(A/N- start)

Hey everyone! This was the hardest chapter I have written... I am used to playing in Prototype and Mass Effect and similar, but this?

I have not played in Star Wars for very long.

So the updates for this story will be more... Inconsistent, as I learn to write for Star Wars.

Yeah, that covers it all.

I don't own it.

Enjoy!

(A/N-end)


"Gilgamesh: every religion started as fanfiction of the guy, and every badass only dreamed of being as awesome as he was! This guy was so awesome Chuck Norris has a poster of him on his wall for motivation!... Of course, you have no idea what I am talking about, do you?"


Chapter 2- Bounty Hunting


Dathomire, the NightSisters fortress.

"Rules?" Delta asked in disbelief. "There are standardized rules 'cross the Galaxy?"

"Yes." Mother Talzin intoned. "And they are held in common trust by most, which gives them power."

Delta waved a hand vaguely. "Of course- that's how all government works. But what does this have to do with the droids?"

The HK droid had been busy building Vulture droids- but mostly, he had been trying to minuturize them. A swarm of smaller, faster droids would, in theory, be more destructive than several larger fighters- but large and small Vulture droids working in concert? That would be even more dangerous.

"It is, how do you say, illegal, for anyone to own their own army without the planetary governors permission." Talzin explained. "I may have the power to control Dathomir, but by law I am still beholden to the senator that controls our vote." She grinned slightly. "It is also illegal to give a droid free agency to build more droids without organic oversight."

"I will not have slaves." Stated Delta. Then he held up a hand before she began to dispute this. "I abhor slavery. In fact, I am tempted to head to Hutt space just to crush the neckless worms and those who support them. If I did restrict their free agency, I would be more of a hypocrite than I already am! In any case, these droids are just the first step in my plan to keep you, and your people, safe."

Talzin looked intrigued, and steepled her fingers over the table they were sitting at. "Then, do tell me of this plan of yours, Delta."

"Dathomir is dying." Delta looked very sad when he said this. "Well, to be specific, the Dathomirians are dying out. Too few can survive the harsh climate away from the swamp belt, and the belt is full of creatures that are resistant to anything but direct energy weapons- like light sabers or those lazer arrow things."

"Dathomir makes the strong stronger, and the weak dead." Talzin repeated, like a mantra. "Those who die-"

"Are taken out of the gene pool. You cannot afford that... Can you?" Delta's voice was soft, but there was steel in it. "Your entire culture is segregated along gender lines- fine. But the fact so few children are ever born is not good for your species. If anything, I would suggest that this planet either be evacuated, or a significant number of immigrants, ideally Zabrac to deal with the harsh conditions, should be brought in to offset the shrinking gene pool- preferably a mix of both options."

"Where would we go?" Talzin asked. "The Republic knows that we are on this planet- and they tried to keep us here, until the ships were pulled away to deal with the Separatists. No-one comes here because the only thing valuable is our people- and Dathomirians do not break into slaves easily or quickly."

"Somewhere with more life, but fewer human-like beings would be a good start." Delta muttered, almost to himself. "Kasshyyyk would be ideal- lots of life to hide within, and a culture of beings that would appreciate having more tech and metal to play with. Some of that is what the droids are for. When you get the hang of metal extraction and refinement, then you and your people will be able to trade valuable materials with the wookies for various goods- at least, in theory."

Talzin raised an eyebrow. "This is the best plan you could come up with to protect us from Dooku?"

"Short of destroying several planets and killing the man personally, yes." Delta twiddled his thumps for a moment. "And that is just a waste of resources- and someone may try to avenge him who I am not able to help protect you against. Dealing with the wookies would allow your people to have a symbiotic relationship, thus helping both of you thrive. The wookies get a protective force and economic parter, while you get a safe haven, a significant ally, and, most importantly, the chance to be hidden beyond Dooku's senses." He picked up a pebble, placed it under a cup, and flipped over several others. Then, he spun them around at dizzying speeds with the force, and placed them down on the table. "Security through obscurity."

Talzin slowly nodded, absorbing the potential opportunities. "Very well. I will assemble several of the Sisters to acquire the vessels we will need to transport our population off planet. Droids will provide protection, and we two will need to talk with the wookie leader."

