Star Wars: The House of Rook - Pilot Story

by Boskov01

This is the story of the Mandalorian House of Rook, a family consisting of family patriarch Giordo Rook, his wife Jayna, their daughter Janie, son Kaden, and youngest child Gia. This is their life as they subtly resist the Empire on Concord Dawn and work as vigilantes to weaken and cripple the Empire during the Galactic Civil War. Prequel/Spinoff to my Shadow Wars Series. AU.

Summary: This is the story of the Mandalorian House of Rook, a family consisting of family patriarch Giordo Rook, his wife Jayna, their daughter Janie, son Kaden, and youngest child Gia. This is their life as they subtly resist the Empire on Concord Dawn and work as vigilantes to weaken and cripple the Empire during the Galactic Civil War. Prequel/Spinoff to my Shadow Wars Series. AU. Potential "Pilot" Story.

Disclaimer: I own several OCs but the franchise rightfully belongs to George Lucas. This story draws inspirations primarily from Karen Traviss's Republic Commando novels, The Mandalorian, the Bad Batch, Rebels, and even the Freemaker Adventures to some degree.

This story is a prequel/spinoff to my existing Star Wars Fanfiction Series that is presently on indefinite hiatus - Star Wars: the Shadow Wars. You don't really need to know the details of that universe to get this one as the majority of the Shadow Wars occurs 28 years after Yavin. The key things you need to know are this: The Force Unleashed video game is very canon and follows the Light Side ending but with one key exception that will likely come up later. The Yuuzhan Vong don't exist, Only Rebels Season One is canon, and the Final Season of The Clone Wars is non-canon specifically as it pertains to Ahsoka and Rex. That's all you really need to know. I would advise you read at least the first few chapters of my story "Marek's Rebellion" to understand the universe as it exists compared to the mainstream Star Wars Saga.

Additionally, I don't count Disney Star Wars as canon barring a few exceptions. I don't view the stories they've come up with as canon for the most part (Specifically the sequels and Solo as I have several issues with those stories. The Bad Batch, the Mandalorian, and the last season of the Clone Wars I don't count either but only due to them conflicting with the lore of the universe I already have established and with partial exceptions made for Rebels and Rogue One) but I'll gladly use and probably will be using some of the different locations, species, technology (including ships, droids, vehicles, weapons etc) that they've created. It's a case by case basis but the rule of thumb is to assume we're going off of the Pre-Disney Expanded Universe and assuming that is canon unless otherwise stated.

Translation Advisory: As the main cast and main setting of this show heavily involves Mandalorians, there will be regular use of Mandalorian terms and phrases as they are derived from Karen Traviss's Mandalorian Dictionary. It is strongly advised that you keep a copy handy so that you can translate any Mandalorian phrases that pop up. With a couple of exceptions, most Mandalorian terms will be in italics.

Author's Notes: The family and thus the story was born from a family I created in the Sims 4. A friend of mine had gifted me the Journey to Batuu update and I am always looking to improve my game with mods and so I ended up creating a family of Mandalorians with it, with all but the youngest child having their own Mandalorian armor. From there a story just seemed to morph around the characters. Finally I decided to put the story down and let the adventures of House Rook come to life, and to tell their story.

So…here's their story...

Enjoy

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A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…

STAR WARS

THE HOUSE OF ROOK

It has been Nineteen Years since the end of the Clone Wars!
The Old Republic has fallen! The Jedi are no more, driven to near
extinction by the evil Galactic Empire and the Sith!
It is a Dark Time in the Galaxy!

Yet across the Galaxy, whispers of a Rebellion spread! Word of
a growing band of freedom fighters seeking to overthrow
the Empire has brought A New Hope to the hopeless! Even
rumors of the Jedi's return are beginning to spread!

On the Mandalorian planet of Concord Dawn, a small band
of Mandalorian Commandoes have begun to strike back at
the Empire! These vigilante Mandalorians fight to weaken
the Empire and see them removed from their world!
For this is Their Way!

---

In high orbit over Concord Dawn, an old Venator Star Destroyer in Imperial Grey approached the planet, deploying a Sentinel Class Lander with an expanded cargo bay from its ventral hangar. The Sentinel was soon accompanied by two TIE Fighters from the destroyer's upper hangar, as the three ships headed for the surface of the planet. In the cockpit of the lander, the pilot and co-pilot sat at the controls.

"Lander Four-Twenty-One beginning atmospheric entry on approach to Sector Seventeen." The pilot stated.

"Confirmed, Lander Four-Two-One. Be advised of adverse weather conditions. Minor dust-storm affecting visibility and light sensor disruption to be expected. Maintain present course. Conditions are not adverse enough to affect flight." An imperial flight controller said over the comms.

"Acknowledged. Maintaining course." The pilot reported before closing the comm channel, sitting back in his seat a little. His co-pilot was looking out the viewports, looking at the mountainous terrain below them.

"What a dustbowl. Why would anyone want to live on a backwater like this?" the co-pilot asked.

"Some people just like the challenge I guess." The pilot replied as they started to enter a cloud of dust that had been kicked up by a passing storm.

"I don't like this weather." The Co-pilot said.

"It's just a dust storm. Flown through plenty like this. It's not enough to cause any turbulence. Although I don't like this lack of visibility." The pilot said.

"It's the perfect atmosphere for an ambush. I've heard rumors of the people who live in this sector. That they're some kind of elite warrior race." The co-pilot said.

"I've heard the same things. The Mandalorians. They stood opposed to the Empire but we defeated and conquered them back during the Clone Wars. Now they're loyal citizens of the Empire. Their warrior ways are long over." The pilot replied.

"If you say so I…that's odd." The co-pilot said, noticing a flashing indicator on his console.

"Registering a malfunction in engine two. Compensating." The pilot replied. The console then started to beep.

"Someone's jettisoned the cargo lift! The kriff is going on?!" the pilot asked as the door to the cockpit opened. The two turned in time to see a figure in dark blue armor, a helmet with a T-shaped visor, wearing a jetpack on his back, leveling a blaster rifle at them.

"Easy answer: you're being robbed." He said before blasting both men in the chest, killing them both instantly. The man quickly pulled the pilot's corpse from his chair, taking the controls as a slightly shorter figure in orange colored armor with a yellow body glove and feminine build stepped into the cockpit, looking around.

"That was fast." The orange armored warrior said. Her voice was scrambled by her helmet.

"Element of surprise has its advantages." The man replied. His voice was scrambled as well by his helmet.

"How long until those screaming eyeballs catch on that their escort target's about to go up in smoke?" the female asked.

"May take them longer with this storm. Go help your brother." The man said as the orange woman gave a nod and turned to reenter the main hold. In the main hold, the bodies of seven Stormtroopers and an engineer lay dead on the floor while another armored figure pushed crates towards the opened ventral cargo hatch, pushing the cargo out of the hatch and to the ground below. This figure had a male build and wore a muted green colored set of armor over a blue body glove.

"Almost done?" the orange warrior asked.

"This would go a lot faster if you gave me a hand." The green armored figure said as the orange one leapt in to help, pushing crates towards the opening. Like the others, the green armored one had his voice scrambled by his helmet. The hold was nearly empty now.

"Where's Cin?" the orange one asked.

"Her job. Remember what Keiiben said. Focus on our own jobs." The green one replied as he and the orange one both pushed one large crate out of the hold. As they approached the final crate, the ship suddenly shook from an explosion, the two staggering to keep their balance.

"What was that?!" the Orange one asked before another explosion rocked the ship only from the opposite direction. A white armored warrior then jetpacked up into the hold. Her armor was a more unpainted silvery but unpolished color with white edging and a grey bodyglove with a short brown cape hanging down the back of the right shoulder. This white armored warrior had a feminine build as well.

"That would've been their fighter escort exploding." The white armored warrior said as she hurried to help the two with pushing the last crate to the hatch, shoving it out just as the blue armored warrior emerged.

"Charges set in the cockpit. How are things here?" he asked.

"We're done. Let's go!" the white armored one said. The blue one gave a nod.

"Right. Everyone out!" he ordered, the green and orange armored warriors diving down out the hatch followed closely by the blue and white armored ones, their jetpacks igniting and the four flying towards the ground, landing safely and watching as the lander flew away from them for about ten seconds before suddenly exploding and starting to crash to the ground as a burning hulk.

"Ah, I love that smell in the evenings." The orange one said as the blue one turned away from the wreck.

"Mission's not over yet. We've still got the cargo to collect. I gather we've got about ten-twenty minutes before the Empire realizes their ship's missing, then maybe a few more minutes before they launch a fighter wing to search for it. Lets not dawdle. We don't want to get caught with the goods after all." The blue one said, the others giving a nod.

"Right." The green armored one replied before they turned and started running back along the path the shuttle had flown. As they ran, they saw a speeder approaching ahead of them, its forward lights dimmed, and an astromech sitting in a droid-socket near the back. The astromech was an R3 unit with a white dome and red markings. Behind the speeder was a cargo sled with a crane attached to it, the sled being towed by power couplings between it and the speeder. In the bed of the sled was most of the cargo that had been dropped from the shuttle. The astromech beeped a cheery greeting as the speeder came to a stop.

"Good work R3. Let's give him a hand with the rest of it." The white armored one said as they reached some of the cargo, starting to load it up. As the cargo was being loaded, the blue one noticed the white warrior was standing off to the side, looking towards the faint glimmers of the morning light starting to appear on the horizon. The blue one approached her.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I never thought that…that this would be my life is all." She replied.

"Having regrets?" he asked.

"Some, but none where you and the others are concerned." She replied. The blue one raised his left arm, pressing a button on his gauntlet and looking at a small display showing the present date.

"I wondered if you'd start getting nostalgic on me. It's been almost nineteen years since-…" he said as the white one turned towards him and started to rejoin the others.

"Now's not the time for reminiscing." She said softly as she climbed into the front passenger seat of the speeder, just as the last of the cargo was loaded into the sled, the orange armored one taking the driver's seat while the green one rode on the sled in a kneeling position, holding onto the crane's base for support. The blue one quietly climbed into the back passenger seat as the speeder hummed back to life and started moving, racing across the Concord Dawn terrain into the mountains.

…

"Gia! Gia it's time to get up!" a woman's voice called through the dwelling. In her room, ten-year old Gia Rook buried her head under her pillow with a tired groan. The door to her room then opened, an older woman in her late thirties/early forties entering. The woman had medium length and lightly curled brown hair and a mothering face. She sighed as she saw the young girl's head being buried in the bed.

"Come on, Gia. You're going to be late for school." The woman said as she started pulling at the covers but the girl pulled back.

"Nnngh, five more minutes mom?" the girl groaned.

"No ma'am, you already got five minutes extra as it is. Now come on and get a move on. Don't make me get Tina." The mother said as Gia groaned and sat up. She had a head of medium length and curly black hair, similar in style to her mother's except the ends of her hair had been dyed a shade of bright electric blue. She wore a pink sleeper robe.

"I don't wanna go to school." Gia grumbled.

"To be honest I'd rather you didn't go either. But the law says you have to, else we get a visit from the Truancy Squad, and we have to consider buir's reputation." The mother said as Gia sighed and climbed out of bed as her mother started laying out her clothes for her.

"I know." Gia groaned as she started down the hall for the refresher.

The main living area of the dwelling was an old cantina that had been converted into a family living space. The U shaped bar made up half of the room, but the taps and drink mixers had long since been scrapped, little more than hollowed out casings used for decoration. One of the larger corner rooms had been converted into a kitchen area where an older man with balding black hair and a black beard stood at the grill top, preparing a sizzling dish featuring some kind of sausage and vegetables.

"Breakfast is almost ready, Jan!" the man called over his shoulder into the living area where a girl in her late-teens sat looking at a holo-screen watching the current galactic news. The girl had black hair kept in a bun but with two short curly bangs framing her face. Although she was dressed conservatively, her pants only went to halfway down her calves, showing that she had some black tattoos down her right leg. The tattoos were tribal in design. As she watched the holoscreen, a teenaged boy, slightly younger than her by roughly a year, walked in and sat down at the bar. He had short but well kept brown hair. He was carrying a box-shaped device and was poking at it with a hydrospanner.

"How can you stand to watch that junk so early in the morning?" the boy asked as the girl rolled her eyes.

"I'm just checking to see if there's anything of interest in the news. You never know." Jan replied.

"They're not going to mention the shuttle explosion." The boy replied.

"What shuttle explosion?" she asked with a coy smirk. The boy smirked back as the mother entered with Gia, dressed in a pink vest-like shirt with a blue shirt underneath and blue trousers, close behind.

"Breakfast smells good this morning." The mother said as she stepped into the kitchen, kissing the man on the cheek with a smile.

"Figured I'd make good of the last of that ronto roast we had in the fridge." The man said the mother watched over his shoulder.

"Any news?" the mother asked.

"Nothing yet. I sent a message to our contact when we got back but he hasn't responded yet." The man said as he started plating up the breakfast onto five separate plates.

"That's not unusual." The woman said as the man nodded.

"He'll contact us once he can." The man said as the mother started carrying out dishes.

"Alright kids, breakfast is ready." The mother said as the three kids gathered near a cantina table with six chairs around it.

"Breakfast looks good dad." Jan said as the father sat at the head of the table, his wife to his left, eldest daughter to his right. The son sat to Jan's right, while Gia sat across from him to the mother's left. Cups of blue milk had already been set out for them.

"It's not anything special. Just something I threw together. But I think a toast is called for. A toast to a successful mission last night." He said, raising his cup. The rest of the family raised their cups as well.

"For Mand'alor!" the father declared in a toast.

"For Mand'alor!" the rest of the table declared, clicking their plasteel cups together before drinking.

"So how big of a haul was it?" Gia asked excitedly. The brother and Jan smiled and was about to speak but the mother cleared her throat with a thwarting glare.

"The less you know, Gia, the better. I already don't like it that you know what we get up to." The mother said as Gia groaned.

"Mo~om, I can help. Dad says I'm becoming a fine warrior, right dad?" Gia said, looking to her father who gave a light nod.

"You are becoming a fine warrior but a warrior you are not. Not yet. You've still got a long way to go and three more years before you're ready to call yourself a warrior." He said as the mother nodded.

"As some used to say, you still have much to learn my young padawan." The mother said with a smile.

"Padawan? What's a Padawan?" Jan asked. The mother's smile faded slightly. The father was looking at her quietly as he took a sip of his drink.

"It's an old word in another language meaning learner or apprentice. It's…not really used much anymore." She replied, absently scratching the back-right side of her head.

"I've never heard that word before." The son said.

"That's because the people who used it the most are dead now, Kaden." The mother said.

"Oh. Who used it?" Kaden asked. This time the father spoke up.

"The Jetii. The Jedi. A once powerful group that were once considered a worthy adversary of our people." The father said.

"Really? Guess our brothers really showed them if they're all dead." Jan said as Gia grinned.

"Vode an!" Gia cheered, raising her cup in a toast that her brother reciprocated to celebrate what they assumed was a Mandalorian victory.

"Actually it wasn't the Mandalorians that defeated the Jedi. If anything, every time the Jedi and Mandalorians faced each other in battle, the Mando'ad lost." The mother said, all three children looking stunned.

"What? Are you serious?" Kaden asked.

"It's true. My father, your grandfather, once served under the command of a great Mandalor named Jango Fett. They fought the Jedi at Galidraan roughly forty years ago. He said the Jedi slaughtered our people. Only a handful of survivors on our side survived, including Mandalor Fett. Remember how grandpa had only one arm? He said the Jedi cleaved his arm off during the battle." The father said as the kids seemed disturbed by this.

