DISCLAIMER: Overlord/オーバーロードbelongs to Kugane Maruyama, and Star Wars belongs to Disney (Unfortunately). The scenario and original characters are mine. I hope you enjoy!

Warning: This chapter contains a character that has post-traumatic stress disorder. I myself do not have such a disorder, so I would like to apologize in advance if what I write is a stereotypical portrayal of the disorder. There is also mention of suicidal thoughts. I have limited experience with this topic, as one of my family attempted it. I will say not say when as that doesn't need to be shared. I am also apologizing ahead of time for this too.


Chapter IV: Rescue and Reevaluation

The "Switch" + 6 (Six Days Since the "Switch")

Carne Forest, New World, Galt Ianar (Master Sergeant, 4th Infantry Division)

"Stay in close formation and keep your eyes on the canopy. Those spiders like to snatch up anyone alone," Ianar said quietly to the trailing Army troopers behind him as he kept his new weapon pointed at the canopy.

His new weapon had started life as a BlasTech DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol, though it had gone through various modifications by the newly established Basilisk Weapons Division. They'd attached a buttstock, an 'emergency vent' button, whatever that meant, and a selector switch. They removed the scope, however, and the apparent reason for this is due to the recoil the new weapon, called the 'Basilisk Repeating Carbine', had. A full-auto DL-44 evidently had a lot of kick. The teen who'd handed him the weapon told him that he could never keep the target in the scope after three shots had been fired.

When Ianar asked why they'd created the weapon, the teen had replied that the Grand Admiral had requested it. What neither of them had realized was that the Grand Admiral had them specifically created for room clearing and extreme close quarters combat. The weapon's overall size, in terms of barrel length anyway, was much smaller than the E-11. The E-11 was compact, yes, but that compactness came at the expense of collapsing the stock. With the carbine, basically a Star Wars version of the M712 Schnellfeuer with a ten-round magazine, polymer furniture, and a red LED button above the trigger, you got the controllability of a weapon with a stock in a still overall compact form.

Ianar didn't know why the Grand Admiral had requested it, or why the man had said to take it on this particular mission. Bad time to test out prototypical ordinance in his professional opinion. Then again, no one listens to the grunts. He shook away the thoughts about the new weapon and refocused on the mission.

"Swan, are you getting anything on comms?" Ianar asked Corporal Swan, having made the decision that only one soldier should be focused on incoming comm traffic rather than the whole squad.

"Negative, Sarnt, no comms yet," Swan replied after doing a quick check.

"Alright. You hear anything, you let us know, copy?"

"Copy Sarnt."

"Contact!" a trooper yelled as a spider suddenly descended from the canopy and made to snatch one of the other troopers.

Ianar let loose with the repeating carbine and had to lean into the weapon to keep it from going off target and causing a blue-on-blue. The bolts tore the body of the spider apart, leaving only a bloody chunk of its abdomen hanging from the web it had been attached to. The trooper that had nearly been snatched was covered in smaller bits of spider and blue-green blood. He blew out a breath he'd been holding and nodded in thanks to the Master Sergeant. Ianar gave a quick nod in return before motioning for the squad to continue forward.

"All squads report, who's shooting, over?" First Lieutenant Brin called over the comms.

"That was us, sir. We had a little spider trouble, over," Swan replied as the squad continued towards the outpost's construction site.

"Any casualties, over?"

"No sir. We are still fully combat-effective and are proceeding to mission site, over."

"Keep your heads on a swivel, troopers. It won't just be the spiders that are out for our blood out here. Treat any hostile wildlife with extreme prejudice, understood, over?"

"Wilco, out," Swan answered before his hand went back down to the barrel of his E-11.

"Objective is two klicks out, people. We need to pick up the pace so we can reach them with as minimal contact with any hostile forces as possible, clear?" Ianar said through the comm, not wanting to further alert the wildlife to their position.

After getting affirmatives from the rest of his squad, they picked up the pace just as the First Lieutenant came over the net and told all squads to do the same.


Zumen Pista (Resident of Carne Village, Imperial Worker)

The spiders had been attacking the vehicle that Zumen had been hiding in for what felt like hours. He couldn't remember what Tray had called it; it was "All Terrain" something. Tray was also in the vehicle, but he was unconscious. One of the spiders grazed him with one of its fangs when Zumen had shot it.

