Disclaimer: You will give me the rights to Star Wars…whaddya mean it only works on the weak minded?

A/N: In the last chapter you'll notice I mentioned a lot of EU media like Abeloth and the Yuuzhan Vong; I basically wanted to deal with the later elements of canon now so that it frees up any potential issues with later timelines (I haven't thought just how long this story will span). For those of you curious about how Luke dealt with these threats, I've decided to write several Interlude chapters that will detail those events. For what happened to Luke, that's coming up in a chapter or two.

STAR WARS
Another Time, Another War

Chapter Two – Collision

Peace is a lie, there is only passion
Through passion, I gain strength
Through strength, I gain power
Through power, I gain victory
Through victory, my chains are broken
The Force shall set me free

~ The Sith Code

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

Mara didn't go to the Archives. Instead, she went to the Room of a Thousand Fountains; the Force was strong there, but calm. It would hide what she was about to do. She entered the room – garden might be more appropriate. Plants from across the galaxy twisted around the room; trees to flowers and beyond in shades of green and blue and red and yellow. Of course, there were many elegant, stylish fountains as well. She doubted there were actually a thousand of them though. The room wasn't quite that large. There were few Jedi about, but Mara hadn't accomplished what she had by being reckless.

It never ceased to amaze her just how arrogant the Jedi Order was. They believed that they were untouchable, that no enemy could breach the Temple's walls. That old, decrepit, degenerate, stagnant order of worthless monks hid away, content to meditate and watch events of the galaxy unfold around them. She had infiltrated their order, their temple. An enemy within. An enemy who served a master they long thought gone, who wanted to bring lasting peace and unity to the galaxy; mould it into something strong and beautiful, under the watch of his infinite brilliance and compassion.

She secreted herself away in a corner, underneath a pink-leafed jodarri tree. She leaned back, relaxed into the Force, and felt for the bond she knew would be there. She could hear his call anywhere in the galaxy; hear his praise and his orders.

She called out into the bond for her true master, and Lord Palpatine answered.

Hello, my child. His voice sang out in her mind. How goes your mission?

It goes well, my master. The Jedi and the Darkslayer have taken Danton's bait and are soon to be hunting for non-existent Sith. The strain the Republic is placing on the Order is dividing it also.

A pause, as he considered the information. You have done well, child.

His praise filled Mara with warmth, as it always did. She existed to serve him. Mara was a tool, a weapon forged by his training and his will, and hardened by the Jedi's murder of her family. She would help her master destroy the Jedi, and build his vision of a greater galaxy.

What is thy biding, my master?

I have foreseen events, with the Darkslayer at their heart. He is powerful, and I have foreseen that he shall join with the Jedi. I want you to bring him to me. He shall serve our great cause.

Mara had never failed a mission given to her. Lord Palpatine always made sure she had the resources and the ability to succeed. But even she had doubts she could accomplish the task.

Capture him, my Lord?

No. He answered. He shall not fall through torture or force. A subtler approach is needed. He will gravitate towards you. Use this.

Seduce him, then. Even at her young age, she had used her body as another tool, another weapon. She knew what she could do. Youth and childhood for her had died at with her family, before Palpatine had given her a new purpose, a new life. Her first kill had been at eleven. A trainer had been having thoughts of dissension and defection, and she knew her duty. She had entered his quarters in the dead of night and slit his throat with his own vibroblade.

I understand, master.

Good. You have done well, my Hand.

And then he retreated from her mind, leaving her alone in the world again. She had been tasked to infiltrate the Order just under four years ago; she had posed as an unaware Force-wielder who had been caught up in a pirate raid. The Jedi had found her, and despite their misgivings about someone so old, had decided to train her. She had been ever alert, wary of the Jedi realising her deception, but Darth Sidious had taught her well. At times, she felt bad about deceiving the Jedi who had been kind enough to take her in and give her a home, and especially Ahsoka Tano who had elected to train her – she, admittedly, had learned much about the Force such was her duty, to her master and the new galaxy they hoped to create.

She just wished she didn't feel so alone.

