Notes:

- I wasn't able to find out when exactly the Empire took over Scarif, so for now, assuming it takes place after the Empire invaded Mon Cala. Also not entirely sure of Scarif's allegiance during the Clone Wars, but going off the info I was able to find, I will assume its leaders were aligned with the Separatists.

The surroundings flashed again, and all too soon, Zar was at the city, as the rain started to come down. Just as before, not only were there Stormtroopers herding people towards the entrance, black and red Purge Troopers stood guard. Thankfully it had been a normal trooper instead of one of them who had halted the speeder and told them to join the crowd. The Grand Inquisitor was standing in front of the crowd with his hands behind his back, his yellow and red tinged eyes scanning the crowd. A Kubaz in a similar uniform stood next to him, drumming his fingers impatiently against his lightsaber, eager to use it on any who resisted.

"Are there any more civilians coming?" the Grand Inquisitor asked one trooper. The trooper shook his head and then the Inquisitor spoke to the crowd. "People of Scarif. As you are no doubt unaware, the Empire requires your planet. It is an ideal location, has the materials we need, and I must say will make for quite a beautiful place for our facilities."

"So what, you're going to force us away from our homes?!" yelled one civilian.

"Yes," said the Inquisitor bluntly. "You will be compensated for this, of course. You should be thankful; we don't often offer this courtesy, at least not to worlds aligned with the Separatists—"

"Huttwash!" shouted another. "We didn't help the Seps with their war! We just lived here and minded our own business!"

More shouts followed this. The Inquisitor smiled, showing his sharp teeth, and ignited his lightsaber. The cries of defiance quickly faded. "By all means," he grinned. "Please continue your outcries, then we can dispense with these tedious negotiations. That will be so much more to the point and enjoyable than trying to bargain with you."

There were no more outbursts, but the people looked at each other resentfully. "Pity," frowned the Pau'an. "Which brings me to the other issue: we have reason to believe there are two Jedi here. If any of you know of their whereabouts—"

"They're gone!"

The actual Zar looked away. His mother had come to the front, staring resolutely at the Imp. "Ah," smiled the Pau'an as he walked forward, pointing his red blade at her. "Jendula Atoll, one of the famous Atoll Archaeologists. Why does that not surprise me? And how do you know that the Jedi are gone?"

Zar saw his younger self in the crowd; he and his father were trying to get through the crowd, but Oshun and Luma held them back, warning them not to get involved. "They helped us with our research for some time," Jendula replied. "But they had already left the Jedi Order long after the other Jedi had turned against the Emperor. I have no reason to believe they were a part of their attempted coup. In any case, we parted ways with them today."

The Grand Inquisitor slowly nodded as he halted next to her. "Well then," he said softly. "Shall we put that to the test?"

He lifted his circular lightsaber so that the other end faced her, and ignited it, piercing her through her guts.

The crowd screamed in shock and outrage, the younger Zar and Xantho among them, and Oshun started to make his way through the crowd. Some actually tried rushing the Imperial, only to be gunned down by the Stormtroopers and Purge Troopers. The rest of the crowd halted, clearly not knowing what to do. "Jedi!" called out the Inquisitor. "Your friend lies dying at my feet! If you're here, come and save her if you can! If you're already gone, then you're more cowardly than I—"

Oshun reached the front and raised a hand. The Pau'an shot towards him, and had just enough time to look surprised, as Oshun's fist met his face. The Kubaz gave a gleeful warbling cackle and ran forward with his own lightsaber lit, and the other Imperials aimed their weapons at Oshun. But Oshun was too fast, and he waved his hands at them all, sending them flying through the air. The troopers landed in a sprawl, but the Kubaz landed on his feet, his red goggles fixed on the Quarren as he lifted Jendula in his arms. "Run!" Luma shouted at the crowd. "Don't try and fight them! Run for your lives! Flee this planet while you still can!"

Most listened to her, and they darted off towards their homes or wherever their ships waited, but some tried attacking the other Imperials. Some got lucky and shot them with hidden arms or the Imps' own blasters, but others got gunned down. Oshun and Jendula quickly joined Zar and Xantho, the latter took his wife in his arms. "We have to get to the ship!" Xantho declared as they ran. "There's medical supplies on board, we can still save her!"