"Cool. When do we leave?"


A few days later, the starship- a vey small vessel, just big enough for a few people and a bunk, arrived in the Kashyyyk system. Anyone who could have attached a listening probe to the vessel would have heard a very strange conversation.

"I almost force-vomited over myself Talzin." This was Delta, and he sounded nauseated.

"..." Someone, probably Talzin, was vomiting.

"Seriously, Sister Lari, you are never allowed to fly again. How is you could even |do| a barrel roll in hyperspace? It doesn't make any sense!" He didn't sound as nauseated, but very annoyed.

"Um..."

"Sister Lari, you are hereby ordered, by me, the forty-seventh Mother of the NightSisters, to never fly a ship again- unless there are dire circumstances." Talzin was rather pissed. Also sounding nauseated.

"Let me drive- where's the spaceport?"


Traffic control on Kashyyyk was enforced by a significant (I.e., pants-wetting) number of anti-air laser cannons, several battalions of high-speed Wookie police cruisers, and a small number of Star Destroyers that the Republic lent them. They had dozens of long-range radar and observatory stations scattered around their system, looking for anything that would be out of place.

So when a vessel from Dathomir jumped in, several tracking stations confirmed it's vector, and then a traffic-control communication message was relayed via tight beam.

It was on a standardized frequency, and was set up on military bands, so that any vessel would be normally route the channel information into a 'priority military message'. In simpler terms, the traffic control could force people to, at the very least, to talk with them.

(People didn't usually link other functions within the ship to the comm system, but sometimes the Wookies would find someone had, and get them to pay a premium for putting in safeguards against hijacking.)

After a moment to allow the various computers to verify what sort of vessel was in their territory- a Baudo-Class Specter- two of the personnel- one humanoid, one wookie- began to speak in synchrony.

"Vessel EdgeRider, this is Kashyyyk control. Transmit flight route and purpose or reverse vector and jump to hyperspace within five standard minutes. Control out."

All and all, routine. Then they got the response from the EdgeRider.

"Kashyyyk control, this is EdgeRider. Our destination is currently Rwookrrorro, on Kashyyyk. Purpose of visit is diplomatic intentions."

That was above most of the people within the control center's pay grade, and they sent a standby message. "Copy EdgeRider. Engage sublight drive and establish parking orbit in slot 273-8-17 before standby."

The return message startled the control tower staff. "Kashyyyk control, this is EdgeRider. Be advised, we will be initiating a discontinuous-space FTL transfer into parking orbit slot 273-8-17 in 3 standard minutes."

"EdgeRider, please repeat!"

"Kashyyyk control, we will be jumping in-system to the designated parking orbit slot, over."

"Standby EdgeRider."

Military personnel were contacted, and dozens of long-range anti-ship guns were reoriented to specifically point at the incoming vessel, as well as at the expected parking orbit point.

Higher-ranking personnel were alerted, and after a few minutes, it had gone all the way to the top.


King Grakchawwaa was very calm for a sentient being. It was one of the reasons he had been selected by the other royal families as King- the others being his unwavering focus, incredible intelligence, cheerful disposition, and the fact that he was strong enough to use his rival as a flail while in ritual combat against the other contenders. Other wookies would become angry, while the King would just... Grin.

When he was informed of the vessel about to utilize an unknown form of FTL, he immediately stopped what he was doing- going over financial reports from the various companies his family controlled- and gave the matter his full attention.

All five of his generals had gathered around his desk, and each one had a different opinion about what to do with the vessel. Their views ranged from taking the vessel and examining it, destroying it, to allowing the 'diplomats' to land (apparently, they had not broadcast the clearance codes that were used by the republic) then taking and examining the vessel.

King Grakchawwaa waited until his generals were done voicing their ideas (which didn't take very long), and then slowly stood up from his chair. "Let them demonstrate this new method of travel. Inform them that they will be escorted down to a landing pad by several of our ships. I will meet with them, and see what they want." He smiled a wookie smile, with no teeth visible for politeness sake. "After all, it has been thousands of years since the hyperdrive had been developed, and it is time somebody introduces a new form of FTL."

A nondescript segment of the desk suddenly lit up, and the images of where the EdgeRider currently was, and where they expected to be in a few seconds materialized in blue sparks of an active hologram.

