Dromund system. Orbit of Sith Capital World Dromund Kaas. 3620 BBY.
Dromund Kaas, the heart and capital planet of Sith Empire, bastion of Dark Side of the Force, it had always been a symbol of might and power to the Sith. A harsh world, where strong lived and weak died, a world to which exiles from the original Sith Empire fled, led by Emperor Vitiate, who promised them vengeance against the Jedi and the Republic that had destroyed their homeworlds and leveled entire cities. He promised that the Sith would return, stronger than ever, and that the Galaxy would tremble before them, and those promises he kept, when 61 year ago the Sith had finally revealed themselves, after over a millennia of hiding and preparing for the greatest war the galaxy had ever seen.
And in that war the Sith had brought the Republic to their knees, having driven them out of the Outer Rim worlds, pushed deep into Mid and Inner Rims, even gaining footholds in the Core. They have sacked Coruscant, the beating heart of the Republic, and only then did they surrender and the Sith accepted the Treaty of Coruscant. However, that was in the past, one that now seemed as distant as the stars from the planet's surface to the Sith Empire. Their greatest triumph came 31 year ago, and now things were completely different for the Sith and their Empire. Now it was Dromund Kaas under siege and the Sith defending it were losing ground against their opponents, the Republic and the Jedi Order, reformed and forged anew in the crucible of war, devastation and loss.
Once again, the Sith Empire was facing its complete and total defeat, and Empress Acina could do little to prevent it, for it was too late to change it. All she could do now was stand on the bridge of her flagship, The Conqueror, the largest and possibly most powerful Sith warship that had ever been constructed in the history of her Empire. A 2.6-kilometer long super-dreadnaught, bristled with more turbolasers, laser cannons and ion cannons than had ever been put on one vessel, complimented by missile launchers, torpedo tubes and point-defense laser turrets. This massive, wedge-shaped monster was supposed to be the vanguard of Acina's conquest of the Galaxy, first of many great vessels that would make the core of the Sith Empire's fleet. However, that was now in the past, and The Conqueror now was the only ship of her class and size, and it was now battling against the Republic Navy, which was far superior in numbers, and who have already decimated the majority of Sith Home Defense Fleet. All that stood between Dromund Kaas and the Jedi was Acina and her super-dreadnaught.
She slump back in her throne on the bridge, ignorant to the shouting of the bridge crew and incoming reports, for it no longer mattered to the once mighty and cunning Darth Acina. She who had managed to take control over nearly destroyed Sith Empire, after the Eternal Empire of Zakuul invaded and all but destroyed the old regime and Dark Lords, was now trying to comprehend how did it all go so wrong for her and the Sith? Where could she had made a mistake, or was this simply the will of the Force that the Sith be once against defeated? Were her efforts in uniting and changing the Sith Empire not enough to prevent them from infighting and ultimately dooming them in the end?
No, her actions were for the good of the Empire and the Sith, and the Dark Side was with the Sith, Acina knew it. It was not those factors that contributed to this disaster, but the man that was in charge of the Republic Navy and the Jedi Knights and Masters, a man who had walked both the Light and the Dark. The man who had been the bane of Vitiate and the Eternal Empire, the one man to hold the lineage of both Jedi and Sith in his blood, and to rise to the highest positions of both Orders in his life. He lived and breathed as Sith, though not at his own free will, but he knew best how they acted and thought, and he used that knowledge against them. He used the Sith's best tactics and strategies and turned them against Acina, and in a matter of just 5 years after taking command of Republic forces, he brought the Sith to their knees.
Former Hero of Tython and once Supreme Commander of the Eternal Alliance, a Jedi Master and one of youngest Jedi Battlemasters in the history, and one of youngest Dark Lords of the Sith to be recognized by the Dark Council and the Empire. All of that and more was Dayne Sunrider, the man that was right now here, leading the Republic navy in what seemed to be the final battle of the Sith Empire, and one man that Acina has ever feared and considered to be more dangerous than Vitiate.
Even before this war, back before the Eternal Empire even showed, up Acina had taken an interest in this man, mainly due to the fact of him having gained notoriety and infamy amongst Sith in a relatively short amount of time. Though it was hard to gather information on Dayne, and there are still bits and pieces missing about him, Acina did manage to at least piece together his general life and feats, to at least understand who she was dealing with, when she was trying to negotiate with him to unite against the Eternal Empire.
Born 20 years after the start of the conflict, Dayne Sunrider's descends the famous Sunrider family, a powerful Force sensitive family of Jedi, through his father, Artoa Sunrider. But where his father was a noble, powerful and valiant Jedi Master, his mother, Arthesia Reinos, was a Sith Infiltrator, sent into the Jedi Order to undermine it and serve her master, the Sith Emperor. And serve him she, as Arthesia's information had helped Sith forces win many critical battles during their first invasion, but when Dayne was born, it would appear that she was discovered as a spy and forced to flee back to the Empire. Surprisingly, she wasn't punished and instead she was promoted to the rank of Darth for her services, and the fact that she killed Artoa Sunrider, leaving young Dayne essentially orphaned.
After that, Dayne was raised within the Jedi Order, with many different masters having trained and nurtured him, with most notable ones being Gnost-Dural, the Jedi Historian, who is possibly responsible for Dayne's appreciation of knowledge of every kind, and Jun Seros, Jedi Battlemaster who first trained the boy in ways of lightsaber. There were other notable Jedi who had spent some time with him, even Satele Shan herself being counted among masters Dayne had had. However, what is important is the fact that shortly before he turned 18 was into a Jedi Knight, one of youngest even by the standards of these times. According to what little information Acina had managed to get, Dayne almost single-handedly prevented the destruction of Jedi Order's Temple on Tython by stopping a Dark Jedi, who has had decades more experience in warfare.
Had this been anyone else, Acina would have dismissed the claims without even considering them, but with Dayne, and given what had happened afterwards, she assumed that this was true. Because afterwards Dayne had been sent on a mission to stop Darth Angral, one of the most powerful Sith Lords and the man that along with Darth Malgus led the Sacking of Coruscant. A suicide mission, made worse by the fact of Dayne slaying Angral's son, and yet this freshly minted Jedi Knight prevailed, thwarting Angral's plans on at least four separate worlds, before confronting the Darth aboard his battlecruiser. Details of the battle were lost, but what is important is that Dayne had killed Angral, but after that, he had disappeared for a short period, with no one being able to find him.
Several months later, however, Dayne had reappeared, but this time on Korriban, the ancient homeworld of the Sith, and not as Jedi Knight, but as Sith Apprentice to Darth Baras, a notable Sith Lord at the time. News of this were a shock to both Jedi and Sith, with Jedi believing that Dayne had betrayed them, for he was now firmly on the Dark Side of the Force. Only later, well after he had returned back into the Jedi fold, would it be discovered that Emperor Vitiate himself had been present on Angral's ship that day, and that he captured and brainwashed Dayne, turning him into a Sith.
But for the next two years Dayne became a nightmare for the Republic and a rising star in the Empire, slaying Jedi and Republic troops by hundreds, bringing to heel many worlds. His power and might were so frightening and great that even his own Sith Master had tried to kill him, and only succeeding in marking himself as Dayne's next target, which he killed in front of the Dark Council, assembled by Baras himself. Those strongest Dark Lords of the Sith had acknowledged the power of Dayne and proclaimed him Darth Bael and recognized Emperor's Wrath, personal excecutioner of the Sith Emperor, handpicked by the man himself.