Yet again, the surroundings brightened, and then Zar was at the repair station outside the city hall tower. Several buildings had been set ablaze by the Imperials as they destroyed their homes. The group were just arriving; through the smoke and blasterfire, Zar saw civilians taking off in ships, or getting gunned down by troopers. Luckily for them, their ship was in front of the station, ready for its owners to pick it up. "That mechanic had better finished his work!" shouted young Zar. "If he didn't, if I ever find him, I'm going to—"

Luma slammed him down to the ground as a dual bladed saber flew through the air. It quickly returned to its owner, the energetic Kubaz, who had come to a stop, shuddering with glee. Before the group could wonder what he was doing, there was the sound of broken glass, and a body flew out of a window from the city hall tower. It landed in a sprawl, and the group recognized it as the mayor.

And then he appeared; he had leapt from the same broken window, and landed on his feet. He straightened up, and slowly walked towards them, his breathing audible even over all the chaos and the rain. "Thank you for saving me the trouble of hunting you," said Darth Vader, and he ignited his own lightsaber. "You could have proven most troublesome to the Empire had you escaped, Oshun Kurrin." He turned to the Kubaz. "Tenth Brother, take care of the apprentice, and the traitors who helped them. The former Jedi Master, is mine."

"Get on the ship!" Luma ordered the Atolls, and drew her own blue lightsaber, clashing with the laughing Kubaz.

The Atolls hurried onto the ship, but the actual Zar remained. He couldn't leave them behind again. Oshun ignited his green lightsaber, and barely parried Vader's powerful blows. "You shouldn't have left the Clone Wars," taunted Vader, as they fought. "If you had stayed with the Order, and continued to hone your abilities, perhaps you could have escaped me today." He locked sabers with Oshun, and forced down on it. "But as it stands, you're not even worthy of the spot on the Council those fools offered you—"

Oshun spat ink directly into Vader's mask. The Sith Lord gave a howl of outrage and drew back for a moment, trying to clear his vision. Oshun ran towards him and used the Force to throw some nearby ship tools and crates at Vader. Vader pushed them back, but Oshun's green blade scored a hit on Vader's arm, and the black figure stepped back with a snarl. Instead of charging back, Vader lifted his lightsaber in front of him. "You are powerful," admitted Oshun as he circled Vader. "But are you prepared to fight while blind?"

"With the Dark Side as my ally," Vader boomed menacingly, "I won't need my vision to kill you, Jedi."

Meanwhile, Luma had to give it her all against the Kubaz. But from the sounds of his grunts and snarls, he was putting in just as much effort. Then Luma nicked his shoulder and the Kubaz screeched in rage. He activated his saber's other feature, and the blades began to spin menacingly. Luma glanced behind her, and just like her master, lifted some objects and threw them at the Kubaz. The Kubaz casually blocked and sliced through it all with a mocking laugh. But then Luma threw a barrel at him and he foolishly cut it too. The fuel barrel exploded instantly, sending him soaring through the air, and he landed in a burning heap.

Zar knew that it was too good to last. He looked back at the other duel, and Vader was blocking every blow from Oshun, his red blade a blur. Between every block and blow, Vader's fist struck the Quarren, and Oshun was already starting to falter. The younger Zar had run outside to see if he could help, and came out just in time to see Vader's last punch flooring Oshun, his lightsaber flying out of his hands. Zar screamed Oshun's name and charged to try and save his friend. Vader looked up and prepared to casually kill the boy, but Luma leapt at him from behind. The element of surprise wasn't enough; Vader swung around, and they exchanged two blows, before Vader knocked the saber out of her hand, and stabbed her. The young Zar screamed even louder as he picked up a fallen tool and charged Vader with it. Again, Vader raised a hand to end him, but was suddenly pushed back. Oshun had risen up again, his green lightsaber back in hand.

"Zaram Atoll," wheezed Oshun. "Grant a selfish Quarren his last request. Take Luma and go, I'll hold him off."

The young Zar had tears openly flowing down his face. "I can't leave you to fight that thing! How could I live with myself?!"

"I already have enough regrets!" shouted Oshun. "Please, Zar. Don't let your death be one more of them. Please try and save Luma. Please try and save yourselves."

