Another galaxy, another time.
It is a period of civil war. The long-hidden Rebel Alliance, striking from a hidden base, have won their first major victory against the evil Galactic Empire over an Imperial facility on Scarif.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the BLACK STAR, a mobile fortress with enough power to solidify Emperor Vader's rule for centuries to come.
Pursued by Emperor Vader himself, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy.…
?
The Broken Man watched the smaller ship locked in the Executor's tractor beams, his red eyes smoldering as he watched it disappear beneath the hulk of his flagship. He smiled at the thought of what he was about to do, destroy the last hope the Rebellion had of stopping the completion of the Black Star and the beginning of his Infinite Empire. Yet there was something bothering him, a feeling at the back of his mind that caused him to pause in celebrating just yet. Ignoring a bad feeling had never gone right for him before, so the Broken Man raised his hand and activated the communicator built into the observation deck. After a moment it connected and the image of his Grand Admiral appeared before him, seated at a desk strewn with antiques and trophies.
"Ah, Emperor Vader," Thrawn said, looking up from some paperwork. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"We are closing in on the Princess' ship and I will soon have the Black Star plans," Vader said. "How fares your task?"
"Our preparations are almost complete and the First Order is ready to deliver the Black Heart the moment the Senate is dissolved," Thrawn said, a grin spreading across his face as he raised a mug to Vader. "After more than a decade, peace shall rein in the Empire, and the First Order will finally ally themselves to the true Emperor."
"You jest but the First Order's antagonism kept the Senate scared long enough for the regional governors to make them obsolete," Vader said, savoring the last remnant of the Republic's death as a notification appeared on his console. "Soon, with your plan in place, we shall command an armada the likes of which the galaxy has never seen, and with it, the Eternal Empire's foundation will be complete."
"And then we shall crush the rebellion," Thrawn said, smiling for a moment before pouting. "Once the Black Star is online every world in the galaxy, living or dead, will be brought to order and eternity. Though I won't be there to see its activation, I'm afraid."
"Ah yes, your little distraction," Vader said, confirming that the Princess' ship had docked. "He had backbone, this Ezra. Pity I could not tempt him, but I am confident that you can rectify the matter on Lothal."
"Your confidence is inspiring as always, Lord Vader." With a nod, Thrawn disconnected leaving Vader alone in his observatory.
"Now," Vader said, summoning his saber to his hand as he pivoted towards the door. "This is where the fun begins."
?
The Princess had tried to run. Not in an attempt to escape, of course, there could be no escape now that her ship had been swallowed by the great behemoth that was the Empire's capital ship. No, she had run to draw the Troopers away from the escape pods; hopefully buying enough time for her father's droids to escape to the planet below. Their cargo was information, information that could tip the scales in favor of the rebellion if it came into the right hands. A Jedi's hands.
"The Emperor wants this one brought before him." One of the Storm Troopers carrying her by one arm said. "The commander says anyone else is to be brought to the cargo bay and tied down. No executions."
"Ha, that's rich." The other trooper carrying her said, his tone dark. "You see we have a legion of those Void Troopers on board, yeah? Bio Auged freaks from the Unknown regions, most of them Fist Order trained if the rumors are true. I've never heard of those cultists taking prisoners before, let alone their dogs."
The first order? The princess thought as she feigned her stupor. So Vader commands them after all.
Unfortunately, the Storm Troopers ceased their gossiping a moment later when they were joined by a group of their comrades also escorting prisoners. A few minutes later, Leia was deposited into a command chair on the bridge and through half-shut eyes, she saw that the blasted-out bridge was now manned by black-clad Storm Troopers standing silent at the entrances. She wondered if these Troopers were the mysterious Void Troopers the regular storm Troopers mentioned earlier.
Their armor was sleeker and obviously more advanced than the standard-issue armor, with dense lines of red rune script trimming armor the color of the void. A coldness seemed to emanate from them, absolute control in their stance and their bodies somehow apparent despite the fact the only sign of life was a soft red glow from their visors and the sound of their breathing in the silence of the bridge. They reminded her of the grand Alderaan relic guard, a mostly ceremonial order of old soldiers who spent their days stoically guarding some of the most ancient and important artifacts of her homeworld's history. Zealots to a history lost to most of the population.