An ironic thing, for soon after that had transpired Dayne had sudden change of heart, as he had defected to the Republic and the Jedi. Acina still can't understand why he returned and how did he break free of Emperor's control, but what she does suspect is that Darth Arthesia, his own mother, had a hand in it. Soon after returning to the fold of the Republic and redeeming himself, Dayne personally spearheaded the first attack on Dromund Kaas and killed the Sith Emperor, or at least one of his bodies.
After that, Dayne Sunrider has been in the front of nearly every major galactic event and held the fate of the galaxy in his hands more than once, having even once formed an alliance with Sith Empire to defeat the Eternal Empire. The list of Dayne's accomplishments and feats is greater than even some of the most legendary Sith and Jedi, like Naga Sadow and Revan, the latter of whom Dayne had even battled and beaten. Yet it was in these last 5 years that Dayne Sunrider had shown that he was not just a legendary warrior, but also a brilliant strategist and cunning tactician. Under his leadership, Republic forces had completely changed their doctrines, becoming far more efficient and deadly against Sith, and it showed soon enough.
Dayne was nothing like the admirals or the Jedi before him, for he was efficient, ruthless and cunning, employing diversions, misinformation and nearly every dirty trick in the book to gain the upper hand against the Sith Empire. He used asteroids and branders to destroy orbital blockades or defensive platforms, along with stations, before sending in the fleet. He fed compromising information about Sith Lords to their rivals, leading to infighting among the Sith to begin at a new scale, weakening their own forces. He used pirates and mercenaries to raid the supply lines, in order to weaken the fleet and ground forces before battles.
This approach to battles and campaigns proved to be extremely successful, and in just 5 years Dayne had managed to do what the Republic was able to in over 60 years- beat the Sith Empire back to Dromund Kaas and bring it to its knees. And all Acina now could do was watch and witness it happen in reality.
Suddenly, the ship was rocked violently and then Acina had heard thundering noises, coming all over the ships, indicating that The Conqueror's shields were gone.
"The Republic bombers took out our primary shield generators!" One of the officers reported. "Our escort cruisers are breaking off from the formation, their projected courses…"
"Cowards! Relay to have their captains executed for treason!" One of Sith Lords demanded, before turning to Acina. "My lady, these traitors will not get away with this, I swear to you!"
"Captain, can the shields be restored?" Acina asked without much concern, already sensing the answer from him.
"N-no, Your Majesty." The moment captain said that, his throat suddenly tightened and then his neck snapped like a twig, with the crew looking at it with horror in their eyes.
"Incompetent fool! Because of the morons like that we've been pushed all the way back to our homeworld!" That same Sith Lord snarled in anger. "The Empress demanded those shields, and you will…" The Sith could not finish his sentence, for his life was cut short by the purple lightsaber, which severed his head from the shoulders.
"Fools like you, Lord Desolar, are the reason we are losing." Acina deactivated her lightsaber and attached it back to her belt. "First Lieutenant, reroute the energy from shields to primary weapons and focus your fire on the leading ships of the enemy. Once I leave, you may assume command of the fleet." After that, Acina, accompanied by six of her Guards, left the command bridge via turbolift, heading to the hanger.
"Your ship is prepared and ready to leave, Your Majesty. Once we are safely outside of the interdiction field, we will be able to jump to Malachor III. Darth Krovos and remnants of the Third, Fifth and Twentieth Fleets should already have gathered." One of her Guards had reported to her. "Darth Malgus and his forces should rendezvous with them before we arrive."
"Is the Republic aware of those forces?" Acina demanded to know.
"No, they are not." The Guard reported. "There has been little to no activity around Malachor system, after the Republic fleet had driven out the Second Fleet from that sector."
"It better be true, Captain. If Dayne learns of those forces, we will lose our final chance to end this war on favorable terms." Acina made sure that her Guards understood the price of failure. "Sunrider and his forces can have Dromund Kaas, for however long their hold lasts." After that, Acina looked on one of her wrist gauntlets, before pushing a button on it, activating something that she was only going to use in case all hope of winning the battle was lost.
And this was definitely the case, but Acina was not going to go down so easily, or let Dayne have another clear and decisive victory. This time, she was going to make him pay dearly for it, and the contingency that Acina had installed on her flagship was going to make this victory a hollow one for the Republic.
Soon, she and her escorts have reached the hangar level, pushing past droids and Imperials as they moved through the corridors. In a few minutes, the doors of the hangar opened up for them, and the large and spacious hangar was unusually quiet and empty, safe for some droids moving around. All fighters and bombers were either destroyed or deployed, while the shuttles were all gone, used by deserters to get out of here. Only Empress' Fury Interceptor remained, fully loaded and equipped with the cloaking device, waiting for its owner to board it and take her away from here.
Just as Acina and her Guards were prepared to board it and leave, they all sensed through the Force an immediate danger incoming, and being directed by their instincts, the Guards pushed Acina away from the Fury. A second later, a proton torpedo flew into the hangar and hit the ship, detonating and destroying it, along with a sizable part of the hanger. Acina and four of her Guards had managed to survive, though by the skin of their teeth, while the captain and his second in command were not so lucky, as their dead bodies were now decorated by the pieces of hanger and Fury, sticking out of their bodies.
And just as Acina was prepared to curse whoever had sent that torpedo into her hanger, a sleek, long and relatively narrow corvette flew in, with its four engines on the aft-located wings providing it enough speed and maneuverability to evade dreadnaught's turrets and fly right in, and landed with a grace of a Starfighter. Acina knew what this ship was, and who was at the helm of it, for there was only one vessel in the entire Galaxy like this one, and it belonged to one man, the one who had orchestrated the destruction of Sith Empire.
The owner of the vessel disembarked it the moment it landed and opened its hatch, his form stepping on board of The Conqueror, facing Acina and her Guards. It was man who appeared to be in his twenties, though he was already a little over forty chronologically. He had messy relatively short blond hair and green eyes, features that he inherited from his mother, while his strong and noble face carried features of his father. He was dressed in a shining suit of armor, made clearly of beskar, covering his torso, arms and legs, with blue suit underneath the plates and a Mandalorian kama of same color covering his thighs and a long blue cape behind with a hood drawn back, with two lightsabers resting on his belt.
He was alone, yet even alone he was the one person that Acina did not wish to face right now. It was as if the Force was mocking her, by sending him of all people right here, right now, at the very moment when she was about to leave. She was the first one to break silence.
"Dayne Sunrider, have you to come to try and redeem me, like a good little Jedi you are?" Acina asked in a mocking manner, with Dayne not even budging.
"Even if I knew it would work, I wouldn't give you a chance, Acina." Dayne responded with a very un-Jedi-like coldness in tone. "I've come to put an end to this, for good this time."
"Oh and how do you plan to do this? Will you ask me to surrender, to be tried and imprisoned like some low-born criminal from the slums of Coruscant?" Acina's mocking tone hid her fear of the man, but he still sensed it. "Or, did you actually come all this way to do what all those soft-hearted fools on your Council can't? Did they actually send one of our own to finish me off?"
"I've long since stopped caring about what the Council wants or what it doesn't want, ever since I've left the Order." Dayne revealed to her, surprising Acina, as he began to move towards her, with the ship rocking a little for a moment. "Five years ago I promised that I would make you pay for what you did. Now I am here to see it through, so do us both a favor and at least put up a fight." At that moment, segments of his armor, hidden by his cape and hood moved in, forming up into a protective helmet, with blue visor.
"Bold words, even for someone like you. Especially when you are so severely outnumbered. Guards, kill him." Acina stepped back as her crimson honor guards took out their electric staffs and moved towards Dayne.
