EPISODE I
Chapter 1: Five Years Later

More than 5 years after the attack on the Angelion, the Yuuzhan Vong's war and conquest of the galaxy came to an end. Over the course of the war, many worlds were devastated by the extragalactic alien race, and trillions of lives were lost, including many heroes of the New Republic. The New Republic was dissolved and the Galactic Alliance was formed from its ashes. Despite the hardships, the Alliance emerged victorious and the Yuuzhan Vong eventually retreated from the galaxy.

Now the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order are at work repairing the damage from the war, including the establishment of planetary restoration projects and the relocation of several species to new homeworlds. However, because of the catastrophic results of the war, some groups are losing confidence in both the Alliance and the Jedi.

On Acropolis Station, a large planetary restoration facility in orbit over the war-torn planet of Ithor, a small group of Jedi Knights, including Master Luke Skywalker and the recently knighted Zolph Vaelor and Dynn Manthis, must now deal with a terrorist threat against the station from a group that Zolph has not seen for 5 years…


Outside Ithor, the Obliterator-class Star Destroyer, Conqueror, fired its main cannon on Acropolis Station, releasing a large ball of plasma at it.
From inside the station's conference room, the hit could be felt as it rocked the station.

"Oh, for the love of the Force! It's only been a few months since the end of the last war!" complained Zolph, now 18 years old and with his hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Well, no one said this galaxy was the most peaceful place in the universe. And as far as galactic history is concerned, we're always dealing with one war after another" replied a red-haired woman with green eyes and roughly Zolph's age.

Zolph then replied back in a sarcastic tone, "Thanks for pointing that out, Dynn." He then regained his composure.

"Enough witty banter, you two" spoke the station's administrator. "We need you and Master Skywalker to deal with this attack since the Alliance fleet is nowhere close to the system. If this attack isn't stopped, not only does everyone on the station die, but Ithor is going to remain uninhabitable for many more years."

"You don't need to point that out," Zolph replied and then looked to Luke. "So, Skywalker, do you have a battle plan?"

Luke activated the conference room's holoprojector, displaying a model of the planet, the station and the attacking vessel. "Zolph, you're going to take one of the ships on the station and take out the vessel from the inside. The plasma shots don't seem to be doing that much damage to the station thanks to the shield generators, but the enemy may send some reinforcements down here to take them out faster. Dynn's job will be to protect the generators. I'll remain here to keep you up to date on the situation."

"Wait, wouldn't it make more sense to send Dynn up there?" Zolph asked. "She's a better pilot."

"I also want to train your piloting skills, Zolph, especially after that one training mission during the last war."

"Oh come on! I thought I told you that was because…"

Dynn interrupted as she put her hand on Zolph's shoulder. "Besides, practice makes perfect. You'll get better if you do crazier stuff with the things you fly."

Zolph sighed. "Fine. I'll go to one of the hangars now." He then exited the conference room.


As Zolph made his way through one of Acropolis's residential blocks, one of the automated doors blew open. Out of the door came a bunch of soldiers wearing gray and black armor from head to toe, not too unlike Imperial Stormtroopers. As they began to open fire on Zolph, he immediately recognized them: they were Valkoran troopers.

"Master Skywalker," Zolph answered into his comlink, "I recognize that armor. These are the same types of soldiers that attacked the Angelion five years ago."

"We'll talk about it after this is over," Luke answered back, "but it's interesting to see a group this well-organized and technologically advanced. You may have not seen much action during the recently-ended war, but a few simple armed soldiers shouldn't be much of a problem for you compared to the Yuuzhan Vong warriors we had to deal with."

"I thought the same." A few blaster shots passed by Zolph, slightly singeing his clothing. "However, I don't think these guys are exactly the Stormtroopers you Rebellion vets talk so much about."

Zolph ignited his lightsaber, the same one used by his father five years ago, and deflected a few blaster shots, sending them right back to the troopers who fired them. He then cut down the rest of the troopers and moved forward.


