Hey guys another chapter out. This was finished a lot faster than expected. I was struck by inspiration and wrote it fast, more chapters will not come out this fast.
It was brought up in one review that they might have trouble with my writing style. I hope you don't have too much trouble, and that goes for everyone. I switch between perspectives in this chapter more than once and when I say 3rd person perspective, I am truly not sure if it is actually 3rd person, or narrative, or whatever. I always mix them up, only one I know for certain is 1st person perspective. Hope this isn't a problem for any readers.
Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of their intellectual property. I also do not own Bio Ware or their IP
Notes and Locations
Speaking: "..."
Thoughts: '...'
Sounds/effects: *...*
Chapter 1: New Era
(Mace PoV)
(Shuttle, Korriban)
I kept to myself as I surveyed those around me. I kept my guard up as I looked at each one of them. Doing a once over of those around me, I could tell they were all weaklings. Well, almost all of them were. My eyes flickered over to the sith pure blood sitting over on the other side of the shuttle. Most people avoided sitting next to him, as they did me.
I didn't care that they kept their distance that just showed how weak they were. Not being able to face their fears and show their dominance they were sure to be stepped on. As my eyes flickered over I saw his red eyes staring back.
I felt a small smile threatening to break out as I stared into the determination and arrogance that was held in those eyes. It would be fun breaking him and showing him who was better. And that's what would happen, because I never lose, I never falter, I will never be defeated.
Finally I couldn't help it as a vicious grin broke out on my lips and I saw the light of competitiveness flash through his eyes.*Grr* I felt a deep rumble come to my throat as the beast inside me was roused. This would be fun.
Once I was done with him I would be on my way to becoming a true sith lord! We continued or stare for a few minutes before finally he broke eye contact. He wanted to play it off as him getting bored, but I could see the small amount of weakness that he showed. He would be a nice warm up, but he wouldn't be a threat.
Looking away from him I turned my attention to a different side of the transport. We had been split into two sections of the shuttle, as half of us were going to be the warriors of the empire while the others would delve into the force and become the inquisitors, the conniving backstabbers. I preferred a straight fight compared to what they were like. I had seen some of them in my time.
Sitting over there was the only other threat that I could see. It was a woman, with straight black hair that was cut short; she radiated a power that I hadn't felt before. I couldn't place my finger on the feeling but it gave me pause.
Looking at her, she was starring right back at me, just like before I looked deep into her pools of light to see what she was truly like. What I could see gave a small rise to the beast inside again, the unwavering determination and cold calculating chill from her brown eyes was entrapping.
In the end I couldn't figure her out before the shuttle landed. *Crank* unbuckling myself I sent her one last look before moving towards the ramp. I didn't spare anyone else a look as I made my way to what was waiting, my destiny was waiting.
(Outside the Tomb of Naga Sadow)
"Vette. You found it?" Giving a small look to the red twi'lek behind me I waited patiently. *Crank* The sound of a lever being pulled told me all that I needed to know. I wasn't sure what it was about the twi'lek, but since I met her something had been different.
Something was telling me about a hidden strength she possessed. Even though I had found her in jail and being kept by an overseer, I trusted my gut and brought her along. She had been proving useful so far.
This was the last mission set upon my by Baras. And I was competing against that weakling, Vemrin, as I thought; he was the last one standing. It was finally time to show him his place. Moving away from the lever and moving further in, I took out my blade and quickly dealt with the tomb raiders.
I know they were nice training targets for most sith, but they were becoming a nuisance. *Pew*Just as I had jumped into the group I heard the blaster fire of Vette behind me, thank god she was useful in a fight. Actually she was almost too useful; her fighting skills were above the average acolyte I had met so far.
In a few second they were on the ground, dead, and we moved on, we were just outside of the tomb when I heard the sound of lightning around the corner. Taking a quick peek I saw her again. The woman I hadn't been able to read. I had seen her when I was doing a few of my initiation test but this was the first time I had seen her in action.
Surrounded by 5 tomb raiders her hands flared to life with lightning as she began to shock those moving close. My eyes rose in surprise for a second as I saw this, lightning wasn't the easiest ability to master. I may not use it personally, but to have such a grasp already…she was powerful.
I could just feel the grin that broke out on my face as I pulled my blade. "Vette." With one last word to her, I jumped in. Gathering the force below me, I propelled myself forwards right at one of the raiders on the left.
He didn't see me coming as I cleaved right through him. Not stopping for a moment I turned and matched blades with another. *Pew Pew* another one dropped to the ground as we made short work of those around.
Turning to look at the woman I had just helped, I saw her starring right back. She didn't say anything, but I could see her mind at work, trying to figure out what my goal was. I gave a smile as I sheaved my blade and walked towards the tomb. Something was drawing me to her, there was no reason not to give her some help.
Not to mention that it wouldn't have mattered, she would have dealt with them, I could tell. I saw Vette give a small wave as we walked away to finish my initiation. It was time to deal with Vemrin.
(Black Talon)
I stepped into the meeting room and stopped for a second. The droid was in the room, ready to deliver whatever message was ever so important. Vette was trailing behind me a happy smile on her face. I had let her go gather some things on the fleet while we were there. She had found whatever she was looking for.
But I wasn't the only one in the meeting room, sitting down and looking at me was that woman once again. She had grown stronger once again, I could just somehow tell. Standing behind her was a beast I had never seen before, something about the beast shouted danger in my head, but that just made my want to fight it even greater.
I gave the woman a nod as I found my seat, while Vette waved once again. In return she also nodded, it was minimal but it was a reaction. "Good now that everyone is here…" The meeting started.
*Snap* *Hiss* I let my blade extinguish as I looked down at the defeated padawan. She had been a slight challenge, especially having the back up of her troopers, but we had defeated her. Her hilt lay broken on the ground from where I had destroyed it.
Towering to her left was the beast; it had been a good distraction while its master and I had taken on the padawan. Vette had helped it out when it had slowed down.
Giving one last glance at the defeated Yadira Ban, I moved towards the other side of the room, the traitor was trying to escape, I had to stop him. "ARGH!" *Crackle* Behind me I heard a scream of agony as she gave the padawan a shock.
Looking at her for a second I could see the smile of pleasure that appeared. I only looked for a second before continuing on. It looked like it would just be me to take the traitor down. Yadira had been the last line of defense anyway; it was time to take out the trash. She could have her fun.
(Korriban Academy)
(Years Later)
I walked slowly down the corridors as I went to a council meeting. It wasn't usual that I went to them, but every now and then I would go. Jaesa walked behind me on the right, while Vette traveled on my left. Pierce was meeting some of his old friends on the fleet; we would pick him up on the way back.
Just as I was closing in on the chamber I stopped as I sensed a presence. I hadn't felt it in a while, but it was something very hard to forget. Standing still I waited as the presence got closer. Finally I turned to look at her.
I looked at her for a few moments before I spoke. In my head I compared what she looked like now to what she looked like when I first laid eyes on her. Her hair had grown longer, her eyes sharpened; her body that had once been smaller had grown as the years went on, so had her power.
