Star Wars: Journey Through Time Chapter 1, a star wars fanfic

Star Wars: Journey Through Time

Prologue

"There's two fighters behind us, and you're trying to change the the music we're listening to. Is that the gist of it?" Ulon Belamish asked angrily. He fired the blaster cannons and destroyed the fighter right in front of Ryloth Spear.

"Well Master," Zeke Nekor said mildly, "I just think an epic mission deserves an epic soundtrack, don't you think?" Zeke reached above him and pressed buttons rapidly, but his face remained calm.

"You're the worst co-pilot ever. This isn't a Holovid on the Net," Ulon said, as lasers trailed all around the expensive ship. Then one of the fighters scored a hit, and the Ryloth Spear jerked forward as it's shields absorbed the blow. "Can you stop tinkering with the deflector shield settings, and turn on the damn auto-turret?"

Smiling, Zeke said, "I suppose you mean the anti-fighter one, not the smaller anti-personnel one, correct?"

"You are most wise, my apprentice." Ulon teased, suddenly smiling himself as the auto-turret fired enough shots to blow up one of the pursuing fighters, and make the other one break off its attack. Ulon wasted no time in turning the ship so that the pursuer was now being hunted. The Ryloth Spear's powerful weapons tore through the smaller one-man craft instantly. "And that's how it's done," the blue Twi'lek boasted.

"Most excellent my Master, however, a squad of five more fighters is incoming at these coordinates. I'm most certain your prowess will make short work of them." Zeke turned towards his Master and smiled once more.

"I hate how chipper you are. You always gotta look at the positive side of things. I can't even tell when you're being sarcastic," the Twi'lek spat.

"I'm never sarcastic!" the aquatic Nautolan exclaimed.

Ulon Belamish gave his apprentice a long look, then directed his attention back to the battlefield. Five more dagger-shaped pirate ships to go, then they were supposed to land on the asteroid base and fight their way to the leader of the pirates, as per their lord's desires. "You must bring me his head, this trouble maker will be paraded through the streets of our capital to inform the entire Sith Empire what happens when you ignore our decrees!"

After making swift work of the five fighters, the duo landed in the asteroid's hangar bay. It had been carved out long ago to be a Republic space station, but the Republic eventually decided they didn't need an outpost this far out from the core, thus, pirates eventually moved in.

Two squads were there to meet them, and they immediately rained small-arms fire upon their ship. The ship's shields protected them easily enough.

"Now?" Neko asked.

"Yes Kilvaari." Ulon agreed. The smaller Anti-personnel turret was deployed, and returned fire on the pirates while Ryloth Spear landed. By the time the repulsors shut off, Ulon and Neko were already outside finishing the last of the pirates. Ulon's red double-bladed lightsaber flared and flashed as he swung it at opponents and deflected their bolts back into them. One brave soul came at him with a vibroblade. The melee encounter did not last long.

"Master Ryl, you've done it again. You only left me one this time, but it's okay. I will just have to move faster next time."

Ulon Belamish who was now known as Darth Ryl, glanced at Zeke Nekor whom also abandoned his birth name for the title Darth Kilvaari. He shook his head. He hasn't changed. He's still weak and good-hearted. He'll never try to overthrow me, or usurp my power. He's lucky he was even granted the 'Darth' title. "Let's go. We have a head to retrieve."

"That things smells. Can you put it back in the container?" Darth Ryl commanded rather than asked. Ryloth Spear was in hyperspace, travelling at the speed of light. Blue lights illuminated the cockpit as entire star systems flew past them every nanosecond. Ryl used the downtime to check his gear, and clean it properly.

Darth Kilvaari was holding the dead pirate's head in his lap, and making it look at Ryl. "I just think it's kind of creepy. Should we close his eyes?"

"Blast it, just put that thing away before I chop off your head next!"

"Way ahead of you! At least he's one with the Force now," Kilvaari said, before pressing a button and opening a container. Then he dropped the head in and sealed it. "So Master, you said you wanted to talk to me about something before the mission is done?"

Sighing, Ryl tried to think back. He still had the battle fever, as he always did after killing. "Ah. Yes. That I did. This mission is the last one we're going to be doing for the three High Lords. Or at least for me. You can do whatever you want, see if I care."

Darth Kilvaari was juggling three thermal detonators with the force, spinning them in a circle. His eyes were closed, but he still had a smile.

When his apprentice didn't say anything, he continued. "I've been in contact with some hacker kid. He may have hacked some highly encrypted files belonging to our dear friend."

At that, Kilvaari's eyes opened. "You mean Lord Kren?"

"Yes I do, and stop that will you? I don't plan on dying anytime soon." Ryl used the force to pull Kilvaari's thermal detonators to his hand.

"But if Lord Kren finds out, you're going to be in deep bantha poodoo. Although I bet you could beat him in a fight."

Kilvaari closed his eyes once more, and Ryl figured that he was imagining the fight in his head. Why does he admire me so much? "Screw Kren, and the rest of the High Council. I don't need them. I never have. Anyway, the files detail a plan. Kren plans to gather something called the Sacred Time Shards and use the force to open a dimensional time rift to get to the past. With these shards you can manipulate time itself. There's more, but I care more about these so called Force Shards than his plan." Ryl took a glass out and poured him some Corellian ale. "I've found one shard, and I'm gonna steal the other two from Kren before he can use it. Then, I'm going to go back in time." He took a big swig from his drink.

"Master, that all sounds pretty crazy! Are you going to go back to before you were a Sith Lord, I wonder?"

Ignoring his question, Darth Ryl, Dark Lord of the Sith, asked his own instead. "So are you with me Darth Kilvaari?" If he's not, I'll probably have to kill him right here and now. That'd be a damn shame.

Darth Kilvaari sprang from his seat, and for a second, Ryl thought he had read his mind, but Kilvaari went straight to one knee. "Master, I pledge myself to you and your secrets. My power is your power. My strength is yours. My knowledge is your knowledge. My body is yours to command. Wherever you go, I will follow."

Darth Ryl couldn't help himself, his lips curled into a smile at the edges.

Chapter One

The duo walked throughout the palace, passing by Sith of all different ranks and races. Lords, Masters, Apprentices, Marauders, Assassins, Acolytes, Guards, and so on. Most of them were garbed in the traditional black Sith robes or darkened armor. Darth Ryl himself wore a dark tunic, lightly armored so that he could utilize speed in combat. His blue skin was marked all over by his black tattoos that symbolized his devotion to the Sith Order. Darth Kilvaari wore a brown tunic, even lighter and less protective than his masters, but he had been hesitant about tattooing his light green skin. Ryl once told him "It doesn't matter how many tattoos you get anyway, you'll never have the intimidating look of the Sith."

Two seven foot tall Sith guarded the entrance to the High Council's chambers. They stared straight forward until Ryl ordered them to let them in. "I have urgent business with the High Lords." He gestured to the container his apprentice carried.

The guard nodded, and they walked in. The chamber was dark with a reddish glow, and the seats were uselessly higher than they had to be. "The Lords think that height will make them seem more powerful and intimidating than they really are," Ryl had told Kilvaari once.

"Hello my Lords," Ryl said, while going to one knee. Kilvaari did the same.

"Ah, Darth Ryl. It's very good to see you my old friend. Did you make your little fish of a Padawan Learner into a Sith Warrior yet?" asked Lord Ves the Cruel.

"That one will never be a warrior. He's doomed to follow his weak Master like a pet dog," spat Lord Kren the Shadow.

Ryl did his best to hide his anger, especially knowing the High Lords could sense it. He wasn't afraid, only intent on denying them the satisfaction. Kilvaari was obediently silent while the masters spoke.

"Now, now. Settle down. Let Darth Ryl tell us of his last mission," spoke Lord Sorhaul the Wise, the oldest member on the High Council. He is known as wise mostly for being able to survive being such a high ranking leader in Sith Society for so long.

Darth Ryl gestured to his Apprentice, who opened the container and took out the severed head. "My Lords, I am most honored to show you the work of Darth Ryl the Mighty." Kilvaari held the head out for all to see, then Lord Ves the Cruel yanked the head from his hand with the force and brought it to his own for closer inspection.

