Author's Notes, Disclaimers, and Attributions:
This ongoing tale is an attempt to combine all eight of the class stories from Star Wars: The Old Republic into a single narrative. I am doing this without particular regard for official canon or timelines – My goal is not to create a definitive article, but simply to fashion the best overarching story I can from the parts Bioware already created.
Though I have endeavored not to directly transcribe anything from Wookiepiedia, this work remains indebted to that site for background lore referenced within the story. Further, much material is directly re-used from Star Wars: The Old Republic and its ancillary material. That said, I will not bind myself to either the "correct lore" or the exact characters and events of the game if it conflicts with what I regard as the best direction for my story.
There won't be any particular schedule for updates, as this project is being done "for fun" around other work and projects. Each update, when it is posted, will be treated as if it was an "episode" of an ongoing series – When an update appears, it will have its own internal narrative structure, so each update will have a degree of resolution in itself.
The standard disclaimers apply: All Star Wars material is property of Walt Disney and Lucasfilm. Star Wars: The Old Republic is a property of BioWare and EA. This is all just for fun; no copyright infringement is intended.
A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…
STAR WARS
The Old Republic: Episode One
THAT WHICH IS PAST, IS PROLOGUE
It has been 300 years since the GALACTIC
REPUBLIC's victory over the evil SITH
EMPIRE, and the galaxy has enjoyed a
period of sustained peace.
With the Sith seemingly gone forever,
the Republic and the JEDI ORDER have
established a listening station, orbiting
KORRIBAN, the home world of the ancient Sith.
A black market has arisen for rare and
valuable artifacts of the ancient empire. A
resourceful young smuggler attempts an
illegal run to Korriban, to retrieve these
relics and make her fortune…
Chapter One: The Return
There is no such thing as bad luck. What we call bad luck is just the result of our own mistakes, a mating of incompetence and carelessness.
Mira's source had been incompetent, and she had been careless. If her source had been correct, then the sensors of the station would have been down for standard maintenance. She would have lifted the Siren off from Korriban without being detected. She would have been safely in hyperspace by now, en route to her buyer on Alderaan.
Her source had not been correct. That was his error, one she intended to discuss with him, at length. But she had been unprepared for the intelligence to be wrong. That had been her first mistake.
She had barely cleared the atmosphere before receiving a message, instructing her to land on the station for inspection. She tried to ignore it, pretending her audio circuits were malfunctioning. That had been her second mistake; she might have gotten away with a cursory check, but now she could count on the Siren getting a proper deep dive.
Two starfighters appeared as an escort, enforcing the station instructions. She did not make a third mistake by arguing further. If they discovered the artifacts, she might be arrested. She'd been arrested before and come back from it. No one comes back from being dead.
She had been directed to land in the station's docking bay, then to exit her ship. Now she stood, fuming helplessly as droids painstakingly catalogued every piece of cargo in her ship. So far, they had found only what she wanted them to find. The longer the search continued, however, the more certain it was that they would discover the hidden compartment.
A droid sounded an alert, and more droids rushed into her ship, followed by a Twi'lek supervisor. Mira closed her eyes in resignation. They had found the artifacts.
The approach of two Republic troopers was not a surprise. Mira was caught off-guard by their company, however. WIth the Troopers were two Jedi, a Zabrak male and a young human woman. The Zabrak introduced himself as Kao Cen Darach. The young woman was his apprentice, Satele Shan.
They escorted her to the security area, through a corridor with a clear ceiling. A few years ago, Mira would have marveled at the view of the cosmos. Now she barely registered it, focusing all her energies on protesting her innocence.
"I had no idea what was in those crates!" She summoned as much conviction as she could. The escort would ignore her, but it was good to set her story as early as possible for the tribunal. Honest, your honors. It's an old freighter, and I only purchased it two months ago – I can't be held responsible for every item in every hidey hole.
"You were smuggling Sith artifacts," Darach said flatly. He took not the slightest interest in her. Mira got the distinct impression that he was bored.
They were halfway down the corridor when Satele stopped, an expression of agony on her face. She held a hand up to her head, clearly fighting for composure.
"Satele?" Darach looked at her, clearly concerned. "What is it?"
"Darkness." She seemed to be seeing something far away, something that terrified her. "Infinite darkness." She turned to her Master, eyes wide. "It's here!"