"So you also became a Darth, even a member of the council. Congratulations…" She nodded as she stepped next to me. "I'm known as Darth Nox now." I gave a nod as a smile came to her face. "I heard about you as well, Wrath."
A small grin came to my face as I turned to look her in the eye. It had been so many years but I still couldn't see through her, she had already become so powerful. Maybe not as powerful as me though.
We both continued to walk to the chambers as the others stayed behind us. She had brought two people as well. One was the beast that had been with her for years, while the other was her padawan that she had taken on Taris.
"I heard about the betrayal of Baras on Quesh, I told you not to trust him." Giving another nod we stopped before we walked in. "It was good advice, not that I every really trusted him." We both looked at each other as I continued. "I would have helped you with Thanaton, but I was a bit occupied at the time." She shook her head.
"He never stood a chance, he was weak…" She took a breath as she looked me in the eye. "He wasn't strong, like us." When she said those words I felt something change between us. We had known each other for so many years, since we were both acolytes.
After the event on the Black Talon we had kept in contact, which had only gotten more frequent as we became more powerful. There were many time when we were on the same planet at the same time. Like in the past it felt like a bond was keeping us together, and when she said those words I understood the meaning underneath it.
A smile came to my face, unbidden as I couldn't help it. Looking into her deep brown eyes I finally felt like I was seeing through her, like I understood.
(3rd Person PoV)
(Nar shaddaa)
(3 Years Later)
"Where would you like…URgh….HEY!" *Bang* *Whirl Buzz* *Zooom* The hover taxi shot off into the sky as it left behind an unhappy taxi driver. Mace didn't care as he pressed down on the pedal and swerved right and left.
*BEEEEP!* *HONK!* Dodging oncoming traffic, he flicked a holo projector to the side and pressed a button. *Beep* *Beep* A small red dot appeared and kept flashing as he started to trace the signal. His heart pounding inside his chest he felt the anger within starting to overflow, but held it back.
He couldn't explode right now. Shifting between the red glowing dot and the area around him, it wasn't long before he finally came up to a building. Flying into restricted space and not giving a damn he steered the thing right towards the entrance before igniting his Lightsaber. *Snap Hiss*
Carving out the roof above him, having no support it flew off behind the vehicle as it got closer to the ground. Giving one last look at the red dot he slowly stood up. Calculating it in his head, at the last second he jumped out let himself fall.
The hover taxi didn't slow down as it continued on its path before finally crashing into the entrance. *BOOM!* Explosions rocketed outwards as Mace fell towards the decking. Just as he was about to hit, he held out his hand and channeled the force, using force push.
*Bang* It dented slightly as the rebound slowed him down. *Crack* Even doing that the fall still cracked his armour as he fell into a roll, shaking off the momentum before rushing forwards. In front of him the entrance was blown open and some republic commandos where trying to organize themselves.
Finally feeling like he couldn't hold it in any longer, the anger that he had repressed burst outwards. The force almost visible manifested itself around him as a red mist floated out from his body and clung to it. *Clang* *Clang* The alarms went off as the people in front of him cowered at the juggernaut closing in.
Pushing off the ground, Lightsaber ablaze, Mace started to tear through everyone that was in his path. Some of them ran to the side trying to hide, he would have killed them too but he was in a rush. Not giving them any mind he continued forwards.
Upstairs and through multitudes of enemies, he felt his connection to the force start to weaken. 'Not good' Thinking to himself, he upped his speed. As he reached a pair of reinforced doors he could feel her on the other side of them. But his heart clenched as he felt how weak it was.
He could just feel it over, whatever was locking the force. His rage surged as it provided him strength as he ripped into the door and busted into the room. He stopped for a second as he noticed the 4 Jedi that surrounded her.
6 of them were littered around the palace already dead, with the remaining 4 close to death, but they had her outnumbered. She was already on the ground struggling to keep them back, blood flowing from blaster wounds. His rage surged to heights Mace had never felt before.
"Rargh!" Letting loose a powerful battle cry his mind heightened to the highest it had ever been. Leaping into battle, one didn't have time before he sliced off their hands and then their head. Watching one of their comrades fall, the other 3 turned to him blades ready.
Green, blue and yellow lit up his face but his anger was too much, dashing forwards his blows came heavy and fast as he knocked one back with a push and clashed with another. With heavy blows it only took him 4 blows before he disarmed his opponent and sliced him in half.
Watching him fall, he turned to the person closing in on his back and raised his arm. *Grip* *Splutter* *Crack* Using only a few seconds he choked the life out of the poor Jedi before breaking his neck. The last Jedi was back on his feet, but Mace could feel the fear that was radiating off him.
Taking a quick look at the pool of blood that was pooled underneath his wife he felt his sanity disappear as he threw his Lightsaber at the man. Pulling out his second hilt, he jumped right after it.
The Jedi was just able to block the blow but didn't see the quickly approaching, heavily armored figure. Eyes widening in shock, *Sizzle* He couldn't speak as he dropped to the ground.
Mace didn't send him a second glance as he rushed over to his fallen wife. Sliding to his knees not caring about the blood, he quickly checked for her pulse as well as her connection to the force, but it was so faint.
Dread started to fill him as his anger died down. "Alira! Can you hear me?! I'll get you to a med center right away." About to wrap his arms under her legs and back, the eyes fluttered as they opened. The brown eyes looked into his red ones and she let out a smile.
Reaching her hand up to caress the side of his face she spoke. "No it's too late, I can feel death's approach. The force will be taking me." Mace's heart dropped even further as he didn't want to accept the words.
Seeing the denial that was about to set in Alira spoke up before he could. "Remember what we spoke about before, you have to do it now." Mace shook his head in desperation. "NO, we still have a chance." Alira shook her head faintly.
"I will always be with you; we can find a solution latter. You have to do it now. Take care of my Apprentices in my stead" Mace stopped for a second as he starred down at his wife. He couldn't remember the last time it happened, but he felt the small trickle of water come from his eyes. Seeing that determination that he had fallen in love with all those years ago, he had no other choice.
Giving one final nod of understanding he laid her body on the ground as he started to set up the preparations. She didn't have long he had to do it before it was too late. Having married her, they had both spoken about their paths to power, how it all came to be.
And out of all the stories there was one ability that just she had, something she never shared with anyone else, something that was a secret only she could use. Something that she had taught Mace should it ever be required.
Force Walking.
Finished with the preparations Mace looked down one last time at his Dying wife and began the ritual. They would be together forever, never separate.
(Present)
(Aboard the Phantom)
"Urgh." A small groan escaped Mace's lips as he roused himself. His eyes fluttered slowly as he picked himself up. Shaking his head for a second he looked around the room he was in. He was still inside the ship, and the unconscious form of Vaylin was right next to him.
She was also just waking up as he reached out in the force on instinct. That was when he realized that something was wrong. The force felt…different like something was wrong. His eyes cleared instantly as he tried to feel what was different.
But before he could truly start a pained voice spoke in the back of his head. 'Conceal your presence, now, something is wrong.' 'Alira?' Giving it a few seconds of thought he quickly sat back down and began to focus in on himself.
Feeling the force around him and the ship, he started to utilize a technique to hide their presence. While he was doing that he also tried to figure out what was going on. Something was different with the galaxy.
