AN-Hey everyone, new chapter here. I have a lot of ideas in my head about this story, so I decided to strike while the iron is hot and write the chapter. Anyways, please remember to leave a review, and as always, I hope you enjoy!
First Encounter
Korriban Spaceport- Talen walked through the spaceport, moving past the workers who unloaded shipments from the Commerce Guild, who "ran" Korriban for the Separatists. The shipments ranged from supplies to maintain the workers, to weapons and droids to hold the planet against a possible Republic attack.
"I wonder how many people know who really runs everything." Talen thought to himself, musing about how easy it had been to take control a few years back, and install a puppet leader while he pulled the strings. He continued walking towards the dock, taking mental notes of the stockpile of weapons and droids, said droids being mostly composed of the Spider Droids the Commerce Guild manufactured. Talen stopped himself to take a look at the greatest prize he and his friends had taken in their coup. It was a Recusant-class light destroyer, which could hold forty thousand battle droids. The ship was renamed The Prophet by Talen, and was currently being modified so it could support a organic crew better.
"You can't help just staring at her, can you Talen? Can't say I blame you, she is a beauty." Roy said, walking over to Talen.
"Yes she is, and after she is properly outfitted, she'll serve as a perfect frigate. Speaking of which, how long until the renovations are complete?" Talen asked, since Roy oversaw many of the day to day operations of the trading outpost.
"Soon, by the time we get back I would hazard to guess." Roy responded, as the two young men began to walk towards the ship they would be taking to Naboo.
"Good, and what did we get in the shipments today? I noticed how busy everyone was." Talen said.
"Another five hundred droids, three hundred spiders and two hundred battle droids. Along with that we got ten tri-fighters, so that's a definite plus." Roy replied.
"Agreed. That puts us at about fifteen thousand droids, and a couple hundred fighters. It isn't exactly the Clone Army, but it'll work for now." Talen stated, as he and Roy arrived in front of the latter's starship. The two walked up the ramp and inside it, where Brenna sat in the pilots seat, prepping the ship. She turned and saw the two young men.
"Finally, you two took your sweet time. I got enough supplies onto the ship to disguise ourselves as merchants." She said.
"Good day to you too, Brenna. Nice to see you're as cheery as always. Is The Ranger ready to fly?" Talen said, sitting down.
"Ready as this piece of junk will ever be." Brenna responded.
"Look at it this way Brenna, she's not just a piece of junk, but your piece of junk." Roy joked, getting a punch in the arm from his sister. Talen couldn't help smirk at their antics, as he fiddled with his lightsaber. He was disappointed that he would have to hide it, but letting it being seen was a risk he wasn't willing to take.
"So what's the plan, Talen? I rather not be on the wrong end of a Jedi's lightsaber." Brenna said.
"Simple, for you two at least. All you have to do is play the part of merchants heading to the Gungan city. I'll make sure if anything happens you two get out fine." Talen replied.
"Yeah, like you haven't ever said that before. I'm sure that this won't end up like how that deal with the smuggler from Balmora did." Roy said sarcastically. Talen just shrugged, and put his hands up defensively in the air.
"How was I supposed to know that she was actually a bounty hunter?" Talen said.
"Hey, you two, shut up and strap yourselves in, we're about to take off." Brenna said, interrupting them. Roy grumbled as he got in his seat, while Talen smirked and buckled himself up.
"This is gonna end up as quite the tale." He thought to himself, as the ship left the hangar.
Naboo- Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, walked through the streets of Theed, capital city of Naboo. As they walked, Anakin could sense the restlessness, of his Padawan.
"What is it Snips?" He asked turning to face her.
"Just worried about the children, Master. What if we don't get there in time, and Cad Bane takes them to whoever he is working for?" She said.
"Don't worry Ahsoka, Cad Bane may be dangerous, but he can't be in two places at once. Either he went to Rodia first or here, so there is a good chance either we or Obi-Wan will catch him. Have faith in the Force, my Padawan." Anakin replied.
"Yes, master. I have a question, who are we getting to Theed? Isn't it under water?" Ahsoka asked.
"Simple, we just need to rent a bongo or hire a local to take us down to Jan-Gwa City. We already notified the Gungans, so they know we're coming. They were going to pick us up, but we didn't want to attract attention if Bane is here." Anakin replied. Ahsoka nodded, but before she could reply, a brunette woman walked towards them.
"Excuse me, but did you say you needed a way to Jan-Gwa City?" The woman asked.
"Yes, may I ask who you are, and why do you ask?" Anakin responded.
"Oh, well my name is Brenna, and my brother and I are heading there to try to trade supplies with the Gungans. We rented an extra large bongo, so you two could easily come with us." Brenna said.
"That's very kind of you, isn't it Master?" Ahsoka said, noticing her master's hesitation.
"Yes, it is. We are willing to compensate you for the ride." Anakin said, reaching for the credits in his pocket. Brenna shook her head, and reached out, grabbing his hand.
"There won't be any need for that, we don't need the money. And besides, any one would do the same to help a couple of Jedi." She said. Anakin and Ahsoka smiled, the former nodded.
