SHGS - Chapter Nine: Homecoming

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A/N

"Happy 2013!"

- Darklighter

"Thoughts"

"Speech"

"Abnormal sentient thoughts"

"Abnormal sentient speech"

Coruscant Spaceport

Sakura abandoned all the decorum her training at the Order had granted her, and the Jedi escort that was transferring to Corellia along with Hinata understood her completely. The Jedi were a compassionate lot at heart.

"Don't worry. It's going to be fine, really, I'll be ok," Hinata clutched at her awkwardly. Of the two she was more immersed in the ways of the Order, and there was also the fact that it was she going on the adventure, and she was the one who was excited.

"I know!" Sakura replied in a blubbery manner. She tried to compose herself, and gradually her back straightened. Her voice eased up.

"I'll miss you, and I truly wish you well," what she didn't say was that one of her last connections to home, in some ways one of her last connections to reality, was about to be torn away.

She hadn't gone out of her way to see Hinata before her transfer became apparent. They both knew this and it had been natural seeing as their talents so obviously lay in different directions, but now the impact of what they had meant to each other hit fully.

"All the best Sakura. Everything is going to go well. Mistress Pav says that Master Orton and Sasuke's last report was quite optimistic," they pressed cheeks together briefly.

The escorts had grown impatient. The engines of the simple transport began to glow dull amber.

"You'll be up there in no time. Are you really going on the Flagship?" There was a mischievous glint in Sakura's eye.

"Y-Yes," Hinata answered primly. "Coruscant likes to make an impression on the Corillean Order, and they with us. Delegations always take the Flagships.

"Still though," Sakura wanted to persist, but though the escorts found some small merriment in her teasing they ushered her friend away.

"Go well Knight Sakura," the Rodian said politely - chewing out the basic.

"Go well," she murmured as she watched Hinata board the transport. Soon Hinata was behind the Transparisteel. Her friend locked her opaque eyes on her one last time as she seated herself. She seemed to nod slightly, and she was definitely smiling.

Sakura nodded and smiled as well as the transport rose away. Everything would go well. Hinata was off for more training and Sasuke's report had been very optimistic. There were some worries still, but she was hopeful that she would soon play an active part in the fight against the Spice addiction.

As she left her steps grew more determined. Night was falling and a stiff wind blew the open space of the landing pad. There were few people about, and the city lights began to wink on. The lights were a cresting wave slowly that spread into the inky blackness miles below her position in the cloud. All the way down to the dark recesses of the planet's core – where they dimmed to ominous darkness.

That hospice will get built.

Aboard the Aventis

The brilliant beam was opaquely white, for it gained its color from the Dragon Pearl that formed its heart. Yet every other second or so there was an angry pulse that ran through the blade. Rouge orange that mirrored the brilliant sunbursts that seemed to dwell at the heart of his modified Lingan crystal.

You would have thought that Naruto felt satisfaction as he gazed at the weapon. The grip was sure in his hand. He had rubbed black paint into the furrows he had carved into the Krayt's tooth. But he was gripped with a deep sense of aimlessness.

He had not even given further instructions to the Aventis. After the forging he had been too weak to stir for a while. He had thought that he would die. The heat from the furnace had sucked the life out of him, and left him over the brink.

He supposed that was the heart of the matter. It had not been the dark side that had saved him in that moment. Not the angry hate that he had been taught to stir under Deimus's proxy.

Instead he had been called back to the land of the living by a memory. It was a memory of the sunlight streaming through the trees, and the distant thumping of kunai hitting training stumps in secluded alcoves back home - back home outside the walls where there was just him.

Naruto stood up. The motion was not obviously violent, but he shut off his Lightsaber and clenched his jaw. He almost went to throw the weapon. However he still had his iron discipline and he restrained himself.

He was too nervous to holster it. He glanced at the training pit. The thrill of the duel could sate him.

Not enough.

He strode out then. It was obvious that he had to go back. Traya had just hurdled her own trial, and Naruto knew that the freedom Deimus afforded him was illusory. He had thoroughly disrespected his direct superior - one that had been placed over him by the Deimus. If he did not act carefully the consequences would fall on his head.