Mira took a step back, raising her arms up. "Don't look at me," she said.
The troopers shoved her forward, but the Jedi ignored her. Darach sensed something too, now. He and his apprentice turned as one, looking up at the view of space.
Space that was abruptly filled as enormous warships dropped out of hyperspace. Ships Mira instantly recognized from holos in her history classes. They were Sith capital ships. Enormous vessels that were monuments to destruction. Vessels that should no longer exist.
"Impossible," Darach whispered.
A swarm of fighters surrounded the huge ships. It was these that descended on the monitoring station, like locusts on a field. The walls and floor shook under the initial wave of fire.
Darach recovered his composure quickly. "The Sith Empire," he announced. He turned to the Republic Troopers. "We must warn the Republic. Immediately!"
A trooper said something into his earpiece. He frowned, looked at Darach. "I can't raise anyone. Communications are down."
That made sense, Mira reflected. If she was in charge of the assault, she would target communications on the first wave. Once there was no way for the station to call for help…
Her stomach lurched as she realized the logical conclusion.
The Sith fighters danced in the sky, gathering for a second assault. This one would be much worse.
"Our ships can't outrun those fighters," the trooper said gravely.
Mira could hear the fear in his voice. That was what prompted her to speak up.
"My ship can," she said, forcing a confidence she did not feel. "Get me at the controls, and I can get you out of here."
They raced back to the launch bay, even as the station's PA system announced a full evacuation.
The corridor was chaos now. Metal screeched as the fighters began a second assault. An explosion from the launch bay. The Twi'lek supervisor ran, screaming, her body engulfed in flames. She made it three steps before she collapsed, making horrific animal noises. If someone had handed Mira a blaster at that moment, she would have shot the poor woman to end her suffering.
As they neared the Siren, they saw that the enemy had breached the station. Troops were racing toward them, firing wildly. One of the Republic troopers fell, while his companion continued to fire at the advancing wave.
Hopeless. Mira was but a few meters from her ship. She could cross the distance in seconds, have the freighter in the air one minute after that. It was too much distance, too much time. Her ship might as well have been in another solar system.
She picked up the fallen trooper's blaster, began firing at the advancing enemy. The other trooper was at her side. They were no longer prisoner and escort, but comrades, fighting for a few precious extra seconds of survival.
The trooper was hit, his helmet blown off. He was alive, though. Mira reached out, helped him back to his feet. They continued firing as the deadly wave advanced. At any moment, they would be overwhelmed.
Then the Jedi flew into action. A swirl of feet and legs and lightsabers. Mira couldn't begin to track their movements. They were everywhere, and wherever they were, Sith troopers cried out and fell, usually in multiple pieces.
Mira and the trooper stood, mouths agape. But there was no time to waste. The trooper ran for the controls, sealed off the docking bay from the rest of the station. Behind the bulkhead, they could hear the sounds of people crying, begging. Sounds that were silenced by additional blaster fire.
More shaking, the station's metal screaming as the fighters made another pass, apparently heedless of their own troops already on the station.
"We've got to go," Mira announced.
The group ran to the freighter. Mira's heart began racing. She was actually going to survive!
Then the Jedi stopped dead, their gazes fixed and grave. Mira followed their eyes.
An enemy ship was landing not far from them. Mira was no Jedi, but even she could sense something from inside this fighter. Like malevolence made flesh How had Satele put it? Infinite darkness.
"How long do you need to prepare your ship?" Darach asked.
"Less than a minute," she replied.
Two robed figures appeared from the enemy ship. One wore full face and body armor. The other wore no protection other than his robe, its hood gathered about his face like a death cowl. What skin Mira could glimpse was as gray as that of any corpse.
"Do it," Darach commanded. "This is our fight."
Darach and Satele moved toward the robed figures. Four lightsabers appeared, and the clash began. It was a dizzying display, the sabers' colored lights swirling in all directions, spitting with energy as they met. Satele dropped her weapon, and the corpse-like figure almost had her.
Darach threw his own lightsaber, knocking the man back just long enough for his apprentice to recover herself. The Jedi extended their hands and their blades flew back to them. "The Force" that Mira had heard so much about, but had never previously witnessed.
It took effort to pull herself from the spectacle, but she knew she had to hurry. While the trooper covered the door, Mira ran to the Siren's cockpit.