Then her world went dark around the edges and the Princess curled in on herself as an immense pressure slammed down around her. She could barely breathe as she strained against the pressure, trying to throw herself upward in a futile attempt to sit up, and as she was pressed back down into the cushion of the chair she saw the door to the bridge open. Standing there in the doorway was a man who looked to be carved out of pure shadow. Red eyes like burning suns considered her from the doorway and with a slow deliberate movement, the man reached up and pressed a release allowing him to slip off the mask and helmet.
"Princess Organa, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you." Emperor Vader said, his youthful face gleeful as he considered her.
"Emperor…Vader…" The Princess managed as some of the pressure let off, allowing her to fill her lungs. "Only you would be so bold. The Imperial Senate will not stand for this-"
"Oh your highness, don't act so surprised," Vader said, chuckling as he stepped towards her. "This was no mercy mission, this vessel was seen fleeing the battle over Scarrif after receiving a transmission from the rebels. A transmission containing the plans to an Imperial asset of great importance."
"I assure you…" She said huffing as she rose to look him in the eye. "That there are no plans on this ship. I am an official member of the Imperial Senate on a sanctioned diplomatic mission to Alderaan. Release my crew and I, and I'm certain my father can be persuaded to not take this matter to the Sen-"
"Hush child," Vader said, raising a hand and somehow pushing her back into the chair where some force held her in place. "Do you think I, the ruler of this galaxy would give chase if I didn't know what you really were, hm? Look around you, the game is done and I have all the pieces set against you."
"I won't tell you anything." The Princess spat.
"Oh, my dear princess." He said, bending over to cup her face in one hand. "I don't need you to talk, in fact, I don't even need you alive but I can sense something in you that…intrigues me. A spark that so few possess in these shifting times. Such a spark could light the flames of rebellion or cast a light for all to follow into greatness."
"I…I'll never serve you!" She said, rearing back and driving her forehead into Vader's nose with a crunch so satisfying it almost made up for the bloom of pain that followed it.
"You have fight." Vader said, wiping a stream of black blood off his lips as he stood. "Good, you'll need it."
Then Vader raised his hand and her world went black.
?
A farm boy stood on the berm that shielded his home's interior courtyard from the winds and watched the suns of Tatooine rise over the horizon. Today was a special day, to his uncle Owen it was just another day of moisture farming and sending him to Tosche station after power converters or whatever junk he wanted to haggle over, but to the farm boy, today was the day he'd get his ticket off this dusty rock. He'd find some excuse to head into Tosche and while he was there hop an Imperial migration ship destined for the unknown regions and the colonies there. Naturally, he'd hop off on the planet Grakescum, where his friend Diggs had left a supply cache for him to start a new life with. Life in the rebel alliance.
The sound of an approaching vehicle drew his gaze from the sunrise and the Farmboy watched as a one-man speeder cut across the desert towards him, a trail of dust coiling behind it. Atop the speeder was a cloaked man, a thick desert camouflage poncho flapping in the wind as the rider swung the speeder into a stop not ten feet from the Farmboy. Shutting his speeder down, the rider flipped back his hood to reveal a freckled face and a well-kept but still bushy red beard below bright green eyes.
Despite probably being only in his thirties, his eyes betrayed a certain knowing weariness the Farmboy had only seen in the greybeard scrappers he sometimes ran into in Tosche, and as the man got off the speeder, a strange tingle passed through the farm boy as if he'd just noticed a cool breeze or a sudden shift in air pressure. There was something about the man, not off perse but something interesting.
"Can I help you?" The Farmboy asked as the man got off his speeder.
"Me?" The man asked, stepping forward and letting his poncho settle on his shoulders. "I'm looking for a young man, name of Luke."
"You're talking to him," Luke said, eying the man as he stepped forward. "Why are you looking for me?"
