Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, it is owned by Disney.

Worlds Collide

Chapter 1

The Imperial Star Destroyers were assembled into a classic line formation, the Conqueror positioned in the center, the Lancer Class Frigates positioned close to screen the capital ships from enemy attack craft. Bright-green turbolaser bolts shot out from the Star Destroyers in disciplined volleys, splattering in translucent blue flares of energy against the enemy's shields, the enemy returning fire in kind.

Explosions erupted in the void from dogfights, fighters sweeping through the void at near-imperceptible speeds. The Lancers spat crimson death from quad-lasers against any enemy attack craft that came too close to them or to the Star Destroyers, but for the most part what TIE Interceptors had been launched had so far been enough to keep the enemy back, green laser blasts flickering to and fro against the star-dotted velvet darkness of space.

Nine TIE Interceptors flew fast through the void, the squadron leader recalibrating his targeting systems as his craft's sensors picked up an approaching enemy squadron. "Eight TIE Fighters inbound." He said over the secure line. "Break formation, and engage in threes!"

"Roger!"

As the first laser blasts from the TIE Fighters seared through space, the TIE Interceptors broke into three groups of three, each group moving in a different direction from the others. The TIE Fighters broke formation, also splitting into groups to pursue and engage.

In mere seconds, a TIE Fighter blew apart as a barrage of green laser blasts tore into it from above, the TIE Interceptor sweeping around and past the cloud of debris. A TIE Fighter attempted to come around and pursue, only to be blown from the flank out of the sky by the first TIE Interceptor's wingman.

A third TIE Fighter pursued a third TIE Interceptor, and then faster than the former could react the latter turned narrowly, laser cannons blazing and shredding the TIE Fighter from the front.

Two more TIE Fighters suffered the same fate, the TIE Interceptors they were pursuing narrowly turning with laser cannons firing away and destroying the pursuers in mere seconds. A third TIE Interceptor banked hard and fast up the z-axis, easily outrunning its pursuer and regrouping with its wingmen. The trio gracefully swept past and above the pursuer, raking the hapless TIE Fighter with laser fire and leaving burning debris behind scattering through space.

Four additional TIE Fighters swooped in, laser cannons blazing. Two TIE Interceptors went down, burning debris spraying into space as their wingmen scattered. The TIE Fighters regrouped with the survivors of the earlier engagement, and also broke into groups of three.

"Take a half-enveloping formation!" The TIE Interceptors' commander ordered. "Get behind the enemy, and force them into Wisteria-3's line of fire!"

The remaining TIE Interceptors did as ordered, briefly dogfighting as they avoided the enemy and shooting down a TIE Fighter before regrouping into a half-enveloping formation. The TIE Interceptors then abruptly decelerated, the pursuing TIE Fighters overshooting and now finding themselves the pursued.

Green laser fire seared through the void, the TIE Interceptors attacking from three directions and forcing the TIE Fighters into a specific direction. They jinked wildly, trying to shake the TIE Interceptors, but the latter were far more mobile, and maintained the barrage, shooting down two TIE Fighters before abruptly scattering.

The TIE Fighters had little time to wonder why before a full volley from a Lancer blew three TIE Fighters out of the stars. The fourth managed to evade the escort's barrage, and soared away in retreat.

"All units report in." The TIE Interceptors' commander called out over the secure line.

"XZ-1022 reporting in."

"XZ-1023 reporting in."

"XZ-1025 reporting in."

"XZ-1027 reporting in."

"XZ-1028 reporting in."

"XZ-1029 reporting in."

"Course correction to one-oh-eight plus zero-five." The commander ordered. "TIE Bombers inbound they're headed for the Resilient. Let's take them out."

"Roger!"


On the Finalizer's command deck, Kylo Ren fumed, but in a most unusual turn of events, it was cold. Normally, he would have long since lashed out by now, venting his fury on his surrounding until the calm returned and he could think clearly once more.

Not this time. Not when he could sense the frigid, dark power that shrouded the battlefield. There was a darksider on the Executor Class Star Dreadnought in the middle of the enemy formation, his or her mind reaching out across the battlefield. He didn't know how he or she was doing it, but Kylo could sense that somehow, the darksider had reached into the minds of the pilots and soldiers under their command, linked them to each other, and to themselves.

And in doing so, the darksider had subconsciously sped up their reflexes, improved their concentration, expanded their awareness of the battlefield and beyond, and bolstered their spirits with the power of the Dark Side of the Force. It shouldn't have been possible, the Dark Side's power did not lie in strengthening others, but in strengthening the self and more often than at the expense of others, and yet he could not deny it.