Tray had enough energy to get inside and shut the hatch after Zumen scrambled in. Tray then instructed Zumen how to lock the hatch shut before succumbing to the ragged wound on his shoulder. It was a swollen with purplish veins radiating away from it now. As Zumen looked over at his friend, he just knew that if help didn't arrive soon, his friend would be dead. Every so often, he could hear his friend whimper in pain and Zumen wished he hadn't dropped his blaster outside. If he had the weapon, maybe he could shoot the spiders and get his friend to safety or a healer. The spiders had been too fast though and they needed to get inside a safe area.

It wasn't hard to get inside the vehicle, as it was practically squatting on the ground, but he'd needed both hands and hadn't put his blaster away properly in his pocket. It was most likely lying on the ground and crushed by the massive brute trying to force its way in. Another was hitting the front with its front legs, though Zumen could see that one through the strange see-through screen. He didn't understand how it was there as from the front when he and Tray had approached, the front face of the vehicle was all metal with the upper and middle portions of it being a black color. There was a strange ball at the bottom of the front face that Zumen had used to try and climb up the face, but it pivoted downward when he stepped on it.

Tray still had his blaster, but it was in the holster. This wouldn't normally be an issue. The problem was that the holster was sandwiched snugly between the middle console and Zumen didn't want to disturb his friend. It might cause the poison to act faster or something. Zumen sighed sadly as he continued to watch the spider in the front. As he watched, something started blinking on the center console. It was a button on the end of center lever's end, facing him. Curiosity overcoming him, he grabbed the lever and pressed the button down.

Something clicked and he felt the lever become more movable. He pulled back on the lever and he heard something begin to whir below him. As soon as he let go of the lever, much more noise became prominent. On one side, he heard things start to beep and blink as a voice erupted from the center console.

"Is anyone on this channel, over?" the voice asked in a demanding tone as Tray woke up.

"Wha? How did… forget it. Press that button in the center," Tray ordered hoarsely as he pointed at said button.

Zumen did as he was asked, and the voice cut out. Static replaced it and Tray leaned forward and spoke into the static.

"This is Tray Carver, does anyone read, over?" he said before coughing up a little blood.

"Carver, this is Corporal Swan. Keep this comm channel open so we can coordinate our strategy, over," the voice, a man named Corporal Swan, replied.

"Corporal Swan, this is Captain Optir. It's good to hear your voice. How close are the reinforcements, over?" another voice asked through the 'comm channel'.

"About fifteen minutes out. We're coming in from the west side, over."

"Be advised, there is a large contingent of spiders in that direction, over."

"West? I think we're (cough) in that general area. We're stuck inside an AT-CT and being attacked by a pair of really big spiders, over," Tray said into the conversation.

Zumen couldn't follow along much after that as the conversation grew too fast. As they continued, the spider in front of them seemed to get angrier. Its eyes seemed to turn from the black they had been to a glowing orange-red hue as it rushed forward and got into a biting position. He shouted at Tray as the spider lunged forward. The attack never landed, however.

A beam shot forth from the strange sphere below the front of the vehicle as it started to move. It started to rise, knocking the other spider off-balance and onto its back. Tray turned to Zumen and started giving him a short tutorial on how to operate the All Terrain Construction Transport. Once Tray was finished, he drifted into unconsciousness again. Zumen looked over everything that was in his space, from the console in front of him to the "side stick" on his right. He decided to keep the giant spider that had been trapped within the strange invisible bubble projected by the sphere below him and Tray as he turned the head of the vehicle to face the wildly squirming spider behind him. It was still on its back but was slowly turning on its side so that it could flip itself back onto its feet.

Zumen didn't give it a chance and, remembering Tray's quick lesson, used the side stick to maneuver one of the vehicle's feet over the spider before stomping that foot down. The spider squealed as it was crushed, two of its legs separating from its body as the foot of the vehicle was caked in blue-green blood and giant spider viscera. He grinned in excitement as he started to move the vehicle further towards the west to clear the way by using the vehicle as a spider stomper. Once he met the rescue team he might be able to save his first Imperial friend.


