Author's note: Sorry about the long delay.
Partners
Despite the Rebellion being able to capture many Imperial operatives and the supposed death of General Krenin, they have still come no closer to capturing the illusive Darth Vader, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army! With Vader still at the helm of the war; the Empire continues to spread fear and destruction across the Galaxy, leaving many worlds scorched and ruined!
Meanwhile; Jedi Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano have been given a task to deliver urgent needed supplies of tibanna to a rebel outpost. Little do they know what lies ahead for them...
Deep space
Luke and Ahsoka sat in the lounge of a CR90 corvette, playing a game of Dejarik. Ahsoka's Ghhhk moved across the board and took out Luke's Grimtaash.
"Don't worry; you'll get the hang of this in time" smirked Ahsoka "You just have to keep it up" Luke smiled.
"I'll try" said Luke "Besides; it's unlike we have anything better to do whilst we're delivering this shipment" At that moment, there was a loud rumbling.
"Seems we do have something better to do after all" said Ahsoka "We better get to the bridge" They stood up and ran to the bridge.
"Captain Atar, what just happened?" asked Luke. Captain Aerex Atar was a middle-aged Caucasian Human male with black greying hair, a moustache, and brown eyes.
"Commander Skywalker, we're under attacked" replied Captain Atar.
"From what?" asked Luke.
"An Imperial star destroyer" replied Captain Atar "It's the Executor"
Meanwhile onboard the Executor
Darth Vader watched from the bridge as the Executor gunned down the blockade runner. Admiral Ozzel walked up to Vader from behind.
"We have the rebels in our sight, Lord Vader" said Ozzel "They cannot escape; shall I dispatch TIE fighters to go in for the kill?"
"No, admiral" replied Vader "If I had wanted them dead I would have ordered to bombard their ship with full force. We are to bring any survivors of this transport in alive; they are transporting the tibanna to a secret rebel base, one of many scattered across the galaxy. We will find them all!"
Meanwhile
"Can't we go into hyperspace?" asked Luke.
"It will take time to put in the exact coordinates" replied Captain Atar "And even if we put it in on time, they may be able to lock onto our position and go after us. It would merely delay the inevitable"
"If they wanted to destroy us they would have done so already" said Luke "They must be wanting to take us in alive"
"Which means they'll be docking" said Ahsoka.
"All troopers; we are under attack, prepare for boarding!" said Captain Atar.
Meanwhile
The rebel troopers ran to the port airlock. They stood in position. The airlock door was burned open. Countless stormtroopers ran through, blasters blazing. Though some of them were able to successfully shoot down rebel troopers, the rebel troopers had better aim and shot down the stormtroopers more. It was when the droidekas rolled in and projected their shield generators that there came to be a problem. Finally, Vader himself entered. A rebel trooper shot at Vader with his blaster, but he ignited his lightsaber and deflected the shots. One of them hit the rebel trooper in the stomach and killed him. A rebel trooper jumped onto an artillery turret and started to shoot at Vader, whom simply used his lightsaber to deflect the blasts before force-gripping the turret and using it to wipe out the remaining troopers.
"Lord Vader, we have secured the area" said a stormtrooper captain "What are your orders?"
"Find any remaining rebels aboard, captain" replied Vader "Do not kill unless completely necessary. I want them alive for questioning. You are dismissed, captain"
"Yes sir" replied the stormtrooper captain. The stormtroopers and droidekas went off to search the ship for rebels.
A few minutes later
Two stormtroopers patrolled a hallway.
"Can't believe we've given jobs like this" said one of the stormtroopers "Searching transport ships for hopes of bringing in officers alive for questioning. We should be out on the frontlines; we were trained to kill rebels, not capture them"
"What are you supposed to do about it?" said the other stormtrooper "It's not like we have another choice"
"I thought there was always a choice" said a voice. The stormtroopers turned around. Luke stood there. They pointed their blasters at him.
"Hands up, rebel!" snarled the first stormtrooper.
"Now, now; perhaps we could figure out an agreement or something" said Luke "I mean; ever thought about an alternative to fighting"
"This one wants to get funny with us" said the second stormtrooper.
"Seems no one wants to talk things over" said Luke. He instantly ignited his lightsaber.
"A Jedi!" exclaimed the second stormtrooper "I can't believe it!"
"Blast him!" shouted the first stormtrooper. They fired away, but Luke deflected the blasts and hit back at them. At that moment, Ahsoka arrived.
"Okay; we've escaped the Executor and the pilots just require a few more minutes to jump to hyperspace—" said Ahsoka shortly before noticing the dead stormtroopers "Seems you came into a spot of trouble"
"I suggested we talk things over, but they disagreed" smirked Luke "Wait; I thought if we went to hyperspace, they would follow us"
"Change of course; we're gonna' have to make it to Corellia" said Ahsoka "Even the Executor wouldn't dare go there; we have given it so much protection"
"What are we going to do with the rest of the stormtroopers on board?" asked Luke.
"We've decided to turn the tables on their operation" said Ahsoka "We have to bring any surviving stormtroopers in alive"
"Nice" said Luke. At that moment, Captain Atar ran up to them.
"Commander Skywalker, Commander Tano..." puffed Captain Atar.
"Captain, what is it?" asked Luke.
"You need...to get to the starboard section quick..." puffed Captain Atar.
"What is it?" asked Luke.
"He's here..." puffed Captain Atar.
"Who's here?" asked Ahsoka.
"D..." puffed Captain Atar shortly before being force-choked by someone.
