Chapter 1
Since the Jedi had arrived on Rinn life hadn't become much easier for them; they were still wanted dead by the Empire and they were low on numbers. If the Empire ever learnt of their location they would never be able to hold off a full scale attack, even if they do have one cruiser and one star destroyer up in orbit. The Empire have unlimited resources at their disposal. For the past two years they had been trying to recruit a few more extra soldiers and temple guards; which had been quite successful as the Empire had not yet full control over the galaxy and there were still people willing to help and work with and for the Jedi.
Barriss Offee was sat meditating in her personal quarters up on the Crusader waiting for their next mission. She was sat cross-legged on the cold hard floor, letting the Force flow through her. She could sense everyone on the ship including Master Ti on the bridge as well as Coleman Kcaj and Carolyn Sosa on the ship. She could sense the planet of Rinn down below along with the other Jedi that were down on the surface. She opened her eyes as she heard a knock on the door and she sensed Carolyn at the door.
"Come in!" Barriss called out. The door opened a few seconds later. Carolyn was holding a tray of food and a glass of juice.
"My master thought you would like some food," Carolyn said pleasantly.
"Alright," Barriss stood up and kindly took the tray off her. "Thank you."
Carolyn bowed hesitantly, she seemed distant. "It's okay."
"Is there something the matter?" Barriss asked her.
"It's okay." Carolyn repeated. She bowed again and turned on her heels. Barriss heard her boots tap against the hard steel floor, even after she had exited the room.
After she had left, Barriss started eating the food she had been given.
Shaak Ti and Coleman Kcaj were stood on the bridge with General Grievous as they prepared for their next mission.
"First we head to Taris for your mission," Grievous said looking at Shaak Ti. Then he turned to look at Coleman Kcaj. "And then we head for Manaan to firstly seek new Force sensitive's and ask them about the temple on Rinn."
Both Kcaj and Shaak Ti nodded their heads.
"Yes, that is correct," Kcaj said.
"Let's get going then." Grievous said.
The Crusader soon entered lightspeed setting course for Taris first.
Inquisitor Ja'ce Yiasco was stood on the bridge of the Redblade, which was an Imperial class I Star Destroyer and it had just dropped out of lightspeed moments ago. The watery world of Manaan was ahead of them. The planet had yet to be taken under imperial control and apparently Emperor Palpatine had seen a lot of potential with this planet. They would take the planet by force, using their new aquatic assault stormtroopers. Stormtroopers were the new variants of the old clone troopers He turned to look at his captain, who would lead the underwater assault.
"Ready your men. Force them to the surface. Kill any that resist." Ja'ce ordered him.
"Yes sir, right away." Captain Hann replied. He turned around walked over to the internal comm system, gave out the order then strode off the bridge.
Ja'ce waited for a few minutes and soon he saw a number of sentinel class landing crafts heading down to the planet's atmosphere. "This shouldn't be too much trouble." He muttered under his breath.
Captain Aiden Hann was sat in the pilot seat of the one of the sentinel class landing crafts. They soon hit atmosphere. They were soon flying high over the watery surface of the planet. They already knew the location of some of the underwater cities from their scanners and radars that could spot out the large numbers of life signatures that were found in certain areas but they could have been large groups of non-sentient fish so they would search for them if that happened to be the case.
"Most of you will have to leave the shuttles in mid-air, as we can't land all the shuttles in the city and then we will wait for Ja'ce to arrive." Aiden told the rest of the crew, and the other landing craft through intercom.
"Yes sir," came the slightly muffled responses from the other pilots.
"Good." Aiden replied.
As they came closer to the surface of the ocean, they stopped in mid-air and opened the exit ramp for the aquatic stormtroopers to leap off and into the water. Some of the troopers were aquatic stormtroopers while the others were the normal, basic storm troopers. There were still large numbers of clone troopers as well.
"Get moving!" Aiden ordered, his voice booming. He looked over his shoulder looking into the larger compartment of the ship. He could see some of the stormtroopers getting up with their gear and weapons and jumping off the landing craft's ramp and into the water. When enough of them had gone he ordered the rest to sit back down and they would land in the city's spaceport.