"Ah yes. This is him. He had been a nuisance for too long, but not enough a threat to warrant an army, even a small one. You've done good work yet again Darth Ryl." Lord Ves let the head drop to the floor.

"How goes your rule on Utapau?" Lord Sorhaul asked.

"Much better than this rock." Ryl replied immediately. He never liked Korriban.

"Watch yourself Twi'lek," Kren warned.

Sorhaul only chuckled. "Yes. Well, a good job done. You may return there, until we have further need of you."

"Yes my Lords," Ryl said while bowing in unison with Kilvaari, who was as smiley as ever. As they left the chamber they passed by Darth Syntheon entering. The guards didn't say so much as a word to him. Syntheon had a reputation for killing both Jedi and Sith alike. The pale skinned android was rumored to absorb human flesh so it could maintain a connection to the living Force.

"What now Master?" Kilvaari asked, as impatient as ever.

"Wait until we reach the ship Kilvaari. Don't be naive or stupid. Don't forget where we are." Then just as he finished his sentence, a figure rolled out from behind a pillar and ignited their blade. It was a black Darksaber. The blade slashed rapidly at Darth Ryl, but he dodged it and then ignited his own twin-bladed lightsaber. The armored figure kicked at him, and Ryl flew backwards, but landed on his feet. The armored man was already continuing his attack. A downward slash was parried, then a vertical slash almost broke the blade in two, but Ryl whirled just in time and delivered a spin kick to the man's helmeted head.

The Mandalorian's armor was too heavy to allow the fighter to land on his feet, so he fell on his butt. He turned off his darksaber and took off his helmet. "As sharp as ever Ulon." Darth Ryl helped him to his feet. "I see your apprentice has learned not to try to save you when I catch you off guard like that. I guess even a Bantha can learn!"

"Oh please, when did you catch me off guard? Please inform me."

"Hello Master Animosity. Nice to see you and that rare blade once more." Kilvaari said, cheerily.

"I just called you dumber than a Bantha, and you say it's nice to see me? Heh. I've always kind of liked that about you kid." Mektar Kelborn wiped some dirt off of his armor. "So shall we talk?"

"My lords, I must speak to Lord Kren about a personal issue of much importance," the cold voice stated. The other two High Lords looked at one another.

"Surely you could have sent him a message, or rather waited for our sessions to come to an end, couldn't you, Master Syntheon?" Lord Sorhaul asked.

Climbing down the steps of his high chair, High Lord Kren spoke to his political equals. "I believe I know of which matters Syntheon speaks, and it is quite a dire situation for me. If you two would be so kind as to excuse me. I'm certain you both could go about the business without me. If there is anything urgent, I suppose you could leave me a holomessage or something." He smiled wickedly at that, and left with Darth Syntheon while Ves and Sorhaul exchanged yet another look.

When Kren was in his personal quarters, he checked his room thoroughly to ensure there were no taps or unwanted cameras watching him. "Guards, leave us." He trusted his personal guard very much, and they were sworn to die for him if need be, but Kren would take no extra chances. "Syntheon, this better be about Project Quasar or something of equal importance, or I'll have your robotic head for interrupting the High Council and I'll use the rest of you as a refrigerator."

The part-human android was unphased. "My lord. I have discovered a hack in your system. Project Quasar has been… compromised."

"WHAT?" Kren could hardly keep from shouting. His dark side energy flared up all around him. "How could this possibly be, you assured me we had unbreakable encryptions. Who was it?" Kren picked up a priceless vase telekinetically and then chucked it at a wall, shattering it. "WHO?"

"It was supposed to be unbreakable. I have never heard of anyone hacking past the firewalls I used. Not even other droids. I don't know who it was, but the news is not all bad my lord. I've set up extra alarms, the kind that cannot be avoided. Silent ones too. Don't access your files or you will set them off yourself. As soon as our hacker taps more deeply into the files, I will know exactly who and where they are."

Kren stared at the monstrosity before him. "And if they don't delve further into the files, and instead decide to sell it to one of the other council members?"

His eyes flashed blue momentarily as his synthetic brain computed and processed information. "Presuming the hacker isn't a droid, there is only a 12% chance they will be able to resist the temptations of digging deeper into your files. They will have realized how expensive our defense protocols were that they broke. Therefore, if they did hack us to sell the information to the highest bidder, they will still want to know exactly how critical the information is before they sell so they don't undervalue their content. No one likes to get less credits when they could have earned more. Even if the information is sold without further digging, they will still need a hacker of the same caliber to get past the final firewalls and encryptions. In that scenario we still find them, just with less time. I suggest scattering teams of loyal assassins to each local system, to be ready at a moment's notice to apprehend and eliminate the target." The blue and white humanoid figure tapped buttons on its forearm. "I've already alerted my forces to remain on standby."

Kren sighed. "Do whatever you need to do. I want this hacker dead and my plans safe. If the other High Lords find out my plan, we're both dead. Don't forget that Syntheon. Now go alert the others to be ready to move on with the rest of the operation at a moment's notice. Just one more shard to go. The sooner, the better. Sorhaul is growing more suspicious every week."

Wires and veins alike shot out from Syntheon's arm and wrapped around Kren's neck. They lifted him off the ground. "I am happy to serve my lord, but threaten me one more time, and I might just absorb you and your pitiful human life force in it's entirety. I could just as easily destroy you now as I could betray you and all of our compatriots to the other lords. Do not forget." The wires and veins both receded back into Syntheon's arm with a snap, and he walked out of Kren's room.

Kren was left there in shock and pain, massaging his neck. He could have snapped my neck, or electrocuted me, or worse… absorbed me right there, but he didn't. Maybe I should be more careful about sending my guards away around that tin can. Unfortunately I need him more than most of the rest combined. I just need to make sure his ambitions do not overwhelm my own.

"I can't believe that thick-headed Mandalorian asked me if I was scared. To me, it just seems like killing two Mynocks with one stone." Darth Ryl said. He was in his natural habitat: The Ryloth Spear.

"Well Master, he did have a point. Are you so certain this hacker is going to die? Can't you just warn him when he sends us the hacked files?" Darth Kilvaari was counting out the credits earned from looting after the last mission.

"No. One, if someone does know he hacked Lord Kren, that means him and all of his transmissions are being watched. Even the encrypted and secret ones could be at risk. I don't wanna get this far, just to make a stupid mistake. Two, if we save his life, maybe he'll reduce what he's charging us. I am gonna need some good money for my plan." They came out of hyperspace with a lurch, and Taris was now in full view.

Ryloth Spear sent it's docking codes and paid the transaction fee and began appropriate landing procedures.

"I still don't get it. The old you would just kill this hacker after we get what we want. Now you're saving him, and paying him?"

To that, Ulon Belamish didn't have a proper answer. Or at least one he cared to give. After a moment he said, "He's a skilled hacker. He may prove useful one day in the future. A true Sith knows how to utilize resources." Kilvaari's face said that he didn't think Ryl believed his own words much either. Ulon put on a necklace with a holostransmitter attached. He pressed a button, and his black Sith tattoos disappeared. "You know this isn't my first vision having to do with this world? One day, the Sith will burn it to the ground," he said, changing the subject.

"The Sith will burn many things to the ground. Perhaps this planet will be Lord Kren's doing." Kilvaari said earnestly. "Though, I'm sure we'll be okay."

Darth Ryl glared at him. "Whatever. Do you have the credits?"

"Five hundred thousand Republic Credits. We only have three hundred thousand left after this. Perhaps we can mug him without taking his life Master?"

"I suppose it depends on what's more useful. The five hundred thousand, or the hacker."

An Ithorian ran to their ship as they walked down the ramp. "Need any refueling? Repairs? Chi-Losh Ryman can do all!" he exclaimed in better basic than Ryl expected.

Ryl surprised him as he threw a blaster pistol into the Ithorian's hands. He looked into the alien's eyes and said "If anyone tries to go near this ship, I want you to blast them."