"No!" exclaimed Luke. Captain Atar dropped to the ground dead. Darth Vader (who was the one who force-choked him) walked up. "Vader!" He reignited his lightsaber. Ahsoka ignited her lightsaber as well.
"So you've decided to do your own dirty work" said Ahsoka.
"The Jedi send children to guard the Alliance transports" said Vader "They're even weaker than I thought" He ignited his lightsaber. "There is little that rebel soldiers can do to harm my operation; but any Jedi would mark a threat"
"We take him together this time" whispered Luke.
"Good idea" whispered Ahsoka. They ran at Vader and started to duel with him. There was a pause in the battle.
"You face me both now" said Vader "Interesting; twice the pride, double the fall*"
"You can't escape, Vader" said Ahsoka "In a few moments, we'll be in hyperspace. Surrender!"
"Sith do not surrender" said Vader. He suddenly force-pushed both of them back. He then walked up to Ahsoka and slammed his lightsaber down upon her, only for her to resist the blow with her own lightsaber.
"There is much conflict within you..." said Vader "I can sense it"
"I told you before; I'll never turn to the dark side" said Ahsoka.
"Are you so certain?" said Vader "I can see through you; I have seen into your heart, into your mind...you crave it, hunger for it. You need only to stop resisting it and embrace its power and you could become so much more than a mere Jedi"
"And what; let the dark side control me as it does the Sith?" said Ahsoka "You Sith are the dark side's slaves; you just don't realise it yet"
"Sith are not controlled by the dark side; we control the dark side" said Vader.
"No one controls the dark side" said Ahsoka "It controls you"
"Don't be so sure, child" said Vader. He force-pushed her back, but she resisted and skidded to a stop. Vader charged at her, but Luke jumped to his feet and blocked the attack with his lightsaber. Ahsoka joined in and they managed to drive Vader back finally. They moved in to take Vader in. Suddenly, he force-choked both of them and slammed them against the wall. After several moments, he released them. "Now you will become one with the force" He walked up to them and raised his lightsaber. Luke extended his hand out and force-pulled a cylinder towards Vader. Vader, however, managed to force-grip and drop it before he was hit. "Was that your best attempt?" He slammed his lightsaber down on Luke, who merely blocked the blow with his lightsaber.
"It's over, Vader" said Luke "By now; we're in hyperspace to the Rebel capital right now"
"Corellia will not be your refuge forever" said Vader. At that moment, Ahsoka joined in and helped drive Vader back.
"Are you so sure of that?" smirked Ahsoka. They continued to duel down the hallway of the ship until they reached the starboard section. They could see from outside the windows that they were in hyperspace. "Game's over, Vader" There was a short silence in which Vader did not move. He then put away his lightsaber. He then forced gripped a cylinder and threw it at them. They simply cut it in half with their lightsabers. He then force-threw a crate at them, which they force-pushed back at him; which he force-gripped it in mid-air, causing it to drop upon releasing it. Finally, he force-lifted two crates into the air and threw it at them; but they force-blasted them back. One of the crates hit a wall; but the other hit a window, smashing it open. Vader was sucked out of it. Ahsoka soon followed; but Luke managed to grab her by the wrists. She smiled. "You've always got my back, Skyguy"
"You've always got mine as well" said Luke with a smile. With a quick pull, she got back in before the seal could come down on the window. They lay on the floor breathing heavily.
"All things considered...mission accomplished..." panted Ahsoka.
"Yep...that went well..." panted Luke.
One hour later
Luke walked up to the medical chamber on the Redemption. He opened the door and walked through it.
"Greetings" said 2-1B "Is there a reason for visiting the medical chamber, Commander Skywalker"
"I've come to visit Ahsoka" replied Luke.
"Commander Tano; yes, she's still here" said 2-1B "Follow me" Luke followed him. He could notice in the corner that FX-7 was monitoring a rebel trooper inside a bacta tank. They reached Ahsoka, whom was lying on a medical bed. She noticed that Luke had arrived.
"Come to visit me, huh?" said Ahsoka "To let you know; I feel better already, considering how I was half in the vacuum of space only an hour ago"
"Good to know" said Luke.
"I still can't believe it, though" said Ahsoka "Vader's actually...gone. After all these years, he met his end at a mere accident"
"He's not gone" said Luke "It just doesn't feel right"
"He got sucked into hyperspace; no one could've survived that, Luke" said Ahsoka.
"He could" said Luke. At that moment, a rebel trooper arrived.
"Commander Skywalker, General Kota and Chai wish to speak to you" said the rebel trooper "They claim they have a mission for you"
"Great; I love a good mission" said Ahsoka whilst getting up.
"Unfortunately; you cannot attend" said 2-1B whilst pushing her back down.
"What; why?" said Ahsoka.
"You are still recovering" said 2-1B "You were exposed to the vacuum of space; we need to be certain you are fit to leave before leaving"
"Well; I guess you can take it" said Ahsoka.
A few minutes later
Luke walked into the bridge of the Redemption.
"Commander Skywalker, the generals are waiting for you" said Captain Yern Taghert. She moved aside. A hologram of Rahm Kota and Rachi Sitra stood on the strategy table.
"Master Kota, Master Chai" said Luke.
"Young Skywalker; we have an assignment for you" said Kota.
"The Bothan spy network has made a discovery; over the last few months, the Empire has been creating a new super weapon to use against us" said Sitra.
"As you know; no one wants or needs another Death Star; or something that could be even worse" said Kota.