In some ways the Dark Lord had shown a lot of faith in Naruto. He had played an instrumental role in the Yanibaree affair - as they were now calling Traya's coup on the General Net, and his good fortune had not come by through luck.

However by leaving Traya's side without gaining formal release he had indirectly disobeyed the Dark Lord himself...

There was a smile on Naruto's lips. His ship seemed to sense his eagerness. She lit the corridors of his approach for him, and he felt the subtle sway as she shifted her vectors.

His last command had given her free reign over most operations. Although many pilots gave strict orders to their vessels, or were limited by subpar A.I's. To do so with a War-Yacht of this caliber was suicide. Even when he was hacked in the ship could respond to threats much more capably than he - even though he was granted with the precognitive abilities of a Force user.

Three War-Yachts in tandem could fight a modern capital ship and escorts to a standstill, if their Pilots were light on the reins, and the vessels used to each other, then they were the ultimate space predators.

That was why the Chiss who had invented them - evolving the fighting craft from the renowned Chiss Claw - had remained untouchable over the centuries.

Typically they had expanded not by aggression, but by sheer dint of being better than everyone else. Their organized society was veiled behind a media blackout that would make any despot proud, but the technology behind the A.I's and sizeable vessels leaked out after about seven hundred years.

The soft lighting in the Pilot's chamber was soothing. Aventis was well used to her Master by now. Everything he encountered - from the holographic tapestries that greeted him in the dining and sleeping chambers; to the dueling opponents he faced in the pit were tailored to his specifications.

The Ship was zealous when it came to tracking his reading habits - arcane and technical, so it was no surprise that over the two week period it had taken for him to rehabilitate himself they had grown used to each other.

Now as he sat down, and her attachment cord snaked his helm down to nestle over his curly locks they both knew where they were going.

The evasive maneuvers Naruto had commanded the Aventis to undertake were child's play. What occupied her mind while she lurked in the Shadows of the Tatoo system was the search for Terra's coordinates.

This had taken a good while. Five days, twelve hours, 45 minutes, and 56 seconds give or take. Naruto had not even given her this job, but it was well within general parameters which were geared towards aiding the budding Sith Lord.

Of course she had downloaded all his memories the first time that he hacked in over a moon ago. That was a given. Knowing and observing him she could guess his moods long before he did, and this was only amplified by his being a Force user.

What Traya had taken years to accomplish he wished to do swiftly. Just as she had gained dominance on Yanibar he would also gain control over Terra. It was the only way he could stand before the Dark Lord as her equal when the time came to it.

Kami willing it came down to Saber and blade then. By that time Naruto knew that he would fancy his chances.

He settled down to wait. It felt as if Aventis shared the grin that lurked just out of sight. His arms came to rest on the pads of his command center, and his back was straight against the lean. Already lines filled his vision as the Aventis tracked every moving object within four hundred kilometers in a complex color code that he could barely comprehend.

Columns of scrolling data filled one side and he slipped into a sort of semi-conscious state. The trick of it was to let the Ship do all the work, and just go along for the ride. He needed to be aware of what was going on, and there was still space for blood and bone ingenuity, but he could not hope to process it all as she could, and would slow her down by many magnitudes it he tried to do so.

They were skipping from the Outer rim and into the Unknown Regions. It was no surprise that Terra had remained outside the reach of the Chiss Ascendancy which dominated from its ancestral homeland in the region. Despite Chiss technology and culture the Hyperspace lanes there were still treacherous, and vast swathes of it remained Unknown.

They knew however. Soon the first wavy blue lines of the first, of many, hyperspace tunnels manifested. With her thrusters purring the Aventis powered through. Her sudden de-stealthed form illuminated by the glare of her burning engines.

Coruscant underbelly

Uchiha Sasuke had never thought that his life would take the twists that it had. Ever since that fateful day when Itachi had single handedly destroyed their clan he had thought that he was destined for one thing and one thing only. He had lived and breathed thoughts of revenge.

But now here he was striding at the side of a Jedi Master - his Jedi Master.

