Dantooine System-223 ABY- Aboard Republic Star-Ship 'Principality'.
Jedi Master Quam'Sae's face held a grim expression, his throat dry.
For hours the 'Principality', the Jedi Star-cruiser that Quam'Sae had been assigned for his mission, had been in a vicious dogfight with a trio of Trandoshan pirate freighters. All throughout the Outer rim system of Dantooine, the Principality and the Trandoshans had met in battle, making attack runs on each other in hope; Quam'Sae in the hope the Trandoshan's would give up, the Trandoshan's in the hope Quam'Sae would give them all that the ship's cargo hold held.
He wouldn't let that happen of course, but with each Trandoshan attack run, the Quarren Jedi grew more and more uncertain that he'd escape.
Each of the pirate freighters carried a Sumex Shock cannon, the destructive capabilities of which came from it's ability to generate a pulse of electromagnetic energy through a proton torpedo that, on impact, would fry all electrical devices on board and electrocute any who survived the proton torpedo's explosion.
It was deemed a war crime to use such a horrible device, and many years ago, all Sumex weaponry was banned from sale in Republic space and now carried a life sentence for those who dared use it on a ship under the Republic registry.
Of course, a life sentence meant frak all to a Trandoshan pirate. Especially to a crew of them who made their living in the outer rim, where many planets weren't allied with the Republic. Few, if any beings feared Republic backlash out here. In fact, that just made the situation worse for the Principality; Quam'Sae knew he had no friends out here, and that it would take days for a strike team to find them.
A half dozen star-fighers zipped past the bridge view port. One, a Republic ship, exploded under the blaster-fire from the Trandoshan fighters, illuminating the bridge in the red-orange glow of flame, before vanishing into utter nothingness.
'That's another fighter down, General...' the crewman working the long range scanners called out from his post. 'Our fighters are dropping like swamp rats.'
'Keep course,' The Jedi replied. There wasn't a hint of fear or nervousness in his voice, but inside, he was beginning to fear the battle's outcome.
The crewmen steering the Principality through the battle nodded to show they understood, but Quam'Sae sensed through the Force that the men and women were terrified.
'I'd highly recommend we retreat too the Banik system General,' The Admiral, a woman dressed smartly in the Republic officer's threads, said. She was standing at the shoulder of the crewman working the guidance systems, plotting a course through the debris and longrange blasterfire. 'There's a path that we could take if we turn portside eighty-six degrees. It will lead us right into a Republic system if we jump to hyperspace, drop out at Hurin, and jump-'
The Admiral was cut off by an explosion that rocked the bridge, sending the entire crew reeling. Quam'Sae had managed to sense it through the force, and just had enough time to brace himself.
Within seconds, the bridge was knocked sideways, and only Quam'Sae was left standing.
He relaxed and fell to the left wall, which now,due to the ship being tipped over, acted as the floor. 'Admiral,' he said, his booming voice clear over the alarms and emergency alerts that echoed throughout the bridge. 'Are you hurt?' The Admiral, who seemed to have landed awkwardly against the wall when she
fell, climbed to her knees, then to her feet when the Jedi leant over to help her.
'Yes, General...' she said, but she winced when tried moving her right arm. 'I guess not.'
Quam'sae gently took the woman's arm and examined it. 'It will be alright,' he said. 'Hold it beneath the elbow until the feeling returns.' The Admiral nodded and did so.
'Is everyone alright?,' the Jedi asked, as the other members of the crew began climbing to their feet. A few muttered 'yes'. 'Good...what's our situation?'
The Admiral nursed her arm and jogged over to where a crewman with a particularly nasty looking gash over hs left eyebrow sat, going over the situation on the lower decks. 'It wasn't the Sumex, we know that...otherwise we'd have all been dead by now.'
Quam'Sae stood at the crewman's other side. 'What did hit us then?'
'It seems...' the crewman trailed off as he entered commands on his unit, and his mouth drooped. 'Oh no...'
The Admiral leant in to read the screen. 'What is it?'
'Whatever it was that hit us...it destroyed the entire starboard hull. Nine levels of troops are dead.'
The Admiral exhaled, then turned away. Quam'Sae sensed it was to hide her tears. He respected her for that; any officer who would cry for the loss of life truly understood what they fought for. He didn't have time
to lament the lost though, and he gripped the Admiral's shoulder to show his concern. 'Are we going down?' he asked the crewman.
'Not at the moment, but with the entire starboard side blown away, we have no chance of jumping into hyperspace at all.'
Quam'Sae thought for a moment. 'Admiral,' she turned to him, clearly uneasy. 'Abandon ship.' The Admiral opened her mouth to protest, but Quam'Sae raised his hand to silence her. 'That's an order.'
The Admiral swallowed her tongue. 'Understood General.' She walked over to the main comms terminal and activated the alert. 'Abandon ship,' She said. 'Make for the nearby planet Dantooine, activate beacons when grounded.'
