This chapter's title pretty much sums up what's going on here. Enjoy!

Secrets of The Outer Rim.

Act III.

The Hunters and The Hunted.

Chapter XXXVIII.

The Beginning of the End.


"Intercept in 10...9...8...7..." an ensign on the bridge began calling out as the Precursor flew through hyperspace, twisted blue light surrounding the bridge of the Margraviate-class Super Dreadnought. Admiral Wurrathu and Phanza stood side by side on the tall platform at the center of the bridge, overlooking operations, while Schweva, Yevenna, HK-107, Doctor Daiyor, Darth Rezivara, Inquisitor Baracyn, and I stood behind them. Phanza was assembling her inner circle for an assault on a Venator-class Star Destroyer. Stealth was no longer necessary, the hunters proved that a month ago when they exposed our shock and awe strategy, and time was now of the essence. Thanks to my actions on Cato Neimoidia, Emperor Palpatine now knows about the Swarm, and he has infinitely more resources with which to search for it than we ever did, coupled with no moral objections over how we'd use it. We know the Empire is going to find the Swarm sooner rather than later - they only way they won't is if it doesn't exist and all these rumors and fears were for nothing - and we have to know about it. I'm sure that's not what the Empire had in mind when they made the deal with us, but they also don't have a hostage anymore, so we don't particularly care. Our priority now was to find out exactly what the Empire has found out, and to act accordingly, hence, we were raiding lone star destroyers for whatever data they had. In any case, I turned my attention back to the Ensign's countdown as she finished up "...3...2...1...exiting hyperspace now!"

The Precursor emerged into space, cutting off a lone Venator-class Star Destroyer on a military supply mission - we picked our targets carefully. We avoided routes that were heavily traveled or prone to piracy - we didn't want to encounter two capital ships or even just one with escort craft - we wanted to catch an unprepared opponent. Our guns, having the element of surprise, opened fire on the Imperial craft, the Precursor deploying its massive loadout against the ordinary cargo transportation loadout of this Venator, giving us the advantage. The Margraviate was a slightly larger ship than the Venator - though smaller than the prototype vessel Palpatine brought to Taaszon, which I believe is going to be the basis for a new Star Destroyer to house his stormtroopers - and Taaszon had a considerable arsenal on these ships. I suppose we're going to need it too, considering this is our only operational capital ship right now. I watched as the ship that constitutes Taaszon's entire fleet maneuvered around the Venator, not allowing the former Republic vessel to get into an ideal attack formation - Venators, in capital ship to capital ship combat, preferred to use their broadside cannons, as their surface guns were mostly designed to defend against starfighers and bombers. The surface guns were doing some damage to our shields, sure, but it is nowhere as effective as their primary cannons are. The Precursor, however, had stronger surface guns, was above the Venator, allowing it to use its hull guns, and had two primary cannons on either side of the hangar down the center. These cannons were finally lined up with the Venator and, with two shots, I watched as the shields went down, leaving the ship exposed. The Precursor stopped firing, knowing that the Venator was vulnerable, and the Imperial vessel followed suit a moment later.

"Admiral Wurrathu, you have command, open a channel to the Imperial ship and announce that they are being boarded, try to persuade them to surrender. The rest of you, to the hangars, you know your strike teams, board your shuttles and get moving!" Phanza barked out orders, telling us to rush to the hangars and separate, each of us heading of to command our additional strike team. Phanza had each of us in command of an elite group of Taaszon's soldiers, our job was to take control of their ships and raid their computers for any data we can get - thanks to my experience on Venator-class ships, I had a good idea of where various server rooms were likely to be, and, with this many teams, we were likely to get quite a bit of data - I was looking to help in any way possible. Phanza wasn't necessarily blaming me for what happened last month, she even defended me from Schweva, announcing that "Zaliza did exactly what she needed to do to save one of our own. You know as well as I do that we don't have people to spare. She saved Yevenna and we will simply have to be ready to deal with any consequences that come of this" but I knew that this was still, essentially, my fault. I wanted to do everything in my power to help make up for this. As I rode down the elevator to the forward hangar, I knew that I was in a position to do something, taking command of a squad and attacking the enemy head on, determined to find out exactly what the Empire has found out about the Swarm thus far.