In a few moments, they have surrounded the man and prepared to move in for the kill, but at that very moment, all of them froze in place, before being lifted up in the air, as they dropped their staffs and clutched for their throats. One second later, and each of them had their necks snapped and their dead husks falling down onto the singed floor. Acina sensed through the Force just how easily Dayne was able to take them out with his own power, and just sensing it was enough for her to realize the difference between them. She thought that his control over his emotions and passions would be weak, as it was with most Jedi that had tasted the Dark Side before, but this was not the case with Dayne.
He wielded his passions and emotions well, as well as some of the best Sith did, and did not let them overpower his will and mind. He didn't enjoy the act of murder, didn't savor it like others would have done, he didn't allow the Dark Side to seduce him. Instead, he wielded it as if he would an artisan would use his tool, with precision and purpose. Most Sith Lords would state that he was weak for such detachment and coldblooded calculus, but Acina knew better, and she understood that this was exactly how the best of her Order used the Dark Side. He has certainly come a long way since his days as rampaging storm of Dark Side that was Darth Bael, as Acina thought to herself.
She took her double-bladed lightsaber and activated it, with both purple blades springing to life, taking a fighting stance, as she saw Dayne approach her. One of his lightsabers flew to his right hand, activating in the next instant, with his signature amethyst blade springing to life. They said that crystals indicated the personality of the Sith or Jedi wielding it, and it showed that Dayne was wielding both Light and Dark, but leaned closer to the Light, or so it would seem. Despite knowing her odds when facing off against an opponent with such skill, Acina was not going to try to run. If anything, she was going to harness her anger and hatred and unleash it upon Dayne, and there was plenty of it.
The moment the two closed the distance they finally made their move, with Dayne dashing towards her with a blinding speed, before leaping in the air, intending to strike down Acina. She deactivated one of her blades for the ease of movement and just barely managed to get away from the diving attack, her lightsaber clashing with Dayne's as he landed. The moment he landed, a shockwave of telekinetic energy was unleashed from Dayne, nearly sending Acina away, with only her Force Barrier preventing her from flying away.
Her opponent didn't waste time or give her a chance to attack him, as he recovered from his landing and proceeded to bombard the Empress with a relentless and elaborate barrage of attacks. Acina had to fall back on her trademark Form III Soresu to defend herself from the ferocious attacks of Dayne, who was clearly using Form IV Ataru, known for its acrobatics, ferocity and elaborate blade work. Usually, a seasoned master of Soresu could outlast one wielding Ataru, and Acina was certainly a master of Soresu, but Dayne was no simple seasoned master of Ataru, or user of simply one form.
In sudden motion, he removed the elaborate and intricate element from his style and with both his arms, he gripped the lightsaber, pressing the attack with more force and power into it, pushing Acina back. She activated her second blade and after taking a step back, she decided to try to press on her own attack, swinging her blades against him. Her anger flowed through her body, Dark Side amplifying her attacks and giving her more speed, as she swung her blade in wild flurry of Form VII Juyo. Once more, she noticed Dayne switching his Form and now employing Soresu to weather first five strikes, before moving his blade and blocking Acina's blade from striking her, and then delivering a powerful, Force enhanced kick into the head.
It was enough to send her flying through the air and only her focus and strength had allowed her to land on her feet, recovering her breath and wiping off the blood coming from her nose. Dayne did not waste time and dashed towards Acina with all the speed he could muster, and Empress was not sitting idly. Channeling her rage and anger, she used the Force to levitate the rabble of all kinds and sizes, before launching it all at Dayne, and yet it didn't stop or deter him. Leaping and maneuvering, he evaded or cut through debris or rabble. Then Acina ripped out of the walls four tanks that were full of fuel before sending them towards Dayne, and just as they were in the mid-air, she unleashed the Force Lightning at them, detonating them.
The resulting explosion rippled through the hangar and her entire ship, the shockwave almost sending her stumbling back, while the roof and floor rippled and nearly collapsed from the powerful explosion. She took in a deep breath, reaching out with her senses and trying to sense if Dayne was still here, but there was no sign of him being present, with only large flames burning where he was. Acina refused to believe that she had just won her fight, and decided to be sure, using telekinesis to disperse the flames. And there he was the charred and mutilated corpse of the man that had come after her, dead and immovable. Only after witnessing his charred and lifeless corpse did Acina finally let out a sigh of relief…
…Only for it to turn into a sharp exhale, as the amethyst blade pierced her spine and abdomen from her back, and the visage of now defeated enemy disappeared like a mirage in the desert. In a single motion, Dayne removed his lightsaber from Acina's body, letting her drop on her knees, as he stepped in front of her, his helm disconnecting and disappearing from the view.
"S-sorcery… What would… Jedi say… If they saw their… finest use Sith Sorcery." Acina let out a pained chuckle, with her injuries causing her excruciating pain. "If only… you were smart enough… to remain a Sith. You could've… ruled this Galaxy… instead of serving the weak and corrupt."
"I've had been chained for long enough, and with my victory, these chains are broken, and Force will set me free." Dayne recited the Sith Code, with Acina looking him straight into the eyes. "You should've stayed away from Lana, Acina." The name was not unknown to Acina, for she was the reason Dayne had broken his chains of restraint and unleashed hell upon the Sith Empire.
"Your Jedi… shouldn't have… betrayed her to us." Acina simply responded, blood dripping out of her blood. "Even if… I die… the Sith will survive. There are… others who will lead them."
"If you are referring to that rabble that Krovos has assembled, then let me enlighten you to the latest news about them." Dayne spoke up to her, with Acina's eyes widening. "They have been attacked and destroyed right in the middle of regrouping, by Malgus and his own fleet."
"Impossible… his programming... his implants…" Acina could not believe what she had heard.
"Were removed by my experts, setting him free, in exchange for dealing with Krovos, weeks before I began this offensive. You shall see both him and Krovos very shortly, since they are expecting you." The hint was clear to Acina.
"You've killed Malgus… before arriving here. You had both him and Krovos weaken each other… before finishing off the one left standing." Acina summarized what had happened, letting out a chuckle. "A true… Sith plan. Did Malgus… ever suspect you were… going to betray… him?"
"He did, but his hatred and desire for freedom were stronger, and when Satele Shan promised him that he would be offered a fair trial, he gave in." Dayne brought up his sword for the strike, ready to finish this for good. "I simply foregone the trial and delivered the long overdue punishment that he deserved."
"So this is the end. Then… let this be the end… of my Empire." Acina accepted her defeat, letting out a laugh, before her life was cut short, when Dayne severed her head, ending her suffering and uniting her with the Force.
Once Acina's head hit the floor and her headless body slumped down and hit the charred and singed floor of the hangar, he felt her spirit leave this plane of existence, becoming one with the Force. With this, Dayne's revenge and vengeance were complete, and although he took satisfaction and pleasure in the act of delivering end to Acina, he did not allow himself to be overwhelmed by this sensation. He savored it, tasted it, and then cleansed his mind clean of it, driving the seductive tendrils of dark emotions away from him, not letting them gain a grip over his mind. Dayne knew the allure and addicting taste of unchecked emotions and passions, the uncontrollable desires that led one to Dark Side and into the corruption. He walked down that road and walked very deeply, nearly becoming a slave to his own emotions and vices, more a beast than a man, chained to his desires and impulses.
Dayne's experience with Light and Dark Sides was deeper than most, having experienced both of them and walked in them, before finding his own place in the Force, his own spot in which he felt comfortable and powerful. Both Jedi and Sith doctrines and Codes have become not sources of enlightenment, but hindrances for him, obstacles for his own growth, and because of that he set them aside and formed his own path, his own doctrine and Code. For Dayne, neither Light nor Dark should fully control a person, and neither should they command a person.