"Butchers." Jan muttered in disgust.

"No, Janie, they weren't." the mother said.

"Your mother's right. The Jedi were worthy adversaries. And although our side lost the battle, we still put up a good fight. Less than half of the Jedi who fought us at Galidraan walked away alive." The father said.

"Then how'd the Jedi die? Who killed them?" Kaden asked but the father checked his chronometer.

"That is a story for another time. But you three have somewhere else to be, don't you?" he asked as the three each sighed and rose from the table.

"Love you mom." Gia said, kissing her mother on the cheek.

"Love you too adi'ka." The mother replied with a smile, kissing her youngest back on the forehead.

"Any reason we need to come home early tonight, buir? Or can I stay out late? Jacki Wolffe invited me to the cantina to hang out after school." Jan said.

"Just stay away from the alcohol. We don't need you getting escorted home by the Imps again." The mother said with a stern glare, the father nodding in stern agreement. Jan rolled her eyes with a groan.

"Ri~ight." She groaned, slinging a backpack on and heading for the door. Now it was just the mother and father sitting alone at the table. The father glanced at his wife as she smiled slightly towards the door.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

"Hmm?" she asked, having spaced out.

"I thought the conversation was a bit-…" he said with a shrug. She smiled appreciatively.

"It's fine." She replied, standing up and starting to collect the dishes.

"If you say so." He said, rising to his feet.

"I have business in town to attend to. I'll see you this afternoon. If you need anything-…" he said but she shook her head.

"I'll be fine. I'm not exactly alone." She said as she looked through a door into the back where the white and red domed R3 unit sat deactivated in a corner. The droid's ambulatory struts matched its dome but its main chassis was red with a few white panels, an inversion of its dome colors.

"I'll leave you to it then." The father said, kissing her on the lips, the two embracing briefly before their lips parted, the father turning and heading out towards the door.

"I love you Gio." She said as he smiled at her.

"And I you, Jayna." He replied before picking up a pack hanging by the door and pulling it on before heading out. Jayna quietly looked around the empty dwelling, taking a breath before turning and taking the dishes to the wash basin. After cleaning the dishes and putting them away, she walked into the back where the droid was. She knelt down and pressed the button to activate him. Right away his dome lights lit up, his head swiveling slightly as he whistled his greeting.

"Morning R3. Come along. We have work to do in the sublevel." She said. R3 beeped something curiously as he followed after her.

"No I think we can handle it ourselves. No heavy lifting, so we won't need Tina." Jayna said as R3 followed her through a hidden door where a flight of stairs led downward into a darkened sublevel. R3 followed her down into the sublevel, beeping another question.

"Get to work on the water pumps. I'll work on the generator." Jayna said as she approached a power generator. R3 beeped a cheery reply before moving towards a set of pipes against one wall. As Jayna began to work, she suddenly paused, briefly hearing the sounds of blaster fire echoing from the past coupled with the call outs and commands being issued by men with similar if not identical voices. She then glanced back at R3.

"R3…" she said, the astromech swiveling his dome around towards her.

"Show her to me again." Jayna said. R3 stopped what he was doing and turned towards her, turning his head towards an empty spot in the middle of the room before beginning to project a hologram into the center. The hologram was a young woman in her late teens/early twenties with long hair that was worn straight down her back and reached the middle of her back, wearing long sleeved robes with a V shaped design to them. Loose fitting trousers and black calf-length boots. Jayna sat down on a crate, watching the hologram with a look of sadness. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she bowed her head, sighing to herself.

"I failed you. I failed you all." She muttered to herself as she watched the hologram loop the same footage of the girl with the sword.

…

Meanwhile in the nearby city of Ve'vut Bral, Giordo walked through the front doors of the city hall, the doors guarded by a pair of stormtroopers. The city hall was a renovated building made of sand-colored brick but now had ugly dark-grey spires sticking out of the roof, with a large office on the top floor of the tallest tower. Gio quietly entered a large round room where a large round table with a glossy black surface and a round sphere in the center sat. Imperial banners hung from the walls. Seated at the table already were two other men, one with tattoos on the entire right side of his face, almost perfectly dividing his face in two down the middle. His tattoos were tribal in nature. Another man was older with a bald scalp and bushy gray beard. There was also a woman sitting at the table wearing a suit of white and blue plasteel armor reminiscent of the Stormtroopers own only customized. On the table in front of her was a Phase II Clone Trooper helmet with two big blue swirls covering the helmet. Her armor was incomplete, with her bicep armor missing and with no bodyglove. The armor on her lower body was more traditional Mandalorian beskar armor though, painted white with the blue swirl patterns on both thigh-plates. She had short bleached blonde hair and a thin face.

"Rook, what took you?" the bald man asked.

"Had to see the kids off to school. Couldn't send them off without a decent meal." Gio replied.

"Remind me again why your wife doesn't cook for you?" the tattooed man asked. However the bald man nudged him.

"Have you ever had to have your stomach purged?" the bald man asked the younger as Gio chuckled.

"My Jayna, by her own admission, is an exceptionally terrible cook. She's very talented when it comes to droids and machinery and she can sling a mean blaster so she more than makes up for her one largest deficiency." Gio replied as the armored woman chuckled.

"I'm sure she makes up for it in other ways too. You have three kids after all." The woman said.

"I won't comment on what we do in private." Gio said as the other two men nodded.

"Of course. And we weren't asking." The bald man said.

"I was." The woman replied with a smirk. Gio just chuckled quietly and shook his head as the doors to the room opened, allowing a uniformed Imperial Officer to enter. His rank badge and cylinders indicated he was a Captain.

"Gentlemen, and lady, welcome. I apologize for my tardiness but there was some urgent business that arose." The officer said as he sat down. He spoke with an Eriadu accent (A/N: Think Moff Tarkin's accent). He had a thin face and appeared to be in his late twenties.

"We didn't start without you, Minister." The tattooed man commented.

"Not like we could." The woman muttered.

"Let the record show that this meeting of the Ve'vut Bral Imperial City Council shall come to order on this the sixth day of the third month in the year nineteen of our Emperor. Long may he reign." The Minister recited, the other four present merely sitting and ignoring him as he went along with the procedural beginning to the meeting.

"For the first order of business, I must regret to inform you that the supplies we requisitioned for our local garrison has been delayed. The transport carrying the supplies suffered a malfunction and was lost with all hands, the supplies being destroyed along with them." The Minister said as the armored woman groaned.

"Again? That's the third transport in a month to be lost. First it was intercepted by pirates. Then it was stolen by squibs, and now it crashed?" the armored woman said.

"Councilor Veska is correct. There has to be more to these disruptions than what you're telling us." Gio said.

"The Empire is investigating the cause of the disaster quite carefully, Councilor Rook. You can place your utmost confidence in our abilities to root out the cause of these occurrences, and put an end to them." The Minister replied.

"With all due respect, Minister, we would have more confidence in the Empire if the Empire could get their shipments delivered without incident in the first place." The tattooed man said, earning nods from each of his fellow Councilors.

"I must agree with Councilman Geht regarding the Empire's…competency, but I still continue to question the need for a local garrison. We're Mandalorians. We're used to taking care of matters ourselves." The older man said. The Minister maintained his calm but it was clear through his subtle facial expressions and gestures that he was quietly offended by the questioning of the Empire's capabilities.

"And what did the Mandalorian people benefit from their alleged self-sufficiency? Lawlessness. Corruption, Civil War, a complete lack of Order. The Empire is here to provide such order. The Mandalorian people demonstrated that with the chaos and disorder wrought by the ardent and stubborn declarations of neutrality by the late Duchess Satine Kryze, that you could not adequately govern yourselves. Not without becoming havens of corruption and criminality." The Minister argued.

"The Late Duchess is not a good example to cite, Minister. Many here on Concord Dawn opposed her rule. And the civil war was generally confined to Mandalore itself." The older councilor said.

"Regardless of your sentiments towards the Duchess, the outcome remained the same. Lawlessness and disorder ruled over this and every planet with the Mandalore Sector until the Empire arose to establish that order. We can continue to quarrel amongst ourselves over a trifle matter that is no longer of your concern, or we can move on and discuss matters that relate to the general wellbeing of the city and its surrounding settlements." The Minister said as the four councilors looked at each other, each eventually nodding.

"Very well. As you say, Minister, the Empire is looking into the matter. Although it does concern us when it's our tax credits being wasted for shipments that never arrive." Gio said as the Minister gave a nod towards him.

"And that, Councilor Rook, is a matter where your concerns are shared by the Empire. Whatever or whoever is responsible for these losses will be found and they will be stopped. Now then, onto new business. Specifically a recent development in Imperial City." The Minister said, the older councilman sitting forward curiously.

"Coruscanta? I have a bad feeling about this." The older councilman said.

"Whenever you bring up the capitol, it always means some new rules or regulations for us." Geht said as Veska sat forward as well.

"It's to do with some announcement the Emperor made yesterday regarding the senate, right?" Veska asked as the Minister gave a nod.

"That's correct. As of yesterday evening, the Emperor formally dissolved the Imperial Senate." The Minster said. The four Councilors looked at each other with an air of indifference.

"And you expect us to feel pity for a bunch of fancy dressed political snobs that don't give two bantha poodoo mounds about us common folk?" the Geht asked.

"It was the last vestige of the Old Republic. They were little more than a bunch of advisors tripping over themselves to curry the Emperor's favor anyway. It's not like they could affect any real change for their systems anyway." Veska said.

"Still I worry about the implications that will be trickling down towards the rest of us. Does this also mean this council is to be dissolved?" Gio asked, all eyes turning towards the Minister.

"That decision has not yet been made. The governor of Concord Dawn has been chosen by Viceroy Saxon to attend a summit of Governors from every system, a summit hosted by Grand Moff Tarkin, in the coming days to decide whether this decision will trickle down to the rest of the local governments as well. So I would consider looking to finding alternative employment as a precautionary measure." The Minister said as the four looked at each other with concern.

…

Later, across town, the Imperial Education Center was an ugly grey square building with a large courtyard in the center of the campus. Most of the students were walking out of the building as school had ended for the day. But in the courtyard roughly a dozen students were being forced to sit in neat rows with their knees to their chests while stunner and stun baton armed Stormtroopers stood guard over them. Among the students was Janie and Kaden, both of them nursing welts and fresh bruises. Some of the other students were nursing similar injuries as a medical droid floated between them, analyzing and recording their injuries. Sitting next to Janie was an Ovissian girl, the girl had her horns neatly cut off and the bases of them neatly filed down to blunt round stumps.

"Hey, Rook, good fight." The girl said with a nod of respect. Janie smiled back at her.

"You too Orar." Jan replied.

"Damn shebs buy'ce broke up our match before we could see which of us was the better fighter." Orar replied as she and Jan watched a stormtrooper pass by in front of them.

"No talking!" the trooper barked. Kaden then saw something approaching that made him lean towards his sister and the Ovissian.

"And here comes the death squad." He muttered as a light-grey uniformed Imperial Officer woman with the rank markings of a Second Lieutenant escorted Jayna into the courtyard.

"Here they are, Mrs. Rook. As you can see the evidence of their being in a fight is impossible to ignore." The Lieutenant said to Jayna who sighed and rubbed her temples.

"So it is. Thank you headmistress. I'll take it from here." Jayna said as she motioned for the two to follow her, both rising to their feet and following after her, following her towards the family speeder where Gia sat with a smug smirk on her face and R3 sat in the droid socket. R3 started chortling in amusement.

"Yeah-yeah laugh it up tin can." Kaden said as they climbed into the speeder, Jayna taking the controls as the speeder started moving away from the school.

"So who won?" Gia asked with a smug smirk.

"Empire. Bucketheads broke up our Battle Circle before I could finish my match with Jexxa Orar." Jan replied.

"I won a match with Sebi Veska. He put up a good fight, got me good a few times." Kaden replied. Jayna merely smiled back at her kids.

"You realize of course that the Headmistress is expecting me to mete out some kind of punishment for this, right?" Jayna asked.

"Are you?" Kaden asked.

"Mom you can't be serious. I mean Kaden and I are both adults." Jan argued.

"Not to the Empire I'm afraid. I mean the both of you have had your Verd'goten, so in mine and your father's eyes, you're both adults. But the Empire's rules supersede our own in this case. So officially, there's a punishment to come. You may need to contact Wolffe and let her know you won't be available tonight." Jayna said as Jan groaned.

"So I am being punished." She argued.

"To appease the Imperials, yes. After all, you're the daughters of one of the city councilmen. Sadly, you're held to a higher standard than most others." Jayna replied.

"Ugh! I'm so sick of the Empire." Jan groaned, sitting back with her arms crossed.

"I think twixt all of us, we all have good reasons to dislike the Empire. Some of us more than others." Jayna replied in a soft tone, falling silent as their speeder raced out of town and towards the mountains.

…

The Rook dwelling was a refurbished cantina in the center of an abandoned mining village. All that remained of the village were the flat foundations from where the buildings once stood, the owners having departed decades prior, leaving only the cantina building behind. The speeder garage was located in the sublevel of the dwelling. The garage was large enough to house at least three or four speeders but only two speeders sat in the garage.

Inside the dwelling, Jayna stood helping Gio wash the dishes after their evening meal.

"The Senate?" Jayna asked as Gio gave a nod.

"As of yesterday. Supposedly some of the Governors will be meeting in the coming days with Moff Tarkin to discuss how that will affect local governments like our city council." Gio said as Jayna sighed, stepping away towards a wall where the freezer was located, leaning against it and bowing her head.

"Adi'ka?" Gio asked worriedly as he set down the dishes., placing a hand on Jayna's shoulder.

"The last of the Republic is truly gone now. I knew it was coming, but I never thought that-…" she said, looking out the door into the main living area where Kaden was disassembling a blaster pistol and Gia was watching over his shoulder, handing him tools as he requested them. Jan was sitting at the old cantina bar top, swirling a drink in her hand, sulking over her punishment.

"I worry about their future is all." Jayna said as Gio put his arm around her.

"I do too. This Empire is becoming far too intrusive for my liking. Did our contact ever come through?" Gio asked.

"He did, yeah. Won't be able to make it for a couple of days but he will be here. Apparently got some higher paying or priority jobs lined up." Jayna said as Gio gave a nod.

"Maybe getting those Imperial supplies out of the Empire's reach will help lift your spirits." Gio said as Jayna smiled lightly.

"It won't hurt." She replied.

…

Elsewhere in the galaxy, Colonel Wullf Yularen sat in the conference room of the Death Star, looking over some of the data briefs he'd recently received. As he sat looking over the briefs, a woman in the uniform of the Imperial Security Bureau entered, her rank insignias denoting her an agent of higher rank, with three blue squares to the left of two yellow squares. She entered and immediately saluted.

"Colonel Yularen, sir. Agent Liandra Takka, reporting as ordered, sir." She reported as Yularen set down the datapad in his hand, turning towards her with his left leg resting over his right.

"Agent Takka, I appreciate your reporting to me in person. I would've preferred to meet with you on Coruscant at HQ but at present I've been ordered here by the Emperor himself to witness a demonstration of the Death Star's power. A demonstration, I regret to inform you, that you will be missing out on." Yularen said.

"I will survive, Colonel. My duty to the Empire comes first. And there will likely be other demonstrations I will get to witness." Takka replied stoically, still standing at attention.