Palpatine has taken a certain interest in this device, the fact that the hunters spared Yevenna is proof of that, but why exactly...I don't even know if I want to think of that. Spying on his own people is a likely scenario, with horrifying results no doubt - imagine what Vader did to the spies Phanza had on Coruscant, the dark apprentice of Palpatine systematically hunting down every single one - now imagine that on a larger scale, with any dissident, principled Senator, or agent of ours under constant surveillance and vulnerable to any secret police force Palpatine had in his arsenal. Spying on his own people on Coruscant wasn't the only possibility though, he could also use the Swarm on his enemies, spying on occupied populations - potentially, this even includes the outlying worlds of the Grand Duchy of Taaszon. Imperius Prime, Acina, Kallig, and all the rest, all these places are now under Imperial occupation. Of course, the Imperial scientists would no doubt have their look at it first, trying to find a way to mass produce the Swarm before the existing device is put into action. The point is that the Empire absolutely can not be trusted with the Swarm. I am suddenly beginning to understand why Lord Sarna Lu was such an extremist about this issue.

To that end, I entered the hangar and took a look at the troops I would be leading onto the Venator. I knew the job that Phanza tasked me with, her team and Schweva's team would be leading the assault on the bridge - the bridge was worthy of two teams due to being the place where the top officers will want the bulk of their defenses - meanwhile, my team is going to target the master computers in the officer's wing of the ship, the same wing where Jedi once had their modest corners on these ships. I was in one of those little rooms when Phanza first opened the Force bond between us, not knowing exactly what Voytana had created, but wanting to take advantage of it. Now I was going to be attacking that very area of the ship. It was a strange feeling, perhaps the most telling example of how much my life has changed within the last year: I went from a Jedi Padawan serving the Republic in a war, even if I didn't necessarily approve of that war, to, for all intents and purposes, being a Sith apprentice waging war against the Empire. Not only was I waging war against the Empire, but I was about to lead a squad on a raid against what was once a Republic vessel, no different than the Sage that I once served on. Things have changed greatly, but I will say one thing: at least there is a reason for this war, saving the galaxy from Palpatine is a far more justifiable end goal than stop a secession movement backed by unsavory characters.

"Soldiers!" I began, trying my hand at an inspiring speech, facing my soldiers - there would be twenty men on board my shuttle, Taaszon shock troopers, armed with heavy assault weapons like assault cannons, heavy blaster rifles, machine guns, scatterguns, grenades, and explosive launchers - these troops were specifically designed to hit targets hard and destroy them as quickly as possible. These were the exact kind of troops that would perform well in such an operation, hence, the assault teams were mostly made up of Taaszon shock troopers, Chiss Commandos, and several Mandalorian warriors, with squad leaders including Force users, both masters and apprentices, of another Mandalorian in the form of Yevenna, and of an elite assassin droid in the form of HK-107. These were the kinds of troops I was facing when I began my speech, so I decided to keep it brief but encouraging "For the first time, we are going to be encountering Imperial stormtroopers in the field, I want you to demonstrate just what we think of this new class of enemy!"

The soldiers cheered, motivated to give the enemy hell and prove their the superior fighters, so, without further ado, I boarded the shuttle and the short, tense ride to the Venator began. Shuttles took off from various hangars all across the Precursor with different destinations all across the Venator, all meant to divide up their forces and overwhelm the enemy with attacks on multiple fronts all across the ship with multiple targets. In our case, we were going to land on the underside hangar and head up to the officer's master computers, trying to avoid some of the heavier fighter we expect to occur at the central hangar and at the secondary ones on either side of the ship. We were doing everything in our power to stretch the Empire to the breaking point here, but it remains to be seen how effective we will truly be. The only thing I can be entirely sure of is that we must do everything in our power to stop Palpatine from getting to the Swarm.


I watched as the shuttle doors exploded open and the two leading soldier of either column shut down any stormtrooper resistance with their assault cannons, cutting down enemy soldiers with rapid fire plasma. I took my first look at the stormtroopers, finding their armor to be relatively similar to the late clone armor, but with a different visor and some small differences in the suit of armor itself. The other thing I noticed was a high level of genetic diversity compared to the clones: there were tall stormtroopers, short stormtroopers, male stormtroopers, female stormtroopers, stormtroopers with every set of physical characteristics imaginable, but a willingness to serve the Empire was common among them. Not all of them served the Empire for benevolent reasons, most were simply trying to work a job that was available to them, but they were here to defend Palpatine and his evil strategies across the galaxy. Perhaps I was reaching, but I think that justified this for me: the fight wasn't really with the stormtroopers, the fight was against Palpatine and what he did to the Jedi, the stormtroopers just happened to be an unfortunate instrument of Darth Sidious that happened to be the obstacle between us and the data we were after.