"If anyone goes near your ship, Chi-Losh Ryman will blast them." Darth Ryl pushed his way past him after that. "That blaster will send an alert to my datapad if he uses it."

Darth Kilvaari was looking behind them at the Ithorian. "Neat trick my Master. How long will that last?"

"Long enough."

The tall skyscrapers and buildings were everywhere on Taris. The planet is known to some as the 'Jewel of the Outer-Rim', but to Darth Ryl it looked more like a carbon copy of Coruscant without all of the galactic importance. Darth Ryl, an avid reader, had taught himself all of the high-class and low-class districts. The hierarchy on Taris was very symbolic not unlike it's Core World twin. The lower you are on the planet, the lower you are in society and vice versa. Not only that, but he had looked into the background of his informant long before even hiring him. He grew up with a rich family, but now lives in the slums of lower levels.

As the two Sith descended down the levels of the city, Ryl noted that more and more aliens were common and less humans. Darth Ryl heard basic less and less. Luckily, he knows over fifty languages and can speak almost ten.

Four hours and a speeder ride later, they were in the same district and level as the hacker when Ryl received a message from him.

"So, I noticed you've come to my homeworld. I hope you know I'm not such a fool as to give a Sith my work for free. So what gives?"

"Who was that?" Kilvaari asked while Ryl read the message on his datapad. The short range communications were set to delete themselves after being read.

"Our friend has noticed we've come to his planet. He's suspicious."

"Sounds like he's got common sense as well as tech smarts," Kilvaari said, smiling.

"Your life is in danger. We've come to escort you off-world and retrieve the files. We have the credits."

After ten minutes and no response, Darth Ryl turned to his apprentice. "If he hasn't answered yet, it means that he's doing what I'd do in his shoes. I'd take my chances and make a run for it, then try to resume the deal through communications. I know where he hangs out, but if we lose him now, we might never find him again. We need to move in quickly."

"Uh, Master?"

Darth Ryl turned around to find his apprentice surrounded by about twelve aliens with their blasters and vibroblades out.

"We need to get going, NOW!" Darien shouted. He was stuffing an assortment of items into his huge backpack. Two blaster pistols, a thermal detonator, three bacta syringes, his hacking tools, a comlink, and more still.

"I still need to find my hair dryer!" Zero replied, similarly ripping apart their apartment.

"Trust me when I say that you definitely don't need that. Just weapons, food, bacta, credits, stims, anything we can sell, and so on. Hurry up Zero!"

"Fine, but I'm still bringing my comb," Zero said, as he grabbed a heavy duty assault rifle. "Do you really think this Sith will betray you?"

Darien face palmed. "Great. Bring a comb, some pants, maybe some extra pairs of underwear too. Whatever you think you need. Sometimes I wish I didn't install that program," he mumbled. "And do I think a Sith will betray me? Noooo, that could never happen! They're known throughout the galaxy as the protectors of peace and justice. They would never go back on a deal. Oh wait no, that's the Jedi!" he said sarcastically. He put on his brother's helmet. It was a deep dark blue with a retractable visor. "Are you ready yet?"

"Just a minute." Zero replied.

"What are you doing in there Zero?" Darien Garr asked. Zero was in the bathroom and Darien was losing his patience.

Zeru came out wearing a bronze cape. It matched his bronze metal plates throughout his robotic body. His three white eyes looked at Darien, and his foot tapped as he waited to hear what he thought of the cape.

"Um. Yeah it's great. Looks real… bronze. Now let's go older brother. Our time is short, ok?" Zero went to go wait by the door. Darien placed a detpack under his bed, and another in the kitchen. Then he hacked them both via his suit's interface so it could be sensor-activated.

"What if your bombs cost us the five hundred grand?" Zero asked.

"Then maybe my clients will start learning not to try to sneak up on me. Plus it could do me a little good if some people think we're dead."

"What about the potential clients who are looking for us?"

Darien's face dropped into a frown. He clearly hadn't thought about that. Then he finished off a bottle of whiskey and dropped it. "Sometimes, living requires sacrifices, I guess. That bed sucked anyway." Then they left.

As Darien locked his apartment door behind him, he heard Zero gasp. He turned to find the dead corpses of all of his complexes' neighbors littering the hallway floors. Then four dark armored assassins de-cloaked in front of him. There was blood on their blades. Darien wondered if this was his client's doing, or if he was telling the truth. Zero seemed to think he knew though, because he said "You just haaad to finish decrypting the rest of the files, huh little brother?"

"Darth Kilvaari, can I leave these… cretins to you?" Darth Ryl asked, as they began inching their way closer to the two of them. Some of them had managed to cut off his escape as well. There were several Rodians, a Twi'lek like him but green skinned, a Weequay, and a Gamorrean. Not a single Human, Ryl noted.

"You can my Master. I will catch up!" Darth Kilvaari's anxious smile sprouted from his face. He was anxious to impress his Master. They both knew he wasn't the best duelist out there, but nonetheless he had always wanted to prove his worth to Darth Ryl.

"You're not going anywhere!" shouted a Rodian in his native language. "Their armor looks expensive!" commented another. A Gamorrean grunted in pleasure-filled agreement.

Darth Ryl ignored them, and nodded at his Sith Apprentice before doing a graceful triple backflip and landing behind the thugs that blocked his path. About half of them were too stunned to do anything, but the Twi'lek shouted at them. "Fire, fire, fire! Don't let him escape!" The ones with blasters opened fire and Darth Ryl was already dashing away when he reached for his lightsaber. He didn't need to activate it though, Darth Kilvaari managed to get in-between him and the shots, deflecting them harmlessly into the surrounding walls, although one managed to catch a Rodian in his throat.

Darth Ryl tapped into his force abilities, and used the force to guide his feet so that he would not stumble as his dash increased speed and got faster and faster. He flew past several civilians and their apartments. At one point, he saw up ahead that more gang members were mugging some bystanders and he was careful to ignite his lightsaber at just the right time to cut the two armed criminals in half. Before the couple he saved could thank him, he was gone. He didn't even bother stopping. It would take more than petty criminals to stop his sprint.

He came to a stop, and took thirty seconds to catch his breath, then checked his datapad. Just one elevator ride away. He hoped he'd be in time to catch the hacker. As Darth Ryl waited in the elevator wondering if the stairs would have been quicker, he began to sense Dark Side adjacent presences. It appeared time was shorter than he thought.

Darth Kilvaari ran past a Gamorrean who swung a short axe at him, and then slid and used his momentum to get past two more armed fighters. Then he jumped up and ignited his red lightsaber to fend off the blaster bolts aimed at his master. One landed in the hallway wall. Then two, three, and a fourth. The fifth Kilvaari redirected into a Rodian's neck as he caught his footing.

"He's a Jedi!" the green skinned Twi'lek shouted. Darth Kilvaari always thought of his Master when he saw aliens of his same race, even if they were different skin colors. "Let's kill him and earn the reputation of Jedi killers for the Red Fangs!"

You may be disappointed in more than one area then, Kilvaari thought, but didn't waste the time saying. He instantly moved in towards the closest target. One slash, then two. He proceeded to pick up and fling the dead Weequay into two of his comrades. Don't hesitate to knock down your opponents if an opportunity arises. Anything to slow their attack, or weaken their resolve can and will save your skin. Especially when you're fighting multiple opponents. His master had taught him that lesson so long ago.

Kilvaari used the force to grip another thug's hand right as he pulled his trigger, but he was shocked to realize that his hand was aiming at the Gamorrean in front of him, rather than the person they thought to be a Jedi.

He threw a slash that cut both of the gang members as they tried to get up after having the Weequay chucked onto them. The Gamorrean that was shot was still on his feet, and now charging Kilvaari, while a Rodian joined him. Kilvaari made sure not to forget the Twi'lek who seemed to be their leader, but Kilvaari mostly paid attention to him because he was lining up a shot with his heavy duty blaster pistol.