"Don't know yet." The man said, smiling as he extended a hand. "A mutual friend said that my friends and I should look you up. Name's Cal Kestis."
"Pleasure to meet you, Cal," Luke said, raising an eyebrow at him as a small part of him wondered if this man knew Diggs. "Now, who's our mutual friend?"
"Obi-" Cal began before being interrupted by someone very loudly clearing his throat.
Standing at the stairway down into his home was Luke's uncle Owen, his expression caught between annoyance, suspicion, and curiosity.
"Who's this then?" Owen asked as he came to stand by Luke.
"Cal Kestis," Cal said, offering his hand to Owen for a shake. "I'm just a traveler passing through to the nearest spaceport, need to refuel the hydrogen cells on the speeder and saw you're farming moisture. And before you say it, I know using old survival cells like these for something so important as my vehicle is stupid, trust me my wife has given me that speech a hundred times. But since I saw the collectors, I figured I'd trouble you for some water so I can brew up some deuterium to replenish the cells."
Before Owen could respond, a loud rumble shook the air and the trio looked across the sands to see a sand crawler come roaring up the rise.
"Ooh, Uncle Owen maybe if we sell Cal here some water we might have enough saved up to pick of a choice droid from the Jawas." Luke suggested, curiosity peaked at Cal's white lie to Owen. "You've been looking for one that can communicate with the evaporators using binary, right?"
"Yes, I have," Owen said, looking Cal over; his eyes lingering on an empty loop attached to the younger man's belt before he locked eyes with him. "Sure it's just some water you're looking after?"
"Well, I more want the hydrogen inside it," Cal said, flashing another gap-toothed grin. "Listen, I know it's a hassle to tap your supply, but I'm willing to pay twice your normal price to get what I need. Imperials are all over the planet and I'd like to get to a port before they close them over some nonsense. What do you say, Owen?"
"Willing to pay double you say?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow at his uncle. "Those cells need what, three gallons each? And you've got six of them there, so I don't think there's anything wrong with making some money and helping out someone in need."
"I suppose," Owen said, scratching his chin as he looked over Cal's shoulder at the fast-approaching sand-crawler. "Hm, if you're willing to pay that much then how about you put your money towards a droid or two. That way you get your water and I get some more help for the farm, deal?"
"Throw in a chance to wash my face and we have a deal?" Cal said, extending his hand.
"If you've got half a mind to help Luke here with some of his chores I'll even throw in a meal," Owen said, chuckling as he shook Cal's hand.
"Now that's the Tatooine hospitality I've heard so much about," Cal said, vigorously shaking the older man's hand.
?/
"Are you sir your friend will be subtle?" The man called Obi-Wan Kenobi asked.
"Cal can be subtle when he wants to be." Rowan Blackfire said from where he sat in the old man's living room. "You can too apparently, considering you've been dead for nineteen years, Master Kenobi."
The three of them were lounging in Kenobi's modest living room. Rowan sat against one wall, playing with the strap of his eye patch as he considered the old Jedi before him; bemusedly wondering if the stories were exaggerated. His twin sister, Kella, brooded in the opposite corner, her green eyes following the hermit as he slowly paced the room in a circle; probably contemplating whether or not this walking relic of the order that failed them both was worth her time. Both of the knights, the former having never been a Jedi and the latter no longer quite Jedi herself, were caught up in the absurdity of meeting a galactic hero they'd both grown up hearing tales of.
"Being dead is a useful condition when you wish to hide as I'm sure you know," Obi-wan said, shaking his head. "As the Empire rose and the last of Jedi fell into myth, I dedicated myself to protecting the last connection to my old life here on Tatooine. Luke is the son of the Jedi knight I served alongside in the Clone Wars…"
"Anakin Skywalker," Kella said. "The famous Anakin Skywalker who was the hero of the clone wars alongside his trusted friend and master, Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"The very same Anakin Skywalker who betrayed the order and the Republic that night nineteen years ago," Rowan said, watching the old man's face as their words registered. "The man who now calls himself Vader, master of the Empire and now the First Order as it's coming into the Imperial fold. And you've been protecting his son all this time? While Vader wielded the might of the Empire in one hand and the dogma of the First Order in the other."