They were dressed similarly, though Sasuke had his long black hair pulled back whilst his Master sported a crew cut, and downy facial coat.

Master Orton was not a very tall man. Sasuke already showed signs of outstripping him. But his eyes were bright, and under the soft folds of his Jedi robes he was thick compact muscle.

The only thing keeping the rapists and cut throats away from them were their dark green robes. As it was their Speeder had been stolen on the second day, and the hotel they were staying at on the lower mid-level 76 was charging them an obscene rolling rate.

The Jedi Order was doing things differently. Orton, with Sasuke's assistance, was heading a forked mission. On the one hand he was attempting to establish some kind of official contact with whoever was running the spice on Coruscant.

After the debacle in the Unknown Regions that had claimed the life of Knight Finton Stetil, and brought the three children to the academy there was no choice but to seek a compromise with the Hutts - who after losing several slaving vessels in a raid led by the Knight had become aware of his clandestine activities for the order.

There had been a dramatic upswing in the crime rate. The cut-throats seemed empowered. They were driven by fear of their Masters off-planet to such an extent that they forgot the strength of the planet's protective forces.

The backlash had affected all sides. Sasuke could not tell as he followed his Master, but these thoughts weighed heavily on the man. His shoulders drooped and his gait was not as sure. Now they were dealing with the criminals on their own terms, and in their own territory. That was the reason why they were on the walkways now surrounded on all sides by the artifact-like remnants of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of millennia ago.

Though the Order would seek some sort of truce with the Hutts they also intended to install a permanent presence in the under levels. It was about time. They planned to establish a hospice for the treatment and cure of Spice addiction right at the heart of the plague, and guard it with their vigilant sword arms and illuminating blades.

"Do you think they know?" as always the mission came first, and Sasuke stayed faithful to his duty to learn.

"It's hard to tell. We are still a while away from the rendez vous point," Orton said. He eyed the clusters of sentients. There were milling Humans and assorted species. It was hard to tell under the strafing neon and lurid darkness of the underbelly.

"It would be wise to take them on away from the scent. We do not want to endanger our salesman," Master Orton instructed.

Sasuke nodded firmly and their steps shifted subtly. The young apprentice took position slightly ahead of his Master, and as they moved through the throng they angled away from their true destination.

The tension shifted. It was easy for Sasuke to tell. It seemed to rise and draw itself into a knot as the milling tough stopped lurking in the shadows, and their numbers increased. A normal Jedi may not have noticed, but his awakened Sharingan gave him a precognitive advantage that was savant like in its intensity.

The two Tomoe in his left eye whirled briefly while the single one contained in the right remained static. It had taken a long time and many explanations. But Orton was an adaptable teacher. He had only met with Kakashi once - when the Jounin and Mexes stopped off on a rare visit almost a year ago - and afterwards had guided Sasuke into a Force trance that had recreated the parameters needed for him to access his heritage.

Sasuke winced. He did not like to think about the vision he had witnessed, facing the blond boy who had been dead-last in the class, in that alternate telling. He did not like how close the competition had been, and though he was loathe admitting it he did not like how that alternate self had turned out.

Sasuke knew that this last was because of his time with the Order. They changed you gradually. Piece by piece until you didn't recognize what you were anymore, and you did not know what they intended you to be.

But all of this is not for the moment. The tension has reached its crescendo. The surrounding mob is ready for action. Glints of hidden weapons can now be seen - the occasional vibroblade and a proliferation of blasters.

Master Orton by his side raises a single questioning eyebrow bringing a smile to Sasuke's mind. They go for their weapons casually.

"It always seems to come down to this," Sasuke commented.

"Don't worry dear apprentice," Orton smiled as three shimmering blue blades took flight. The Master had a long dueling saber gripped in each hand while his apprentice had opted to keep his green guard shoto in reserve. "One day you'll experience the thrill of boring negotiations."

They moved together. With the ease of habit Sasuke slipped into his Master's slipstream. Now that danger had shown itself the time for learning how to judge a situation was past, and Orton would take point - facing the brunt of the danger.

The criminals reacted with waves of blaster fire, and as they parried the beams panic broke out. There had been normal people in the throng. Poor people, and many of them addicts, but innocents nonetheless.