"If we are fortunate, this will be the only demonstration of the Death Star, and thus the Empire's power, that the Galaxy will ever need. But time is pressing so I'll get to the point. There has been a rash of attacks on supply shuttles headed for the capitol city of the planet of Concord Dawn in the Mandalore Sector. The local governor believes it is the work of insurgents. The official story as to their disappearances is that of a series of accidents with no mention of insurgency. You are to leave for Concord Dawn immediately. Your orders are to identify the insurgents and apprehend them if possible. We wish to make an example of these insurgents, especially if they are affiliated with the Rebellion." Yularen instructed.

"The Mandalore Sector is known to be a bit dangerous. The legends of their warrior ways are known across the Galaxy." Takka replied.

"It was a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter who helped to train the Old Republic's Clone Army, as well as serve as their genetic template. The Empire's efforts to subjugate their capitol planet of Mandalore after the Clone Wars would've been quite difficult had we not had the support of some of their own. Their reputation is well earned. Fortunately there are some Mandalorians who have seen the wisdom and benefits of serving the Empire. Viceroy Saxon has promised to lend some of his forces to aid you in this matter. They will be available should you require them." Yularen instructed.

"If I require them, sir, I will make use of them." Takka replied although Yularen scowled a little.

"Don't be too confident in your abilities agent, Takka. The Mandalorians are not to be underestimated. Am I clear?" Yularen asked as Takka saluted.

"I will be mindful, Colonel." Takka said before Yularen gave her a dismissive wave.

"You are dismissed, Agent Takka." He said, Takka saluting and turning to leave. As she departed, the console on the table next to Yularen beeped. Yularen turned and answered it.

"Yes?"

"We are approaching the Alderaan system, Colonel. The Grand Moff and Lord Vader have requested your presence for the demonstration." An officer on the other end reported.

"Understood. I'm on my way." Yularen replied before standing up and leaving the room.

…

Back on Concord Dawn, it was late at night and Jan was twirling a knife between her fingers while laying on her bed in her room. She wore only a black cropped top and matching shorts, allowing her tattoos to be more clearly seen. Her entire right leg from her ankle to just above her right hip, and her right arm from just above her wrist to nearly the side of her neck was covered in black Mandalorian tattoos, complete with a Taung Skull on the right shoulder and the side of her right glute, although the one on her glute was only partly visible due to her shorts. Otherwise Jan was in good physical shape, with a toned abdomen, strong arms, and legs. Jayna poked her head into her first-born's room with a cautious smile.

"Is it safe for me to come in or is there still a bounty on my head?" she asked.

"It's safe. I'm not mad at you, you know." Jan said as Jayna walked in, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Good. I just wanted to be sure though." Jayna said as Jan sat upright, sitting with her legs crossed, her hands on her knees, the knife dropped into a small basket on her nightstand.

"We're fine, mom. I get it. The Empire is causing osik for us. I hope we get to really pulverize any shebs buy'ce on our next mission." Jan said as Jayna chuckled.

"Can't say as I blame you there, Jan. But just remember, revenge is not the way. Giving into our anger will only lead us down a dark path." Jayna said as Jan nodded.

"Ri~ight, right. I know." Jan replied. Jayna then pulled her daughter into a loving embrace, kissing her on the side of the head.

"You've become a strong young woman. I'm very proud of what you've become. Proud and…maybe a little jealous." Jayna said as Jan smirked.

"Well, I do have to wear a larger sized breastplate but that comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. My back sends me death threats all the time." Jan said as Jayna laughed.

"I wasn't talking about those. I'm talking about your life in general." She said, Jan looking at her curiously.

"What's so special about my life that you'd be jealous of, mom?" Jan asked.

"Yeah, Janie's life is boring." They heard Gia say from the doorway. Gia was dressed in just her pink night robes. Jan quickly chucked her pillow at her younger sibling who expertly dodged it.

"K'uur you di'kut'ika!" Jan said as Gia walked in and sat down next to her mother.

"I'm beskar, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you." Gia replied with a taunting tone.

"Okay! We're not having a battle circle in here! Not with me in the crossfire! Don't make me get Tina!" Jayna warned, the sisters immediately backing down.

"But seriously, why'd you be jealous of my life, mom?" Jan asked as Jayna sighed.

"Because I was denied a lot of the childhood that you and Gia have had. I never knew my parents. I was raised in a very ordered and disciplined lifestyle. I didn't have brothers and sisters to speak of, and most of my childhood consisted of meditation and education. Learning to better myself through intense study and tranquil understanding of what binds the universe together." Jayna explained.

"Sounds boring." Gia said as Jayna smiled, sitting back slightly and looking towards the ceiling.

"It was the only thing I knew so I had nothing really to compare it to. I had plenty of friends though. People who cared for my wellbeing. My Master especially." Jayna said, earning a curious look from her daughters.

"Master? You make it sound like you were a slave." Gia said but Jayna shook her head.

"I suppose from some people's perspectives, the life I was raised in could have been a life of slavery but I didn't see it that way. I was free to leave at any time and I eventually did." Jayna said.

"What made you leave?" Jan asked.

"Was it da~ad?" Gia asked with a smug look. Jayna laughed and shook her head.

"No but he did factor into it." Jayna replied as Gia glanced at Jan.

"Was it Ja~an?" she asked, earning another airborne pillow but this one was a direct hit to the head.

"K'uur!" Jan hissed as Gia giggled. Jayna though shook her head.

"No-no-no, your father and I had been married for at least a year before Janie came along, and I had left that lifestyle behind before that point anyway." Jayna said as she stood up.

"I'm starting to realize why you choose white for your armor colors." Jan said as Jayna gave a nod.

"Cin Vhetin. White as snow symbolizing a new beginning. And Genet Aay'han. Gray as the rainclouds of mourning, symbolizing a state of grief." Jayna replied.

"So you're in mourning for someone?" Jan asked, she and Gia looking at her worriedly. Jayna looked at them with a smile for a moment.

"It's a long story, and it's getting late. I'll tell you both and Kaden sometime, I promise. You'll know my whole story from start to present." Jayna said as both of her daughters sighed in resignation, knowing that they would not be getting their mother's secrets from her that night.

"Alright fine. But I have to ask. Is it a secret you're not proud of? I mean, is it a life that may make me hate you?" Jan asked but Jayna shook her head.

"No, it's a past I'm proud of, but conceal for both my safety and your own. I've kept it to myself for two reasons. First is because it's kind of a life frowned upon in Mandalorian society but that's not really much of a worry for me. Second…is for more dangerous reasons. There are many powerful enemies out there that would love to see me dead or in their service. But I promise, the life I lived before becoming a Mandalorian and your mother, is one that you could be proud of." Jayna said as Jan gave a nod.

"That's good enough for me then. At least for now." Jan said as Jayna smiled.

"Thank you. Now, get to bed. It's the sixth day of the week so there's going to be plenty of house work to be done on the weekend. The garage is in need of a good cleaning out." Jayna said as Jan rolled her eyes with a smile, Gia standing up.

"Right. Good night mom. 'Night di'kut'ika." Jan said before suddenly having to dodge both her pillows as Gia whipped them back at her from the hallway. Jayna chuckled and started into the hallway that connected the living quarters with each other and the refresher. Kaden and his father were playing Pazaak with each other at a table at the end of the hall, Gia just starting to her room when Gia suddenly paused.

Jayna paused as well as she suddenly heard what sounded like a multitude of people starting to scream in the distance. Jayna put a hand to her head, feeling something was wrong. The screaming got louder and louder. She then heard a whining sound and saw Gia had her hands to her ears, crying with a whining sound. Even Kaden looked visibly uncomfortable, his hands to the side of his head as the screaming got louder in Jayna's ears. Jayna heard a crash from Jan's room and saw Jan had knocked over the basket with her knife in it, although it had missed her completely, Jan breathing heavily with a hand to her forehead.

"Make it stop!" Jan said, visibly disturbed. Gio looked alarmed by what was happening to his family.

"Jayna, what's going on?!" he asked, standing up. The screaming got louder in Jayna's ears as she braced herself against the wall. Suddenly, the screaming stopped without warning. At the same time, Gia, Jan, and Kaden seemed to recover too.

"Jayna, what just happened? Are you alright?" Gio asked as Jayna braced her back against the wall, breathing heavily.

"I don't know." Jayna said, breathlessly as Jan appeared in her doorway, Gia shivering with fear from on her knees on the ground.

"What…the haran was that?" Kaden asked as Jayna looked around at her children with a look of growing worry and fear.

"Jayna?" Gio asked, stepping in close to her.

"Ana-Jy?" he whispered into her ear, a serious and worried expression on his face. Jayna looked at him, swallowing nervously.

"I don't know." She replied before looking at her children.

"Get some sleep, all of you. We'll talk about this in the morning." Jayna said. Gio's worried expression didn't change but Kaden, Jan, and Gia looked at each other confused and visibly afraid but ultimately headed for the doors to their rooms. R3 came rolling in, looking around in confusion.

"What was it, Jayna?" Gio asked softly, Jayna quietly taking him by the hand, leading him to their room, Jayna immediately sitting down on the edge of the bed, burying her face in her hands.

"Jayna you need to talk to me…Jayna? Jayna?!" Gio said as he shook her with his hands on her shoulders but she was still in a state of shock.

"I heard…I heard a sound. It was a multitude of voices crying out in terror…but then suddenly silenced." Jayna said as Gio moved to sit beside her on the bed.

"Silenced?" he asked as she nodded.

"Yes. It's a sound I heard only once before…at the end of the Clone Wars but this…this was far more terrible. Instead of hundreds or thousands of scattered voices crying out in pain and confusion, it was…millions all at once." Jayna said as Gio sat up.

"I thought you gave up that life." He said but she gave him a grim look.

"I did, but I cannot give up that which is strong with me…" she said before glancing away towards the door.

"…or that which is strong in our family. I have it…and…they have it as well." Jayna said as Gio looked towards the door as well.

"I thought you said that it was unlikely that they'd inherit it." Gio said but Jayna took a deep breath and a drawn out sigh.

"Unlikely…not impossible." She replied.

"What do you need to do?" he asked softly.

"I…I don't know…and that's probably what terrifies me the most." She replied. Gio then pulled her in close, resting her head on his chest.

"We'll figure something out. We're Mandalorians. We'll find a way." He said softly to her.

"This is the Way." She whispered, closing her eyes against his chest.

…

The following morning, Kaden and Jan walked the halls of their school. They weren't paying any attention to their fellow students but they could tell something was going on.

"Where are the teachers?" Jan asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Kaden asked.

"They're normally out here ushering kids into their classes. But they're not here." Jan replied. Kaden didn't reply. As they prepared to separate to go to their different classrooms, they noticed a group of students huddled together in a corner at the end of the hallway, an area known as the dead zone as it was the only space in the hall that the school security cameras couldn't monitor so the students often used it to gossip or share what the school would otherwise consider "contraband."

"What's going on?" Kaden asked as they approached. The students in the dead zone looked at them, looks of serious concern on their faces.

"What is it, what's happened?" Jan asked, sensing something was wrong.

"Come here, quick. There's something you should see." A human boy with a hairstyle that was a mixture of buzzcut and mohawk said. Jexxa Orar was one of the students in the huddle, holding an imagecaster in her hand.

"What's going on? Why are we in the dead zone?" Jan asked.

"My dad's a freighter pilot, right? Well he was supposed to make a delivery to Alderaan last night but he returned home early this morning, way ahead of schedule, still with his outgoing cargo aboard, looking white as a ghost. When mom and I asked what was wrong, he showed us this." Jexxa said as she held up the imagecaster, a hologram appearing of a planet with a smaller moon shaped object approaching it slowly. The moon shaped object had a large round dish built into it and a long trench that went around its middle.

"Is that Alderaan?" Kaden asked.

"Yeah…it was." Jexxa replied.

"Was?" Jan asked.

"Watch." The mohawked boy said as they watched eight small beams shoot from the dish, meeting near a specific point, before firing off a larger beam at Alderaan, the planet suddenly exploding, breaking apart into thousands of pieces. Jan and Kaden both looked at the hologram in shock and disbelief.

"What the…what the haran is this?" Jan asked.

"It's some kind of…space station or something. But it has enough firepower to vaporize a planet." Jexxa replied.

"This can't be real. It has to be some kind of…mistake or something. There's no such weapon that can destroy a planet. It has to be a fake." The boy said.

"No…" Kaden said, staring at the hologram as it looped, replaying the destruction of Alderaan repeatedly.

"…it's real." He said, looking at Jan who looked back at him, similar looks of growing dread appearing on their faces. The strange screams they had heard the night before suddenly making sense to them, although they still could not explain it.

…

In City Hall, Gio sat staring absently away from the table as he and the other councilmen sat waiting for Minister Marson to arrive to begin the meeting.

"Something eating you, Rook?" Veska asked, taking a sip from a canteen flask she had with her, her feet propped up on the meeting table.

"Hmm? Yes actually. Just some family problems though. Nothing you need to be concerned about." Gio said but Veska and the other two looked at him curiously.

"Family problems? Nothing serious I hope." The older councilman said.

"I don't think so Glebbins. Just some of my wife's past coming back to haunt her, but it's affecting our kids too." Gio said.

"Serious?" Veska asked.

"Potentially but not maritally so. It's not going to affect our relationship. It's not something I'm willing to talk about." Gio replied.

"Then we won't pry. Your House's business is Your House's business." Geht replied.

"Much appreciated, Councilor." Gio said. The doors from the entry hall then opened as a pair of stormtroopers entered.

"The Minister sends his apologies but would like to inform you that today's meeting is canceled." One of the troopers reported.

"Cancelled? Permanently or are we still to meet next week?" Glebbins asked.

"I can't say sir. I'm only relaying the message I was given. The Minister apologizes for the inconvenience." The trooper replied as the four rose to their feet.

"Well I'm not looking this gift bantha in the mouth. Anyone of you interested in hitting up the cantina?" Veska asked, picking up her helmet.

"I'm game." Glebbins said as he and the four councilors started to file out of the meeting room. As they did, the four couldn't help but notice that the Imperials in City Hall seemed to be in a state of disarray and confusion for the otherwise orderly Imperials.

"Something's up." Geht muttered. Gio looked towards one of the junior clerks nearby as he sifted through documents and messages appearing on his console at his desk.

"Let me try something." Gio said, approaching the clerk's desk.

"Officer, what's going on?" Gio asked, the clerk fumbling to attention and saluting.

"I wish I could tell you, councilor but even I don't know what's going on." The clerk replied, a look of being overwhelmed on his face. He was no more than nineteen, clearly having only just been assigned to the post recently.

"Then perhaps you can tell me your suspicions." Gio said in a calm and fatherly tone. This seemed to help the clerk relax a little.

"Well, I can't say for sure but there's a rumor going around that the governor may be dead." The clerk said softly.

"Dead? How? When?" Gio asked calmly but still visibly surprised.

"I can't say. All I know is I keep hearing 'Rebels' and 'Yavin' being mentioned. But whatever's happened, it's shaken up the entire command structure. Possibly all the way up to the Emperor himself. There's even rumor that Grand Moff Tarkin was one of the casualties." The clerk reported Gio stepped back in surprise.

"Tarkin? That might explain why the Minister…" Gio said.