This was all about the greater good. We needed that data because we needed to know what the Empire has found out about the Swarm in the month since learning about it, because the stakes of such a spying superweapon falling into Palpatine's hands were tremendous. Billions of people are potential victims in what the Empire could do with this spy device, so, when I walked out of that shuttle, flanked by ten men on either side of me, I didn't feel particularly bothered as we gunned down new stormtroopers and old clones alike, because this war, this violence at least had a purpose I could get along with. I never saw the justification in the Clone Wars, especially once we found out the Republic had the same evil, corrupt backers as the Confederacy of Independent Systems did. The war was exaggerated far beyond what the actual conflict should have been: it should have been limited to a dispute of sovereignty, taxes, and customs, but instead, because of the opportunistic machinations of Palpatine, it turned into a galactic wide war that caused countless deaths and displaced billions of people. Billions of people may not sound like much on a galactic scale, but, considering most of the fighting took place on rural, rugged Outer Rim worlds, that number is staggering. I never really felt like I was doing the right thing when I ignited my lightsaber during the Clone Wars, but today, knowing the stakes involved, I knew I was doing the right thing as the purple and black blade of my lightsaber came into life. This was despite the fact that, in the Clone Wars, I was primarily fighting droids, supposedly lesser forms of life than the clones, humans, and handful of aliens I was fighting now in the form of the stormtroopers. I didn't like killing, but I felt every kill made in the purpose of fighting the Empire was far more justifiable than anything I did against the separatists.

I deflected a laser bolt back at a stormtrooper as my squad moved into cover, the two shock troopers with assault cannons providing suppressive fire as their comrades moved forward. I grabbed a blaster pistol with my other hand and simply shot a few of the Imperial troopers - while not exactly a common tactic of the Jedi, I did have to acknowledge that, sometimes, a blaster was a rather useful tool, especially now that I was getting used to using the Force to direct my blaster bolts - suddenly, I never missed a shot despite hardly having the accuracy of a master marksman. A few more enemies were taken down as my troopers used their blaster rifles from behind cover, a few inspiring grenadiers blew a gap open in their defenses, and the arrival of a second shuttle - one of the other assault teams evidently had a target they could reach best from here - this arrival of a second squad finally divided the Imperial's attention well enough for us to make a run for it, escaping the hangar and thus escaping this particular concentration of enemy force.

"Move!" I called out I stood up, covering myself as I moved with my lightsaber while using the blaster pistol for suppressive purposes, moving towards the door all the while. One of the shock troopers, a Lieutenant armed with a heavy machine gun, came up on my left, covering my back as I moved, gunning down any Imperials that came into his sights. The squad riflemen followed, some of them giving covering fire, others prioritizing speed and moving quickly, while the assault cannon troops brought up the rear, moving slow by their low, chainsaw grip heavy cannons, but also using their powerful weapons to protect us from the remaining Imperials in the hangar. I stabbed the control console with one of the security spikes Doctor Daiyor developed for this operation - there are many benefits of having our own Venator-class Star Destroyer to experiment with, I suppose - the hacking device did its job perfectly and brought us into the familiar corridors of a former Republic cruiser. The hallways were bathed in the red emergency klaxons while orders came out over the intercom, directing troops all across the ship. These troops, especially the fresh stormtrooper recruits, probably had no idea where they were going, but we did, so, I led my squad to the officer's wing.

We rushed through the ship, making our way through corridors and up a few floors, but we did not encounter much enemy resistance - proof that our strategy was working - the closest we went to a firefight was when I stopped us short at an intersection, allowing a column of stormtroopers to run past, Imperial troopers following their orders, rushing to respond to one of the other boarding parties, not realizing that they just walked past another one. The shock troopers probably weren't used to stealth, but they could understand that a firefight right now would only slow us down right now, so, they hid along walls and in alcoves, doing exactly what I expected them to do. I was proud of these troops as we managed to reach the officer's corridor without incident. One more security spike got us into this section of the ship, and, right on cue, I activated my lightsaber and raised my blaster pistol, anticipating any threat. The shock troopers behind me raised their guns as well, scanning the room, ready to respond to any threat. I gave a hand signal and the troops fanned out, each of them taking a security spike and opening each one of the quarters within here, making sure there were no unfortunate surprises waiting for us. I covered the Lieutenant as he opened one of the doors, twitching with anticipation as the door slid open, but, fortunately, the room was entirely empty. No cot, no personal belongings, just an unoccupied room. A few of the other rooms had personal possessions in them, but none of the officers were here, nor were any would-be ambushing stormtroopers. We were clear to get to work.