Sasuke felt his neck tense as he saw his Master's expressive eyebrows furrow. "Watch out for them," he instructed simply. Sasuke knew that he had his Master's trust completely so a reply was not necessary.

The fight was not to their favor, and as they blocked and evaded through the rapidly dispersing crowds, and occasionally sent a beam back into an attacker instead of up and away they retreated.

Orton was skilled in a modern variant of Makashi. This adaptation of Form II bolstered itself with aggressive maneuvers taken from Vaapad, and some evasive actions from Ataru, but it was still not geared for defensive play against blaster rifles - especially when they were gathered in large numbers.

Their retreat became grim. Sasuke had learned all of his saber work from his Master, and he found himself in a similar predicament. His blazing eyes darted around scrutinizing everything as they leaped away from the advancing horde. Here and there were strewn the bodies of those they had hit, and civilians that had perished. They fought on.

By this time Sasuke had activated his guard shoto. Its burning length ran in reverse down his left hand, and he held the slightly cumbersome grip surely. Master Orton was a steady presence by his side. You would not have thought that the Jedi Master was experiencing any stylistic difficulties from the way he sent the bolts back at the men - scattering them and occasionally scoring a blow - while covering the rare slips of his apprentice.

They were both fully sunk in the Force, and most of their communication was non-verbal, but Sasuke wanted to be sure he understood his Master's intentions. He had spied a few escape routes. There was one that would lead to a pull down ladder to a nearby overhang. It would probably take them through an access hatch for maintenance tunnels in the inner structure, and another that was on foot, but straight through the thickest group of killers.

Typically Orton was eyeing up the later.

"Are you really sure we should do this?" Sasuke was calm. A Transhodian broke out of the pack. His vibroblade had serrated edges that were dull from a lack of proper maintenance and care. Sasuke suppressed the urge to grimace as the beast ducked in. It wore a painted smile, but the bubbling laughter in its throat was soon cut short. His Shoto clashed against the enemy's weapon. Despite the greater power of the leathery reptile his instincts guarded his steps around.

He spun. The point of his primary saber was at the neck but he adjusted the pitch at the last instant. He sheared the weapon at the hilt cauterizing some fingers in the process. The scream came to him slow. Everything came slowly when he was fighting with full Sharingan. Everything that was except for Master Orton who still seemed to move with consummate ease during the sparring sessions they shared.

Sasuke saw approval in his Master's eyes. The Jedi had moved forward now that his apprentice was directly threatened.

"I suppose we are," some in the Order may have condemned Orton, for there was no regret in his voice as he belatedly responded to his apprentice.

Perhaps the mob sensed the change, for the constant stream of rifle fire Orton had been parrying cooled for the instant. This proved to be the groups undoing.

Orton strode forward moving in darting runs and superhuman twists. His Lightsabers began to claim wrists, and his squat frame hurtled right into the unarmored forms of their attackers.

Cries began to ring out as they began to fall back, but it was already too late. The worst was still to come. Master Orton belonged to the same school of thought as the late Finton Stetil. Actually it was a great political coup that they had retained control of the anti-spice operation after Finton's demise. They drew on Luker Skywalker's example to justify the use of so called Emerald Force Lightning in battle.

This weapon is terrifying, and many say it is too close to the dark for any Jedi to step, but Orton had held his seat on the Council for nearing a decade, and he was quietly determined to prove the worth of his sect to the Order at large.

The Transhodians, Twi'leks, Rodians, and Humans felt the full brunt of his green Lightning attack. A few scampered to safety. He did not track after them. As he bound forward Orton's only aim was to clear a path, and Sasuke sprinted full out, all attempts to attack or defend himself forgotten as he fell into his Master's wake.

It seemed as if Orton gripped crackling energy in his fists as he fought. His punches, with the grip of his sword firmly in hand, left craters in the bodies of his victims, and worse sparks of power rushed out from those crushed souls to subdue their nearby compatriots.

His azure blades were still active. The hilt and mechanisms within protected by the specialized rubber grip that he used.