"We currently do not know what it is or what is does; but we believe it to be hidden on Ryloth" said Sitra
"So you want me to travel to Ryloth; got it, I'll leave right away" said Luke.
"Wait; this is a dangerous mission, we would prefer it if you took a partner with you" said Kota.
"Ahsoka is currently in med-bay, recovering from being exposed to the vacuum of space" said Luke "Who am I supposed to bring with me?"
"We have already assigned you a new partner" replied Sitra.
"Who?" asked Luke. At that moment, the door behind him opened. Maris Brood stepped in.
"Me" said Maris. Luke turned around. "So you're the famous Luke Skywalker, I've heard a lot about you. Maris Brood..."
"You're my new partner?" said Luke.
"Yes" replied Maris "Or at least your substitute partner. We're to make it to Ryloth, right? Let's get going"
Meanwhile in the hanger
Wedge Antilles and Nien Nunb played a game of pazaak.
"Damn; reached twenty!" said Wedge. Nien chuckled lightly. "Okay; here's your credits" He handed twenty-five credits over to Nien. "Alright, let's have another game; but I think I'm getting the hang of this" Luke and Maris entered and walked past them.
"Ahsoka and I usually take the Rogue Shadow for missions like this, but it's currently aboard Home One" said Luke.
"We'll take a shuttle" said Maris. They walked over to a T-6 shuttle and entered it. They sat down and started it up. "Alright; let's go" They flew out of the hanger and went into hyperspace"
Meanwhile on Coruscant
The shadowy figure known as General Cronos sat at his desk. Ga'llaa entered.
"General, the contract killer you hired has currently not retrieved Skywalker" said Ga'llaa "As far as we can tell, she has failed"
"It does not matter, Ga'llaa" said Cronos "We have another opportunity; my sources tell me that Skywalker is heading towards Ryloth. Though we currently do not know the reason why, this gives us the opportunity to capture him at last. Leave for Ryloth immediately"
"What am I to do there?" asked Ga'llaa.
"I will inform you when you arrive" replied Cronos "Now go" Ga'llaa exited.
One hour later above Ryloth
The shuttle arrived at Ryloth.
"We're here" said Maris.
"The planet is Imperial controlled; we'll have to land somewhere deserted" said Luke. They flew the shuttle down closer to the planet's surface. "Do you know how this planet became under Imperial control?"
"It was shortly after the Empire came into power" replied Maris "Ryloth was one of the first planets to resist them; they were led by Cham Syndulla, a Twi'lek freedom fighter who previously resisted the Separatist movement on the planet. They were victorious after the first few battles; that was until Darth Vader himself arrived. He was no match against him; Vader slew him where he stood in front of countless Twi'lek freedom fighters. Syndulla was a symbol of freedom and bravery to his people; when he died, their confidence died with him" They landed next to a large mesa. Two can-cells flew past the shuttle. They got out and looked around. Luke got out a pair of electrobinoculars.
"Doesn't seem to be any Imperial activity around here" said Luke "We should think about where to start"
"I'll go scout the area; you guard the shuttle" said Maris. She ran off.
"Wait, Maris..." said Luke as she ran off.
A few minutes later
Ga'llaa exited a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle that had landed on a landing platform on Ryloth. He held a communicator in his hand.
"If my calculations are correct; he will have arrived there by now" said Cronos' voice out of the communicator "Do you have the hair sample?"
"Of course" replied Ga'llaa. He made his way over to a door. He walked through and entered a small chamber. In the middle there was a large beast, chained up and muzzled. It also wore a restraint collar. It was large with an oval-shaped body and four long legs with five clawed toes on each foot. It had a long snout with a small stub of a horn on its noise, a pair of bony-lobes on the side of its head, a pair of bony mace-like horns on the top of its head, and two small brown eyes. It had a medium-length tail and was colored dusty-brown with small ash-colored speckles on its back. "Prepare the naregord; we have another tracking mission" He got out a vial that contained a small hair sample.
Naregord vision
Ga'llaa walked up to the naregord and opened the vial. He pointed the vial towards the naregord's head. The creature sniffed it; it didn't see colour but the sample started glowing blue after being sniffed. This was because it had such a keen sense of smell that it could see the scent.
Normal
The naregord gave out a large snort. Ga'llaa backed away.
"Release it" said Ga'llaa. The naregord was pulled around to face a large door. The door was pulled down. The muzzle was removed off the naregord and it roared loudly, showing long sharp teeth and fangs. The containment field was deactivated. Before it could even react, the containment collar around the creature's neck buzzed it, indicating to off to track down the scent. The creature ran off out of the chamber and off after the source of the scent. "We want this one back alive; so we must keep a close eye"
Meanwhile
A small group of blurrgs wandered the desert of Ryloth. Maris walked on the rocky outcrops above, scouting the area. She looked over the terrain.
Meanwhile
Luke sat in the shuttle with a hologram of Ahsoka in front of him.
"Then she just ran off and left me here to guard the shuttle" said Luke.
"She just left you without coming up with a plan or anything?" said Ahsoka "Why'd the Jedi even assign her to you?"
"I honestly don't know" replied Luke "I would've asked her if—"
"Hey Luke, I found something" said Maris through Luke's comlink.
"Maris, why'd you run off like that?" asked Luke.
"Sorry about that" replied Maris "I just wanted to get to it straight away—"
"Straight away; that was your plan?" said Luke "Plans don't work if you don't cooperate with your partner"
"We can work on your whole "How Plans Work" lecture when I get back—" said Maris "In the meantime I'm going for answers"
"What do you mean?" asked Luke.
