Autor's Note
Hey everyone, Shadow Solaris here! I hope you liked the last chapter because now we submerge to know about the Alliance, which to be honest is my favorite arc during the Old Republic game because it is like the Rebellion almost 4000 years ago.
Disclaimer: Star Wars the Old Republic is owned by LucasArts and BioWare while the Clone Wars are owned by Lucasfilm Ltd and Disney. Only my OCs are my own.
3630 BBY – 2 years into the Revolt against the Eternal Empire
Odessen – Wild Space
Shane POV…
"Doctor Oggurrobb, I just finish adding the guard droids with the sonic rifles as you requested," I said as I entered the laboratory carrying a crate with new supplies. "Also, the tests for the new ion engines have proven to increase our fighters speed and maneuverability by 45%, as well as the improvements we have made in the brain of the security droids,"
After I left the crate next to some shelves I took out a datapad to continue giving my report. "They have shown an increase in their performance so we should be able to start with the remaining units as scheduled… Oh and here are the components you requested, Miss Hylo asked me to give you a message that and I quote 'Tell the Doc this pieces weren't easy to get, so he better not waste them like last time and I'm still waiting for that order I made so tell him he better have finished it'" I finished giving my report and handed him the datapad with all the specifications of the shipment as well the test results.
"What that superstitious Mirilian says is not of my concern and if she wishes a custom-made personal cloaking device she will have to wait. I'm an artist, it takes time to create my masterpieces," said the big purple Hutt before he started to read the information in the datatpad. "Ah, marvelous. These are truly wondrous results, as always you've fulfilled your tasks," he says while scrolling to read more.
"No problem Doc. Besides, I enjoy helping you if that gives me the opportunity to see all the technological advances you create for the Alliance," I say a bit excited.
"It's good to see a young individual that appreciate my art," says Juvard Illip with pride in his voice.
"Well, I always had a thing for machines and equipment since I was a kid and I was always constructing droids or the like so assisting you is like one of my favorite things of my day," I said shrugging.
"Regardless, your assistance has been of significant input during these years," he commented while going his computer. "You may leave now. I require solitude to begin with my creations,"
"No problem. Bet your next creation is going to be incredible like last time," I say, leaving the lab and waving to doctor Juvard.
As I was walking through the corridors towards the hangar area I began to think about everything that happened since we joined the Alliance.
"Can't believe only two years have passed," I thought and really it impresses me how quickly time flies while fighting an evil empire.
In these past two years, I've changed more than I thought and I think it was for the better. I no longer was wearing my Jedi robes but instead, I now used some white armor pieces for my legs and arms with some grey robes since I could use the protection in case of an emergency and grew up from 1.36 to 1.47 mts (4.46 to 4.82 ft for those who use a different unit of measurement :P). I also grew my hair so I could use a padawan braid to keep my cover, but it is very uncomfortable with it hanging around every time I move my head I don't how they do it. Besides that, I've been training a lot in my lightsaber skills, mainly the defensive forms, Force training, and some other self-defense both hand to hand and some other melee weapons… although when I was alone I sharpened my blaster skills and with dad's recommendations I learned more about mechanics and engineering with the help of Dr. Juvard Illip Oggurobb. He was the first Hutt I've ever met but I thought they only talked huttese, imagine my surprise when I greeted him with what little I knew and he told me "I admit that is most unusual that someone talks to us in our native tongue but the show of respect is most welcome". The doctor is a bit eccentric and unorthodox but for the kind of things he created, I think that was understandable.
In the beginning, things were a bit… tense you could say, because of two things mostly. One was the fact we were facing an enemy against incredible probabilities of being destroyed and that the first person the Alliance recruited turned out to be a sociopath that liked make things go with a big explosion, one could debate which one was the real reason. Guess that was an indicator of how diverse our new allies could be, which was interesting, to say the least.
Unfortunately, I couldn't participate in any of the mission firstly because I was, am, too young to get involved in such high-risk missions and secondly… I was grounded. Well, I wouldn't say precisely grounded but it started as part of my punishment and after becoming into part of my daily routine. I chuckle a bit as I remember that, how ironic something I first was bored to no end turned into something I actually learned to enjoy a bit.
It all started when mom and dad were trying to find a good way to keep me away from anything that had to do with technology or anything that involved missions while at the same time learn something from it. Now that I think about it they were oddly specific with what they wanted and considering that we were in a resistance base but against odds, they did found something and that was meditating… yep, the guy who couldn't stay sit in one place had to remain sitting in a room for hours, yay. Or that was what I thought in the beginning.
