AN: well hello readers, I am back with a new chapter, and I will also be putting up the edited versions of the prolog, Chapter one, and Chapter two soon, until then enjoy this chapter

Disclaimer: I only own my Characters, and special thanks to Jacob Sailer.

In Memory of Dylan Libel my most cherished friend

RIP.

1998-2017

The Map, and the Commander.

Jane sat with his squad during the celebration, staring into bonfire as Niles asked at his elbow, "Cap'n, what are we going to tell the commander?"

Jane sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "The Yuuzhan Vong are more of a threat."

"Yes, but the Jedi are, according to our superiors, still enemies of the state." Alaya stated.

Jane's eyes hardened as he tightened his grip on his mug, "A state that orders members of my family to die because of their beliefs doesn't deserve my loyalty."

Dex could only sit there with Jaing sitting next to him, the pair of them staring wide-eyed at Jane, "Sir, it sounds like you are defecting."

Jane glared into his mug, the ale splashed and was agitated by the sound of the room, "I would resign if I could," Jane admitted, his voice rising in tone with each syllable, "but now I can't let it slide the Emperor had my brother hunted, and my daughter…" he stopped short and looked away.

The Squad looked among each other, "You have a daughter, sir?" Dex asked surprised.

Jane felt his tears drop, "Had." he corrected.

The squad went silent, "Vesse Allie Mallory." Jane whispered her name, "Keen killed her in the temple, under orders of our Emperor." Jane spat, looking up at Dex with eyes full of ire, "So tell me now, if I were to defect, would you look at me in disdain? Or understanding."

"No Cap'n, we wouldn't judge you for it," Niles said, his hand on Jane's shoulder "in fact, if I may say so for myself, I'd go so far as to say I'd go with you." Niles looked back at the Jedi. Some of them were dancing, mostly Viridian and Kes. Du was sitting due to the fact that he was still disallowed from any strenuous activity and the others were mingling, "Its hard to believe that they betrayed the state. I've fought by their side." he turned back to the men, "and they don't strike me as the monotone, asexual monks we've all heard about. Those two right there," Niles pointed at Viridian and Kes, "are head over heels for eachother."

"How do you know that?" Dex asked.

"I can tell, rook," Niles grinned, "when you get to my age, of course."

"You have only just met them," Jaing deadpanned.

"Well then, please enlighten me." Niles said turning to Jaing, his smile inviting a challenge, "separate the propaganda from the truth."

"Well for one, the Jedi were asexual monks." Jaing said, "those two are breaking the rules of their order."

"He's not wrong." Jane shrugged, "and the Order did take children away from their families at a young age. Viridian was lucky in that his master wanted him to have a relationship with us. A few other Jedi did this but they were the exception to the norm."

"Ah I see." Niles said, turning back to Jaing, "What about their wartime practices? I understand that you fought alongside them in the Clone Wars."

Jaing pinched the bridge of his nose, "They did make a lot of stupid decisions." Jaing began, "sending kids as young as eleven into warzones, giving them the rank of commander without earning it."

"...weren't you clones technically ten years old at the beginning of the war?" Dex asked.

"Yes, but we were made for fighting. Jedi were not."

Jane nodded, "I am with Jaing on this one. It was incredibly stupid of the Jedi to send children into battle. Though in many ways, I could see why they did."

"Why is that?" Alaya asked curiously, though the tone in her voice showed she despised the decision.

"Well, on Geonosis the Jedi suffered tremendous casualties, losing many knights and masters in that battle. Out of the two hundred sent, I believe only thirty came out alive." Jane explained

"Damn. That's a serious attrition rate." Niles whistled.

"Thirty three actually. One hundred seventy nine Jedi died out of two hundred and twelve, along with thousands of troopers, four thousand nine hundred eighty two commandos, three fourths of theta squad, approximately twelve thousand troopers seriously injured, and another eight thousand lightly injured." Jaing listed off, "that was the casualty count of the first battle of Geonosis."

"You were there weren't you?" Jane asked curiously

Jaing sat there for a moment before he nodded slowly "Yeah."

Niles noticed the silence drift between them, "So they got a few customs that I might not agree with, but in all honesty it doesn't seem like a good enough reason to kill them. Well, I still hate what that kid did to Cyrus," he growled as he pointed at Janus, "But," he began his expression softening as he folded his hands in front of him "at the same time can I blame him for trying to defend himself?"