"Luke is…I believe him to be the chosen one." Obi-wan said, stopping to gaze at a box on his mantle. "Where his father failed, where I failed him, he has the potential to bring balance to the Force, and for that reason, I have stood vigil here on Tatooine. Kept him safe and out of sight of any who could discover his secret."
"Meanwhile, Vader has indoctrinated half the galaxy with his book of the Black and scared the other half into submission," Kella said, glaring at the old man. "People like Saw Gerrera and thousands of nameless rebels all across the galaxy died fighting the Empire and what have you been doing? Protecting a single child while Vader is turning his "pure darkness" into a religion, but I'm sure one farm boy is worth the effort."
"I…know the order failed you," Obi-wan said, sighing as he pleaded. "But even so, I still believe in the prophecy we so disastrously misinterpreted. I have meditated and grown closer to the Force in exile my friends, what else is a hermit to do in his isolated home, eh? And through that meditation, I've learned many truths of the Force, not just the misguided "wisdom" of the Jedi, but of the Cosmic Force my master once contemplated. Within it, I have found truth and peace, and in that peace is the certainty that Luke is important to set the balance right again, I know it in my bones. Why else would the Force bring us together, here and now just as the boy is coming of age?"
"Say we believe you, what if he brings balance to the Force where his father failed?" Kella asked. "What then? Will he resurrect the Jedi or become like his father before him? What have "Chosen ones" done for the people of this galaxy, eh?"
"Kella, lay off him," Rowan said, rising to look at the old man eye to eye. "General Kenobi, we're not here for a chosen one. Vader is bringing something online, a device that will change the balance of power in the galaxy forever in the Empire's favor. First Order crusaders are serving alongside Storm Troopers while thousands of these new Void Troopers spread across the galaxy like shadows with no clue as to where they came from or what they can really do. Prophecy is all well and good when a little hope needs kindling but we don't need kindling, we need a match."
"I am a general no longer," Kenobi said, his age evident in his stance. "I am a servant of the Force, and its student to be true, but I don't have anything to offer the rebellion in terms of martial strategy. Besides, the destruction of the Jedi broke the galaxy's hope in us, in the tales we deluded ourselves with, I am no match."
"Vader has unlocked a part of the Force that surpasses any Sith on record," Kella said. "You have meditated on the Force for twenty years now and you were the student of not only Master Yoda but Qui Gon Jinn as well. If Vader, through his connection to the Force discovered the True Dark then there must be a way to discover a power to equal it. We are not asking you to help us as General Obi-Wan Kenobi but as Master Obi-Wan."
"So I am called to teach, eh?" He asked as he looked off into some faraway memory. "Not to lift my blade."
Rowan made to reply but was cut off as his commlink beeped loudly and he switched it on, turning away from them.
"This is Rune."
"Position compromised. Forced to flee before Imperial blockade encloses planetary entry points." His Ship's navigator droid, Lobe, said through the link. "Cannot confirm, but Star Dreadnought may be in play."
"Fuck." Rowan cursed under his breath before turning to Kenobi and his sister. "Our ride was forced to flee and the Imperial blockade's snapping shut. We have a Star Dreadnought in play, we're talking about a ship powerful enough to turn small continents to glass. The only way off-planet now is either waiting for them to leave or through a smuggler."
"There's only one place where we'll be able to find a smuggler skilled enough to get us through the blockade," Kenobi said, stroking his chin. "It is a wretched hive of villainy and scum, but there we will find a ship fast enough to take us to Alderaan with a captain cunning enough to sneak us past the Imperials."
"As long as it's somewhere I can get a drink," Kella said as she made for the door.
?