The enemy darksider was using the Dark Side of the Force to empower their soldiers.

And Kylo didn't like that. He didn't like the idea that someone could use a power he could not, though it was more likely such knowledge had yet to be revealed to him by Snoke. If anyone could wield the power of the Dark Side in its entirety, beyond the stunted perceptions of the Jedi, it was the Supreme Leader of the First Order.

Unless…

Kylo mentally dismissed the possibility, black anger rising within at the reasoning. The Sith were dead and gone. Darth Vader's mind had been poisoned by his son – Kylo's uncle – the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, and he'd betrayed and destroyed his master, the Dark Lord of the Sith and Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious shortly before dying from his injuries. It wasn't so much the betrayal that Kylo raged against though, for betrayal was the way of the Sith.

Once the apprentice surpassed the master, there was no need for the master. The apprentice had become the master, and slaying them take their place.

No, he raged against Vader abandoning the power of the Dark Side, power that had allowed him to destroy the Emperor, and would have allowed him to survive, and become Emperor and Dark Lord in his own right. He had allowed his compassion for his son to blind him to what needed to be done, beyond simply killing the Emperor: to take the Emperor's place, and rule the galaxy as his power had given him the right to.

It was a lesson to be learned, that compassion was the undoing of the strong, and one Kylo would and had taken to heart.

He would not make the same mistake as his grandfather.

He would master the darkness within, and with its power rise to equal, and then surpass, Darth Vader's achievements, if not Darth Sidious'.

Using his anger at the destruction of the Sith thanks to the weakness of his grandfather to increase his power, Kylo again reached out through the Force, latching onto the ethereal tendrils of Dark Side power the other darksider had extended across the battlefield. He had done so earlier in fact, when he had realized what his enemy was doing.

He had sought to follow the tendrils back to their source, and turning the power of the Dark Side against its user break the enemy's concentration if not their will and mind. He had turned back at the time, and was tempted to do so again when icy tendrils of fear stabbed into his heart at the tendril's touch. It was a primal fear, without reason or logic behind it, a natural response when prey found itself caught in the predator's eyes. It was a built-in response, dating back to the forgotten years of prehistory on the primeval plains of Humanity's forgotten homeworld, inherited from the primates.

This time he did not turn back. He was Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, Apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order, and he would show this upstart darksider his or her place, no matter what petty tricks they knew. Shouldering the fear aside, he followed the tendrils to their source, gathering and honing the power of the Dark Side to strike at their very soul…

…and barely kept himself from collapsing, fear – terror – striking into his heart tenfold at the sheer fury of the tempestuous whirlwind of power behind the tendrils. And such power it was, the power he had intended to unleash against her paling by comparison…it was like…

…it was like facing the Supreme Leader, and Kylo knew with mounting horror that this was no upstart. This was a fully-realized darksider, not Sith, not First Order, but something else, that had gained control of a surviving fraction of the old empire, and like the First Order, sought to rebuild it in their image.

And if their power was any indication, they were a very real threat to the First Order.

As though sensing his thoughts, Kylo felt the echoes of amused laughter rippling through the Force, and he felt his anger rise, snuffing out the fear. He – she – dared to mock him? Darth Vader's grandson, inheritor of his legacy, the legacy his children were unworthy of?

The anger burned hot, and bringing clarity with it. No matter how powerful in the Force, no one could survive being blown up in their own ship. Not even the Emperor could have done that.

Perhaps I will someday.

I will be the most powerful darksider ever.

Even the greatest Sith Lords in history will pale before my might!

"General Hux," Kylo snarled. "This has gone on far enough. Reform the fleet, and prepare to break through the center of the enemy formation."

"That is a Super Star Destroyer." Hux said incredulously, pointing at the imposing bulk of the enemy command ship at the heart of their formation. "Even our Kyber-augmented turbolasers are barely making a dent on their shields! And they outgun us by sheer mass!"

"Then we concentrate all fire from all ships on the Super Star Destroyer!" Kylo roared, sweeping his arm out abruptly and causing Hux to take a wary step back. "Destroy the enemy command ship, and their fleet will fall apart!"

"I will not allow you to…!" Hux began only to pale and gasp as invisible fingers choked his throat. He stared, eyes wide with shock and terror at what was happening, unable to believe Kylo was actually going to do it.