(Coruscant)
(Jedi Temple)
*Groan* "What the hell was that?" Yoda regained his senses as he looked around the council chamber he was sitting in. Around him the figures of the council were also pulling themselves together. They had been in the middle of a discussion about the recent happenings at the planet of Naboo, and the escort they sent, consisting of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
There was a disturbance in the force coming from their direction, something that only the most powerful of the council could feel. Just as they had been discussing what the disturbance could mean, the force had quaked and an explosion rocketed outwards.
Everyone on the council and nearly everyone in the temple had felt the sudden shock wave in the force. It was so intense it had physically incapacitated them for a few minutes. The voice that had just talked came from the ever stoic Mace Windu.
Yoda was about to respond himself when he felt it. A shudder went down his spine as his head snapped into the sky. It hadn't been there before but, now that he sensed the force, he could feel an all encompassing darkness, like a beast that could swallow the galaxy if it wanted to.
This presence in the force... it was so dark and vicious that it seemed to constricted around his chest. His breathing stopped for a second as he felt this new force and tried to locate where it originated from. Tracing it back as fast as he could, he could feel it coming from the distant planet of Naboo.
The feeling was starting to overwhelm even him before it slowly started to disappear, as If it never existed in the first place. Feeling the overwhelming presence disappear, Yoda let out a breath of air as he sat back in his chair, starting to calm his mind.
'What could have affected the force so grandly, what could produce such darkness... could it be?' Sending a glance around the council room, Yoda noticed the pale and worried expressions of the other masters.
As the grand master of the order Yoda quickly took charge. Turning towards Saesee Tiin, another member of the council, he spoke. "Master Jinn, contact you must. Disturbance in the force, dark it is. Jeopardy they are in."
The Iktotch male nodded gravely before standing up and quickly leaving the room. Turning towards the rest he spoke again. "Alleviate the worries of the knights, padawans and younglings, we must. Convene again at a later time." Shaking his head with far off look in his eyes he finally finished. "Meditate on this, I must."
The rest of the council rose as they gave small bows, before leaving. They all had thoughts about what just happened. But it was the dark feeling that they felt that left worries in all their minds. But at the moment they had to reassure the rest of the temple, it was sure that many would have felt this new dark presence.
(Coruscant)
(Senate Building)
"Who was it!?" The malicious voice of Palpatine raged as he slowly got back to his feet. His eyes scanned the room around him to make sure that no one had seen what had just happened. It may have been his private chambers, but one could never be too careful.
If it were to be known that he had fainted for a short amount of time, at the same time as most likely half the Jedi in the Galaxy, it would ruin everything he had been planning for, blowing his cover. And his ambitions were so close to fruition, or the first part was.
He was going to become the supreme chancellor soon, and then he would kill his master. He couldn't have anything go wrong at such a critical time! The frown on his face only got worse as he sensed the dark presence that peeked its head at a different part of the galaxy, right near Naboo no less!
Having steeped himself in dark side techniques and alchemy for so many years, the presence he felt actually created a small sense of fear inside him. The darkness that he felt was something he had only found at some of the ancient dark temples he had visited.
'What the hell was going on? I might have to speak with Plagueis.' He wasn't happy about the thought of consulting his master, but every piece of knowledge that he could come across would help him in his future plans.
Fixing up the robe that he was currently wearing, he called for some aids as he prepared to leave, he had a meeting to attend and he was going to be late at this rate. 'I might have to cancel my plans after the meeting, something is very wrong.'
(Orbit of Naboo)
(Radiant VII)
Obi-Wan Kenobi groaned as he pulled himself up. He had been leaning on the wall, when that presence in the force had assaulted him. It had originated so close that it had knocked both him and his master out. It was only after half an hour that they had roused themselves.
"Master…Master, what was that." His voice was a little horse as he spoke to Qui-Gon Jinn. Jinn didn't reply as he stretched his thoughts out through the force, that disturbance that had just occurred was so close. He was sure that if he sensed for it, he should be able to find it.
But even after a few minutes of searching he couldn't find anything, all he could feel was a slight presence of darkness that was close, but he couldn't be sure how close. Calming himself down after feeling such a huge shock wave in the force, he kept his guard up as he turned to his Padawan.
"I don't know Obi-Wan, but I fear that our mission will be fraught with danger." Obi-Wan gave a slow nod as he also started to feel the dark presence that was close by. It made him want to grab his Lightsaber and defend himself, but there was nothing in sight.
They were both about to board the federation flagship; they couldn't be distracted when they started their negotiations. With that thought in mind Jinn and Obi-Wan got ready to depart. But the small feeling of unease following them, continued undaunted.
(Aboard the Phantom)
Mace's eyes opened slowly as he finished hiding their presence. As he was doing that he had sent his presence outward, trying to sense the galaxy around him, and something was definitely wrong. He had felt the galaxy so many times, he had felt what the war had brought, what the destruction and mayhem had brought, but now it was gone.
Sure there were a few small pockets that he could feel that still had scars of war, but everything was so…peaceful. Something was defiantly wrong. Other than that fact, he had also sensed out, looking for the dark side and he could barely feel it!
He could sense it, but it had changed. Compared to the beast that raged against the light, what he was used to, it had now become a kitten that cowered before the light side. Not that it had diminished, it was still as strong as before, if not even stronger, but… it wasn't being drawn wasn't being used.
As he pondered on this new revelation Alira's voice once again spoke in the back of his head. 'Someone has been utilizing a sith alchemy technique. They are obstructing the flow of the force, blinding the light side, covering it.'
Her voice stopped for a few seconds as if pondering. When it returned it wasn't as sure as before. 'Why the Jedi have not broken such an obvious technique is bewildering. While we can use the dark side to sense the galaxy, their vision will be clouded.'
Mace could almost see the frown that appeared on her face even if she wasn't right there. He gave a small smile as she started to think about the possibilities. He left her to her thoughts as he stood up. He would leave that for her, as he figured out what their current situation was.
It hadn't taken long to hide their presence in the force, so Vaylin was still in the room; she was standing next to the door with a frown of her own waiting for him to get up. Giving a single nod he moved to leave. Everyone would have gathered in the main hub after what just happened.
He was sure that nearly the whole crew had felt what happened in the force, if not they knew something happened while they were in hyper space. *Hiss* Pressing the button for the door it slid open nicely as he stepped through.
Just as he made it out, Vaylin spoke up. "You feel the difference in the force?" Glancing back over his shoulder to look at her, Mace nodded with a grave look. "Yes, but what it means I am still trying to figure out." Vaylin said nothing else as she trailed behind him.
Sending a glance towards the engine room, other bedroom and Armory and seeing no one there, he was assured that everyone was in the main hub. Mace was confident that they weren't being fired upon or in any immediate danger as someone would have gotten him if such an occurrence happened.
Walking past the loading ramp he stepped into the main hub.
(Mace's PoV)
Six people stood surrounding the main holo projector discussing something as I stepped in, looking at those around and not seeing Vette I was sure she was still piloting the ship, relaying any and all important information.