Vader stood on the bridge of the Executor watching his crew go about their work. He was not a cruel man, the toxic loathing that had made his Sith forbearer abusive masters to even the most competent of servants. As such he took some joy in watching his bridge crew work, enjoyed watching each and every one of them moving together like a well-oiled machine. Of course, it helped that almost all of them were First Order zealots who'd long ago begun to follow his black creed. Their minds and wills honed until they embodied a deadly competence.
"Lord Vader."
He turned to see one of his acolytes standing behind him despite never having felt her presence. She was Al'iet Sing, a member of the strange avian Diasp'i peoples of a planet tucked away from conventional hyperspace lanes. Al'iet had come to him like all those called by the true darkness had drawn into the lonely expanse of space by the darkness' sweet whispers. She had an innate strength to her that combined with the soothing absolution of her faith made Al'liet one of, if not the strongest acolytes he'd trained in the decade since the Darkness' emergence.
"My dear Al'liet," Vader said, turning back to watch the bridge. "How fairs the Interrogation of the Princess' crew?"
"It has provided us with an abundant amount of information." She said, joining him at his side. "Ninety percent of it is useless, these are hardened operatives you see, and what they lacked in ability to repel your boarding they make up for in resolve. But I did manage to sus out an actual passenger itinerary and found that two droids are unaccounted for. A protocol droid designated C-3PO and an Astromech droid designated R2-D2."
Vader went silent at the names. Old memories, memories of his days as Anakin Skywalker, came to him and filled him with the sweet pain of nostalgia. He could recall with absolute clarity assembling C-3PO and all the times R2 saved him and his…friends. The True Dark had allowed him to let go of his hatred and anger, so there was nothing to stop the pain and longing that rose within him. Something of an idea, a mad idea that the broken parts of him had never allowed, came to him then, as Vader could feel warm tears streaming down his cheeks beneath his mask.
"Is there any indication of where they went?" He asked, taking control of himself.
"We have tracked their trajectory based on the last sighting and believe to have a reasonable area of search narrowed down," Al'iet explained, her avian face openly curious as she watched her master.
"Good, I want you to lead a platoon of regular Troopers supplemented with half of the Executor's Void Troopers down to the surface," Vader ordered, forcibly turning his thoughts away from the droids' names. "I must go to the Black Star, it will soon be fully operational and I must prepare for a test of its power. The princess will be coming with me, but I expect you to find the droids and retrieve the plans stored within; while keeping the droids completely intact. They may be useful as bargaining chips, the Princess' family is fond of their droids if I recall."
"As you wish, my Emperor," Al'iet said, disappearing as silently as she'd appeared.
Once, Vader would have suspected someone like Al'iet. Under the cutthroat cruelty of the Sith, acolytes like her would either be cowed into fearful obedience or plotting to overthrow him or both. But in the absolute peace that was the true dark side, there was no need to fear his acolytes, certainly not one so dedicated to their craft as Al'iet. She had drunk deeply from the well of power that was the cosmic darkness and had been transformed by it as he had. Transformed into an instrument of the cosmic blackness that Vader embodied.
"One instrument in the symphony." He said quietly, turning towards the elevator. "And what sweet music we shall make."
?
"Ginger mint, come in, ginger mint." Cal's communicator crackled on his hip.
Cal stood atop one of the small hills outside the Lars household watching the sand crawler he'd just tag team haggled out of two droids drive into the setting suns. For a mistrustful man, Owen Lars could certainly smooth talk a Jawa, surprising Cal as the older man went out of his way to save Cal some money by arguing the price down to an almost reasonable amount. The Lars were the proud owners of a shiny protocol droid and a well worn but dependable-looking Astromech droid while Cal was soon to be overloaded with deuterium he didn't actually need.
"Rowan, how many times have I told you that's not my code name?" Cal said into the communicator.
"I'm sorry ginger mint, couldn't make that out," Rowan replied.
"This is..." Cal said, trailing off into a sigh before finishing the sentence. "Ginger mint."
"Good to hear you, Ginger Mint," Rowan said. "We have a situation, the planet's blockade is closing, and the only way off-world is via smuggler. Our new friend says he knows where to find one, so we're heading your way to pick you up. ETA thirty standard minutes."