The journey on the Crusader was a fairly long one; the Jedi masters had been meditating in their private quarters while Barriss and Carolyn had been practising lightsaber combat in Carolyn's quarters. Carolyn was only a Padawan and hadn't received much lightsaber training, so Barriss thought while they waited they could do some training. They were stood in the room with their lightsabers activated, standing a few feet away from each and not taking an eye of each other.
Carolyn made the first move by breaking into a run towards Barriss Offee, using Force speed to enhance her run. Barriss stood her ground as she came racing towards her. Carolyn stabbed her blade up towards Barriss' chest but the Mirialan Jedi blocked the stab by bringing her lightsaber upwards and shielding the strike. Carolyn broke the deadlock and then thrust her lightsaber downwards, aiming for Barriss' knee. Barriss took a step back, then parried the strike with her lightsaber.
"You're doing well so far," Barriss remarked smiling at her.
"Thanks." Carolyn replied, smiling back at her.
"Shall we continue?" Barriss suggested.
Carolyn nodded her head. Barriss raised her free hand and sent a Force wave at Carolyn; she was sent a few feet away crashing against the floor. She dropped her lightsaber in the process
"Ow!" Carolyn shouted in pain. She quickly got back up to her feet and Force pulled her lightsaber; catching it in her open right hand. She then broke into a run, closing the distance between them. Barriss stood her ground, her feet firmly on the ground in her Soresu stance. As Carolyn came close enough, she swung her lightsaber at Barriss; aiming for her right arm. Barriss sidestepped and then parried the strike by thrusting her lightsaber forwards to intercept it. Both blades clashed against each other. Barriss broke the deadlock then swung her lightsaber at Carolyn's knee catching her slightly.
"Ow!" Carolyn shouted. "Just as well there on a lower setting." Carolyn took a step back, trying to make a distance between them.
"Shall we take a break?" Barriss suggested.
"Okay," Carolyn replied.
The stormtroopers were getting deeper and deeper in the ocean.
"I can see what looks like cities or ruins ahead," one stormtrooper said through their personal commlinks. He could also see fish swimming around nearby. As they drew closer they could also Selkath in the water. Some were coming right towards them, armed with poles, swords and various other melee weapons. "They're coming towards us! Fire!"
The stormtroopers start firing at the incoming Selkath. It was more difficult fighting under water like this, but they were trained for this.
As the first of the Selkath warriors or whatever they were came into range the stormtroopers started firing sonic weapons at them. The first of the Selkath who was called A'kir, carrying a pike struck the first stormtrooper in the chest and impaling him. The Selkath pulled the pike out and struck the stormtrooper again and he dropped his weapon. A'kir looked over his shoulder he saw other Selkath engaging stormtroopers with their pikes. A'kir turned his head and finished off the stormtrooper he had been facing and swam past him; kicking him in the process. A'kir could see more stormtroopers up ahead; coming towards them. The nearest storm trooper aimed his sonic blaster at A'kir and fired. The first sonic wave came whizzing towards A'kir. A'kir tried to shift his body to try and dodge it. He propelled himself upwards; however it caught him in the right knee causing pain. He nearly dropped the pike in the process. He saw another Selkath swim past him in the corner of his left eye, engaging that stormtrooper. But it appeared at the moment they were outnumbered.
The Crusader dropped out of lightspeed, the planet Taris was ahead of them. According to the history books it was a thriving metropolis with thousands of tall sky high buildings but it got destroyed by the Sith thousands of years ago, and ever since they had been rebuilding their settlements across the surface. There were numbers of large settlements across the surface of the planet.
"Alright here we are," Grievous said.
Kcaj nodded his head. He turned to look at Barriss Offee, who was stood a couple of feet away.
"It's time we left." Kcaj said, starting to walk off the bridge.
Barriss nodded her head, and then she turned to look at Carolyn. She smiled at her.
"Good luck and May the Force be with you." Barriss said.
"May the Force be with you as well," Carolyn said back to her.
Barriss then walked off the bridge with Coleman Kcaj leaving Shaak Ti, Carolyn and Grievous behind.
"We will wait for them to arrive on the surface safely," Shaak Ti said.
"Fine by me," Grievous remarked.
"How long will it take to get to Manaan?" Carolyn said turning to look at Shaak Ti then General Grievous.
