Aeos Prime:

Kara didn't hesitate. She fired three blasts at the figure in front of her. His lightsaber flicked back and forth, deflecting two blasts into the ceiling, before nimbly ducking the third. Kara swore, breaking into a run and firing again. She narrowly missed but the Jedi had made no attempt to dodge it. Selethen and Kings burst in, bolts flashing from their blaster rifles, but the red streaks of energy were deflected by the Jedi's whirling lightsaber. Kara seized the opportunity to fling an electro trip mine onto the ceiling above the Jedi. It latched on, glowing with a faint red light.

The barrage of blaster bolts had lit up the cave and Kara was able to make out the Jedi better. His slender frame and youthful face suggested he was no older than eighteen, and Kara guessed that he had never been a fully-fledged Jedi, nothing but a trainee. And he was not alone, there were others standing behind him. Blaster bolts flew over Kara's shoulder and she knew her team were firing in on the cave. Kara took a step back to watch. With the Jedi, were eight others. Five males and three females. None of them were any older than the man wielding a lightsaber. Whether they too were Jedi was still to be seen.

At that moment, one of the girls behind the Jedi raised a hand. She couldn't have been more than sixteen. Before Kara knew it, she was watching the girl blast a wave of solid air at them. She could visibly see the air ripple. Fractionally later she saw Kings and Diano both blown off their feet. Both were carried into the air, straight towards her. 'I'm guessing she's a Jedi' Kara thought the same second she was lifted off her feet.

Kara was thrown backwards into the tunnel, taking out Tarkin underneath her. She collided with the ground, her armour cracking underneath her. Her head was spinning, and her helmet was shattered where she had connected with the rocks. Kara pushed herself up on one knee, clenching her fists as her ribs groaned in protest. Kara spat blood out of her mouth and felt it spray the inside of her helmet. She fell back onto her side, wrenching the helmet off her head. She rolled it aside and drew her pistol. Struggling to knees again, she fired a blast into the fray but couldn't see its path through the smoke screen. Kara tried to stand but her left leg buckled and she fell forwards, his gauntlets scraping against the ground.

Flames erupted from a limp body next to Kara. Kara screamed with horror, crawling to the Kings side. His flame pack had burst, and his armour had already been charred by his own flames. She tried to bat the flames down, but it was no use. A blaster bolt flew over her head, but she ignored it, ripping Kings' armour off. His dark brown skin was red and black, crusted over. Boils were appearing on his arms and his body was swelling unnaturally fast. Kara leaned into her elbow, coughing blood up once more. She turned back to Kings, and spotted Filler at the back of the tunnel, planting Stim-Packs into Diano's legs.

Kara grabbed Kings by his arms and dragged him across the rough stone to Filler's side. Reeve leapt over Kara, firing blaster bolts into the cavern ahead. Kara reached Filler and left King's limp body with him. Reluctantly, she left his side to re-join the battle. She knew she would only get in Filler's way if she tried to help. She sprinted past the shattered doors and drew her pistol, sighting the messy battle. The smoke had cleared to reveal a large circular chamber with beds and sacks of belongings stashed in the corners and facets of the rock walls. The Jedi carrying a lightsaber was still bravely protecting his allies, six of whom were still standing, including the girl who had blasted Kara earlier. Kara could see several of her team on the ground, wounded but knew that they were winning. There fire was slowly overwhelming the Jedi.

Kara joined the battle, her senses sharpening and her battle focus aligning. She dodged a blaster bolt from one of the men behind the Jedi, and got another shot off at the lead Jedi. He deflected it without even looking at Kara, his focus intent on Thane who was aggressively blasting at the group. Even as she watched, Kara saw Thane drop another one of the men behind the Jedi.

Kara saw her team had formed ranks and were surrounding their enemies in a semi-circle. Even as she ran, Kara loaded another power pack into her gun. She leapt between her comrades and through their ranks. She saw the Jedi's gaze turn to look at her. Kara fired her pistol in full stride. He deflected the blast with contemptuous ease, before leaping towards Kara with his blade held over his head. He soared towards her, defying gravity with his arcane powers, coming in for the killing blow.