She skipped as many of the pre-flight checks as she could. The engines activated, and seconds later her ship hovered just above the floor of the docking bay.
As the ship turned toward open space, Mira again saw the battle between Jedi and Sith. It was not an even fight. Darach was holding his own, but Satele was too young, her skills unrefined. She was blown into a bulkhead by a telekinetic blast. For a second time, her Master came to her rescue, directing a blast of his own at her opponent.
Mira turned the Siren so that its entry faced the Jedi. "Come on!" she heard the trooper yell as he lay down covering fire.
Mira watched through the viewscreen as Darach took Satele's lightsaber from her hand. He said something to her, then hurled himself at both Sith. The blades in his hands lit up, arcs of color assailing the enemy. The Sith were so surprised, they actually backed away.
It was only a second's inaction, but that was enough for Satele to reach the ship. The trooper shouted that she was aboard, and Mira heard the ramp close.
"On the guns – Now!" Mira ordered.
She aimed her ship toward space. On the viewscreen, Darach continued battling the Sith. No longer burdened with Satele, his skills were remarkable. He could easily have defeated either of his opponents.
But not both of them. The Zabrak fought bravely, but Mira knew that every second he purchased was a gift that she could not afford to waste.
As soon as the Siren cleared the station, she punched the acceleration, flying straight toward the debris surrounding the planet. Fighters pursued – But to Mira's relief, both of her charges proved to be effective marksmen. Enemy fighters exploded around the freighters, while Mira spun the ship around every piece of debris she could find, keeping them alive long enough to calculate the jump to light speed.
The ship cleared the debris field, but the hyperdrive was not yet ready. The computer had one last set of numbers to crunch.
Mira spun the Siren one more time, pointing it directly at the nearest Sith capital ship, accelerating toward it as fast as she could.
"Are you crazy?" the trooper shouted from his turret.
"Keep those fighters off me!" Mira called back. "The hyperdrive's almost ready."
"Almost isn't good enough!"
Mira fired the forward guns at the turrets on the enormous Sith vessel. Her ship was too small and fast for the turrets to target, and the fighters were keeping their distance to avoid being struck by friendly fire. Just what she had counted on.
The hyperdrive lit up. Calculations complete. Mira pushed her full weight against the light speed lever, as if the additional force might get that lever into position a half second faster. Space turned into a swirl of light, and the sudden G-force pushed her back in her seat.
They were clear of the battle.
Mira let out a breath. She was suddenly exhausted as the tension left her body.
Satele appeared at her side. She looked shaken.
"Master Darach is dead," she announced. There was a depth of sadness in the words, a level of mourning Mira had never felt for anyone. She was too moved to stay silent.
"He saved you," Mira told her. "He saved us all."
Satele gave her shoulder a squeeze, a quick expression of gratitude.
"He said something to you," Mira observed. "What was it?"
"He told me… He said, 'You must walk a different path.' "
"What did he mean?"
Satele just shook her head in reply.
A cough from the hallway. The trooper had entered.
Satele gathered herself up, trying to muster some of the authority her Master had naturally possessed.
"Master Darach's final order was to warn the Republic," she said. "We must do so. We must go to Coruscant."
Mira glanced at the trooper, who nodded his agreement. She began punching in the coordinates.
"Coruscant it is," she said. "We'll send a message as soon as we're in range."
"Thank you," Satele said.
"It'll be about a ten hour flight," Mira told her. "Find some quarters, lie down. Of the three of us here, you're the one the Council might actually listen to."
Satele resisted the suggestion. "I doubt I will be able to sleep," she said.
"Bet you 100 credits you're wrong," Mira said.
Satele's face set stubbornly, as if for an argument.
"She's right," The trooper told her, his voice gentle but firm. "You need rest. We all do."
Mira gave them a wave. "Go lie down. Use any quarters but mine."
"You need sleep, too," the trooper said.
"This chair's comy enough," Mira said. "I'll nap on the way, wake you when we're in range."
The pair withdrew. Mira heard the young Jedi ask the trooper's name, but did not overhear the man's reply.
She laughed to herself for thinking of Satele as young. She doubted there was any particular difference in their ages. But her own youth had ended long ago. In the end, age didn't much matter. The universe had a way of throwing its worst at young and old alike. What mattered was how you responded – Curl up and die, or fight for your life.
Mira figured Satele for a fighter.