Slowly, he rose from the ground, finger vainly working at his neck, Kylo staring at him in silence, a single hand raised out towards Hux. And then he made a dismissing gesture, and sent Hux flying across the command deck.

As Hux struggled to catch his breath, Kylo turned to face the terrified bridge crew. "Take a spindle formation!" he shouted. "Prepare to break through the center of the enemy formation!"


Admiral Roon stared at the tactical display, watching as the First Order ships began forming up into a spindle formation. "It looks like they're about to try and end this stalemate." He said. "From the look of things, they'll try and break through our center."

Admiral Roon glanced at Captain Excelion. "Furthermore they will likely attempt to destroy this ship," he said. "In an attempt to cripple our fleet's command structure."

"How should we respond, admiral?"

"We'll draw them in as planned." The admiral replied, looking back out through the bridge windows. "We'll keep the Conqueror in the center of our formation as bait, while withdrawing and drawing the enemy into the crossfire point between our ships."

"Is that wise, admiral?" Captain Excelion asked. "The Conqueror will be the focus of the enemy's fire."

"Executor Class Star Dreadnoughts can take a lot of punishment, captain." The admiral said with a smile.

"Sir," the admiral said with a small bow. "I'm just expressing my concerns as per my duty as this ship's captain."

"And it does you credit, captain." The admiral said with a nod. "With that said, prepare this ship for phase 2. And signal the rest of the fleet as well."

"Yes sir!"

As the captain began barking orders to his bridge crew, Admiral Roon walked up beside Darth Invictus. "Prepare two squadrons of TIE Bombers." The Sith Lady said softly. "They will be of use in destroying the enemy's second echelon."

The admiral briefly looked confused, and then nodded as he realized what he meant. "As you wish, my lady." He said, before turning to give the orders. Invictus stared out at the battlefield for a few more moments, and then continued without looking away.

"We need to capture the enemy flagship." She said. "If these are Palpatinists, then we need information."

"I understand, my lady. I'll inform Commander Artellus at once."

Invictus nodded, and the admiral again turned to give the orders.

As it was, it took about twenty minutes for the First Order to reform their formation, one Star Destroyer at the tip, two behind, and three each in the third and fourth echelons. The Finalizer was in the third echelon, as per its status as the command ship.

The attack was heralded by a concentrated barrage of turbolaser blasts on the Conqueror, which shook from the impacts, and disrupting Invictus' battle coordination. "Reinforce forward deflector shields!" Captain Excellion shouted. "Return fire, and slowly commence withdrawal action."

"Launch the TIE Bombers." Invictus added irritably, trying to reassert her battle coordination. "Don't worry about the enemy spotting them. Leave that concern to me."

As the Conqueror began to fall back, Invictus began to taunt the enemy darksider through the Force sending echoes of challenge and insult towards him, in a telepathic form of dun moch.

He had failed to attack her through the Force, and now he was cowardly hiding behind his fleet, and was trying to destroy her by making her go down with her ship.

Literally too, seeing as his ship was safe at the heart of his fleet, and they were concentrating fire on her ship.

She felt the enemy's anger spike, and she sent echoes of laughter and mockery through the Force.

No wonder he couldn't defeat her through the Force: he was so pathetic he couldn't even keep his emotions from flooding into the Force.

"My lady the enemy fleet is picking up speed." Admiral Roon said.

"Continue the operation." She said.

"TIE Bombers have launched."

"Have them standby to commence attack on the enemy's second echelon." The admiral ordered.

Invictus didn't say anything, silently weaving together the shimmering threads of the Dark Side into a tapestry of Sith Magic that cloaked the TIE Bombers from the sight of the enemy, to the point that even if sensors could see the TIE Bombers, it wouldn't register on the operators themselves. The Sith Lady smiled.

In ancient times, the mightiest of the Lords of the Sith could weave such potent illusions that reality itself buckled, and the illusions could affect the physical. She was decades from reaching that level, if she would or could ever reach it, but the point was that illusion, manipulation, deception and trickery had always been among the greatest weapons of the Sith. And she knew it well.


"The enemy is continuing to withdraw."

"Do not allow them to escape or regroup!" Kylo ordered, every word dripping with anger and veiled menace. "Increase power to weapons, and have all ships concentrate their fire on the enemy command ship."

"My lord," a bridge operator began. "The power capacitors are overheating as they are. Any more and…"

Kylo didn't respond verbally. A sharp snap-hiss and the fiery red glow of his lightsaber coming to life was enough to silence the officer, who began to give orders to Kylo's satisfaction.