Ivax Optir (Captain, 4th Infantry Division)

"Damn it," Optir muttered as the walker's comms cut out.

He removed his helmet and wiped off the sweat that had accumulated there. The HQ tent was extremely warm as the amount of people inside raised the ambient temperature along with the humidity. The other troopers with him had taken off their Field Armor as well their gloves and helmet to try and cool off. If they could, they would have opened a door to let some of the heat out, but the spiders were still trying to make their way in.

"Sir?" Akuyun asked quietly as he offered Optir a canteen.

"Thank you. Reinforcements are on the way, in case you didn't hear," he explained.

"Mm. We have an ETA for them?" Akuyun asked as he took out a pocket handkerchief and dabbed away his own sweat.

"Twenty minutes. They're coming in from the west, possibly from where the pair of AT-CTs we have are."

"And what of the spiders over there?"

"I know that at least two were preoccupied with one of the AT-CTs. A pair of workers, Pista and Carver, apparently climbed into the walker for protection. I just lost contact with them. Carver told me he was scratched deep enough by a spider's fangs to be dosed by the venom the spiders apparently have. Is it surprising that I'm not surprised that the spiders here have venom?"

"Not really sir. I read somewhere that most in our old galaxy had venom. Also, just because we've lost contact doesn't mean they're dead. Pista is one of the locals we hired, so he might not know how to work our tech completely."

"You may have a point, but best not to get my hopes up."

"Yes, I suppose you have a point there. Emperor knows how many these bastards have already eaten."

"Sirs?" one of the other troopers asked interrupting the two.

"Yes, trooper?" Optir replied with his own question as he and Akuyun turned to him.

"Want a bit of advice?" he asked again as he lit his third or fourth cigarette, Optir didn't really know.

"…Oh, what the Hell, why not? Couldn't hurt," Optir replied, the situation having degraded any sense of Imperial military doctrine in his mind.

"Look, the situation is bad, yes. That doesn't mean you should just give up. The reinforcements are on their way and when they get here, they'll help us fight these freaks off."

"You're an optimistic fellow, aren't you, trooper?" Akuyun asked with a small smile, one of his rarer facial expressions.

"Flint, sir, and I wouldn't say I'm an optimist. I consider myself a realist."

"A realist?"

"Well, yes. When our reinforcements arrive, it'll be a cakewalk dealing with these spiders."

"I suppose that is a rather fair assessment of what will happen, yes."

"Oi Flint, quit bothering the officers. You're supposed to be keeping an eye out," a trooper reprimanded, his rank insignia labelling him as a Corporal.

"Yes Corporal," Flint replied as he turned back towards the tent walls.

Optir watched Flint for a few seconds before giving a quiet chuckle and pulling out the chair that Okan had brought over. When Optir asked about it, Okan stated that they might not get a lot of contact from the comm equipment so it would be better to sit rather than stand. Sitting meant resting and would help with the pain in the Captain's leg. Optir hated when the Sergeant brought that up. It was a horrible reminder of the past that he hadn't needed.

It was an injury he sustained during the Kwymar Suppressions. During one of the final battles of that campaign, he and his original squad were clearing out one of the Rebel bases that had been discovered on Telos IV. During the battle, he'd had the lower part of his right leg blasted apart by an exploding Z-95 Headhunter. His leg was so mangled that he'd lost everything under his kneecap. Not only that but the explosion also ruptured his ear drum and had concussed him. He looked around the battle, his vision blurry, to find his squad but he already knew that almost half were dead or wounded. They'd been clustered around the Z-95 when it blew.

Hours after the battle, Akuyun had told him that only himself, Okan, and Optir were the only survivors. The others were either killed by the Z-95 explosion, had bled out, or were shot by Rebel fighters. The weeks in the field hospital seemed to pass him by after that news. When he and his surviving men returned to the fleet, he'd fully become a shadow of himself. His men had noticed and kept an eye on him until they were granted a furlough. When that furlough came, his men began taking him to a therapist to get help. It helped… a little.

