. He popped up again only to receive several rounds to his left shoulder. The Cathar howled and collapsed. Joran blasted the sniper responsible, and did a crouching roll over to the wounded feline. "Gah." Davor hissed "Stupid bastard got me." Joran examined the wound. There were several smoking holes in Davor's flight suit and he could smell the nauseating scent of burnt flesh.

Emcee fired the launcher, blowing more Imperials to bits. He threw it aside once it clicked empty, and resumed firing with the minigun. Opila maneuvered two apprentices into the droid's line of fire, tearing them apart. Using his new body's clawed feet, he grabbed the next of another apprentice and flung him into one of his fellow Sith, before stabbing them both.

The flow of Imperials began to slow down until finally, Colin struck down the last Imperial. He peered at the corpse and noted that it was the pilot of one of the shuttles. Wordlessly, he activated the secondary blast doors on each airlock, and then used the Force in conjunction with Opila and Phond to undock the shuttles from the Cobalt Dragon, letting them float away.

Milo readied his green blade as the door to Hangar 2 hissed open. Five Mandalorian warriors charged through. "Finally, a real challenge!" Milo chuckled. He blocked the blasterfire from one of them before stabbing his lightsaber forward to impale the warrior…only for the blade to skid off the man's breastplate. Milo gulped.

"Okay…slight problem." He cursed. The battle droids began firing at the Mandalorians. Rubat charged past Milo, his white lightsaber twirling. He jumped over one of the Mandalorian's heads and stabbed his lightsaber in the back of the woman's knee. She cried out and that allowed Rubat the chance to bring his wrist up underneath her helmet and blast her in the face with his wrist blaster.

A massive Houk wielding a techblade came from the hangar and charged the droids, grabbing one and smashing it against the wall. Another Mandalorian, this one wielding a tech staff, followed him. Milo brought his blade up against the man's staff. It was made of phrik, so it didn't break. The pair dueled, as Milo forced the young man back into the hangar.

Adegan kicked another Mandalorian in the face before stepping behind it and stabbing her blue lightsaber into his jetpack, triggering it and launching him into the ceiling where his jetpack exploded. His armor took the brunt of the blast, but he still slid to the floor, unconscious.

The combined firepower of the remaining battle droids took down another Mandalorian. The Houk roared, actually laughing, as he dived into their midst, ripping them apart with his bare fists and the techblade.

[Enough.] Rubat said. He raised a metal hand and the Houk found himself flying backwards with such speed that he slammed into the hull of his ship and collapsed in a senseless heap on the hangar floor. Rubat followed him, dueling several more Mandos.

"You're good." Milo said, gritting his teeth as the young Mandalorian managed to jab him in the shoulder with the staff, burning the robes and skin underneath them. He responded with a strike that left deep burn marks on the Mandalorian's armor.

"You Jedi should talk less and fight more." The Mandalorian hissed. Milo blocked the next strike with his gauntlets, and Force-shoved the man back. The Force sent him a warning, and he found himself deflecting bolts from a pretty woman in her mid twenties holding a blaster pistol and with cybernetic implants on her left cheek.

"Mako, stay back!" This came from the man who flew with the callsign Scree. The Grand Champion was running down the boarding ramp of his shuttle, twin blaster pistols in hand.

"You're the one who killed Thendys." Milo hissed "She was a friend."

"The Mirialan? She tried to kill me. I let her go the first time. She should have taken the hint." The Grand Champion said; his voice digitalized through his helmet's speakers. A Jawa appeared from behind the man. Milo's incredulity cost him precious seconds, and he found himself forced backwards by the combined blasterfire of the Jawa, the Grand Champion, and Mako.

Adegan dashed forward and managed to take some of the heat off of Milo. This gave him room to think. He thought about the Grand Champion's words directed at Mako. There was something there. Almost as an afterthought, he Force-pulled one of the fallen Mandalorian's blaster pistols into his hand and fired a few shots at Mako. The Grand Champion activated his jetpack and grabbed her before the shots could hit her. He then responded with a missile that Milo was barely able to deflect.

With his suspicions confirmed, Milo suddenly pulled Mako towards him and tossed the pistol aside, bringing his lightsaber to the young woman's throat once she was in his grasp. He glared at the Grand Champion.