Before the 6 people in the room was the projection of a planet I hadn't seen before and at the moment it was surrounded by ships I also hadn't seen before. These were images most likely taken from the ships sensors, some of the best in the galaxy.
Stepping in my eyes peeled taking in all the information that our sensors had gleamed; while I was doing that Vaylin also entered the room. I felt a spike of anger in the force, something I had become attuned to over the years. My eyes snapped to the source as a little irritation built up.
Nadia who was on the left and closest to us stomped closer, her angry overflowing eye turning slightly red. "Was this your doing!?" Addressing Vaylin, I could easily feel the spike of anger that appeared behind me.
Nadia had an extreme hate for anything and anybody from Zakuul, with good reason I guess, but this usually caused problems with Senya, Arcann and recently Vaylin. Honestly it was starting to get on my nerves. Feeling fed up I held my hand up behind me stopping Vaylin from whatever she was about to say.
"We don't have time for this Apprentice! This was not caused by her! You should have felt the force before that shock wave. Now stop wasting my time with this nonsense!" My voice growled out dangerously as I tapped into the dark side of the force. I knew that my eyes had turned red and the oppressive force that I projected shut Nadia up quickly.
Turning to look at me, hatred still deep in her eyes, it took her a few seconds before she finally regained herself and stepped back. Bowing her head in acquiescence she spoke just above a whisper. "Yes, Master." I looked at her for another few seconds feeling the emotions that were trapped underneath her skin.
I would have to let her loose soon, it was always good to vent such feelings, and I had a feeling that it would come in handy soon.
Turning my attention away from her I looked towards Ayillh. Most of the others in the room hadn't cared much with what just happened, after living in the empire for a while such small displays of aggression wouldn't bother anyone.
Though Jaesa and Ashara who used to teach her and still do every now and then; were giving her malicious smile. They were surely embarrassed by her outburst just then. It reflected badly on them as her past masters and I might not even have to personally discipline her later.
Ayillh returned my stare and began to report. Her mind was already on to the tactical situation. "We didn't arrive at Odessen." The most important information first. "Where are we?" Shrinking the planet we were looking at and zooming out to a map of the larger galaxy, she pointed to a specific sector.
We were nowhere close to Odessen, it would have taken us a few days to get to there from where we were. And I still couldn't recognize what planet we were on. Though we were pretty close to Tatooine, a place I loathed going to.
"We are on the Planet of Naboo. I have no specific records of such a place. It wasn't deemed important to our war effort. As far as I know, no military outpost or big civilizations live on the planet that have to deal with the war."
My eye brow rose slightly as I stepped closer and got another look at the planet. Starring at it for a minute or two I pointed at the ships that occupied the orbit of the planet. "Then where did these guys come from. I don't recognize the design, but they seem equipped for war. A new faction maybe? Does anyone have any input?"
Looking at those around me, I saw the small shakes of their head, most of the people on board were up to date with new technologies and forces that we had to face, though not that many were as informed as Ayillh, it was a part of her job.
Giving one final look at Nadia, seeing as she used to be a part of the Rift alliance that had dealings with many of the systems outside of the norm, she gave a small shake of the head. A frown came back to my face as I read some of the data on this new force.
For them to appear out of nowhere and not resemble anything we had seen, it didn't sit well with me. Though it was just another mystery to add to so far, the bigger question was the changes in the force. Even here I could feel the overwhelming light side of the force that encompassed swathes of the galaxy.
The dark side while present had been push back and hidden where it was once so prevalent. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head as we started to discuss our situation, it was decided that we wouldn't move for now. It had been the fore that had brought us to this planet and I wanted to know why.
I could faintly feel the force gathering on the planet below as if something big was going to happen, once again a moment in the force that could change the fate of the galaxy.
Just as we were ending the discussion Vette's voice shouted from the cockpit. "Incoming Transmission from what look like the capital ship! Should I accept it?" Glancing at everyone around, I motioned to the meeting room as everyone cleared out except me and Ayillh.
I didn't have any of my gear on and Ayillh was a master of negotiation. She wasn't carrying her sniper rifle which would make us look non-threatening. Finally I went and grabbed a mask to cover my face. When most saw the visage of a sith pure blood negative reactions would be the expected response. I would let Ayillh do the talking. Her rare purple skin and beauty were good distractions.
*Beep* *beep* The holo projector in front of us beeped once or twice before I pressed answer. The lights dimmed in the room so it was easier to see. Before us the picture of a race I hadn't seen before appeared. They had green grayish skin and multiple wrinkles littered their face. With 2 big red eyes and a long neck, with a regal hat on his head, I could tell a slimo when I saw one. This person was an opportunist.
"Unidentified Naboo cruiser, this is Viceroy, Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation, initiate landing protocols and come in for landing at the Theed Landing Plaza. If you do not comply we will immediately fire on your ship."
The voice was grating to the ear, though it did raise some questions in my mind. 'What is the trade Federation?' My eyes flickered to Ayillh for a second, but I didn't say anything, she would know the best course of action.
Taking the role of speaker she put on a pleasing smile as she responded. "We will comply immediately, Viceroy, and await landing instructions and coordinates. Thank you for the warning." The viceroy smiled at her pleasant tone, and nodded to himself a self satisfied expression showing. "Excellent, descend immediately."
With those words he cut the connection. We both looked at each other for a second as the others came back into the room, the lights turning brighter. "We will have to battle when we reach the landing port." Nearly everyone smiled as I said the words. They were raring for a fight, it would clear most minds.
As Vette started to pull us into the atmosphere the rest of us started planning our attack.
(3rd Person Pov)
(Theed capital, Landing Plaza.)
*Clank* *Clank* *Clink* *Clink*
The slow march of battle droids sounded out as a MTT (Multi Troop Transport) followed behind a line of battle droids. Following slowly behind them were two AAT's (Armored Assault Tanks). The small regiment was marching towards a specific landing zone where a silver ship was about to land.
The group of droids had been assigned by their command droid to the landing zone after receiving orders from Nute Gunray. The group was particularly overkill for a ship filled with only a few people, but after the escape of the Jedi aboard his command ship, the Viceroy wasn't taking any chances.
*Buzz* The hum of the tanks slowed down as they dropped back and guarded the entrance to the plaza, they should only be needed as back up. The MTT moved ahead a few meters before it too stopped and stayed still.
Unless more troops were needed they would stay inactivated and stored. The rest of the droids marched without a word as they gathered in front of the silver ship. Taking design queues from a luxury Naboo cruiser, the main difference was the size of the ship as well as the addition of weapons and bigger engine designs.
*Clank* *Clank* Stopping before the ramp the droids raised their weapons ready for any hostilities. *Psh* *Wrrrnnn* The ramp depressurized and slowly began to lower to the ground as all the droids turned their attention to the person about to walk out.
*Clack* *Clack* *Clack* 3 Pairs of boots walked down the ramp and looked at the droids before them. Spreading out from the line they had formed, on the left was a pale woman wearing armour covered by a brown robe that was open at the front. With grey hair, her eyes flickered red as she scoped the area.
In the middle there was a large man with bandaged hands and long tusks, wearing a bone mask. Wearing intimidating armour he rolled his shoulders getting ready for a fight. Reaching his 3 fingered hand towards his belt; he slowly unclipped the hilt on his hip.