"Not too long," Shaak Ti answered, still looking out to space. She opened herself up to the Force; closing her eyes for a few minutes sensing everyone aboard the star destroyer but she soon felt the life down on the planet. She could sense a variety of life, but it was hard to get much more from it. She re-opened her eyes and saw the shuttle heading down to the planet's atmosphere.
"What are we waiting for?" Carolyn piped up, glancing at Shaak Ti
"We are waiting to make sure they arrive safely," Shaak Ti answered her, almost instantly.
"It looks like we can go," Grievous said. "Set course for Manaan. Prepare to enter lightspeed!" He ordered.
After they had unloaded the aquatic storm troopers into the water, Aiden Hann then piloted the sentinel craft back to the star destroyer to not only swap to a smaller shuttle but also to pick up Ja'ce Yiasco to the planet and more normal stormtroopers.
"So far it's going as expected," Aiden remarked after Ja'ce sat down in the co-pilot seat after he had stowed some of his personal belongings aboard the shuttle for his stay on Manaan.
"Good," Ja'ce nodded his head. "They should make excellent slaves for the Empire."
They soon took off; exiting the hangar bay and heading down to the planet's atmosphere. There would be other sentinel landing crafts returning to the star destroyer soon enough while the stormtroopers down on the planet helped made a permanent garrison on the planet. Once the landing crafts had returned; which they were in the process of doing now, then the star destroyer would return to Coruscant as they would no longer need it.
The battle down under Manaan's surface at the moment was going in the Empire's favour. A'kir was trying to fight back against the stormtroopers but they were far outnumbered now; some had retreated back to their homes and many had already been killed. A'kir saw several stormtroopers closing in on him from all angles; in the corner of his eye he saw another Selkath go slightly limp from being overpowered. A'kir shook his head then turned around and swam back to his home to get his family to safety.
Kcaj piloted the shuttle in the planet's atmosphere, while Barriss was sat in the co-pilot seat. Ahead she could see a human settlement, a clearing around it then a jungle of trees surrounding it. There were a few other ships parked outside the settlement in the clearing. The shuttle's internal comm system started beeping; meaning there was an incoming message. Barriss reached out with her right hand and flicked the switch to answer it. On the small screen appeared a green skinned Twi'lek.
"Hello. I am called Venn, and I'm the flight control officer. Please state your name, your business and the amount of companions you have on your shuttle." The deep male voice ordered them.
"My name is Coleman Kcaj," Kcaj said clearly into the radio. "There are only two people including myself aboard the shuttle, we have no droids. We are carrying just a few provisions. We are coming to meet up with an old friend called Theen Gronn."
The Twi'lek eyes narrowed. "We know who you mean, he is here somewhere. But be careful, there have been some members of the Crimson Nova Bounty Hunters guild here recently. Stay concealed. When you land I will take you to him."
"Alright," Coleman Kcaj said as they approached the settlement. They were moments away from landing. Through the cockpit, the settlement got closer and closer. Kcaj was slowing down the speed of the shuttle until they came to a hover over an open space next to the settlement. They touched down on the ground coming to a halt. "We made it."
"That was the easy part," Barriss remarked.
"It could be," Kcaj shrugged. They both got up from their seats and he opened up the exit ramp then walked down onto the ground. A breeze of fresh air hit them in the face as they came off the shuttle.
Ahead of them was the some open grassy land and then jungle. "Alright let's close it up." Kcaj took out a small device that locked the shuttle up from the outside, so that no one could steal it. The two of them came around the back of the shuttle and walked over to the entrance of the settlement. There was a parked freighter to their left about twenty feet away, but they couldn't sense anyone on board it. As they walked towards the entrance the Twi'lek that had spoken to them on the comm a few moments ago.
"Welcome to Taris," the Twi'lek said as he approached them both. "I forgot to introduce myself on the comm. I am called Ofar Kuldi." He said bowing. "Come this way quickly, we will be taking a landspeeder to where your friend is staying."
Kcaj exchanged a look with Barriss then looked at Ofar. "Let's go then."
The other sentinel landing crafts had returned to the star destroyer up in orbit over Manaan and the imperial star destroyer was preparing to enter lightspeed. The battle continued down on the surface of the planet. The shuttle carrying Aiden Hann and Ja'ce Yiasco had touched down in Ahto's city spaceport unauthorized.
