DISCLAIMER: High School DxD belongs to Ichiei Ishibumi and Star Wars belongs to Disney (Unfortunately). The scenario and original characters are mine.

Chapter VI

Operation Hunter's Moon

Surveillance Outpost Omicron, Japan, 2012 A.D. (16ABY)

Raynare did her best to hold in her shock when she finally arrived at Omicron. Despite having originally been a Corrupted Fallen, she had never actually been inside this outpost. She was amazed it hadn't been discovered by anyone considering where it was. As she, Asia, Kalawarna, and Mittelt were escorted through the base, she made sure to study everything as best she could, starting with the men escorting them.

The six men surrounding her and the others all wore armor similar to the troopers she'd seen with Vader. There were differences, of course, but overall, the design was similar enough that they had to have used Vader's men's, "Stormtroopers" if she remembered right, armor as a basis. The rifles, "blasters" if she recalled correctly again, they carried were the exact same as Vader's men. Two of them, the ones leading them through this place, didn't, however. Their weapons were different.

The two's weapons looked similar to the ones the other four carried. Again, the rifles the other four were carrying were probably the basis of the ones the two had. The rifles the pair in front had been colored white and black, the rifles' main bodies predominately being white. They were equipped with stocks and a folding grip on the barrel. Other than those differences, again, they looked about the same as the rifles of the other four.

Her eyes flicked to a group of men that passed on their left. They weren't wearing the same armor, instead wearing modern tactical gear and wielding normal guns- no, not normal guns as Raynare focused on them. The guns they carried had been magically enhanced. That would be a problem if she needed to grab the Argento girl and escape.

Enchanted guns were immune to spells that would normally disable them, but they were usually too rare to even be a serious issue. For these guys to have this many already… they had to have connections to more supernatural factions than she realized. It was bad enough when she met that first group outside the abandoned church. How many inside Omicron were armed with blasters or enchanted firearms? How many in the entire organization?

"Lady Raynare?" Argento asked quietly from the uncorrupted Fallen's left. Raynare said nothing but glanced over, letting the girl know she'd been heard.

"Who are these people? What do they want with us?"

"Quiet back there!" one of the two leading troopers barked, causing the young nun to flinch. Raynare shot a glare at the back of the soldier's helmeted head.

"Hopefully she believes the bullshit about to come out of my mouth. Seriously, how exactly do these idiots expect any of the other Fallen faction members to believe this crap?" Raynare thought as she turned back to the girl, "They're a special group connected to the Fallen. They're simply moving you to a better location, that's all."

To the uncorrupted Fallen's relief, Argento believed it. The young nun nodded and looked down at her feet as she moved. If Raynare was being honest she wasn't all that concerned about Argento not believing her. The girl was quite easy to handle. Most likely, this was due to her time as a Holy Maiden before she was excommunicated from the church. Something about healing a Devil, the uncorrupted Fallen thought, before she began to think about that.

The events that led to Argento's excommunication felt like they had been planned in advance. First was the stumbling onto an injured Devil, then her excommunication, then one of their agents convinces her to join the Fallen faction, and finally she's assigned to the Kuoh Fallen, which coincidentally happened to have all of its Fallen and most of its Stray Exorcists loyal to Palpatine? Raynare had no doubt that Palpatine had somehow orchestrated the events. Vader did say the man had been a master manipulator…

She noticed the group begin to slow as they approached a set of large metallic double doors. There was a small panel next to it, with writing in both Japanese and an unknown language. The word for "Open" in Japanese was written above the unknown language. Raynare didn't need to guess what the writing in the unknown language was. She matched the pace of her allies-turned-enemies and actual enemies to not draw suspicion to herself.

A trooper stepped away from their group and towards the panel. He palmed the panel next to the doors, and the doors themselves retracted into the walls on either side with a soft whoosh. Another trooper took a position on the opposite side of the trooper at the panel while Raynare, Asia, and the others crossed into the new room.

"… makes six this night alone. We keep these Ops up, and some supernatural's gonna notice," a woman's voice said from an open door to the group's left, and Raynare made sure to pay attention for as long as she could before the group walked out of earshot.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," a male voice replied. "With how many supernaturals are working with us, I don't doubt we could keep doing them and never get found out. I'm more worried about getting discovered by Vader's guys."

Raynare tensed at that. They already knew about Vader? How? Was one of his men one of Palpatine's agents? No, that was stupid. You had to be brain-dead or have fucking tungsten balls to betray someone like Vader. They had to have another way of spying on Vader and his men. She was going to need to find out how that was done before she contacted Vader. There was no telling how long that information would be around now that Argento was here.

"Pfft, don't make me laugh. Vader's so in the dark about us that he needs a goddamn sun to find us!"