There was a flicker, and the arrow-shaped vessel appeared to fold in on itself from one location, and unfold in the other location.

The generals were stunned, and the king just continued to smile.

He gave the order to escort the intriguing ship personally.


Sister Lari was one of the NightSisters. Strong in the force, possessing powers unknown to Jedi or Sith, strong of mind and body. Ruthless. Subtle. A shadow, or a howling storm, as the situation called for it.

She was not, however, as unshakable as the Mother was. Especially since Mother Talzin had a fairly good idea of what was coming, while Lari wanted to see how they would 'jump' like Delta had when they had first met.

Seeing a planet go from a distance object, floating serenely in space, then watching space around them crumple, uncrumple, and see that there was now a planet almost on top of them was enough to terrify her.

As Delta set the vessel down on the designated landing pad (since the Mother forbid her from flying- she was not that bad!), Lari was already at the airlock- the emergency one. No sooner had she heard the 'clunk' of the ship settling before throwing open the hatch, thrusting herself at the platform via the Force, and kissing the platform on landing.

Then she noticed the ships. And the soldiers. And the fighters. And the big guns.

Rwookrrorro was a big, but elegant city. It had to be, in a way, due mainly to the fact it rested in the topmost level of the Wroshyr trees that covered every single landmass on the planet. At an altitude of 4 khelters above the ground, there were significant winds, and the city was shaped to have the wind either flow around the massive structures, create dead-air pockets where spacecraft would dock, or shunt air into massive turbines that powered the city.

It was not a small city either- it was over a khelter high, and about two hundred khelters square, give or take a few, depending on where the trees were bending at the time.

So when she realized that the sheer scale of the city, the sheer number of gunships that surrounded their ship, and the building-sized cruisers that were currently training guns on the platform, she shot back into the ship.

Apparently, overpowering fear is a great motivator. The force has only been able to do so much for her.


King Grakchawwaa was patient. This has to be said again, because the people in the ship were taking their sweet time coming out, and his guards were getting ancy.

He wasn't, but ancy guards was not usually a good way to begin negotiations.

Eventually a rear hatch opened, and three figures came out. First, an almost-human figure, clad in black armor that completely covered his(?) face, with an armored tail that undulated on it's own. Following him, came the esteemed Mother Talzin, and finally, the cloth-swathed NightSister that had been seen earlier.

Yes, Grakchawwaa knew Mother Talzin- well,at least knew of her. The wookies invested in a spy network that utilized multiple species and methods, so occasionally they heard about a threat that could not be lured into the massive trap that was the usually state of Kashyyyk, and had to be dealt with the traditional way. When they needed someone(s) assassinated, they called on the NightSisters.

The armored figure stood, silently, to one side, as Mother Talzin approached him.

"Good... Afternoon, King Grakchawwaa." Her voice thrummed distinctly. "I am here as a representative of the Dathomirian population."

Grakchawwaa sighed gently, and motioned his nervous translator forward.

"The Esteemed King Grakchawwaa-" Grakchawwaa glared at the interpreter. "-welcomes you to Rwookrrorro, and promises you safety while conducting your business here."

Mother Talzin smiled. "Thank you King Grakchawwaa. Shall we adjourn to someplace out of the wind?"


Delta and Sister Lari stood outside the meeting room, watching the traffic patterns of Rwookrrorro, and practicing the utilization of the Force with an air of delicacy.

Delta twitched his tail as two vessels swerved at the last second, just barely missing each other. "You need to remember, Lari, that distance is insignificant."

She was frowning. "I know!"

He placed a hand on her shoulders, and sent a pulse of calm through her. "Relax. You need to think clearly, visualize where the energy comes from, and where it goes."

She took a deep breath, and pulled a tiny sliver of power from the Rwookrrorro's Parent Star (the energy from 1/2000ths of second of energy released on the surface), then used the absolutely massive amount of power to gently nudge a large cargo vessel before it touched the guide-rails around it's dock. A clenched hand forced the energy to lift the ship, and gently lock it into the docking clamps.


The bodyguard wookie watched, chuckling. Even if they could use the force, it had limits... He saw the cargo transport lift and move under her direction, and shook his head. Nah... Not even Jedi could do that.