He made his own choices, regardless whether they brought suffering or respite to others, basing his decisions on needs and necessity, rather than some doctrine. For Dayne, Force was not just Light and Dark and to stay separate from the two would mean limiting oneself, closing off from the Force in large. Dayne knew that the Force had its Will, and he listened to it, but he did not just sit around like many Jedi did, doing nothing in the meantime. He had mind, will and ability to make a difference, and so he did, even before he became Jedi Knight, he went out to find adventures and do something to make a difference, whether small or big. While Jedi Consulars admonished Dayne for ignoring the Will of the Force and lack of patience to stand still, Jedi Guardians regarded him as too reckless and thrill seeking, those that followed the path of Jedi Sentinels stated clearly that Dayne had potential to be one of them.
That was what Dayne Sunrider became later, a Sentinel, but no longer a Jedi, not after their betrayal of him, not after he helped bring back the Order and restore it. Shaking his head to clear it of any thoughts, Dayne deactivated the lightsaber and regained his focus, after he felt his desire for vengeance accomplished and the Force no longer guiding him to destroy Acina. He would contemplate and decide what to do later, after he had cleared out of here, for enemy's super-dreadnaught was no place for meditations. Casting one last glance at what once was Empress of the Sith, Dayne turned away and moved towards his ship, before activating a communicator in his ear.
"Sunrider to The Deliverance, Acina is dead." Dayne reported to his flagship, before hearing a soft, woman's voice speak up.
"Yes, I and the other Jedi on board have felt it too, Dayne." The voice belonged to Master Fay, Jedi Order's liaison with Dayne and de-facto leader of Jedi Knights that joined this war, and one of his closest friends that he had left at this point. "The Force favors you, Dayne, and the Order, if it showed you Acina escaping. At long last, we can finally put an end to this conflict."
"Yeah…" Dayne agreed with his friend, before he suddenly sensed a tremor through the Force, and then he felt how all of Force around him started to be sucked away and concentrated in a single point.
This was not the first time he had felt this, and he knew exactly what this was. In that single moment, Dayne cursed himself with ancient Sith language for not predicting Acina employing another one of these damned devices, especially in a situation like this. In an instant he changed his pace from walk to run and dashed towards his ship.
"General Daeruun, order the fleet to seize firing and deactivate the interdictors! I order a general retreat beyond the edge of the system at rally point Sigma-8!" Dayne shouted out orders. "Acina had installed a Harvester Bomb onto her flagship, and it has now started the charging process. You have up to 4 minutes to pull the fleet out!"
"Blasted Sith! Understood, Commander, I've sent the order to disengage and jump to rally point, but what about you?" The Krux General asked of Dayne, who had reached the ramp and entered his ship.
"I'll be fine, just get everyone out of here!" Dayne disconnected the com as he ran through the main deck and towards the helm. "Astarte, start up the engines and get us out of here, ASAP!"
"Copy that, Dayne." Astarte, a highly advanced and sophisticated AI, that operated the entire vessel of Dayne, the Astarte, responded, with the ship moving out of the hangar and flying off into the open space, just as Dayne entered the helm and took his seat at the controls. "Dayne, the fleet has deactivated the gravity well projectors, but there is still a powerful interdiction field present, and it's powerful enough to keep the fleet from jumping to safe location."
"Acina really knew how to be a sore loser. Run a gravitational scan of all surrounding vessels and find that interdictor!" Dayne commanded.
"Already done, and it's the flagship that is emitting the field. Logging in the precise coordinates." Astarte responded, with Dayne seeing those coordinates, before taking the helm and steering his ship back towards the Conqueror.
As it turned out, the gravity well projector was the dome structure that was located behind the hangar, and now Dayne was making an attack run towards it. Ordering Astarte to load up proton torpedoes, he engaged in the evasive maneuvers, dodging the incoming laser and turbolasers fire from the turrets and point defense cannons. Bringing up online his own vessel's armaments, Dayne fired a salvo from the wing mounted twin turbolasers canons, only making several dents on the dome, before his ship swiftly passed it and moved away. Gaining a distance for safe turn, Astarte made a sharp turn and the thrusters' output was brought up to maximum, with Dayne sending another salvo of turbolasers fire, causing some damage to the dome, before sending the prepared torpedoes at the dome.
Only thanks to his ship's capabilities and his own piloting skills, coupled with Force sensitivity, Dayne managed to avoid hitting the dome and getting caught in the explosion, as he passed the projector mere meters away, before putting all power to thrusters and engines output. Torpedoes hit their mark and an explosion had sent a shock wave, which Dayne and Astarte felt right as they left the underside of the Sith super-dreadnaught. Just as they did, Dayne saw on the radar the Republic navy pulling out, images of their capital ships jumping to hyperspace, with Dayne also preparing to do the same.
However, the moment Dayne had gotten away from the Conqueror, Dayne sensed how the Force behind him exploded and a destructive wave was coming right towards him at an incredible speed. This meant that the Harvester Bomb has just exploded and it already took out the super-dreadnaught and all surrounding ships. Sunrider knew all too well that if the shockwave from that explosion reached him, he and his ship would be dead. His ship also knew it, and just moments away from being engulfed by the expanding field of devastation and destruction, Astarte plugged in the needed coordinates, and Dayne activated the hyperdrive.
And in the very next moment the entire world had gone dark for him and his ship, as the ship was rocked right inside the hyperspace, sending the vessel and the former Jedi Knight to the place they least expected…
A long distance away, a long time later…
A rippling effect was sensed in the now largely uninhabited star system, and in the next second a hyperspace ruptured for a second into the real space, spewing a vessel out, before closing off. The ship seemed adrift in the void of the space, but its engines were still running and lights working, so it meant that at least vessel was operational. Luckily, for both the ship and its soul passenger and captain, this particular system had long been abandoned by all space fairing nations and races, and forgotten for all but the most dedicated historians.
The first thing that Dayne had noticed when he finally regained his conscience was how everything seemed to have been deafened for him, until he sluggishly applied the Force to help him regain his bearings and clarity of thought. And in that moment, he sensed how the Force was… different, not the same as it was seemingly a few minutes ago. Jedi and Sith were also sensitive to the changes and shifts in the Force, and Dayne was no different, but right now he sensed not a shift or small change, but a completely and utterly different disposition of the Force. The Dark and Light no longer remained in near balance, instead Dayne sensed how Light Side was overwhelmingly powerful, blindingly so, overlapping what little Dark Side he could reach. This was wrong, something had gone really wrong and really, really fast, and Dayne needed to find out.
Groaning as he set himself up straight and shook off the last remnants of previous blackout, before he reactivated the console in front of him, rebooting Astarte back online.
"Astarte, run a check of all ship's systems and find out where are we, because I don't recall Dromund system having any other planets, especially with two moons." Dayne observed the planet and its satellites orbiting it, catching himself on the thought that it looked strikingly familiar. "Those two look exactly like… It can't be Tython." Dayne quietly said it, as he observed the planet and its moons.
"Systems analysis is complete. All essential systems are operating within normal parameters. However, it would appear that our hyperdrive had suffered substantial damage and is no longer operational." Astarte reported to Dayne. "And I've ran a preliminary scan of the planet and it's moons. The results are a complete match with Tython, Ashla and Bogan respectively, and judging by the density of surrounding stars, I've confirmed that we are currently in the Deep Core, Tython System."
"But that is impossible. We were almost half a galaxy away from Tython and it is accessible by a single hyperlane that goes through Empress Teta… Wait, if this is Tython, then why aren't there any Republic ships, and why aren't our scanners pick up the signals from the planet?" Dayne asked aloud, running a quick manual check and finding out that there was no presence of the Republic or Jedi in the systems, or any other adjacent systems. "This… This doesn't make any sense… Tython, the Force… Astarte, run a planetary scan of the planet, see if you can… See if you can find the Jedi Temple or Kalikori Village. Start the search from that sector."