"I'm sorry Councilor, but I need to return to my duties and try and make some kind of sense of this…sarlacc pit." The clerk said as Gio nodded, patting the clerk on the shoulder before stepping out of city hall where the other councilors were waiting for him across the street.

"Well? What did you find out?" Glebbins asked.

"Not here. Let's head somewhere…more private." Gio said.

"Your home is probably the most private, Rook." Geht commented.

"Yeah and given what you were saying earlier, I'd like to make sure that Jayna is okay." Veska said as Gio nodded.

"My place it is then." Gio said as the four councilors turned and headed down the street.

…

Back at the Rook Homestead, Jayna was quietly sitting in one of the corner seats of the cantina room, sitting with her eyes closed and hands on her knees in as tranquil a pose as she could. However she soon heard a speeder engine pull up, idle for a little while, and then speed off out front. She opened her eyes as the front doors opened.

"Mom? Mom are you home?!" Jan called into the house, Jayna looking towards the door.

"Jan? Kaden? Gia?! What are you three doing home so early?!" Jayna asked as she saw her children arriving home roughly an hour after having departed for school.

"School dismissed everyone early. Some kind of emergency among the staff. Headmistress was being called into the Minister's office and everything." Kaden said as Jayna looked worried.

"Minister's office? Anything to do with the city council?" Jayna asked worriedly.

"All we heard is that the minister canceled all city meetings today and called up all the city officials. Supposedly Imperial level government officials only. Jexxa gave us a lift in her speeder." Jan said as Kaden stepped forward.

"Mom, there's something you should see. Orar's dad recorded something on his shipping run to Alderaan." Kaden said as Jan nodded.

"Yeah, mom, this is big and it probably would account for why the Imps are acting so weird right now." Jan said as they heard another speeder pulling up and turning off.

"Wait, shh! That's your father's speeder." Jayna said as they all fell silent, looking towards the front door. Finally the door opened, Gio walking inside.

"Jayna?!" he called into the dwelling.

"Gio! You're alright. I heard the Minister-…" Jayna said as she saw the other three councilors entering.

"You probably heard right. Council meeting was canceled for today." Gio greeted as Glebbins approached Jayna.

"Lady Rook, a pleasure to remake your acquaintance." Glebbins said with a polite smile and a bow. Jayna smiled and returned the bow with one of her own.

"Councilor Glebbins, always a welcome face. You as well, Councilor Geht, Councilor Veska." Jayna said as Veska approached her and gave her a light sock in the right shoulder.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me, Jil?" Veska asked as Jayna shrugged.

"Wasn't sure if you were here on official business or not." Jayna said before noticing Geht was looking around cautiously for something. Jayna just smiled and chuckled.

"Tina's shut down right now, Krios. Relax." Jayna said as Geht sat down just as Gio noticed his children were sitting around one of the tables.

"Kids? What are you three doing home already?" Gio asked.

"Supposedly whatever's going on with the Minister is affecting all levels of government. Including the schools. Headmistress dismissed the students early." Jayna said as Gio looked at her with a look of growing surprise.

"Really? Then maybe what the clerk at city hall said might be true." Gio said.

"What is it?" Jayna asked.

"We can't confirm anything but it would seem that the Governor has been killed." Glebbins said from the booth he and the councilors shared.

"Killed? Murdered?" Jayna asked.

"Supposedly by the Rebellion." Veska added.

"Supposedly. We don't know for sure that it was those terrorists." Geht commented.

"Terrorists to some. Doing what-…never mind." Veska muttered, stopping herself mid-sentence.

"Wait, the governor's dead? Was he at Alderaan by any chance?" Jan asked as she stood up, Kaden reaching into his pocket.

"I don't think so. Only the word Yavin got mentioned." Gio replied.

"Yavin? Huh, if memory serves there used to be some kind of a ancient temples on the fourth planet of that system." Jayna said, sitting down on one of the barstools.

"But what's Alderaan got to do with anything?" Geht asked. Kaden proceeded to pull a data card from his pocket, walking over to R3 as he sat silently off to the side.

"R3, do you mind loaning us your projector?" he asked as R3 beeped and rolled forward towards the group. Kaden plugged in the card into R3's slot beneath his photoreceptor. He then proceeded to start projecting the hologram of the battle station destroying Alderaan, the assembled councilors and Jayna looking on in confusion and horror.

"What is this?" Glebbins asked.

"This is a copy of a flight recording that Captain Orar recorded during a run to Alderaan last night. According to Jexxa he got back early this morning and seemed completely shaken and rattled." Kaden said.

"What we're watching is the destruction of Alderaan by some kind of…Battle Station." Jan said, looking to her mother who watched the hologram with growing horror as the pieces fell into place.

"Millions of voices crying out in terror…suddenly silenced." She muttered.

"Canderous Orar? Rattled? I know the man quite well. He's a good pilot but he's also got Corellian blood and the mouth of one to boot. He's probably just telling a tall tale." Glebbins said but Veska shook her head.

"No~o I don't think so. Clan Orar is under my House's banner and I know Canderous. You're right about him having the bravado of a Corellian but he would not spin yarns about something as serious as this. I need to speak with him about this to be sure." Veska said, watching the hologram loop with an intense look on her face.

"As you wish." Glebbins said, indifferently.

"Then where does Yavin factor into this? Where does the Governor's death and the death of the Grand Moff factor?" Gio asked.

"Grand Moff? Governor Tarkin? He's among the dead?" Jayna asked, surprised.

"Supposedly. We don't have any evidence aside from panicked hearsay. But I'm betting that, judging by the chaos within city hall just a moment ago, something big has happened. It's got the whole Imperial military command structure thrown into chaos, probably all the way to the Emperor himself." Gio said.

"You don't think the Emperor's dead too do you?" Veska asked.

"It's possible. There's no telling what has happened until we get more information." Gio said.

"And the likelihood of the Empire telling us anything is quite low." Glebbins commented.

"The only other thing we know is that somehow the Rebellion might be involved." Veska added.

"The Rebellion? You think they may have killed the Governor and Moff Tarkin?" Jayna asked.

"Anything's possible. If they did, then that may change things across the galaxy for sure. If the Rebels were able to achieve something as large as assassinating Governor Tarkin and all the other planetary governors, then it would be a clear and obvious matter that the galaxy as a whole, and the Empire especially, has grossly underestimated their capabilities." Glebbins said.

"That's still a big if, Glebbins. The Rebels haven't exactly been known for their military strength. Last I heard they were scattered and aimless cells just bent on causing chaos." Geht commented.

"I dunno Krios. I think Glebbins' theory might end up being more than just a theory. The only information we have on the Rebels is what the Imperials have let us see, and even that's got COMPNOR's stamps and blackouts all over what we HAVE been able to see. I think it's highly likely that the Rebels pulled off the impossible." Veska said as Geht shrugged.

"Look, if the Rebels can pull off something that big, they'll earn my respect. Never was fond of that windbag of a governor they stuck us with." Geht said.

"I guess all we can do is wait. Follow what leads we can, and wait for more information to come out." Gio said as the other three councilors nodded.

"Agreed." Glebbins said.

"So does that mean this de-facto council meeting is adjourned? I'd like to get home early if that's alright." Geht said as Gio chuckled.

"It is as far as I'm concerned. I could use the opportunity to get started on my weekend chores." Gio said as Jayna looked towards the three younger Rooks.

"As could you three." Jayna said as the three groaned.

"Well, at least we have more time to get it all done." Kaden said as they filed away.

"If you need any help, just get Tina!" Jayna called.

"After I've left that is." Geht said as he elbowed his way past Glebbins towards the door. Glebbins was amused by the antics.

"I shall be returning home as well. I've some contacts off world that might be able to get us some more information on what's been going on." Glebbins said.

"Please do that Cyril. You will pass any information along to the rest of us, right?" Gio asked. Glebbins paused.

"I will, but if its serious, I'll call you each to meet in person. I have a gut feeling that this might be some very serious information that we don't want going out over unsecured comm channels." Glebbins said as Gio gave a nod.

"Good idea." He said as Glebbins gave a courteous bow to Jayna, who reciprocated, before turning and departing.

"I'm going to talk to Orar. See what I can get from him. If he can confirm the hologram, I'll let you know. Should be simple more than a simple flash code saying 'real' or 'not real' but I'll let you know. Otherwise I've got work to do at the smithy. I've got about seven refits to do to some ancestral armors." Veska said, patting an armorer's hammer resting in a holder on the left side of her belt.

"Understood, Veska. I'll pass anything I learn along to the rest of you." He said as Veska put on her helmet and walked out the door. Gio then turned to Jayna who was had turned to sit facing the bar, a contemplative look on her face mixed with clear shock.

"Jayna?" he asked as he stepped forward towards her.

"Suddenly that strange reaction we had last night no longer confuses me. It's all too clear to me now. Alderaan has been destroyed. There's not a doubt in my mind. That hologram from Orar confirms it." Jayna said as Gio sat down on a stool next to her.

"What do you think we should do?" Gio asked.

"I wish I could say. We may have to take a wait and see approach for now before we make any decisions." Jayna said as she stood up. She was about to walk away when she felt Gio's hand grab her wrist.

"You warned me once that there were risks to our being together. I told you that I was willing to take those risks with you. That was what I vowed to you when we married, and I don't intend to break that vow. Not now, not ever." Gio said as Jayna smiled at him lovingly for a moment before walking away towards the back of the dwelling, leaving Gio to sit alone at the old cantina counter, thinking to himself. As he thought, he heard a beeping from his comlink, reaching for it and placing it on the counter. He checked the signal code on the incoming transmission, recognizing it as the signal for his contact. He quickly attached a small device to the comlink to scramble his voice and disable the holocamera built into it before answering.

"Speak." Gio said.

"We've got a situation. Can you move up the timetable on the drop of the goods?" the contact asked, their voice distorted as well.

"I can. I and two of my associates will bring the delivery to the usual drop off point this evening. Make sure our payment is on ready." Gio said.

"It will be done." The contact said before closing the channel. Gio then stood up, pocketing the comlink.

…

Down in the speeder garage, Kaden, Jan, and Gia were doing their own chores to clean up the garage. Kaden was sweeping up the week's sand and dust that had gotten blown into the garage, Jan was cleaning out one of the moisture vaporators, and Gia was sorting through boxes of spare parts for the speeders.

"You know that feeling you get when you can tell things are going crazy around you but the fact you can't tell what's going on is driving you crazy in turn?" Kaden asked.

"Yeah I get it." Jan replied, scrubbing the insides of one of the vaporators.

"And even if we get an explanation, what are the chances its gonna be the truth? I mean we know how 'honest' the Empire is." Kaden said, still pushing a broom around.

"I'm more concerned about that…thing that happened to us last night. I swear mom knows what happened but she won't say anything." Jan said as Kaden and Gia both looked at her.

"Yeah I don't think I've ever seen mom so spooked before." Gia said.

"Maybe it has something to do with the life she lived before marrying dad." Jan suggested, earning a look from Kaden.

"What do you mean?" he asked as Jan turned in her chair to face him.

"Last night, before that…thing happened, she was telling Gia and me about the life she lived before she became a Mandalorian. The reason behind her armor colors." Jan replied.

"Oh yeah, I forgot armor color used to have meanings. Yellow and orange means a lust for life right? Kinda fits you pretty well, sis." Kaden said as Jan shrugged with a light smile.

"But mom's colors are white and grey. White for new beginnings, grey for mourning." Jan replied.

"Mourning? Wonder who she was mourning." Kaden said as Gia started trying to lift a long metal pipe from one of the crates.

"Or mourning, present tense." Jan suggested. Gia was finding it difficult to lift the pipe.

"We gotta talk to her about this." Kaden said, Jan nodding in agreement. They then heard Gia's struggling and looked towards her.

"Oh come on, vod'ika. Even Jawas can lift heavier things than that." Jan said as Kaden turned to help his younger sister.

"I know that but, (grunt) it's stuck on something!" Gia grunted back as Kaden started to try and pull on the pipe but it only caused him to stagger a little.

"Ngh! She wasn't kidding!" Kaden grunted as he tried to pull on the pipe with Gia. Jan rolled her eyes and got up.

"Oh for Mand'alor's sake! Do I have to be the smart one of the three of us?" she groaned, walking over to the crate, reaching inside.

"Wait! Don't!" Kaden yelped as he realized what was about to happen. Suddenly the pipe broke free of whatever was pinning it down, causing Gia and Kaden to accidentally fling it backwards into the wall behind them, the pipe becoming lodged into the wall.

"Oh nice going, Janie!" Gia said but Jan rolled her eyes.

"This would not have happened if you two had thought to remove whatever it was inside the crate first. This is on the both your heads." Jan said as Kaden rolled his eyes.

"Two against one, not good odds." Kaden said as he walked over to the pipe, grabbing it and pulling it free. When he did though, a few small chunks of the wall fell out with it, landing on the workbench. This caused Kaden to pause as he noticed that there wasn't another wall behind the broken wall but instead there was a strange darkness on the other side.

"Whoa hang on. Come look at this." Kaden said as Jan and Gia approached the wall, looking at the hole in surprise.

"That's strange. I thought the vaporator storage tanks were behind this wall." Jan said as Kaden nodded.

"So did I. But…" he said, reaching his arm completely through the hole before pulling it back out and then picking up an illuminator off the workbench and shining it inside. They could see another wall but it was at least twenty feet away on the opposite side of the hole, and they could see wall mounted toolchests and crates of equipment against the wall.

"There's another room in there." Kaden said.

"All our rooms are on the main floor. I thought all the sublevel rooms were just the garage and the room we keep Tina in." Jan said as Kaden stepped back from the workbench.

"Well, only one way to find out." He said, picking up one end of the workbench. Jan picked up on what he was doing and lifted the other end, the two carrying the workbench out of the way. Gia quickly moved a couple of empty speeder power cells out of the way before Jan and Kaden started hammering away at the hole, knocking in the damaged wall with relative ease using the pipe and a hammer, creating a hole large enough for them to enter one at a time.

"Gia, grab that glowlamp." Jan said, Gia grabbing a glowlamp from one of the shelves and turning it on as they stepped into the room, shining their illuminators around.

"Look, there's a light switch over here." Jan said, walking over to an old dusty control box on the wall, flipping a small lever and causing several workshop lights overhead to flicker on, allowing them a clear look around. The room was largely empty save for a few old toolchests and crates but there was a large arrow shaped object under a brown tarp sitting at an angle. A flight of stairs led up to a solid metal wall.

"What is this place?" Kaden asked as Gia looked around, turning off the glowlamp. She looked at where the broken wall met the other facing, noticing something.

"There's something funny about the walls. The colors are off." She said, motioning to the corner.

"Yeah. It looks like this wall…" Kaden said, knocking slightly on the broken wall, "…got added later on."

"Like someone was hiding something." Jan said as Kaden shrugged.

"Well we do attack Imperial transports and steal their cargo. We do have plenty to hide." Kaden said as Jan gave him a glare.

"No osik. But we don't use this room for stashing any goods. Too risky. So what's being hidden down here?" Jan asked as they looked around. Gia then spotted something printed on the side of one of the crates.

"Hey, doesn't something look off about this imperial symbol?" she asked, motioning to the crate.

"That's not the Imperial symbol. I've seen that before. That symbol is the symbol of the Old Republic." Jan replied.

"The Old Republic?" Gia asked.

"It was the government that existed before the Empire. After the Clone Wars, the Republic became the Empire. That was their symbol." Jan explained.

"How'd you know that?" Kaden asked.