I sat down on the flat metal bench where a cot would have gone in the empty quarters and decided to access the local computer here - I knew there wouldn't be personal records here, but I wanted to access the Imperial holonet from in here, see what I could find while the shock troopers searched the master computer in the central room - but, things were not quite as simple as I had been lead to believe. My red-skinned face turned pale when I realized that, despite being empty, there was still a profile on this computer...a Jedi Padawan. I was confronted with the profile image of a young beige-skinned Zabrak Padawan, a girl around my age, a girl who had served on this ship, and a girl who was no doubt a casualty of Order 66. I felt a wave of anger come across me as I realized that the Empire didn't even care to delete her holonet profile, they just cleared her quarters and left the room empty, as if none of the officers or clones on this ship ever really cared about the Jedi they served alongside or not. Order 66 brainwashing or not, there was no justification for this kind of behavior. Even if the clones are brainwashed every waking hour or every waking day and the officers are zealously loyal to Palpatine, the fact that they didn't even care enough about their former Jedi Commander to properly clear her quarters, and that hit me right in my emotional core. This is evil behavior, despicable - the men on this ship killed a teenage girl and then carelessly emptied out her quarters, it probably didn't even take five minutes, and that's all they could spare for someone they served with for years.

I tried to remember the Zabrak girl in the picture. I think I may have saw her once or twice at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant but ti's difficult to say - Padawans were always in and out of the temple, getting placed on assignment more and more often as the demands of the Clone Wars ate away at the Jedi. Ullara and I spent a lot of time in the Outer Rim, and I'm sure this girl and her master spent a lot of time away from the temple, perhaps fighting the separatists head on, perhaps acting as healers, or perhaps acting in some of the few remaining peacekeeping roles the Jedi still did during the war. The point is, this girl was just like me, part of the same society that I was a part of, and now she's dead, or worse, perhaps she was made into an Inquisitor like Thonna was, with an explosive in the base of her head ready to go off if she ever steps even remotely out of line. Thinking of Ullara, of Thonna, of this girl, even people I wasn't particularly close to, like Grand Duchess Voytana and Ceyla, or what about the fact that this all started because Yevenna almost died? The Empire has taken enough lives, and I know that, no matter what they end up doing with the Swarm, it will only lead to more death: they must be stopped.

"My Lord! Come quickly!" one of the men called me into the main room, addressing me in the typical fashion of a Sith apprentice. I glanced over at the viewscreen, seeing the fallen Padawan, and I thought to myself that she was one of the last Jedi ever, because, as I look at myself now and what I've become, I can't call myself a Jedi anymore, I haven't done so for a long time. At the same time, I can't make much distinction between myself and a Sith apprentice anymore, especially with the way I'm being perceived by my own soldiers. I let that slide for a moment though, deciding that it was much more important to focus on the present than thinking about this, thus, I went back out into the main room. I looked out at the master computer terminal and saw a holoprojection of a massive Imperial planet over a planet in the distant outer rim. This was a very sudden military build-up, we didn't pick up anything like this when testing out the Precursor's new radar technology, no, this was a reaction to the events of the last month. The Empire either knows that the Swarm is on this planet or has a reason to be investigating this further, either way, I knew that this was worth investigation, if nothing else.

"What planet is it?" I asked, not being able to identify it on my own, especially when distracted by the number of star destroyers in orbit, especially given the fact that, whatever exactly the Empire was doing her all of a sudden, it warranted the construction of a new space station in orbit. Hundreds of thousands of Imperial personnel were on this world, to the point where I honestly wouldn't be surprised if more Imperials are involved in this single operation than there are survivors on Dromund Kaas from our entire civilization. That certainly lent some credence to the hypothesis that this was the location of the Swarm, but it also represented a very, very difficult target to attack, almost like the Empire expected us to find this planet and attack it. That brought up some interesting questions: if the Empire expected us to attack, that likely meant that the hunters would be there, now just consisting of exiim Abarghe and his right hand man, but still extremely dangers, the question though is, whether or not they'll be alone. If they aren't alone, who will be with them? The Inquisitors? Vader? Perhaps even Palpatine himself? It was all possible, but I think the most likely answer is that Palpatine isn't there, he doesn't feel the need to risk himself, especially if he thinks disposable servants are more than adequate enough to solve this particular problem.