"Cease fire!" The Grand Champion ordered. The remaining Mandalorians and his crew stopped firing. The three remaining battle droids did as well, and Rubat and Adegan stood with their lightsabers at the ready.

"What's your game, Jedi?" The Grand Champion asked. He took a step towards them. Milo held the lightsaber so close to Mako's neck that burn welts began appearing on her neck before he pulled it away again. The Grand Champion stopped walking.

"One more step and it won't be burn marks." Milo warned. He gestured to the other Mandalorians "They go back on your ship. Take off and leave. Order that cruiser to drop its tractor beam on us and leave the system. You can collect your dead if you want, but leave."

"Forget about me! Blast him, dammit!" Mako yelled. Milo gripped her.

"Quiet. Let him answer."

"See now, I'm not leaving without her." The Grand Champion said almost nonchalantly, a dangerous edge in his voice. Mako sighed and Milo sensed her heart rate increase. She was a sucker for a man who stuck to his woman.

"You will if you value her life." Milo warned "We'll dump her in an escape pod and send you the coordinates to collect her. She'll be alive. Leave now, nothing else to be said."

"A Jedi wouldn't kill an defenseless innocent." The Grand Champion said, eyeing Milo carefully "She's not a threat-…" Milo Force-called the blaster into his hand and fired it into Mako's foot. She cried out in pain. The man had tested the Jedi, and the Jedi had shown what he was willing to do.

"Why you little-…" The techstaff-wielding Mandalorian and the Jawa barely managed to grab onto the Grand Champion as he prepared to rush Milo. They pulled with all their might, barely restraining him.

"Torian, Blizz, let me go!" The man snapped. Torian glared at him and he eventually calmed down.

"Udesii, alor!" Torian warned. He turned to Milo "Do we have your word?"

"Jedi's honor." Milo said. Torian chuckled harshly.

"That doesn't hold up to much these days."

"If you're talking about Jun Seros, then I'm nothing like him." Milo said "Look, I don't want to hurt her any more than I have to, but if you don't start leaving, the next thing I do will be to end her."

"Come on." Torian hissed to the Grand Champion. After a few tense seconds, the man relented, and the three boarded their vessel. The other Mandalorians grabbed their dead comrades and the Houk's body before boarding the vessel. As the last one entered, Torian reappeared.

"Mando'ad draar digu." He said "I believe you will honor your promise. Ret'urcye mhi."

"I hope not." Milo replied. Torian nodded and the door closed behind him. The Mantis took off.

"You're going to regret this." Mako hissed.

"Shut up." Milo put her to sleep with a Force stun. The young woman collapsed.

[I'll take her down to the infirmary.] Adegan offered. She tossed the unconscious human over her shoulder and marched out of the hangar.

"We're still caught in the tractor beam." Milo said to Rubat. The pair walked back into the corridor, following Adegan. Before they left, Milo lowered the blast doors over the hangar entrance.

[It is a shame that Revan disappeared.] Adegan said as they rode the turbolift down [He was quite the fighter. Tell me, does his family still live?]

"You mean his descendants? Um…Grand Master Satele Shan is one."

[I look forward to meeting her.] Adegan said.

[I agree.] Rubat said.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Milo asked Rubat. The Shard nodded his head.

[Rubat prefers to let his actions speak for him.] Adegan explained. The turbolift stopped and they entered the medical bay. Opila was inside, treating Davor.

"Caught yourself a prisoner?" Davor asked "Ouch, that hurts!" Opila removed the cleaning swab and placed a bacta patch over the blaster burns in Davor's shoulder.

[Consider yourself lucky. A few inches lower and it would have pierced your heart.] Opila warned him. [Place the young woman on the bed to your right. I'd advise restraining her with stun-cuffs.]

"We're still not free of that tractor beam." Joran said as he entered the room.

"That Mando said he would tell the Imperials to let us go." Milo replied.

"Since when do the Sith give a shit about collateral?" Colin asked "They probably told him to go stick a pike up his shebs."