"Understood, Dayne." A few seconds later, the AI spoke up again. "The Jedi Temple and Kalikori Village have been located. However they are not in the same condition as they were last time we checked."
"Care to elaborate on that?" Dayne asked.
"Best if you see it for yourself." Astarte stated to him, and brought up the holographic image of the Temple and the village.
What Dayne saw shocked him, for on that holographic image he saw the Jedi Temple completely devoured by the nature, with all of it's structure covered in mud, earth and plantation. Landing pads and training grounds were gone, and only ruins and walls of the now long destroyed Temple that were sticking out like sore thumbs showed that this was once a temple of Jedi Order. By all markers and indications, the Temple had been abandoned and destroyed ages ago, for there was no sign of any life in it, sentient life at least.
As for the Kalikori Village, the settlement that Twi'lek settlers have created, it was completely different from what it once was, with none of its original inhabitants to be found anywhere. In their stead, the native Flesh Raiders have created their own settlement, with only a few of the original buildings still in place, but largely changed, almost unrecognizable. There were far more Flesh Raiders than before, and it was clear that they were in full control of the entire area around the Village and the Temple.
This was some that Dayne could not wrap his head around, as no logical explanation could answer the question of where all the Jedi and Twi'leks were, and why the Village and the Temple were destroyed. This did not make a lick of sense to him… It was starting to drive him crazy, that and the sense of the Force that was bothering him, more and more. How could the Force change so much in just a few hours and how could Tython suddenly lose all of it's inhabitants and be reduced to what it was before it was rediscovered. Such changes needed not hours or days, but years, decades even, but this was impossible…
Unless…
"Astarte… Try and reach out any and all Republic and Sith forces on all known frequencies, find out if any are responding." Dayne asked of it.
"Is it safe to reach out the Sith? They may track our vessel back to this system, and while our ship hasn't lost any of its stealth capability, without working hyperdrive, we are basically sitting Alderaanian water doves in a barrel." Astarte chimed in, questioning Dayne's decision.
"If what I suspect is true, then we won't have to worry about it. Just send a simple signal, a check in or something, just something very small. Message doesn't matter, only the fact of the frequencies still being active." Dayne told her, with Astarte doing as he commanded, before he saw a confirmation on the display before his eyes. "No responses, huh." Dayne was not so surprised, as the reality began to settle in his mind.
"All of the frequencies of Republic and Sith are no longer active, and there were no responses, automated or otherwise, and I confirmed them being sent through communication relays." Astarte responded. "Dayne, I am confused. By all indications, we did not just make a hyperspace jump. We appear to have also…"
"Made a jump through time." Dayne sat back, closing the eyes for a second. "T7, are you awake, little guy?" Dayne decided to call out to his trusty astrodroid, getting a response in form of the two-bit answer. "Yeah, I'm glad that you are alright and sorry for not taking you along with me to deal with Acina. I want you to go and check the hyperdrive and find out if the projector of relativistic shield is working properly." T7 responded with eagerness and went to work.
"According to my own scanners, the projector is still operational." Astarte added in, before the astrodroid responded and answered. "He confirms it, but… According to him, it had suffered some kind of minor malfunction, after having been exposed to highly potent energy from outside the ship for a short time. I suspect that it had been the energy released by the Harvester Bomb."
"As do I, since we were mere centimeters away from it before we made the jump, and it's possible that the shockwave was actually pulled to us when we made that jump, distorting space and time of our jump." Dayne theorized, before thinking again to himself for a second. "So, we've just been hurled through time and space, all because Acina couldn't resist being a sore loser. Oh I now wish I could just kill her again, along with a couple dozen other Sith Lords." Dayne half-heartedly said, coming to terms with what had happened to him.
"Violence is not a healthy and productive way to deal with stressful situations, according to the Jedi Code." Astarte noted with a note of dry humor.
"Then it's very fortunate that I've quit the Order before coming here, so I can talk about violence all I want and not get an earful from any self-important Jedi Master. Force knows that they are so attuned with the Force they can't even say please without turning it into an hour long lecture about the Force, generosity, and how the Universe shares everything with us and all that stuff." Dayne responded with a little more chipper tone, almost the same as he had way back when he was still a freshly minted Jedi Knight. "Thank the Force we weren't flung right in the doorsteps of those."
"May I inquire as to our next actions?" Astarte asked of Dayne.
"T7, is the hyperdrive repairable or not?" The little droid responded almost immediately. "Okay, little guy. I will join you in a few minutes and we'll see what we can do. I'm pretty sure we have all the needed spare parts to fix it up." Dayne rose up from his seat and proceeded towards the turbolift.
"Should I run regular preliminary scans, in order to ensure that we are safe?" Astarte asked of Dayne.
"Yeah, you do that, Astarte. Better to be safe than sorry." Dayne told the AI, before entering the turbolift and heading straight towards the engineering compartment.
Several hours later.
"There, that should do the trick." Dayne wiped off the sweat after he and his astromech had installed the last needed parts for the hyperdrive. "The relativistic shield should also be working perfectly now. What do you say, T7? Do you feel safe using it?" T7 responded with the approving beep.
"Well, if you feel safe, then so do I." Dayne smiled a little, looking at the hyperdrive, before turning to T7. "Say, little guy, where do you we should head first?" Astromech's response did not exactly surprise Dayne.
"Coruscant, really? You know how I hate it there, and you want me to go there?" Dayne asked with a humorous tone. "I mean, you can't take two steps without running into a senator, who happens to sit on some committee and has a mistress, who is a sister to some gang leader… Did I mention how much I hate it there?" Dayne told him again, with T7's response surprising Dayne a little.
"I sound different? What do you mean, little guy?" Dayne asked of him, with T7 elaborating at the best of his abilities. "I sound and act like I used to before…" That is when Dayne noticed that T7 was correct, and it forced him to reflect a little on the past.
Indeed, after he took command of the Republic forces, after the Sith had killed Lana Beniko, Dayne had focused all of his being and efforts to see the Sith destroyed, defeated beyond ability of recovering and waging war again. Even before, he had always fought to his hardest, but after losing her… Everything had changed for Dayne, and that change reflected his methods and ways in which he waged war. No longer was he concerned with saving everyone or finding the best way to end things peacefully, as he did when he was a Jedi. No, to win that war for good Republic needed someone who understood how the Sith operated, how they acted and thought, and Dayne had first-hand experience in it. He took their doctrines and ways and turned them against them.
Dayne's strategies and tactics were effective against the Sith because he build them in a way that would exploit and use the Sith's weaknesses and faults against them. Subterfuge, diversions, assassinations, hit-and-run attacks, bribery and feeding misinformation- all that and more was used to defeat his enemies. Before even engaging the enemy, Dayne would always find a way to weaken them, either directly or indirectly, and even when he did engage in the battle, he would always make sure to keep the enemy guessing of his next move or doubt his actions.
Dayne cared little about the etiquette or moral high ground, and because of that he was willing to send good men and women to die where it was needed, but unlike the Sith, he never sent anyone to their deaths without a good reason. And whenever he did do so, it meant that people and planets were being saved, protected or liberated. If he needed to send 10 thousand men to their deaths to save a planet with 10 million, he would do it, especially if that planet has some manner of strategic value. If for the success Dayne needed to lie and cheat, he would do so without hesitation, and he used deception and lies more than enough times to earn ire from the Jedi Council, especially from those Jedi that believed that following the Code was the only way for Jedi to live their life.