"Ichibana, I wouldn't make light of Darth Vader if I were you. I've read about the guy… he's fucking terrifying. I read in one file how he killed an entire division of Rebels on his own. Do you really think our little outpost could stop him if he found out about us?"

"Don't believe everything you read, Saizo. He's just a guy in a suit. How much trouble could he be?"

"Don't forget he managed to kill the Emperor once already. Some 'guy in a suit' couldn't just do that. Not to the Emperor."

She didn't hear the rest as she focused back on the group's journey. The group walked in silence for a time before Kalawarna spoke up.

"I've read that file too. Personally, I'm not sure I believe it. It sounds like a bunch of horseshit to me."

"I fought the kid he was training, Kalawarna. Sure I killed the brat but I doubt I'd be able to take on Vader by myself. That's also not taking into account what he did to Ophanim," Raynare replied sternly, turning her head to look at her corrupted comrade.

Kalawarna looked as if she was considering that when the group halted before a corridor filled with prison cells. Many of them were occupied already. Six held humans and three had Yōkai, the final four having no prisoners. Two pairs of black-uniformed guards wearing the same chest plates as the troopers escorting them were stationed at the back and front of the corridor.

One of the cells had its door open, clearly meant for Argento. One of the troopers snatched the excommunicated Holy Maiden by the arm roughly and dragged her to the cell. Raynare made sure to memorize which cell it was over Argento's protests.

The trooper spun Argento around and delivered a savage punch to the girl's face. Blood trickled out of the nun's nose as he began to speak. "Quiet, or I'll do worse, girl. Nod if you understand me!"

Argento nodded as the trickle worsened. Raynare didn't know why, but she felt herself become angry at the trooper who'd hit the nun. Perhaps it was because of Asia's innocent and gentle nature. Someone like her didn't deserve to be hit.

"Got a problem, Fallen?" one of the black-uniformed men asked brusquely, his hand resting on his holstered blaster.

"Dammit, I didn't know my emotions were that obvious! Play it off, Raynare!" the uncorrupted Fallen berated herself before speaking, "I'm assuming the Emperor wants her in one piece. The girl is quite fragile, and another hit like that could kill her. I would remember that if I were you, troopers."

The human troops stiffened at the mention of 'the Emperor', though the helmeted troopers' faces were hidden. The guards' faces were easier to read, and from the look they all seemed to share, she knew she'd made the right call.

"W-we'll keep that in mind. Now, I believe Major Varnin wished to debrief you all personally. These troopers will take you to his office," one guard, this one wearing a small plaque with three squares on top of his chest plate, two colored red with one in blue, stated quickly.

"Of course. Thank you, Lieutenant," Raynare replied, remembering the significance of the colored squares and plaque size from Vader's men.

The troopers once again took up positions around her and her corrupted fellows before leading them out of the room. Raynare looked back once and caught a glimpse of Asia watching her leave, her hands on the cell's bars, fear and sadness marring her usually beautiful face. The uncorrupted Fallen turned away from that face. She knew that if she continued to look, she would break her cover and rescue the girl far too soon.

As far as Raynare was concerned, from that point forward, everyone besides Asia and herself were expendable. The soldiers, her fellow Fallen, and if need be, Asia's fellow prisoners. She would do everything in her power to get Asia out. That time was not now though. No, for now she would play her role as a spy for Vader. She just hoped her hand wouldn't be forced before Vader could make his move.

Kuoh Town Industrial District, Japan

Lieutenant CT-1977-11/38, or "Veng" to his fellow Clones and human squadmates, was unprepared for what he saw after being sent by lord Vader to the industrial district. He expected a body like the one in the helmet cam footage he and the rest of Vader's forces saw from Lieutenant Hornet. One single body, easy to take care of with a couple of thermite charges. That was certainly not the sight that greeted him and his squadron when they exited their van and stepped into the open.

There were several human-shaped bodies, all of which wore eerily similar armor to his and his men's own, save for one. The other body was a young man in black robes and metallic armor. A mask lay on the ground next to him, and a wisp of smoke still rose from the small hole in the man's back. Veng could already tell it was from a lightsaber. He'd seen enough wounds like that on Clankers in the Clone Wars and beyond. Three bodies were being guarded by Devils, which told him they had prisoners.

Veng motioned for six of his own men to take over for the Devils. He believed two Shadow Troopers per prisoner were more than enough to keep the prisoners from trying anything stupid. They still might, but this way they would need to worry about two guards rather than one. He then spoke with the blonde-haired boy armed with a sword. The boy pointed deeper into the warehouse and led Veng and his men inside. They spotted two more prisoners, guarded by the Gremory Queen and Sitri King. Veng assigned his four remaining troopers to watch the prisoners.

Once that was done, he turned toward the back of the warehouse and was frozen stiff. There was a ship back there, and judging from the overall design, it was some kind of variant of the TIE Phantom. He wondered how in the Hell it had gotten in when he noticed the opening behind it. Someone had managed to create a door big enough to fit the thing inside the warehouse. It had done so, but only barely. There was enough space for a person to stand, and that was it.