"It's Korriban ma'am, the ancient homeworld of the Sith people and the birthplace of the modern Sith religion. The many tombs on the planet were believed to house countless dark secrets and riches, but they were considered looted out millennia ago, even in the times of the old Sith Empire. We know they were there though, and that means its very possible the Swarm was on the planet too at some point. Considering the Imperial presence here, they clearly still think there is something to find here." the squad leader explained, acknowledging that I was an outsider in this case, and explaining some of the history of Korriban to be. I recognized Korriban to be the same world the Jedi and Republic referred to as Moribund in the modern age, a dark world that was considered absolutely off limits by the common Jedi. Only members of the Jedi Council were allowed to go to Moribund, and, even then, most did not dare to try. The world was dark enough, but now Palpatine was sinking his claws into it, ready to tear the world apart in search of this mythical superweapon

"We need to get this news to Lady Attam right away." I decided, knowing this was important for a number of reasons - not only the fact that this was likely about the Swarm, but because this involved Korriban as well - I had no doubt that Korriban met a hell of a lot more to Phanza than it did to me. Not only did it mean a lot to Sith history in general, but it was the planet where Darth Imperius first became a Sith, before she journeyed to Dromund Kaas or began her rise to power, she was simply a common acolyte taking her trials at the Korriban Academy. This was where the lineage of the Grand Duchy of Taaszon really began, as Darth Imperius is the defining figure of this branch of the Sith, the one that makes them different than Palpatine's faction, and the one that makes me willing to serve alongside this faction of the Sith. Now, on the very same planet where it all began, the Grand Duchy was going to do battle against Palpatine's Empire, another off-shoot of Korriban, with an ancient superweapon in the balance, one capable of spying on trillions of people. Mass surveillance, mass espionage, constant spying, these are the tools that can not only win wars, but keep people in constant subjugation: if Palpatine can spy on everyone on Coruscant alone, that is already enough to end any chance of rebellion. Palpatine will know if any Senator is funding a resistance movement or even if they're leaking information, Palpatine would know if any would-be assassins arrived on his capital planet, and Palpatine would know if anyone on Coruscant, even in the deepest underworld, was involved in this rebellion.

"Of course, my lord." the Lieutenant accepted and we began moving towards the door when, all of a sudden, the door slid open. A tense moment fell over the room as we were left looking eye to eye with a single Imperial officer, one who likely fled to the quarters thinking he would be safe if he could just escape the bridge, yet now, he was face to face with twenty-one enemy operatives. Twenty shock troopers and one Force user. The young officer twitched his fingers, knowing the odds were against him, but knowing it was his duty to grab the blaster pistol on his hip and make a last stand. I watched him move as quickly as he could, grabbing for his blaster and trying to take a shot, but I was watching him closely, so, as soon as his blaster was out of the holster, I used the Force to push his arm into the arm, sending his shot harmlessly into the ceiling, well clear from any of us. The Imperial officer's eyes widened as I blew the gun out of his hand with another use of the Force. The officer was going to try and run, desperate for some form of escape, but my men managed to grab him first, getting a hold of him and presenting him to me.

"Calm down." I ordered as the Imperial officer was brought face-to-face with me. The officer was a human male, pale blonde hair and blue eyes, he was young, no older than thirty, probably a fresh officer, one who started his education in the Republic Academy and then finished it in the Imperial Officer School, perhaps that produced some doubt in him, or perhaps Palpatine was well prepared and made sure every Republic officer coming through the ranks knew exactly what was expected of them. There was definitely doubt in his eyes now though, doubt and fear, a rather natural reaction to being confronted by enemy forces in his own private area, where he thought he was going to be safe. I wonder if he knew that this was probably the same feeling that the Jedi girl in those quarters had been feeling. I thought about punishing him for it, making him suffer for the murder of a poor, innocent girl, but, on the other hand, I knew that he wasn't the problem, he was just a young officer, a puppet of Palpatine just as much as the rest of us were at one point, and maybe, just maybe, he could be more useful to us alive. That being said, there was one thing that I wasn't going to let slide no matter what "Let me ask you something. There was a girl in these quarters once, a Zabrak Jedi Padawan, a teenager, a child soldier forced into a war by the Republic and by the Jedi Council. Now she's gone and her room's emptied out, tell me everything you can about her. Now."