Optir still had nightmares and could feel his missing leg sometimes, even though the prosthetic was there. The nightmares would become so terrible that he would contemplate simply ending it. He'd stared down at his blaster countless times in the dark that he was able to find the kill setting. He never talked about it to his men, and when an opportunity to see or do something different had presented itself, he took it. Now here he was, being hunted by giant man-eating spiders and their smaller brethren, stuck in an HQ tent in the middle of some kriffing forest.

"Captain?" Okan asked as he came up to Optir.

"Hm?"

"We've just received word from some of the workers trapped on the west side. They're saying someone's taken control of an AT-CT and is trying to crush the spiders underfoot. They're also reporting that it's carrying one of the spiders in a tractor beam projection."

"What? Are they positive?"

"Yes sir."

"Try and get contact with the pilot of that walker, we need him to watch out for friendlies."

"Yes sir."


CT-1871/1010451 "Burner" (Sergeant First Class, Stormtrooper)

"Wolves incoming on the left, keep 'em back!" Burner said as he shot one back with his DC-15S.

He and CT-729448, "Voltage", plus their squads were to be the vanguard of the rescue effort. This meant that they were the ones who got hammered by the local animals while the Army troops followed from behind. The reason his CO and the rest of the troopers weren't with them was due to them being rerouted at the last second to defend Carne Village from any possible attackers. The higher-ups didn't know if the attack was a diversion for something greater or not. It wasn't a difficult job dealing with them, but it got boring after a while. No real challenge in killing enemies that just charged at you with their natural weapons. His and his men's armor was animal-proof, after all.

They'd spent the last ten minutes in the forest taking out spiders, wolves, crazed deer, etc. Occasionally, the two creatures from Nazarick helped out, usually the girl in the boy getup with her whip. The Grand Admiral had mentioned what the creatures' species were called, as mentioned to him by Gown, but Burner hadn't really paid attention. All he really cared about was if they were an asset to the Imperial cause, in this case being the rescue of Imperial personnel.

Burner considered himself and his squad as Imperial patriots, but others believed they were fanatics in their devotion to the Galactic Empire. Most of his brothers in the Basilisk's Stormtrooper contingent held that opinion. They were loyal as well, but they weren't so blind as to believe the Empire was a benevolent force in the galaxy. They knew there were more sides to the galaxy they just didn't care to learn about them.

Another wolf lunged at him from behind the one he shot down and was promptly smacked down by the Nazarick girl's whip. The ground was slightly cratered from the impact as the end of the girl's whip was whisked back, blood visible and dripping off. He glanced back at her, lowering his blaster, and saw her give a confident smirk back. He laughed underneath his helmet as he turned towards the western edge of the construction site. It'd still be at least five or six minutes before they truly arrived in the construction site proper.

He could already hear something causing a lot of noise at the construction site, but he couldn't quite make it out. It did sound very familiar though. He looked around as he started forwards again, checking for more incoming animals. The wolves had backed off after they'd lost about ten of their number. They were still following him and his squad, but Burner didn't care. When they reached the Electro Wire the wolves wouldn't be able to follow without getting zapped to death.

"Sergeant Burner, do you hear that?" a voice asked from the squad behind him.

"I do, but I don't know what it is. Be prepared for anything, brothers," he informed his squad, gesturing towards the now in-sight construction site.

His squad nodded, replacing their half-empty power packs with fresher ones, as they got closer and closer. The noise grew louder as they approached until the source came crashing into view.

"What the?" Aura asked from Burner's right, puzzled, as she watched the AT-CT in front of them flail about.

The walker's legs were covered in blue-green blood while it held one of the giant spiders aloft. It was wildly chasing another spider, taking large enough steps that one misstep would cause it to come crashing down to the ground. It clipped the large spider fleeing from it with one stomp and severed three of the spiders legs. It crashed down to the ground with a screech before Burner and his men opened fire. The sound of the blaster fire stopped the walker before it turned to face them.

The canopy hatch banged on the back of the walker's top as it was pushed open. A figure in a worker's jumpsuit popped his head out to look down at the rescue vanguard. It was a pale young man with light brown hair and dark eyes, impossible to tell the color due to the distance between them. It became obvious that he was one of the locals quickly, as his accent gave him away. Most of the people from Carne spoke Basic with an accent.

"Are you lot wit' the rescue team?" the man asked down at them, giving quick glances to the canopy above.