The ceaseless breathing drew their attention again; Vader marched towards them, his silhouette cutting through the rain, fire, and smoke was the very image of death. The young Zar nodded bitterly, helped Luma up, and they made their way to the ship. "Your apprentice is already lost," Vader said bluntly, his helmet's eyes now clear of ink. "And I will make sure the Atolls pay for their treason as well. Not even the boy will live to regret his defiance."

As the duo boarded the ship, Oshun Kurrin replied, "I wouldn't be so sure. One thing you'll learn about the Atolls: they're survivors."

"Nothing can survive the might of the Empire," said Vader, and they exchanged their final blows as the ship took off. "Not the Jedi Order. Not the planet of Scarif. And neither—" Vader knocked the lightsaber out of his hands and cut down the Quarren. "—will they."

The ship fled towards the heavens, and the Sith Lord stared after it as the Jedi fell at his feet.

The light returned, blinding him once more, and Zar fell to his knees. When would this nightmare end? Then he was back in the ship with the others, the ship shuddering under the blasts from pursuing TIE Fighters. The younger Zar did his best to press the bacta patches against Jendula and Luma, as they lay dying in their beds. "Hold on, Zar!" shouted Xantho. "We're almost there! Noctu got my message, they'll take care of those Imps!"

Zar didn't answer; despite the patches, his friend and mother were dying. "Zaram," whispered his mother, and he locked his eyes on hers. "If I don't make it, look after your father…you know how stubborn and reckless he can be…but if you go back to Kashyyyk…I hope you find…that bird of yours…"

Jendula closed her eyes. Even now, the actual Zar couldn't tell if she had died then, or if there had still been some hope left. The younger Zar turned to Luma, who stared at him with worry in her blue eyes. "If we get out of this," he choked out, "I'm taking you up on those self defense lessons you were always going on about. Just didn't think we'd ever get into something like this."

Luma gave a laugh despite everything and took Zar's hand in both of her own. He clenched them back firmly but gently. "You're too stubborn to die here," she murmured. "But remember…no matter what happens…thank you for being a friend…to my master…and me…"

The worst explosion yet rocked the ship and young Zar tumbled down. "Brace yourselves!" shouted Xantho. "We're crashing on Nal Hutta! Remember, trust only Noctu, nobody—!"

The ship crashed along the surface with a terrible tearing noise. For a minute or two, there was nothing but that horrible deafening sound…and then silence. The young Zar gradually got to his feet and checked on the patients…but they were already gone. More tears poured out, more than he thought he would ever have, and stumbled calling for his father. Then he reached the cockpit and saw his father. Xantho Atoll was a mess, a piece of debris pierced his chest, and blood was already pouring out. Before Zar could say anything else, sparks flew across the ceiling of the cockpit, and it was wrenched off. A group of Mandalorians in full armor stared down at them. One with wing markings on his helmet ordered them to get the passengers out, and a pair went inside to get Jendula and Luma.

"Come on," said the Mandalorian, offering his hand. "I'm Noctu Magel, I'm here to keep you safe from the Imps. Don't worry about the TIEs, we already took care of them…just wish we had been here sooner."

Young Zar took it and Noctu heaved him out, the boy barely noticing the muddy and swampy landscape he landed in. The actual Zar kept his eyes on his father as the other Mandalorians carefully took him out. One shook his head at Noctu, who clenched his fist, and looked down bitterly. Young Zar rushed over to his father, and Zar joined him, ready to listen again to his final words. "Zaram Atoll," his father breathed. "No matter…what…we'll always…be…with you…"

And then Xantho Atoll breathed his last, and moved no more. The actual Zar joined his younger self screaming in rage and grief, and before he knew it, his fist burst through something solid. He blinked. He was back on Yuca; the rain was still coming down, and he just destroyed what was probably a well crafted Yucari statue in the temple's courtyard. He shook his head, took deep shuddering breaths, and did his best to calm down.

"Well done," said the voice from his dream. "I wasn't sure if you and your team would give in to your anger, hate, and pain…but you all passed the test. You are now ready to see me."

"Enough of the mind games, whoever the hell you are!" roared Zar, and drew his rifle. "Show yourself now! I'm sick of this mystical garbage!"

