Chapter 3

"The aliens overwhelmed our defenses before we could mobilize," the holographic message was saying. "To any Republic or Alliance forces, we are outmatched and need assistance. Please send help."

The message broke up the signal faded and Lorana Jinzler scowled. She wasn't authorized to act outside Alliance space, but this message's timing was to convenient not to look into. Reports were slowly filtering in over the Alliance's Holonet about the threat from the outer borders of the Vagaari. It seemed far too coincidental that this message arrived so soon afterward.

She rapidly wrote a report and forwarded it to Coruscant. "Order's my lady?" the base's commander asked.

"Ready the garrison." Jinzler ordered. "Send no response. When reinforcements arrive send them to join our strike force. If Director Skywalker has further orders send them directly to me."

"Yes my lady," the commander said, immediately departing to carry out her instruction.

"Inform my Star Destroyer," Jinzler added, before sweeping from the room.

Her shuttle was already waiting and ready to take off when Jinzler arrived at the landing bay of the primary base on Cerea. The planet had refused the Republic's invitations to join in the waning years of the Galactic Republic, preferring instead to maintain isolation and shun modern technology as the world had done for hundreds of years.

It had fallen in less than an hour when the Alliance military had arrived two years after the treaty.

Since then the planet had been turned into one of the great agricultural centers which fed the vast network of clones, recruits, and conscripts who were stationed across the occupation zone of Director Skywalker. Fields of every crop that could be raised cross the virtually the entire habitable zone of the planet, with the planet's population primarily occupied in the production of food, all watched over by the armored troops that served as the occupation force.

The base itself was the center of Alliance operations in the system, with multiple turbolaser batteries in place to counter a landing force from space. It was built into a mountain, and housed multiple squadrons of fighters and bombers that could serve as either a defensive force, or a assault force against any uprising. Hidden across the grounds were the underground bunkers housing the modern All-Terrain Reconnaissance Vehicles, fully armored walkers designed to replace the Pod Walkers and AT-RT's with a single vehicle. Also buried inside were the All-Terrain Assault Craft, upgraded versions of the old AT-TE's, with eight longer legs to allow easier and faster movement across trenches, as well as a single rotating cannon with coaxial repeating blasters mounted underneath that turret. Despite its greater size the design had been compacted to ensure a larger field of fire. Furthermore, its armor had been designed specifically to be immune to the smaller blasters of both its own brethren, as well as lighter vehicles of the Alliance military. This allowed the platforms to work directly in support, and fire on each other if necessary, without damaging the craft.

In essence any attempted uprising was doomed to failure. Her shuttle however went up to the waiting Star Destroyer Liberty. With it were the escorting Venators, an aging ship with increasingly limited utility so far as the Alliance was concerned, as well as the system's own Acclamators, a vessel completely obsolete against modern forces, but serviceable for the light duty of this system. By the time she arrived on the bridge the ship was ready to jump to hyperspace, its slave systems already ensuring the Venators were ready to follow. Those ships would carry the ground troops who would conduct any ground attack, while her own destroyer formed the center of the space assault. "Go," Jinzler ordered as she settled into her chair, almost a throne really, overlooking the array of consoles and officers who ran every part of the ship.

There was a slight jolt as the hyperdrive engines engaged, then the stars blurred and the fleet was on its way.


The hyperlanes in this part of space had fallen into disuse since the war, so it took longer than should have been necessary. Drifting debris had to be navigated around and the nav computers required occasional updates of information before allowing speedy progression. It was irritating Jinzler thought, but a necessary irritant. Wasting resources was not the Alliance's way, and losing any of her ships wouldn't do at all.

Due to these delays it took just over three days to arrive at the planet Bakura, original source of the distress call. Their exit from hyperspace was on the edge of the system, and Jinzler immediately noted the detection of several large vessels in orbit around the third planet. Reaching out through the Force she could feel the lingering effects of several small-scale battles. Her attention was distracted as the scans of the ships complted. Five of them in all. The largest just under two-thirds the length of her own Star Destroyer, and less heavily armed. The others were under half that size. A single Venator would have been able to fight all five to a standstill. Against her squadron it would be a slaughter.

"Take us in," she ordered, "And open a communications line." Technically this force hadn't done anything to the Alliance, and if they weren't Vagaari the fleet would probably leave. The plight of one minor planet didn't bother her.

There was no response, at least not directly. The ships seemed to have blocked all incoming communications with an outgoing message. Its message was simple, promising an eternity of peace through a process called entechnment. Jinzler frowned, something about that seemed…ominous.