"Yeah. I'm Sergeant First Class Burner, and you are?" Burner replied as he motioned for his men to watch the perimeter.

"Zumen Pista."

"Well, Zumen, care to explain the walker?"

"The what?"

"The thing you're killing spiders with?"

"Ah, I was comin' to meet the rescue team. My friend got bit by one of them bastards. He's knocked out and I don' know how long he'll stay in the land of the livin'."

"We don't have any medics up here. They'll most likely be with the Army platoon behind us."

"Alright, I'll head over and see if I can get him treated, then. Good luck!"

The walker sped off, the spider inside the tractor beam still thrashing to escape. Fat chance that was going to happen though. Burner yelled for his men to form up as Voltage and his squad showed up. The two didn't need to coordinate as both squads charged into the construction site. They knew their objectives.

Seven minutes after Voltage had arrived, the rest of the platoon minus a pair of medics and three other troopers, entered the site. The spiders made an effort to greet their new guests but were beaten back with overwhelming firepower and better tactics. The spider waves melted even further when the site survivors made their move. In nearly two hours, the spider attack was decimated, and the remaining spiders pushed back into the Carne Forest.

Once the spiders had been pushed back, the Stormtroopers and the two Nazaricki tried to hunt down the mastermind behind the attack, based on info given to them by the Grand Admiral and lord Ainz Ooal Gown. It was to no avail. While the Stormtroopers came back with dampened spirits, they were still proud of the fact that they accomplished their main mission. After setting a few squads of Army troopers to stand guard, the evacuation of the construction site began.


Aftermath of Carne Forest Rescue Operation

The operation was executed at 1500 hours, 29:12:21 GrS, under the command of First Lieutenant Brin of Imperial Army Group 18, 4th Infantry Division, 2nd Company, 1st Platoon and Sergeant First Class CT-1871/1010451 of the Imperial 897th Stormtrooper Legion. Over forty-two percent of the original workers and Army troops were rescued, with the other fifty-eight percent being M.I.A or K.I.A. Secondary objective of finding and eliminating the mastermind of the attack unsuccessful. No trace could be identified sufficiently enough. Squadrons two and four, led by Sergeant First Class CT-1871/1010451 and his second-in-command Corporal CT-729448 are willing to stay onsite and continue the mission. Affirmation or denial of this request is unavailable at time of writing.

Imperial Casualties: 174 (Including M.I.A.)

Enemy Casualties: ~400 (Including smaller variants)

Result: Overall Imperial Victory. Secondary objective not achieved, as was expected. Orders to follow regarding secondary objective.


Onboard the Imperial Super Star-Destroyer, Basilisk, Officers' Conference Room

"Gentlemen and women," I began, fingers interlaced in front of my face as my elbows rested on the table, "it seems I have erred and gotten many of our men killed for naught."

"Sir, there's no way we could have known about the spiders when we began construction," the Foreman in charge of construction, a man named Kynar, said morosely.

"Yes, you can't blame yourself for what happened, Admiral. It'd be foolish," Cyrus said as he gestured at the after-action report that had been created in the wake of the operation.

"Grand Admiral, this would have happened to anyone," Shara stated with finality, staring me down.

"I know, but I feel it is my fault. I wanted to keep us hidden in the forest surrounding Carne."

"Keeping us hidden until we're ready to reveal ourselves to the New World is a sound plan, sir, since we're only a small force. We've yet to begin training the Carne residents to fill up our ground forces and not to mention that despite our overwhelming technological superiority, the enemy can fight us evenly with only a few magicians," Cyrus noted calmly.

"Yes, and it's not as if we can't make the area safer. Destroying the forest areas closest to the village should keep our men safe from any forces who try to use the trees to their advantage," Shara added.

"How would we go about doing that, hm? I can't send more men in there to clear the trees with axes because of the spiders, and a fire would cause a force from Re-Estize to be dispatched to check it out, most likely."

"What about Gown? Surely he has some spell that would help?" Kynar asked eagerly, the man a fanatic for the magical.

"I do not want us to depend too heavily on our allies. If we look weak, they'll destroy us and subjugate the world below. I want to rule the populace, not rape and murder them for fun."