Zolph eventually made it to one hangar, but he found all the ships in it wrecked and unflyable, and several more Valkoran troopers, some armed with blasters and rocket launchers, and automated sentry guns placed by engineers wearing welding visor-like helmets. They opened fire and Zolph immediately retreated.

"I've got bad news," Zolph spoke into his comlink to alert his allies. "These guys are doing a good job at predicting what we might do. Any other hangars that have usable ships?"

"There is another one close to your location," spoke the station's administrator, "but you must act quickly."

"Way ahead of you," Zolph responded and then ended the transmission as he made his way to that hangar.


"Finally! Something I can fly!" Zolph said in relief as he entered the hangar and saw some starships.

However, an enemy landing barge put itself halfway through the entry force field and fired on the remaining ships soon after.

"Dammit!" Zolph yelled in frustration. But he realized he had another option: use one of the Valkoran dropships to get onto the flagship. Before he could initiate his plan, the front doors of the barge opened and out of it came a large bipedal machine similar in design to an Imperial AT-ST.

Zolph told to himself in annoyance, "Do these guys have any tech that doesn't make them look like Galactic Empire wannabes?"

The AT-ST-like machine, a Gundark-class walker, then fired a shot of super-heated plasma from the railgun on its right. Zolph quickly dodged the shot, leaving a hot scorch on the hangar floor.

"Okay, so there's an upgrade over the source design." Zolph then dodged the blaster shots from its 'mouth' cannon. The walker then fired some missiles from the launcher on its left side.

Zolph used the Force to repel the missiles back at the walker, blowing off both of its side weapons. He then used the Force to pick up one of the wrecked ships and throw it toward the walker's legs, tripping it and causing it to fall over on its side, rendering it immobile.

"Okay, that takes care of that guy, but when does the next ship come in?" Another Behemoth-class landing barge entered the hangar soon after, releasing a squad of troopers.

"Now, I can start Plan B." Zolph then dashed into the ship's main doors as they closed while dodging blaster fire.

Now in the dropship, Zolph quickly fought off the crew and took over the vessel. "It isn't exactly the type of ship I'm used to flying, but it'll have to do." The ship lifted off and then headed back to the Conqueror to allegedly pick up more reinforcements.


Zolph flew the dropship into the Conqueror's hangar on its underside. In the hangar, the ship was greeted with a party of more soldiers. Zolph exited out of the dropship's main doors, to which the Valkoran soldiers were immediately alerted to his presence and opened fire on him. This did little to stop him, as he quickly dispatched everyone in the hangar.

He then spoke into his comlink, "Alright, I've made it. So Dynn, how's it holding down there?"

Dynn replied, "They haven't landed a single hit on the generator yet, but the shields themselves are almost finished. So please hurry up."

"Very well." But then he noticed that the door that would lead right towards the command bridge was magnetically sealed. Melting it down with his lightsaber was not an option either. "But unfortunately, I'm going to be delayed a few minutes longer." Zolph then ended the transmission.

Zolph made his way toward a door that would lead towards the bow.


Moving forward, he saw one of the corridors leading into a large area, and a trooper that seemingly lost his way on the ship. The trooper ran towards the corridor Zolph is in, but then a force field activated before he could get into it. He banged on it desperately as if something bad was going to happen, but then he noticed Zolph and spoke to him.

"Hey kid, have we met before?"

"I don't think I have, especially considering you guys are all armored head-to-toe," Zolph answered.

"The name is Helms. Private Will Helms. I think I remember you from five years ago…oh yeah, you were that kid that snuck up on me and knocked me in a pond on Yavin IV!"

"Okay, so you can swim in that armor…"

The trooper then replied in a flat tone, "I drowned."

Zolph's expression changed to one of utter confusion. "Wait, if you died, then how are you…?"