She reached out again, and this time felt directly toward the alien vessels. And she recoiled in horror as she touched their technology with her mind. Thousands of people, all trapped inside hellish existence. She forced herself onward, feeling the planet below where the people seemed to be attempted a retreat from cities that were in flames toward what they hoped was safety. But droids powered by that abomination pursued them relentlessly, both on the ground and in the sky.

She finally came back to herself as her second in command noted, "My lady, we are within range to begin long-range bombardment."

"Do it," she breathed, the words almost a hiss. "Wipe the invaders out. Every single one. No quarter."

"Yes my lady," he answered. The Kuat's turbolasers swiveled into place and opened fire, joined moments later by the long-range bombardment guns of the Venators. The first of the light ships vanished under the bombardment, and the rest turned to open fire in return.

Moments later however the invaders seemed to realize how outmatched they were and began to move as if to escape to hyperspace. "Activate the gravity generators," Jinzler ordered. The Star Destroyer's weapons fire slackened significantly as much of its power was diverted to the gravity well generators.

Two more of the smaller vessels vanished as their shields were overwhelmed. Fighters had departed the surface to attack the Imperial vessels, but these were met by Alliance fighters in a blazing melee well away from the main body of the Alliance fleet. At the extreme ranges the Star Destroyers currently occupied they couldn't maintain this gravity well long, but their opponents couldn't know that. After a moment's hesitation the enemy capital ships turned and charged at the Alliance ships.

It was the worst decision they could have made. Their own weapons blazed in response as they moved within range, but this also put them within range of the Kuat's medium-range guns, which were significantly more accurate than their long-ranged counterparts. The mismatch was increased even more, and under the fury of Alliance Star Destroyers the attackers ceased to exist.

"Secure the planet," Jinzler said coldly. "Wipe out any of those droids you see. Inform the populace that they are now under the protection of the Alliance. Implement standard occupation rules."

"Yes, my lady," the other officers replied.


"I will expect your final report in two weeks," Skywalker's recording concluded.

"Send a confirmation," Jinzler said. "I'll be preparing a response." The Alliance had managed to partially recreate the Holonet, but real-time communication across the Alliance was still out of their technical ability, apart from a small number of extremely expensive machines that Skywalker controlled distribution of. Still she reflected, even the days required to wait for responses now was better than during the war, when it was faster to send a ship than a message.

The planet below was largely pacified, if only out of terror due to the possibility of the aliens returning. Conscripts from Coruscant had been deployed to maintain order, with the ever-present clones, or at least the crack Alliance troops who were often mistaken for the rarer clone forces, as a backup. More ships would be coming from Cerea soon, with dedicated occupation troops who would turn Bakura into another Alliance subject world. The Republic would protest, but nothing more. Neither side was yet willing to start the next war over a neutral planet.


Dantooine stretched out below Mara as she guided her ship down. This had been the first point she had worked out from the beacon, but even as the ship settled down on the Republic's dock she knew it wasn't the right place. The feeling was all wrong. The Jedi weren't here. They'd never been here. Which meant that either the beacon had been incorrect, or more likely that she had broken the encryption incorrectly. The former was unlikely, and the latter at least probable. So she set aside the first possibility and focused on the second. The Alliance had never really broken Jedi codes before, not to the extent used on the homing beacons at any rate. And her slicing had only had an eighty-five percent match regardless. The best answer therefore was track down another Jedi, and get their beacon as well. Using both systems she would be able to crack it faster, in theory at least.

This presented a problem however as it had taken even Rhamnous nearly a year to track a single Jedi through whatever veil over the Force shrouded them from her master's sight. Fortunately, the port here on Dantooine might provide the solution. It would include a Republic listening post, and therefore at least some information about their military movements. That would likely be the easiest method to track another Jedi she decided, but she would need to plan.


She went over her cover story in her head again and began out of the craft. The dock was empty, although she had to register the ship at a small terminal before it would allow her access to the port itself. A bored clerk was waiting past the other bays and barely glanced at Mara as she approached.

"Name, ship class, and purpose of visit," he asked.

"Beru Lars," Mara answered, using a tone similar to that of the clerk, as though this was something, she had done a thousand times before. "YT freighter. Stop-off on a cargo run for fuel and supplies."

"Contents," the clerk asked.

"Tibanna gas," Mara said, presenting the faked license she had obtained. It wasn't entirely untrue. If the ship was searched they would find Tibanna gas, and would hopefully stop there.