"Firstly it's basic history. Second, one of mom's and my first missions after my Verd'goten was to steal some supplies from an abandoned old Clone War era Republic base on the edge of Mandalorian space. This symbol was all over the place there." Jan replied.

"Then what about this one?" they heard Gia ask. They turned and saw her pointing at a blue banner draped over what they assumed were more old crates.

"That looks kinda like the symbol the Rebellion has been using. The 'Starbird' they call it. I've seen graffiti of it before." Kaden said.

"Yeah but it looks different." Jan replied. The symbol did resemble the Rebel Starbird but it was white and had what looked like a sword pointed up through the center with a starburst of some kind in the lower middle of the sword.

"And what's this then?" Gia asked, pointing to the large covered object.

"It's big enough to be a speeder." Kaden said as he grabbed one end of the drop cloth covering the object, Jan and Gia doing the same and pulling it off the object. Underneath it was a large arrow shaped starfighter with a white stripe up the center and grey outer edges with the same Starbird outlined in black emblazoned across the hull. There was an astromech droid socket in front of a domed cockpit canopy. Printed just behind the cockpit and on the left wing was the Old Republic insignia. It had two engines and at first glance it had a pair of laser cannons built into the top of hull but there were actually four cannons, the other two barrels being on the underside of the fighter.

"Whoa, it's a starfighter!" Gia exclaimed.

"It looks a little old but in incredible shape." Jan said as Kaden stepped over towards the cockpit, reaching out and pressing a button beneath the canopy edges. The canopy jolted slightly but raised with a light hiss and a whine as it opened for the first time in decades. The console lights started coming on, as well.

"How long has this been down here? What model is it? Who did it belong to?" Gia asked excitedly.

"About a year shy of two decades." A voice said from the hole in the wall. The three jumped and turned towards the hole to see Jayna standing just outside the hole.

"Eugh, busted." Jan groaned.

"Mom we discovered it on accident, honest. Please don't be angry at us about the hole or…whoever this belonged to." Kaden said but Jayna smiled, walking through the hole, R3 following close behind her. She lightly raised her hand towards the fighter and suddenly the cockpit canopy started to close on its own, the console lights and displays switching off.

"To answer your questions, it's a Delta-7B Aethersprite Interceptor. It was the fighter I flew during the Clone Wars." She said, sitting down on the side of the fighter's hull, running a hand over some old carbon scoring as she reminisced quietly to herself.

"This was yours?!" Jan exclaimed in disbelief.

"Mando'karla!" Gia exclaimed in excited awe. Jayna just smiled and chuckled.

"I never knew you fought in the Clone Wars. I always kinda thought you were a crewman on a spice freighter or something." Kaden said as Jayna sat back a little, R3 beeping something as he managed to hop onto the fighter's hull, making his way into the old astromech socket, sliding down into it.

"What do you mean 'we're gullible?!'" Jan asked the astromech, insulted.

"Take it easy on R3. He and I have been through a lot together. R3-Z7 has been my oldest friend and companion. We got into some real scrapes, didn't we buddy?" Jayna asked, R3 beeping a confirmation. Jayna chuckled at his response before turning back to her children.

"R3 and I fought together in the Clone Wars. I couldn't ask for a better astrodroid. I would say I couldn't ask for a better friend, but then I met your father." Jayna said before glancing over to R3.

"No offence." she said to R3 who turned his head away with a toot of mock offense, causing Jayna to laugh and Gia to giggle at the droid's antics.

"But I thought only clones fought in the Clone Wars." Kaden said.

"Wait, does that make us clones too?" Gia asked but Jayna laughed and pulled her over to sit next to her on the fighter's hull.

"No sweetie. We're not clones. I'm not and neither is your father so that means you're not clones either. But I did fight along side a lot of clones during the war. They were the Grand Army of the Republic." Jayna replied.

"Mando'karla! What rank were you?" Jan asked.

"Commander at first, later General." Jayna replied.

"Get out of here." Kaden replied dismissively, not believing his mother's claims.

"Are you questioning your mother's word?" they heard Gio ask as he stepped in through the hole.

"Dad? Was mom really a general in the Clone Wars?" Kaden asked. He was startled when his father gave a confident and proud nod.

"She was indeed. Commanded her own battalion even. The Four-Twenty-First, wasn't it?" Gio replied, smiling at his wife proudly who nodded back.

"Whoa. So that's the life you lived that you said we'd be proud of?" Jan asked as Jayna nodded to her.

"It was a part of it, yes." Jayna replied.

"Part of it?" Kaden asked. Jayna and Gio exchanged curious looks.

"The…other part is the reason I've kept my past a secret for so long. For your own protection as well as my own. If the Empire found out I, or the person I was during the war, was still alive, they would hunt me down and destroy me…and I don't want to even think of what they would do to the three of you." Jayna said with an uneasy sigh.

"What do you mean?" Kaden asked as Jayna turned towards R3, giving him a nod.

"I'd like to introduce the three of you to someone." Jayna said as R3 started to project a hologram of the young woman in her late teens/early twenties, only standing in a dignified and authoritative pose, wearing pieces of clone trooper armor over the robes with the symbol on the banner nearby emblazoned across the chest.

"I'd like you to meet Ana-jy Lys. Former Republic General. That was me, during the Clone Wars. Ana-jy Lys is my real name." Jayna said as her children looked on in awe.

"Whoa. You look awesome in that armor." Jan remarked, kneeling down to get a closer look at the hologram.

"Thanks but it wasn't about looks. That armor was nothing compared to beskar though. Still better than the trash that the shebs buy'ce Imperials wear." Jayna said as Kaden noticed the symbol across her armor's chest.

"What's that symbol? I've only seen it on the banner there." Kaden said, motioning to the nearby banner.

"Yeah and where's you're weapon?" Gia asked, motioning to the hologram.

"Oh I didn't carry a blaster back then. I had a…different weapon. More of a tool though really." Jayna said as the hologram deactivated.

"What do you mean?" Gia asked. Jayna looked to Gio who gave a reassuring nod.

"It's your call. Whether you tell them now, never, or later, I'll back your decision." He said. Jayna took an apprehensive breath.

"Remember our conversation the other morning? About the Battle of Galidraan?" Jayna asked, the three Rook children looking at each other curiously.

"Yeah, the battle where the Mandalorians lost to the…to the Jedi." Jan said, realization dawning on her face as she looked to her mother with a look of disbelief.

"Wait, mom, you're a Jedi?" Kaden asked in surprise. Gia was looking at her in surprise.

"I was. I left that life behind long ago. The symbol on that banner and on my old armor was that of the Jedi Order." Jayna replied.

"Were you at Galidraan? Did you kill other Mandalorians?" Jan asked but Jayna shook her head.

"No, I was never at Galidraan. I wasn't even born then. I've never taken up arms against the Mandalorians, on that you can be assured of." Jayna said as Gio gave a nod.

"I can vouch for her if her word isn't good enough." Gio said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, I believe you." Jan replied, Kaden nodding in agreement.

"So, what is a Jedi, mom?" Gia asked, quietly awed by her mother's past. Jayna smiled and put her arm around her youngest.

"The Jedi were keepers of the peace and justice. Defenders of the Old Republic. For over a thousand years, the Jedi Knights defended the Galaxy…then came the Dark Times…the Clone Wars and then the Empire." Jayna explained.

"What happened to the Jedi?" Jan asked as she and Kaden sat down on a couple of old crates. Jayna sighed heavily, a look of sadness on her face.

"I left the Jedi before the end came but I know from others such as your grandfather and even Veska and Geht, what had happened. The war was over. The leaders of the Separatists were dead, the Republic on the end run course to victory. The Jedi were prepared to be hailed as heroes. But…without warning, the cloned soldiers that they…that I had fought beside for so long, turned and murdered the Jedi without warning, slaughtering us in cold blood." Jayna explained, a look of pained confusion on her face. The looks on her children's face was that of horror and disbelief.

"The clones killed the Jedi?" Kaden asked. Jayna gave a nod.

"I was fortunate. I mentioned earlier that I had left the Jedi before the war ended. I guess you could call me a deserter in a way but I left properly. Like an officer resigning her commission. So I was spared the betrayal. But I knew the Clones…the Empire would come for me. Luckily I had friends and people I could trust to help Ana-jy Lys disappear, and for Jayna Rook to take her place." Jayna explained, looking to her husband who smiled lovingly towards her.

"And we'd have done it again for you in a second." Gio explained.

"So the Empire is hunting you?" Jan asked.

"Not me. They're hunting the woman I was before. As far as the Empire's concerned, Ana-jy Lys is long dead. But there's always that risk of discovery. That's why we've kept all this a secret. That's why I've kept so many secrets. I hate keeping those secrets from you, but I'll keep as many as it takes to keep the three of you safe." Jayna explained.

"And we'll keep your secrets mom, you can count on us." Gia said proudly.

"I know you will. Remember its not for my safety but for your own." Jayna said.

"Why would we be in any danger though? Is it because we're the kids of an ex-Jedi? I mean what makes the Jedi so dangerous to the Empire?" Jan asked. Jayna thought for a moment before pulling one of her feet up onto the side of the fighter.

"Do you remember last night? You heard screaming, millions of voices crying out in terror, and suddenly silenced. You heard that, didn't you?" Jayna asked as the three nodded uneasily.

"What was that, mom?" Kaden asked.

"That was the destruction of Alderaan. You could sense its destruction and the deaths of millions. You sensed it because you have a strength that few in the galaxy have. You are strong in the Force." Jayna explained.

"The Force?" Jan asked.

"It is an energy field, created by all living things. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, binds the galaxy together. It is that which enabled the Jedi to accomplish incredible feats." Jayna explained.

"So we're half-Mandalorian, half-Jedi?" Kaden asked but Jayna chuckled.

"No, not really. The Jedi are really a faction of those who can use the Force. Throughout history, there've always been two factions. The Jedi Order, which I was raised in and was a part of, and the Sith, which sees the Force as a weapon to be tamed and controlled for personal power. The Empire are aligned with the Sith. I sometimes even suspect the Emperor himself of being a Sith. If not, I can guarantee that there are Sith working with the Empire. It was the Sith who helped the Empire hunt down and exterminate the Jedi, which is why there are none left." Jayna explained.

"Then what are we then? How did we inherit the Force?" Jan asked but Gio cleared his throat.

"I hate to break up the family meeting but I'm afraid that if it keeps going we'll miss our drop time." He said.

"Drop time?" Jayna asked, surprised.

"Our contact moved up the drop of the goods we acquired from the Empire. We head out this evening. Jan, Kaden, you're with me. Head upstairs and armor up." Gio said as the two looked at each other briefly before standing up and heading through the hole in the wall.

"What about me?" Gia asked.

"Stay here with your mother. We've done this drop a thousand times or so. It's routine." Gio replied.

"Aww but I wanted to go too." Gia whined.

"Don't worry ad'ika. To make it up to you, I'll tell you some of my war stories. You haven't heard any of them before and I've got a few good ones." Jayna said as Gia shrugged.

"You push a hard bargain mom." She replied, causing Jayna to laugh.

"Alright you, come on." Jayna said as she led her youngest out of the room, pausing briefly to look back at the old starfighter, R3 right behind her, as they stepped out of the room, Jayna turning and raising a hand towards the wall switch, the switch suddenly flipping to the off position and a large piece of sheet metal placed over the hole, bathing the hidden garage in darkness again.

…

It was evening as an armored Gio, Jan, and Kaden rode across the Concord Dawn dust fields in their speeder, towing a cargo sled with their stolen supplies covered by a tarp. They soon navigated into a short canyon that led into an abandoned beskar ore mining quarry. The ore veins had long since dried up and all the mining equipment worth any value had been long since removed. Now only two-hundred year old rusting hulks of mining cranes and hollowed out company buildings sat in the growing twilight of the area. An old Theta-class shuttle sat on one end of the quarry along with a pair of mercenary starfighters. A trio of armored weequay stood waiting with their weapons in hand while about four more weequay stood near the ships as the three Mandalorians drove up and stopped. The Mandalorians climbed out, Kaden and Jan moving to the cargo sled.

"You're early." Gio said, his helmet scrambling his voice.

"We had an easier time getting through the sensor grid than usual. You have the stuff?" the lead weequay asked. Gio motioned towards Kaden and Jan as they carried a large crate towards the weequays, setting the crate down and opening the lid. Inside were hundreds of small plasteel containers and plasteel bottles colored in Stormtrooper white.

"Five crates of assorted field rations and water canteens, four crates of maintenance parts for Imperial fighters, one crate of blank chain code slips, two crates of spare Imperial army officer uniforms, and one crate of T-21 Repeating Blaster Rifles." Gio explained as the lead Weequay gave an impressed nod.

"Very nice. You Mandos scored pretty good on this one." The Weequay said.

"There was also two crates of E-11 Blaster Rifles but we disassembled those for scrap. We figured adding that rubbish to the pile would end up lowering the price instead of raising it." Kaden added with his distorted voice. The weequay laughed.

"Ya got that right. Alright here's half of the payment. You'll get the rest once we've inspected the merchandise, like usual." The weequay said, handing over a briefcase to Gio who opened the case, looking at the neatly lined rows of Imperial Credits for a moment before closing it.

"Go ahead." Gio said as he, Jan and Kaden stepped aside, allowing the Weequays to climb onto the cargo sled, looking into the crates and inspecting the cargo. This was something they'd done a few times before so this was standard.

"I'm surprised your boss is willing to trade with us. Especially given that it's stolen imperial supplies." Gio said to the lead weequay.

"You drive a fair price, Mando. Our boss buys the goods off of you cheap, then he resells it on the galactic market for a hefty resale price. Surprised you're not offended by the arrangement really." The weequay said.

"We're not interested in profits. We just rather these supplies get out of Imperial hands. We're satisfied with the fact it hurts the Empire, even if it is just a small pin-prick." Gio said as the Weequay arched a curious eyebrow.

"Given all that's happened, I imagine the Empire's gonna be too busy with those Rebels to worry about some missing supplies. Especially after what the Rebels just did to the Emps." The Weequay said, Kaden and Jan looking at each other.

"You may have to fill us in on that. Communications around these parts are rather…spotty." Kaden said.

"You mean you haven't heard? Empire blew up the planet Alderaan. Had a big shiny new superweapon. But the Rebels blew up the superweapon over Yavin IV just earlier today." The weequay explained.

"The Rebels destroyed it?" Jan asked as the Weequay put a cigarra into his mouth, lighting it with a small lighter and taking a drag before exhaling.

"That's right. Word is that a bunch of the Empire's commanders were on the station when it blew. Rebels really kicked the Empire's teeth in." the Weequay replied.

"Which means the Rebels aren't the minor threat the Empire's been claiming they were. Not anymore at least." Jan commented.

"Cin is going to want to hear about this when we get back to HQ." Kaden said. At the same time, Gio heard the sound of tumbling rocks from behind him in the quarry walls and turned to look, his scanner swiveling down over his eye to survey the area. After a second he drew a blaster pistol.

"Udesii. We're not alone out here." He said, Jan and Kaden drawing their weapons as well as the Weequay.

"You're right, we're not." The weequay said before pointing his blaster at Gio with a smirk as his back was turned. Gio however noticed and glared at him over his shoulder, Kaden and Jan quickly turning their weapons on the Weequay but soon found the other weequays pointing their weapons at them as well, a standoff quickly forming.

"You have a death wish, backstabbing Mandalorians like this?" Gio asked in a low tone.

