Hello and welcome to the third chapter of Unexpected Places. Again, I do not own Star Wars, only a few OCs I made for this fic. Anyway, without any further ado, I hope you enjoy the following story, please remember to review and finally...thanks for reading!

"Was he your Master?" Alyss asked Bdaris as he stared at the tiny holographic figure of Radek Vractil.

"Hmm? Oh, no. He was a friend…he's probably dead now. It seemed that way the last time we were talking…" Bdaris said, shutting off the hologram.

The two were waiting in the cargo bay aboard the Antarian Ranger ship known as the Order. The ship had fled into Wild Space in order to avoid the wrath of the newly created Galactic Empire. Currently, it had landed on Shinbone in order to resupply. For their own safety, the Jedi had been confined to the ship for the duration of the stay.

"So, who was your Master?"

"Master Unaro Delto. He was a Togrutan Jedi Peacekeeper. He was also without a doubt one of the most violent and short tempered Jedi I knew." Bdaris said, a small smile on his face.

"Really? He sounds unusual for a Jedi." Alyss said.

"Oh, yes. I remember, he came back from a campaign on Moorja, he was absolutely furious! Apparently, a Neimoidian sniper wiped out the platoon Master Delto had been commanding. I later learned that he hired four bounty hunters to kill that sniper." Bdaris said, a hint of nostalgia creeping into his voice.

Alyss balked "And did they?"

Bdaris let out a laugh "Actually, they didn't. They all came back badly beaten and with bruised egos. Needless to say, Master Delto was less than pleased. He was nearly expelled from the Jedi Order when the council learned of it."

"He sounds like a real Grey Jedi." Alyss said.

"He certainly was." Bdaris said, still smiling "And what about your master?"

"I had three Masters. After my first Master died, my second Master was an Arcona, Kodu Terrafin. He was a Jedi Diplomat and he was training me to be the same." Alyss said, a smile forming on her own face. "He was only my Master for a short time, as I was soon given a new Mirialan Master, but I consider Master Terrafin to be my real Master."

"Any good stories to share?"

"Well, there was this one time on Makem Te. We were sent there to settle a dispute between one of the Caliph's there, Heeyto of Kalaa and the Temple of the Beatific Razor. During the negotiations, I noticed one of the Razor's slip something into my Master's tea. It was salt." Alyss recanted.

"Salt, really? Is that deadly to an Arcona?" A confused Bdaris asked.

Alyss shook her head "No, but it is very addicting. It would have sent my Master into a frenzy if I hadn't knocked the cup from his hand. Of course, that certainly ended the negotiations and the Caliph mounted an assault on one of the Razor headquarters. Me, my Master and a couple dozen Schinga Shikou riders were all going off to arrest a bunch of psycho cultists. You should have seen him, he was amazing. He knew how to dull his lightsaber blade so that it was like a blunt instrument. I never could figure out how to do that, unfortunately. Anyway, when we found the leader of the Razors, he pulled out a thermal detonator and tried to take us down with him."

Bdaris was riveted "So, what happened? How'd you escape that?"

"Like I said, Master Terrafin was amazing. The detonator went off, but he managed to shield the both of us using this Force shield or bubble, or something. Again, something I can't do. Once we were done, the Caliph told us that we would always be welcome in Kalaa and he threw this big parade for us." Alyss said, grinning.

"That sounds fantastic." An amazed Bdaris said.

"Actually, they ate all the Razors we had captured. It was a way of shaming them. Swokes Swokes are big on death and honour." Alyss explained.

Bdaris looked repulsed "Charming."

"Well, it is their way, I guess." Alyss said with a shrug.

A loud whining filled their ears, causing the pair to look up. They saw three STAPs, or Single Troop Aerial Platforms flying towards the ship. The two Jedi stood up to examine the new arrivals.

"Oh good, it looks like they're back." Bdaris said as the STAPs touched down in the cargo bay.

The figures dismounted and walked towards the Jedi. Leading them was the Zygerrian, Drumm Uspid, while behind him was the Aqualish, Eno Dagger and the Tactical droid, TC-56. TC-56, like the Order itself, had been captured in battle and subsequently reprogrammed to be totally loyal to the Antarian Rangers. To that end, he had been painted in the traditional red colours of the Galactic Republic, and the roundel of the Republic had been marked on his chest.