"Thank you, Brenna. Lead the way." He said. Brenna nodded and motioned for them to follow, as they made there way to the sea side, where Brenna walked over to the largest of the bongos that was docked. She opened the door, and led the Jedi Knight and Padawan in.
"Roy, we have company!" She shouted out.
"Quit shouting I'm right here. And what do you mean by company?" Roy asked, getting out of the pilot's chair.
"These two Jedi needed a way to Jan-Gwa City, so I offered them a ride." Brenna said.
"Great, more people. That's always fun." Roy said sarcastically.
"Just be lucky I didn't bring a Zeltron on to The Ranger like you did when we were on Ord Mantell!" Brenna responded.
"Hey, how was I supposed to know she would cut up all our clothes so they would look more like outfits for exotic dancers?" Roy countered.
"She was a Zeltron, they have almost no concept of modesty!" Brenna said.
"Neither did you when I got you two fooling around later!" Roy said.
"Hey! My ship, my bed, my rules. Besides, we used to take baths together when we were kids, so its nothing you haven't seen." Brenna said. While the two continued to argue, their Jedi passengers stood by awkwardly.
"Master, by fooling around, what exactly does he mean?" Ahsoka asked.
"Well, uh, when a man or woman, uh...or in this case a woman and woman want...to, umm..." Anakin stuttered, trying to think of a way to explain it, causing Ahsoka to snicker.
"I'm just messing with you Master, we had classes about this at the Academy." She said. Anakin glared at her, flustered by being reduced to babbling.
"Sometimes Snips, I hate the fact that I gave you that nickname, but then I remember why I gave it to you." He said.
"Whatever Skyguy. Anyways, when do you think they will stop arguing?" Ahsoka asked.
"Soon, probably, it sounds like they have resorted to name calling. That usually means they are running out of good insults." A voice said. As the two Jedi turned to see who was behind them, they heard Brenna distinctly call Roy a "Nerf-herder." Behind them was a large man, around 6'2 or 6'3, with black hair and gray eyes. He wore a basic beige shirt and long pants, along with a blaster in his holster, located on his right hip.
"Who are you?" Anakin asked, since Brenna hadn't mentioned anyone besides her and her brother.
"My name is Talen Zosta-Tok, I'm a friend of those two knuckleheads, and I act as security. And you two are..?" Talen responded.
"I am Anakin Skywalker, and this is my Padawan, Ahsoka Tano." Anakin said, extending his robotic hand. Talen reciprocated the gesture, squeezing Anakin's hand firmly enough to show that he was just as strong as him.
"Good to meet you, Master Anakin, you as well Padawan Ahsoka." Talen said, walking over to the siblings, who had finally simmered down.
"Oh hey Talen, finished introducing yourself to the guests my sister invited?" Roy grumbled .
"Yes, and before you two start to yell, we better head out if we want to make it to our meeting on time." Talen said. Roy sighed, and nodded to Brenna, who began to submerge the vehicle. The Jedi strapped themselves in, and prepared for the long ride, hoping Brenna and Roy wouldn't argue.
Later, Jan-Gwa City- Talen stood on the rooftop of one of the city's buildings. The night air was cold, and the only thing he could here was the waterfall. He had tracked the Jedi to the house of the Force-sensitive child, and was surprised when the Jedi Anakin Skywalker left his Padawan to protect the girl. He was interested to see where this would go, and was looking towards one of the windows when he saw a shady figure climb through it.
"Must be this bounty hunter, Cad Bane I believe." Talen thought to himself, as the bounty hunter walked into the little girl's room. He pulled the sheets off her, only to see that it was a doll, which caused Talen to chuckle. The Padawan popped out of the closet, and took Bane by surprise. She managed to subdue him rather quickly, something that impressed Talen. Soon Skywalker and Gungan soldiers arrived, and began to escort the bounty hunter away. Talen was about to follow them so that he could discover where Bane had hid the stolen holocron, when he felt two dark Force signatures approaching. Skywalker noticed as well, as did Ahsoka.
"Guards! Surround the prisoner!" Skywalker shouted, as he and his apprentice ignited their lightsabers. Two hooded figures walked over to them, activating their own lightsabers, which were red.
"Master, who are they?" Ahsoka asked, as the two men, who Talen would wager were twins due to their identical faces, circled around them.
"Their names are Karoc and Vinoc, they're some of Dooku's Dark Acolytes." Anakin responded.
"That's right, now hand over the bounty hunter and the kid, and we can make this quick." Karoc said, as the Jedi and Gungans prepared to fight.
"This is getting good." Talen thought to himself.
"That's not gonna happen." Ahsoka said. The twin Dark Jedi smiled, and then charged, Karoc going for Anakin, while Vinoc attacked Ahsoka and the Gungan guards. Anakin parried Karoc's attack, and then pressed his own offense, pushing him away from the rest of the action. Ahsoka was managing to put up a defense against Vinoc, but she wasn't able to do anything more. One of the Gungans stabbed at Vinoc with his spear, only of the Dark Acolyte to dodge it and cut him down. He then struck at Ahsoka, pushing her back with his superior strength. The Gungans charged at him, but he chopped down two before he threw the rest back with a powerful Force Push, which also inadvertently hit Cad Bane, causing the bounty hunter to hit his head on a wall. Vinoc then turned his attention to Ahsoka, who he managed to force to the ground and disarm with his superior blade work.