Those same Jedi who had gone into hiding on some distant Outer Rim worlds while the Galaxy suffered under the control of Arcann and later Vaylin, while the Eternal Fleet was suffocating the trade and economy. Those same Jedi Masters and Knights who preferred to sit in the Temple on Tython and meditate, instead of doing what was right and trying to stop the Sith Empire from expanding. Those same Jedi had condemned Dayne as a fallen Jedi and a heretic, after they've learned about his new methods and tactics, which bought victory and hope back to Republic.
Those cowards and hypocrites had done nothing but complain and sit idly as the enemy was rolling over the Republic and Jedi, trusting that the Force would sort things out… If there was one thing that Dayne regretted doing while he was searching for Jedi and reforming the Jedi Order while in charge of Task Force Nova, it was allowing Master Satele Shan to bring those orthodox self-important bastards back to the Republic and Tython. Although, in hindsight, the Republic could probably say thanks to them, for had it not been for those Jedi Masters Dayne would never become who he was now.
It was because of their hubris and arrogance, their belief it their own wisdom, that Lana Beniko, Dayne's closest confidant, friend, ally and even something more, was killed by the Sith Assassins. Those assassins were tipped off and by those Jedi Masters, who decided to let the Sith deal with their problem, instead of getting their hands dirty. It took Dayne a whole year and over two dozen battles to finally find out the truth. The moment Dayne did find out it, he went back to Tython and nearly tore the Council apart with his own bare hands, for those same bastards had the gall to blame Dayne for forcing their hand, and that as a true Jedi, he should let go of this attachment he held towards her.
That the last straw, and Dayne had announced before all of the Council that he was no longer a Jedi and since the Order has ordered the assassination on Lana Beniko, he no longer could trust them, or follow their instructions, and that from that point on his loyalties were solely towards the Republic and himself. Oh the look on their faces… It still brought smile to Dayne, and although Satele Shan and Gnost-Dural were sad and disappointed in his decision, they knew this was for the best. They understood that having Dayne, as an enemy was a very dangerous prospect, especially considering the fact that he is the reason why Emperor Vitiate was gone for good.
Now that his vengeance and revenge against the Sith Empire was complete, he felt relief and a sense of satisfying end of that chapter. It was like the Force no longer needed to hold tight control over him, as he felt both the pull of his own ambition and desire, and the Will of the Force to see Acina dead and the Sith defeated for good. Now… Now Dayne felt easier and more in balance with himself, his emotions and passions no longer stifled or directed towards one direction. Dayne had always been someone who liked to focus on many things at once, always hungry for something new and exciting, knowledge or adventure. Gnost-Dural often told Dayne that he inherited this trait from his mother, and that it was always impossible to stop her from doing something she liked. The thought of his mother, even though she was a Sith, did bring warm feeling in to his heart…
Dayne's train of thoughts was interrupted when Astarte suddenly spoke up.
"Heads up, Dayne, we've got guests in the system." Astarte reported to Dayne, who instantly darted from the engineering. "We've not been detected by them, but it may be best if you get here."
"On my way to the helm. Get me up to speed." Dayne was already in the lift and on his way up when he said it.
"I have detected three vessels of comparable size enter system near Ashla. One vessel, a civilian transport or a luxury yacht, probably, entered the system first, followed soon after by two smaller ships, either patrol craft or gunships, judging by their configuration." Astarte reported. "Those two immediately started opening fire upon the yacht and are trying to disable the shields and stop the vessel. By my calculations, the yacht will not be able to withstand a concentrated assault from those two for long." Just as Astarte had finished, Dayne was back at the helm of his ship and watching the sensors, witnessing the whole thing happen.
Just as Astarte had told him and predicted, the yacht was taking serious damage and it was clear that it would not be able to remain in one piece for long. Dayne reached out with the Force to find out who was on board of the transport, sensing five passengers, two males and three women, with two of those women having an equal potential in the Force, strong enough to make then Jedi, but they were not members of that Order or trained in it. However, the third woman… Dayne's eyes widened the moment he sensed it and in that very moment his decision was made and he took his place at the helm of Astarte.
"Plot an intercept course to those gunships and raise shields. Bring the laser cannons online and prepare bow ion cannons for firing." Dayne activated the engines and engaged the thrusters, heading straight to battle.
"Is this wise, heading straight into a fight without any information whatsoever about what this battle is about?" Astarte questioned Dayne, yet did as he commanded.
"I've got all the needed information already, Astarte. The Force, remember?" Dayne said with a chuckle.
"Oh yes, the Force." Astarte stated with the dry humorless tone. "You know, it would be very nice of you if you could, I don't know, install a sensor of sorts that deals with the Force. Unlike you, Dayne, I do prefer knowing what I am getting into."
"Need I remind you that this ship and you were build using Iokath's technology, not the Rakatan ones? The last time we tried to mix those two together, I've had my first ship destroyed, and I'm not losing this ship."
"Pft, men and their constant excuses… Whatever do women even find so attractive in you?" Astarte asked rhetorically. "You never buy anything nice to them, at least to me, and yet all they do is swoon in front of you."
"Remind me, why did I ever decide to install a personality matrix into you?" Dayne was closing on the battle.
"Because you believed that this ship needed it's own personality. That, and Lana Beniko believed that I would, quote: "keep your sorry hide on your bones and not in some random Space Whale's stomach", end quote." Astarte reported. "Given your style of flying, I believe her fears were not entirely unfounded."
"Yeah, you've got a point." Dayne had to agree on that one, although that case with Space Whales only happened once, and yet Lana used it to have her control the ship while they were flying.
Force did he miss her…
Royal Tetan yacht. Meanwhile.
The royal yacht just took another hit, this time to one of four thrusters and destroyed it, making their already slow vessel even slower than before. Had Fay known that she would get into such trouble the moment she arrived into Empress Teta system, at the insistence of her close friends, princesses of Empress Teta Cornelia and Euphemia, she would have at least prepared at least a moderately capable craft. Yet the Force had urged her to hurry, to go there as soon as possible, as if there was no time to waste, and Fay hurried there, and arrived just in time to save the two princesses, both of whom she had help raise when they were children. Though she had hoped that they would not be forced to go through such things as having their own brother and highest-ranking members of the nobility plot to have them killed.
Fay was well aware of the fact that Mining Guild, an industrial business conglomerate and an economical giant, like Trade Federation and Techno Union, for a long time had a powerful grip on the Empress Teta. A very rich in minerals and metals system and who also had a firm and safe place in the Deep Core, surrounded by adjacent systems also rich in resources, not to mention one that had industrial capabilities to rival that of Coruscant, it was no wonder that corporations had wanted to get this system under their thumb. For decades, Mining Guild had been slowly and steadily building its influence in Empress Teta, bribing, threatening and assassinating those that would oppose, until there were none left to stop them from stealing all of the system's resources.
The previous Emperor and Empress of Teta had done their best to limit Mining Guild's influence, but after their mysterious death a year ago, the new Emperor, Clovis, was far more loyal to his own greed and desire to line up his coffers at the expense of his people. Short-sighted, decadent and extravagant to the extremes, he proved to be easy to manipulate and control, along with many other nobles, and so Mining Guild had gained a firm foothold in Empress Teta, and only two person stood against them, the two Princesses of Teta. Cornelia and Euphemia, they openly condemned their brother and Mining Guild, and were capable of raising the population and military of Teta against the oppressors.