When I asked them how they were going to do that without getting directly involve and neglecting their duties the answer came in the form of Sana-Rae, a female Voss Mystic who is Head of the Force Enclave. I remember that they told me about the Voss and that they were not aligned with either side of the Force, which allowed them to help the Jedi and the Sith to cooperate with each other, so, considering that they asked for their it helps to teach me to meditate and also to help me have a better perspective of the Force not as two sides, but as one.
And that's how my 'punishment' started and like the first two to three weeks were quite boring because I couldn't concentrate since I was thinking of the kind of missions my parents were part of, which despite I wasn't involved with the Alliance's activities in any way during that time I still learned of the missions and that's how I knew about Kaliyo Djannis and her not so friendly attitude. But I have to admit that Sana was incredibly patient and polite with me even when I was either ignoring her when she talked to me about the Force in her own way or teaching me the importance of meditation, mom wasn't even as patient as her but maybe because meditation wasn't her forte.
I chuckle a bit remembering the time when I was five and we were in our meditation room and just after half an hour of it she fell asleep in her meditation position.
Where was I? Oh right, so as I was trying not to be rude to Sana's teachings I learned that my parents were active agents for the Alliance starting with their first mission on a listening post in the Endless Swamp on Zakuul where they joined forces with Havoc Squad so they could plant a wiretap on it and compare the information with the schematics they got from the Overwatch in Zakuul's capital. So they were part of they helped with the two-part mission with mom and HK helped Theron and his forces with the distraction while dad went with the Darth No- I mean the Commander, Major Aric Jorgan, and his squad to infiltrate the outpost, simple. Or so I thought because apparently, things went south when they were discovered and they sent forces to get them while blocking any attempt to send reinforcements from our side.
Luckily just when they were trapped in a bridge, outnumbered and outgunned, the exiles helped them by taking their shuttles giving them the opportunity to take down the remaining forces by collapsing the bridge. I do not know what would have happened if they had not helped and thanks with the information they got we discovered that the Eternal Fleet was controlled via this GEMINI frequency that connected all their ships with the Eternal Throne. Talking about a control freak.
On my way, I saw a group of our forces chatting and acting as if they were friends. Which is interesting considering they were Republic and Sith Empire soldiers that, under normal circumstances, should be shooting at each other. Another example of how we could overcome our differences to achieve even impossible feats.
Now that I'm remembering things it was during that mission that I learned there used to be another HK before we arrived and it was a 55 version. It was funny how our HK bragged about how a supposedly more advanced version of him didn't survive like he did but after I told him how this HK died, well let's just say he formed some sort of respect for the fallen droid.
It was after the third week when I started to become a bit more patient with the meditation, not only because I didn't have any other thing to do but also Sana said she say in one of her missions that I was going to like it by the end of the month and you know what, she was right.
I never spent enough time to stop and feel what was around me because I was always trying to find something to keep me busy but after giving Sana's teachings a try I felt at peace. Not only that but also I sensed just how strong the Force really was on the planet, I knew there was a kind of balance here but I managed to sense it was something more natural and unique and in the middle of it something more powerful that from what she told me is considered as a nexus in the Force. After that I started to become less impatient and simple extend my senses beyond and also learn some of her culture, she even showed one of their vitalicrons once.
As I was starting to get a hang of it mom and dad were part of the infiltration team, consisting of Havoc Squad and Kaliyo, to get into the Hyperwave relay station while HK went to help the Commander with his raid to some treasury ship filled with valuables that the Eternal Empire pillaged during their conquest. I was really nervous about it because of how dangerous it was and because apparently, the Commander disappeared for some time when he was supposed to organize the mission; also it involved something about Valkorion, Gran Master Satele and the Force ghost of Darth Marr I think? I thought that sounded too crazy but dad said 'With the Force, nothing is impossible'. I still think that was very weird.
Sana assured me that the mission was going to be a success because she saw it in one of her visions and she was right, a couple of hours after the Commander and his team came back from their raid with a big loot the infiltration team arrived with a datacore and half of Havoc Squad badly injured but alive no less but for what they told me before they lost contact they were corned by Zakuul's forces after they were discovered putting the Spire in lockdown trapping the distraction and infiltration teams.