Jaing sighed, "I am not sure you can."

Alaya looked among her squad mates, "This is a bit unusual."

"What?" Dex asked.

"We're doing the one thing a soldier is not supposed to do." Niles said, as he turned to Dex, "We're thinking."

"That's one way of putting it." Jane sighed. "The ones in power, Dex, don't want us asking these questions. There is a time to defend our home, family, and lives, but when we are killing people for no real good reason, with very flimsy evidence, a soldier that asks 'Why am I doing this?' Well, that is far more dangerous than any enemy."

"So our fight with the Vong?" Dex asked.

"Considering their stance on us, I'd say they deserve every bit of hell we can give them." Alaya answered.

Jane nodded, "If a peaceful solution can be pursued and we're going to war regardless, then there is something wrong. But the Yuuzhan Vong and the Orcs don't seem too keen on having peace until we are beneath their heel."

Dex sat there in thought, "But what if our conquest is beneficial to the population? I mean look around. this world could use some of the stuff we could provide."

"Absolutely." Jane agreed, "our medical technology alone could probably increase the life expectancy of the human beings on this world, since the elves don't seem to need it other than treating wounds. And that's not even considering the other things we could provide. And honestly, if hypothetically push came to shove, could they really stop us?"

"No, not really." Dex said.

"No and I wonder how these people would be treated with our Empire ruling over them. Would we be seen as heros? Or monsters?" he asked them.

Jaing looked at him, "I think that they'd be treated well they are all human looking enough, even more so than the chiss."

"Maybe." Jane agreed, "But considering our Emperor's view on people with Jedi like abilities, I fear for the elves."

"...that might be an issue yeah." Niles agreed.

"Uh sir?" Dex began, "That still doesn't answer what we are going to tell the commander."

Jane looked at the others. "Commander Libel seems to be a reasonable man. I think that he would agree that the Vong are more of a threat than the Jedi are… at the moment." Jane said.

"And what about when that Moment is up?" Niles asked.

Jane could not answer the question with any degree of certainty, "I do not know." he admitted, "I will step out and contact him." Jane stood up from his seat and made his way to the door on his way he patted Viridian on the shoulder, "Congratulations little brother."

"Thanks, where are you going?" Viridian asked.

"Just outside need some fresh air." Jane saw that Kes was waiting patiently for the brothers, "a bit of advice," Jane said to them, "Cherish the time you have together you never know when this will all be but a memory." with that he walked out.

Once he was outside he pulled out his holo comm, "Raven to Wolf Den, come in Wolf Den."

Not two seconds later a miniature holo figure appeared. He was an old man, his hair becoming grey and wrinkles of old age present. His eyes, however, were full of experience and wisdom.

"Ah Captain Mallory, good to hear from you. What news is there to report?"

"Commander Libel," Jane began, "the enemy force that attacked Rivendell has been repelled with our aid... along with the Jedi."

The commander rose an eyebrow, "You did what you have to do, son. What is your assessment of these Jedi?"

Jane sighed, "They are young, sir. Sixteen to seventeen at the most, but they fought in the Clone Wars. They are emotionally taxed and mentally fatigued but they are still fighting."

"It's not at all surprising," Libel said with a nod, "they must have been fighting nonstop for six years now."

Jane was surprised by this. He didn't know the Commander very well but to hear him express sympathy for these jedi gave him a little hope, "Sir, I think we should work with these Jedi in kicking the Yuuzhan Vong off the planet."

"Of course." Libel said, "It will take a few months for the Inquisitors to get here." Libel sighed regretfully but the emotion was so subtle Jane barely heard it, "they'll do what they must."

"Sir," Jane began, "I don't think we should let these Inquisitors hurt these Jedi."

"I can't interfere with Inquisitorial affairs. You know that, Captain. The Jedi will have to deal with them, themselves."

Jane swallowed the lump in his throat, "I understand, sir."

Libel pinched the bridge of his nose, "Son, why are you so hellbent on keeping these Jedi alive?"

Jane stood their for a moment, "Permission to speak freely, sir."

Libel nodded "Go ahead."