"Dammit." Cal cursed. "Alright, I'll finish up here and meet you a click out from the "
He trailed off as an imperial troop carrier came into view on the horizon on a path that almost exactly followed the tracks of the sand crawler that just left. A cold feeling tickled its way down his spine and his intuition told him that the ship would land at the small moisture farm. Cal looked at the entrance to the small garage and saw Luke wiping dust off the Astromech droid who'd been spouting nothing but curses since it had arrived. The kid was Force-sensitive to be sure, could even be a powerful user if trained right, and if the feeling Cal had was true then Luke was in danger.
"Luke," Cal said, walking to the garage's entrance. "Tell me, you get many Imperial patrols this far out into the desert?"
"Um, not many," Luke said, looking up to focus his gaze on the shiny black ship rapidly approaching his home. "We get a few every year, but that's because they get lost this close to the cliffs. Lots of magnetic metals out there."
"Thought so," Cal said, watching the ship's trajectory begin to list off to the left towards a medium-sized settlement to the east before suddenly course-correcting into a controlled descent towards them. "Do you have any experience with a blaster?"
"I'm pretty good with a blaster, can bullseye a womp rat at a hundred yards," Luke said, chuckling. "Why? Expecting some trouble from the Imps?"
"I think he is."
Cal turned to see Owen standing in the doorway, a scatter blaster aimed at Cal.
"Who are you really?" He asked, stepping out into the garage.
"Oh my, sirs there's no need for-" the protocol droid began.
"Quiet droid!" Own ordered, his aim never faltering. "Who are you and why are you so afraid of that Imp ship, huh?"
"I'm not your enemy," Cal said, raising hands and lifting his arms to pull his poncho up revealing his lightsaber. "I'm a friend of Obi-Wan Kenobi and I'm just here to meet-"
"You're one of them, aren't you?" Owen asked. "A Jedi?"
"Uncle Own, what's a Jedi?" Luke asked, his eyes wide as his uncle stepped between him and Cal.
"No," Cal said, offering his best disarming smile. "The Jedi order is dead and gone. What I am is a friend to people like Luke here, if my intuition's right then he's in grave danger. He's-"
"My nephew," Owen said, his finger slipping to the trigger. "Luke, I want you to go inside and check on your aunt, and as for you I want you to get on your bike and-"
"Go?" A voice said from behind Cal.
Owen looked over Cal's shoulder and his eyes went wide as he lowered his weapon. Cal turned to find a slight feminine form draped in spotless black robes despite the swirling sands around her. She was some kind of avian species with an almost human face arranged around a pointy beak where plumes of onyx feathers erupted backward, rimming her wide expressive eyes in silver feathers. In one taloned hand she held an unlit lightsaber, its curved hilt made of the same painfully black metal that only the acolytes of the True Dark could use. Behind her, the ship she had to have been on landed like a near-silent specter coming to the ground like a jungle cat landing on all fours.
"Just where would he go, citizen?" The Acolyte asked, turning her eyes to Owen who trembled as she looked at him. "Seems very inhospitable to just turn away a traveler so rudely, doesn't it?"
"Leave them be," Cal said, stepping in front of Owen and his nephew. "They aren't involved in anything worth your attention."
"Oh?" She said, her eyes flicking to the lightsaber at his hip before coming back up to look Cal in the eyes. "Because where I'm standing it appears that not only are these two in possession of two high-value targets-"
She gestured to the droids.
"-but also seem to be cavorting with a possible Rebel asset." She said, clicking her beak softly as if scolding a child. "Well, a Force-sensitive unsanctioned by the Black Book and bearing a weapon of a more…barbaric age at the very least."
"Seems we both favor barbaric weapons," Cal said, sliding his hand down to grip the hilt of his saber as he nodded at the saber in her hand.
"Oh, this?" She said, twirling the slim saber in her fingers like it was a pen. "This is art, built it myself with crystals of the purest black and from parts created in the forges of Exegol. The toy on your belt was modeled after relics and nigh mass-produced. My weapon is as unique as my fingerprint whereas yours was derivative when the High republic reigned supreme."