Fortunately, those Knights of Zakuul never faced someone like my parents and from what mom 'they were like overgrown padawans' so they dealt with them, Kaliyo blew up part of the installation and managed to retrieve the core just before reinforcements arrived and things turned into a massacre. But despite the success of the mission some bad blood was formed between Aric and Kaliyo because of the lack of the recklessness from the latter so both were confined to base for some time till they figured their differences out.
After that, I kept learning during my punishment and also I finally got the chance to meet our new members Aric Jorgan, the con artist Gault Rennow and his partner Vette and I must say meeting them was very interesting.
Despite his initial refusal to talk with me because and I quote 'He wasn't here to be babysitter' but after I started asking him about his life in the military and how he and his previous squad fall apart after the Zakuul-Republic treaty was promoted to Major and formed the new Havoc Squad that decided to help us after what the Chancellor, Saresh, turned the Republic into. I felt sad when he told me how the Republic he served turned into a dictatorship of sort with no morale, I might not like politics much but at least they made their fight more honorable than what their military does now.
I asked him about his old team and if they were as awesome as mom told me and surprisingly enough he complied and told me many of their missions and adventures during the ending of the Cold War and the whole Galactic War. In the end, I think he liked to have someone to listen to his war stories, must be a military thing because Bye'wan also liked to tell me about what he did during the war and some of his military tactics. Well. If they're happy and I learn in the process is a win-win to me.
I stopped for a moment to that I should see the Admiral for another naval board game, it's been a while since we played and is a great way to learn real tactics at the same time.
So where was I? Oh right so, I also met the leader of the raid on the Gilded Star the Devaronian Gault Rennow and his partner the Twi'lek escape artist Vette. I was warned that smugglers and the like were criminals and not trustworthy but this two definitely got mine and many others in the Alliance. Gault was someone funny to hear when I was off from my meditation sessions because of all those crazy situations he got himself into for deceiving someone meaning got huge and I mean HUGE bounties for his head but always found a way to get away in one piece… well almost always. Neither mom nor dad now that I took a couple of lessons from him in negotiations which are really impressive for a no force-sensitive. He said he was going to teach me how to not let my mind be read by Force users when I was older, not sure if I should let him teach me that.
His partner was, how could I put it? I think like a sister I guess. A crazy and a bit hyperactive one.
The moment we met he treated me like a little kid; ok I was and am still a kid, partially, but it was the first time I was ever treated like a normal kid except by my parents. Since I was a padawan in training I was treated like any other, with respect but it felt a bit cold sometimes. That lack of connection or familiarity sometimes reminds me of that no attachment rule, still think it's dumb. Needless to say, she was always trying to get me to involve in one of her pranks or simply just hanging out to kill some time.
I admit that at first, I thought she was just messing with me or trying to get something from me but in reality she was just someone who wanted to have a friend to expend time with and get in trouble here and there, of course, the second I didn't do because the last thing I wanted was getting in troubles again and I also tried to keep Vette out of them when I was around, someone had to be responsible between us and clearly she wasn't.
But it was fun no less and sometimes she showed how she managed to steal things from others, including me, and her treasure hunter skill.
She had been through a lot from what she told me and is a surprise she kept that positive attitude after all of that, I don't think not even the best Sith or Jedi could have remained like that under the same circumstances.
So as The Alliances became more successful in their missions there was still the need to give an important blow to really hurt the Eternal Empire. I mean stealing from them was probably something more like a hit to the pride of Arcann and his sister Vaylin but a way to damage his military forces were needed. And thanks to SCORPIO we found the perfect target inside a heavily defended factory in Darvannis, a GEMINI Prime.
For what I understood the GEMINIs that control each ship in the Eternal Fleet were created based on this Prime meaning that if we could take it then we could use it against his fleet and finally get that chance to fight him in more even terms. After dad explained to me about it I asked something that I had from sometime ever since I met SCORPIO, who by the way was a droid full on herself and very creepy.
"If every GEMINI was practically a copy of this GEMINI Prime then, why is there only one of them?"
It was obvious that there should be other similar like it since SCORPIO was a good example but she apparently didn't know who or what made her, or maybe she was lying. Either way, why copy one droid when you could try to create your own? Surely it was possible since someone made that weird droid or all of them came from the same place. But from where?
He told me questions like that were a sign that my punishment was giving results. I learned what he meant but he didn't give me a real answer, but we found out the truth later and honestly. No one expected something like that.