Meanwhile
"I've found an Imperial outpost" said Maris "Best place to start"
"Wait; an Imperial outpost?" said Luke "What are you going to do?"
"Going in there and search for any indication for a super weapon" replied Maris.
"How are you supposed to get in?" asked Luke.
"I'll find a way" replied Maris.
"What; you mean you haven't even observed it?" said Luke "You can't approach—"
"I know what I'm doing, trust me" said Maris.
"They do say trust is a two way streak" said Ahsoka "You had better listen to Luke"
"Who is that?" asked Maris.
"That would be Ahsoka, my regular partner who was unable to come because she was recovering from being in the vacuum of space" replied Luke.
"Good to know; I'll be preoccupied whilst infiltrating the base so it's good to know you have someone to talk to" said Maris.
"Look; you're not going into that base until we have formulated a plan" said Luke.
"Say it again, you're breaking up" said Maris whilst removing her comlink and dropping it on the ground. She ran off.
"Maris, you have to listen to me" said Luke "The outpost has to be crawling with Imperials, you'll never get through there unseen. Maris? Maris, do you copy?" Maris kept running until she heard footsteps, in which she hid behind a rock formation. She peered out from the corner. A small group of stormtroopers and an All Terrain Scout Transport were patrolling the area.
"Keep your eyes out, men" said the stormtrooper commander "We have to keep the perimeter secure from any trespassers. And don't forget; they've released the naregord so don't get in its way if you see it"
"What if it attacks us first?" asked one of the stormtroopers.
"It won't" replied the stormtrooper commander "It goes anywhere it's not supposed to and it gets a blast from its inhibitor collar. It's amazing how easily these creatures can be tamed" Maris turned her head away.
"Hey!" said one of the stormtroopers "What's that?"
"What's what?" asked the first stormtrooper.
"I saw something, behind that rock" replied the second stormtrooper.
"It's probably nothing" said the first stormtrooper.
"If we notice anything, we have to investigate" said the stormtrooper commander "I for one am not going to take the fall for another break-in" He walked over to the rock. "Well; look what we've got here" He pointed his blaster at her. "You're definitely no Twi'lek; so explain to me, what are you doing here?"
"I don't answer to Imperials" said Maris "Do yourself a favor and back off"
"You've got quite a mouth on you" said the stormtrooper commander "We could do this the easy way or the hard way" Maris frowned. "I guess it'll be the hard way" He pointed his blaster at her. "Men, set your blasters to stun" The other stormtroopers pointed their blasters towards her. "This is your last chance"
"No; this is your last chance" said Maris "Back away now and—"
"And what?" said the stormtrooper commander.
"I'm warning you" said Maris whilst getting out her lightsaber tonfas. She ignited the white blades. "Don't force a fight"
"A Jedi!" exclaimed the stormtrooper commander "Drop her!" The stormtroopers fired at her, but she deflected the stun blasts. She force-pushed the commander and two other stormtroopers away; she then threw her lightsabers at the two remaining stormtroopers. The AT-ST pointed towards her and started shooting. She dodged the shots before charging at the legs, with her lightsabers pointing to her sides, and cut through the ankles, tripping the walker over. She walked over to examine the AT-ST's remains when she got stun-blasted in the back by the stormtrooper commander. He got up and walked over to her. "Ha; not so tough. Take her inside" The remaining two stormtroopers ran over to her to pick her up. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue that zoomed past them; next minute, Maris was gone. "What!"
Meanwhile
"She must've removed her comlink" said Luke.
"What is she thinking?" said Ahsoka.
"Going up against an entire Imperial outpost by herself; I would go find her, but I can't leave the shuttle by itself" said Luke "It's our only way off the planet and we can't afford it getting discovered by the Imperials"
"Are you so certain there's a "we"?" said Ahsoka "She doesn't seem convinced"
"I just wish the Jedi would've sent somebody who I've worked with before, like Chelaa" said Luke.
"Chelaa's been preoccupied, as is the rest of the Jedi" said Ahsoka "It seems as though for every system that is liberated, another is taken. There are so few Jedi left in the galaxy; for all we know, the only ones left are the ones who have joined the Alliance already"
"There has to be more Jedi, they can't all be gone" said Luke.
Meanwhile
The naregord ran across the desert, tracking down Luke's scent.
Naregord vision
It followed the blue fumes until it eventually reached the shuttle. It saw that the blue fumes were coming from there.
Normal
The naregord snorted and pounced towards the shuttle.
Meanwhile
"Only two known members of the Jedi Council at the time of Order 66 until the year the war started" said Ahsoka "Obi-Wan Kenobi and Shaak Ti; unfortunately, neither of them is alive"
"I know about Obi-Wan, but what about Shaak Ti?" asked Luke.
"I don't know much information on her death" replied Ahsoka "All that I know is that she was hid on Felucia and was killed off in the Great Jedi Purge. That's all I could find out" At that moment, something shook the shuttle.
"Something's up" said Luke "I'll have to check it out" He stood up and walked over to the landing ramp. Suddenly, something slammed through it. The naregord had stuck its heading through the space of the landing ramp. It lunged towards Luke continuously in an attempt to get him, but couldn't make it through.
Naregord vision
Luke who back away, was coloured blue with fumes. The naregord tried to lunge into the shuttle, with no success.