But as he looked around the courtyard, the trees in the background, and the forgotten statues and pillars, he saw there was no one there. The voice sighed. "If I could be there now, I would…but I'm trapped here. Go use the tower that the fangs have unearthed; use it and the other tower to find your way here. And be wary. The Empire is following you. Should they unearth but one of the horrors here, the whole galaxy may suffer…"

The voice fell silent and the rain finally began to falter. Zar took a seat on a ledge and gathered his thoughts. So the Empire was tailing them…despite everything that happened, Zar gave a grim smile. He'd make them regret trying to use his team to do their dirty work. Then his comm beeped and he answered it. "Finally!" exclaimed Dendro's voice. "Where the hell have you been Zar? We all put the fangs where they needed to go…it wasn't easy, but we did it. We're back at the fort with Luke, what about you?"

Zar heaved a sigh of relief. Things were starting to look up. "Sorry, Dendro," he apologized. "Some…strange stuff happened. But listen, the Empire is tracking us. Tell Bariq to call the Talon to the fort and start cooking up some traps. We're going to give these Imps more than they bargained for."

Brogan sighed in relief as the storm started to move on. They had been hiding up on a cliff overlooking the valley for ages, waiting for the bounty hunters to finally reveal what they had been looking for. Luckily, the animals hadn't come up to their position, but Brogan didn't know how long that would last…

"Quit shaking, Lieutenant. I swear, I don't know why Locus had to make us take care of two officers."

The scout trooper Sergeant Tazah Gunda calmly sat back against her tree, her sniper rifle in her arms, as she scanned the valley. She had taken her helmet off, and her neck length blonde hair fell attractively across her face. Brogan kept his mouth shut though; despite his irritation at her blunt comments, she was shaping up to be one of the best new recruits on Yuca. While the troops could barely stand Brogan and the other officers, they practically worshipped the ground she stepped on, partially for her looks, but mostly because of her impressive sharpshooting skills.

"Sergeant," said Anax suddenly, his macrobinoculars fixed on something. "Prepare your troops, the Talons are at the fort, and Zaram has just entered the tower."

Tazah got to her feet at once, and barked out orders, a fierce look in her green eyes. Brogan tensed; no matter what happened, he had to ensure the Talons couldn't tell them about their partnership with him. Whether or not that meant he had to end it today, he had to wait and see.

As Zar walked up the tower's stairs, he noticed that while worn, it was in much better condition than the other tower. He saw various images of the Yucari on the walls; their normal lives, farming, hunting animals, living happy ordinary lives with each other. But as he climbed higher, the images changed. New figures of strange creatures with a spiked head came from the heavens to Yuca. They cut down the Yucari with what looked like swords or lightsabers, and enslaved many of the others. The Yucari were forced to build temples for them, but there were other, more disturbing scenes. Some Yucari were placed on altars and they were clearly screaming in pain as the invaders raised items over their heads. But then robed and hooded figures arrived, and Zar could tell they were Jedi, as they used the Force to push away the invaders. Finally, he reached the top, and the final images before the door, were of the invaders being thrown into a pit, and curiously, the Yucari and Jedi shaking hands with one of the invaders, as the rest of its kind flew back towards the stars. Zar wondered if his parents had ever come across anything as strange as this before?

Then he opened the door and looked around. The top of the tower was one massive room with a circular almost opaque window curving all around it. In the center, was a stone table, with something that looked like a big Jedi holocron on top of it. In front of the device, was what looked like a set of controls. Thankfully, it had instructions in an ancient Jedi dialect carved around it. It told him to push a certain button first, and he did so.

"Zar," said Luke's voice over the comm. "Something just happened over here, it sounds like something collapsed in the tower…no, wait, something came out of the floor. It looks like a big holocron, I don't know if you've ever heard of them—"

"We have," Zar interrupted, and he read more of the instructions. "Whoever built these things left us some instructions. Get Bariq on the comm, will need his help for this."

"Ready!" said Bariq's eager voice.

Zar told him to use the device's controls in a certain sequence. As Bariq did so, the device in front of Zar began to move, its edges, sides, and corners twisting and turning every time Bariq did as Zar told him. Zar ran his fingers across the controls when the instructions told him to as well, until finally, the device lit up, and there was a shifting sound. Zar looked up, and saw the tiles of the ceiling shift apart. A map had appeared, but there were no instructions on it. "Ok," grunted Zar. "A map has just been exposed here, but it doesn't offer any clues on where to go next."

