Chapter 1: Phoenix

Maz Kanata's Castle, Takodana, 18th January 18 BBY, 15:30 pm…

One rule existed in Maz Kanata's castle: All are welcome (No fighting).

As a result, individuals from all kinds of race, theology or faction could freely mingle within the grounds of the structure.

Perhaps that was the reason Nathan Phoenix had chosen this as his place to relax, something he had not had time to do in the six months he had spent on the run.

It helped that Nathan didn't exactly wear attire or fit the look of a Jedi. Average of height at roughly six feet, one inch tall, athletically built, and wearing attire most would typically associate with a smuggler of little repute, most typically took one look at Nathan with his shoulder-length crimson hair, and that was the end of it.

That didn't stop Nathan from scanning the area constantly, his sky-blue eyes searching for any sign of white coloured armour. He was here to relax, but that didn't mean that he could lower his guard completely. The last time he had done so… it hadn't ended well for him, and he had the scar to prove it.

That had been one and a half months ago, and it had taught Nathan he could not let his guard down at all. Not until he had found a place where he could hide. Not until he had finally discovered a planet where he could keep his head down for the rest of his life, or at least until the Empire were overthrown for good.

All around him, Nathan saw beings of numerous size, stature and species, all discussing topics such as the girls dancing, business deals, get rich quick schemes, and all other unsavoury things that Nathan didn't really care for.

Although, the girls dancing were quite attractive. There was that.

Nathan ignored them for the most part, though. His Jedi training had seen to that. Plus, even if he was looking for romance, he didn't exactly want to place his possible lover in danger via association. That wasn't how he worked.

He scanned the room one more time, his eyes falling on a young man and woman seated close by, huddled together and talking in hushed whispers. He wondered if they were eloped lovers, which wouldn't surprise him.

He was so deep in thought, he almost didn't notice the drink being placed in front of him until it hit the hard surface of his table.

Instantly alert, Nathan's head turned to the person who had handed him the drink, saying: "Sorry, I didn't-"

"This one is on the house." The person who had handed him the drink said.

The first thing Nathan noticed about the being was their size. The individual he faced was tiny, standing roughly two feet shorter than Nathan. He couldn't say their race for certain, as he had never encountered someone of their race beforehand. The being was orange skinned with white hair and brown eyes. The wrinkles and creases on their face told him this being was old, much older than he was.

It also became obvious to him just who he was talking to: Maz Kanata herself.

Allowing himself a moment to compose himself, Nathan said: "Thanks… I guess." Before taking the cup and sipping from it. He could tell it was a soft drink, which he appreciated. He would be leaving, soon; so he didn't need alcohol addling his mind.

"I would have served you something different, but then again, I don't really deal with those that are underage." Maz said. "Which makes your presence here surprising to say the least."

"You're not wrong." Nathan replied as he took another sip. "I'm not staying for long, anyway, so you won't have to deal with me for much longer."

"Please. Everyone comes here for some reason or another." Maz replied, a knowing look crossing her aged face.

Nathan tucked a vermillion lock of hair behind his ear. "I'm waiting for someone." He said, looking away from Maz.

The pirate queen scoffed. "You Jedi have always made for poor liars."

At that, Nathan's head snapped back to Maz. Fear now reigned supreme in his mind, as he came up with possible ways to convince Maz to leave him be.

A low chuckle escaped Maz, who said: "There is no need to be fearful, young man. I am no enemy of the Jedi, nor the Force."

Nathan raised a distrustful eyebrow. "How can I be sure?" He asked. "How am I to know whether you've not drugged my drink?"

Maz folded her arms. "Your reluctance to trust me isn't surprising. Given how long you've spent on the run, it must be difficult for you to trust anyone. Even a harmless old woman like myself. So allow me to convince you." With that, she handed Nathan a datacard. "On that is a list of worlds I have been to over the years, all of which border the Unknown Regions."

Nathan swallowed. The Unknown Regions was a mapped but largely unexplored part of the galaxy. Hardly anyone tried their luck there.

"Only a select few people know of these worlds." Maz added. "I am fortunate enough to be one of them."

Nathan studied the data card, and then took it, nodding. "Thanks. I'll look into it."

"Do not thank me, Jedi." Maz said. "Show your thanks by settling on one of those worlds and staying there until the time comes that the Jedi rise once again from the ashes."

Nathan nodded again and finished his drink. "I will. I promise." At that, he stood up and started walking towards the exit, pulling up the hood on his poncho as he did. It was pouring rain outside.

The moment he stepped outside the castle, the rain started hammering down, an artillery strike of water pounding his poncho into oblivion.

He ignored it, since his ship was his main priority. He could dry off later. As he drew close to his ship, though; the ground beneath him suddenly went up in a massive explosion, sending him flying into a tree behind him.

Nathan barely had time to clear the cobwebs in his mind before he heard heavy footsteps moving towards him, followed by a voice he knew well:

"Did you think you could hide?!" His attacker bellowed as they grabbed him and lifted him to his feet, slamming a hard right hook into Nathan's jaw, sending him staggering away. Nathan aggressively started shaking his head, clearing any evidence he was dazed from it. Finally, he regained enough equilibrium to behold his attacker:

They were tall and imposing at roughly six foot four, with short blonde hair styled in a Mohawk and harsh grey eyes. They wore worn and battered armour under a grey cloak, and visibly sported a pair of twin blasters that they now held their hands dangerously close to.

Nathan swallowed hard before he said: "Caleb Grey. Always faithful to the job, I see. How's that ankle of yours, holding up?"