Delta grinned under his helmet, and Lari could feel it- and he knew it. The imprint of her mind in the universe had just changed, just enough to allow her to think on the scale that true phenomenal cosmic power required.

It was a good thing she didn't have an itty-bitty living space, otherwise, Delta would have been giggling at a joke no-one else on the planet, probably in the Galaxy, would find funny.

Suddenly, he was assaulted by mental images of... What? Himself, and Lari, standing here, then a massive bolt of Crimson pouring down from the sky and hitting one of the anti-spaceship towers.

A wave of red fell from the sky, blasting the towers apart, every spike in the city was shattered by some sort of plasma-weapon.

Delta shook his head slightly, and glanced at Lari.

She was deathly pale. "Did you just see what I saw?"

"Show me." Delta looked into her mind, and perused her recent memories. Then he looked up, reached out, and clenched his hands into claws.

The ceiling split open, custom-grown wood structures unraveling like finger-thick tendrils that had been laced together.

Delta turned to Lari- then the first wave of bolts fell. "Guard the Mother. I will... Deal with the attackers."

Gently, Delta rose into the air, his tail flowing behind him, and gently left the building, his hands blurring as bolt after bolt of the various turbolaser waves were caught, hovering above their targets until they burned away, all the energy spent turning air to plasma.

It took a while though, and the bombardment took a while. Soon the air was filled with burning bolts, merrily expending the energy imparted by whatever mechanism fired them.

When the bombardment stopped, he stopped materializing the shield- and then had to start again, as the force shoved a vision of wave after wave still to come.

After the third wave, he just pointed. In the air, floating thousands of meters above the city, a small black sphere, the size of a marble, formed. (Thankfully there was no air traffic after the first two waves of projectiles- who wants to fly while there is a rain of glowing red death above their heads?)

Then the fourth wave came- and rather than fall towards their targets like before, the bolts all curves in mid-flight to fall directly towards the small distortion, curving and orbiting an impossible point, how've ring above the city like a small disk of writhing, crackling power. A few more waves later, and the attacking force stopped firing on the city, as the accretion sphere surrounding the point was glowing like a noon-day sun above the city.

Delta reached out, and pulled his construct- it wasn't really a black hole, more like a physical crystallization of his will imparted on the universe. Between his palms, hundreds of turbolaser shots orbited in a rapidly-decreasing spiral, eventually sinking in to touch the tiny black sphere, which opened like a multidimensional puzzle box and engulfed the spiraling energy pulses.

Delta smiled in satisfaction- his construct was stable, and was performing as expected. He flinched as the force decided to butt in and provide an image of several reptilian beings, each bigger than a wookie, sneaking into the meeting via a window, where Mother Talzin and King Grakchawwaa were talking, and killing the King before Talzin could stop them.

He had to take a few deep breaths before the massive headache that the force-prescribed images created had passed- and even then, it took some biofeedback forms to reduce the involuntary clenching of the various muscles around his head. And his back. And around his eyes. Damn it that was painful.

Delta flicked his helmet open with a negligent thought, the various components popping apart and floating a short distance away from each other as he took a breath of unfiltered air. The sun felt nice on his skin, and his eyes opened for the first time since he had put on that helmet.

Talzin had insisted on his helmet being completely opaque- for the simple reason that it would keep him in tune with the flows of the force. Of course it also looked menacing, but that was just a side effect.

Now though, as his eyes stung from the still-unused sensations, he felt out with his mind, reaching out through the force as a medium.

It was hard to explain the feeling of a mind-on-mind contact- like a mixture of touch and taste and smell, all with a form of intimacy that was incredibly... Odd, from his perspective.

Carefully, Delta felt his way into the meeting room, where the just-inhuman mind of King Grakchawwaa and the deep dark mind of Talzin persisted. Carefully, he brushed against Talzin's mind, and highlighted the three assassins that were using the attack to crawl through the vents toward the meeting room.


Talzin felt Delta brush across the edge of her mind, and gently provide an image of three glowing figures just behind a wall.

King Grakchawwaa turned back to the table within the well-lit room. The lighting was always pleasant this high in the canopy, and this room- specially grown to make sure that the people within were safe and comfortable- was one of the most secure in the entire city (that was not his personal dwellings, of course).