"So, how did everything go?" Alyss asked.

"The transaction occurred with very little difficulty, General." TC-56 replied "The others are using the refurbished Platoon Attack Craft to bring back the supplies as we speak."

"There were a few difficulties of course. Like the way everyone kept staring at Uspid. Everyone seemed terrified of him, like he was gonna snatch them up and run away." Eno said, chuckling slightly.

Drum scowled. Despite his species legendary reputation for slavery, Drum was one of the few who Zygerrians who opposed the practice. For his "weakness", he himself had been enslaved, only to be freed, along with a number of other captives by the Jedi Order.

"I understand the...apprehension of the locals. It is however, unfortunate that I am feared for the acts of my people." Drum muttered.

"If we could momentarily put aside our issues," TeeCee broke in "We should prepare for the arrival of our fellows. They will need our help to get the supplies onboard."

"Can't the droids handle it?" Eno asked "It's not like they do anything else."

"Captain's orders, everyone has to pull their own weight. Besides, that's not what they were made for." Drum pointed out.

"As if we're ever going to use them for anything else." Eno muttered as he rolled all four of his eyes.

"Is there anything new to report about the other Jedi?" Alyss asked.

Drum and Eno exchanged uneasy glances "Well...there has been an update regarding Master Even Piell..." Drum began.

Bdaris leaned forward expectantly "Yes? What about him?"

Drum cleared his throat and shifted his gaze to his boots "He's dead, General. The 501st cornered him in an abandoned building and...Well, I'm sure you can guess what must have happened."

A shocked Bdaris was forced to sit down "By the Force...But he was on the Jedi Council! How could he have fallen?"

"That only leaves masters Kenobi, Yoda and Shaak Ti. Four if you count master Kcaj, and he's listed as Missing in Action." Alyss muttered sadly.

"These are dark times, General. I fear that things will only get worse." Drum said solemnly.

Former admiral Ozzaris Vlanc was left reeling by what he had just been told. He had always known that he was destined to do great things, but he had never imagined something of this scale. He was now a Moff in the newly christened Galactic Empire. Emperor Palpatine himself had told Vlanc. It had been a reward for his loyalty to the Republic and to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, he had been told. While Vlanc was not completely sure of what this entitled or just how powerful this made him in the Empire, he did know that he was now in command of an entire sector of space. The Auril sector, home to the Separatist aligned planet of Murkhana and...Little else. The sector had been absolutely devastated following the destruction of the Cron Drift at the hands of Exar Kun's Sith Empire many thousands of years ago. Still, Vlanc was rather pleased that the Emperor himself had seen fit to place him in such a position of power. Despite his newfound power, Vlanc's mind was reeling over the conversation he had had with Palpatine only a few minutes earlier.

"Forgive me for asking; Sup...My lord, but what of the Jedi?" A hesitant Vlanc had asked, careful to make sure that the imposing figure of the Emperor's right hand, Darth Vader was not present. Vlanc had witnessed firsthand what had happened to Jace Dallin when he had brought up the subject of the Jedi.

"It is a rather unfortunate business, Moff Vlanc, but one that must be dealt with nevertheless." Palpatine had said.

"Are there none to be spared? Perhaps they could be reasoned with or-?"

Palpatine had abruptly cut him off "I think you underestimate just how devious a foe we are dealing with. You have already been informed of the extent of their treachery. Inciting the war in a mad bid to overthrow the Republic, committing acts of terrorism across the Galaxy and of course, trying to assassinate me. Were it not for the heroic sacrifice of Master Skywalker, I would be in much worse condition than I already am." Palpatine said, motioning to his badly scarred visage.

Vlanc tried to start again "But if Skywalker could see reason, then perhaps others could too? I understand a Jedi Knight gave her life in order to save a member of the 501st Legion from one of these rogue Jedi. And surely if Lord Vader-"

"Lord Vader is not a member of the Jedi Order. No, he is something else entirely, something far more powerful. As I said before, all of the surviving Jedi are to be considered enemies of the New Order and dealt with accordingly. There could be dire consequences to those who do not obey my orders...Am I understood, Moff Vlanc?" Palpatine had questioned, a noticeable edge to his voice.