But I'm getting ahead, so with a target to cripple the Eternal Empire's military force the next mission was picked but the problem was the place was a factory made a fortress. It was armed to the teeth with turrets, energy shields, canons, you name it and the worst part is that everything was automated so someone had to get inside to turn the defenses off while the rest made the distraction, but we needed an army for the last part and we were short in personnel.
So we needed to find new allies fast and thanks to Theron we got the best warriors ever known in the galaxy, Mandalorians. I always wanted to meet a Mandalorian because they could fight a Jedi or Sith without the use of the Force and practically every part of their armor could be used as a weapon to fight Force users. Mom and dad told me that in the final battle on the moon of Yavin IV a Mandalorian by the name of Shae Vizla joined them to fight Revan and survived the encounter, she must be the best of them if she fought him and survived. That should be the reason why she became their new leader, after Mandalore the Vindicated was killed and went now by the title of Mandalore the Avenger, the galaxy is a really small place.
The plan worked way better than expected with not only destroying the factory and got the template of all GEMINI units in the Eternal Fleet but also Shae Vizla accepted the offer to join forces with the Alliance so in sign of trust she let one her most trusted advisors, Torian Cadera, to join us as her representative.
Talking about him I have to give him those new upgrades for his Mandalorian vambraces, nothing crazy or lethal (I'm not allowed to make anything considered lethal) just a new improved shield emitter, a multipurpose launcher for a grappling hook, and some miniature EMP, flash, and stun grenades that I made with the help of the Doctor as well the normal size ones. I'm lucky he allowed helping him with his gear since from what I know Mandalorians don't let strangers touch their equipment that easily, but then again Torian is like a great guy, polite, serene and respectful, for someone coming from a planet filled with deathly warriors. Maybe were those experimental ion grenades I once made that influenced in his decision because when he came back from one of his missions he asked about who made them and for a moment I thought that they backfired or something, they were no longer in the test phase and ready to use but still. Imagine my surprise when he said "They did more than the job done. They might be small but they punched like a storm". I guess they were more powerful than I thought but were still safe enough to use despite their power.
Now, where was I? Destroying the factory, getting the Prime, Mandalorians joining us… Oh, right!
So, with the Prime on our control SCORPIO manage use the template to get into the GEMINI network to not only track the fleet at any time but maybe even get full control of it so the next step was to get GEMINI Prime into one of their ships, plug her in and all of Arcann's ships will be under our control, easy enough especially since my parents returned from their missions. Wonder why they didn't tell me what they were doing till later AFTER what happened next.
Turns out getting into one of those ships was more complicated than I thought because every single skytrooper inside was connected to a GEMINI captain so the moment they boarded they were received with turrets, trap doors and dozens of dozens of skytroopers and to top that the captain decided to self-destruct the ship with everyone aboard. Luckily everyone managed to escape the ship plus the prisoners that were inside, well everyone except SCORPIO or that's what everyone thought, just in time when Arcann's fleet arrived and later SCORPIO's true goal was revealed. That psychotic droid took over the Eternal Throne and to make matters worse she told Arcann where we were just because she was curious of something, I always thought that droid was weird and with a strange vibe but she was something, unlike anything I've ever seen a droid do.
So, on the bright side he didn't have the full force of his fleet with him, but on the other, they were enough to wipe us out since we only had the Gravestone. Don't get me wrong, it's probably one of the strongest ships ever made despite being thousands of years old but still, one ship against an entire fleet? Numbers were in his favor. With little time before the fleet arrived the Commander took the Gravestone and a strike team, my parents included, to face Arcann and defeat him once and for all while everyone else prepared for a possible ground invasion. I was very nervous because that was going to be my first battle and with so much on stake failure wasn't an option, I'm so glad I had HK with me. Who better to help than the deadliest droid I know.
But thank the stars that never came and instead there was a massive green explosion that could be seen from the ground and then just as quickly as it began it finished. Imagine my surprise when everyone came back alive and then mom told me that explosion was the Gravestone destroying the entire fleet with one shot, that omnicannon is something incredible and dad thought the same because after seen that thing in action he started to investigate everything he could about its technology to try and reverse engineering it for the fleet. But so far no luck for what he told me.
And so Arcann was defeated, his fleet destroyed and he was took by Zenya to heal him, which I don't understand yet why she did that after everything he did but mom said that that was something only a mother would do, and now we only needed to deal with that treacherous SCORPIO and her droid army who turned out she gave the throne to Arcann's crazy sister Vaylin so we had to deal with a brutal and ruthless Empress now in control of the Eternal Throne, but this time we were ready.