This made them dangerous to Clovis, treacherous nobles and Mining Guild, and so, without any pretense, after having found that they were going to call upon the loyal nobles and citizens of Teta to fight against the invaders and traitors, they acted. They had hoped to take the Princesses swiftly and with little resistance, but several loyal officers from Imperial Guard and Fay's time arrival have thwarted that plan, and now Clovis' minions were hot on the fugitives' tail, intending to see them either captured or destroyed.
Another hit, and they've lost their shield generator, which meant that one stray shot could definitely kill them, and yet the Force was telling Fay that what she did was right, that help was coming to them.
"Shield generator is out, rear turret is no longer active! Your Highnesses, you use the escape pods and escape." Captain Darlton, commander of the Imperial Tetan Guard, a large and imposing scarred fair skinned man, urged the princesses. "That planet appears to have a breathable atmosphere, and has thick forests. You should be able to hide there safely."
"I am afraid that their chances of surviving on Tython will be a little higher than if they were on Teta, Captain." Fay spoke with calm voice, her pale features not betraying her worry. "Tython has been abandoned for almost millennia by now, and the local fauna doesn't take kindly to invaders of any sort."
"Then why by Teta did you ever think that it would be a good idea to jump here, Master Jedi?" Guilford, another officer of Imperial Tetan Guard, a tall black haired man, asked of Fay. "We should've headed straight to Coruscant, asked the Senate and the Jedi for assistance…"
"We all know that they would never have granted any form of help, since to them Clovis is a rightful ruler, while I and Euphemia would appear as nothing more but pretenders to the throne." Cornelia, a tall, well-built young woman with flowing purple hair and purple eyes, dressed in a military styled outfit, stated with strength. "They would've instead given us straight into the hands of Clovis and those traitors…"
"Sister, what should we…" Euphemia, younger sister of Cornelia, who possesses flowing pink hair and same eyes as her sister, asked of her, before being thrown out of her seat as the yacht sustained another hit.
"Euphie, are you alright?" Cornelia rushed to her sister, examining her. "Damn it! Fay, open the comms and tell those bastards to stop firing! One more shot and they will kill us."
"I fear that it is their intention, Your Highness." Fay stated, as she saw the two gunships taking positions and preparing another attack run on them.
Just as the two were about to open fire on them, a new player entered the battlefield, making his entrance by opening a powerful and precise barrage of laser fire on the closest gunship, taking it out in one go. The passengers of the yacht observed as the narrow and sleek silhouette of a ship flew past them, while the second gunship veered off the intended course and engaged in evasive maneuvers, in an effort to shake off the newcomer. However, he was not lucky, and soon whatever luck he did have ran out, as two precise ion shots disabled the ship and left dead in the space.
Cornelia and her guards were amazed at the ease with which their pursuers have been dealt with, and the skill of the pilot, along with the ship itself, which soon appeared right in front of them. A long and relatively narrow main structure, with two aft wings, which held engines and twin turbolasers cannons, with plenty of laser cannons also mounted on its hall. Though narrow, it was quite long, nearly 140 meters in length and big enough to house a near battalion of troops, with several decks installed in it. While Tetans looked awe, Fay was not able to suppress her shock and surprise at the sight of that vessel, for she knew only one ship of this class and type were ever constructed and last time she saw it almost 36 hundred years ago…
"This is Astarte, come in." The open comm channel sprung up, and Fay froze in place when she heard that voice.
"It… It can't be…" The shock had rendered usually composed and focused Jedi Master speechless and unable to act, forcing Cornelia to take control over situation.
"This is Tetan Royal Yacht Star of Cinnagar. We are most grateful for your intervention and saving of our lives." Cornelia stated with honesty, sensing that whoever piloted the vessel was very strong with the Force, even more so than Master Fay.
"My pleasure. Always glad to help out members of Keto family." The captain of Astarte stated to Cornelia, surprising her and Euphemia, as well as making Darlton and Guilford nervous. "No need to get nervous over there, this was just an educated guess, nothing more. And yeah, I can sense your emotions, like your pilot and the two ladies. Now, my scanners show that your ship is practically dead in the space and is not going to last much longer. With that being the case, I formally extend you a welcoming to my vessel. Though it may not have the amenities of your current craft, it does have thick bulkheads, redundant shields and enough firepower make even a Sith Marauder think twice about engaging. And most importantly, it has the one and only me on board to operate it." That last comment brought a chuckle from Fay, breaking her out of her stupor.
"And why should I trust you and should we even know you?" Cornelia asked of him.
"One: I could've just allowed those two gunships to just turn you into new stardust, yet I didn't. Two: you can sense in the Force that I am not a threat to you and want to help you out. Finally, three: ask your pilot if I am trustworthy. Oh, and while you are at it, tell her that we are now even." After that, Astarte's captain turned off the comm.
"Fay, do you know this… man?" Cornelia asked with confusion, with Fay letting out a sigh.
"Yes… Yes, I do, though I thought him to be lost for a very, very long time, but this ship and those manners could only belong to one man." Fay assured them. "And there is no one I would trust as much as the man commanding the Astarte. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that we may now actually have a chance of winning against Clovis and the Mining Guild."
"Is he a fellow Jedi, like you?" Euphemia asked of Fay, who shook her head.
"Once, he was a Jedi, but now… Now he is just a Sentinel of the Force, as he once called himself, and there are no Jedi, Knights or Masters that can match him." Fay told them, before turning to the controls and checking them. "That last shot took out our engine and docking hatch. But the escape pod is operational."
"Are you actually telling us to put our faith into this unknown? He could very well be another of Clovis' thugs, sent after their Highnesses." Darlton remained skeptical.
"Captain Darlton, allow me to alleviate your fears: my friend over there is not the sort to strike deals with people like Clovis, especially the kind that comes to assassinating others. If anything, he would sooner help the Princesses, and given his track record of accomplishing impossible, he would make this into a success." Fay told them, before turning to Cornelia, awaiting her decision, who then activated the comm.
"Astarte, our engines are out and the docking hatch is inoperable. We will use an escape pod to leave the vessel. Does you ship have a tractor beam to tow the pod to your hangar, if you have it?" Cornelia asked of him.
"Sorry, no tractor beam projectors on this vessel, but don't worry, I'll just make do with what I have at my disposal. Just board the pod and eject, I will handle the pick-up." The man assured them, with Cornelia making her decision.
"Alright, we are leaving the ship. Take the weapons and medpacks, leave the rest here." Cornelia commanded and the whole group headed towards the escape pod.
A few minutes later. Astarte's hangar.
Dayne arrived into the hangar, which also acted as the cargo hold of his vessel, as his ship was lining up itself with the escape pod in a way that would allow Dayne to tow it into the hangar. Once Astarte had lined itself with the pod, the hangar door opened up, while also activating the energy fields to prevent the air from being sucked out of the ship. Seeing the pod, Sunrider raised his hand and reached out with the Force for the cylindrical object, before carefully pulling it right towards him, effortlessly moving the large thing from the void into his ship. After it had passed the energy fields and was a safe enough distance, ramp door close up and Dayne carefully sat the thing down.
A few moments after the pod landed, the hatch opened up, and from it immediately sprung out two men, holding blaster rifles and pointing them at Dayne, who already sensed what was going to happen.
"Don't move!" Darlton commanded Dayne, and he simply obeyed the order. "By the name of Empress Teta and its rightful ruler, Princess Cornelia Keto, we are requisitioning your vessel from you."
"Okay, but I do have to warn you that this ship has quite an attitude to it, and she may not like some unknown burly name sitting at her controls. Better if you let your friend handle the flying, he's really her type." Dayne responded with a tone that showed a clear ignorance to the threat, while he saw the two princesses' exit the pod, noting how beautiful each of them were, before the older one commanded.