Sasuke had emulated his Master, and both his weapons featured a similar bulky grip that took some adapting to. He didn't have even a quarter of Master Orton's finesse though, and for the moment he learned as he watched his Master punch out a path.'

Finally the way was clear. The criminals balked at their fallen number, although there were very few dead, this was a gang that the Hutt had paid and armed. But the strength of the enemy they faced had not been fully imprinted on the poor beings.

There was the pounding of footsteps. The surviving members of the gang went one way and they the other as they broke through and the battle was abandoned. The external noises of the city seemed to flood back into his awareness as Sasuke followed his Master.

After the combination of fighting and running the exertion was getting to him and he began to pant. He longed for their stolen Speeder.

"Do you think Vasuya sent them?" he asked.

"I don't think anything! There will be time enough for thinking when we get back to the hotel. We've just been through a fight for our lives, and there is nothing to get you going like fleeing the scene of a thousand lawsuits whilst planetary authorities are no doubt beginning to swarm!"

Sasuke let an uncharacteristic smile go. Orton had a way of bringing them out of him. "I still wish we you hadn't let our Speeder get stolen," he said.

"I can't do everything!" there was still joy and bon vivre on Orton's voice.

Terra

This was not the system he left. Naruto didn't know what obstacles Deimus had faced smuggling him off Terra. He had been unconscious at the time. But he was sure that there had not been two A.I governed orbital emplacements guarding the approach to the world, or that there would be no less than five factories churning goods out in the cold dark of space.

His fists were still clenched from the shock, and adrenaline flowed through him freely. They had almost been discovered. They had blazed into the system expecting to find it dead to technology, and had only remained stealthed because the Aventis could respond that much quicker to variables than anything else out there.

He was lucky that his luck had held because the defensive emplacements were top of the line. They were designed to hold off multiple attacking Capital Ships, and they had firing ranges that crossed the volume of systems. He couldn't even begin to understand where that kind of impetus and investment had come from, and his goals which had seemed so easily attainable were now looking out of reach.

The situation was dire and his half formed plans were obsolete.

Slowly they eased themselves into the system. Terra was a bright spot. Its denizens were nascent when it came to spaceflight, but there was evidence to suggest that they had started trade with nearby systems. By now the Chiss would be aware of them, so there was no doubt that they were abiding by the regulations which governed the star faring nations of the Unknown Regions.

The defensive emplacements that had almost blown them out of the wastes was Chiss by design, so Naruto, mind churning, tried to link them to everything he saw.

It was fairly easy to come to grips with the situation, and he calmed down as they neared the planet. They were still undetected, and he was pleased to see that not too much of the planet had been developed.

He supposed that the natives did not have the time needed to build on their own soil, and that they probably still couldn't bear scar their home. They had invested the vast majority of their manufacturing capabilities off-planet, and slowly he understood why they had been forced to invest in two system emplacements.

Idly he wondered who was running the science behind all of this. It had only been three years, and though he knew his people would be learning the new skills they needed as quickly as they could not enough time had passed. Logic dictated that there was some outside interference.

He knew it wasn't the Chiss. Meddling to that extent just wasn't the style behind their modern era politics - which he had studied extensively as they were one of the few Galactic players left. They had sold the emplacements to Terra in the interests of peace - especially as the planet was in their backyard. Everyone knew that Chiss emplacements were no use against Chiss armadas, and the gift was one that went both ways.

Naruto didn't know what that left him with, but it was a start. It was almost time to land. Aventis had been darting around the perimeter of the defensive screen around the planet. Sniffing at its edges and searching for a gap. The scanning sensors on planet were of a high caliber, and they performed efficient sweeps but that alone was not enough, and Terra did not have enough trained pilots to mount an effective complementing guard.

Eventually they broke through. Naruto felt a thrill rise inside of him as Aventis's hull glowed a soft red. They descended so quickly that in an instant the blackness of unreal space had broken into the painted brilliance of a living world - roiling clouds and brilliant sunlight over a spread of brown stained farmland and expansive green - the blue of the waters foaming at the tips with frothing white to soothe the soul.

Fuck... I missed this place.

A/N

Tada! Please review!