Kara's electro trip mine was still attached to the ceiling above him. It fired a disc attached to a cable into the back of the Jedi's neck, latching onto him with fine wires that wrapped around his throat. He jerked to a stop in mid-air, choking on the wires. He swung backwards, clawing at his throat. The Jedi's eyes went wide as the trip mine fired an electric shock. The Jedi shook vigorously, the disc vibrating through the tendons in his back. Blue jolts of electricity sparked from his fingertips. His eyes glazed over, before rolling backwards. He sagged backwards and the cable connecting him to the trip mine on the ceiling snapped under his weight. He fell to the ground with a thud and the battle was over. His lightsaber rolled out from his hand and came to a rest at Kara's foot. She leaned down and picked it up. Activating it, she raised the blue blade above her head, sensing the awesome power of the weapon.

The remaining people in the centre of the chamber raised their arms in submission. 'Round them up' Kara directed, above the hum of the lightsaber. Her troops surged forward, cuffing the prisoner's hands together. She flicked the switch on the hilt of the weapon and the blue blade vanished in an instant. She clipped it to her belt.

Rook came to her and held out a small circular device, 'should we check them.'

'Yeah, get some of the others. Rook, I want you to update Clip.' Rook nodded and then removed another one of the devices from his satchel and passed them to Tarkin and Koba

Kara looked at Tarkin and gave a kind smile, 'You did well. Your uncle would be proud.' Tarkin nodded appreciatively before walking away with Koba. The prisoners were cuffed and secured with Kara's troops positioned behind them.

'What will we do with them?' Reeve asked, who had his blaster pointed into the neck of the unconscious Jedi.

'As soon as Clips has updated the Empire, they'll give us orders to execute them' Kara responded gravely. The girl who had blasted Kara earlier was crying gently, and at the side of the Jedi that Kara had defeated. Thane had his blaster pointed at her back. Kara turned around and walked to Filler who was tending to Kings and Selethen.

She mentally counted her team off, accounting for everyone. She knelt beside Kings. He had been pulled out of his armour and was laid on a cloth. 'How is he going?' Kara asked.

'He'll live, but he'll never serve again' Filler responded, not looking away from his work. 'I'm trying to do my best to treat the burns but he'll be scarred for life.'

Kara nodded. It was what she had expected. Despite the victory, Kara felt as though they had been poorly prepared and that it was her fault for Kings' tragic wound. Trying to remove it from her mind, she walked to Rook. He looked up from the two devices he had given to Koba and Tarkin earlier.

'All of them?' Kara quizzed.

Rook nodded. 'Yeah. They all had pretty standard Midi-Chlorian readings. None of them were old enough to have been considered Knights in the time of the Jedi Order. They referred to these ones as Padawans.' Kara nodded thoughtfully, thinking through what they had learnt. When she had joined the Phantom Order, she had been given a brief history lesson about the Jedi and their culture.

Thane had overheard their conversation and in cruel spite, he prodded his blaster into the Jedi in front of him. 'Which oaf gave up their life so you could survive' Thane sneered. The girl begun to shake, her hands clenched in anger.

'Thane, don't talk to your captive' Kara interrupted before the girl could try to rebel against them. She knew she had to stop Thane without appearing weak whilst also asserting control over the Jedi. Thane gave a feeble shrug before turning his attention back to the helpless girl in front of him.

Kara turned back to Rook who was reading something intently on a data pad.

'Is something wrong?' Kara asked.

Rook looked up from the data pad. 'We've been told to keep them prisoner, but not to lay a finger on them.'

'On whose orders!' said Kara, surprised by the turn of events. The Phantom Order were trained to kill Jedi, and she found herself surprised that they had been turned down.

'We've been told to keep the Jedi in custody on the orders of Lord Vader.'

'Vader wants the Jedi alive' Kara gasped. 'How? He helped the Chancellor expose the Jedi. Surely he must despise them.'

'Vader answers to no one except the Emperor himself' Rook responded.

'I heard rumours on Correllia that the Emperor is nothing but a false front for Vader and that he is the true leader of the Imperials,' Filler interjected, looking up from his work. He had evidently been eavesdropping.

'Rumours on Correllia are rumours and nothing more' Kara returned, ignoring him. 'What I want to know is what Vader plans on doing with a handful of Jedi.'

'Perhaps he wants to kill them himself' Koba added.

'Or is he trying to learn from them?' Selethen put in, who was gently stretching his leg.

'It doesn't matter what he's doing with them' Rook replied. 'Because he's coming here. In person.'

'What?' shrieked Kara. 'Vader is coming here. To Aeos Prime!'

Rook looked at Kara and nodded. 'He's arriving shortly. We best be ready for him.'

Kara nodded and looked to her troops. 'Rook and Filler. Carry Kings out at the front and let Diano lead you. Koba, Tarkin, I want you following at the rear. Everyone else, march out with your captive and try to make yourself look presentable. Lord Vader is coming.'