"I believe order 66 was a bad order and it should not have been used on the Jedi as a whole. Against Krell or others like him I could see it, but all of them? Commander, without strong mountains of evidence, that doesn't make any sense."

"I agree."

"But sir," Jane began before his brain processed what the commander said "wait what?"

"Son, I have fought in the Yinchorri crisis and the Stark Hyperspace war. I have fought alongside Jedi for most of my career. While much of what they do I may not agree with, they were still the heroes of the Republic. It honestly surprised me that after all the battles that they went through during the four year long war, the clones actually followed that order."

"I can't understand it either. Jaing doesn't really talk about it. He was there during operation Knightfall. He told me about what happened in the temple with him. It's... I don't know anymore." Jane sighed, his voice when he brought up Jaing tensed.

"Do you have a problem with your XO son?"

Jane sighed, "Jaing withheld vital information from me about the Jedi."

"What information?"

Jane looked down, "One of them is my brother, Viridian."

The Commander's eyes softened in sympathy, "I see."

"I already lost one brother in the war, sir. I won't lose another." Jane stated, "I won't let them die."

"Calm down, Captain. I won't order you to do such a thing. Tell me what happened."

"We helped the Elves repel the Vong and Orcs with the help of the Jedi. Keen attempted to Kill one of the Jedi against my orders in the middle of the battle, and Viridian accused Keen of… war crimes during the operation nightfall, Keen killed children in that battle sir."

The Commander's face remained expressionless, "I assume that Keen was punished for risking the success of this battle for a personal grudge against the Jedi?" he asked neutrally.

"I did. It turns out Keen is an ISB/Inquisitorius agent trying to determine my loyalty to the Empire."

"Did you have him executed?" The commander asked.

Jane gulped, "Not exactly. Viridian killed him in a judicial duel."

Libel rose an eyebrow, "That is a bit odd of you all to do. I would've rather you just shot him and be done with it."

"Me killing an Inquisitorial agent?" Jane asked, "Sir, if they ever found out the ramifications would be terrible for my family."

"But your brother did it."

"... I will admit I did not think that through."

Libel closed his eyes, "Who did Keen kill?" he asked. Jane needless to say wasn't sure how he got it then again the Commander seemed to be able to understand what was going on with his men.

"Keen killed a little girl at the temple. Vesse Alie Mallory... my daughter, Viridian's niece."

Libel opened his eyes, "My condolences. So Viridian killed him in a Judicial duel."

"Yes sir. It served as his final trial to become a knight."

"So he passed." Libel nodded, "Good, what is the plan afterwards?"

Jane shrugged, "The Jedi aren't coming with me. They are helping a small band with their quest. Sir, they don't trust us for good reason, and I refuse to betray Viridian or his friends."

"I will never put you in that position." Libel assured him, "When it comes to it, I will attempt to have them incarcerated according to the law. I will do all I can to help them, but I do not trust our laws for these Jedi."

"Sir?" Jane began, "Are you saying that you will do what you must but hope you fail?"

"Captain, do you trust me?" the Commander asked.

Jane nodded, "Of course sir."

"Then trust I will use all the power at my disposal to… take care of this."

Jane let out a breath, "Yes sir."

"There is another thing." Libel began, "We detected a YT series freighter enter the system and avoided the monstrosity that the Vong have."

Jane rose an eyebrow, "What can you tell me about that." Jane asked.

"So far? They landed at the southern tip of Mirkwood. King Thranduil is not interested in wasting his people to investigate it, but we're keeping an eye on them though."

"That's not a lot." Jane said.

"I know that there is a Jedi in that ship. As soon as the probe I sent to investigate it and found him, he crushed the probe." Libel told him.

"Are we sure he's a Jedi?" Jane asked.

Libel tilted his head to the side, "He at least has Jedi abilities."

"I'll ask the Jedi here if they know anything about that." Jane said, "Anything else, sir?"

"That is all I have for now, Captain. Your orders are now to secure an alliance with Lord Elrond and see if now he is willing to enter an agreement with us."

"Will do, sir."

"Wolf Den out." Commander Libel said and cut the signal. Jane deactivated the comm and put it back into his belt, and turning around, coming face to face with Niwen.

"Oh… Hello?" Jane said.

Niwen looked away for a bit, "I just wanted to thank you for your help in getting me away from… him." she said.