Normal
Luke ran over to the controls and lifted off. As he started to lift up into the air, the naregord slipped through and landed on the ground. Luke flew the shuttle off across the desert, but the naregord got up and followed him. It had great speed and was able to catch up easily.
Meanwhile
Ga'llaa and a group of stormtroopers travelled across the desert with two AT-STs and three DSD1 dwarf spider droids. Ga'llaa held a small tracking device in his hand that was tracking the naregord by the restraint collar.
"It's getting close" said Ga'llaa.
"How close?" asked the stormtrooper commander. At that moment, Luke's shuttle flew past them with the naregord following between. "Huh; that close. Alright; aim for that shuttle and blast it down" The AT-STs pointed their cannons towards the shuttle.
"Stand down" said Ga'llaa "We want this one back alive"
"Then what do we do then?" asked the stormtrooper commander.
"We follow" replied Ga'llaa.
Meanwhile
Luke flew the shuttle faster and faster, but the naregord still caught up. Suddenly, it pounced up into the air and slashed the left wing. This caused the shuttle to fly downwards. Fortunately, Luke was able to make a controlled crash. He made his way out of the shuttle. The naregord caught sniff of him and charged towards him. Luke saw it coming and ignited his lightsaber.
"Sorry about this" said Luke. He ran towards the naregord, but just as he reached it, he rolled under it and stabbed it in the stomach. However, as he took out his lightsaber, the wound healed by itself almost immediately.
"What!" exclaimed Luke. He quickly rolled out from beneath the naregord and ran towards the cliffs. He soon found himself at a dead end, with the naregord charging towards him. The only way out of this was to somehow climb through that large crack in the cliff-face, but it was too high up to reach.
"Hide in here, quick!" said a voice from the crack.
"Excuse me?" said Luke. Suddenly, two arms came out of the crack and pulled Luke into it. The naregord ram into the cliff-face, but was unable to get into or break open the crack.
Meanwhile
Maris woke up on a small bed. She instantly got up. She looked around and realized that she was in a small hut. She walked around the room she was in. It seemed rather basic but at the same time felt comfortable. She walked into the next room. There she saw a figure sitting cross-legged close to the window. It was when she approached it and looked at it from the front she realised that is was a male Fosh wearing garb and robes. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be concentrating. Feeling as though it would be unwise to disturb him, she turned to leave the room. It was then that his eyes slowly opened.
"I was wondering when you would wake" said the Fosh. Maris stopped. The Fosh stood up and walked over to her. "Something troubles you?"
"Who are you?" asked Maris.
"I am Qila" replied the Fosh "And I believe you are Maris Brood"
"We've never met" said Maris.
"I know many things" said Qila "I have been watching you since you first landed on this planet"
'What do you—" said Maris shortly before she sensed the Force with him "Are you...a Jedi?"
"I suppose you could call me that" replied Qila "I am Force-sensitive, I follow the Jedi way to an extent...but I do not call myself one anymore"
"Where am I?" said Maris.
"The place I have taken shelter ever since what happened many years ago" replied Qila.
"What do you mean?" asked Maris "This is an Imperial controlled planet; why did you choose here out of all places?"
"I believe the term is "hiding-in-plain-site"" replied Qila.
"Still; aren't you afraid that the Empire could discover you?" asked Maris.
"I change location each year to make sure Darth Vader cannot locate me" replied Qila "Originally it was because I simply drifted from place to place, but now it is something necessary"
"I suppose that is one way to avoid detection" said Maris "But what I don't understand is why you haven't come out of hiding yet"
"What do you mean?" asked Qila.
"You know what I mean" said Maris "The days of the Jedi living in hiding are over; we're not going to stand by and let the Sith burn the galaxy. We will not hide anymore. Why do you still hide?"
"I have not prepared myself to face the galaxy again yet, nor am I prepared myself to approach the Jedi ways again" replied Qila "I may have trained under Master Yoda; but even his teachings cannot truly prepare you for this"
"That's your excuse?" said Maris, raising her voice "Not being prepared?"
"You weren't prepared either" said Qila.
"What do you mean?" said Maris.
"You weren't prepared for letting your master go" replied Qila "You were afraid and angered by her death, weren't you?"
"Shut up!" said Maris "What do you know about that?"
"I felt it" replied Qila "The Force told me about her death; I am sorry for what happened, Maris. It's been about five years; you have to let it go. It'll compromise you and you'll never complete your mission"
"Mission?" said Maris.
"You have come here on a mission" said Qila "You have come with another Jedi; you have to come for answers for something"
"What's it to you?" said Maris.
"You still hold anger towards the Empire for what happened" said Qila.
"Everyone holds anger towards the Empire" said Maris.
"Perhaps" said Qila "But you let your anger towards them guide your actions; you rejected his help and attempted to infiltrate the Imperial outpost by yourself. I saw all of this"
"I can take on stormtroopers" said Maris "I'd go through a thousand Imperials if it meant getting to Vader"
"Facing Vader is not something one can easily do" said Qila "He has both the training of a Jedi and of a Sith; if you face him unprepared, he will kill you without a second thought" Maris frowned and turned to leave. "You're shutting me out; why?"
"What if the Empire destroyed the closest person to family you have left?" said Maris. Qila's eyes widened.