There was a gentle murmuring of surprise that passed between her troops but it was the reactions of the Jedi that scared Kara the most. The wide eyes, stricken, panicked faces full of terror. 'Move out.'

Kara and Diano led the troops back down the tunnel. This time the track through the cavern seemed much shorter and uneventful. Kara caught a glimpse of light ahead of her and as she rounded the next corner she was able to see the cave mouth. Marching on, she led them out of the cave and into the open. Flicking off her light, Kara allowed her eyes to adjust to the young sun of Aeos Prime. Her troops pushed six of the Jedi onto the ground and Reeve dropped the unconscious one. She spun around, facing her troops and having them stand to attention.

Kara pulled her cracked helmet off again. They had succeeded, yet she felt like something was wrong. She looked up from the ground guiltily, meeting the eyes of the girl that Thane had tormented. The girl had closely cropped brown hair, with a hint of blonde at its tips. Her face was still young and there was something in her eyes that was faintly reminiscent of the Jedi that lay at Reeve's feet.

Kara stared at the girl and saw tears gently rolling down her cheeks. Her face was matted with dirt and her hair was thick was grime. Fresh blood was rolling down her lips. She was on her knees, and Kara saw herself. Kara blinked away the thought. The Jedi were the reason she had ended up in the dirt like that. This was her revenge, but somehow, it didn't seem as sweet as Kara had thought it would be.

'Happy Birthday, Kara' encouraged the sweet, round face of her mother, handing a small box wrapped in plastic that Kara knew her father had taken from the factory. He stood beside his wife, his heavily callused hands reflecting the many hours he spent grinding the compactor handles.

'Thank you, Mum and Dad,' said Kara, joy flooding through her. A gift. For the first time in her life, she had received a birthday gift. She knew how long and hard they must have worked to afford something for her. She knew the sacrifices they would have made. 'Can I, open it?'

'Go ahead' her father responded, a tear gently rolling down his cheek. Kara vigorously tore the packaging open and pulled the small box open. Inside, was a plain black ring, the black metal glimmering in the faint light that made its way through the thatched ceiling of their home. Kara smiled, holding the ring tight in her hands.

'Thank you' Kara repeated, smiling.

Her mother opened her mouth to speak but it was cut off as the door to their small home burst open. An officer in a black uniform rushed inside, a pistol already drawn. Kara looked up at him confused while her mother burst to her feet. 'What's going on here?' said Garith, Kara's father.

Another figure slipped inside, his face concealed by the hood of a dark cloak.

'We're here to arrest Garith and Livenna Kinata, under order of the Republic, due to the inability to pay the taxes in time' ordered the officer, reading from a data padand, whilst not daring to look at the people he was imprisoning.

'You're wrong' Livenna burst out. 'We've paid our taxes. I swear.'

'The taxations for this area have been increased due to the major projects on Coruscant' the officer responded, producing a pair of handcuffs from behind his back.

'Well then, those sparking snobs on Coruscant can pay for it' said Garith coolly, a hint of anger flashing behind his eyes.

'Well perhaps you can make a complaint to your planet's senator. We're going to be transferring you to a Czerka Mining operation on Zeffo.'

'You can't do that' Livenna howled, tears now pouring down her face. 'You're sending us into slavery.' The officer wrinkled his nose, like he'd smelt something unpleasant. Livenna turned to the cloaked figure, pleading to him. 'Stop him. We can't. Who'll look after Kara?' she broke down at his feet, a blubbering mess.

Kara hadn't realised but tears were staining her cheeks.

'If we have to take you by force, we will' hissed the officer, hauling Livenna to her feet. The cloaked figure had not spoken, watching from the shadow of his cloak.

Garith looked at the officer. 'What will you do with Kara?'

'She'll have to look after herself for a bit' the officer snarled, flashing a horrible smile. Garith clenched his fists in anger. 'Perhaps she can find a foundlings home.'

'No' he said, firmly.

'I'm afraid you don't get a say in this matter, Kinata. I can understand you must be quite distraught at this turn of events, but don't fear. I'm sure the girl will still be here if you return.'

Livenna flinched.

'No, you can't take them' Kara cried. She didn't fully understand what was happening but knew it wasn't good. Garith turned to face Kara, dropping to one knee.