The air thrummed between them, the tension of their meeting and each person's presence in the Force electrifying the space between them. She was strong in the Force and making no effort to hide that fact as her black-clad Storm Troopers spread out in a half-circle behind her. Cal could sense them too, not as strong as the woman before him, but seething with the same cold power she radiated. They reminded him of Purge Troopers, but instead of toxic rage, Cal felt nothing but control as the half dozen or so Troopers settled into their positions. Each bearing a heavy blaster made from the same sleek black material of their armor.
"There's something to be said about the classics," Cal said, his gaze flicking back to the acolyte.
"True." She said, flicking her saber's switch and igniting a blade of pure black. "But who doesn't love a little novelty, eh? Void Troopers, if this Jedi moves an inch open fire."
"What are they packing?" Cal asked, his hand still on his saber. "Looks like heavy blasters with auto scramblers and reinforced arrays. I've faced three this number on my worst day and deflected every shot."
"Sure you have." She said, nodding behind Cal. "But can they?"
Cal glanced over his shoulder and saw that an older woman had joined Owen and Luke. The small family was stunned into a terrified silence, and Owen had dropped the blaster to take presumably his wife into his arms. Looking back to the acolyte, Cal took his hand off his saber and almost sighed when he heard something on the wind. The sound of a distant skimmer darting across the dunes hopefully brought Cal some backup.
"They aren't a part of this," Cal said. "I was just buying some water off them and these droids were sold to them by scavengers. These people are just moisture farmers, not rebels or criminals to the Empire."
"Of course they're innocent." She said, bringing the tip of her saber less than an inch from his throat. "Now, be a good boy and-"
Her words were swallowed by the sound of heavy blaster bolts colliding with their transports engines. A loud boom and an explosion of smoke erupted from the rear of the transport ship distracting the acolyte long enough for Cal to counter. Dueling had become something of a specialty for Cal, ten years spent in the hidden hyperspace lanes alongside his allies had allowed him to hone his skill and incorporate Jedi forms into a style all his own. His saber lit in mid-air and in just over a second he was on her, Cal's glowing green blade batting away the black blade of the acolyte as he rushed her.
Then her blade was up and blocking his and they began a dance. Her form was good, a modified form four, that allowed her to take his opening blow in stride before twisting her body to counterattack. Their sabers met, again and again, at least a dozen clashes in the span of as many seconds; their bodies moving faster and faster as each fought for every inch. Each clash carried the respective duelist's will, Cal's serious and protective and the Acolyte's mocking and coldly exhilarated. The world fell away and the pair were lost in the duel, each deflecting stray blaster fire as two opposing yet almost complementary sides of the Force battled through them.
Vaguely, Cal noted that Kella and Rowan had arrived on the scene. Copper and steel lighter sabers cut into Void Troopers or trying to as the Troopers seemed to work in unison to give the two knights their money's worth. Even the farm boy Luke had was firing blaster bolts at the troopers and doing a good enough job that four of them had taken cover to return fire. But Cal couldn't pay too much attention to his allies because his opponent was redoubling her efforts to decapitate him.
Despite her gusto and how good her form was, the Acolyte wasn't perfect and Cal began to notice that her attacks were coming slower and slower. By fractions of a second her moves began to slow, relying more and more on the black Force she channeled to make up for her slowing reflexes. Cal was beginning to feel it to, but he'd been dueling himself to exhaustion far longer than this woman, and that experience gave him one thing she did not. How to control his body and reactions to save just enough energy for a finishing strike.
He had to wait five whole seconds until his opportunity arrived. It was a second frozen in time where the acolyte left her self open after a mistimed swing of her saber. In that moment, Cal slipped back and leveled his saber parallel to the ground, and without hesitation stabbed forward into her chest just below the heart. She cried out and shuddered as Cal withdrew the blade, sending her falling to her knees and her saber to fall into the dust.