"You got touched by the dark side; haven't you?" said Qila "And you haven't fully-healed"
"My master would've been disgusted at what I became" said Maris "I still carry the memories of what I did" Qila approached her from behind and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Destroying Vader will not bring back all the Jedi the Empire has slain; neither will it bring back the Galaxy we all wish to have back" said Qila "You've rejected people's help ever since what happened; perhaps it's time to accept them, they will help you, but you must be willing to accept their help. The past is the past; no one can change it. But with hope and faith; you may be able to mend the damage the Sith have caused to this galaxy" She turned her head towards him.
"Will you help me?" asked Maris.
"You must figure out who you are yourself" said Qila "I will resurface when I am ready; but until then, I must stay in exile. You may go now; think about what I've said, and learn from it" Maris bowed her head and turned to leave. "One more thing; I know you're here"
"You do?" said Maris.
"Yes" replied Qila "You have come searching information of the Empire's new secret weapon"
"How do you know this?" asked Maris.
"I know many things" replied Qila "I should inform you; what you seeking is not here"
"What do you mean?" asked Maris.
"The weapon is not located on Ryloth" replied Qila.
"How do you know that?" asked Maris.
"On occasion, I have been able to get inside the Imperial outpost itself" said Qila "I have searched through the system without the Imperials knowing; I have ways of avoiding getting seen. The weapon you are looking for is not on this planet"
"Then where is it?" asked Maris.
"The Outer Rim world of Wayland" replied Qila "It is there that you will find it. Now go; find your partner and lead him to Wayland"
Meanwhile
Luke was now within a small cavern underground. He sat on the ground next to a female Twi'lek. A blue male Twi'lek entered.
"Good to see you settling in, my friend" said the Twi'lek "We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet; I am Norwan Ferran, and this is my wife Numa"
"Good to meet you" said Luke whilst standing up and shaking his hand "I was wondering; what are you guys doing down here?"
"It was shortly after the Empire conquered this world" said Numa "After the death of Cham Syndulla, people lost hope; but some of us did not bow down before the Empire. We decided to carry on Syndulla's work"
"We went into hiding and started to rebel, in a more subtle way" said Norwan "Something tells me you're no friend to the Empire either"
"How'd you figure that out?" asked Luke.
"They wouldn't have sent the naregord after you if you were" replied Norwan.
"The naregord?" said Luke "I presume that's the creature that attacked me"
"You would be right" said Norwan "They only send it out to track down enemies"
"I haven't heard of naregords before" said Luke "What are they exactly"
"Creatures from the planet Ziost" replied Norwan "They are predators that exist to survive, with their regenerative healing power that can resist blaster fire. This makes them almost invincible; it seems as though nothing can cut through their skin"
"Not even a lightsaber" said Luke.
"Perhaps its most dangerous feature is its hunting technique" said Norwan "Their eye sight is weak, but they make up for it in their sense of smell; it is so powerful that it can smell prey from across the planet. In a way, it sees with this sense; the Empire found a way to use this to their advantage so they restrained it and taught it how to track certain individuals using their scent. If it successfully captured, it is given food; if it fails, they torture it"
"I thought it couldn't sustain injury because of its healing factor" said Luke.
"Doesn't mean it can't feel pain" said Norwan "It may not be the smartest beast in the galaxy, but it knows that it can't give up on the hunt"
"I can't be caught by the Empire" said Luke "Norwan, I have to get off this planet. I'm someone whom the Empire must not..."
"I know who you are" said Norwan.
"You do?" said Luke.
"I knew who you were the moment I saw you" said Norwan "And I will help you. Your kind has helped us in the past, so we will help you in return. We have no means to get off the planet here; but we know where your shuttle is, albeit slightly damaged. But don't worry we can fix it. We just need to take it to a safe location and do repairs there"
"But how do we get out there without the Imperials or that Naregord jumping on us?" asked Luke.
"We're going to need some help" replied Norwan "Fortunately; I know where to find some" It was at that moment that Luke heard a noise.
"What was that?" said Luke.
"What was what?" asked Norwan.
"Listen" said Luke. They listened carefully. A strange thump on the ground was heard from above the ground.
"It sounds like...footsteps" said Norwan "What's making them?"
"Something big" said Luke "We have to get out of here" Suddenly, the top of the cavern was blasted open.
"Numa!" exclaimed Norwan. Numa leapt out of the way as the debris landed on where see was. The naregord pointed its snout into the hole shortly before its restraint collar activated, telling it to go.
"Good boy" said Ga'llaa as he reached the hole in the ground. He leapt into it, followed by a group of stormtroopers using lines to come down. "Commander Skywalker, I believe"
"Who are you?" asked Luke.
"I am Ga'llaa of the Noghri of Honoghr" replied Ga'llaa "Now; come quietly, and I might consider sparing your Twi'lek friends" Norwan drew out a blaster from his belt and pointed it at Ga'llaa.
"I don't think so" said Norwan. The stormtroopers pointed their blasters at him. Ga'llaa smiled evilly.
"Please; even if you do shoot me in time, it would not help your situation" said Ga'llaa.
"What is it you want with me?" asked Luke.
"It's not what I want" replied Ga'llaa "My superior wishes to speak with you. He would prefer it if you came willingly as opposed to damaged"
"Who is your superior?" asked Luke.
"That a need to know basis and currently you don't" replied Ga'llaa. Luke thought for a second. It was then that a thought crossed his mind.
"Does this superior of yours go by an alias or something called the "Master"?" asked Luke.
"That is not for you to know" replied Ga'llaa "But enough talk; you're coming with us now"
"Oh; he's not coming with you" said Norwan.
"Give me reason why not" said Ga'llaa.