"Something weird has happened over here," Bariq replied. "The device is displaying images on the wall, but it's all gibberish. I guess that means we're stuck."

Zar frowned. "Send the images to my helmet." Bariq did so and Zar stared at the images for a long time. Each consisted of a bunch of lines and jumbled letters and numbers in the same Jedi dialect, set in a strange almost random pattern. And yet… "Alright…may have an idea."

He shifted the images around in his helmet. It was a painstaking process, several times he thought he had it in the right segment, but the numbers and letters still didn't add up. Until finally, he had it. He took out a holoprojector from his belt, sent the data from his helmet to it, and placed it on the top of the device. It displayed the combined images on its matching segment on top of the map, and now Zar knew where to go next. "Got it," he grinned. "Separately, the images are useless, but when put together in the right order, they point out where on Yuca to go next. A mountain range at coordinates…"

His grin vanished. "Wait…there's a message. 'To those who have followed our words through time, be warned. The hidden city lays before you, but as you travel through it, do not follow in the footsteps of the Zavar. Their wealth and power blinded them to what mattered; the more they desired to possess, the more the darkness consumed them. Their greatest weapon lies dormant beneath the earth; if it cannot be used for good, then the Voidbreaker, must be destroyed, or darkness will consume the galaxy.'"

Nobody said anything for a long time. Zar read the lines again in silence, its message weighing more and more heavily on him the more he read it. "You'd think," Bariq said sourly, "the message on the device we had could be read in a language anybody could understand. That way, no well-meaning treasure hunter would find out he accidentally stumbled onto another planet killer instead."

"We don't know if it's a planet killer," Zar tried to assure him. "But either way, we're still making sure the Empire doesn't get their hands on this thing. Is the Talon here yet?"

"Yes, just landed."

"Good. Once you've got your traps ready, we're going to make a call. It's time to talk to an old friend about some long overdue favors."

They shuffled around miserably. They had been prepared to chase after the Talons or finally seize their prize after months of excavations…only to hunker down and wait in the jungle, yet again. Tazah looked particularly irritated, but to Brogan's reluctant admiration, she kept her cool. Anax was less successful, he muttered angrily to his subordinates, but at least he didn't fly into a rage. Brogan himself sat on the edge of the group, trying to dry himself off after what felt like a decade getting drenched in that storm.

And then his private comm quietly went off, vibrating in his pocket.

He barely avoided swearing out loud, but it was close. Doing his best to look casual, he took it out along with an earpiece, and with a quiet genuine yawn, fit in the earpiece. For the last step, he put both hands behind his head, and did his best to lay back against the closest tree. He began to perform his code into the comm, a series of quiet beeps, long or short depending on how long he held down the comm button.

"What do you want?" he tapped on the comm.

"You owe us," came the reply, most likely Zar. "You know what that means. We need a favor back from you."

Brogan's pale green eyes scanned his comrades to make sure they didn't suspect anything. So far, all was well. "Can't. We're tracking you. Get your inside help somewhere else."

Zar's next message nearly made him scream in rage right there. "Then Palpatine gets to know who really used those Felucian fingunt spores last year."

He gripped the comm so hard he thought it'd break. "Fine. But I'm surrounded. Take off and I might be able to help."

"Standby, Lieutenant."

Brogan shut his eyes. As soon as his assignment was over, he might actually consider joining a Wild Space smuggling crew. It had to be easier than being a corrupt Imperial.

"Fingunt spores?" repeated Luke once Zar's 'chat' with Brogan ended.

"Nasty stuff from Felucia," replied Dendro, as he stuffed his face with food using all four arms. "Bunch of spores that get released from a certain plant, it can attach to most surfaces and grows mold fast. One of Brogan's rivals was allergic to it, so Brogan tried using some to get rid of him. It took Coruscant a week to decontaminate the entire block."

The Talons cackled at the story. Luke just stared at them. "And I thought my stories were bizarre. But anyway, how are we going to deal with Imps tailing us?"

Zar had removed his helmet in order to enjoy his meal with the others. He sipped a Ruby Bliel with a grim expression on his face. "As much as I hate saying it, we'll need the Rebels' help too. Since Nailah and the others praise you every five minutes, it'd probably be best if you ask them for us."