News of the battle over Odessen was spread like wildfire over the galaxy bringing back hope and with that many came to join the Alliance, Republic and Empire alike, bringing with them their ships and not only that, turns out dad's secret mission was to gather all those loyal to him and get them ready to join us as soon as he called and mom did that same with the Republic calling every single contact she had in the Jedi Order and their Military, so with all of that we managed to amass enough ground forces and ships to truly fight the Eternal Empire and was a good thing because we were going to need it very soon.
A couple of seconds later I arrive at the hangar where I saw a couple of starfighters taking off while others been either on maintenance or been upgraded with some of the things we have been making. I hope I can get my own very soon because I already passed the simulators and the training ships were a piece of cake, besides I have a lot of ideas for upgrades for some of the ships that I could possibly get. I want it to be a Liberator-Class or if possible an FT-8 Star Guard.
I walked toward the command center where usually Bey'wan is and I there he was overlooking of what remaining naval forces we had since we had a little situation involving Vaylin and SCORPIO taking over the Gravestone. The simple idea of someone else using that ship, especially those two, was more than terrifying so no wonder they took more than half the fleet to take it back.
"Greetings admiral," I said getting his attention making he turn around, looks like he was looking at a datapad.
"Shane, good to see you. So that means you finished your work in the lab," he said.
"Yeah, just finished giving my report to doctor Oggurrobb. How are the pilots doing with the new upgrades?" I asked wanting to know the pilots' thoughts of them.
"For what I heard looks like you guys made them their day. Now they are eager to use them in a real battle," he said with some amusement.
"Well, considering our current situation they might be using them sooner than they think. By the way, any news about our little kidnapping situation?" I asked with some concern.
"Just got contacted by one of the captains. Apparently, the whole thing was a trap, the moment they arrived a fleet was waiting for them and apparently something happened inside the Gravestone because shortly after the Eternal fleet left the system the ship jumped to hyperspace to an unknown location," he said with some anger in the last part.
"Did they told you who was inside the Gravestone?" I asked worried about this new development.
"According to him, the crew was transported to one of the cruisers to receive medical attention while a group remained inside," he said with now with concern this time.
"Why do I have the feeling I already know who was inside?" I said not surprised.
"Yeah. The Commander along with Theron, Lana, Aric, Vette, Kaliyo, Torian and Koth where in the Gravestone before the jump," he explained.
"What about my master? She told she was also going to help with the mission," I asked but already knowing the answer.
"Master Jeanales was also inside the ship with Darth Vernd and their droids," he said.
"Oh great. This is like the Saresh's take over attempt again. Let's hope they manage to return in time before word start spreads and some opportunist comes or worst the Republic or the Eternal Empire tries to make a move against us," I said in exasperation.
"I doubt they will do anything against us. For what I was told Vaylin was inside the ship so right now they are leaderless and the Republic is still recovering, they will be thinking twice before attacking us since we are allied with the Sith Empire," I could detect some dislike with the last he said.
"You're still not used with this alliance. Can't blame you, I know it must be difficult since you two had been at war," I said.
"I admit that joining forces with the Sith Empire was something out of my comfort zone, but ever since joining the Alliance, I've seen the impossible be possible. Besides, I would rather work with them than with that backstabbing Saresh," he said with some anger.
"By the way, how is the former chancellor doing in her cell? Any word from the Republic?" I asked.
"She's receiving the treatment she deserves in her cozy cell, serves her right after everything she did. Although, I still think we should just throw her into a dark room and lost the key," he said with some satisfaction in his voice despite the slightly angry look on his face. "And the Republic claims everything she did was on her own. But still, I think there were some senators involved with that."
"I understand, but the Commander wanted to show he was different from her and that the Alliance was more than just a mixed group of different factions. And so far, I think we've proved them we can do what they couldn't" I said with a smirk.
"Haha, yeah. Makes me wonder what Malcom is trying to do now that more and more of his soldiers are leaving their ranks to join us. He's not the kind of man that likes losing," he said.
"If he doesn't like it then he should have done his job like he was supposed to. He left many good men to leave their ranks, but I'm glad he did," I said.
"He better doesn't hear you said that, but I agree with you. You know, for a Jedi, you are very different from the ones I've seen during my career," he said.