His crimson blade clashed with the Rodian's vibroblade three times before Kilvaari ducked under a swing of the fat pig creature's axe. He force pushed the Gamorrean away so he could deal with the Rodian. To his credit, the teal-skinned alien did better than Kilvaari expected, but his vibroblade skills could not prevent Kilvaari's faint that he used to trick his opponent into opening his guard. Then the Sith opened his throat and kicked him away. At that same instant, the Twi'lek Sergeant fired, but his shot was reflected straight into the Gamorrean. He didn't survive that one. Good shot, that would have taken off my head if I was an ordinary opponent.

The Sergeant knew the fight was lost. He turned to flee and took out a plasma grenade. Kilvaari could have left to meet back up with his Master, but instead he dashed at the surviving thug and cut off the arm holding the grenade. The Twi'lek whirled and squealed in pain, but his other hand was already moving the blaster back into place. Before he could shoot it, Darth Kilvaari's red lightsaber pierced his chest in a forward thrust. The battle took only about five minutes. He hoped that would please Darth Ryl. He quickly looted the Sergeant and left the rest of them to their new graves.

"Get back in the room Lesh," Zero said. He took his blaster rifle off of his back and aimed it at the nearest target.

Using my fake alias, pretty smart, "I'm not leaving you that easy brother, sorry!" Then, without saying a single thing, the four assailants lunged forward. Darien Garr threw down a smoke grenade, and two of them backed up before he even threw it. As the smoke ascended and dispersed, the first assailant swung a blooded double-sided vibroblade at Zero. He fired his heavy blaster rifle point blank, blowing the fool away. Zero immediately emptied out the rest of his clip on the second one, but that one had a little more distance and agility. He dodged the fire with a roll. His speed didn't help him too much though, because he still forgot about Darien. Darien landed two bolts on the assassin who fell backwards and dropped his blade.

The other two were already charging again through the smoke. Darien could hear them, but it was getting harder and harder to see them. The smoke became so thick, Darien couldn't see Zero, but he did see his blaster rifle as it slid on the floor in his direction. Then there were clangs from metal on metal combat. Zero must be using his arm vibroblade then… Darien grabbed the blaster rifle and backed up towards his apartment. "Zero! To me!"

Zero was fighting with the assassin who kicked away his weapon, when he heard Darien call out. Zero used his lifeform scanner to see through the smokescreen more easily. He retracted his vibroblade back into his arm, then fired his wrist blaster directly into the assassin's face. He could see the heat signature of the last assassin moving towards where he heard the blaster fire.

Zero joined Darien and so the human and droid entered the apartment together. "How many?" Darien asked.

"There were four." Zero replied quickly.

"No you dolt, how many are left?" Darien shot the glass in the window of their apartment and it shattered loudly.

"One and a half." Zero said mildly. They went to the edge of the window. They heard the assassin breaking down the locked door.

"How could there be a 'half' of someone left? Eh, forget about it. Let's go." Together they jumped from the 33rd floor window. The assassin broke down the door and went towards the window. Darien pressed buttons on his wrist as they fell.

"Where are we going?" Zero yelled, mid-falling. Then all sound was drowned out from the explosion in their apartment, which flung the last assassin out the same window they jumped from. A speeder appeared beneath them, and Zero landed on his robotic feet gracefully while Darien practically face planted. The auto-hacked speeder flew away as glass rained down where the vehicle had just been hovering.

A Nataulon watched as the speeder drove off, leaving behind a rain of glass and a Sith Assassin's corpse which landed with an appalling crunching noise. Darth Kilvaari quickly threw a tracking device as hard and fast as he could, and used the force to guide it and increase it's speed. It landed on the craft and Darth Kilvaari jumped up in joy.

The window in the next apartment over shattered and a couch was falling rapidly a second later. Kilvaari saw Darth Ryl on top of it. When it was ten meters off the ground he jumped off eloquently and landed in a crouch. As he stood up, Darth Kilvaari saw that he was smiling. He liked when his master was smiling.

"Let us go catch us a data jockey."

"I'm thinking Alderaan. Maybe Scarif, or even an ocean world like Manaan or Mon Cala." Darien said. He knew he needed to ditch the speeder he stole very soon. He could only imagine how many Tarisian police forces were swarming his former apartment as they spoke.

"I'm not so sure we have enough credits to live on those worlds, let alone get to them Dar," Zero said. His finger had turned into a swiveling mop like object, and he was polishing the smoke, dirt and grime off of his bronze armor.

"We'll make due Bro, we always do, and always have. I mean those were some pretty well trained assassins back there, and we-" he was interrupted when the back of their speeder exploded, Darien was flung from the passenger seat, but Zero hauled him down with one arm and took control of the speeder with his other.

"Hold on tight." Zero said, angling the speeder from a downward crash to a forward scrape.

"Damn it all," Darien said, putting his safety belt on, and preparing for a crash landing. He hugged his backpack and put his brother's helmet back on. "Be ready to return fire when we land!" Then they crashed with a loud metallic scraping noise. Sparks flew everywhere as the smaller flaming speeder scraped several meters before crashing into a parked land speeder.

Darien was sighing in relief, and recovering from the whiplash, when Zero opened fire with his heavy repeating blaster rifle. A dark armored figure ignited a red blade, and deflected the shots with the saber he held in a reverse grip. "I used the force to crush your repulsor engines. I can do the same thing to your chest and that one's plasma core in an instant. You're lucky I prefer a fight," the figure said, before getting impaled by another red lightsaber.

Another speeder hovered nearby, and a similarly garbed Twi'lek jumped down and recalled his lightsaber. He walked over and finished the other assassin. Zero lifted his rifle to fire but Darien jumped out of the speeder and held out his hand to stop his droid compatriot. "You're Darth Ryl, right?"

The figure turned and looked him in the eyes. "I warned you kid. Now forget the droid, you're coming with us," his tone was compassionless.

"What droid?" Zero asked, but Darien was busy weighing his options. The pilot of the speeder Darth Ryl jumped from would most likely be another Sith as well.

"We'll go with you, but I warn you. I've put firewalls of my own on the data. You'll need me to unlock it."

"They know who you are, and where you are. More powerful ones than this one will find you. Come with me right now, before they realize I helped you. If they do, you'll be in more trouble than me. Do you understand what you've gotten yourself into yet, worm?"

Darien Garr the Third rolled his eyes, and shrugged. "Let's go hang out with some Sith, Zero. Could be fun." He may have pretended to be light hearted, but deep down, he hoped this wouldn't be his last mistake.

Well, they haven't killed me yet… Darien thought. Him and Zero were in the cramped back compartment of Ryloth Spear, facing each other. A huge part of him had wanted to try to sneakily point his blaster at the back of their heads, and open fire, but he didn't. Nor did he ask Zero to try either. These Sith weren't stupid. They left them with their weapons because they didn't fear them, not because they trusted them or forgot. Plus he had heard many Sith and Jedi had eyes in the back of their heads, although the assassin that tried to kill him was only the second force user he had ever met.

"So, where are you taking me?" Darien asked. Zero had been awfully quiet. The co-pilot chair swiveled around, the aquatic nautolan smiled at him. It creeped Darien out.

"Sounds like you guys can do a pretty good job at defending yourselves, huh? My Master told me about the four Sith Assassins you slew by your apartment. You two must be more skilled than you look!"

"Hold your tongue Kilvaari. Don't forget those four were low-level assassins. They can't even wield lightsabers or use the force." Darth Ryl's voice was all ice, and his eyes were facing forward through the viewport. He pressed a button on his necklace, and black markings appeared throughout his body.

"We were outnumbered by big bad Sith, and we took them out. Are you jealous, or mad because they were friends of yours?" Darien said, and Zero gave him what could be interpreted as a reprimanding look.

"They weren't. It matters not. My Apprentice has your credits." Kilvaari handed him a briefcase filled with the chips. "Now I want you to upload and unlock all of the files onto my Ship's systems. If I find out you've withheld any information, I will kill you. If you trick me in any way, I will kill you. If you-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I get it. No need to get so..blue about it." Darth Ryl turned in his seat, and glared at the human hacker.

"Just get to it, hacker."