"Yes, my Lord. I shall see to it that any Jedi I encounter will be put to death. As befitting a traitor to you or the Empire, it's what they deserve." Vlanc had said, nervously.

Palpatine smiled "Good, I see that you do understand after all. You are dismissed."

Vlanc shook off his uneasiness. He had a job to do after all. The Harbinger was waiting to take him to his new fortress on Murkhana, where his newfound rank could be best utilised. Vlanc smiled, Yes, he thought to himself, I am destined to do many great things.

On Shinbone, the Jedi were waiting for the arrival of the others with the supplies.

"Here they come." Alyss said as she peered through a set of electrobinoculars.

"About time." Eno muttered as he polished his vibro-bayonet.

Slowly, the PACs made their way towards the Order, carrying their heavy goods. There were four in all, each filled to bursting point with cargo.

"Everything go smoothly?" Drum asked the driver of the lead PAC, a Kadas'sa'Nikto by the name of Sonoro Basilisk.

"Hopefully, there may have been a little trouble back in town. There was a group eyeing us pretty suspiciously." Sonoro reported.

Drum looked troubled "Better load that stuff on as soon as possible. We don't want to just be sitting here if-"

Suddenly, a loud shot rang out. Not the usual blaster fire, but from a slugthrower. One of the PAC drivers abruptly slumped over in his seat, blood flowing freely from a wound in his chest.

"Back inside! Back inside!" Bdaris shouted as he shot up from his seat.

Drum and Eno quickly backed themselves into the cover of the ship while the remaining three PACs hurried back inside.

"Sense anything?" Drum asked as he reached for a set of electrobinoculars.

Bdaris shook his head "No, too far away. That must have been a sniper shot."

"I feel them. About thirty or so, and they're coming this way." Alyss reported as she reached for her lightsaber.

"Stang!" Sonoro cursed "Looks like we're going to be facing a raiding party!"

"Here they come!" Drum reported.

A large group of swoops were rapidly heading towards their position. Leading the charge was a heavily modified landspeeder, a repeating blaster crudely mounted to its back.

"Dagger, quickly, go back and acti-!" Sonoro began.

"Wait, they're slowing down!" Drum reported.

It was true, as the posse drew closer to the Order, they began to slow down. Soon, the group had come to a stop and the driver of the landspeeder and the apparent leader stepped out to face the Antarian Rangers. He the design of his armour, Alyss guessed that he was a member of the Ubese species. Unlike the majority of his crew, who were wielding slugthrowers, the leader seemed to be much better armed. He was wielding a DC-15s blaster carbine, but two blaster pistols were in holsters on his belt. Giving the area a cursory glance, he raised his rifle into the air and called out: "Bring out your Captain! I want a few words with him!"

Drum looked over his shoulder "Sonoro, go get the Captain. Dagger, go inform TeeCee of what's happening, he'll know what to do." Drum turned to face the Jedi "And I want you two to stay out of sight. We don't need this lot spreading tales of Jedi running around. Am I understood?"

As Sonoro and Eno rushed off to complete their respective duties, Alyss and Bdaris shared uneasy glances "...Yes, we understand." Bdaris said after a pause.

Drum nodded "Good, now wait here. I'll make sure this lot doesn't do anything until the Captain arrives."

The Harbinger sailed through Hyperspace towards its destination of Murkhana. In a few hours, it would arrive, and Moff Vlanc would formally decree his new position within the Empire. Vlanc was on the bridge, meeting with the new commanding officer of his former ship.

"Moff Vlanc, it is an honor to meet you." A young man said as he shook Vlanc's hand "I am Captain Bai Starkblast and I am pleased to have you aboard my vessel."

"Indeed." Vlanc said curtly, somewhat irritated to learn that someone as young and inexperienced as Starkblast would be captaining his old vessel. Not to mention reffering to it as his.

"I understand you met with Emperor Palpatine. He is a great man, truly an inspiration to us all." Starkblast said, a mad fervour in his eye.

"He is, truly one of the greatest men of our time." Vlanc replied.

"Not just one of the greatest! He is the greatest!" Starkblast exclaimed, spittle flying from his lips "He is a beacon of hope to us all! He is the wisest man to have ever lived!"

"Indeed." Vlanc repeated, somewhat unnerved. While Vlanc himself admired Palpatine, Starkblast seemed to worship him as if he were some sort of deity.