"No but I do have a desire to be quite wealthy." The weequay said with a smirk, pulling a device from his pocket with his free hand, pressing a button on it, causing the device to start beeping loudly. The device was a homing beacon.

"What have you done?" Gio asked.

"Got a better offer. Empire was posting a hefty bounty for information regarding the disappearance of their missing cargo. Split between my men and I it would pay out even more than what my boss was paying me to bring him the goods." The weequay said as squads of Stormtroopers started to emerge from within the quarry. The Mandalorians started looking around but soon saw that there was nearly fifty stormtroopers headed their way from the quarry walls.

"You just signed your death warrant, quay." Gio remarked in a low tone as he growled and dropped his weapon, Jan and Kaden both sighing and dropping theirs as well, raising their hands as the stormtroopers rushed in with binders to apprehend them.

"No, I just signed a big fat credit check." The weequay said with a chuckle as he holstered his blaster.

"Actually, the Mando is correct." A woman's voice said before a blaster shot rang out. The weequay dropped to his knees with a stunned look on his face before falling dead onto his chest, a smoldering blaster mark in his back. Behind him stood Agent Takka in full ISB armor, blowing on the barrel of her blaster pistol before holstering it.

"This pirate scum was guilty of conspiring to purchase stolen Imperial Military Supplies. Such an act is tantamount to treason and the punishment for treason is death." Takka said as she stepped over the weequay's corpse. The stormtroopers also started lining the weequay pirates up against one of the quarry walls.

"I wondered how long it would take before you shebs buy'ce would start looking for us." Gio said as one of the stormtroopers started trying to pull Gio's helmet off but it was locked down.

"Sir, his helmet won't budge!" the trooper replied.

"It's locked down. Confiscate their weapons for the time being." Takka ordered before turning towards Gio, looking at him curiously.

"You don't seem very surprised we caught you. Were you expecting it?" she asked.

"A little. We weren't fully expecting the weequay to backstab us. Guess their loyalty was for sale after all. You have my respect for your ability to track us down." Gio said as Takka gave him a courteous nod.

"I'm pleased to hear you say that. It is a pity you did not respect the Empire enough to recognize that your antiquated warrior ways were no match to the cunning of the Empire and not commit treason by stealing from our military. I admit you did surprise me by ordering a surrender." Takka said.

"We know when we're outnumbered. Maybe had you four or five troopers less, things would've been different." Gio replied.

"Pity others like you don't see reason. The Rebels at Yavin for instance." Takka muttered with a scornful snarl.

"You mean the Rebels that just blew up the Empire's new toy and killed a good chunk of your superior officers in the process?" Kaden asked. Takka growled and immediately spun around, drawing her blaster pistol and shooting him in the chest, causing him to stagger and fall onto his back.

"Vod!" Jan screamed as she saw her brother fall to the ground. Kaden let out a moan, rolling slightly on the ground.

"Osik Imperial besbe'trayce." Kaden groaned as he sat up. His beskar armor had absorbed the blast. Jan noticed that he was fidgeting with something on his left gauntlet while on the ground, a light starting to flash near the comm controls. She recognized what he had done but stayed silent.

"And now you've lost my respect!" Gio spat, lunging towards Takka but was restrained by the stormtroopers as Kaden was dragged back to his feet.

"It makes no difference whether you respect me or not. Put the Mandalorians on the transport to the capitol." Takka said as a black Imperial Juggernaut rolled into the quarry.

"Where I imagine our execution will be carried out." Gio said as Takka looked towards him curiously.

"If you were that perceptive, then why didn't you call off your foolhardy efforts to steal from the Empire before you attempted them? Yes, the three of you will be executed at dawn, publicly so. And after Yavin, we need to make clear examples of what happens to traitors who think it wise to rise against the Empire. Take them away!" Takka commanded as the three Mandalorians were escorted to the juggernaut.

"Agent Takka, what about the pirates?" one of the stormtroopers asked. Takka looked to where the pirates were lined up.

"Kill them." She replied.

"Yes ma'am." The trooper replied, giving a signal to one of the other troopers near the pirates. The other trooper nodded and gestured towards the pirates. Gio, Kaden, and Jan had their backs turned when they heard the blaster fire ring out, coupled with the death cries of the weequay and the dull thuds of their bodies hitting the ground. As soon as the Mandalorians were aboard the transport, one of the Imperial Engineers approached with a handheld scanner device.

"Ma'am, I'm picking up some kind of a signal being broadcast from one of the Mandalorians. It may be a distress signal." The engineer reported. Takka put a hand to her chin in thought.

"Good. This could work to our advantage. Monitor all ships attempting to leave the planet for the time being. If any ships attempt to escape the system without clearance from Regional Command or a full customs inspection before departure, intercept and shoot them down." Takka said as the engineer looked confused.

"Ma'am, we have the Mandalorians responsible don't we?" the engineer asked.

"Not all of them, Sergeant. The very fact they've sent a distress signal confirms that there is at least one more member of their operation. The flight recorders of the shuttles they've destroyed suggested as such. This will either draw out the last of their group or drive them to flee. Either way, these insurgents and the whole sector will soon learn the consequences of treason against the Empire." Takka said before starting for the juggernaut.

…

Back at the Rook homestead, an alarm had started going off throughout the home. Jayna rushed into a small control room with a console displaying a holographic map of the planet, a red ping marking the old quarry.

"Oh no-no-no-no-no." Jayna muttered as she entered a few quick commands into the console, zooming in on the quarry. Two more pings started appearing in close proximity as the pings started moving away from the quarry.

"R3! Get in here!" Jayna yelled into the hall, the astromech hurriedly rolling into the room.

"See if you can tap into that remote camera system I installed into the drop zone. I need eyes on the quarry fast!" Jayna ordered, R3 beeping a confirmation. Gia poked her head from around the corner worriedly. She was already in her pink night robes. After a moment, two holoscreens activated showing live images of Imperial Stormtroopers swarming the quarry and an Imperial Juggernaut rolling away from the quarry down the canyon road. Jayna's heart sank as she sat back in horror.

"No…no this can't be happening." She whispered in shock.

"Mom? What's going on?" Gia asked, visibly scared.

"I'm not sure sweetie but I think your father, brother, and sister have been captured by the Empire." Jayna said as she stood up and staggered slightly out of the control room.

"What?! But that means-…what are we going to do mom?" Gia asked, visibly afraid of what was going to happen to her father and siblings.

"Your father and I worked out a protocol for a situation like this. To pack up our essentials and leave. We have an escape transport hidden away in the old mines." Jayna replied as she headed for the kitchen, pulling a satchel bag from a wall cubby and starting to put ration packs into the satchel.

"You mean we're just going to run? Leave dad, Janie and Kaden behind?!" Gia asked, shocked by what her mother was suggesting.

"They're going to be under heavy Imperial guard. Getting them out will be nearly impossible. If we had maybe ten Mandalorian soldiers with us, we could do it but it's just the two of us and you're not even of age yet. I'm not about to sacrifice the only family I have left." Jayna said as Gia started tearing up.

"But we can't leave them!" she cried.

"Giana…" Jayna said, turning to try and embrace her youngest but Gia unexpectedly pushed her away, stepping back.

"No! We have to save them!" Gia cried.

"We can't!" Jayna replied.

"Yes we can! You were a General in the Clone Wars, right?! You had to have done something like this before! I know the Separatists had the Republic outnumbered all the time but the clones still won in the end, right?! Well we're outnumbered now so how is this any different?!" Gia asked.

"Giana it's not…" Jayna tried to reply but was interrupted.

"And weren't you a Jedi?! You said the Jedi kept the peace and brought justice? How is leaving dad and my brother and sister behind to die justice?! Where's the honor in leaving our vode to die?!" Gia cried. Jayna lowered her head, turning to sit back against the cantina bar counter with a hand over her eyes.

"There is no hope of saving them, Gia. I want to save them so much. It turns my stomach to think about leaving them behind. But what hope is there to save them on our own?" Jayna asked, a tear running down her cheek.

"There is more hope than you realize." A voice echoed through the room causing Gia to look around confused. Jayna even raised her head, looking around.

"Who said that?" Gia asked.

"I don't know. But I sense something…a…presence." Jayna replied as she climbed to her feet. As she did, she heard Gia gasp.

"Mo~om!" Gia said in startled alarm, pointing towards the hallway into the back of the dwelling. Jayna looked and saw an older man with long brown hair worn down the back and a short brown beard, wearing tan robes over a brown hooded cloak. The man pulled back his hood with a gentle smile towards Jayna. The man had a phantasmal glow about him as he stood in the darkened hallway.

"Greetings, Ana-Jy. It has certainly been many a long time since last we saw one another." The man said as a stunned Jayna stepped forward cautiously.

"I don't believe it. It's not possible. You've been dead for well over thirty years." She said in utter shock as the man gave a nod.

"There remains many mysteries of the Force, Ana-Jy Lys. Many have been forgotten, many more left undiscovered. To exist as part of the Living Force is the natural state of all beings once they have passed from their life to rejoin the Force. But I am the man you knew me to be in life. The man who found you and brought you into the Jedi Order when you were naught but a homeless child on the streets of Coruscant." The man said as Jayna dropped to her knees in still shock.

"Master Qui-Gon Jinn…it really is you, isn't it?" Jayna asked as the ghost of the late Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn gave a light smile and a nod.

"Yes it is I. And just as I brought you to the Jedi years ago, the time has come for me to bring you back to the Jedi now." Qui-Gon said as Jayna looked at him confused. Gia was watching in confusion as to what was going on.

"I cannot, Master. The Jedi are extinct. I am no longer fit to call myself one either. I abandoned that path long ago." Jayna said, shaking her head.

"Stretch out with your feelings into the Galaxy around you. You can sense there has been a great disturbance in the Force. The Dark Side of the Force has suffered a recession in its grip on the Galaxy. A New Hope has finally emerged. The Jedi, are returning." Qui-Gon explained as Jayna closed her eyes, sensing the galaxy. She could sense fear but she could sense a strange sensation teeming across the galaxy, erasing that fear…

Hope.

Qui-Gon then continued…

"Everything that has happened as of late has been the Will of the Living Force. You have felt it. You have sensed that this day would come. When the paths ahead would be known to you. The choice is now yours to choose which path you take. Will you walk the Jedi Path again, knowing the risks and dangers? Or will you walk the path of the Dark Side of the Force, knowing the terrors that could be unleashed because of it? Or perhaps you will walk a different path altogether a path of complete uncertainty. The choice is yours, Ana-Jy." Qui-Gon said as Jayna raised her head, looking at Gia as she looked at her mother, confused. Jayna took a breath, mustering her courage and then looking towards Qui-Gon.

"Am I even worthy to call myself a Jedi? I abandoned the Order." Jayna said.

"That is for you to decide. I cannot decide for you, Ana-Jy. But I believe you have decided that already without realizing it. Look back upon your life since leaving the Order. You have always followed the Jedi's path, even without calling yourself a Jedi. You have found a new Path…a new Way. It is time now, for you to follow that Way." Qui-Gon said as Jayna raised her head towards the late Jedi Master and gave a determined nod.

"This is the Way." She whispered with softspoken determination.

"Above all else, you must remember what you have always known and never forgotten. That the Force will be with you…always." Qui-Gon said before he faded away, disappearing into the void of the Force. Gia looked at her mother in confusion.

"Was…that a ghost? Who was that?" Gia asked as Jayna rose to her feet.

"It's a long…long story Gia. But we have preparations to make and quickly if we're going to get out of here." Jayna said as Gia looked at her in confusion.

"What?! We're still running?!" she asked. Jayna immediately turned and knelt down to her level, looking her in the eyes with both hands on her youngest daughter's shoulders.

"Gia, do you trust me?" she asked.

"Yes." Gia replied, still confused.

"Then go wake up Tina." Jayna said as Gia gasped at first but then grinned before running off into the hall. Jayna watched her daughter run down the stairs out to the sublevels before turning towards a curio cabinet full of assorted treasures of more sentimental value than historical, the cabinet resting against one wall in the hallway. She quickly started to shove the cabinet out of the way, revealing a long hidden doorway with a flight of stairs leading down into the sublevel garage. She flipped a switch on the wall, turning on the lights to reveal the old Delta-7B sitting at the bottom of the stairs. She hurried down the steps, walking towards the banner draped boxes near the fighter, pulling off the banner to reveal several large crates, but atop one crate was a brown wooden box with the Jedi Order insignia on the lid. She opened the lid and smiled lightly at what lay inside.

"Hello my old friend. It's been far too long." She whispered softly, reaching into the box…

…

In the Imperial City Hall, it was still dark outside in the early morning hours. Gio, Jan, and Kaden sat in a cell together. They still had their armor on but their weapons, jetpacks, helmets, and gauntlets had been removed.

"You think Cin has gotten to safety by now?" Kaden asked as he sat on the single bunk in the room.

"She had better." Gio replied as he leaned against the wall near the cell door.

"If she and vod'ika can get off this rock alive, then I can face the firing squad with dignity." Jan said, Gio looking her way with a pained look on his face.

"In a just galaxy, you wouldn't even have to." He said.

"Buir." Kaden said as he and Jan looked at him sympathetically.

"I should never have brought you into this." He said, a grieving look on his face.

"We volunteered. We're adults. We had every right to refuse." Jan said as Kaden nodded.

"We joined up with you and mom because we wanted to strike back at the Empire too. We knew the risks. Don't grieve for us." Kaden said but Gio shook his head.

"As a Mandalorian, I am not. But as a father…" he said with a sad sigh, looking towards the forcefield doors to their cell.

"No father should go to his death knowing that his children will be dying beside him." Gio said.

"We made our choice. We don't want to die either, but we're Mandalorians. We're fine with it." Kaden said.

"We've lived in accordance with the six actions. We've lived a life of honor. This is the Way." Jan said as Gio gave a nod.

"This is the Way." He replied. They then heard footsteps approaching their cell and looked to see a pair of stormtroopers and Agent Takka stop outside the cell.

"It is nearly dawn, traitors. Bring them." Takka said, motioning to the three Mandalorians. The Stormtroopers deactivated the cell forcefield, raising their blasters as the three Rooks filed out of the cell. The three were escorted down several corridors until they reached an octagonal assembly hall. The hall was empty save for two squads of stormtroopers. Minister Marson and the school headmistress were present as well as a pair of stormtroopers, each holding an electrostaff. Set up in the center of the room were three square U-shaped devices with a red curtain of energy being projected inside each device. They were electroguillotines, connected to one another side by side in a straight row. An Imperial Engineer was placing a fruit into each curtain, the fruit being suspended in the air by each curtain of energy. The two electrostaff troopers then charged their staffs and struck the opposite ends of the row of guillotines, causing the execution devices to activate, slicing the fruit clean in half. Kaden swallowed a bit nervously.

"Is it too late to request a firing squad instead?" he muttered as Minister Marson approached Gio with a look of disgust on his face.

"I could not believe my ears when Agent Takka informed me that you, of all people, Councilor Rook, were caught red handed attempting to fence the very supplies that had been stolen. It turns my stomach to think a once proud warrior such as you would commit bold faced treason against his Emperor." Marson said. Gio rolled his eyes with a sneer.

"And it turned my stomach to have to feign loyalty to an Emperor I never supported to begin with. Mandalorians have always stood apart from the reigning galactic power. Republic or Empire, it doesn't matter. We want nothing to do with it. We make our own path. We may, at times, choose to side with one faction or another, but we always return to our own path eventually. This is our Way." Gio said as Marson sighed and shook his head.