"I...I didn't know...I didn't know her. I'm new here...the other officers assigned me a room and told me to clear it out. I removed the cot and...and everything else but then I got to the computer. I uhhh...I saw the girl on the monitor, the same one you s-saw, I think...and I couldn't do it. I asked for a new room. I...I didn't want to sleep in a dead girl's room. It...it didn't feel right...I'm sorry." the officer nervously stammered out, beginning to cry as he continued. My glare softened, he looked even younger now, as green as he could be, greener than Order 66 even. Not only that, but there was also the matter of his story, the fact that he showed actual remorse and guilt over what happened to the Jedi Padawan, and I now knew that her computer still being there wasn't an afterthought, it was the last thing he saw before he realized he couldn't stay in this room. This man wasn't evil, everything I could sense from him was consistent with fear and honesty, he was just another pawn of the Empire, someone who joined the military wanting to do the good, patriotic thing, only to end up in this galaxy, serving a tyrannical dictator.

"Lieutenant, have someone escort him to the shuttle, treat him as a low intensity prisoner, we're going to question him when this is all over. The rest of you, you're with me, we're rushing to the bridge." I announced as I let go of the Imperial Officer, deciding that I was going to spare him and that we were going to try and use him against the Empire, particularly in regards to Korriban. I didn't like killing and I knew this man had nothing to do with killing that Padawan, he wasn't a target of my anger and, potentially, he could be the key to winning the impossible odds over Korriban. Even if the damage from the Battle of Taaszon wasn't as severe as it had been, the number of star destroyers, battleships, and cruisers in orbit would be enough to crush any fleet we could muster. All of that is to say, with a massively depleted fleet and only a handful of operational ships on the best of days, we needed all the help we could get. The Silent Fleet ships weren't an option because they were ancient stealth craft, not warships, and even if they were warships, I should think they have too great a value to risk in open battle if we could avoid them. The Silent Fleet will be necessary if we ever have to retreat again, and their scientific value as a relic is immeasurable. That being said, the stakes of this Korriban battle are high, we cannot let them get the Swarm, so we may not have much choice in the matter.

"Aye, my Lord!" the Lieutenant accepted and, a few short moments later, we had the master computer data downloaded onto a holocommunicator, we had two troops moving the prisoner back to the hangar - the Lieutenant of the shock troops evidently thought that two guards was safer than one - and the rest of us were heading up to the bridge, wanting to meet up with Phanza and Schweva to give them the news directly. Of course, this was somewhat of an excuse, because I also wanted to get to them, I would feel better and safer if I was with my master and fellow apprentice than if they were on the bridge alone. If anything was going to happen there, I wanted to be there. I suppose it's somewhat of a combination of a protective streak and a follower complex, I wanted to be with Phanza so that she could give me orders and make the decisions, but I also wanted to be there so that I could help her. Not that I thought she needed help, but I was scared, afraid of loss, especially after everything I've experienced. I was much too young when I was exposed to war, much too young when I lost Ullara, and much too young when I saw my best friend's head blown up right in front of me. I know that Phanza is a Sith Lord, I know that she is a far more capable person than I am, but I still want to do everything in my power to make sure I don't lose her. I thought about the Jedi concept of attachment as the soldiers and I crowded into the troop elevator, heading up to the flight deck.

The Jedi warned against attachment, they saw it as a rode to jealousy, revenge, and hatred, as the path to the Dark Side. Ignoring the oversimplistic and binary division of the Force into simply light and dark - which, as I've seen recently, is far from the case - this is a very judgmental condemnation of one very specific form of attachment, one that seems very twisted, possessing, and, quite frankly, seems dark to begin with. That version of attachment is not the rode to the Dark Side, it is a product of it, where people around you are seen as possessions to be commanded around. That is not what is going on here, in fact, it is not most forms of attachment. Most forms of attachment, I would argue, are a positive thing. My attachment to Ullara was a positive thing, it made me strive to be a better Jedi and impress her, meanwhile, Ullara's attachment to me drove her to try and make me the best Jedi possible, despite the fact of my origins. In fact, the Jedi Council even wanted this, because they chose a young, idealistic Jedi to be my master so that I could relate to her and use her as my example. The Jedi abused positive attachments while condemning all attachments as negative. I can shamelessly say that I feel some form of attachment to not only Phanza, but Schweva, Yevenna, and even Admiral Wurrathu. These people are my friends, my allies, some form of family even, and it's not all positive: I am critical of Phanza at times and Schweva has been somewhat of a rival more often than not, but I still feel attached to every one of them and I wouldn't want any one of them to die or even get hurt. I was rushing to the bridge to be there for Schweva just as much as I was rushing to get there for Phanza. That is why I led the squad out of the elevator the moment we arrived on the flight deck.