Before Zolph could finish his question, Private Helms was yanked back and sent flying to side by an unseen force screaming, "Not again!" Then a large ball of superheated plasma flew from the other side of the room in the trooper's direction, inevitably incinerating him. He found himself in the plasma cannon's firing tunnel.

Zolph spoke to himself "Okay, it's weird enough meeting a man who claims he's died before, but WHO THE HELL BUILDS A STARSHIP WITH CORRIDORS LEADING RIGHT INTO A FIRING TUNNEL?!"

"Oh well, it looks like I've found a way to get to the bridge, and in the process, I can eliminate the cannon itself." The force field deactivated and Zolph made his way toward the firing room, quickly taking shelter in every one minute between firing sessions.

He eventually made it to the control station behind the plasma generation dynamo, and addressed the firing crew when they noticed him, "I'd like to ask, how in space is this ship safe to navigate through?" The crew only answered by firing at him.

Zolph quickly eliminated them and then destroyed the controls for the plasma cannon. He then spoke into his comlink, "Alright, I've taken care of the plasma cannon, so you've got one less trouble to worry about now."

"Good work," Luke complimented Zolph, "but that's not going to stop them from simply using their turbolaser batteries."

And then Dynn chipped in, "Besides, some parts of the station have already been destroyed without the shield going out, so get to the command bridge."

"Alright, I'm close to it now, so the rest will be over soon" Zolph ended the transmission and made his way to the command bridge.


Zolph eventually found himself outside the door to the command bridge. Once he opened the door he found a squad of troopers and the head of the vessel, a middle-aged but well-toned admiral with a scar under his left eye and wearing a black officer uniform.

"I figured you'd make it here, even if I had to make you go through the firing tunnel" the admiral replied.

"You're not even bugged about the ship's interior design?" Zolph responded in annoyance.

"It keeps annoying brats like you away from me, but you're clearly an exception."

"Anyway, I'm here…."

"To stop me from blowing up Acropolis Station. I've heard it before," the admiral interrupted in an unimpressed tone. "But before we get to that stuff, allow me to introduce myself. I am Marx Gravlek, a high ranking admiral in the Valkoran Navy. And we've come here to get your attention."

"You've definitely succeeded, because I remember you guys. You were involved in the attack both my parents died in five years ago."

"I take it you are Zolph Vaelor? My boss is very interested in finding you."

"Well, I'm standing right here. And your boss can come find me himself." Zolph then activated his lightsaber.

"It looks like we're going to get messy here." The Admiral then descended on a small elevator right below him. The troopers then opened fire on Zolph.

"Typical. As soon as he finds himself face to face with a Jedi, he retreats to let his men do the dirty work." Zolph then threw his lightsaber, killing all the troopers on the bridge in one throw. "Now where did the bastard go?"

Immediately, the platform the Admiral was standing on opened and out of it rose a bulky suit of powered battle armor, with the right arm sporting a concussion blaster for a forearm and two repeating blasters below it, and the left arm a large claw. The suit raised its right arm and the concussion blaster fired, emitting a distinct shriek as it did so. The shot fired flew towards Zolph at a fast speed, hitting him and sending him against the wall.

The armor then spoke. It was the Admiral. "You didn't think I was running away, did you? Even I've got to prepare when fighting Jedi, so you can think of those troops as a warm-up exercise. Now, we battle for real, Jedi!"

The Admiral moved slowly as he fired his repeating blasters at Zolph. As Zolph deflected the shots, he realized some design flaws with the suit: aside from no running speed, the suit did not have a neck, meaning the Admiral had limited peripheral vision.

He leaped over the Admiral to attack from behind, but he reacted with a well-timed claw grab at Zolph's torso. While in Gravlek's grasp, he then noticed two multi-eyed optical receptors on his shoulders, making up for the obvious design flaw. The Admiral then threw Zolph to the other side of the room.