"Well, in a matter of seconds, we're going to be docking with them." Joran said "Opila, I've sent for Tekla to come and help you. The rest of you, join Leeva and Armon by the docking station. If the Imps plan on boarding us, then we're going to make them pay for every centimeter of my ship they take." The group began to file out. Joran stopped Colin. "Not you. You're too important to the Republic. You have knowledge that dates back hundreds of years." Colin growled, but he went back inside the operating theater.

"The last time I was on a ship facing Imperials, we used blaster turrets to secure our position." Armon muttered.

"What class was the ship?" Joran asked, annoyed.

"Valor-class cruiser. We were being boarded by a Terminus-class destroyer. I see your point."

"Yeah, we're slightly smaller than a capital ship. And the Tyrant is slightly bigger than a destroyer." Milo muttered.

"Insult my ship again and you'll find yourself without your lightsaber and first in line to fight them when they board." Joran snapped. Milo shrugged and twirled his lightsaber.

Davor limped up to Joran's position behind a container "I've set up barricades on the deck below us. The droids are in position. Hunter One and Hunter Five are located on the crew deck, and Hunter Nine is on the bridge."

"Good. How's your arm?" Davor flexed the muscles, testing them.

"Hurts, but luckily it's not my firing arm."

[Hostiles detected beyond the bulkhead.] Emcee warned [Engaging combat systems.]

"No lightsabers." Joran noted "They're probably slicing the doors open. Everyone, fill that hole with blasterfire the moment you see bucket-heads!"

The airlock door hissed open. Joran rolled a flashbang grenade towards it. The grenade made it halfway across the room before suddenly reversing direction. "Get down!" Joran warned. Milo shoved the grenade backwards. It began shaking, as the two forces pushing it fought against each other. The grenade went off, emitting a bright light and ear-piercing shriek, not to mention the shockwave.

Half-deaf and momentarily blinded by the detonation, Joran fell backwards. Davor, who had managed to avoid the flashbang grenade, rested his blaster rifle against the container and opened fire.

Milo extended a hand, and the first few Imperials through the door went flying into the bulkheads. Blasterfire poured from the opening, and the Shard Jedi around him began deflecting it back into the Imperial midst.

Joran shook his head, still partially deaf but his vision clear. He popped off a few bolts, blasting a trooper in the neck. Leeva aimed her sniper rifle and fired, blasting a trooper through the brain and hitting the man behind him.

"Push them back!" Joran ordered. Milo glanced over at Armon and Leeva; they nodded. The pair stood up and began walking forward past the safety of the barriers. Milo moved in front of them, his green blade a blur as it intercepted and deflected red blaster bolts. Leeva slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder and pulled out two blaster pistols.

Joran watched as the trio disappeared into the smoke and destruction that used to be the main airlock docking ring of the Dragon. For a few moments, the blasterfire coming through stopped. Then, as quickly as they had left, the three reappeared, Leeva and Armon running like they had a Terentarek on their tail, and Milo following them. Leeva was missing a blaster pistol and holding the arm that had been holding it. Armon's rifle was sliced clean down the middle. He flung it to the ground and grabbed a holdout blaster, firing blindly behind him. A bolt came flying back and smacked him in the stomach. He hit the ground. Milo had a deep burn mark running vertically across his right eye; it looked like his lightsaber had been forced into his face, though his eye socket was deep enough that the blade hadn't cut through it.

"Run!" Milo yelled. There was stark terror in his face "Retreat!" The air rippled behind him and he went flying. He hit the ground and tried to scramble back up. Another unseen Force slammed him back into the ground.

From behind them came a Sith Lord. Darkness was literally radiating from him. He wore a set of massive black armor over his dark grey robes. He was a Pureblood, and in his hand was a blood-red lightsaber. He stared at them and smiled cruelly.

Letting out a synthesized growl, Rubat activated his white lightsaber. Phond's double-bladed maroon one was out mere seconds after him. Adegan pointed her blue blade at the Sith.

[That's far enough.] She ordered. The Sith glared at them.

"Droids with lightsabers…interesting."

"Emcee, take him!" Joran ordered.