"I have a name you know! Besides, hacker is so… well, so pretentious sounding. But whatever. The sooner I get to spend these creds, the better. And I guess I owe you a thanks for saving me," he cleared his throat, "Uh, us, back there. We appreciate it." He began using his suit's interface to transfer the data files he spent days hacking and decrypting. "Ah, yeah. There was an alarm here. That must be how they found me."

"I oughta deduct that from your pay, computer boy."

"Trust me, no one you hired would find this trap. And I'm not a boy," Darien protested.

"That blue suit doesn't make you tough," the Twi'lek said.

"Neither does that blue skin of yours," Darien replied sardonically. Darth Kilvaari stopped smiling and looked at his master with worry. The Sith Master's eyes were closed tightly, then he reopened them and focused entirely on piloting.

The apprentice was reading the files and tapping coordinates into the ship. "Looks like we may need to make a stop before we can let you go. It has to do with the information. We'll need to get the last shard soon before defenses are beefed up even more."

"Yes," Darth Ryl said.

"Hey I didn't sign up for a road trip!" Darien protested once more.

"Well, now that you've been discovered they'll want to protect what's there's. I've already instructed Darth Animosity to join us after he picks up the shards I've retrieved. We'll drop these two off right after."

Darien pictured beaches and warm planets. Anything that was in contrast to the only planet he had ever known, Taris. He looked at the machine that was programmed to think it was his elder brother, and thought we'll be able to retire soon Zero, I promise.

Buildings crumbled and collapsed. The voices of the dying were faint, but persistent. They would die before the fires would. The capital city was ablaze, and Ryl watched. This time was different. When he razed Doonvar VI the first time, he had been triumphant. It was the first planet that had fell before him, a brand new Sith Master, a true conqueror. He felt more empowered and victorious back then.

Now though, it was different. So very different. Now he was in terror. Every scream was dying with his name at their tongues. The fires were more than warm. They were melting him. The entire planet was melting, he was melting and… then Darth Ryl woke up drenched in sweat. He threw the blanket off of him, and was surprised to see the hacker sleeping on the floor, next to his deactivated droid.

He walked a meter to the cockpit and found Kilvaari in his seat. "Good morning Master. Or. Close enough at least. We're an hour out from the planet that Animosity and our shard is awaiting. Cloaking systems have been enabled. They won't see us coming!"

They landed on Yavin II, a barren rock of a world with a few wooded areas, but nothing like it's forest filled cousins. Kilvaari parked next to Animosity's ship. By then Darien and Zero were also awoken.

Darien came out in time to see Ryl and Animosity shake hands. "So this is your tech jockey huh? Nice to meet you Mr. Insect, my name is Darth Animosity."

"Darth Animosity?" Darien chuckled, and then broke out into full laughter. "Jeez, who names you guys." The Sith had lurched forward and grabbed him by the neck. He instantly lifted Darien off the ground, and Zero's arm blade shot out. Ryl and Kilvaari made no move at all. "Wait a minute, you're a Mandalorian, you're no Sith." Darien tried to remove the muscular arm from his throat, but failed.

The Mandalorian threw him onto his back. "I'm a Mando first, true, but I'm also a Sith Master and a proud warrior. I've been a Sith pretty much all of my life, so watch what you say about my heritage and the name I've chosen lad, or you'll find yourself missing a few vital organs in no-time." Zero slowly lowered, then retracted his blade. Animosity glanced at him. "Huh, a MAD series. Quite rare, and really expensive. Haven't destroyed one in a long time." Mektar Kelborn spun on his heels. "Well anyway, here are the speeder bikes. This will be the best way to infiltrate the compound. My scouting droids have found medium resistance."

"There's only two…" Darth Ryl said, staring at the speeder bikes.

"I call shotgun!" Darth Kilvaari said, force jumping onto one.

"Not on your life," Ryl said, and Kilvaari scooted backward so Ryl could sit in front of him.

"That's adorable!" Darth Animosity said, then revved his bike. "Let's go."

"If you do anything to our ships boy, you'll live to regret it. Don't think we can't find you with another hacker if you try somethin'." Then Ryl drove off and Mek followed. The speeder bikes were fast, and in less than a minute, they were out of sight.

Darth Animosity climbed up the wall of the abandoned temple and jumped onto the ledge the sentry was walking on. He turned to see what the noise was, but it was too late. Darth Animosity had already grabbed his face and pushed him off the ledge. Darth Ryl and Darth Kilvaari joined him on the ledge. "You're going to need to be quieter than that." Ryl said.

Animosity dropped down behind the next sentry, and snapped his neck with a quick turn of his wrists. "Like that?" he asked through his helmet's voice coder. Ryl thought that Mektar's helmet was a waste of effort. It blocked his visibility, and added weight. Sure he could talk to people inside with it being muted on the outside, but what other true Sith wear helmets to begin with?

"Yes my Lord," Kilvaari said. Darth Ryl could sense the anticipation in him once more, hunger for glory in front of his master. They silently slaughtered their way past many sentries, ignoring whatever ones weren't necessary to get past. Finally, they were outside the safe room.

"This is the vault that the plans your hacker uploaded said the last Force Shard should be in. Be on your guard. I sense someone powerful up ahead." Darth Animosity took out his darksaber, and typed in the code that Darien had transmitted.

The door slid open with a hiss. It was a wide chamber, much bigger than all of the other rooms they had snuck into or past on their way. The Force Shard was on a pedestal in the middle of the room, but directly behind it was a massive armored knight. The knight wore blackened armor with the red markings of the Sith all over it. The figure stood up, and turned to face them.

"Is that who I think it is?" Kilvaari said, suddenly some of the confidence lost in his voice.

"Yeah, it is." Darth Animosity answered. "It's Darth Malice. The dumbest Sith that ever lived, but also considered the best conqueror of our day."

The Sith Conqueror Darth Malice stood almost 3 meters tall. "So you're the traitors who hacked Lord Kren. Darth Ryl and his pet I'm not surprised about, but you Mek? I expected better from you, bwahaha." He lifted a staff that was as tall as him, and Mek yelled at everyone to move. Darth Malice's staff formed a rectangle of red energy at the tip, turning his staff into a Sith Warhammer Saber. The blunt energy was about the size of short Kilvaari. As the Warhammer hit the ground where the three of them had just stood, it discharged red electrical energy in a wave.

When they all landed, the floor shifted below them into an empty square. Darth Ryl immediately caught the ledge and flung himself back onto the floor, but Animosity and Kilvaari plummeted right down. "Idiots," Darth Ryl said angrily, as he watched the floor move back to close the holes they fell through. He hoped that they would survive, but he busy making sure he could do that himself. Darth Malice charged him again, and he swung the cumbersome warhammer horizontally. Darth Ryl ducked it in ease, but barely rolled away in time when Malice quickly brought the hammer back downwards in a crash. He's so fast and strong. I would barely be able to move that thing let alone swing it like he does.

"Lord Kren knew you fools might try to steal from him. That's why I replaced the Temple Guard. In fact, they are probably on their way to destroy whatever ship you weaklings flew over here in, HA HA HA," the proud warrior mocked. Although Ryl was technically the same rank as Malice, Malice had a way bigger reputation and was known throughout the Sith Empire for his feats. He had been a Sith Master as long as Darth Ryl had even been a Sith.

Darth Ryl activated his double sided lightsaber and moved in for a counterattack. The larger Sith dodged all of the double sided blows and then used his other hand to punch Ryl in the face. The force of his blow sent Ryl flying backwards, but he had to recover fast because Darth Malice was already back in the air with his warhammer in hand. Darth Ryl shot a surge of force lightning at his airborne foe, but Malice moved his massive hammer-saber in the way and it absorbed most of the energy. What wasn't absorbed lingered and Darth Ryl solemnly realized Malice was gonna use his own Force Lightning to aid his attack.

"Aren't you supposed to be the fast one?" Darth Animosity asked his friend's apprentice. They were in a dark cavern, possibly even bigger than the room they just fell through.

"I can only do so much while I'm in the air. Sorry!" Kilvaari offered a smile, but he was troubled. He already felt like he was failing his Master, although he had the utmost confidence his Master would defeat the Legendary Darth Malice. "It seems that we are below the temple."