"Sir, we won't look weak in their eyes. Think about it: our Stormtroopers were the main force that captured Carne Village back from the Slane troops and were the first ones to halt an advance of their magic casters. The Nazaricki Death Knights were barely there aside from slaughtering a few hapless knights. Gown and his woman helped with the magic casters, yes, but they only joined in when we'd whittled down their forces," Shara replied.

"That's not how it happened exactly…" I thought as I studied the table.

"All that I would suggest, sir, is that you at least suggest the idea. Maybe not outright ask Gown but see if you can spin our predicament into something that would also benefit him. That creature he mentioned earlier wasn't found in our initial search. Destroying sections of the forest might help us locate and either kill or capture the thing," Cyrus said as he pulled out a cigarette.

"Here, give me that," I said as he started to try and light the thing. Cyrus's igniter was faulty due to age, so I struck a match and lit the cigarette before I finished my thought, "You have a point General. If I can convince lord Gown that our goals would align in this endeavor, then perhaps we can avoid any possible issues later on. I may as well do it now while it's on my mind. You three are dismissed."

"Yes sir," they said quickly before standing and leaving the room.

"Geez… keeping up appearances is hard," I thought as I massaged my temples.

I waited an extra couple of seconds before activating the holoprojector. I went through the motions of contacting the Great Tomb as I opened up the voice message system. I saw that Suzuki was currently trying to keep Albedo from giving herself to him again as the two connected at the same time. How he took that calmly was beyond me… then again, he doesn't exactly have the right equipment. After a moment of silence, I decided to end the attempted love-making session by clearing my throat. Albedo heard me and quickly jumped off her master before flushing.

"G-Grand Admiral I wasn't-" she began before I held up a hand and stopped her.

"Trying to have sex with your master as usual? Of course not," I finished dryly, my expression wry.

"I assume we need to talk, Grand Admiral? Very well. Albedo? Leave us," Suzuki commanded. Albedo left swiftly and, to her credit, gracefully considering she was caught. Suzuki gestured in the direction of the door, ensuring we wouldn't be disturbed.

"I need a little help with the outpost. I was wondering if you or any of your NPCs have any spells that would clear away vegetation? I don't want to risk my men trying to cut the forest down and I also don't want to alert Re-Estize or the other governments to our presence yet."

"Yeah, Mare might be able to help with that. He's a druid so spells that deal with vegetation are kind of his thing. I'm also guessing this forest clearing idea isn't just for your outpost though, is it?"

"No, it's not. Cyrus came up with a pretty good idea I think. We simply deny the Dryad cover. It can't hide if its natural hiding spots disappear, can it?"

"Cyrus?"

"My General, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that, its been kind of hectic since Aura brought one of those giant spiders back. She's a collector, you know?"

"Yeah, I've seen her 'collection'. Hope she can tame that spider. Would make for an excellent mount."

"Actually, she fed it to Quadracile. She hates bugs."

"She hates bugs? She's a beast tamer though, isn't she? How the Hell does that make sense?"

"Don't ask me, I have no idea. Anyway, I'll see about lending you Mare. How have the Slane prisoners been coming along?"

"Fairly good. We've started getting a few who are beginning to question their loyalty to Slane. I believe they're some of the more weak-willed ones. The more fanatical have been harder to break but they are all behaving themselves. I bet the fanatics will change their tune in the future though. Religious zeal is only good to those with full bellies, after all."

"True. How many of those questioning their faith are the magic casters?"

"So far, it's only two. The others have stronger wills apparently. I'll give another day or two before I start applying more pressure."

"Good. I'm dying to learn what they know about magic. If they're using stuff from YGGDRASIL, it stands to reason they'll have the same weaknesses from the game too."

"I see! That is quite useful…" I chuckled before saying goodbye.


Carne Village, New World, Chief Henvirk Vald

Vald watched as the little Elven boy destroyed a small chunk of the forest, enjoying a cup of Caf from the few grounds that he'd traded for. He was surprised how good it actually tasted, much better than the usual Re-Estizian Tea. The tea always had a terrible aftertaste and tasted far too herbal for his liking. Caf also had an aftertaste, but it wasn't quite as bad. It was also somehow bitter enough to not taste pleasant yet not bitter enough to make him hate it. It was also very addicting.