We marched towards the bridge when, just outside, we ran into a group of stormtroopers outside of the door, preparing to blow their way into the bridge - one of them was already planting a breaching charge on the entrance - not only were they between us and our destination, but they were also trying to attack our friends. We needed to do something about this. I seized the breaching charge from the trooper's grasp with the Force and pulled it into the center of the room with my left hand while, with my right, I grabbed my blaster pistol and fired off a shot, blowing up the breaching charge in the center of the room, killing some stormtroopers immediately, and knocking the rest over with a concussive shock. The shock troopers behind me opened fire to take advantage of the knocked over enemy forces while the rest of the stormtroopers, perhaps hardened clones more used to this kind of action, recovered before scrambling into cover. This forced me to take cover as well, deciding that it would be faster than reaching for and activating my lightsaber, hence, I found myself crouched down below a low computer console, using it as cover as this section of the flight deck turned into a shooting match. We had more men though, more men and more firepower, so, even as these clone troopers turned stormtroopers tried to fight back, we overwhelmed them, bringing them down with assault cannon barrages, marksman shots from blaster rifles, and a few Force-guided blaster bolts form my end, and we cleared the room, stopping the threat to Phanza and the others on the bridge. I walked over to the intercom while the shock troopers covered me.

"Phanza, it's me, we're on the other side of the door." I announced and, only seconds later, the door was sliding open, Lady Attam wasting no time to let me and my men onto the bridge. I took a look around, seeing Phanza and Schweva's troops marching around the bridge while the officers were tied up and detained, a few more of the officers were looking over the computers, while Phanza and Schweva themselves had been talking in the center of the room, each of them reviewing the first pieces of data that they brought in. I doubt it's going to compare to what I have to bring though "We hit the master computers, the Empire has a massive military build-up over Korriban, that has to be where they're searching for the Swarm. There's something else too, I ran into a young Imperial officer on my way here, I sent him to the shuttles, I think he can be of use to us."

"Well done, apprentice." Phanza responded first of all, thanking me for my work, but I could tell that she was troubled by the Korriban news - she was simply trying to make sure that she didn't present that in front of the enemy - in any case, I pulled up my holocommunicator and showed her the image from the master computer, making sure she had all the information she needed. I watched as her glassy black eyes overlooked the image for a few moments before finally settling on the space station in orbit over the planet, where most of the star destroyers were clustered. This gave Lady Attam an idea worth a menacing smirk "Schweva, prep this ship to crash directly into the coordinates I'm sending to your holocommunicator. Soldiers, all of you, gather the officers and bridge staff and move them to their own brig, then lockdown the bridge, make sure nobody is able to stop this!"

It didn't take a genius to realize what Phanza was doing here - she was ramming this ship directly into the enemy forces, intending to do as much damage as possible in just one move - Palpatine was expecting us anyway, so there was no harm in losing the element of surprise - the precursor to our actual attack, when we were going to make sure the Empire never gets their hands on the Swarm, or die trying. For a moment, I wanted to protest against sending all of these men to their deaths, but, as I looked across the bridge, I saw that most of them were old, veterans of the Clone Wars, meaning they were men that served alongside the Zabrak Jedi girl, they knew her and they allowed her to die. These men didn't deserve my sympathy. Only one of these crew members was really innocent of what happened to her and I already had him waiting on the shuttle. Perhaps that was a cold line of thinking, maybe it was even something that I would have found repulsive a year ago, but these men knew what Palpatine did to the Jedi and they continued to serve him regardless. These were the people who allowed the genocide committed against my people, the genocide that took my master's life, and turned my best friend into an enemy before finally killing her.

Besides, I had a feeling these were just the first of many casualties in the battle for the Swarm.


Suspense.