"Yeah, no sh-" A huge metallic door opened, and a beast roared, causing some rocks and stalagmites to fall from the ceiling. "That sounded like a Rancor.." Animosity ignited his Darksaber, although it was barely visible in the dark dungeon. Darth Kilvaari did the same with his saber, the red offering slightly better illumination.

"Um. What's a Rancor?" Darth Kilvaari said. Footsteps boomed as the creature began walking towards them. They still couldn't see it, only hear it. "Should I turn off my weapon, it seems like he's coming to us like a night light."

"No. This thing lives down here. I'm sure it's eyes are adjusted well to the darkness. I sense it's hunger. I'll hold it off. You should go help Ulon." Kilvaari couldn't see Darth Animosity very well, but somehow the Mandalorian began firing four blaster pistols simultaneously. His accuracy seemed pretty on-point, because the Rancor screamed in either pain or annoyance. It began walking faster and faster towards them. When it got closer, Animosity used the flamethrower on his wrist to create a wall of fire. The orange hue appeared on the bronze colored beast. It was five meters tall and very angry looking. "That, is a Rancor." Animosity said, then four blaster pistols hovered out of his pockets and opened fire. Animosity took a fifth from his holster and fired with that one as well, barraging the monster over the flames.

"Okay, I'll find us a way out. Yell if you need any help." Kilvaari said, and darted the opposite way. He'd find the edges of this room. If there wasn't an exit they might be in trouble.

Darth Animosity wasn't yelling for help, but he was definitely yelling battle cries while he fired. He used the force and pulled the creature's foot into the flames and it howled. Mektar Kelborn dashed through the flames and slashed at the monster with the darksaber, barely making it through the thick skin, then he jumped up and jammed the blade into it's eye. He kicked off of it's face as it swung it's massive hand. If that hand grabs a hold of me, I'm most likely dead from there. He used the force to throw some rocks at it. The rancor blocked it's face with it's huge hands. Then Darth Animosity launched himself full force into it's chest with a stab. The Rancor fell on it's back and howled once more as Animosity plunged the darksaber deeper and deeper into it's chest cavity. It finger's slowly stopped scraping at the dirt and dust beneath them, when Darth Animosity finally deactivated the saber, and hopped off the beast. And that makes my third Rancor kill…

"Hey, I think I may have found a way out!" Darth Kilvaari exclaimed from a dark corner.

"Let's go then," Darth Animosity said after one last look at the monster he killed. He pitied it in a way. The flames from his flamethrower slowly died out and faded, leaving him to his thoughts and Kilvaari's navigation.

"There are five lifeforms headed this way." Zero was scanning the area past the dead trees and dark rocks. Night was coming upon them like a blanket.

"Well, do you think they'll leave us alone if we tell them we're not with the people who came to steal their most prized possessions, or..?"

"I am thinking they won't see it that way. I'm going to set a trap. I don't know why, but people tend to treat you a little nicer Dar, so you will be the bait for the second trap."

It's because people don't tend to ask droids questions, they usually just blast them. Darien made sure his blaster pistol was in it's holster. He took out a death stick and lit it. "They just like my pretty face better, but yeah sure. I'll just be over here." Darien gestured to a flat rock in front of the two ships. After a few more minutes, the sentries found them and fell upon them. Three of them came in range on swoop bikes. Two of them wore the standard silver and black armor of the Sith Empire while the third was in a black robe. Darien puffed out smoke and waved when they got into view.

The three dismounted, with the two soldiers taking out their blaster rifles right away. "What is your purpose on this planet? This is private property," the soldier on the right called out. "Are there anymore in the two ships?" the other soldier asked, while aiming his rifle directly at Darien.

"Relax guys, I just came here for some fresh air. I saw this ship and parked next to it because I thought this was a landing pad."

"Do it," the robed figure ordered, and both soldiers simultaneously threw det packs at the ships. Darien drew his blaster and fired off all of his shots. He managed to hit one of the explosives mid air causing it to detonate prematurely. He quickly took cover behind the rock he was sitting on, and reloaded. The two soldiers ran in opposite directions to flank him behind the rock and remaining smoke from the explosion.

A loud timer went off and green smoke was launched into the face of the one soldier who instantly fell to his knees after triggering Zero's poison trap. Zero fired his heavy blaster from a bush somewhere and the other one went down. The robed figure yelled something into his comlink, and then activated a double sided lightsaber.

Damn, if they didn't lockdown their ships so tight I could auto-hack their defenses. But they did. So he put on his brother's helmet and peered over the rock to fire at the Sith. He deflected both his and Zero's blasts, and Darien barely ducked in time to dodge a reflected bolt. An astromech came out of the Mandalorian's ship and began firing a weak anti-personnel blaster at the Sith as well. It began charging at him. Then the robed figure used the force to call his dead troop's detonator to his hand, then he clicked it and Darth Animosity's ship exploded. Darien was gonna fire another shot, when the other two swoop bike sentires appeared from atop a bluff and they opened fire without hesitation with handheld weapons.

Zero appeared from the brush and fired an electrostatic capturing net from his right arm. It landed directly on the pilot and wrapped around him the same time that it pushed him backward off of his swoop bike. Zero began firing on the other, but could only fire one shot before the Sith began attacking him. The other biker landed a shot on Zero that took out the droid's personal shield. Darien returned fire and one of his bolts caught the man in the face.

Zero's vibroblade moved as fast as the Sith, and he managed to get a cut in, but the Sith Guardian flurried and Zero's right arm fell to the ground. He still swung his left with the vibroblade at his opponent, never stopping. "ZERO!" Darien yelled. He'd empty out his clip into his opponent's back if he wasn't afraid the Sith would flip out of the way and the bolts would hit his friend, no. His brother, instead.

Then the astromech droid with Mandalorian markings fired a bright spark of electricity into one of the swoop bikes and it started back up and flew at both of the duelists. The Sith turned to face the noisy swoop and he cut it into two big pieces. Zero took his chance and jumped at the Sith, who turned to catch his blade. Then a shock of electricity jumped from part of the destroyed swoop and into the Sith who grunted in pain. He was stunned for only a moment, but it was long enough for Zero to plunge his vibroblade into the Sith's forehead and out the back of his head.

"YEAHHH take that you walking bag of bantha droppings!" Mektar Kelborn's voice called out. But when Darien turned around, only his astromech droid was there. And it looked almost as if it were smiling.

Darth Ryl was knocked into the wall of the temple, and his own Sith Lightning surged throughout his body. He hadn't felt the jolting power of Sith Lightning in a while, and he felt disgraced to have his own attack sent back at him. Darth Malice was laughing loudly. Ryl couldn't stand it. He had to defeat this guy. He had to get those last two Force Shards. The ability to travel through time was so close, and he could finally fix his biggest mistake. The Force knew as well as he did that he had made plenty of mistakes to fix.

"What are you laughing at you blundering idiot? Did you know I've heard tales that you use such a large weapon to compensate for how small your puny brain is." Darth Ryl, Sith Master and Lord of Utapau, put one hand on his knee and pushed himself back to his feet.

"What did you say to me you little blue twig?" Darth Malice got back into fighting position. His Sith Warhammer was over his shoulder ready to swing at a moment's notice.

"You heard me. I said that you have a small brain, and I intend to find out just how small it really is." Ryl reactivated his signature two-sided saber and dashed at the taller fighter. Malice swung his warhammer to prevent Ryl from getting in reach, but Ryl dodged it. Malice yelled and shot out a kick, but Ryl danced around that as well. Then he crouched and jump slashed upward, damaging Darth Malice's armored shoulder, but not enough. Malice quickly spun around, then he used the other end of the warhammer in a jab that hit Ryl's back. Darth Ryl landed in a roll and turned so he wasn't caught off-guard again.

"Maybe I should give the other side of this thing a sharp edge," Malice said. "Then you'd be a shishkebab already," he laughed heartily once more. Darth Ryl was thinking about how to overcome his enemy when Malice sent a powerful force wave in his direction. Ryl put up a force bubble, but it wasn't enough and the force push sent him reeling backward again. While he was disoriented, Malice picked him up in his force grip, and pulled him towards himself.