"Because he's coming with us" said Norwan. By now they had walked into the entrance of a small tunnel. Norwan pointed his blaster at the top of the entrance and shot it. Rocks came tumbling down and blocked the entrance, with Luke, Norwan, and Numa on the other side.
"No!" exclaimed Ga'llaa "Send the naregord to patrol the surface in case he comes out"
"What about the rest of us?" asked a stormtrooper commander.
"We stay here in case he comes out again" replied Ga'llaa "The general has gone to great measures to acquire this young rebel; we will not let him slip by us again"
Meanwhile
The Redemption drifted in deep space.
"I am afraid that I have heard no news of Commander Skywalker or Maris Brood returning" said Captain Yern Taghert. She stood in front of a hologram of Rachi Sitra and Rahm Kota. "They have not communicated back to us; we can only assume that they are preoccupied with it"
"Let them do their work" said Rachi Sitra "We should give them all the time they need"
"It's not like they can't handle themselves" said Yern Taghert "Aside from numbers; stormtroopers are no match for a Jedi. And with Krenin dead—"
"Are you so certain that Krenin is dead?" said Kota "What if he should return; what would we do then?"
"Han Solo told us that he opened fire upon the bridge of the ship that Krenin was on" said Yern Taghert "No one could have survived that"
"You'd be surprised" said Rachi Sitra "He is not one who accepts death so easily"
"Still; it is highly unlikely to survive a direct hit like that" said Yern Taghert "For now he is presumed dead" What none of them noticed was that someone was clinging onto the outside of the ship. Darth Vader shimmered across slowly towards the hanger. When he reached it, he jumped into it and landed in front of a Consular-class cruiser.
Meanwhile inside the cruiser
"Look; I'm coming down now" said a rebel trooper whilst doing some maintenance on a hologram projector.
"We're gonna' start the Pazaak game now, I'm afraid" said a voice on his comlink.
"Don't worry, don't worry; I'm coming" said the rebel trooper. He stood up to walk out. Suddenly, something started to force-choke him. Finally, his neck was choked so hard that he fell to the ground dead. Vader walked into the cockpit. He sat down at the pilot's seat, started the ship up, and flew out of the hanger. He set in some coordinates and jumped to hyperspace.
Meanwhile
Luke, Norwan, and Numa walked through the escape tunnels.
"Ah; we're here" said Norwan. They had entered a clearing that appeared to be used as a Twi'lek camp. Twi'leks walked around the camp and some were handling the blurrg.
"Daddy, daddy!" said a little Twi'lek girl running towards Norwan.
"Tildie; there you are!" said Norwan whilst picking up the little Twi'lek "This is my daughter—Tildie. Tildie, this is our friend; he's a Jedi"
"Wow!" said Tildie.
"You know; some of our scouts have rumoured to have seen a Jedi whilst out on patrol" said Norwan.
"Another Jedi?" said Luke "For how long?"
"For quite a long time as I remember" replied Norwan "They're only rumours as far as we know; we have no solid proof yet. Anyways; as you can see, we have the arms to fix your shuttle" At that moment, a Twi'lek scout ran in. He said something in Twi'leki. "Oh no!"
"What did he say?" asked Luke.
"The Imperials have sent the naregord to patrol the surface" replied Norwan "They're going to starve us out"
"Is there anything we can do?" asked Luke.
"There's nothing we can do with that naregord around" replied Norwan "He'll smell you out and call for its masters the moment you emerge. Unless...Of course, why didn't I think of that before!"
"Think of what?" asked Luke.
"One time, the naregord was sent to track us down" replied Norwan "It tracked us down to our last camp and waited for us to come out. However; we came up with a plan to incapacitate it and it worked. We just need to get ready"
One hour later
Luke emerged from one of the secret entrances to the Twi'lek camp.
"Norwan, is everyone in position?" asked Luke.
"We're ready" replied Norwan "Now all we have to do is wait for it to come"
Meanwhile
The naregord walked around the area. Suddenly, it picked up Luke's scent.
Naregord the vision
It could see the blue fumes from around a hillside.
Normal
The naregord let out a loud bark to alert the Imperials.
Meanwhile
Ga'llaa was sitting cross-legged in the cavern. He opened his eyes and smiled evilly.
"It's caught his scent" said Ga'llaa. He stood up. They got out of the cavern. "You three stay with me, as well as the AT-AA; the rest of you, stand guard here" Three of the stormtroopers) the commander included) and the AT-AA followed him. The dwarf spider droids and the other stormtroopers stayed there.
Meanwhile
Luke stood where he was as the naregord appeared from the side of the hill.
Naregord vision
The naregord could see the blue fumes covering Luke.
Normal
The naregord approached slowly. Luke didn't move.
"Wait for it, wait for it..." said Norwan quietly. The naregord walked up to Luke and sniffed his face. It started to drool. Luke still didn't move. "NOW!" A group of Twi'leks who had been hiding in secret holes in the hill poured out pots of oil of different scents. This caught the naregord's attention.
Naregord vision
The naregord was blinded and overwhelmed by the countless different coloured fumes that came from the oil. There were so many fumes covering its vision that it could no longer see Luke.
Normal
The scent of all the different oils overwhelmed the naregord so much that it fainted onto its side. Norwan emerged from one of the holes.
"Well; that went well" said Norwan.
"That was a clever plan" said Luke.
"Yep; turn the creature's greatest strength into its greatest weakness, classic" said Norwan "With too much strong scent in the air, it can't see anything and gets overwhelmed by the "colour"" Luke walked up to the naregord, ignited his lightsaber, and used it to cut its collar off.