Finally on the right was a dark cloaked woman who was showing off her midriff. Wearing a tight fitting 2 piece dress that showed off her toned arms and abs, just under her dark hood could be seen the dark purple lipstick she wore as well as her brown hair. Hidden deep in the dark hood could be seen two red orbs that held a hint of amusement.
The droids stood still for a second assessing the people before them before moving forwards to subdue and escort their targets. Just as the first one took a step Nadia spoke up, her eyes staring at the entrance to the court yard.
"The tanks are mine." Saying that she raised her hand and focused the force around her, without a sound her body disappeared into thin air as she activated Force Cloak. *Clank Clank* The droids stopped at what just happened and their blasters charged up, pointing in the direction of the missing person.
"Hahahaha." The deep baritone voice of Xalek sounded out as he watched his companion go. Bringing his hilt up, he slowly pressed down. *Snap* *Hiss* A blood red, double bladed Lightsabre flared to life with a burst of energy causing the droids to start firing.
*Pew* *Pew* *Pew* Their processors registered the weapon of the Jedi as a threat and they started to fire with wild abandon. Jaesa grinned at the incoming fire as she also grabbed her Double Bladed Lightsaber and ignited it. *Snap* *Hiss* A deep purple blade appeared in front of her as they both began to deflect the blaster fire.
The blaster fire was reflected expertly as it crashed into the droids that fired them. *Bang* *Bang* Droids crumpled to the ground as they both began to move forwards. They were leisurely as they walked forwards; they were treating it like a walk in the park.
*Buzz* The sound of the MTT moving forwards reached their ears as it began to deploy more droids. Xalek just laughed louder as he watched more droids appear before him, he lived for battle. Dashing ahead in a burst of speed, he began to slash left and right as he dodge and reflected fire.
Easily fighting his way through a swath of droids, he looked up as he realized that he was surrounded by the yellow battle droids. Grinning to himself, he gathered the force into his hand as he deflected yet another blast, before slamming it into the ground.
*Crack* *Bang* The ground split as it shattered outwards, rubble flying into the droids around him, knocking them to the ground destroyed. Seeing the down figures, he moved onto the next group, but they were running low on numbers as Jaesa was taking care of them.
Off to the side Jaesa lazily blocked another blaster bolt as her red eyes starred at the offending droid. If it could feel emotions it would have felt a shiver down its spine. Because it couldn't, it continued to fire. Lightly gripping the droid she flung it into another group before a small spark came from her outstretched hand.
*Crack* *Sizzle* Lightning burst forth as she started to overload the droids in her path; it blew outwards crackling over the courtyard, decimating the rest of the droids. A small smirk adorned her face as she took in her handwork, deactivating her lightsaber.
Xalek did the same as the MTT was also disabled. Both stood off and waited for their final companion to finish. They turned towards the entrance to the Plaza as the 2 tanks closed in, their turrets turning towards them.
*Buzz* they floated just above the ground as they made their way closer, before stopping abruptly. In front of the two tanks the silver haired Nadia appeared with both eyes closed. Holding her hands out towards the huge vehicles she stopped them in their tracks.
With the new target in front of them, their turrets turned towards her and started to charge. Slowly clenching her hand, the one facing the tank on the left, the barrel of the turret crunched under an unseen pressure, making the weapon useless.
Undeterred the other tank continued to charge, but with a wave of her hand the barrel was now pointing at the other. Before it could be stopped. *Pow* The attacked tank crashed to the ground before exploding in an explosion of red and orange.
Opening her eyes to look at the tank that was just downed, a smile of satisfaction came to Nadia's face before she looked at the remaining tank. The barrel turned back towards her as it charged up. Keeping the smirk on her face, her eyes turned a deeper shade of red as she pushed her powers.
Motioning with both hands she raised them in the air as the tank started to float higher and higher into the sky. Tilting from the unexpected height, it tilted to the right before her hands started to close. *Groan* *Clank* The metal casing of the tank started to groan under pressure as it fell in on itself.
*Groan* *GROAN!* *Bang* Spending then next 30 seconds, the tank crumpled into itself as Nadia crushed it like a can. Finally breaking under pressure the crumpled form fell to the ground and exploded. A small amount of sweat rolled down her head as she turned her back and walked back to her companions.
The relieved and content smile on her face, showed the amount of stress she just relieved. Finished with their handwork, they all walked up the ramp to report their success and findings. Behind them, all that was left was a destroyed court yard that looked like it had just been in a war.
Droids littered the ground among the scorch marks and burnt ground.
(Aboard the Phantom)
Mace felt a headache coming on as new information was presented to him. Vette after landing the ship had been helping Ayillh, slicing into the galactic holonet that had been found just before they landed. It was slow progress as communication was being blocked by the Trade federation fleet in orbit.
If it wasn't for the advanced communication tech that the ship held, it would have been impossible to get anything. Just 2 minutes ago a new piece of information had unsettled him greatly, and that didn't happen a lot.
Ayillh had been reviewing the sensor data from when they were in orbit when she had discovered that the stars hadn't been in the right place. Having the most up to date maps in the galaxy, that was always updated; finding out that nearly all their charts were off wasn't good.
Mace's mind had gone into overdrive as he tried to connect the dots so far and come up with what situation they were in. Nadia, Jaesa and Xalek had left the ship to deal with the forces outside and would call for back up if needed, the rest of the crew minus Vette and Ayillh were ready to fight at any time.
It had been decided that only 3 of them would leave and fight, not to show their hand before it was necessary. Blizz and Ashara were a bit disappointed, but they could have some fun later. Lost in thought he was roused from his thoughts as Vette and Ayillh came towards him.
From the frowns on their face and turbulent emotions, something was defiantly wrong. Ayillh looked around the room for a second to see if anyone else was in the central hub, before motioning towards the meeting room.
Not saying another word they all moved towards the room and closed the door. *Hiss* Turning to look at the sober women, he crossed his arms. "What do you have?" Vette moved over to one of the chairs in the room and flopped down, there was a vacant look in her eyes.
Ayillh spoke in her place. "You remember how I mentioned every star is out of place." Mace nodded his head slowly. "Yessss." In his mind he steeled himself, as he felt something bad was about to happen. At that point even Ayillh had to sit down at one of the chairs. That was when Mace knew something very bad had happened.
She struggled as she spoke. "The stars have moved because of orbital drift." Her head dropped down as Mace started to process the words. He couldn't help but speak out as it started to register. "But orbital drift..." He couldn't finish the sentence as Vette burst out in anger.
"It takes years! Centuries for such a change to happen!" Mace turned to look at her, as he felt the rage that came from her, but underneath there was a sense of desolation. 'This changes everything.' Alira's voice spoke quietly, before disappearing; her own thoughts all over the place.
Seeing how affected Vette was, Mace slowly walked over and sat down next to her. Taking her hand he looked into her eyes. Vette looked up in to the unwavering eyes of the man she loved and felt a small sense of peace and reassurance in the situation they found themselves in.