"Yeah, well. Have you seen who my master is? Spending enough time with her tends to make you think… different from most Jedi," I said with some exasperation in my voice.
"Oh, I remember very well what she did for your training. Got some new burned marks on you?" he said with amusement.
"Lucky for me no, I haven't. I became better since that nightmare of a training." I said remembering that horrible first 'real' training as mom called it.
Flashback
Shane POV
We were using one of the unused landing platforms as a training are and I just finished destroying all four remaining combat remotes with my saber, their remains sparking all around me with the cuts still bright for the heat of my lightsaber against them. With this, I scored twenty-two, a new personal record.
"Looks like you've improved your skills with Soresu at a fast pace, although you're still keeping your grip too tight. Try to remain light on your feet and always remember to maintain your middle ring up always, you're fast and have a good defense but you keep losing some of your focus every time you get into an engagement showing opening that someone could use against you," she said acting as a master instead of my mom.
"Can you give me a break? I've improved a lot ever since the attack over Odessen with training none stop; I think I deserve a little like I don't know. Maybe taking me with you in your next mission?" I asked with some hope in my voice.
"You've become good in lightsaber combat, you control over Shii-Sho, Makashi and Soresu are impressive for someone your age and with each passing day I can feel you grow stronger with the Force since you started to meditate to improve your connection with it," she said making me smirk a bit on the fast growth of my abilities. "Despite that, there are still some flaws that need to be addressed before you get into some Alliance missions with me," she finished.
"What kind of flaws?" I asked skeptically.
"Besides the ones I said before I noticed that when facing droids and other inorganics your moves are more fluent and fast but during our sparring's, I noticed you hold yourself back and think your next move too much. Tell me something, are you doubting when fighting someone else or are you scare of hurting them?" she asked me with that look that told she already knew but wanted to hear it from me.
With a heavy sigh, I decided to tell her the truth "Sorry. Fighting droids are one thing but against living beings? I can't help but be worried to harm them even if it is in self-defense," I said a bit ashamed looking to the ground.
I felt a hand on my shoulder making me look up to see mom with a comforting smile. "I know how you feel, I was once like you. Scared of hurting others with my abilities," she said with some shame in her voice. "Jedis are defenders of peace and justice, we cherish life and our lightsabers are extensions of ourselves. We use our abilities to end conflicts without losing lives, if possible."
She then got up and looked at me with a smile. "You're compassionate and always willing to help others regardless if you know them or not. You always aim to disarm first before using more lethal methods," then she became more serious. "If you want to come with us on a mission you need to push those worries away. You must be ready to fight and defeat all enemies that get in your way or you'll die; we're at war after all."
"I proved myself capable enough during the invasion of Voss. Ok, I admit that I didn't dare to fight the knights that went into the Tower of Prophecy, but those skytroopers? They are good, but not good enough against me," I said with some pride.
She looked at me with a raised brow "Oh, really? I remember seeing you struggling with a couple of them before we arrived."
"A few more seconds and those droids would have ended like a bunch of scrap metal thank you very much," I refuted.
"Are you really sure about it?" she asked teasingly.
"I'm confident in my abilities to build and cut droids," I answered with a challenging voice. That line was the last nail of my coffin.
"Is that so?" she then looked to the side where dad was just looking at us with HK, of course, you can't see his actual face with that mask but you could fell his gaze still. "Uhm, excuse me Darth Vernd?" she asked him as if they were just acquaintances. "Can I make you a request?" I should have expected what she was planning.
"That depends, what do you have in mind?" I'm pretty sure he was smirking under his mask.
I saw her getting close to his hear and even if I couldn't hear her I was started to get nervous. After a couple of seconds both separate and start walking at me. It was in that moment that I realized I was about to regret letting myself been arrogant and would be my last after this.
The moment they got in front of me he looked around first before crossing his arms, "Your 'master' says you think you can get involve in Alliance´s missions. Fighting droids is one thing, but facing a Knight of Zakuul or even one of Vaylin's executioners. You need to have your mind, heart, and soul ready to take someone else's life," he said while pointing to my head, right side of my chest and then the middle. "If you really think you're ready for that then you must face one final test. Pass it and you'll participate in the next missions from here on."
"What kind of test?" I asked suspiciously.
"Nothing crazy, just defeating a single droid. Simple enough for some of your skill," he said.
"If that's what I need to do then, I'll do it," I said in a challenging way.