She turned back to the Jedi. 'What now General?'
Quam'Sae turned away from her and headed towards the turbo-lift. 'My cargo needs protecting, Admiral...I cannot let the Trandoshans get their hands on it.'
The Admiral followed him to the lift. 'I'll send a strike team to accompany you-'
'No,' The Jedi cut in. 'Dantooine is a hostile planet, you'll need as many men as you can to keep the raiders at bay. I can handle a few Trandoshans, and if I get a chance, I'll make a break for an escape pod.'
The Admiral nodded. 'Understood General...Sir?'
Quam'Sae stepped into the lift and turned to her. 'Admiral?'
'May the Force be with you.'
Quam'Sae forced a smile, though the Admiral couldn't tell with his face tentacles. 'May the Force be with you, Admiral.'
The lift carried Quam'Sae down four levels to the holding bays. On the way to the cell he'd sequestered for the chest, he spotted invasion pods through the portholes.
He reached the cell just as another alert sounded, and a droid voice came over the comms. 'Alert, the Principality has been boarded...Prepare defenses...I repeat, the Principality has been boarded, Prepare Defenses...'
Quam'Sae payed the alert no heed. He had far more to worry about than Trandoshan pirates. If they got their hands on what he guarded, a new era could be ushered in. Darkness would once again rule for the first time in decades. He wouldn't...no, couldn't, let that happen.
He opened the cell door from afar with the Force, then closed it behind him as he entered. The chest was still inside, though upended against the wall, most likely during the explosion. He bent down and carefully gripped the metal handles that decorated either side. Upon inspection, he found that the chest's lid had been cracked by the impact against the wall. That wasn't good. He could already feel the energy within, dark and tormenting in the Force.
The sudden sounds of blaster fire made it necessary for Quam'Sae to make haste. He lifted the chest with the Force, carrying it behind him out of the cell and into the corridor. Outside, he drew his light-saber, the gleaming blue blade contrast to the blacks and silvers of the corridor.
The sound of an explosion rocked him as he reached the end of the corridor. He began to run, closing each bulkhead behind him as he went, hoping that it would give him some time. He was blessed enough to make it to the lower escape bay without any resistance, but, upon entering the bay, he was met with blaster fire from a trio of the Reptilian pirates who had managed to get the jump on a group of science officers trying to evacuate the Principality. Their bodies were heaped at the hatch of one of the pods.
Quam'Sae had no time to mourn them though.
Two of the Trandoshans were carrying heavy-repeaters, and hit Quam'Sae with a barrage of shimmering red blaster bolts. The third carried a twin bladed staff that Trandoshan's often used in rituals and came at him swinging.
The two forms of attack added challenge to Quam'Sae. He had to focus twice as hard in order to keep attention on both the blaster wielding Trandoshans and their close combat counterpart. He reflected a bolt, ducked another, then span on his heels to block a arcing sweep from the staff.
The third Trandoshan's double bladed staff was formed from Cortosis, an incredibly unique alloy that forged weapons able to deflect even a light-saber blade. It stalled Quam'Sae even more; he'd hoped that disarming the Trandoshan closest to him first would allow him some space to focus on the other two. It only added more complications to his ordeal.
He kept calm though, allowed the Force to guide his actions and not his emotions. That was the gift of the Force. He could do truly amazing things. Things no normal man could even dream of. It guided his blade perfectly, as if with a mind of it's own.
In quick succession, he reflected a series of bolts and blocked an overhead strike from the bladed staff. Quick as a flash, he span on his heel and thrust his large foot into the staff wielder's gut, calling on the Force for a little extra torque. It sent the Trandoshan reeling into the escape pod console, where the Reptilian humanoid fell over it and out of sight.
Quam'Sae took this chance to go on the offensive. He dashed at the two Trandoshans lugging the repeaters and struck, cutting through the blaster barrel of one and sweeping the legs out from the other. The disarmed Trandoshan leapt back and pulled a vibro-blade from it's boot and made it's own attack run, driving the blade into Quam'Sae's side. The Jedi let out a groan of pain, quickly recovered, and slammed an elbow into the pirate's snout, knocking it back. He took the vibro-blade by the grip and wrenched it from his side, letting out another groan.
The floored Trandoshan began getting to it's feet, but a quick swipe with his light-saber, and Quam'Sae ended it's life. The other, now bleeding from the nostrils, raised it's hands and leapt at the Jedi, bloodlusted. Quam'Sae simply extended his saber-arm, and pushed the sapphire blade straight through the Trandoshan's stomach.
A flash through the Force as he retracted his blade from the Tandoshan's stomach made Quam'Sae tense. He turned to see the staff wielding Trandoshan kneeling over the chest.
'No...' he thought, but it was too late. The Trandoshan flipped open the chest just as Quam'Sae began to run towards it...
And many star-systems away, Deron Krass sprang up in his cot, sweat blinding him.