"Lieutenant?" Commander Hyōdō asked, breaking Veng out of his shock. The boy seemed to have asked a question. Veng completely missed it due to the ship.

The Shadow Trooper Lieutenant focused on the Commander and the Gremory heiress. "Sorry, sir. Did you say something?"

"I asked you if there was a way we could bring this ship back without drawing attention to ourselves."

"That depends, sir. We could fly it back if this ship has what I think it does…" Veng replied as he marched toward the two teens and the ship's hatch.

The two followed after him as he entered the ship. He glanced around at the interior, noting some of the design changes to the variants he'd seen on some of his previous missions. A good example of this would be the extra seats at the rear of the ship complete with weapon racks. Normally, TIE Phantoms only had room for two pilots, with the entire aft section housing the ship's main reactor. He wondered how this ship got that issue fixed… or had it? It looked longer than the original TIE Phantom did from the outside, but he could be wrong about that.

He stepped over to one of the weapon racks and grabbed the blaster still sitting inside. It must have been for the pilots' usage in case of emergency. Judging from the outside, they hadn't been able to get to it in time. He examined the weapon from all angles as he turned it around in his hands. There were very small changes of course, such as a foldable grip rather than folding stock, but overall it looked very similar to the E-11s they all carried back at home base.

He set the blaster down and went to sit at the control board for the ship. He glanced over the controls, trying to recall from his old memory the last time he'd sat down in front of a similar set. Being a former pilot himself had its perks, especially when you get a probably not allowed tour of a TIE Phantom from a fellow pilot. As far as he could tell the controls were all the same. He crossed his fingers mentally as he switched on the cloaking device.

The view outside the cockpit's viewport shimmered and crackled with electricity before the tips of each wing disappeared from view. He heard someone behind him gasp, and judging from the fact that Commander Hyōdō was used to galactic tech, he guessed it was the Gremory heiress. He deactivated the cloak and turned to look back at the empty seats. There was enough room for twelve people...

"Something the matter, Lieutenant?" the Gremory heiress asked as she followed his line of sight.

The Shadow Trooper Lieutenant shook his head before looking up at her. "No problems, heiress Gremory. Just checking to see how many seats we had for passengers. I'm thinking you, your group, the Sitri heiress, her subordinates, the Commander, and three of our prisoners can ride in here for transport. The other two can be brought back by my men once they're done getting everything in order here."

"Speaking of that, what are you going to do with the bodies? We can't leave them here to be discovered," Commander Hyōdō questioned. The teen had folded his arms over his chest, causing the gauntlet on his arm, which Veng had somehow missed until now, to become more prominent. The Shadow Trooper Lieutenant didn't give it any attention. There were bigger things to worry about at the moment.

"We brought some thermite charges along. Should be enough to deal with the site. No one's going to bat an eye at a burned warehouse. There won't be any bodies to see, either, and I'd be surprised if they can pull any DNA from the ashes."

"That's…" the Gremory heiress began in a horrified tone.

Commander Hyōdō finished her sentence. "Barbaric? Yes, but necessary. Their discovery might lead them to us and we cannot risk that. Besides, you have no qualms about utterly erasing Stray Devils, why the hesitation towards this?"

"Because that is the fate that Stray Devils deserve. These men were simply doing as they were told. You can't tell me that you and your men aren't doing the same!"

"We are, yes, but look at it this way; they were never going to let me or your and Sona's Peerages live. They and I were expendable to them. You and Sona weren't. I would consider that slight deserving a fate similar to Stray Devils. You also didn't have any issue with disintegrating two of them already, or did you think I didn't see that happen?"

Gremory didn't reply to that, but Veng could tell she still wasn't comfortable with the idea. The Shadow Trooper Lieutenant offered to take her and the others back to base before they started the cleanup. She agreed so fast that he didn't even get to finish his sentence. He began takeoff prep as soon as she left the ship and gathered her fellow Devils and the three armored troops.

"Before we leave, I'll need to grab something from one of the bodies out there. It's the one with the robes. Be sure to have your men collect the other weapons out there. I have a feeling we'll learn a great deal from studying them," Commander Hyōdō said as he turned and began to walk outside.

Veng looked back at his Commander. "What for, sir? They're just blaster pistols, aren't they?"

"I would disagree. They're not simply blaster pistols. Those pistols are a mix of Earth guns and blasters, Lieutenant. I'm fairly certain that information would be highly valuable. I've no doubt in my mind that the men and women we fought tonight work for Palpatine. If he can outfit his troops with similar weapons but in larger calibers…"

"No need to continue, sir," Veng finished as he continued takeoff prep.