A clone commander stepped forward. Vlanc recognised the armour design. It was covered in purple striped and on each side of the helmet was a tiny sun.

"Sir, I am Clone Marshal Commander Corona, designation CC-3412. The 18th Solar Corp will be one of four Corps making up the backbone of the Auril sector military." The clone said, snapping to attention.

"I...see." A displeased Vlanc muttered "You are deceased Commander Sunny's replacement, I take it?"

"Yes, sir, his death was a great tragedy. If not for the Antarian Rangers, he would still be alive and the traitor would be dead." Corona said, a bitter edge to his voice.

"Did you ever fight alongside Knight Vrax, Commander?" Vlanc asked.

"Yes, sir, many times. We fought together in the Battle of Malastare, the Battle of Umbara, the Battle of Jilrua, the Battle of Alderaan, the Battle of-"

Doubtlessly, the list would have gone on for quite some time had Vlanc not held up a hand to stop Corona "And would you say that during your time together you grew close? Formed some kind of bond?"

Corona paused "Is...Is this some form of test, sir?"

Vlanc shook his head "No test, I am merely curious."

Corona tilted his head, seemingly curious, but continued on nevertheless "Yes, sir, I guess...I guess you could say we were friends. She saved my life on Umbara. My company was pinned down by enemy fire and we were losing men. I don't know if you've seen them, but the Umbaran military has some strange vehicles, some you wouldn't even believe. Quite a sight really, or they would have been, if they hadn't been decimating my brothers. It looked like it was over for us until the General flew overhead in a captured Umbaran starfighter and cut through their ranks. In the confusion, my platoon managed to escape."

"That battle was also the one where that traitor, Krell revealed himself!" Starkblast snarled "We should have known back then that the Jedi were a pack of lying, double crossing-!"

Vlanc turned and coldly glared at Starkblast "Captain, if I require your input, I will ask you for it. Am I understood?"

A stunned Starkblast took a step back "Of...Of course, sir."

Corona, meanwhile, was staring at his feet "She kept that starfighter, you know. She painted it in the colours of the Republic and the Solar Corps. It's still in the hangar..."

Vlanc raised an eyebrow "And what if General Vrax were to appear right now? What would you do?"

Corona looked up at Vlanc and slowly took his helmet off. The battle scarred face was grim and perhaps even slightly sorrowful, but certain "For the good of the Empire, I would shoot her."

Vlanc exhaled "I see. Thank you, Commander, I think I've learned all I can from you. You are dismissed."

Corona put his helmet back on and saluted "Very good, sir."

Without a word, Vlanc strolled over to the windows of the bridge and gazed out into hyperspace. Is this all for the best? Is it really? Vlanc thought to himself.

Jericho Gargos strolled down the boarding ramp of the Order to face the gang who was threatening it. Accompanying him was TC-56 and six well armed Antarian Rangers.

"I am in command of this vessel. What is it exactly that you want?" Gargos asked shortly.

The Ubese who was in command stepped forward in order to address Gargos: "We want the bounty that's on this ship."

Gargos blinked "Bounty?"

"That's right, fishy, there's a substantial bounty on a Munificent-class star frigate matching the description of this one. Red colouring, the Galactic Republic symbol emblazed on both sides, yeah, this is the one we want." The Ubese said "We hear there's a couple o' Jedi aboard. With the collective prices on their heads, I could retire to a Core world planet."

"And what happens to the rest of us?" Gargos asked.

"You'll be sold into slavery, most likely." The Ubese said coldly.

Gargos narrowed his eyes "I see. Tell me, what is your name?"

The Ubese laughed "You think you can ask my name? What good will it do you, fishy?"

"I am simply curious."

"Alright then, it's Sadix, happy now?"

"Alright, Sadix, I will give you some advice, and you would be wise to follow it. You and your men will turn around right now and go back to the wasteland that you call a home. Failure to comply will result in your death. Am I understood?" Gargos asked, glowering at Sadix.

Sadix laughed "Do you take me for a fool? I know there are only twenty-four, sorry, better make that twenty-three," Sadix motioned towards the inert PAC "Antarian Rangers aboard. The bounty listed all of you. There are thirty-seven of us, not to mention my landspeeder. My heavily armed landspeeder."