"What next?" asked Luke.
"Now we make ourselves scarce and repair your shuttle" said Norwan. They ran off. It was then that Ga'llaa, the stormtroopers, and the AT-AA arrived.
"It's here" said Ga'llaa. It was then that he noticed the unconscious naregord.
"What the—" said a stormtrooper.
"It seems that the naregord has failed" said Ga'llaa.
"Is it dead?" said one of the stormtroopers.
"No; just unconscious" replied the stormtrooper commander. It was then that the naregord woke up. "See; it's alive. Good thing too; we'll need it awake to teach it a lesson on failing"
"No one fails General Cronos" said Ga'llaa. He got out the restraint collar trigger and pressed the button. Nothing happened. He pressed the button again. Still nothing happened. "How is this possible?"
"Oh no" said the stormtrooper commander "Collar's off" The naregord looked over to them. It was then that it felt that it no longer had the collar on its neck; and it was then that it knew it was free. It let out a large roar. "This is not good"
"Destroy it" said Ga'llaa.
"But it'll only heal from our blasts" said the stormtrooper commander.
"Then use the walker!' snapped Ga'llaa. The stormtrooper commander gestured towards the AT-AA. The AT-AA pointed its flak pod towards the naregord and shot, but the naregord leapt aside, leapt at the AT-AA, and ripped off the flak pod shortly before pulling off the leg.
"This is not good!" said one of the stormtroopers. Ga'llaa frowned.
"We leave" said Ga'llaa "Now; go!" The two stormtroopers rushed off. The stormtrooper commander was about to rush off as well; before Ga'llaa got out a blaster and pointed it towards him.
"What are you doing?" said the stormtrooper commander. At that moment, Ga'llaa shot him in the leg. "What did you do that for?!"
"I told you that no one fails General Cronos; even stormtrooper commanders" said Ga'llaa "Besides; we need something to slow down the beast"
"What!" exclaimed the stormtrooper "No way!" He got out his blaster and pointed it towards Ga'llaa, whom simply snatched it out of his hand with lightning speed and threw it away.
"You're alone on this one" said Ga'llaa.
"No, no!" exclaimed the stormtrooper commander. Ga'llaa walked off. The stormtrooper commander crawled for his blaster, but all the noise had attracted the attention of the naregord.
Naregord vision
The stormtrooper commander was consumed with red fumes (indicating his scent) as he crawled for his blaster.
Normal
The naregord (having remembered years of torment and torture by this commander) snarled ferociously. The stormtrooper commander panicked and scrambled faster for his blaster. But he was too late; the naregord pounced towards him and chewed him up in less than a second. Hearing the dying screams of the commander, Ga'llaa got out his communicator.
"General, I regret to inform you that the mission has been unsuccessful" said Ga'llaa "We have failed to obtain Skywalker"
"It does not matter" said Cronos "I was monitoring your body cam at the time when you met Skywalker; and you mentioned that I was interested in meeting with him"
"I swear for my planet; I did not tell him your name or any other information about you" said Ga'llaa.
"I know you didn't" said Cronos "That is not why I mentioned it. We can use this to our advantage; now that he knows that of someone's involvement, he will become more and more suspicious and eventually will start trying to find me. Everything falls into place"
Later
Maris walked across the barren landscape. She reached a small rocky outcropped area. To her surprise, the shuttle stood there with several Twi'leks doing repairs.
"Now what do we have here?" said Maris. She walked up to it. She noticed Luke and Norwan at the front.
"Well; that's it" said Norwan "We've done it"
"I thank you for your help" said Luke.
"No problem" said Norwan "We're happy to help; and life should become a lot easier now that the Imperials no longer have that naregord under their control. Alright, boys; let's move off" He and the other Twi'leks left.
"I see you made some friends here" said Maris. Luke didn't seem particularly pleased to see her. "You don't seem that pleased to see me"
"I don't see any reason why" said Luke "You abandoned me for a million to one chance to enter that base; and you disregarded my warnings"
"Like you haven't disregarded orders" said Maris "I heard all about you; you use improvisation, a lot"
"Only when the situation needed to; you were going to enter the going in without a plan or backup" said Luke. Maris looked down. She then looked towards the horizon and sighed.
"I'm sorry for rushing into the situation without a second thought; and I promise not to do it again" said Maris in a somewhat forced-fashion. Luke was unsure of what to make of this; but one question had since crossed his mind.
"Just out of question; was there any particular reason why you wanted to take on the Imperial base by yourself?" asked Luke.
"What if I said that I have more reason than most to dislike Imperials?" said Maris.
"What do you mean?" asked Luke.
"We'll talk about it another time" said Maris "Right now we've gotta' get to Wayland"
"Wayland?" said Luke "But we just got here"
"The secret weapon isn't here" said Maris.
"How do you know that?" asked Luke.
"I...I managed to get inside the base" said Maris.
"You did?" said Luke.
"Yes" said Maris "There'll be time for explanations later; but now we have to go" said Maris. She ran into the shuttle. Luke sighed and entered the shuttle as well. They sat down at the controls and lifted the ship off. As they flew off, Qila watched them from atop a tree.
"So he is here" said Qila "The time is coming; almost upon us. My master was right; young, inexperienced, but brings with him the one thing that can defeat the Dark Side...hope"
Author's note: The naregord's appearance was based off the Estemmenosuchus.
*: Sounds familiar?