Luke frowned. "I'm not going to lie to them, so you better tell me what you need now. And be honest."

R2 whirred his approval. Zar eyes rose to the ceiling, but he told Luke what they needed. Luke nodded and used the holotable to call Nailah. "Nailah, this is Commander Skywalker."

The holograms of Nailah and several Rebels appeared. "Luke!" said Nailah. She and the others looked relieved. "Please tell me you've managed to give those bounty hunters the slip."

"No," the Talons all replied loudly.

"We need your help," Luke went on. "We think we know where the weapon is. Sending the coordinates now."

He punched them in. Nailah forgot her annoyance and looked at the data. Luke's guts sank as he noticed the Rebels all looked floored…and not in a good way. "What's wrong?"

Nailah looked up. "Luke," she began, "that mountain range is next to Slave Town…and that's right next door to the Yuca Imperial Capital."

There was a series of chokes, coughs, and hacks as the Talons all spat out their meals. "Are you serious?!" demanded Zar, his helmet back on as he walked up to the table. "How come the Imps haven't stumbled across it yet?!"

"There aren't any ruins or temples there," replied Kashvi. "So they haven't put up any excavation sites in that area."

Zar's fingers beat a steady rhythm on the table. "Well, one bit of good news is that we got Brogan on our side. We have so much dirt on him that he'd spend at least 360 years on Oovo IV."

"So what do you have in mind?" asked Haldan, his arms crossed.

"A bait and switch," Luke answered. "We'll meet you at a rendezvous point, and to our trackers, it'll look like we went with you to attack another excavation site. But we'll actually slip out during the trip and head to the mountains while you hit the site."

They all nodded in response. "A good plan," said Natron. "We'll have to see if we have anyone to spare for this, but with any luck—"

There was an urgent beep on the Rebels' end. They checked to see what it was about…and pure shocked horror crept on their expressions. "What's wrong?!" asked Luke urgently. "Did the Imps find Yucari Base?!"

Nailah looked up first. "We just got intel from our spies," she said in a hollow voice. "The Executor is en route back to Yuca. The 501st will arrive on the surface, with Vader personally leading them."

No one spoke. The same horror spread to the other Talons, and they all looked at each other in disbelief.

Vader knelt on the pad. He didn't speak until he felt his Master's presence. "Master," he began. "We will be arriving at Yuca momentarily. I have been informed Project Uraeus's objective may be fulfilled soon."

He looked up to see the massive hologram of his Master…but even that did not do the Emperor's presence justice. Even from the other side of the galaxy, Vader could feel the Emperor's power, and the piercing, dominating authority that poured from his yellow and red eyes. Ordinarily, Palpatine's face was calm, serene, and fully in control. But now he looked serious and completely unamused. "I see," said Palpatine slowly, and let out a hiss. "Yes…that would explain a great many things…"

Vader tensed. Did his Master know about the boy? "Master?"

Palpatine stared at him. "There has been a great disturbance in the Force. I have foreseen that a great event will occur on Yuca, and the results will affect the galaxy…though how, I cannot say." His frown deepened. "The only thing I know for certain, is that the son of the Atolls is involved."

The tension morphed into surprise. "Zaram?" asked Vader. "He's only a bounty hunter. A mercenary scrounging for any credit he can get his hands on."

Palpatine's lip curled, showing his ugly teeth. "I am surprised, Lord Vader. Perhaps you've forgotten what he and his team did on Coruscant all those years ago?"

Vader slowly inclined his head. "They are destructive, but I don't see how Zaram could affect the galaxy. After we broke him on that operating table, and thanks to Saw Gerrera, Zaram only became concerned with himself and his team. He owes no allegiance to the Rebels."

"Whatever the case may be," said Palpatine, "I expect you to eliminate him. This Scarifian and whatever part he may have to play has no place in my plans for the galaxy. As for Project Uraeus, if the Voidbreaker comes into our possession, see to it that Moff Locus is well rewarded. And if not…" A slight sadistic smile appeared on his face for the first time. "Then please invite him to Coruscant. I would very much like to voice…my displeasure, to him."

Vader bowed. "As you wish, my Master."