Gargos sighed "Do you know how many men it takes to crew a Munificent-class star frigate?"

Sadix narrowed his eyes from beneath his helmet,"No, what the hell does that matter?"

"It takes two hundred. Now, if there were only twenty-four of us, how could we have gotten this ship flying?"

Sadix tensed up "What are you getting at?"

"In addition, each Munificent-class star frigate can carry up to 150,000 battle droids. Did you know that?" Gargos continued.

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Sadix snapped.

Gargos nodded to TeeCee, who raised his hand in the air. Immediately, scores of battle droids surged out of the ship. They ran the gamut from the standard B1 battle droid infantry, to D-60 assault droids, a variant of the B2 super battle droid, to a number of DSD1 dwarf spider droids to even a handful of Octuptarra combat tri-droids. A horrified Sadix took a few steps back. Behind him, his gang were similarly shocked.

"As I said, you would be wise to turn around and walk away." Gargos said dangerously, his voice little more than a whisper.

Sadix, against all reason attempted to hold his ground "And, if I refuse? Would you gun me and my men down? That's hardly a fair fight, not even forty men against thousands of your stolen battle droids!"

Gargos sighed "TeeCee, let's be fair...only send sixty droids to deal with Sadix and his little group."

TeeCee nodded and pointed forward. Instantly, a mixed group of exactly sixty droids stepped forward, blasters raised. An Ithorian thug made to grab his pistol, only to receive a blaster burn to the hand from a D-60 assault droid in return. The message was quite clear.

Gargos narrowed his eyes at Sadix "You have until the count of twenty to leave."

Sadix took another step backwards, before stopping and pulling out his blaster "No! I will not be made a fool of! ATTACK!" And at that he fired on Gargos.

"Get down!" TeeCee shouted as he shoved Gargos out of the way, taking the blast in the Captain's stead.

Gargos and his men ducked as Sadix's gang added their own firepower to the mix. The gunner on the landspeeder began to spray the Order with blaster fire.

"All forces open fire!" Gargos commanded.

Instantly, the droid forces charged on the hapless gang. Shots rang out from both sides and the casualties quickly started to mount.

"Get out of my way!" Sadix snapped as he shoved the landspeeder's Ipharian-Da'Lor gunner out of his seat and took it himself.

From the cargo bay, the two Jedi watched the battle.

"Look at that, he's cutting down dozens of battle droids." Bdaris said, shaking his head at the waste.

"He's going to permanently offline them if he's not stopped." A worried Alyss said.

"You think we should...?" Bdaris began.

"Get involved even though we were forbidden to? Because yes, I think that's exactly what we should do." Alyss said, a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Well then, why are we simply standing around then?" Bdaris grinned as he activated his lightsaber.

"TeeCee! TeeCee, do you still function?" Gargos shouted to be heard over the din of the battle.

The downed battle droid weakly turned his head, his optics dimmed "Aff...Affirmative, Captain. However, I am running at only half capacity. I fear that I may suffer permanent damage unless I am repaired soon."

Gargos nodded "Don't worry, we'll get you fixed up."

"Uh, sir, I think you had better take a look at this..." One of the Rangers that Gargos had taken with him said.

Gargos followed the man's finger and saw the Jedi leap out of the cargo bay and rush towards Sadix "Stang! What in blazes do they think they're doing?-!"

"Interesting...previously the probability of success was at seventy-five percent. Now that the Jedi involved, there is a one hundred percent chance of success-ess-ess." TeeCee said, glitching somewhat at the end.

While Bdaris quickly slashed his way through the opposing swoop gang members, Alyss was using a different approach. Utilising the fourth lightsaber form, Ataru, the Mirialan Jedi Knight was effortlessly using her agility and speed to her advantage. She deftly leapt from foe to foe, striking them down before they could blink. The droids soon ceased fire, not wanting to accidentally hit the Jedi. Alyss jumped onto a dwarf spider droid, crouched down and tapped its head.

"Alright, ya overgrown bug, make a left." Alyss ordered the droid.

The droid complied and swivelled to face the marauding landspeeder. Sadix was using the lull in battle to mow down as many droids as possible. Bdaris, however, whistled and almost instantly, a number of droidekas rushed forward and activated their shields, effectively blocking the shots.