As he watched the child, he heard the sound of an Imperial shuttle coming down and looked up to see. It was the same model that brought down the Imperial soldiers hours ago. The Empire sure was fast. They only rescued their men and spent enough time to bring in a Druid to clear the way. Can't say they aren't inefficient.

"What do you think they're doin'?" his wife, Telre, asked as he came up behind him.

"Not sure. Maybe they're tryin' to make space to start buildin' again?"

"Could be. Gods know what those spiders did to them in there. This is the first time they've attacked in years, right?"

"Yes, the last time we had issues wit' them was when me grandfather was a lad."

"Hm. Think they'll come after us next?"

"I doubt tha', Telre. We've always been able to hold our own."

"True."

"Still… maybe we ought to share some of what we know wit' tha' Imperial officer. His name was Sarkley, right?"

"Yes."

"You know, I still don't get why they sent tha' man here. Those black-armored Stormtroopers were bad enough when they showed up. We didn't need 'em to keep us in line."

"It was only a precaution, husband mine."

"Yes, I know it was, but it still bugs me tha' they don't trust us."

"Things are different where they come from, remember? The Grand Admiral explained it during the treaty talk."

"I know. Still rubs me wrong, though."

"In time I'm sure that'll change. Besides, those troopers aren't so bad when you get to know them. Enri and Nemu seem to have already struck a chord with them."

"Is tha' so?"

"Yes. They've even started showing her how to work a blaster."

"Tha's quite surprising. I thought Enri was meeker than tha'."

"To be fair, husband, her mother and father were murdered while she could only watch."

"Ah yes…"

"I know. It keeps happening to me too. I expect our son to come running out from our neighbors home until I remember."

"Damn the Slane Theocracy."

"Damn them to the deepest pit of Hell."

"We can only hope tha' he and the others are able to rest easy."

"Yes. Anyway, would you care to dine with me, husband mine?"

"Of course, wife mine," Henvirk said softly before kissing her and following her inside.


Carne Forest, New World, Unknown

The presence stared in rage as the little Druid destroyed its home bit by bit while the Humans from elsewhere began setting their monstrous machines up again. It reached out, using its magics to enrage the spiders, wolves, any wildlife that could feel anger. It wasn't going to send its forces against them immediately, however. The elsewhere Humans were too powerful for it, with their thunder weapons and lightning webs that came out of the ground. It winced as it felt the plodding steps of one of the big machines making its way through the forest.

It knew now that it would need more than just the wolves and spiders to take that abomination down, and so it began to dig deeper and deeper into its magics. It began searching for the perfect creature that could destroy it without harming itself. It searched far and wide for several minutes until it found its champion. It was a large and ancient creature that had not walked the forest in centuries. The last time it had walked was when the other Humans from elsewhere ruled the majority of the world. It still felt the pain and madness that was inflicted upon it by the master of the other elsewhere Humans.

These elsewhere Humans wore similar colors and had already taken over its village that it had protected from the other elsewhere Humans long ago. It would have helped defend the village again if it hadn't been shackled by the scarred blonde Human. The Human's magics were far stronger than it, and it had been cast into a tree for days before emerging and seeing the outline of a massive floating metal creation with its enhanced vision. It snarled in anger as it made strange noises at it and had attempted to destroy it with its magics. It failed to do so, as it was still weak from its reemergence.

It was of no matter now. It was strong once again, and it would make sure that its village would be freed from the elsewhere Humans. Not even the elsewhere Humans, with their strange magics and swords of red light would stop it this time. It would have revenge, not only for the village and itself, but to its own village within the forest.

"Oh yEs… sOOn My bRoTHeRs aNd sISsters IN SlaVerY… sO VerY SoON…" it thought to itself before it began to cry and laugh softly.


Author's note

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. As I said, life got in the way of it all. For those confused by the date in the AAR, Star Wars dates use year-month-day with the year being since time was restructured (for example, Episode 1 takes place in Year 3 in the Legends timeline). By the way, since it's never explicitly stated when YGGDRASIL shut down, I decided to make it the day and month Star Wars Galaxies servers were shut down: December 15th. Please review, as I can't improve if I don't have criticism or comments. The Next Chapter will definitely be out by August 12th.