She shrunk back as a pair of Jedi wandered past, oblivious or uncaring of her presence and what she had just done. They didn't notice her and moved on. Sighing, Mara contemplated recent events and closed her eyes.

She wondered why she had randomly charged at the Darkslayer. Something had possessed her; a rage, an obsession that hadn't been hers erupted inside her and robbed her of reason. Idly, she wondered if her connection to Palpatine had been the cause. Had something bled through the Force? She wasn't sure. That would mean he knew more about the Darkslayer than he let on.

Mara didn't know. It wasn't her place to question.

Only serve.

After eight long years of fighting, the long-awaited Treaty of Kamino has been signed, signifying the end of the gruelling Clone Wars. The treaty recognises the CIS as a sovereign government and granted them claim to several former Republic worlds along with the right for any Republic system to leave the Republic and join the CIS or become a sovereign system.

HoloNet News Report, broadcast the day after the Treaty of Kamino signing.

INDUSTRIAL SECTOR 7B, CORUSCANT

Luke Skywalker looked down at the unconscious terrorist before him, unlit lightsaber held loosely in his right hand, and a pilfered datapad in the other. The terrorist had been some sort of sentry; watching the complex the hostages were being held from afar. Luke, Han and Chewie had ambushed him and knocked him out.

The datapad contained information on what the New Age Hand wanted. In addition to the hostages, they had another target. One far more valuable than all the innocent civilians in the bones of a building they could see below, surrounded by CSF officers.

They were after Leia.

They had tracked her arrival from Hapes; discovered the space port she would arrive in and had despatched a group to kidnap her. Luke turned to Han and Chewbacca expectantly. "You two go deal with them. I'll handle these guys."

"You sure kid?" Han asked. "You might need help."

Chewbacca wuffed in agreement. Luke simply shook his head. "If they kidnap Leia, they've got a big bargaining chip for both a high-ranking Jedi master and an advisor to the Chancellor. I'll be fine."

Han shrugged again. "If you say so kid. C'mon Chewie."

As they left in the speeder, Luke reflected on how far Han had come since they had met. Before, Han had been every bit the smuggler and immoral scoundrel, looking for the next big haul, content to secret himself away in seedy bars and clubs, scamming players at sabacc. Since meeting Luke, he had found some sort of casual courage within himself. An on-off companion and full time friend, both of them. They were two of the few people Luke would trust to have at his back when he rushed off on some damned fool idealistic crusade.

He dragged himself back to the present. Using the macrobinoculars in his mask, he surveyed the complex. In normal-vision, he could see some of the terrorists in the gaps in the partially-constructed building. He could also see the many CSF officers surrounding the building, setting up a perimeter. He realised with interest that Ahsoka Tano was there too. Maybe she had picked up a CSF transmission and offered to help. Or maybe she was hunting him. Luke didn't know.

He began playing around with some of his mask's extra features. He flicked on the "smart-vision"; the world shifted into tones of yellow orange and gold and he could then see inside the building, and everyone inside. He could've used the Force to achieve similar results, but there was a lot of other life signatures and energy around him, and he didn't have the time to 'tune' in and filter out the distractions. And besides: the mask could even go as far as identify their weapons and limited biometrics.

Luke frowned. The Force was telling him something was wrong. He knew he could trust the Force to stop him harming the wrong people, but he would much rather prefer to discover the trick beforehand. His eyes narrowed as he realised their idiot in the array.

The terrorists standing up and moving around weren't the terrorists at all. They were the hostages; their "weapons" were really just bits of wood and plasteel. The real terrorists were huddled in groups, pretending to be hostages. The CSF would breach in, and take the hostages for terrorists and kill them. It was a trap. Unacceptable.

Luke activated his comlink and sliced into the CSF channel. "Who's in command?"

Ahsoka Tano watched with interest as CSF Captain Keta – a Bothan - turned to the comm unit. Picking up the receiver he replied: "Who the hell is this?"

"I'm the Darkslayer."

"Well, Darkslayer, this is a CSF operation. Get off the channel before I have to send people to arrest you for interfering." And with that, slammed down the receiver.

"Alright men; We're gonna breach and clear. Weapons free, as far as engaging hostiles go it's shoot anything that presents a clear and present danger."