"Ahsoka!"Anakin yelled, as he leaped towards her, stopping Vinoc's saber from striking her down. He pushed Vinoc back, only to turn around and barely manage to block a strike from Karoc. The twins began to assault the Jedi Knight, keeping him on his toes. Anytime Anakin would get a strike on one of them, the other would block it. The combined attack soon overwhelmed Anakin, and the twins managed to catch him off guard with a simultaneous Force Push, which sent him through a window. The twins smirked, and walked over to Ahsoka who had just recovered. Meanwhile Talen watched Cad Bane, who was slowly making his escape. The young Dark Lord get pushing the bounty hunter down with the Force, and was making his way to him, when he stopped, and looked back at Ahsoka and the twins, the former of which would most certainly not last long in the fight to come.
"One down, one to go, won't be hard" Vinoc said, as the twins circled around the young Padawan. Talen deliberated on what to do for a few seconds, before he sighed.
"Don't think it will be that easy!" He yelled, as he jumped from his hiding spot.
"Talen? What are you doing here?" Ahsoka asked, confused by his sudden appearance and strange attire.
"Never mind that, the bounty hunter is trying to escape, you need to stop him. I'll handle these two." Talen said.
"But they're Acolytes! You don't stand a chance!" The Padawan said.
"Don't worry, I'll be just fine. Trust me." Talen responded. Ahsoka looked back, and could see Cad Bane escaping, she looked back at Talen, and nodded.
"May the Force be with you." She said, as she turned and gave chase to Bane. The twins smiled viciously, and began to encroach on the young man, who was looking over the surroundings.
"This is turning out way easier than Count Dooku said it would be. At this rate we'll be out of here in a minute." Karoc said.
"I wouldn't count on it." Talen responded, moving his cape slightly to the side, and pulled out his lightsaber.
"Jedi!" Vinoc exclaimed. Talen smirked, as he ignited his lightsaber, the twin's eyes widening as they saw its red coloring.
"Wrong answer, try again." Talen quipped. He held the lightsaber in one hand, and then preceded to do the classic Makashi salute, before slipping into his modified Form II stance, standing sideways so that he was a smaller target, and with his left hand held up instead of behind his back. The twin Dark Jedi rushed at him and Talen parried an attack from Karoc, and then struck at Vinoc, aiming at his hand and weapon. Vinoc barley managed to parry, but Talen pressed the attack on both twins, not allowing them a chance to catch their breath. He was able to dodge or counter anything they threw at him, causing the twins to become frustrated.
"Stand still!" Karoc screamed. Talen smiled and backed up a little.
"Fine, let me even up the odds a bit first." The young Darth said, as he pointed his hand at Vinoc. Force lightning flew out of his fingertips, and struck Vinoc, sending him flying into a wall, contorting in pain.
"You son of a...!" Karoc began to say, only to be interrupted when Talen struck at him with a precise stab, nearly hitting the Dark Jedi's face.
"Now, watch your language." Talen joked, infuriating Karoc. The Acolyte tried to push Talen away, but he found he couldn't, even though he was using only one hand while Karoc used both. Talen smirked, and pushed Karoc back. Karoc tried to strike back at him, only for Talen to parry, and then riposte, thrusting his blade forward, and into Karoc's chest. He removed the blade, and Karoc fell to the ground, lifeless.
"Brother no!" Vinoc yelled, as he saw his brother fall. He Force-Pulled his brother's lightsaber into his hand, and leaped at Talen, hacking and slashing furiously. Talen kept his composure, and mentally went through the training he had received from Revan.
"Parry, parry, thrust, thrust" He thought to himself, as he managed to disarm Vinoc of one of the lightsabers. Vinoc went for a big overhand cut, and Talen identified his opportunity. With a click twist of his wrist, he severed Vinoc's arm above the elbow.
"Who are you?' Vinoc said, as he dropped to one knee. Talen picked him up with the Force, and began to Force Choke him.
"I am the true Sith, heir to the teachings of Darth Revan, and herald of the New Order. I am Darth Talen, the Dark Lord of the Sith. I want you tell Dooku, and his master as well, that they are relics of an order doomed to fail. Tell them that I am coming for them, and as powerful as the Dark Side is, it is only half of the entire Force." Talen said, as he finally released Vinoc. The terrified Dark Jedi managed to get up and scurry away, clutching his wounds. Talen turned his lightsaber off, and clipped it back to his waist. Before he could do anything, he heard a lightsaber being ignited.
"Don't move, Sith." An awakened Anakin said.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Jedi?" Talen responded, looking back over his shoulder, while he used the Force to pull his lightsaber into his hand. He turned around and ignited it, preparing to do battle once again.
AN- And there is a wrap on chapter 2. I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have been active. Unfortunately real life problems got in the way, so I didn't have much time to write. I decided to cut the chapter I originally had planned out into pieces since as you see, it got a bit long. Anyways, remember to leave a review, and as always, I hope you enjoyed!