'Hey, Kara. It's going to be alright. They're going to take us away for a while, but it's going to be okay. You're going to need to go find some help. Go to the Foundling's home, and stay safe. We'll be back.' Kara sniffed, shaking slightly.

Garith stood up and before he could react, the officer had leapt forward, snapping the hand cuffs round Garith's arms. Garith looked up and the officer jerked back in fear, stepping away from Garith. Livenna had leapt at him. She swung her arms wildly at the officer but before she could make contact, the cloaked figure got between them. Livenna was about to throw herself at him, when he drew the hilt of a lightsaber. He ignited it, casting a blue glow across the room.

Livenna stepped back, shrieking in fear. Any other day, Kara would have been thrilled to see a Jedi on Bellassa, but all she could feel was shock and then slowly, a building hatred. The officer cuffed Livenna and begun to drag her out of the house when Kara let out a wail.

'You're a Jedi. You should protect my parents!' she screamed. The Jedi put his weapon away, grabbing Garith by the neck, pushing him out the door. Kara followed him out the door, howling in protest. Outside was a large hover transport. Several other villagers were strapped to the side of the vehicle, solemn faced and covered in grime. The Jedi followed the officer out the door, pushing Garith and Livenna onto the transport.

'Kara, you need to go now' Garith called, but Kara ignored her father, dropping at the feet of the Jedi.

'Please, please don't take my parents' pleaded Kara, holding onto his legs.

'Your parents are criminals' girl. You need to come to terms with that.' He pushed Kara off him, and swept after the officer, leaving Kara, in the dirt. Kara cried uncontrollably, sobbing into the ground. She looked up just to see the transport disappear in a haze of dust. For a long time, Kara sat, crying and when all her tears were gone, she crawled back to the house. Something gleamed in front of her. The black ring had fallen onto the dusty floor. She reached for it.

Kara was thrown off her feet. She slammed into the mud and felt the breath get knocked out of her. She let out a wild yell as she was snapped back to the present. There was a tug at her waist and Kara jerked up. She slapped the place where the captured lightsaber had been. It was too late. Already, someone was disappearing inside the cave mouth.

'Kara!' Reeve yelled, dropping to her side.

'What happened?' Kara groaned, her ribs flaring in pain.

'The girl! She took the lightsaber' said Reeve hurriedly.

Kara jolted upright. How had a young girl done that to her? She felt her face flush with embarrassment. A highly trained soldier, she had been knocked down and robbed by a scrawny youth. She looked fiercely at the other captives. All six of the remaining Jedi were still firmly restrained, their heads bowed in defeat.

Rook dropped to her side to check on her. 'Thane was provoking her and she snapped. She got away from him and made it to you. Then she, well you know.' Kara looked around. It had been the girl whom Kara had been staring at when she had slipped off into a daze.

'Well then she made a mistake going into that tunnel. Send in Tarkin and Wolfe and have them flush her out' Kara ordered angrily. She took a hand from Reeve and pulled herself upright but sensed the mistake as she swaggered backwards, her vision shaking back and forth dizzily. Kara walked over to where Thane was standing.

'Commander, are you hurt?' Thane asked.

'Fine' Kara snapped, already sensing the sarcasm in his voice.

Reeve relayed her orders to Tarkin and Wolfe who immediately began to travel down the tunnel in pursuit of the escaped girl.

'We need to get her back here before Lord Vader arrives' Kara grunted.

'Too late' Rook interrupted, gesturing to the sky.

Kara spun around and saw two distant shapes against the overcast sky of Aeos Prime. The forms resolved into an Imperial Transport and an advanced Tie Fighter approaching the small group clustered beside the hill.

'Sparks,' Kara whispered. She turned back to the team. 'Be prepared. Make sure there is not so much as a peep out of those prisoners.'

Reeve quickly approached Kara. 'What happened back there?' His eyes flicked towards the spot where Kara had been knocked down.

'I… I'm not sure. Somehow that girl moved faster than I could react.' She turned away, angry with herself. She should have done better, and that the real reason the girl had escaped was because of her lack of focus. She hated failing in front of anyone. Especially Reeve.

Kara turned around to face the approaching Imperial forces, barely visible in the stormy darkness above. Kara slotted her rifle behind her back and stood up straight, her arms folded behind her back. Reeve returned to his position and the group waited in tense silence.

The two spacecraft were almost upon them, thrusters buzzing with power. The ships landed not far from the entry to the cave, settling on a large rocky surface, opposite to Kara's crew. As they touched down, it became apparent to Kara that the TIE fighter was unique as though it was a custom-made ship. She had never seen one like it. It had the latest in weaponry and shielding and a sleeker body to the standard TIE. It even had its own hyperdrive. The only other TIE to have its own hyper drive that Kara knew of was the Phantom Fighter.