Jane rose an eyebrow "Ma'am, I didn't do anything except gave my men orders. If it's anybody you should be thanking it's them."

Niwen nodded, "I fully intend to. I just feel I should thank all of you for being there to help."

Jane smiled, "You're welcome. Please, I will take you to my squad." Jane held out his hand to her.

Niwen gulped and hesitantly took his hand, "Alright." she said meekly.

Jane tried not to make this any more awkward than it already was, and walked back into the hall. His squad was milling about a table with tankards and left-overs, generally just talking about nothing in particular when Niles suddenly saw the pair of them standing in the doorway.

"Grab a seat, cap'n!" he called over, "still more than enough ale for you and… well," he blushed slightly, "I don't suppose the lady drinks ale?"

"I…" she stuttered softly with an embarrassed smile, "never actually drank before."

"Well then," Niles smiled from ear to ear, "no better time to learn than in the company of friends. Please, have a seat."

With that, the squad shifted over as Jane and Niwen did as was beckoned.

"Before I drink." Niwen began as she found her voice, "I want to say something to all of you."

The Squad gave her their attention.

"I want to say... thank you." she said.

Dex looked at her for a moment, "Uh, for what?"

"Thank you... for saving me from that monster, Thank you for risking your life, for some primitive nobody." she wiped away the tears that were cascading down her face, "Just thank you so much."

The squad stared at her in shock, "Lady." Jane began, "You are not some 'Primitive Nobody'."

"The Cap'n's right. We sure as hell weren't going to just leave in the hands of that… man," he growled in disgust.

"I think Demagolka fits far more for that thing." Jaing growled, Niwen looked at him then at Jane.

"Demgol was… a terrible person" Jane explained, "He experimented on people like that." Jane said pointing at the Jedi in the room, "The Mandalorians use that name as a means to explain how evil a person is."

"That is a very fitting title for him." Niwen nodded.

"Lady, let us not dwell on that any more, you are welcome and let us celebrate new beginnings." Niles said holding up his mug, the others clanged their mugs together.

"New beginnings!" with that they downed their drinks.

Later that night

Thorin, Balin, Bilbo, Gandalf, Viridian, and Elrond walked into the observatory, the mist falling from the over head cliff with a crystal table in the center of it and the moonlight shinning through the mist, "It appears these Moon runes were written on a midsummers eve, by the light of a crescent moon nearly two hundred years ago." Elrond said.

"Thats one hell of a way to write a letter to yourself." Viridian quipped.

"It is fortunate the same moon shines upon us tonight." Elrond said.

As he spoke the Moon revealed the blue lettering in the dwarvish language, Elrond began to read it outloud, "Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun on the last light of Durin's day will shine upon the keyhole."

"Durin's day?" Bilbo asked looking at Balin.

"It is the start of the Dwarves new year," Gandalf answered, "when the last moon of Autumn and the first one of Winter appear in the sky together."

"This is old news." Thorin said, "Summer is passing. Durin's day will soon be upon us."

"We still have time." Balin affirmed

"Time for what?" Bilbo asked

"To find the entrance, we just need to be standing exactly in the right place at exactly the right time. Then and only then can the door be opened."

"So this is your purpose? To enter the mountain." Elrond asked.

"Yes." Viridian answered, "We plan to enter the mountain, kill the dragon and reclaim the rightful home of the dwarves."

"There are some who would not deem it wise." Elrond pointed out, "However, since you helped defend my home from an invasion, I deem that I owe you a debt. As such I will do what I can to help you on this quest."

Thorin's eyes widened, "You will?"

"You will?" Bilbo asked in unison with Viridian.

"How?" Balin asked hopefully.

"I can send word to Thranduil to help you get through Mirkwood swiftly, and those messengers can aid you when you get to Lake Town from there."

Thorin bowed his hand over his chest, "I can see my anger towards your people was misplaced, forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive Oakenshield. I hope that we can forge a strong friendship as I had with Thror when he ruled under the mountain."

"Of course." Thorin said and reached out to shake Elrond's Hand. The Elf Lord smiled and shook hands with the King Under the Mountain.

AN: I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, I did get a little emotional when I formerly introduced Commander Libel, yeah I hope you all enjoyed see you next chapter.