The stormtroopers came out of the shuttle first, followed by Aiden Hann and Ja'ce Yiasco. They regrouped in the hangar bay.
"Let's head out and into the city. We're heading to their main government building to take it over by force!" Ja'ce informed them. "Move out."
The stormtroopers hurried out of the hangar bay, carrying their blaster rifles. They came into the corridor. Up ahead there were a small group of Selkath stood at the end of the corridor. The stormtroopers approached the Selkath.
"Hands up!" The first stormtrooper ordered the group of Selkath. The Selkath put their hands up without showing any sign of resistance. "Good choice." The stormtroopers saw more Selkath around the spaceport and followed the same procedure while Aiden Hann and Ja'ce Yiasco waited in the entrance hall of the spaceport. Ja'ce heard his comlink beeping in his robe pocket and answered it. One of the officers appeared as a hologram on the device.
"All the landing crafts have returned to the star destroyer, we are ready to leave." The officer reported.
"Good. You may leave now. Return in a week with more stormtroopers." Ja'ce Yiasco ordered him.
"Yes sir." The officer replied. Then the holographic message ended. Soon after one of the stormtroopers regrouped with their superiors.
"The spaceport has been secured," the stormtrooper reported.
"Good." Ja'ce Yiasco commended.
While some of the Selkath underwater cities had been driven to the surface, there were still other cities still not under the Empire's control yet.
The Crusader dropped out of lightspeed and saw the planet of Manaan before them, but there was no star destroyer present; because it had entered lightspeed moments ago.
"Alright here we are, Manaan." Grievous said as they approached the ocean world to enter its orbit.
"I feel a lot of pain, anguish from down on the planet. Something doesn't feel right." Shaak Ti said.
Grievous turned to look study her. "In what way?"
"The Selkath down their feel it. Like they've just been attacked or something. It's hard to tell exactly what." Shaak Ti tried to explain to him.
"Would you like me and a couple of our soldiers to come down to the surface with you?" Grievous asked her.
"No not yet. If Coleman Kcaj and Barriss find Theen Gronn and complete their mission they will need to be picked up quickly." Shaak Ti said. "We will contact you when we arrive on the surface or if anything else should happen."
Barriss, Coleman Kcaj and Ofar Kuldi had almost reached the edge of the settlement without incident. As they passed through the settlement they saw a few people out and about. The settlers here were of different races; they had seen numbers of Aqualish, Bith, Humans, Ithorians, Rodians, Twi'leks and Wookies. It was still early morning, but there would be people coming in and out travelling from settlement to settlement throughout the day either trading, travelling or visiting. They continued walking at a normal pace.
"Like I was saying before, you have to be careful." Ofar said in a hushed tone of voice. "Bounty hunters are known to gather here. Not safe being, you know what anymore."
"Yes," Kcaj said as they walked past an open café, there were a few couples sat having something to eat and drink while talking. Kcaj felt a slight murmur in the Force; he had the feeling that they were being watched. They continued walking past another store on their left, Kcaj glanced to his left; it was a store but it was closed and he couldn't pinpoint anyone inside the building for the time being.
He glanced off to the right; looking across the street he saw another closed building it looked run down.
"Somebody is watching us," Kcaj said quietly, loud enough for Barriss to hear. She probably knew it already, or had an idea of it. He was just confirming it.
"Okay." She replied.
Ofar eventually led them to the landspeeder waiting on the edge of the city. All three of them climbed into the landspeeder.
"Alright this will make it easier to go and see Theen Gronn." Ofar said.
"Good." Kcaj said as he sat in the back of the landspeeder. He looked over at the back of his shoulder; looking at the city. He couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. He could see a few buildings and a number of people walking down the street. He then turned his head and looked ahead of him as Ofar powered up the landspeeder's engine. They drove off heading north.
From the distance a Trandoshan was staring at the landspeeder, standing at the window of a rundown building. He took out his comlink and contacted the others. A tall man appeared on the screen as a hologram.
"Have you spotted them?" the man asked him.
The Trandoshan answered him in his own native language.
"Good, we will hunt them down and get our payment. Just like Kai Justiss." The man said.