"If you're sure…" he said before stepping to the side, mom doing the same, and let me see something or more like someone behind them. My eyes widened the moment I recognize what I got myself into. "Alright, he says he's ready. You're up."
"Declaration: All systems at 100% of efficiency. Safety protocols activate, lethal force is restricted. I hope you are ready for this young master." HK said getting his blaster rifle ready in a low output setting.
I only managed to swallow some saliva before I activated my lightsaber and start blocking his shots at the best of my abilities. I mean, I'm good but this is HK who we're talking about, he was designed, modified and upgraded to kill force users with precision and lethality.
After a couple of seconds, one of his shots got me in my left shoulder causing me to wince a bit, "Ouch! Hey, I thought you said no lethal force!" still feeling that burning sensation where the blaster bolt hit. "That really hurt."
"Clarification: All my safety protocols are active. The energy use in the blaster is only at 37%, powerful enough to replicate the force caused by blaster but without provoking any real damage." Hk said before readying his blaster rifle again. "Now, I suggest getting ready for the next assault. Now, this is where we get serious," his blaster charging once again and aiming at me.
"This is going to hurt me so much," I thought before HK started to shoot at me again.
Third POV
"Maybe this test was a bit too much for him," said Jeanales a bit ashamed for her selection of test.
"You really think so? I can't believe you convinced me into using HK for this. He doesn't know what holding back means," said Salcor.
"Hey, what's up? What are you looking at?" said a voice from behind making them turn around to see Kaliyo, Vette, and Aric walking towards them.
"Just giving my padawan a training session," said Jeanales trying to hide her concern.
"Uhhh… that's why you are using the assassin droid?" asked Vette a bit concerned.
"He's been doing pretty well so far," said Salcor before an explosion could be heard. "Ok, maybe not so good"
"A grenade?! Are you kidding me?!" shouted Shane before the sound of mechanical parts moving was heard followed by the sound of something charging. "Oh come on! Since when did you that?!" he managed to say before a barrage of blaster fire was heard.
"30 credits that he won't stand 10 minutes," said Kaliyo actually enjoying the situation.
"I'm confident he will last more, I'll put 100," said Jeanales.
"Did you seriously bet on our son?" asked Salcor through their bond.
"He will do fine. No way am I losing this."
"You have a problem." he deadpanned.
"What about you Vette, Major?" asked Kaliyo.
"I'm with the Jedi in this one so count me in," she said then looking at Aric.
"I'm not betting but I had to admit the kid has guts. Facing a droid like that takes a lot of nerves," he said before a scream was heard.
"Well, I think his gut just got burned," said Kaliyo with a triumphant smile.
"You were saying?" said Salcor andJeanales only muttered something under her breath.
"I couldn't fell my arms in weeks and I had this metallic flavor in my mouth," I said remembering how I felt after that. "I still have a couple of marks in some parts of my body."
"Haha… I heard about that. She really is a very unusual one," he said.
"You have no idea," I sighed.
"Hey, now that you are here I want to show you something," says Bay'wan before typing something in his datapad.
"Anything I can help you?" I ask curiously.
"With most of our fleet away in the rescue mission we had to tighten our patrols with what remained and one of them encountered this," he said.
Moments later he shows me a hologram of a small fleet of Eternal Fleet warships facing an Alliance patrol. It was composed by a couple of corvettes, some light corvettes, a Dramash support ship, a Terminus-class destroyer and one of the new Mk II Harrower class that dad designed.
"There are not many of them. But still, just a single one of them is hard to destroy," I said looking at the fleets about to engage. But there was something… odd about it, the question was why.
"Is something wrong?" asked the Bothan, guess I was so concentrating on the hologram couldn't hide my expression.
After looking at the hologram for a couple of more seconds I looked at the admiral. "I'm sorry admiral but, there's something strange with the hologram," I said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Asking him to pass me the datapad for a better look I made a zoom towards our fleet. "The formation is not right; the MkII is too forward leaving the corvettes behind and the support ship doesn't have an escort," I explained.
"And what makes you say that?"
"I know the stats of this ships and the MkII, despite the amount of firepower it has, they are made for long-range assault, not a direct one. The smaller ones should be to the front of the destroyer escorting the support ship so it can deploy its fighters," I explained. "Whoever is in charge of these ships, they're doing the complete opposite of any proper naval strategy in this situation, going for a frontal assault based mostly on size. Hundreds If not thousands will die," I commented quite angry for this terrible tactic.