"And destination," the clerk continued.

"Dac," Mara answered. It was a boring answer, but safe. Most of the Republic's most powerful ships were manufactured at the planet known to most of the galaxy as Mon Calamari. Yaga Minor and Sluis Van were major shipyards as well, but nothing else in Republic space matched the scale of the Mon Cal's efforts.

"Welcome to Dantooine," the clerk intoned before waving her through. Mara smiled and went on her way. The port itself was small. A single cantina was in the complex, and it was quiet at this time of day. Nearby the Republic garrison sat, neither obvious nor threatening the way Alliance positions were built. It was remarkably small from the outside, and nondescript. There were no armored troops at the entrance, nor any blaster turrets in place.

Stretching out with the Force she saw that the building really was just a small thing, no layers underground that would house a vast number of vehicles or large number of troops. More importantly however there was only a simple security system. The Republic knew this wasn't a vital system, and had designed the area accordingly.

Ducking out of sight Mara pulled out a small reconnaissance droid and set it to analyze the exterior of the Republic position for possible points of entry she had missed, and get a count of how many employees would come and go throughout the day.

That done she did what any normal pilot would do and headed to the cantina for relaxation while the droid did its work.

She was six rounds into crushing the local regulars at Sabaac when the droid sent a quick message that its work was done. She gracefully bowed out, while telling the bartender to use her winnings to pay for drinks the rest of the night. Perhaps that would lure out even more of the Republic's bored personnel.

She rendevouzed with the droid aboard her ship and began going over the information. There was a small emergency exit in the rear of the building which wasn't readily apparent. It was connected to a basic alarm system, but bypassing that would be a simple matter. There were no more than four Republic personnel inside at a time, normally only three.

None of that would be a problem for her.

Smiling at her good fortune Mara pocketed the information, deactivated the droid, and then hid it away in the smuggler compartments she kept the rest of her infiltration equipment in. Rapidly she changed out of her flight suit and into a stolen Republic uniform, grabbing a fake identification as well. They wouldn't stand up to close inspection, especially not with a group as small as this, but just a few seconds would be enough. The slicing tools came next, and finally a small datapad to record whatever information she found.

Satisfied that she was ready she departed the ship again and started out of the dock. The clerk was gone, which she thought was odd, but given the noise coming from the cantina she could guess where he'd ended up. Reaching out with the Force she found that there was only a single person inside the Republic building, which was more than she could have hoped for. Carefully making her way around she found the emergency exit, and it was the matter of a few minutes to deactivate the alarm and get the door open. Bringing up one of her small scanners she looked for surveillance equipment, but there wasn't any.

She smiled as she slipped inside and shut the door behind her. The Republic had always been more lax with their intelligence work than the Alliance, it came from the freedoms offered to its citizens rather than the order and safety provided under her own government.

She confidently advanced toward the lone lifesign, knowing this person would be in the primary room of the building. The door slid open soundlessly and she unhooked her lightsaber, preparing to kill whoever was inside to finish her mission.

She was a foot inside when the door closed behind her, and there was the sound of a lock clicking into place. She whirled, but couldn't feel anything amiss. Then she heard the voice, one she knew all too well, "You were expected Mara Jade."

She turned toward the voice of Darth Rhamnous, and saw him. He was young, wearing a white flight suit, and carrying the hilt of a lightsaber. He looked much like her master had from the old holos of him from the Corulag Academy. But that meant…

"Owen," She said. "You've made my job easier than expected."

"I did not arrange our meeting," the Jedi told her, a small smile on his face.

Mara lept at him, but something caught her in mid-air. It was the Force and she reached out to break its hold, but even as she did so the person in front of her faded and was replaced by another. This one however was surrounded by a blue aura that washed out the color of his clothes, but he was still instantly recognizable. "Anakin," she breathed, the terror overwhelming her.

The dead Jedi smiled at the name. "You recognized me, I am flattered. However, I'm afraid I can't let your mission continue either. We are not ready. But you will be quite safe." As he spoke the Force descended on Mara once again, and she felt her body begin to shut down.

In furious desperation she lashed out, trying to at least send a signal to her master, let him know where she was, but it was absorbed by the ghost in front of her. And in that terrible instant she knew that Dantooine had been a trap. Not one planned out initially, the Jedi weren't strong enough to sacrifice one of their own like that, but the moment she had taken the beacon she'd been doomed to capture.