Hux stayed silent as well, though he stared worriedly at the tactical display, watching as their fleet continued to press the advance. He felt uneasy, as though he was missing something, something that was staring at him in the face.

"The enemy is continuing to withdraw."

Behind his helmet, Kylo smiled. "Taunt me, will you?" he thought viciously. "Let's see how cocky you are when you're nothing but space dust."

"The enemy formation is collapsing."

Hux continued to stare at the tactical display, and then blinking slowly began to realize something. "The enemy formation is collapsing…" he echoed in a whisper before his eyes widened in shock and horror. "Oh no."

Standing up straight, he turned to the bridge. "Pull our ships back!" he ordered, and turned to Kylo as the Knight of Ren whirled furiously on the general. "We are sailing into a trap!"

Kylo briefly looked stunned, and then glancing at the tactical display glanced back out at the battlefield. He glanced at the tactical display again, and then out at the battlefield. "Pull back," he ordered, and then raising his voice repeated the order. "Pull back!"

But it was already too late: as the orders were relayed to the fleet, Kylo saw a vision through the Force, of a man standing next to a black-cloaked and armored woman that swirled with the Dark Side of the Force, shouting out an order.

All ships, concentrate your fire on the lead ship of the enemy formation. Full barrage!

Thousands of turbolasers across the Conqueror's hull and on the adjacent Star Destroyers opened fire on the lead First Order ship, which was beginning to reverse course. Its shields collapsed almost at once, the following volleys hammering through the armor and punching into the hull. Explosions sent debris, corpses, and burning atmosphere into space, the dying warship staggering and then beginning to drift as turbolaser rounds pounded its corpse until it finally exploded, the blinding flare forcing Hux to look away even from as far away as the Finalizer's bridge.

As for Kylo…

…with a roar of rage he swung his lightsaber, and sheared the tactical display apart.


"Take out those Star Destroyers!" Admiral Roon ordered. "TIE Bombers attack when ready!"

Turbolaser fire from the Conqueror in front and the flanking Star Destroyers ripped into the second echelon of the First Order fleet, their shields collapsing in less than a minute, the following volleys ripping molten gashes through their hulls. And then TIE Bombers were screaming out of nowhere, the Sith Magic cloaking them dispelled.

They pounced on the surprised First Order, who could not believe such small ships could mount cloaking devices, and yet how else could they have been hidden from sensors? Anything else was inconceivable.

Proton rockets screamed out from the TIE Bombers as they made their attack runs, massive explosions tearing the Star Destroyers apart. Turbolaser fire finished the rest, the explosions sending debris easily shouldered aside by the Imperial ships' deflector shields.

"The enemy is attempting to regroup."

"Let's not give them a chance to." Admiral Roon said. "Adopt an echelon right formation, and collapse the enemy formation from their left wing."

"Prepare to launch additional interceptor and bomber squadrons." Invictus added. "It's time: let's seize complete control of the battlefield."

"Yes, my lady."

The Imperial ships were now pressing the advantage, having removed the enemy's advantage in terms of greater number of capital ships. The Imperial line now began to extend in a diagonal running perpendicular to the First Order's right wing, TIE Interceptors pouring out of the Conqueror's launch bays in hordes that overwhelmed the depleted TIE Fighters of the First Order, and allowing the TIE Bombers to launch attacks directly on the First Order's ships.

The First Order fought back though. They were a wounded animal now, backed into a corner, and they lashed out. Invictus bit back a snarl as a nearby Lancer exploded, the blast briefly buffeting the Conqueror and sending shadows briefly across the command deck.

"Switch to a half-enveloping formation." Admiral Roon ordered forty-five minutes into the battle. "Bottle up the enemy from their right wing, and destroy them ship by ship."

Invictus stared at the bleeding bulk of the Finalizer, the few times its shields had gone down allowing the Imperials to get a few shots in. They'd been brought back up quickly enough, but the mighty ship was bleeding burning atmosphere from several hull breaches.

"Concentrate all fire on the enemy command ship." Invictus ordered. "Knockout its shields and standby on Ion Cannons and Tractor Beams. Prepare for boarding."

"Yes my lady."

Once again, the thousands of turbolasers across the Conqueror's hull fired on a single target, multiple volleys causing the Finalizer's shield to collapse. Bright-red ion beams lanced out in quick succession, sending white flares flickering across the enemy ship on impact. The Finalizer's engines flickered and went out, along with its running lights and communication and sensor suites. Within moments the ship seemed to stagger as the Conqueror's tractor beams latched on, and began to pull the disabled vessel in close.