Every word he said was attended to and repeated by the translator, sitting nervously between where the king usually sat and where the mother sat now. "King Grakchawwaa is impressed by your... Pupil? Padawan? Which is it?"

"Neither." Talzin sipped her water, and placed it back on the table. "He is a being that we have a... Deal with. Although, I will be the first to admit..." She purred, her subharmonics causing ripples in the cup. "His control and utilization of the force is impressive."

"Quite so." King Grakchawwaa waved a clawed hand in the general direction of the breathtaking vista of Rwookrrorro, where turbolasers lanced down from space only to be visibly redirected to Delta, and the anti-space towers fired on the distant attackers. "And I am confident my generals will be able to handle the retaliatory action."


In a hidden bunker within the depths of one of Rwookrrorro's huge trees, several generals were busy fighting off reptilian assassins.


"Yes, they are probably fine." The King turned back to Talis. "Back to our discussion, you mentioned a request for housing space for... How many was it?" He picked up a tablet.

"Two and a half million Dathomerians." Talzin watched the glowing figures move towards the air vent above them. With a slight flick of her mind, she pushed a concept towards Delta's still-hovering connection that he should 'extract' the assassins for later. She would probably just kill them for their insolence. "We will be bringing along the materials for our own infrastructure, and only require space to build."

"Therein lies a problem, NightMother." Grakchawwaa gently tapped a few commands on a tablet, and a hidden hologram projector activated, showing a cross-section of the average terrain on Kashyyyk. "Most, if not all of the landmass on our world is covered in a Khelter to three Khelter tall trees- the Woshyrs. Our cities are built in the top fifty meters on the lower parts, and on the highest ones, they can be built in the top khelter. If you want to build on the ground-"

There was a sudden sound of screaming, then that of wood tearing. Then more screaming.

"That would be one of my bodyguards dealing with an assassin." Explained Talzin with significant mirth as she watched/felt the reptilian assassins get bounced on their heads via the force. "They both are rather... Exuberant."

"Yes, well-" A distinctly wookie laugh was heard from outside the door. King Grakchawwaa grimaced slightly. "Apparently my guards also found it amusing. I will need to ask them about what happened."

"My bodyguard, Delta, discovered several assassins approaching this room- possibly with the intention of using the orbital bombardment as cover." Talzin succinctly outlined the events. "He then alerted me of the threat, and I suggested that he took them alive." She smiled softly. "My other bodyguard, Lari, would have been more zealous." She looked back at the king. "We can deal with the local fauna and flora, if need be. Will you, at least, allow us to try?"

Grakchawwaa watched her for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well. I, King Grakchawwaa do hereby gift the refugees from Dathomire, under the command of the Witch NightMother Talzin, space on Kashyyyk that is not under any current developed or rural spaces."

Talzin narrowed her eyes slightly. "I assume that you have a place in mind that is large enough for us?"

Grakchawwaa grinned widely. "Yes." He pulled up a map of Kashyyyk, and highlighted a single, fairly large, island. "This island is not developed by us- mainly due to the presence of many large insect predators. They are..." He paused to pull the right word up. "Irritating." He pulled up an image of a, well, the only way to describe it would be a gorilla crossbreed with a cockroach. It had two large-forarmed arms, three-fingered hands, and covered in an exoskeleton that appeared to a mottled brown- the same color as the Woshyr trunks. It's face was a chitinous mass, which opened, displaying a flowerlike mouth and dozens of razor-sharp teeth covering every flange.

A wookie appeared for scale, and Talzin noticed, with some interest, that the wookie only came up to this being's shoulder. "We should be able to... Deal with them."

"On a more interesting note, do your bodyguards have Bounty Hunter liscenses?" The King asked, while doing the paperwork that every government worth it's name has to make thing less efficient. "If not, I may considering sponsoring them, considering the ease that they restrained those assassins."


Two hours later, Leti and Delta were members of the Guild of Bounty Hunters and assorted Mercenaries, the three assassins still following them, upside down, being bounced on their heads every step of the way.

Delta could not stop laughing for the entire day.