The comm unit began beeping again. Sighing, the Captain picked up the receiver again.

"Y'know, that's just plain rude. Where was I? Oh, right. It's a trap. Don't-" The Captain rammed the receiver down again. Ahsoka raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you listen to him?" The Jedi asked curiously. She had received a general call for aid from the Captain and responded to his relief. She had discovered a massively underfunded and undermanned CSF force trying to contain a hostage situation. Ahsoka felt there was more to this than what met the eye, but kept silent until she could find out what.

Kata turned towards her. "I know how to run my unit, thank you very much. And besides, we've got word from higher-up; we've to go in and take them out."

"Seems a bit rash." Ahsoka noted. "Why not try negotiating? The hostages could get caught in the crossfire otherwise."

The Captain sighed, and rubbed his brow. "I know." He said wearily. "But we don't have the resources for prolonged negotiation, and the boss just wants this dealt with, crossfire or no. It's not worth my job to say no."

Ahsoka nodded sympathetically. The man was only trying to do the best with what was availiable to him.

Luke cursed in half a dozen languages as the CSF commander hung up on him again. Why in the nine Corellian hells wouldn't he listen? All the CSF would achieve by blasting in would be that they'd mistake the hostages for terrorists and kill them, then get surprised by the real terrorists; a bloodbath. Luke couldn't let that happen.

He surveyed his options. There were ten floors in total. The CSF were entering on the bottom and working up to the hostages and terrorists who were spread out on the top three floors. If Luke was quick enough, he could neutralise the terrorists before the CSF arrived on the seventh floor and give them time to realise the trap. Since Luke was elevated above the building, he could use the Force to steer his descent and effectively glide right into their midst.

The CSF breached and within a minute had secured the first floor and moved to the second. He didn't have a lot of time.

Luke checked his gear, made sure his lightsaber was set to stun, and gathered the Force around him. He took a few steps back, then a deep breath. He ran towards the edge, and with help from the Force, leapt off. He soared across the chasm between the building and his vantage point, dipping only slightly. He angled his approach; there was an opening in the wall manned by a single victim. He slipped through the hole and tackled the hostage to the ground.

"Stay down." Luke ordered, igniting his lightsaber with a snap-hiss. The hostage nodded, and Luke turned his attention to the others on the floor. The terrorists leapt to their feet, realising that their deception was lost and raised their weapons. Luke raised his weapon. Three of the six terrorists had fallen to his blade as the CSF burst onto the seventh floor. He raised his hand; blue flames leapt from his hand and the jet of Force fire caused the CSF team to dive backwards.

Luke's Jedi –for lack of a better term- instincts took over. He deflected away every blaster bolt; including those aimed at the terrorists. No one was dying here. He ducked, flipped over a terrified hostage and took down a fourth terrorist with a slash through the torso. He jumped again, batting away a blood-red bolt and incapacitated three CSF officers with a sweep of his blade. Too much chance of a hostage getting caught in the crossfire. Within three minutes, the 12 CSF first team officers and six terrorists were down.

In the centre of the floor was a gap, designed to eventually become an elevator shaft. Luke raised his gauntlet up into the gap and fired a grapple line; the line pulled him up, and as he reached the apex he used the Force to accelerate his motion, and he flipped up and over the safety banister and instantly found himself batting away blaster bolts again.

Ahsoka listened on with interest as the CSF officers cried out that the Darkslayer was attacking them. Her confusion was short-lived though, as the second CSF team discovered that the terrorists had been pretending to be the hostages. The Darkslayer obviously incapacitated the CSF to prevent any of the victims being killed by mistake. She continued to watch with interest as the Force-wielder moved up to the eighth floor and began battling his way through the second set of New Age Hand gunmen. According to surveillance, there was only two people on the top floor; one terrorist (presumably the man in change) and a hostage.

Ahsoka wondered how the Darkslayer would deal with them.