The bounty hunter scowled. In an encounter they had had shortly before Order 66, Nathan had caused Caleb to injure his ankle, the latest in a long history of injuries that Nathan had caused Caleb. "I'm going to give you one last chance to give up, little Nate." Caleb growled. "I'll make sure your death is quick."

Nathan scoffed. "I'm afraid I'll need to decline. Can't risk you injuring yourself again like the idiot you are."

With a shout of rage, Caleb drew his twin blasters and opened fire.

Dodging the blasts, Nathan got up and drew his lightsaber. The blue blade flared to life as he readied for a fight. So much for trying to hide.

The sight of Nathan's lightsaber did little to faze Caleb, who immediately started shooting at the fiery haired Jedi.

Nathan blocked the bolts with ease, steadily moving forward in order to close the distance with Caleb and take him down.

Caleb seemed to realise this, temporarily ceasing fire and throwing a grenade towards Nathan.

The resulting explosion once more sent Nathan flying, yet he was better prepared for it this time, flipping backwards to avoid the worst of it. Deciding speed would be a better course of action, Nathan broke into a sprint towards Caleb, blocking any blaster bolts cast from Caleb's blaster until he could close the distance.

Which he managed to do, spinning his lightsaber and cutting through the blaster situated in his foe's left hand with a flick of his wrist.

Caleb was clearly prepared for such an eventuality though, and lashed out with a forward kick that sent Nathan back a little, snapping off more shots from his one remaining blaster pistol.

Blocking them too, Nathan reached out with the Force and pulled the blaster out of Caleb's hand, slashing it in two as it came towards him.

Switching off his lightsaber, Nathan said: "This is your last chance, Caleb. Leave me alone."

Caleb spat. "And risk losing the bounty the Empire would pay for you? I'd sooner become a singer in Mos Eisley Cantina." At that, he rushed Nathan, tackling the smaller person to the floor, beginning to piston fist after fist into Nathan.

Nathan covered up as best he could, but his smaller stature in conjunction with the fact he was on the floor meant he was really combat ineffective. However, he was far from defenceless. His master had trained him how to get out of holds like this, and so Nathan made the decision to use that training now. Starting to squirm underneath Caleb to unbalance the bounty hunter, Nathan managed to break free, smashing Caleb in the face with a quick right hook that surprised Caleb just enough to allow Nathan to grab Caleb's left arm, twisting it behind his back. Threading his left hand through the hole that made, Nathan gripped his right wrist and wrapped his legs around Caleb's waist, locking in a Kimura hold.

Grunting in pain, Caleb tried punching Nathan's flank in an attempt to weaken the hold.

The fiery haired Jedi refused to let go, applying more pressure.

Caleb's refusal to give up continued, as he tried clawing at Nathan's eyes and face in the attempt to weaken Nathan's grip.

That was until Nathan jerked Caleb's arm in a direction it was not meant to go, hearing the sickening noise of the bones in Caleb's arm breaking. Releasing Caleb amidst his agonised screams, Nathan dusted himself off and resumed his walk towards his ship, thankfully intact.

It was nothing special, just a plain XS Freighter Nathan had been given by Lux Bonteri of Onderon as a repayment of a personal favour he owed Nathan.

Stepping on board, Nathan removed his poncho and tossed it to the side, stepping into the pilot seat as he began booting up the ship, which promptly lifted off into the sky.

The fiery haired Jedi exhaled gently, hoping his brawl with Caleb had not aroused Maz Kanata's anger. He was well aware that Maz did not take too kindly to fighting on her turf, even if it was outside the castle.

As he entered the vast expanse of space, Nathan drew up the list of planets Maz had given him. Picking one that he imagined would suit him well, Nathan began entering the coordinates into his ship's navicomputer. At that, he pushed the lever that would cause his ship to make the jump to hyperspace. But as he did, he noticed the coordinates he was jumping to were different to the ones he had entered in. At that, realisation set in:

"Bastard tampered with my navicomputer." Nathan spat as his ship made the jump to lightspeed.

With that, Nathan sighed resignedly. He'd have to fix that when he arrived at whatever world his ship was taking him to. He just hoped there wasn't any Imperial presence there.

I'm back!

God, it's been a long time since I last uploaded something. I would have uploaded something sooner, but my University work and dissertation took priority over that. That alongside how utterly terrible a year 2020 was in general, and the fact that I spilled coffee all over my old laptop's keyboard like an absolute dolt, and there you have it. Thankfully, I now have a new laptop, and can finally start writing again! As 'Broken' Matt Hardy would say:

"WONDERFUL!"

That said, I welcome any of my old and new readers to the first story in my new RWBY-Star Wars series: Remnant of the Jedi.

RWBY is a series that has completely consumed my life ever since I became a fan in mid 2019, and as is a common occurrence with me, I immediately began having fanfiction ideas. It helps that one of my best friends is RWBY obsessed as well, so yeah.

As for where this leaves my Transformers and the Lion King series, I have this to say: As of right now, Ultima Victoria is the final story in that series. I did have plans for a fourth and fifth story, but I've been so caught up with university and jotting ideas down for RWBY-Star Wars that as of now, Ultima Victoria is the final story for the Transformers-Lion King series.

With all that said, I do hope you all enjoy this story. And for those of you who have not seen RWBY, I highly recommend it. It is a pretty good series.

Now that that's all done and dusted, do please leave some reviews and let me know what you think, and I shall see you this very Saturday with the next chapter of the story, which sees Nathan arrive on a planet with a familiar shattered moon.

T-Rock14