[Yes, Master!] The droid leaped past the Shard and sprayed the Sith with blasterfire. The Sith deflected the shots before stabbing Emcee straight through his chassis. The droid wailed and sparks flew from its photoreceptors. The Sith spit on it and then Force-shoved it to Joran's feet. Joran let his shock show for only a few seconds before he opened fire. The Sith grabbed him in a Force-grip and flung him against a wall. Leeva fired her blaster. The Sith deflected the bolt and flung her against the opposite wall. Her injured arm gave way and she fell to her knees, nursing the broken limb.

"Vambrous, leave them alone!" Milo yelled. He grabbed his fallen lightsaber and charged him. The Sith laughed and extended one hand. Purple lightning crackled and sprang forth from it, enveloping Milo. The young Jedi screamed and collapsed in a smoking shuddering heap.

There was silence for a moment. Davor stared at his fallen companions. Leeva and Joran sat groaning against each wall. Emcee made a few unconprehensible whirs and beeps. Armon was lying in a pool of green blood and whimpering. Milo stirred feebly behind Vambrous, his robes blackened and smoking. The Sith stared at Davor, but the three Shard moved to stand in front of the Cathar. Then Rubat spoke.

[Get him.]

The three Shard charged, twirling their lightsabers. Vambrous snarled and raised a hand. Phond absorbed the lightning that followed on one of his lightsaber blades while Rubat and Adegan dashed forward and swung their blades, forcing the Sith to stop his stream of lightning. Vambrous managed to block both blades on his own, before using his brute strength to force them back.

[Take that!] While Vambrous was busy with the two Shard, Phond charged forward and managed to skim his blade against Vambrous' side, burning a hole in his phrik armor. The smell of burnt flesh filled everyone's noses. The Sith roared and brought his lightsaber down on Phond's metal arm. The arm was sliced in two, and Phond stepped back, twirling his lightsaber in his other arm.

Vambrous struck Rubat's lightsaber just under the emitter nozzle, disabling it. Rubat dropped the now-useless silver tube and jumped on Vambrous' back, pummeling him with his metal fists. Vambrous grappled with him for a few moments before he flung him aside, only for Adegan to unleash a ferocious flurry of strikes on him, allowing Phond to cut off one of his chin horns. Rubat stood back up and managed to kick the Sith in the neck and then backflipped away before the fan of red energy that followed nearly bisected him. The Sith roared and slammed a fist into the ground. The Shard went flying backwards. Vambrous sneered and walked over to Phond. He raised his lightsaber and gently touched the stump of his chin horn.

"You'll pay for-…" Vambrous was knocked off-balance and spun around. He glared at Joran, who happened to be in his line of sight. Joran, having recovered sufficiently to think, shrugged. The deck shook hard.

"Not my ship. Someone's attacking yours." The Dragon shook again. Tekla's voice came over the intercom.

"Captain, there's a Republic strike force attacking the Tyrant. One of their shuttles-Holy Ryloth!" The Dragon shook. This time, something had slammed into it. From the sound of it, they had just docked rather hard with the other airlock.

The airlock bulkhead hissed open, and two hulking figures stormed out; a Yinchorri and a Wookiee.

"Vambrous, surrender!" The Yinchorri growled. He pulled out a long-handled lightsaber and ignited it. A yellow blade came out. The Wookiee roared and produced a double-bladed purple lightsaber. Vambrous snarled and faced them…and then three other Jedi, a young female Miraluka, a seasoned female Codru-Ji, and a particularly angry young male human appeared. From behind him, the Shard picked themselves up. Milo, though still weak, managed to Force-toss his lightsaber into Rubat's hands. The now eight Jedi stared down Vambrous. After a few moments, the Sith realized he was outmatched, and deactivated his lightsaber.

"This isn't over!" Vambrous snarled. He shoved them all back with a powerful Force wave before running back through the airlock. It closed behind him. The young man, wielding an orange lightsaber, ran up to the door and pounded it in frustration.

"Captain, the Tyrant's undocking with us." Tekla's voice came over the intercom. Joran stumbled over to the intercom wall panel and pounded the talk button..

"Tekla, get us out of here!"

"I can't! Engines are still offline…oh no. Captain, we're caught in the planet's gravity well. Without shields, we'll be burned up in the atmosphere!"

END OF PROLOGUE

I've already written a good portion of the story, but I don't know when I'll post the rest.

Please let me know what you think of it so far!