By this point Mace had already figured out that an amount of time had passed in the galaxy, an amount that could be greater than 100 years. 100 years was a long time, it could change many things. It could be why the force felt so different.
Thinking about the state of the galaxy and how it felt, the small thought he dreaded couldn't help but rear its head as he thought of the dark side. 'Could the Empire have lost? Did the republic win? Is that why the dark side is so confined? Did they lose in the end?'
A sense of defeat started to well up in the unbreakable Darth of the sith, but as soon as it reared its head he took control of the emotion and squashed it. He needed to be strong right now; he needed to be a leader. Even if the Sith had lost, he was still alive. If he was being honest with himself, it had been a long time that he had been a part of the empire.
He had become the commander of the alliance, stopped the eternal empire from ruling the galaxy and stopped the emperor from wiping out all life. His sense of belonging to the empire had started to fade a long time ago. He only fought for what he wanted, what he loved, want he desired.
'This changes nothing!' Screaming that thought in his head, the resolute expression on his face hardened as different questions appeared. 'How long?'"How long?" Finally speaking out loud after his internal dilemma, he spoke to Vette.
He could see it in her eyes, she knew, she knew how long it had been. Vette looked into his eyes as the knowledge she dreaded came to her lips. "Close to 4 millennia." *Clasp* Mace gripped his hand tightly as he heard the words. 'How could it have been so long?How?'
His voice was husky as he spoke. "Are you sure?" This time Ayillh spoke from the side, her hood down and eyes wary. "By tracking the predicted solo winds and orbital drifting, the computer calculations put it just over 4000 years." Mace closed his eyes.
Vette spoke up this time. "I haven't been able to gather much from the holonet, but mentions of the republic and its systems are rampant." This information truly got to Mace. 'So the republic still stands tall, even after all this time.' "What of the sith?"
Vette shook her head. "From the small pieces I found, the 'Sith' are treated as little more than fairy tales. They were supposedly wiped out 1000 years ago." Mace shook his head. 'How could they fall so far.' Seeming to hesitate for a second, Vette finished what she had to say.
"Even though the sith are apparently long gone myths, there were mentions of the galactic Peace keepers, Jedi, who reside in their temple on the capital, Coruscant." That was the last straw. "Hahaha."Mace started to laugh at the absurdity. 'The Sith had died out 1000 years, ago but the Jedi are still peace keepers of the kicking strong.'
It almost sounded absurd that they were still so highly regarded, the fact honestly made him angry beyond belief. But he channeled that anger and hid it under his skin. He would unleash it later for maximum effect.
Regaining himself after a few minutes he looked at the two women before him. "Was there anything else?" Vette and Ayillh shook their heads sadly as they waited for him to respond. Mace had to spend some time organizing his thoughts before he could say anything.
Retreating into his thoughts, one thought prevailed over all. 'Why were they here? Why were they taken here? What did the force want with them?!' And as if to answer that desperate plea, the force started to move around him.
His head perked up at the sudden shift in the force as his senses were brought to the center of the Theed capital, where it focused on a certain woman. The queen of the city. The force whispered in his ear as he watched the lady and her entourage. 'Was that why they were there? To kill her?' The force shuddered and pushed back against him. 'So that was a no. To help her?' The force sang happily.
Hearing the reply from the force, Mace was tempted to do the opposite and kill this woman whoever she was, it had dragged them from their time and put them here. He hated it with a passion. But in the end he decided to follow it, for now.
Opening his eyes after conversing with the force he looked at the two people still in the room. He felt Jaesa, Xalek and Nadia return to the ship and knew it was time for everyone to meet, to learn what had happened.
Standing up he looked at Ayillh. "I have a mission for you." Pulling her hood back up, her eyes shinned as she nodded, the determination in his eyes reaffirming her confidence. "What would you have me do?"
Mace began to detail her mission as Vette left the room to gather the others.
(Theed Capital, Palace.)
Padme walked out of the palace with her head down. Thoughts raced through her mind as her eyes scanned the courtyard and street around. Battle droids and tanks were everywhere taking her people into their houses and other buildings.
A feeling of dread welled up in her as she walked behind Rabe, a close handmaiden of hers that doubled as the queen in such situations. Dressed as a handmaiden and walking with the rest, the viceroy had fallen for the long time ruse.
Positioned just behind Rabe and the governor Sio Bibble, with her trusted handmaidens around her and 6 of the royal guards, including her guard captain Panaka, following behind, she was in the safest position should a fight break out.
Her eyes roamed over the beautiful buildings she had grown used to over the years as her eyes stopped on something out of place. On one of the high rise buildings only 50 meters away from them she caught sight of the sun reflecting off something.
It had only been there for a second but she had seen a flash. Looking at the spot harder, she found nothing out of place and though it was just her imagination. Looking back down in front of her, her mind raced with ideas on how to escape, how to help her people. She just had to wait for an opportunity and she would take it.
Moving of the main street she didn't notice the 2 men and a Gungan that looked down at them. Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan looked at the small contingent of droids that were escorting the queen past them and started to follow silently.
Walking into a closed off area and the perfect place for an ambush, they sped up and hid behind an overpass that went directly over their path. Watching the group moving closer Jinn looked at Obi-Wan. "Ready?" *Clack* *Clack* Obi-Wan gave a nod getting ready to pull his Lightsaber. The Gungan Jar Jar Binks also nodded his head ready to help and got ready.
Just as they were about to drop down, Jinn stopped for a second as he felt something in the force. *Bang* *Puff* *Bang* Puff* 2 explosions of white gas exploded out covering the area obstructing everyone's views.
Both Jedi stood up and watched the scene with wary eyes. The queens group stopped in surprise as the droids weapons pointed out looking for an enemy. *Shing* *Slash* *Clang* *Shing* *Pew* *Rattle* *Clank* Nobody saw anything in the white smoke as the droids dropped around them.
Only 1 shot was fired off before the gas started to clear up. Standing before the dumbfounded group was a woman completely decked out in white and black high tech gear. The bodies of droids littered the ground, all missing either their head or had huge cuts right through their chest.
Captain Panaka quickly spoke out going into battle mode, keeping his eyes peeled on the person before them. "Grab their weapons." The other 5 men spread out and grabbed the weapons on the floor as Panaka moved in front of Rabe who was pretending to be the queen.
Padme stood behind him and had been distracted looking at the destroyed droids that were surrounding them. Hearing what he just said though her mind returned to her as she began to analyze her. 'Was she a friend or foe?'
The fact that the person before them was a woman and highly dangerous, was the only thing her mind could come up with after looking at her for a few seconds. She had a sniper rifle strapped to her back that made Padme wonder how she moved so fast with it weighing her down. It had only taken her seconds to take out the 8 droids.
Other than that weapon, which she obviously hadn't just used, she had multiple pieces of gear and knifes on her person. Padme had just caught her sheaving one of them as the smoke cleared. 'What is it made of to cut through the droids armour?'
With her hood up, nothing could be seen of her face other than the menacing mask that was looking right at their group. As Padme was studying her, Ayillh was doing the same. Mace wanted her to find the queen and protect her at all costs, except if her life was in danger.