"Your ways are over, Councilor Rook. Have been for nearly two decades now. In time, the Empire will stamp out these backwards ways of yours to instill one unifying path forward, with our Emperor's steady hand to guide it." Marson said before stepping away.

"And it is the duty of school headmasters like myself to make sure the minds of future generations are shaped and molded to conform to this path." The headmistress said as she approached Kaden and Jan, looking them over.

"I get the feeling you're not really upset seeing us about to have our necks split, are you?" Kaden asked her, earning a repugnant sneer from the headmistress.

"I'm more upset at the knowledge that I'm going to have to increase our education efforts and institute more in-depth screening of our students to weed out any that might be sympathetic to your cause. But I believe being shown the footage of your executions will help to end any thoughts of rebellion your fellow students may have. If not, well, these devices aren't going anywhere." The headmistress said, motioning to the guillotines. Jan chuckled with an incredulous grin, shaking her head.

"You know something, I've always wanted to tell you what I really thought of you, you slimy old schutta." Jan said as the headmistress sneered and stepped away with a haughty huff.

"If those are your last words, then I'll ignore that insult." She replied as Takka approached the condemned.

"Before we begin, I have but one question for you. Are any of you affiliated with the Rebellion?" Takka asked.

"I can honestly answer that we are not. Our actions have been our own." Gio said as Takka gave a slight nod.

"I believe you. The evidence does not show any sign of connection with the Rebellion. At least no direct connections that we can discern. So conspiracy with the Rebel Terrorists is not one of your charges. But the fact remains that the three of you are guilty of attacking Imperial Transports, murdering Imperial Personnel, and theft with intent to sell Imperial property. Even one of those charges is a charge of treason, let alone all three. For this, the punishment is execution." Takka said as the three Rooks looked at her defiantly.

…

Outside the City Hall, a pair of Stormtroopers stood guarding the front doors. As they did, they saw a hooded figure in a white cloak approaching on foot, the cloak wrapped around them. Behind the figure was an R3 unit with a white dome and struts with a red body.

"You there, halt!" one of the troopers ordered, the figure coming to a stop. The figure had on a white Mandalorian helmet with a reflective gold colored edging and decoration to it.

"I am Jayna Rook, of the House of Rook. I believe you were expecting me. I am unarmed." Jayna said as she opened her cloak at her sides. Her holsters were empty and she had no Mandalorian arm gauntlets on save for smooth white armor plating. She also didn't have a jetpack attached. The stormtroopers looked at each other and nodded, one of them reaching for a pair of binders at its side.

"You're under arrest." The trooper said but Jayna raised a hand.

"The binders are unnecessary. I will come peacefully." She said, waving her hand towards the trooper. The trooper paused and then backed down, putting the binders away.

"The binders are unnecessary. You will come peacefully." The trooper replied.

"Come on, get moving! You too droid!" the other trooper ordered, shoving Jayna forward, R3 beeping a curt response as he followed after her.

…

Back inside the city hall, the three Rooks still stood alive as Takka pulled on a pair of black gloves.

"Is the probe droid ready for broadcast?" Takka asked.

"The droid is ready, ma'am, but now we're having trouble with our communications array." One of the technicians said as a Viper Probe Droid sat to the side.

"What sort of trouble?" Takka asked, eyeing the prisoners suspiciously.

"We're not sure. At the moment we're limited to short range communications only until the array starts working again." The technician replied.

"Well send a team to find out! We still haven't sent the arrest reports to the capitol! The sector needs to see these three traitors die!" Takka yelled, the technician saluting.

"Right away ma'am!" the technician replied.

"Sounds like we just got a temporary stay of execution." Kaden muttered.

"You would think, traitor. But we can still broadcast your executions once our array is back online. These droids do have a record feature after all." Takka said before her comlink buzzed.

"What is it?" she asked into her comlink.

"Ma'am, we have Jayna Rook in custody. She surrendered to us at the front gate, unarmed, and accompanied by her droid, an R2 unit by the looks of it." A stormtrooper replied as Gio, Jan, and Kaden exchanged alarmed looks. Takka seemed surprised for a moment but smiled.

"Is she? Bring her in at once!" Takka said before pocketing the comlink and turning to the three Rooks.

"It seems my gambit has paid off. Your other conspirator showed themselves after all. I might've guessed it was the Mrs. Rook." Takka said before stepping towards the Minister and Headmistress, the three beginning to confer in private.

"What is she doing?!" Jan asked softly but Gio seemed suspicious.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Kaden muttered.

"I think I may know what she's going to do." Gio mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Jan asked, she and Kaden looking at him. Before he could answer, the doors across from them opened, allowing the armored Jayna to enter, her hands behind her back under her cloak, flanked by stormtroopers and followed by R3. Takka then turned and approached

"Ah, Mrs. Rook. I'm pleased to see that you saw fit to surrender. If you cooperate with us, the Empire may show you mercy." Takka said as Jayna looked at her.

"I think you misunderstand my reason for coming here. I'm not here to surrender. I'm here to give you a choice." Jayna said, earning an arched eyebrow from Takka.

"A choice? You're in no position to make demands, Mrs. Rook. Your husband and older two children were caught red handed, their guilt is irrefutable. The Empire means to make an example of them." Takka replied. Jayna looked to her husband who gave her an inquisitive look. She gave a soft nod in return. This caused him to take a deep breath of apprehension.

"Dad? What is it? What's mom doing?" Jan asked.

"Just watch." He muttered.

"The choice I offer you is an ultimatum. Release my family and forget this ever happened. Purge your databanks of their arrests." Jayna said but Takka burst out laughing.

"And what do we get in exchange?!" she asked, coyly humoring the Mandalorian woman.

"I'll let you all walk away with your lives." Jayna said. Minister Marson and the Headmistress both stifled their laughter.

"You're in the middle of an Imperial Installation! We've nearly a hundred Stormtroopers on station! You could not possibly hope to escape here alive." Marson remarked.

"And you stand here alone. Do you expect to take us all unarmed?!" the Headmistress asked, clearly amused by Jayna's apparent gumption.

"You have your ultimatum. It is your choice now. Release my family, or die." Jayna said calmly. Takka just chuckled in amusement.

"My answer is that I will not release your family…and THEY will die, and later you will join them." Takka said as Jayna took a breath and sighed.

"Then you have made your choice. I believe you're about to get an urgent message on your comlink." Jayna said as Takka arched an amused eyebrow.

"Now how could you possibly-…" she said before she heard her comlink buzzing again. She looked at her comlink in confusion, glancing at Jayna before answering her comlink.

"This is Takka, go ahead." She said. The thumping sound of heavy blaster fire could be heard through the comlink speakers as well as the death cries of Stormtroopers.

"Agent Takka! We're under attack! Some kind of super battle droid! It's ripping us apart! It's destroyed the communications array it-…INCOMI-(Loud explosion)." The technician screamed as the comlink signal was lost coupled with the soft boom of an explosion from the upper floors outside, causing the base alarms to start going off. The three Rooks smirked at each other.

"Tina. She woke up Tina." Jan muttered.

"But that array is outside. How's Tina gonna get down here to help mom?" Kaden asked.

"She doesn't need help." Gio replied with a confident smile as he kept his eyes on his wife. Takka and the Imperials were looking at Jayna with growing disbelief, Marson backing away in fear.

"What have you done?" Takka asked, reaching for her blaster as she backed away from Jayna.

"I brought along a friend I made during my service to the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. Or I suppose you could say it was a prisoner I took that became a friend. Depends on one's point of view. Now as for you, as you've made your choice, I'm given a unique opportunity but this is something that, honestly, I should not want, as it was something I was always taught to resist." Jayna said as she let her hands hang by her sides, showing that she was not in binders. This caused Takka to draw her blaster and aim it at Jayna, the Stormtroopers aiming at her as well.

"What are you talking about?" Takka asked.

"Revenge. It is not the Way I was raised to follow. But I took up a new Way since the end of the Clone Wars. The Way of the Mandalore. And in a way, this is but a small act of revenge for the many friends I lost at the war's end. When Order 66 was issued." Jayna said as she reached for the clasp holding her cloak in place.

"Order 66? But that order was…" Takka commented before her eyes widened in realization, tightening her grip on her blaster pistol.

"It's not possible. They were all wiped out! They're all dead! You can't be a Jedi!" Takka exclaimed.

"I'm not." Jayna said as she undid the clasp on her cloak, the cloak falling to the ground to reveal a suit of white armor with a reflective golden Starbird with a starburst in the middle of the sword on her chest. Her hood remained on her head but a thinner cape remained that ran down her back with a white kama around the sides and back of her hips. The golden reflective paint went down the center of her shoulder and elbow armor plates as well.

"But I used to be one." Jayna added before suddenly thrusting her hands out to the sides, launching the stormtroopers at her sides away with a powerful Force Push, slamming them head first into the walls, before she suddenly leapt into the air, landing next to one of the electrostaff Stormtroopers, grabbing the staff from the stunned trooper before throwing him towards the other staff trooper with the Force. She activated the staff in her hands before turning and striking the nearest trooper in the helmet, the helmet shattering on impact of the staff.

"Don't just stand there! Shoot her!" Takka yelled. Jayna turned and saw four stormtroopers rushing towards her with blasters raised. She quickly raised a her free hand and made a fist, quickly pulling the fist towards her. The blaster rifles were suddenly ripped from the troopers' hands, clattering to the floor as Jayna rushed them, running one trooper through with the staff before leaping off his shoulder to land in the center of the other three, grabbing one from behind and snapping his neck before grabbing one attempting to jump her from behind and flinging him onto the floor at her feet and then turning and kneeing the third in the stomach, disorienting him before she flipped him on top of the other trooper and called the electrostaff to her hand with the Force, pulling it out through the other side of the skewered trooper and then using it to skewer both troopers on the floor through the chests at once.

"I'm starting to see how we got slaughtered at Galidraan." Jan muttered in awe as she and Kaden watched their mother slaughtering the Imperials.

"She was actually tamer twenty years ago." Gio remarked as Takka opened fire on Jayna who rolled and weaved past the agent's blaster fire before thrusting a hand towards the Imperial Agent, sending her flying hard into the wall behind her, winding her. Throughout this, R3 quickly rolled towards the prisoners, unlocking their binders with a key he swiped from one of the Imperials.

"Ah, thanks R3. Is Gia safe?" Gio asked, R3 beeping an answer.

"What do you mean it's complicated?!" Jan asked. Suddenly one of the doors opened, a squad of seven stormtroopers rushing in with blasters raised. Jayna was cornered against one wall. Another squad of stormtroopers ran in behind the three Rooks, aiming their blasters at them, the three Rooks reluctantly raising their hands in surrender.

"Freeze! Put your hands up!" one of the troopers ordered, Jayna pausing and raising her hands slowly as Takka climbed to her feet, holding her side as she limped over towards Marson and the Headmistress.

"Hold your fire! Seems the legends about the Jedi are somewhat true." Takka said as Jayna glanced her way.

"Where was the lie?" Jayna asked.

"You're no Jedi. You have no Jedi weapon." Takka said as Jayna looked back at the stormtroopers leveling their blasters at her.

"That is only true…from a certain point of view. I told your guards that I was unarmed…my droid on the other hand. R3!" Jayna yelled before suddenly leaping into the air, landing behind the stormtroopers just as R3 launched a small cylinder into the air, Jayna catching it with the Force and turning towards the Stormtroopers, raising it with both hands to ignite a blade of yellow hued plasma with an almost roar-like hiss, the blade emitting a yellow glow. The sight of the lightsaber caused Takka to step back in alarm.

"Fire! Fire now!" Takka ordered, the stormtroopers opening fire but Jayna began deflecting the blaster bolts back at the Stormtroopers with her lightsaber, the bolts either whizzing past the stormtroopers or striking them. Jayna looked towards her family.

"Get down!" she yelled, the three Rooks dropping to the floor just before the stormtroopers behind them opened fire, Jayna flinging her lightsaber at one of the stormtroopers, skewering him through the chest before the lightsaber was called back to her hand through the Force, Jayna flourishing it to deflect another blaster shot into the ceiling, the bolt striking one of the overhead lights and causing the lights to start flickering in the room. Gio quickly grabbed one of the blaster rifles on the floor by the barrel, using its handle as a club to strike one of the troopers in the jaw before flipping the blaster around and shooting him point blank in the chest. Minister Marson and the Headmistress were backing away towards one of the side doors in attempt to escape the Jedi and the Mandalorians while Takka limped towards the unconscious staff troopers, reaching for the one remaining electrostaff. At the same time, Jayna was cutting down the Stormtroopers with her lightsaber, the Imperial troopers proving no match for the ex-Jedi Knight turned Mandalorian Warrior. The Three Rooks had also joined the fight, acquiring the dropped blasters from the defeated Stormtroopers and using them against them along with their Mandalorian fighting skills.

"We have to get out of here, Minister!" the Headmistress said as the side door opened into a darkened hallway.

"Agreed! We must warn the Empire that the Jedi have returned!" Marson said as the Headmistress turned towards the hallway.

"Yes we must ACK!" the Headmistress yelped as a metal hand suddenly grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up off the ground. Marson looked up in terror as a towering hulk of dark grey duranium plating stepped into the light from the open doorway. It was a B2-Super Battle Droid that had undergone some noticeable modifications. Its manipulator hands were full five-digited hands instead of the fingerless versions it was built with, its left arm blasters had been replaced by two crudely attached Droideka Blaster Cannons while its right arm blaster and wrist-rocket launcher remained the same factory originals. The droid's chassis was decorated with Mandalorian Tribal markings, and the letters "TN-4" inscribed in pink coloring to the immediate left of the droid's head. The Headmistress was choking and struggling in the droid's duranium grip.

"Identification: Imperial Education Headmistress Indari Suul. Orders: Terminate on sight." The droid said in a deep monotone growl-like voice.

"No! NO! AAACH!" the Headmistress screamed as the droid tightened its grip around her throat before a sickening crack was heard from her neck and her body went limp. Marson let out a terrified scream as he saw the Headmistress's body dropped lifelessly to the ground. The droid shifted its body slightly towards the Minister for but a second before rearing back its left arm and smashing the Minister's head against the wall, hitting him so hard it crushed the back of his skull, staining the white wall behind him red with blood as his body slid lifelessly to the ground.

"Identification: Imperial Minister Ren Marson. Status: Terminated." The droid said before a squad of stormtroopers attempted to surround the droid.

"What the hell is that thing?!" one of the troopers asked, raising their blasters.

"That would be Tina! Go get 'em girl!" Jan yelled to the droid who glanced her way briefly before turning back to the stormtroopers.

"Termination orders confirmed. Target: Imperials." The droid replied. On its upper back, near its shoulders, a pair of salvaged Droideka shield emitters suddenly opened, activating a shield around the droid as its arms raised towards the Stormtroopers, immediately opening fire and mowing down the Stormtroopers with heavy blaster fire while the shield absorbed any incoming fire. Takka watched this in growing fear, making for another side door as stormtroopers continued to pour in, the Rooks putting up a ferocious fight. Finally Jayna cut down the last of the stormtroopers present, the room going silent at last. Roughly thirty stormtroopers now lay dead along with both the headmistress and the minister. Jayna looked around for a moment before deactivating her lightsaber, turning towards her family.