"Lord…Vader…" She sputtered, falling face first into the ground.
Cal stumbled back and tried to force his breathing as he looked around. Rowan and Kella had dealt with the Troopers, though both were ragged and peppered with glancing blows from blaster fire. Kella's artificial kyber shield was flickering and appeared to have a vibro knife jammed in between two of the orange crystal plates. Her brother was leaning against the transport ship, cursing loudly as he sprayed Bacta gel onto a shallow blaster wound. The half dozen black clad Troopers laid at their feet, black armor shattered in places revealing lean muscles and skin scarred with odd black augments that almost appeared to be connection ports.
"Owen!"
Cal's heart stopped as he heard Luke scream his uncle's name, and knew what he was going to see before he turned around. On the ground were the bodies of Owen and his wife, both barely recognizable thanks to three or four heavy blaster hits. Luke sat over them, tears streaming down his face as he clutched his uncle's shirt in balled up fists. The three Knights could only watch as the old man they'd come to the planet for stepped forward and went to Luke, not speaking until the boy looked up at him.
"You're…you're Ben Kenobi," Luke said, between harsh inhales. "What are you doing here? What-"
He trailed off as he looked past Kenobi to blankly stare at the trio standing in the wreckage of the battle.
"What are any of you doing here, really?"
"I was a dear friend of your mother and father," Kenobi said, kneeling down to put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "And as a promise to your mother I have been protecting you here on Tatooine, but today I was too late. For that I am sorry."
One of the droids, the Astromech, came rolling out of the garage and beeped sadly at Kenobi: who raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"You…were protecting me?" Luke asked, his grief sapping his voice of any emotion. "You saved me from that Krayt dragon years ago, but you've been a hermit for as long as I've known you."
"As you can see Luke, sometimes isolation is preferable to being hunted," Kenobi said, gesturing to the carnage around them. "But even I could not have faced this force alone, my friends here are members of the rebellion and they've saved you from falling into the Empire's clutches. These droids you've bought mean a great deal to them, and I have no doubt that they would have taken them by force."
"You're with the rebellion?" Luke asked Cal, his knuckles going white as he clutched his uncle's shirt.
"We're allied to them," Cal said. "We're working towards the same goal, but not always together. I suppose you could call us an order of knights, the Lost Order."
"You…you fight the Empire though," Luke said, shrugging off Kenobi's hand and standing as he addressed Cal. "Take me with you, there's…nothing here for me now, and I've wanted to join the rebellion anyway. Let me fight with you!"
Cal looked at the kid for a long moment and extended his perceptions through the Force to take all of him in. Luke was equal parts anger and fear, anguish and resolve, but beneath that was a potential that surprised Cal. This farm boy was deeply entwined with the Force even as seemingly distant from it he seemed, and Cal wondered if Kenobi was right about the prophecy. He looked to Kenobi who simply nodded and put his hand on Luke's shoulder again.
"If you wish for me to accompany you then Luke is coming with me," Kenobi said, patting the farm boy's shoulder. "We…have much to talk about regarding his father and his inheritance."
"I hate to ruin the moment," Rowan said, one hand fastening a thermal detonator to the ship while the other adjusted the comm piece in his ear. "But we have six ground carriers heading this direction going off comm chatter. We need to leave."
"Alright," Cal said, turning back to Luke and Kenobi. "Kid, gather what only what you absolutely need and be out here in five minutes."
"What about my aunt and uncle?" He asked, the anger fading away to be replaced by grief again. "We can't just leave them like this."
"We can and we will," Rowan said as he set a timer of five minutes on the detonator. "Imps'll be here in ten, I recommend we're gone in less than eight."
Luke almost protested before Kenobi quieted him with a gesture and turned the boy back towards what had once been his home. Cal watched them go into the house and once he was sure they were out of sight he turned to the still-lit lightsaber on the ground. The black blade had turned the sand around it to glass and when Cal switched it off to pick it up the cooling shattered the glass. He stared into spider web cracks in the glass for a long moment and thought to himself:
"One more piece of shattered glass."