Darth Ryl disconnected his lightsaber into two separate ones while his momentum carried him into the arc of Darth Malice's massive weapon. He put his blades in an 'X' formation and blocked the massive energy block and the tip of Malice's staff. The power almost drove his own defending blades into his face. After the blow sent him flying backwards again, Ryl deactivated his sabers before they could maim him accidentally.

As he slid across the temple floor once more, Ryl finally felt the stress of battle. It took a lot of force power to enhance his speed for his earlier attacks, his reflexes to prevent getting caught off guard when Malice pulled him in with the force, and his strength which saved his life by blocking that last attack. His opponent however, didn't seem to be tiring at all. He laughed once more, and Darth Ryl prepared himself after a sad realization. I'm going to die fighting. I'll try my best, but I will not flee and I will not surrender. This is for you my love.

"My lord," Darth Syntheon said with a bow. He was garbed in a dark hood that disguised him since he was usually one of the most noticeable Sith.

"You may speak my friend," Lord Kren said. This time his captain of the guard Darth Raven and two other Kren guards stood at attention by his door.

"There's been a breach on the compound. Project Quasar's keys are under attack. Malice is doing battle with them right now as we speak." Darth Syntheon studied Lord Kren's angry face, but was surprised the aging Sith Lord wasn't angrier than he was.

"I suspected as much. That's why Malice is there. Regardless. We must set our plan into motion immediately. I want you to notify everyone, and I mean everyone. Send Darth Decimus and the other apprentices at once. They need to make sure these thieves don't get away. We must steal the shard from them to complete our set. I will take care of the distraction so we can occupy Sorhaul and Ves. Make sure our Section is ready to depart on my command. You have command of my flagship Tenebris until I return."

"I understand. Looks like we'll be very busy these next few hours." Syntheon said, then left.

"Darth Raven, you know what to do. I'll see you on Tenebris." The captain of his guard saluted and marched out with the two men at his command. This is where things get really tricky. Lord Kren began packing all of his necessary items into a footlocker. If things go well, it would be a while before he returned to this place and time. The power of the past will be mine to command.

Darth Kilvaari got there just in time. He jump slashed at the armored creature twice his size just as Darth Malice was about to finish off his master. Darth Malice sensed his attack, and quickly swung his warhammer to meet Kilvaari. Darth Animosity grabbed him with the force and pulled him away from the attack and back onto the ground.

"So you killed the rancor is that it? Or maybe you ran away." Darth Malice's face plate receded to reveal his red face. He was a pure-blooded Sith. He spat on the ground, and his face plate dropped again.

"Mektar Kelborn never runs from a fight. You're as smart as a Rancor, so I'm pretty sure I can take you too." Darth Animosity took out two blaster pistols and then hovered four more above and behind him. They slipped out of their holsters easily enough and powered up.

Kilvaari was thinking about how to get his master to safety. He didn't like that Malice was still within striking distance. He had already begun walking back to the pure-blooded Sith. Master Animosity intends to attack him long distance since the warhammer is too big, clumsy and slow to deflect bullets easily. Even if Malice is fast with it, it's still not a weapon made for close range deflections, or much of anything defensive really. Smart move Mek. I just need to figure a way around him to reach Master Ryl.

A voice chimed into Mektar's ears. "Hey, this is Darien! Can you guys hear me? Anyone?"

"What do you want you bloody fool, I'm busy. Call back later." Mek opened fire with his six pistols at once, and Malice deactivated his warhammer. He sprinted to the right of them, and the large metal staff collapsed into the size of Kilvaari's lightsaber. Then he put it on his leg and force jumped to a high up balcony. Mek wondered if he was fleeing, or getting the high ground to continue the fight. Kilvaari was already at his master's side and trying to inject a shot of bacta into the Twi'lek's neck.

"Ah, I was really hoping you wouldn't be the one to answer." The hacker sighed audibly as if he wanted to be somewhere else. "Your ship is toast. Sorry pal. But I really opened up communications to let you guys know a decent sized transport is on it's way. It was just detected at the edge of the system. I think-"

"MY SHIP WAS WHAT?" Animosity yelled. Inside of his helmet, Malice nor Kilvaari could tell he was in the middle of a conversation. "What do you mean destroyed? How? Isn't that we left you and your robot boyfriend for? Aghhhrrgrrrr." Mek's anger turned into inaudible groans. Then he took a deep breath and shot a grappling hook up to the ledge Malice was at. "So my spare armor is gone? My extra weapons? My astromech R1L1? Fierfek, this sucks." He reached the ledge and all six of his pistols immediately scanned the area, prepared to shoot in any direction should Malice jump out. But all that was there was a door.

"I'm not sure about your other stuff, but your astromech is okay. He helped us fend off the attackers that got past you guys and found us. And he's my brother not my boyfriend you thick headed merc. Just go do whatever you came for and quick. Goodbye!" Then he hung up.

They carried him to the swoop bikes. Right before they were going to set him down on the back of one, Darth Ryl regained consciousness and shoved Kilvaari away. "I'm getting shotgun," he said weakly. "Did you get the-?"

But Mek already held it out for them and smiled. His helmet was off, and hanging from his weapon belt. They got back onto the swoop bikes and rode back to the ships. On the way Darth Ryl asked what happened to Malice. Animosity told him that Malice fled, and he wasn't about to try to pursue him in a small hallway. As they stopped at the ships, Darth Ryl said "I'm happy you two are still alive. You guys are my favorite boot kissers."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of time to kill you in the future," Darth Animosity said before shaking his head sadly at the debris of his ship. Darien and Zero were sifting through the wreckage, and Animosity saw they had piled up a few things that looked salvageable. Mostly it was ship parts, but there was also a long vibroblade and a grenade belt.

"What took you so long, di'kut," the astromech droid named R1L1 said to his own master, with his master's own recorded voice.

"Well that's pretty interesting," Kilvaari commented. "Can we fit both of the swoop bikes in Ryloth Spear Master?"

"There's no time! The enemies are coming here soon. Zero get the rest of this into their ship," Darien said gesturing to the pile of parts.

"We can only fit one and all of us. We need to get somewhere safe so I can activate these shards. Would you two care to stay?" Ryl asked.

Zero and Darien looked at each other. After a quick moment, Zero spoke. "The first thing the enemy will do is sweep this area. We will not survive long on our own here. We will come with you, and get dropped off somewhere safe at your nearest convenience."

And then that's when a transport three times the size of Ryloth Spear broke the atmosphere. It only took two minutes before it started descending towards their makeshift landing pad. Of course Darth Animosity's flaming ruin of a ship and its smoke trail didn't do much for discretion.

Darth Kilvaari and Darien Garr were piloting their small ship out of the atmosphere. Animosity and Zero were staring at each other in the hold. R1L1 was in sleep mode near the restroom. Darth Ryl was in the small storage room, holding the three Force Shards. He could feel a primordial power oozing from each of the shards. He slowly put them together, and was shocked by a jab of electricity. Now the entire Force Medallion was glowing a bright blue color.

"Hey so uh, where are we going exactly?" asked Darien.

"Utapau. My Master owns that planet by rights. We'll have to drop you off there and then activate the portal on the planet." Kilvaari clicked a few buttons, then turned on the speaker system. "Hello this is your pilot speaking, strap in. We'll be entering hyperspace soon. Destination: Utapau. Thanks for flying with Zeke Nekor." Sometimes he felt weird saying his real name out loud, even when he was only joking.

After the ship was steadied in hyperspace, Darth Ryl walked into the already cramped cockpit. "How sure are we that those were Lord Kren's men back there?" His hands were on the backs of both of the seats to support himself. He still wasn't a hundred percent after fighting Darth Malice.

"The ship's ID tag belonged to a man named Darth Decimus." Darien said, looking at the information his suit had recorded.

"Damn it," Darth Ryl said. "That means even my planet may not be safe."

"Do you even know how to use those shards now that they're all together?" Darth Animosity asked his rival from behind him.