"I know, good thing this was just a simulation then," he said before turning off the holoprojector.
"Wait, you mean it was not a real fight?" I asked, surprised that he did not consider it a kind of test. I'm also glad this wasn't real; I doubt anyone could be so dumb to make moves like that.
"If someone made a mistake like that I'll have his head on a platter," says the admiral half-joking.
"I'm pretty sure he could do it if it really happened," I thought. "Well, I'm glad this wasn't the case then but… wait. Were you testing me or something?" I asked now realizing my current situation.
He laughed a bit. "I was concerned that you weren't going to figure it out. Glad I was proven wrong," he patted my shoulder. "With that out of the way, I should tell you that I was just informed that the Gravestone and its crew are on their way back and apparently they've some interesting news."
"That's good to hear. The last thing we need is news about our leaders disappearing and some opportunist tries to take over the Alliance again," I said, glad this was over but I couldn't help but thinking with one problem solved others could arise in the future. Maybe I'm just worrying too much again. "An estimated time for them to arrive?"
"Probably in an hour or two at max. We should probably begin preparing for them, the last thing I want is Theron joking about been late," he said in annoyance.
"Yeah, I can imagine. Anything I could help you with?" I asked.
"I don't think so. Maybe when they get back you can help them," he said and right on cue, we heard the sound of the long-range scanners detecting something coming out of hyperspace. "Well that was fast," commented Bey'wan.
"That ship is a thousand-year-old or more and still works like some of our best ones. I still wonder who made it," I remarked.
"I don't know, but as long as it's on our side I can live without knowing that," he said. "Better start getting a team ready for them."
"Very well then, till the next time then admiral," I said giving a small salute before leaving to the landing area where they usually park the Gravestone.
A couple of minutes later I could see the ship getting into the atmosphere and quickly descending till they reached their landing zone.
"Looks like we got a welcoming committee, a bit smaller than I thought," said Theron as he came out first from the ship followed by the rest.
"There's a team on the way if that's what want although, I think they'll be more interested in the ship than your wish for attention," I rebutted.
He looked at me for a moment with a serious face before smirking, "Glad to you're starting to grow some backbone"
"I have to thank my master for that," I smirked back, "Why the way, were is she?" I asked.
"I think it's the teacher's job to care about her student, not the other way around," says a voice from behind the group revealing my parents, except that dad was using a cast on his left arm while mom had some bandages on her face.
"For the looks of it I'm right to be worry," I said hiding my surprise. "What happened?"
"Oh, you know, the usual thing, save hostages, disarm a quantum bomb," he said, emphasizing that part as he looked at Koth, assuming it had something to do with it. "Fighting against a crazy Force user and then surviving an unknown planet full of killer droids and a strange computer system with murderous tendencies," he said as if it were something of every day ... which, honestly, is the truth.
"Ooookkkk… so… something interesting?" I asked wanting to know what exactly they went into.
"How about I get some rest first and then I tell?" she said half joking half been honest.
"I think we all deserve it but first there we must inform the Alliance of what happened," says the Commander.
"Understood Commander," says Lana before walking towards the command center.
"Need any help?" I ask wanting to be helpful.
"I'll be fine, thanks for the offer," she says before leaving to the base and the rest of the team following.
The moment we were the only ones I turned around to see at my parents with an eyebrow raised, "You said killer droids in an unknown planet?" I asked both worried and intrigued.
They both looked at each other before looking back at me. "I think you'll love to hear this," says dad with a smile.
This is going to be interesting.
Hope this was good for everyone and I'm REALLY sorry for the lack of updates, it's been like…. damm almost two months, I'm really sorry about this VERY very late update. To be honest I thought that I could make one chapter every two or three weeks max before starting classes but first I tried so hard to write this stories properly so it wouldn't feel taxing to read and then as soon as I started my new college semester I got like almost a dozen of projects since I'm in the last ones, and then with what little free time I had I spent it playing the mods for Empire at War to give me some ideas that I wrote in a notebook. Luckily this was just part of it and now if a bit more relax so I think I can write maybe one or two chapters every month or so if that's ok with you.
Once again I'm really sorry and I'll give my best to improve in my writing skills to make each chapter better and if possible post them faster. Till next update, I'm Shadow Solaris and be free to leave your thoughts and reviews to improve this story. May the Force be with You and serve you well.