"Darlton, Guilford, stand down! That is an order! We are not going to fall to the level of my brother." Cornelia's commanding presence and voice were enough to make the two guards stand down, while she turned to their rescuer. "My apologies, my guards can be a bit overzealous in their duties. I am Princess Cornelia Keto, and this is my younger sister, Euphemia Keto, and you have our gratitude for saving us and letting us on your ship."
"My pleasure and I could never say no to people in distress, even as a Jedi Knight. Especially if they happen to be in as dire situations as you." Dayne responded to them with a small smile. "Oh, almost forgot my manners, what with you and your sister stealing my complete focus… My name is…"
"Dayne Sunrider." The final passenger of the escape pod exited it and spoke his name. "As always, the Force sends you exactly the moment we need the most." Dayne's eyes traveled to the one who spoke, finding Fay, the very same Fay that he last spoke not a few hours, or centuries, ago.
She stood just a little shorter then him, possessing platinum blonde hair reaching to her shoulders, with grey eyes, soft and noble features of her face with ivory pale skin, blue markings on her left side of the face and pointed ears. She had the same elegant and beautiful look as she always did, and the way she stood and carried herself was both striking and welcoming. Her mere presence in the Force and close proximity brought a sense of safety and securing to Dayne, for she was one of the closest friends he ever had in his life, one as close as Lana was, with Fay always being the one to stand by his side and follow him. Though the two of them have had different paths as Jedi, with Dayne becoming a Sentinel, while Fay rose up to becoming a great Consular and the third person to ever be made a Barsen'thor, Warden of the Order and preserver of their traditions and ways.
Fay was the one who retrained Dayne in the ways of the Jedi after he returned from the Sith, and she was among the very few who didn't hold any grudges or distrust towards him after it, always knowing what had transpired with him. They were always close, even back during their days as Padawans under Gnost-Dural, when they first met and all of a sudden, they struck an immediate and lasting friendship that would see them through wars and deaths. Dayne had lost many friends and allies, and now he was possibly deprived of all of them for good, so the sight of Fay right now meant a lot to him. She was the same as he had always remembered her, not changed in the slightest physically, and in the Force… She was very much the same Fay as he always sensed, yet there were changes to her, many changes, yet the core remained the same.
Fay smiled to Dayne and stepped closer to him, bringing her hand to his cheek, carefully cupping it in an almost romantic way, with Dayne taking her hand into his own.
"It really is you, Dayne." Fay almost whispered it out, her grey eyes staring into his green. "You've not changed, not in a bit, and yet I sense… I sense that you are at peace. Your quest is finished… How long has it been for you?"
"Hours, Fay. Less than three hours." Dayne responded to Fay, caressing her hand softly. "How long, Fay? How long has it been for you?"
"Ages, Dayne, literal ages." Fay responded to him. "It has been 3593 years since I last saw you, right before you left to confront Acina on her flagship. The Jedi and the Republic… They all believed you dead, perished in the battle after you've saved the fleet from the Harvester Bomb. And yet the Force… It guided me here..." Fay told him.
"3593 years… Kept you waiting, huh?" Dayne let out a chuckle at his own joke, while Fay simply smiled to him, and then embraced him. "I'm very sorry, Fay. I was blinded by my own hubris and let Acina almost destroy us all."
"It's in the past now, and you've saved us all back then. And now… Now you are here, exactly when you are best needed." Fay told him, before disconnecting from him and turning to the surprised Tetans. "It is my privilege and honor to present to you Dayne Sunrider, one of the greatest heroes this galaxy has ever known and the man who saved the Republic and the Jedi Order from its total destruction more than once." It took the Tetans a few seconds to realize exactly who Dayne Sunrider was.
"Wait… Dayne Sunrider, the legendary Jedi Sentinel that destroyed Sith Emperor Vitiate and defeated the Eternal Empire of Zakuul? Dayne Sunrider, the one who brought down the Sith Empire in just five years? The same man who is considered to be one of the greatest heroes of the galaxy, alongside the likes of Revan and Empress Teta herself?" Cornelia, who studied military and galactic history, knew very well the name of Dayne Sunrider.
"All of the above, that is me, all wrapped up in one nice good looking man, if I do say so myself." Dayne smiled to Cornelia and Euphie, who blushed a little at the comment. "Now, Fay just shared with me that you have certain problems in Empress Teta, and that Republic and Jedi won't budge. May I offer you my services, Your Highness? I happen to have a very extensive expertise in solving these sorts of trouble."
From that moment forth, the fate of the Galaxy was irreparably changed, and only time would tell if it were for the better or worse. But what was known at that moment was this: both Sith and Jedi would come to rue the day Dayne Sunrider returned to galaxy.
Oh man, it feels good to be back in the writing field again… Hi, I am Ronin, and some of you may already know me as an author who happens to specialize in bashing fics and who recently had finished up (sort of) his Naruto story. Well, close to the end of that story I did say that I was planning to make a Star Wars story, and now that day has come and here is the first chapter of that story. I know that it may have thrown many of you off, when it opened up about 36 centuries before the battle of Yavin, but I did feel like I needed to explain how my MC had gotten to this timeline, and this was the perfect way to do so.
Now, I do need to clear up a few things. First up, Dayne's story is basically a combination of Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior storylines from the Old Republic game, with more details being revealed later on. Secondly, I am aware that his story of being turned to the Dark Side and later redeeming himself sounds extremely similar to that of Revan, but there will be differences shown in their stories, as more of Dayne's past is revealed. Third, he was trained and was a Jedi Sentinel (my personal favorite type of Jedi), but he has left the Order and is far from an orthodox Jedi. Do not expect him to just adhere to the Code or be detached from things and people. He likes emotions, has passions and desires and is not afraid of them, but he does not let them control him and lead him astray. He was a Sith and Jedi, and now is neither.
Now, about his power level… Well, no point in standing around: Dayne is as OP as they get, he is top tier Force User that can go toe to toe with the best and the worst the Galaxy has to offer and he will chew them up and spit out in tiny little pieces. Even if you ignore the game mechanics and all that and stick with simple history from Legends, Dayne would have have been engaged in constant wars and battles with Sith, Jedi, Eternal Empire of Zakuul and all other enemies. He was forged into a mighty and powerful warrior, having slain countless Sith and Jedi, so even the likes of Yoda and Sidious must be afraid of him, and even our favorite Chosen One Anakin Skywalker stands very little chance against him, and even as Vader he would be outmatched. Dayne had fought and defeated strongest Sith Lords of his time, including Vitiate, having beaten and destroyed him more times than anyone in the known galaxy, that SOB was a threat on the level of Yuuzhan Vongs, and I believe that those familiar with lore and history of SWTOR will agree that this is correct.
Now, this story will be primarily set in the films' timeline, but do expect at times encounter elements from the SWTOR timeline. The reason I am not making this into a crossover with the games because I don't feel like it is necessary, and that I believe that all of Star Wars material should be united into one, plus the absolute majority of story will be in the films timeline, so there is that.
And now about the romance… I am not a single pairing kind of writer, so yes, expect a harem. And I am open to suggestions from you readers.
Now, as for the characters encountered, Fay is a Star Wars character from the Republic comic books, who made one appearance, yet she did leave a lasting impression on me and I wish she was expanded upon a great deal more. As for the characters from Empress Teta, they are based on those from Code Geass anime, one of my absolute favorites.
I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter of my new story, and will leave a review, suggestion, ask question, I am always welcoming feedback from readers.
Next time: New times, same old problems; Liberating Empress Teta; Sending ripples through the Force…
PS. Found a little mistake with the original date at the start of story, fixed it.