APPLECRASS SPACEPORT, CORUSCANT

Han and Chewbaca arrived to find the spaceport in chaos. Obviously, the attempted kidnap of Leia Amidala hadn't gone smoothly for the New Age Hand. Several speeders were overturned and aflame; civilians were running around screaming. Leia herself was crouched behind an old SoroSuub 9M-Series, deflecting incoming fire with a violet lightsaber her bodyguard dead or unconscious beside her. Han looked around for the source of the blasterfire. Three enemies, taking cover behind a large repulsor truck; another two were in an airspeeder with a modified turret mounted on the back; and one was hovering above the battlefield with the aid of a jetpack.

"Chewie, hit the guy on the turret. I've got jetpack." Han barked. Chewie wuffed in acknowledgement and raised his bowcaster. One, two, three shots from the Wookiee's weapon and the turret's operator was down. Han took aim with his own blaster; the shot hit the jetpack, causing it to destabilise and send the wearer flying into the ground. Hard.

Leia turned in surprise from the unexpected aid. Han and Chewie took advantage of the momentary lull in the fighting to sprint across the permacrete parking bay and slide into cover with Leia.

"Who the hell are you?" She hissed, stress evident.

"Han Solo and Chewbacca. We're here to rescue you." Han answered. The three ducked as an explosion jolted their cover and covered them with debris.

Leia glanced over the wrecked speeder. "Good job. How'd you even know we were here?"

Han scowled as Chewie began to return fire. "Listen, Princess, this ain't my idea of a fun time either."

Leia rolled her eyes, and ignored the jibe. "The Jedi will be here soon; we just have to hold out a little longer."

"Nice to- DOWN!" Han cried, as a lucky blaster bolt slipped through. He flung himself at Leia, kocking the pair of them to the ground; the bolt had been heading straight for Leia without enough time to deflect it. Han hissed in pain as it lanced across his back; not a direct hit, but it had been angled enough to bite into the skin and burn.

"Son of a Sith." He groaned, clutching at his back. Chewbacca glanced at his injured friend before roaring. He stood up, towering over their cover and began to hurl shots at the remaining attacking. The one in the turret speeder went was killed and the three remaining kidnappers retreated behind their truck.

/

Leia took the advantage. She gathered the Force around her before launching herself up into the air; she twisted and flipped over the truck and landed next to the kidnappers. One swipe of her blade took out their weapons and with a flick of her wrist slammed all three into the side of the truck with the Force, and into unconsciousness.

Leia sighed as the sense of danger diminished. Vaguely, she could sense her father and a few other Jedi inbound. Better late than never, she supposed. Then she remembered her injured "saviour" and hurriedly ran back to where he lay. Chewbacca was crouched by his friend and looked to her questioningly as she kneeled down beside Han. He wuffed something in his own language; although Leia didn't understand the words themselves, the meaning was clear enough. Is he going to be okay?

Leia turned Han over onto his front so she could get a better look. "Ooh, a massage. Nice"

"Shut up." Leia ordered. "I need to see how bad it is."

"Shame we're at a spaceport instead of a medcenter." Han mumbled into the permacrete.

Leia ignored him and began to examine the wound, both with her eyes and the Force. It wasn't particularly deep running, but the skin had been singed rather badly and the fabric of his jacket and tunic had been burnt into his skin at the edges. Part of her considered simply getting him to a medcenter, but decided to simply heal him herself.

"Now, this might hurt a bit." Leia informed him. "I'll try to use the Force to ease it though."

Carefully, she slowly began to peel back the fabric. Han gave a sharp intake of breath and Leia reached to him with the Force, dulling the pain as best she could. Once all the fabric had been pulled away, she gathered the Force around herself again and began to channel it into the wound. Slowly, the burn began to recede; new flesh knitted over the old and soon the skin was largely unblemished, save for a raw pink tint. Force healing was one of those abilities you had to consider before applying; some injuries simply needed the slow path. Broken bones, for example, were better healed with time or, if necessary, bacta.

"Good as new." Leia said confidently.

Han sat up and began to stretch, testing out the new flesh. "Seems that way. Thanks."

Leia nodded. "So, who are you two then, and how did you know to find me?"

INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX 7B, CORUSCANT

Luke had made his way through the gauntlet of enemies and arrived at the final room; where a hastily erected barricade of durasteel sheets impeded his progress. His Force senses told him there were only two inside; the hostage's fear and the terrorist's grim resolution permeated the Force.

He raised his saber and plunged it into the barricade. Then, slowly, he dragged it up, then across, back down and across again to carve out a rectangle. A nudge from the Force and the section he had cut out fell forward with a resounding crash. Lazily, he stepped through his impromptu entrance and surveyed the scene. The terrorist was clad in rusted, brownish-green armour and had his arm clamped around his hostages neck to make her a meat shield. The hostage was a terrified Bith girl, yellow and bulbous head bobbing with terrified sobs. Luke raised his hands placatingly. "Now, lets just talk about this."

"Your lightsaber. Drop it."

Luke shrugged, before doing so and kicked it across the ground so it lay in-between them. "Happy now?"

"You're going to do as I say." The terrorist ordered.

"Not likely." Luke replied mildly.

He raised the blaster to the girl's head. "You will. Or else."

"Is this really the best way to do it?" Luke pressed. "If you had asked nicely, played the political game you could've got what you wanted. But all you're gonna achieve now is prison."

"That's what you think." The terrorist sneered.

"That's what I know." Luke returned evenly. He folded his arms and frowned. "Actually, this whole thing seems a bit fishy. Terrorist groups like yours don't just come out of the woodwork like this. Someone must've put you up to it."

"We've been promised our goals in exchange for services." He conceded.

Luke cocked an eyebrow. Had the terrorist really just admitted that? People really weren't good at keeping secrets these days. "Who promised you?"

"Now that would be telling." He smirked. Luke briefly considering trying a mind trick, but decided it was too dangerous. The Bith might get hurt.

"Give up now." Luke ordered simply.

The terrorist laughed; within an instant, something inside him had snapped and the hopelessness of his situation robbed him of reason. Insanity had taken over. He slowly backed towards the edge, dragging the Bith girl with him. "Go get her then."

And pushed her out the window.

Luke didn't even think; he leapt forward and summoned his lightsaber with the Force; ignited it and slashed the terrorist as he passed and dived out the window after the girl. Time seemed to slow. Luke used the Force to accelerate his dive; closer and closer. He reached her. Grabbed her. He just managed to turn her away and shield her with his body as they smashed into a parked speeder with enough force to cave the hood in.

His vision swam; his mask's visor had cracked and the heads up display flickered on and off. Every inch of him hurt; there was likely more than a few broken bones and definitely bruising. Luke managed to address the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. I think so." The girl stuttered, petrified.

"Well," Luke groaned, "That could've went worse." He examined the remains of the speeder around him. "This is a write-off, though."

He addressed the girl again. "What's your name?"

"Sula." She answered. "What's yours?"

Luke didn't answer. Instead, he reached out with the Force and pulled away the caved speeder's hood to allow them to sit up. His ribs settled into a dull ache as the CSF and Ahsoka arrived.

Sula was taken away to a nearby medic to be checked over, and Luke was left alone with Ahsoka. He couldn't be bothered to move, and doubted he had the strength left to effect an escape even if he wanted to. Ahsoka watched him quietly. "Who are you, Darkslayer?"

Luke considered. Ahh, kriff it. He couldn't be bothered running away from it all anymore. With an effort, he managed to reach up and pull back his hood; his mask soon followed with a click as its locking mechanisms disengaged. He looked towards Ahsoka and pulled in a breath of unfiltered air. He coughed slightly.

"Luke?" Ahsoka said in disbelief, as recognition dawned. "Is that you?"

"Hey, Snips." Luke chuckled, invoking the nickname Anakin had given her. "How's it been?"

"But you…" Ahoska started. "You disappeared ten years ago."

"I know." Luke said mirthlessly. "I was there."

Ahsoka looked at him uncertainly, before reaching out and enfolding him in a strong hug. Pulling back slightly, she asked: "What happened to you?"

Luke sighed. "Now that, Ahsoka, is a long, long story…"

A/N: Boom. Done. Love it? Hate it? Leave a review and tell me what you thought. Ideas, criticisms and all else are welcome. Peace out.