"That's some good design there," Zolph replied as he got back on his legs, "but still somewhat flawed. However, what you probably didn't predict is that a lightsaber isn't the only tool I use." Zolph then pulled out a blaster pistol from the holster strapped on his right leg.

The Admiral then reacted by firing another concussion blast at Zolph, who reacted this time by redirecting the blast back at him. The armored man's aim was thrown off from the hit, in which Zolph took the time to shoot off his shoulder-mounted optical sensors, making him more vulnerable to back attacks.

"I also use bombs." Zolph then threw a smoke bomb, shrouding the area. Using the smoke as a cloak, he then tried to make a back attack on the Admiral, who then reacted the same as before: by quickly grabbing him at the torso.

Instead of throwing Zolph this time, he held him up above the floor and complimented him. "Very impressive, Vaelor. But I can still hear you, and your combat expertise is still in need of improvement. Right now, I could easily crush your ribcage, but my boss doesn't want you dead, so I'll settle for incapacitating you for delivery instead."

Zolph smiled smugly. "You just made a bad move."

"What?"

Zolph then reactivated his lightsaber and quickly severed the Admiral's left arm, freeing himself from his grasp. The Admiral then raised his right arm in an attempt to fire, but it was immediately severed as well, followed by his legs, to which he then fell down on his back. "You left my arms free while you taunted me," Zolph answered.

"That was very well done, Vaelor. I can see why Commander Maesterus is interested in you. However, I've got one more surprise for you."

"What surprise? I cut off all of your…."

An explosion from outside then interrupted him, followed by an automated intercom announcement. "Engines offline."

"WHAT?!" Zolph yelled in shock.

"There were some charges that react to my vitals placed on the engines. Because you cut off all my limbs, you not only unwittingly activated them, but you also sent the Conqueror on a collision course with Acropolis Station."

"Who the hell would make technology like that? And how does an engine explosion propel….you know what, forget that last one. I shouldn't bother questioning the laws of physics if they break all the time."

"Get out while you can. You will pass this last test when you stop the collision course."

"Alright, but I'm taking you with me."

"Sorry, the Admiral's got to go down with the ship too. Besides, you don't want a limbless man in a heavy suit hindering your escape, do you?"

"Alright," Zolph said with an annoyed sigh, "you can stay here and die." Zolph then made his escape.


As Zolph made his way away from the command bridge and to the hangar, he spoke into his comlink. "Team, I've succeeded in disabling the ship, but I kinda screwed up…again."

"Yeah, we figured as much." Dynn chimed in. "We saw the engines exploding from down here and the ship heading toward us."

"Okay, so can you and Master Skywalker stop the ship's collision course?"

"That'll take a lot of focus for him."

"How about redirecting it towards the planet's surface? It shouldn't cause too much trouble for an already dead world."

"He's already ahead of you."

"Thank the stars!" Zolph said in relief. "I'd hate for us to be listed as war criminals for this."

"Same here, now just get out of there." The comlink transmission then ended.


Zolph eventually made it to the hangar, however, this time faster than getting to the bridge from there now that the door was unlocked.

Zolph got in one of the remaining ships, a Firaxa-class starfighter, which had a two-piece hatch on the cockpit and stabilizers forming a claw shape.

As Zolph got ready to take off, he told to himself, "Come on, physics, don't fail me now," in response to the unpredictable nature of the universe. He then flew the fighter out of the hangar and towards Acropolis Station while the Conqueror drifted towards Ithor's scarred surface.


In Acropolis Station's conference room, the station administrator commended the three Jedi on a job well done.

"Unfortunately," the administrator continued, "the station was so badly damaged during the attack that it will be unusable for many years. The Ithorians are going to need to find a new homeworld in the meantime."

"And now we're at war with the Valkoran," Zolph replied. "We need to have the Alliance military prepared to battle these guys, and I get the feeling that our new academy on Ossus will be one of their next targets. I know from Admiral Gravlek that this terrorist attack was to get our attention, but what are their ultimate motives?"