Darth Ryl looked uneasy. "It has been said it requires the power of three force users to unlock or interact with it."

"We'll be ready." The Nautolan said. "Should we send word ahead of our arrival?"

"I had hoped we could to buy us more time but…"

"But, the guy I hacked may have already turned your own men against you if he knows you're behind everything. Am I right?" Darien said.

"Malice can tell him easily enough," Darth Ryl said in a flush of shame and anger. "I should have killed him or died trying." He suddenly felt very weak, and was angry that he hadn't recuperated yet.

"Master, you were just distracted. I'm sure you'll eliminate him next time!" Darth Kilvaari was smiling.

If there is a next time, Ryl thought but instead he said, "We're here." Ryloth Spear came out of hyperspace facing Utapau. But none of them were prepared for five capital ships and dozens of smaller ships that still outsized them to be waiting for them.

"Osik," Darth Animosity cursed.

"I knew it. We've caught them. Send Ion fighters to disable their ship immediately. At least make sure that hyperdrive is offline at once! NOW!" Lord Kren yelled. He had assembled every single Sith completely loyal to him and his plan. Of course there were more that he was in charge of than this meager twenty-one-thousand, but most were ordinary troops. He couldn't move a force bigger than this without arousing suspicion from Lord Sorhaul the Wise and Lord Ves the Cruel.

Darth Syntheon stood right by Lord Kren and his most trusted man Darth Raven. Behind them was Darth Terminus, Syntheon's only apprentice. She was a fierce Sith Marauder almost as cold and violent as the one who trained her.

"My lord! Darth Decimus has arrived behind the target. We'll be able to ensnare them for sure with this formation," reported Admiral Motley of the ship. He was the highest ranking naval officer in the entire fleet, although he wasn't a force user.

"Excellent. Have the Sith on Utapau pledged their allegiance to me and me alone?" Kren asked with a wicked smile on his face.

"Yes mi'lord. They said when they saw our magnificent fleet they were convinced that Darth Ryl and his subordinates were traitors. They are ours to command."

All is going well. Project Quasar will happen tonight and one of my least favorite Sith will be dead. You were always a stupid apprentice Darth Ryl. You never deserved the rank of 'Master', and now you will finally pay for all of your insolence.

"Fighters incoming!" Darth Kilvaari yelled. "Defense turrets waiting for targets to get in range." He was focusing so much on the ship's systems, that Darien had to be a co-pilot.

"Can you even fly this thing, hacker boy?" Darth Animosity said.

"I'm a fast learner!" Darien shouted back.

The charging fighters began shooting blue streaks of ionized energy meant to disable their shields and possibly the entire ship's systems with enough impacts. "Can your droid help you fly?" Darth Ryl asked. Darien shrugged and said he probably could. "Then you two need to come with me. We need to open the dimensional rift right away, before we're captured and killed. It's our only hope."

"Hey! I don't wanna go through no portal, rift, or anything. I didn't sign up to fly through space and go through time. Hell no. I-I-"

"You see the situation we're in. I'm sure Lord Kren would love to thank you for hacking him. I'm sure he'll understand when we're captured." Darth Ryl scoffed. "Just keep us free of those ion shots, and fly straight into the portal when you see it. Understand, kid?"

Darien turned back to say something, but he realized the Twi'lek had a hand on his lightsaber. His stare was the most intense thing he had ever seen. He saw ice old flames in Darth Ryl's eyes. "I understand. Zero, get up here!" he called.

Darth Ryl, Darth Kilvaari, and Darth Animosity went into the passenger compartment, and they all put their hands on the Force Medallion. It began glowing blue again, but also red. Then the two colors swirled like the water in a toilet bowl. As they mixed, the reddish blue glow grew until it exploded knocking all three of them against the close walls of the compartment. A figure appeared from the smoke. It was cloaked in black but with red and blue tints. Kilvaari and Animosity drew their weapons, but Ryl only spoke to the creature that hovered above the Medallion without any feet. It had a mask that covered a face that didn't seem to exist.

"Are you a force ghost?" Darth Ryl asked it.

The figure turned it's hooded face to look at him. "I suppose I am. I also am not. I am a Guardian of the Force. You have put together one of the rarest objects in the universe," the deep voice boomed.

"How do we manipulate time, honorable Force Guardian."

"You can't," it said simply.

"What do you mean?" Ryl said through his teeth, being careful not to let his anger show.

"Only I can. Do you wish to travel young ones? I sense that you do. Nothing escapes me."

"Yes," Darth Ryl said, glancing at his rival and apprentice to measure their faces. "I wish to go back in time sixteen years. I wish it very dearly. I'll do anything you want." Darth Ryl bowed. Darth Kilvaari was thinking deeply about the significance of the number sixteen.

"I see," said the mysterious Force Guardian. "And so will you." The Force Guardian lifted his hands up and blue force energy swirled in one palm, and red in the other. Then he spun around and shoved his hands forward causing the energy to disperse. "Go through. You may collect my shards again if you wish to summon me once more. You must go to Korriban and seek out the Temple of Time if you hope to find my Force Shards again. Each time they are used they are separated and dispersed. May the force be with you," and then the Guardian faded away with a mysterious cackle of laughter.

Then they heard Darien say, "Holy mother of Taris." The three Sith all squeezed into the cockpit of the ship. They were mostly speechless as they observed a huge portal rip it's way into the vacuum of space. It kept expanding more and more. It's electrifying energy shooting out lightning bolts larger than any Darien had ever seen. "Are you… sure about this?" Darien asked.

"We'll be in contact with the anomaly in one minute thirty seconds," Zero said matter-of-factly.

"Full speed ahead. I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life. This is what I want. I just need to send a message real quick before we're through." Darth Ryl was clutching the back of Darien's chair very tightly. The enemy was eclipsed by the portal, but fighters and a transport were still behind them.

"Well, here we go then. Just to be safe, I would suggest that everyone strap in tight. Who knows what will happen once we go through that… thing."

Lord Paxar Kren stared at the rapidly expanding dimensional portal opened up before his fleet. Even Darth Syntheon looked quite impressed. "Scans?" Kren asked.

"They show readings off the charts. We've never collected data like this before, but we don't know how safe it is. I've ordered footage from one of the fighter captains and it seems that the portal looks the same on both sides, but there's still a lot of risks," reported Admiral Motley.

"If we go through on this side, we may not arrive in the same place or time as the thieves, presuming we make it out at all," Darth Syntheon commented. His synthetic brain was storing as much information about the portals as he could. He had a wireless connection directly to Kren's flagship Tenebris. He either didn't notice, or didn't care.

Lord Kren pulled on the facial hair on his chin. After a few seconds he finally said, "Order all of our ships through. Immediately." The portal looks just like the ancient scribes and holocrons described. It's all real. All of it.

"Sir! The fighters have reported the traitor ship Ryloth Spear has entered the portal, and they want to know whether to pursue or return to their hangars," an ensign at a console reported. The bridge of Tenebris could fit the traitor ship inside of it and then some. There were just under forty crew members at consoles, stations, and communication devices.

"Order them through. All of them. Let's enter that portal before it closes."

And so, the squadron of fighters were the first ones in the portal to follow Ryloth Spear. Then came Darth Decimus and his transport. Aboard that ship was also Darth Malice who they picked up from the outpost in the Yavin System. By the time the five capital ships were within range, the portal began closing. The capital ships Tenebris and Apparatus went first, side by side. Then Dathomir's Fist and The Hammer of the Sith. Finally, Annihilator came in last. Several smaller shuttles, transports, and cargo ships followed beside the large capital ships.

However, once the portal reached a certain size after shrinking, it completely snapped shut, cutting off the back end of Annihilator. The back of the ship drifted away from the portal where all of the others had entered, and sentient beings spilled out from the open hulls, some getting ripped out by the vacuum of space. After a few moments, High Lord Kren's entire fleet was gone, save for the piece of Annihilator that floated several thousand kilometers away from Utapau's surface. It was as if the massive portal hadn't even existed. Meanwhile, the journey through time had already begun.