The Transport landed, and lowered its doors. Twelve storm troopers marched out from the dimly lit hold behind. A light mist rose from the entry panel as the troopers walked out, weapons drawn. From behind them was an Imperial officer in grey uniform with his cap. His thin face was crookedly familiar.

'Moff Kerkado. A pleasure to see you once again' said Kara curtly, her lips pressed together tightly.

'Ah. Commander Kara. Likewise. I must congratulate you on your promotion' said Kerkado, emerging from the ranks of storm troopers. His usually bright silver hair had been reduced to a dull grey by the constant lack of sunlight on the island.

At that moment, there was a hissing sound. Dark steam arose from the TIE fighter's entry hatch. Kara looked at her troops and saw they were all stock still. Even Kerkado seemed to have frozen. Kara clenched her fists and forced herself to look up as Lord Vader emerged from his TIE Fighter.

'Commander' he called, as he walked forward, his massive strides carrying him towards her before she could respond. There was an aura of darkness that emanated around him, blackness shimmering around the edge of his flickering cape. His black armour and mask made him a massive, overpowering and intimidating figure. Kara heard a sharp intake of breath from behind her, but whether it was a Jedi or one of her own troopers, she was unable to determine.

'Lord Vader' Kara saluted, raising a hand to her forehead.

Vader turned his attention to the Jedi. 'I am most pleased to hear of your discovery. However, your lack of ability to exercise control bothers me. A minor irritation, the escaped Jedi, but irrelevant nonetheless. I assume you have despatched troopers in pursuit.'

'Is something wrong?' Kerkado butted in. Vader turned his head slightly to look at Kerkado. A man who usually stood tall above others seemed to shrink under Vader's gaze.

'I am disturbed by the absence of attention' said Vader, his cold voice remaining perfectly even.

'If you don't mind my elaborating Lord Vader, I will explain to Moff Kerkado what has transpired' Kara responded, looking at Vader. She turned her head to Kerkado before continuing, 'Our team captured seven of the nine Jedi, whilst the other two were killed in combat. We had them brought here, but one of them managed to escape back into the tunnel. It is of no matter, as the tunnel is a dead end, and I have already sent troopers to retrieve the escapee.'

'That wasn't in the pilots report' Kerkado burst out, annoyed at his humiliation at the hands of Vader.

'Perhaps if you had counted the prisoners, Moff Kerkado' said Vader, his tones even and level. He didn't even look at Kerkado as he spoke and Kara knew it wasn't just an act. Vader truly didn't believe Kerkado significant. 'As I said, the absence of attention.'

Kerkado's pale face went bright pink.

'Commander Kara' Vader demanded. Kara looked back to the dominant figure before her. 'Have your troopers move the prisoners aboard the Transport. We will transfer them to the Eliminator.' Vader turned away from them and Kara, sensing the discussion was over, turned back to her troops.

'They sent a Venator-class Star Destroyer all the way out to Aeos for these Jedi' Filler gaped, keeping his voice quiet to make sure Vader couldn't hear him.

Kara snorted. 'Not just that. They sent Lord Vader.'

'I doubt the Empire picks up seven Jedi every day' Diano scoffed.

'But why do they want to pick them up. Why not just let us kill them?' Thane added.

'What Vader and the Emperor plan on doing with a handful of Jedi is none of our business. We've completed our mission. Knock the prisoners out and move them onto the transport.'

One of the Jedi overheard Kara and tried to pull himself to his feet. Before he could get more than an inch, Reeve had leapt forward and swung his blaster into the head of the Jedi. The man slumped over, falling onto his side.

'You could've used a taser' Kara snorted as her others troopers zapped the Jedi into unconsciousness. Her troopers slung the Jedi over their shoulders and carried them into the transport.

At that moment, Tarkin's voice entered her comm. 'Commander, the Jedi. She's gone.'

It took a moment for Kara to comprehend what Tarkin had meant. 'The girl. She escaped?' cried out Kara in horror. Irritated, she realised he hadn't heard her. She touched her earpiece, and repeated her comment.

'Affirmative' responded Wolfe. 'We've scoured the tunnel and entry. We can't find anywhere she could have gone. She seems to have vanished into thin air.'

At that moment, Vader turned towards Kara. 'This turn of events displeases me.'