Grabbing a hacked map of the city from Vette, she had easily made it to the palace courtyard and had been scoping the area for a way in when the group had left the building. There was only a low res picture that she had been able to go off on, it was the best Vette could grab with such little time, to identify that the group was the queen, her handmaidens and those close to the government.
Stalking the group in stealth she had been waiting for the perfect opportunity, when the group had veered off into this secluded section. *Clack* A blaster was thrown to Panaka as he raised it in her direction.
"Who are you?" Deciding to keep up a bit of mystery and assertiveness for the situation she tilted her head to the side and talked decisively. "We don't have time for this. I'm a bounty hunter sent to protect the Queen, by my employer." Saying that she raised her hand and pointed right at Rabe, her voice had been synthesized by the mask she wore so it came off in an intimidating manner.
Panaka stood in front of the out stretched hand still not trusting the person before him, even though she had helped them get free. Padme herself was thinking over what had just been said, a small frown on her face. 'Who would send a bounty hunter to protect her? For what reason?' Not caring about the obvious hostility Ayillh Jerked her hand back to motion at the overpass.
"Stop wasting time, get down here we need to leave the street." Jinn's eyebrows raised in surprise as Obi-Wan reflexively laid his hand on his Lightsaber. Something about the bounty Hunter down there set him on edge.
Jinn also had that feeling, but shook his head as he caught the look from his Padawan. Standing up they made their presence know as they jumped down to ground level. 6 Blaster pointed at the new entrants as Ayillh turned around to look at them.
She had noticed the two before she had started her ambush, but was sure that they were on the side of the queen, not having got a good look before she started, she now noticed that 2 men in robes had Lightsabers clipped to the belts.
Her hand wanted to twitch down to one of her knives but she stopped herself, though she did speak her thoughts. "Jedi." The queens group lowered their weapons at the words and a happy smile came to one or two of the handmaidens.
Jedi were renowned peace keepers of the galaxy and would mean no threat to them. This reaction didn't go unnoticed by Ayillh; a frown came to her face for a second at the respect and trust that was shown, even though they were clearly strangers.
Jinn looked at the bounty Hunter as he moved closer and still felt that faint presence of danger that he felt before. Looking at her for a few more seconds he talked to the Queens group. "I would have to agree with her your highness, we should leave the street."
Rabe looked at the Jedi, the destroyed droids and finally the Bounty hunter that had appeared from nowhere, but was somehow being paid to guard her safety, before nodding.
The group moved off to the street and into an alley as Ayillh followed from the back. Jinn spoke as they left the scene. "We're Ambassadors for the supreme chancellor." Sio Bibble stood forwards with a frown. "Your negotiations seemed to have failed." Jinn just shook his head. "The negotiations never took place. It's urgent that we make contact with the Republic."
This time Panaka spoke up standing next to Rabe. "They've knocked out all our communications." Jinn thought for a few seconds. "Do you have transports?" Panaka nodded as he motioned towards a building in the distance. "In the main Hanger this way."
Obi-Wan stopped them before they moved off however. "Master what about her." Nodding towards Ayillh, everyone else turned towards her. She rolled her eyes as she heard the Jedi speak. 'Why did they always have to make things difficult for her?'
Her synthesized voice spoke with irritation as her head turned towards the young Padawan. "I'm being paid to make sure the Queen is safe. My ship is too far away and from what I can see, you need all the help you can get."
Rabe thought about it for a few seconds as it was ultimately her decision; she couldn't have Padme make it right then and there. "We thank you for your assistance." Obi-Wan looked like he wanted to say something but Jinn shot him a look that shut him up. With all those problems out of the way the group moved on.
(Hanger bay)
It took them a few minutes, but they didn't run into any patrols and arrived at the entrance to the hanger. Crowding around the hanger they peered in to see a group of battle droids guarding a few captives.
Assessing the situation Panaka spoke first. "There are too many of them." Jinn had a look at the group before shaking his head in confidence. "They won't be a problem. Your highness under the circumstances I suggest you come to Coruscant with us." Rabe just looked at the Jedi master as she responded instantly. "Thank you ambassador but my place is with my people."
A frown came to his face. "They will kill you if you stay." Bibble couldn't stand for such words from the master. "They wouldn't dare!" Panaka explained in his place. "They need her to sign a treaty; they can't afford to kill her." Jinn shook his head again, a concerned tone to his voice. "There's something else behind this your highness, there's no logic in the federations move here. My feelings tell me they will destroy you."
Ayillh herself knew how stupid it would be for the Queen to stay on the planet, it would cause a lot more troubles than fix, if she were to stay. They might start killing the population to draw her out or bomb areas until something happened.
Not wanting to stay on the planet herself and waste more time there, she spoke up. "He's right your Majesty. You staying will only cause more problems." Jinn turned to look at the unexpected back up but said nothing. He would rather take the help than shunning it.
The final straw that broke the deadlock was when the governor himself spoke. "Our only hope is for the senate to side with us. Senator Palpatine will need your help." Siding with the Jedi and Bounty Hunter, Rabe looked at the 3 people who wanted her to leave.
The problem was she couldn't make such an important decision when she was not really the queen, she knew Padme for a long time but even then she couldn't make this decision for her. Turning to face her handmaidens she spoke in contemplation. "Either choice presents great danger…" Sabe's eyes shifted to look at Padme beside her. "…To us all." It was almost an imperceptible sight but Ayillh caught the communication that passed between the two.
Looking between them a small idea of what was going on formed in her mind and she stared intently at the handmaiden. Padme not noticing the gaze on her spoke to the rest. "We are brave your highness." 'It was a verbal confirmation to leave. So she is the real queen.' Ayillh thought to herself as her eyes sharpened, her priority changed from the safety of the fake queen to now her handmaiden.
Of course she didn't show any sign of this and would have to pretend to go along with their ruse. But the extra information was something to keep on hand. 'So they aren't that stupid.'
Ayillh thought it was stupid that the monarch and ruler of a whole planet would get captured so easily, but the fact she was a double showed they had thought about the risks of an invading army. The worst case scenario was the fake being killed instantly if they were vicious invaders, and the benefits of the fake being a priority target if a fight were to break out was another incentive.
While they focused on the decoy the real Queen could escape to safety. Sorting her thoughts out as they decided to waltz right into the hanger, Ayillh didn't pay the droids any thoughts. They were poorly made and if they Jedi couldn't even take out this rabble the order really had degraded over the years.
She did however position herself accordingly to react, should the real Queen come under threat. Following behind the Group and making sure her rifle wasn't very obvious she watched the show before her.
Captain Panaka motioned towards the captives as they got closer. "We'll need to free those pilots." Obi-Wan gave a nod as he moved from the group. "I'll deal with that." Ayillh watched him leave as she assessed his personality. He was rash and headstrong; she could tell that already from their conversations. Something to exploit should they come to blows.
Turning back to the droids they were walking to, the one at the front was the command droid of the hanger. "Halt." Its robotic voice came out strictly as Jinn stopped. "I am the ambassador to the supreme chancellor and I will be taking these people to Coruscant."
The command droid and the ones behind it looked confused at the words. "Where are you taking them?" Jinn spoke firmly. "To Coruscant." Ayillh who was watching had an almost dumbfounded expression on her face.