On Coruscant, a Jedi Knight who was in charge of the inter-communication between the Guild of Bounty Hunter and Assorted Mercenaries didn't even look up as the ID files of Delta and Leti crossed his screen. He was really busy, and didn't have time to see what it was- and he really didn't care, as an automated process verified that these documents were free of malware, and truely from the Guild.

He pressed the authentication button, and never gave it a second thought, deep in negotiations with the Guild about acquiring Cad Bane's client list.


End chapter 2


I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter- it is a bit slow-paced, but it will speed up (hopefully) as I get more comfortable writing in Lucas's universe.

Please review- it really helps.

And before I forget- some Omakes!


-Omake: Opposites (Part 1)-

Any force has, in accordance with the laws of the universe, an equal and opposite. The Force is slightly more complex, with three facets- a dark side, a light side, and a neutral side.

When Delta was summoned, someone else was summoned as well- despite the fact that he was not particularly 'dark' as per common connotations.

On Tatooine, when Delta was being summoned, two clans of sand people had just finished fighting. As per their burial traditions, they burned their dead to make sure the spirits would not follow in their tracks.

From the immense pile of burning bodies, ash began to spiral into the night sky, and a body formed. This one was obviously female. Humanoid with long dark hair, and a long, sinuous tail, she floated down out of the column of ash like a snowflake. After a moment, she opened her eyes, blinked, and saw a crowd of sand people around her, frozen in amazement by what they had just seen.

Then, a small white dog popped out of the ash cloud, and the woman caught it as it fell.

"_!" She cried, as the tiny dog wagged its black-tipped tail and licked her face. "Why were you up there?"

Then she looked down, saw the fact that she was naked, and then around at the sand people.

"Right. This is either a prank on me, or the universe playing a massive joke." She looked around at the sand people, and grinned unnervingly. "Now then... Give me your clothes." She looked around for a shorter one. "You. Give me your poncho. I need a sweater for my baby."

The dog grinned slightly, and perked up her ears.

The sand people raised their weapons, and hooted, but she just frowned.

"Why?" She shook her head. "I just got here? What did I do? It's not my fault I'm naked! I like clothes..." She said poutingly, shivering as she looked down at the dog wagging in her hands.

The sand people began to sink into the sand, and they subsequently began to panic. The panicking got into full gear when their weapons imploded, crushed into barely-recognizable twisted metal- then they shot into the sand, buried up to their necks.

She started to giggle. "I thought you people lived here! You should know about the dangers of the desert." Then a shadow crossed her face. "Now, let's try that again."

The air suddenly filled with electricity, and the sand people shot out of the ground like some sort of weed.

"Give me your clothes, and give me that poncho. Poor baby boo boo is getting yucky sand in her soft fur."

Said dog barked softly, and licked the woman, who giggled.

They gave her the clothes.


-Omake: Delta responds to a review-

In a white room outside of time and space, there was a table, a chair, and a shadow. The shadow was humanoid, but bits of it trailed off and evaporated in the ambient light that emitted from the walls.

Without warning, a thin purple line appeared, and opened like a zipper, spitting out the armor-clad Delta.

"What the fu-" Delta stopped talking- his voice trailed off as he saw the smoky shadow sitting on air at the table. Gingerly, he lowered himself into the opposite chair. "Hi Me."

Not quite, but close.

Delta's ears began to bleed, but he made no notice of it. "What have I called me for?"

Mainly? To answer a review. Apparently one of my readers thinks you are homosexual.

Delta glared at the shadow. "That's your fault- you have me this girly body!"

And that's what I have brought you in to address. The shadow shuffled some papers that hadn't been there a second before. Let's address this in order. I made him short because I am just 6 feet tall, and his body needs to 'grow' into his mental shape- remember, he was summoned by a coven of female witches, and they tried to force their preferred shape on his body. The human body is female first in the womb, then becomes male as it develops- and Delta was forced into a just-formed body.

"I am not gay- and I can almost hear the Yaoi fan girls screaming in disgust as they read this. And like Mr. Cloak explained, this body is changing to fit me, but it will take a while."

A few chapters. To be frank, I was expecting more people concerned with the Tail.

"Yeah, me too." Delta wiggled it. "Strange that."

Back to work! The shadowy figure flicked Delta back into the open portal, and it zipped up once more, dissipating into mist.