"Destroy all the other ships." Invictus ordered, already striding down and away from the command deck, and out of the bridge. "No survivors."

"Yes my lady."


First Order Stormtroopers ran down the corridor, blasters held across their chests as they ran for the barricade. Two Stormtroopers had already set up a repeating blaster, and were aiming it at the likely breach point, from where – and at other points – the enemy could cut off the bridge tower from the rest of the ship.

Stormtroopers crouched down behind the barricade, bracing their blasters against their shoulders and stabilizing them on the barricade. Others took cover behind what other cover there was, alarms and klaxons providing a background cacophony.

As they waited for the enemy to arrive, word reached them that enemy boarding parties had managed to breach the hull, and were now fighting to reach engineering. It wasn't long before fighting was reported near the launch bays, the enemy attempting to seize control of areas which would enable to board large numbers of troops at once.

It was confirmed though, that they were facing Stormtroopers, trained and equipped to the standards of the old empire. They were well-led, well-equipped, and well-motivated, and reports soon began to flood in of entire sections being lost as the enemy began taking ground.

And then a sound came from up ahead, as though metallic claws were scratching against the hull. The Stormtroopers steeled themselves: the enemy was coming.

They would not be incorrect, as within moments sparks began to fly as the enemy began to cut through the hull. The ranking officer present barked orders to stand fast, and wait for the enemy to show their faces and present targets instead of wasting energy. The sparks burned bright, harsh and blinding in the dull red of emergency lighting, but the Stormtroopers' helmets modulated the lighting well enough.

Slowly but surely, an opening was cut through the hull, a smoky explosion blowing in the hull and leaving a dark opening beyond. The Stormtroopers took aim, but nothing stepped through the opening.

The moment stretched out, time seeming to slow and the air thickening as though it was syrup. And then a dark-armored figure stepped through the opening, tall and slender, clearly feminine despite her relatively-bulky armor and cape. The Stormtroopers opened fire, but even as they pulled their triggers Darth Invictus activated and brought up her lightsaber, smoothly falling into the swirling defense of Soresu while weaving the threads of her spell.

Qazoi Kyantuska

Red bolts erupted towards her, but she doggedly advanced, her lightsaber smoothly parrying the blaster rounds into the walls around her, the ceiling above and the floor below, and back towards the Stormtroopers. Two then three fell, their own or their fellow Stormtroopers' rounds punching through their armor and into their flesh.

Others quickly took their place, but they continued to fire in vain, Invictus' lightsaber sweeping elegantly in crimson arcs around her as she advanced down the corridor. The ranking officer screamed at the man manning the repeating blaster to open fire, but he didn't. He crouched in place, rigid as a corpse, stubbornly resisting his fellow Stormtroopers to push him aside and man the heavy weapon.

And then it was too late, the Sith was on them, a sweep of an arm sending those behind cover flying, and as they landed so too did the Sith in their midst, the blood-red blade sweeping in arcs and powerful downward blows that left behind cauterized flesh and melted plasteel in its wake.

Within moments the Sith Lady stood alone amidst several corpses, Imperial Stormtroopers rushing up from behind her. She looked up, and down the corridor, to where a security camera could be seen staring down the corridor. And she knew he – the little Forceling who thought he could contend with a Lady of the Sith – was watching,

She raised her lightsaber in a mocking salute, and then threw it at the camera's direction.


A/N

In Legends, the TIE Interceptor was actually slated to fully-replace the TIE Fighter around the time of the Battle of Endor. It was never completed/fully-implemented due to the Emperor's death fracturing the empire, but since the empire never fractured (and the Battle of Endor never happened) here, it proceeds. Given so many TIE Fighters in service, it'll take time to finish, but by this point first-rate fleets like that of Invictus have been fully-outfitted with the superb TIE Interceptor.

Qazoi Kyantuska: Sith Magic spell, translates to Basic as 'Control Mind'. It's precisely what its name indicates, with the risk that the victim may not be strong enough to survive to recover after being released.

Dun Moch: psychological warfare techniques meant to disrupt an enemy's emotional control and thus disrupt their ability to control the Force. Palpatine's mocking cackles are an example, as well as Dooku's 'Master Kenobi, you disappoint me. Master Yoda holds you in such high esteem.' A Jedi version of it would be Luke's imploring Vader to help him when the Emperor is torturing him to death, or Revan calling Bastilla back from the Dark Side prior to the final confrontation with Darth Malak.