"Is everyone alright?" Jayna asked.

"I'm fine." Gio said as Jayna removed her helmet, clipping her lightsaber to her belt, embracing and kissing him on the lips. When she ended the embrace, she looked to her children.

"What about you two?" she asked.

"Took a couple hits to the beskar but I'm fine. Di'kut Imperials were stupid enough to try and execute us in our armor." Jan replied as Kaden looked at his mother in awe and disbelief.

"Mom…that was incredible. I never knew…I never knew you were so powerful." Kaden said as Jayna smiled warmly at him, pulling him and Jan into an embrace.

"It wasn't my power. It was the power of the Force. But we can discuss it later. Right now we can't let that agent to escape." Jayna said, turning towards the towering SBD approaching them.

"Tina, did you do as instructed?" Jayna asked, the droid lowering its arms to its sides, its red indicator turning pink.

"Yes mistress. I destroyed the communications array as you commanded. However I have not been able to access their database to erase all records of this incident." Tina replied although the droid's voice and tone had completely changed. Instead of the monotone deep masculine robotic voice common to the old Super Battle Droids, the voice had changed to a lighter feminine voice with more emotion to it.

"R3, that's where you come in. Patch in and get to work." Jayna said as R3 beeped a confirmation, the droid rolling over to a nearby console and extending his data arm.

"What do we do in the meantime?" Jan asked as Jayna put her helmet back on and pulled her lightsaber from her belt.

"We go Imp hunting. Tina, guard R3 and then help him recover their beskar and weapons when he's done." Jayna commanded, Tina giving a light nod with her body.

"By your command, mistress." Tina replied, her sensor light turning back to red and her body straightening as her combat programming was reengaged.

"Come on, lets hurry!" Jayna ordered as the four Rooks hurried to the door that Takka had gone through earlier.

…

Takka emerged onto the rooftop landing platform of the city hall building. The rooftop was partially on fire as the communications array had been blown to bits, its burning remains littering the ground as Takka limped her way to her shuttle. She was roughly half way to the shuttle when she heard the ignition of a lightsaber and saw a shadow pass over her, before she saw Jayna land in front of her, blocking her escape to the shuttle.

"It's over, Imperial. You've failed." Jayna said as Takka defiantly raised the electrostaff she had swiped from earlier.

"You have won this battle, Jedi. But you won't win this war. The Empire will crush you and the Rebellion in time!" Takka said as she kept the staff raised.

"We're not with the Rebellion. And I already told you, I'm not a Jedi anymore. Our actions are our own." Jayna said as Takka snarled.

"But for how long? You Jedi and your Rebel pawns already destroyed the Death Star over Yavin IV and killed hundreds of thousands of loyal Imperial soldiers and officers! It's inevitable that you join up with your fellow Jedi!" Takka said as Jayna seemed startled by her comments.

"What do you mean the Jedi destroyed the Death Star? You mean the moon that destroyed Alderaan? And you should know that the Jedi are extinct. Your Empire made sure of that." Jayna said but Takka chuckled.

"You really don't know? It's almost funny. I thought you Jedi were always the crafty sneaks." Takka said, Jayna looking away thoughtfully.

"So is this the part where you kill me, Jedi?" Takka asked. Jayna looked at her for a moment before lowering her lightsaber, deactivating it and stepping aside.

"No. I won't kill you. It's not the Jedi way to kill one who has been beaten as you have been." Jayna said, as she walked around Takka, walking towards the entrance where her family stood with their blasters trained on the Imperial Agent.

"You know that your family will never be safe now." Takka said.

"We're Mandalorians. We like a good element of danger in our lives." Jayna said as Takka started to turn away towards the shuttle.

"One more thing, agent. Something you can take to wherever you end up. Something they never taught you in the Imperial Academy. An important phrase when in regards to Mandalorians." Jayna said, turning towards her. Takka looked back at her curiously.

"The phrase, 'Ke nu'jurkadir sha Mando'ade.' It means, quite simply, 'Don't mess with Mandalorians.' Your mistake was never learning that phrase." Jayna said as Takka scowled and started to limp towards the shuttle. Jayna watched her board the shuttle as Gio, Jan, and Kaden approached to stand beside her.

"You're just going to let her go? You know she's just going to bring the Empire down on our heads, right?" Jan asked.

"I told her I would not kill her and I meant it. Someone else on the other hand though…" Jayna said before putting a hand to the side of her helmet.

"Gia…you're on." Jayna said. The other Rooks looked at her in surprise for a moment before looking at the shuttle in curiosity. In the shuttle cockpit, Takka was starting to power up the ship's engines when the proximity alarm started sounding. She quickly checked the sensors and saw a vessel was approaching at high speeds on an attack vector. She looked out the forward viewport to see a small white silvery dot straight ahead of her. Her eyes widened and she looked towards the landing platform towards the Rooks and saw Jayna with her helmet under her left arm, staring at her stoically. Takka scowled and closed her eyes as a rain of laser cannon fire ripped through the shuttle's hull, the shuttle exploding in a colossal ball of fire. The Rooks looked up and saw a familiar Delta-7B zip past overhead with a black and blue haired youngling in the cockpit.

"Good shot Gia! That's my girl!" Jayna said into her wrist comlink.

"THIS IS AMAZING! I LOVE THIS SHIP!" Gia remarked over the comms.

"She's got a limited range and no hyperdrive so don't think you can go far young lady. Take her back home and we'll meet you there. Am I understood?" Jayna said.

"Yes ma'am! Just one question…how do you land this thing?!" Gia asked.

"Had to have seen that coming." Jan muttered with a facepalm.

"Okay, plan B it is then." Jayna said, pressing a couple buttons on her arm, the starfighter suddenly turning and flying towards them, flying to a stop overhead and then touching down on the landing platform, in an automated landing. Gia quickly climbed out of the cockpit and rushing to her father's arms.

"Dad! You're okay!" she said as her father picked her up, holding her in his arms.

"You doubted we would be?" he asked.

"A little…okay a lot." Gia replied as Jayna tousled her youngest's hair.

"It was all I could do to keep her from charging in with me. Had to bribe her with letting her get to fly my starfighter as part of the plan." Jayna said as they heard an amused chortling from R3 as he towed a droid-sized cargo sled behind him with Tina following close behind.

"Good news everyone, we've located your beskar and weapons." Tina reported cheerfully as Gio opened the crate on the sled behind R3, revealing it full of their remaining armor and weaponry. The Rooks began putting their armor and jetpacks back on as R3 beeped something to Jayna.

"Oh, my friend here says he has successfully purged the Imperial Base's databanks of all criminal records. He also says that all records pertaining to your arrests had not been sent at the time their communications array was destroyed. It is very likely that all evidence of our involvement has now been destroyed. No evidence and no witnesses." Tina reported.

"Good work, both of you." Jayna said, patting the old SBD on the shoulder.

"Thank you mistress. Master Giordo, my internal chronometer indicates that it has been approximately twelve standard rotations since I was last activated. Have I done something to displease you and warrant deactivation, Master?" Tina asked but Gio smiled and shook his head.

"Well considering you're an old Separatist Battle Droid armed to the teeth with Destroyer Droid grade weaponry that the Empire would immediately scrap if discovered…" Gio replied.

"Ah, you raise a very valid point, Master." Tina commented.

"Come on everyone. Let's go home before more Imps show up." Jayna said.

"How exactly do we get home though? They blew up our speeder and our jetpacks don't have the fuel carry us far enough and your fighter only carries one person and a droid." Kaden said as Gia smirked.

"I've got an idea. Follow me. I saw this as the fighter was landing." She said as she led them towards the inner edge of the landing platform overlooking the vehicle bay below the platform. As they looked out over the edge, Jayna and Gio looked at each other.

"Okay, that's…that's not going to fit in the garage…ever." Gio remarked.

"Hey, you remember how granddad was thinking about gutting one of those old Trade Federation Troop Transports and turning it into a recreational vehicle?" Kaden asked.

"I'm sold. Does anyone have the right license to drive one of those?" Jan asked jokingly.

"And if anyone asks, we can always say we bought it from a Clone Wars surplus yard." Jayna said.

"Alright, enough talking, let's get your mother's fighter loaded onto the back and let's go home." Gio said with a clap of his hands as they looked down at the Imperial Juggernaut sitting in the vehicle bay beneath them.

…

Later that afternoon, back at the Rook Homestead, Gio sat sipping a mug of caf, browsing the latest news which mentioned nothing of the attack on the Imperial base. As he did, the front door chime was heard.

"I'll get it." Tina remarked as she headed for the door. Gio sat down the datapad on the old cantina counter as the old SBD answered the door.

"Ah, Councilors, welcome. We've been expecting you." Tina greeted as Glebbins, Veska, and a droid-wary Geht were ushered into the dwelling.

"Damn it, Rook you could've warned us you activated the droid!" Geht grumbled.

"Oh stop your whining. Tina's a gentle soul, aren't you Tina?" Veska commented coyly, as an indirect jab at Geht's fear of the droid as the three councilors sat down in a booth, Glebbins in the center, Veska on the left, and Geht on the right.

"That is correct, Mistress Veska. Shall I fetch some refreshments for our guests, Master Giordo?" Tina asked.

"Yes please." Gio said as he stood up, Tina headed into the kitchen.

"So I can't help but notice that City Hall was in ruins this morning. Found the bodies of the Headmaster and the Minister among the dead. I don't suppose you know how that happened, do you Gio?" Veska asked with a coy smirk.

"Oh I don't think we need to play coy, Jil. We all know what happened." Gio said as Glebbins chuckled.

"Four Mandalorians and a souped up old SBD versus an entire Imperial Garrison. I don't know how you pulled it off and walked away without a scratch." Glebbins said as Geht nodded.

"Yeah, and the base's databanks were completely purged and overloaded. So nothing, not even security footage survived to finger those responsible. Quite the unfortunate accident, wouldn't you say, Gio?" Geht replied before jumping slightly in alarm as Tina rounded the corner with a tray of beverages, setting them out for everyone.

"It had to be done. The Empire decided to cross swords with me and threaten my House. They say the penalty for treason is death in the Empire. Well they don't know how things work here on Concord Dawn." Gio said.

"It's a bold risk, Gio. A very bold move. Especially if what they said about Yavin is true. The Empire's likely to be cracking down extra hard on any jurisdictions that start acting defiant. The Rebel victory over the Empire at Yavin, coupled with the Empire's own deliberate and…quite frankly despicable act in destroying Alderaan, is only going to foment more Rebellion." Glebbins commented.

"You're telling me. Some of the clans of my House have members acting as recruiters for the Rebellion." Geht added.

"Mine too. It seems that the Rebels have lit a spark under a cache of nergon that's set to blow. Whether it blows up in the Empire's face or the Rebellion's remains to be seen. Either way, we're no longer looking at simple acts of insurrection when it comes to the Rebellion. We're talking a full blown Galactic Civil War." Veska said.

"And we must not ignore the other rumor that's started spreading around. The rumor that the Jedi have returned." Glebbins said.

"Given the recent rumors that have turned out to be true as of late. I'm inclined to believe this one." Veska replied. Geht then started glancing around the room.

"And we all know that there's at least one survivor of the Jetii still alive." Geht added, looking at Gio curiously.

"Speaking of which, where is Jayna?" Glebbins asked. Gio just took a sip of caf.

"She's meeting with a new buyer for the supplies we…acquired from the Empire. I think this one will be far more reputable and less prone to betraying us than those pirates were." Gio said as Veska picked up her mug.

"I hope so. Although just food for thought, but we may want to consider holding back on some of those supplies. If the Empire gets wise as to what we've been doing and what you've done to their people at city hall, we may need those supplies if we're to stage a little rebellion of our own." Veska said before taking a sip of her drink.

"Dually noted, Veska and I agree. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I would like to raise a toast. Although it may end up being fleeting, at least for the time being, we now live in a liberated Ve'vut Bral. To Mandalore, and to a free Mandalorian people!" Gio said as his fellow councilors raised their mugs.

"To Mandalore, and to a free Mandalorian People!" they all recited, clinking their mugs together before taking a drink.

…

Across the galaxy at Yavin IV, Jedi Master Rahm Kota stood looking at the holotable in the Yavin HQ. He wasn't so much looking at the table though given his blindness, but was contemplating things carefully. As he stood there, a Rebel Technician approached him.

"General, we just got back from that supply retrieval mission to Concord Dawn, sir." The trooper reported.

"Good. Was it a trap or was what the message said about some 'liberated Imperial supplies that was ours for the taking' genuine?" Kota asked as the trooper gave a nod.

"It was as genuine as I'm standing here sir. No catches, everything was on the level. Didn't even try to haggle us over price. Even had a Mandalorian guard of three troopers and a stolen Imperial Juggernaut guarding it for us." The trooper replied.

"Really? That is an interesting development. Was there anything else?" Rahm asked.

"As a matter of fact there was. The commander, a white armored Mandalorian, had a sigil on her armor that was similar to our own Starbird only…different. It's like the Starbird you have on your shoulder pad, sir." The trooper replied. Rahm ran a hand over his right shoulder guard, feeling the scratched ink of the Old Jedi Order insignia on it, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Did this Mandalorian give you a name?" Rahm asked.

"No sir. They only said that the supplies were courtesy of the House of Rook and that they'd contact us if they had more supplies for us." The trooper replied as Rahm turned and "looked" out the windows of the control room. He could sense the presence of his current pupil, the reformed Sith Assassin, Galen "Starkiller" Marek, talking with one of the Heroes of Yavin, a young farm boy from Tatooine, down in the hangar area below, a smile forming on Rahm's face.

"House of Rook you say. Hmm." Rahm said as he rubbed his bearded chin in thought.

"Do you think we should try recruiting them, sir?" the trooper asked as Rahm turned towards him.

"Naturally. A Mandalorian House would be an incredible asset to have on our side. Plus there's something…familiar about that soldier you mentioned. You say it was a woman?" Rahm asked.

"Yes sir although I couldn't tell you more. She never removed her armor so I never saw her face." The trooper replied as Rahm's smile started to widen.

"Could it be…?" he muttered to himself.

"Sir?" the trooper asked as Rahm looked towards him.

"Do you know if Grey Squadron is available?" he asked.

"They just left to assist Phoenix Squadron in scouting out some of the potential new bases that General Marek suggested, sir." The trooper replied as Rahm looked thoughtful.

"Well next we hear from them, tell Grey Leader that I have a mission for him." Rahm said with a hopeful smile.

…

Back on Concord Dawn, Jayna stood atop the captured Imperial Juggernaut, wearing a loose fitting set of white and grey robes with black calf-length boots, looking towards the sky with a smile. She then turned and walked to the edge of the juggernaut, looking down over it to see her family down below, her children going through melee combat drills with their father outside the family homestead while R3 and Tina watched from nearby. Jayna smiled down at her family, all the while sensing that the entire Galaxy was about to undergo a major change, and she was most certain that it would affect her family.

But they were ready for it. For they were Mandalorians…

…and This was their Way.

---

To Be Continued?

I own the Rook Family, R3-Z7, TN-4 "Tina", and pretty much all of the characters save for Rahm Kota, Wullf Yularen, and Galen Marek.

I hope this story acts as a potential "Pilot" for a more episodic series to follow. This was basically me dipping my toe in the water with the new cast of characters to see how they're received. This could also be considered my own spin on the Mandalorian and Rebels. So we will see where this goes if this becomes a series.

Long Live the Expanded Universe!