"Kriffing machines!" Sadix snarled, before noticing Alyss and the dwarf spider droid.

"And...Fire!" Alyss commanded, leaping off of the droid before it could do so.

Sadix gave out a cry of alarm and dove from his speeder, escaping mere seconds before it went up in flames. Seeing their leader's vehicle destroyed, the few surviving gang members raced away as quickly as possible.

"Come back here and fight, you miserable, kriffing cowards!" Sadix screamed, firing at his men as they fled.

Sadix turned to find himself totally alone and at the mercy of the droids. Bdaris and Alyss closed in on him.

"It's over Sadix, go home." Bdaris said.

"It's not over, Jedi scum! You will pay for everything you have done!" Sadix shouted as he reached over his back and brought out a lightsaber, activating it to show off an orange blade "You're not the first Jedi I've fought! Now, which one of you wants to die first?"

Bdaris turned to Alyss, who shrugged "Hey, you're the Djem So expert, I'm more of an Ataru and Niman oriented fighter."

Bdaris sighed "Alright then, I'll make sure he takes no more lives."

The Jedi and the Ubese faced off, slowly circling each other. After what seemed like an agonising amount of time, Sadix rushed forward, stolen lightsaber held high. He made a wild slashing motion, which Bdaris parried easily. Sadix followed it through with a stabbing thrust, which the Jedi avoided effortlessly. Sadix let out a roar and made several more attacks on Bdaris, all of which were deflected with relatively little difficulty.

"I must say, I am rather disappointed. Perhaps you have skill with a blaster, but with a lightsaber you are sadly outclassed." Bdaris said as he blocked yet another attack.

"Your taunts are meaningless, Jedi! I will kill you! I will kill both of you!" Sadix snarled.

"Oh, I don't think so." Bdaris said simply.

Sadix let out another battle cry and made to charge Bdaris, the stolen lightsaber angled squarely at the Jedi's stomach. Bdaris, however, leapt over his opponent and swung his lightsaber. Sadix's ill gotten lightsaber and his helmet covered head toppled to the ground.

"Well, that was rather short." Alyss said as she approached Bdaris.

"Indeed, with skills like that I wonder how he even acquired a lightsaber in the first place." Bdaris said as he reached down to pick up his newly acquired lightsaber.

Alyss shrugged "Who knows? Maybe he really was a skilled marksman. Maybe he ambushed whoever owned it with superior numbers. I guess we'll never really know."

Bdaris examined Sadix's lightsaber. It was finely made, that was certain and like had a unique design. What looked like a bayonet blade jutted out near the blade emitter and it had four downward facing spikes near the bottom of the hilt, which was rounded.

"I guess I'm going to be learning how to wield two lightsabers now." Bdaris muttered as he clipped the lightsaber to his belt.

Gargos looked around at the carnage "Drum, you go and take TeeCee to be repaired. I want everyone else to start salvaging the droids. With any luck most of them are in repairable condition. I want to get out of this system as quickly as possible! And you two," Gargos pointed at the Jedi "Get back on the ship!"

While Alyss walked back towards the Order, Bdaris stopped after a few steps. He had inadvertently kicked Sadix's severed head. Bdaris bent down to pick it up, wanting to examine the helmet. He shook the head free, revealing Sadix's head, pale and devoid of any hair at all.

"It might just be useful to keep this..." Bdaris murmured as he peered closely at the helmet, before putting it on "Never know when a disguise could come in handy." His voice came out distorted by the helmet, sounding somewhat artificial.

"Hey, Bdaris, let's go!" Alyss shouted.

And at that, Bdaris rushed off after her.

"Here we are, sir. Murkhana." Captain Starkblast announced, motioning to the planet, which slowly rotated.

Vlanc peered out at the planet which was now to be his new home and seat of power. For the first time in days, Vlanc allowed himself to smile. From here, he would do many, many great things.

To make things clear, I do not accept the Citadel arc of Star Wars the Clone Wars to be canon, hence why Even Piell was only recently reported to have died. For future reference, I also don't think any episodes written by Katie Lucas are canon either, so if Ventress is mentioned, she'll be a Rattaki, Maul will still be dead and there won't be any laser bows. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the fic, please remember to review and finally...thanks for reading!