'Why the hell are these droids so stupid? Their processors should designate instantly that there was no plans for a ship to leave, hell any random sith commander, sergeant, or soldier would be able to instantly figure out something was wrong.
"Coruscant, urgh...that doesn't compute...urgh, wait...uhh...You're under arrest!" The droids raised their weapons as Jinn activated his lightsabre,*Snap* *Hiss*, and sliced them in half. *Pew Pew* Blaster fire went everywhere as the fight began.
The queens group hurriedly boarded a ship that had certain similarities to Ayillh own phantom, but she took her eyes off the design fast, she had a mission to complete. Making sure they all got aboard. She turned to look at the fighting. Seeing a group of droids coming in from the left, she dug into a pouch and pulled out a grenade.
*Beep* *Click Click Click* Holding it for a few seconds she expertly lobbed it into the group and watched them get blown to pieces. By that time both Obi-Wan and Jinn had taken out the other droids and were making their way to the ramp.
Moving inside the ship first, Ayillh followed one of the captured pilots as he entered the cockpit. The engine rumbled to life as the systems were fired up and the ship was in the air in seconds. Ayillh looked around the room as she took in the ships technology.
After finding out that 4 millennia had passed she had expected that the technology had advanced by leaps and bounds, but the droids they had taken down, the weapons that had been used, even this ship, nothing seemed highly advanced.
It caused a frown to come to her face, but she pushed the thoughts out as the Pilot spoke, they had just passed the atmosphere. "There's the blockade." The large capital ship came into view as cannon fire started to target the ship.
Ayillh braced herself to the door as the ship rocked. "Shield Generators been hit." The annoying buzz of an alarm sounded out when the shields went down and the ship started to shake even more. In the back of the ship, 4 droids activated themselves to deal with the damage.
As they began to do their work, Obi-Wan moved over to one of the monitors and sat down. "We're losing droids fast." Hearing him Panaka grew worried. "If we don't get the shield generator fixed, we will be sitting ducks."
Ayillh rolled her eyes thinking to herself. 'Thanks for stating the obvious.' Before she could actually say it out loud the Pilot grimaced as he dodged more fire. "The shields are gone." Jinn stood next to Ayillh as the situation was reported.
Feeling the force around him, it whispered in his ear, calming his worries, they would be fine. Just as he got that thought the Pilot shouted in surprise. "The powers back! That little droid did it! Bypassed the main power drives! Deflector shields up at maximum!"
Excited at the narrow escape from the jaws of death he gunned it past all the blaster fire and made it past the blockade. Getting into clear space he went into hyperspace as quickly as possible. Everyone let out a breath of air except Ayillh who stood stock still.
They had only been in hyper space for 1 minute though before the pilot turned to them. "There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant, the hyper drive is leaking." Everyone turned to Jinn as he had become the de facto leader of the group once they entered the hanger.
"We'll have to land somewhere to refuel the ship." Deciding the best cause of action Obi-Wan spoke up from his monitor. "Here master Tatooine. It's out of the way and they will not think to look for us there."
Ayillh cringed hearing the words; she like Mace, also didn't like the shit hole of a planet. One too many Hutts in her opinion. Thinking of his Queens safety on such a planet Panaka interrupted their conversation. "Can you be sure?"
As if to reassure him, Ayillh wasn't sure, Jinn commented. "It's controlled by the Hutts." Ayillh rolled her eyes. "No shit it's controlled by the Hutts." The 4 men gave her a look as she shook her head. Letting out a sigh at their expressions, she turned and exited. "I'm going to go check on the queen and then check my gear. Call me if something important happens."
Not having time to ask the woman some of the questions on his mind, Jinn watched her leave before getting back to organizing with the Guard captain, Obi-Wan and the pilot. He would ask his questions latter.
Stepping out of the room and turning around a corner, Ayillh made sure no one was around before reaching into her belt and pulling out a small round device. Pressing on it slightly, a small red dot started to blink. Seeing that the transmitter was working properly, she put it back in her belt and continued on her way.
End
Just over 12k words, the biggest chapter I have ever written I hope you guys enjoyed! I had to do a lot of research before getting the chapter out, because I wanted to add a few things and get it pretty detailed. I'm not an avid reader of Star wars Comics so a lot of the technical terms and equipment I don't know about, I hope you guys can understand.
When it comes to the order to land their ship in Theed, I want to point out to anyone who doesn't think it is realistic (Might be over thinking it). To Nute Gunray, the ship looks like a luxury Naboo cruiser. As he has just lost the Jedi and is about to take over/Invade Naboo, any and all ships would be denied access to leave.
By capturing a Luxury Naboo cruiser he likely thinks that he will have more hostages to have in play or possible ransom through shadier means. Sending them to the capital, the place he is currently invading and will be overrun with droids, he is insured they can't escape.
The Phantom that the Operative uses in the game was designed with half the look using the designs of a Naboo luxury cruiser or something along those lines, so I think it fits that from sensor readings they would assume that the Phantom is a new or rare type of Naboo cruiser.
Movie; time line wise, them destroying the contingent of droids and 2 tanks happens while Nute Gunray is arriving on the planet and then talking to the Queen, before they get transported to Camp 4. I know this is a small time frame, but after writing the chapter I noticed in the movie it went from the invasion scene of the droids coming into the capital/Palace, to them talking to Nute Gunray and being sent off in a very short time.
Seriously it was just, invasion happens, Gunray steps off his ship, cut to Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-wan coming into the capital and then he's talking to the fake queen and sending them off to camp 4. I'm taking the liberty of saying that the talk just then took at least 30mins to an hour.
As seen in this chapter, Yes Mace's wife was the Sith Inquisitor, Darth Nox. Now the title Darth Nox denotes that she was evil in the game SWTOR as you'll get a different Darth title depending on what you do in the story line.
Because she was his wife, I have introduced, I would say, one of the most powerful force abilities ever created. (Remember I don't read the comics.) The main point here for those who don't play the game, Force Walking, is basically an ability to talk to and utilize force ghosts to boost a person's power.
You can forcefully enslave the force ghosts or get them to agree to a type of contract. That fact alone means that you can nearly infinitely increase your power over and over, making the person extremely powerful. So in this flick yes, Mace will have the abilities of both the inquisitor and Warrior, making him pretty overpowered when he does fight.
I might also add sith alchemy techniques later as he has the knowledge that his wife can provide in that department.
With the operative/ Ayillh using both a sniper rifle and knives from both advanced classes, I look at the characters in more real life terms. Everyone from the old republic would have dabbled over the years in many of the professions of the trade, such as Mace knowing both juggernaut and marauder techniques. Just wanted to get that out there.
And finally coming up will be the rest of Episode 1. I don't think I'll split the rest of the movie into 2 chapters, but it might be a big one because of that. Maul will be showing up, plus a few other Jedi might join in for the ride to make things more interesting.
Ashara, Blizz and Vette are planned to finally get to do something/ have a fight scene and along with them the big man himself, Mace will finally get to show just how powerful he truly is!
Nothing planned with Vaylin for the time being in this arc.