Near Kuoh Town, Japan

Commander DT-388's eyes fluttered open, his mind groggy. He felt something cool on his cheek and glanced down. His head was on top of an old metal office desk. That was also the exact moment he realized he could feel the coolness of the metal. If he had been wearing his helmet, which he knew he had been before waking up, he wouldn't have felt the desk. He quickly raised himself up off the desk and looked himself over.

None of his armor was on. That armor was the only thing keeping him calm and collected. Without it, he was just an average guy. Why wasn't he wearing his armor?

That was when he saw the binders on his wrists, keeping him pinned to the chair he sat on. He had been captured! How was that possible? The last thing he remembered was… the Devils! They must have had something to do with this! He began studying the restraints, looking for a weakness that would help him escape. It was to no avail. There were no weaknesses he could exploit, at least any that used only the fingers of one hand.

He began searching the room for any means of escape but was again met with nothing. He didn't give in, however. He guessed he was going to be interrogated by the Devils the first chance they got. He took a second glance around the room to check for any sort of surveillance, berating himself for not checking for that first.

He noticed then that this didn't look like any building the two Devil groups he knew about would use. It was far too decrepit. The Devils would have at the very least made the room look like an interrogation room. They would not have left it looking like a large office room, and they would have also fixed the damaged desk in the corner. No, not damaged, sliced would be a better word for it. The thing was in two pieces on the other side of the room. He wondered how that had happened. It was an extremely clean cut.

All thoughts regarding that ceased when he heard footsteps coming towards the door. It was three men, two wearing armor. He braced himself for whoever was coming. He would not break and compound his failure to the Emperor. It was only a matter of time before one of the Emperor's various agents would slip in and silence him. Letting any information slip would only mean a more painful death.

The door opened, and to his utter amazement, three Imperial troops entered. His elation at a possible rescue was snuffed out as soon as it had been born. The three coming toward him weren't wearing Terran Empire uniforms. One was wearing an old Galactic Empire officer uniform… the other two? The other two were Death Troopers, though their armor had apparently been modified to include the markings of the 501st Legion.

The color drained from DT-388's face. He wasn't a prisoner of the Devils. No, he was a prisoner of Darth Vader. He doubted he would be living past this night.

Vader looked over the ship his apprentice had captured alongside the Devils. The ship would certainly be useful in future operations. He just had to make sure he could counter any surprises Palpatine had built into the ship. He felt his apprentice approaching from behind and turned to him.

"You are troubled," Vader stated without preamble.

Issei nodded as he dug into his jacket. "Indeed, master. Tonight has been very… eventful."

"Yes. I heard of your gauntlet from heiress Gremory and heiress Sitri."

"My Sacred Gear is only a part of it, master."

"Oh? What else troubles you, young Hyōdō?"

"This, master," Issei replied as he pulled out a lightsaber. Vader recognized immediately that it wasn't Issei's lightsaber.

The former Sith held out a hand toward Issei, who promptly handed it over. Vader turned it over in his hands before taking a defensive stance and igniting the weapon. An orange-red blade appeared. Vader's eyes narrowed underneath his helmet as he examined the blade.

He could already tell the crystal was synthetic, just as his now was. There were no naturally occurring crystals that gave off this color, even if a blade was bled. Besides, he couldn't feel the Dark Side radiating off the blade like bled crystals usually gave off. He switched the blade off and handed it back to Issei.

"Who wielded that blade?"

"I didn't catch his name, but he was definitely a Force User. I would go so far as to call him a Dark Jedi, but not beyond that. He was certainly not a Sith."

"A Dark Jedi? He must have concealed himself through the Force, but that ability is difficult to maintain in a duel. Perhaps he was using Quey'tek meditation? No matter. This presents a problem for us. If Palpatine has one Dark Jedi, he is bound to have others. We must consider that for any of our future endeavors."

"Lord Vader?" a voice asked into the pair's conversation.

Vader glanced at the man who'd spoken, one of the technicians from the Executor. Judging from the headset on his head, he was a communications tech. The man was standing at rigid attention. It didn't hide the man's fear, however, and Vader couldn't blame him. When he'd been Palpatine's slave, he wasn't the most patient or tolerant of commanders. Many an Imperial Officer, such as Captain Needa, Admiral Ozzel, and General Tagge, had met their demise for their failures or incompetence.

Vader had done his best to distance himself from the man he'd become before Endor. Twenty years of being that man, however, left their mark on not only him but most of the men in the Imperial military. The technician's reaction to his presence was a good example of that mark.

"Speak, ensign," Vader commanded.

"Transmission for you in the comm room, milord. It's coming from the Fallen's comlink."

"Very well. We shall speak later, young Hyōdō," Vader remarked as he began walking to the Nubian. Issei bowed his head in acknowledgment while Vader noticed the technician relax his posture. Not enough to break military decorum, but enough to show his relief.

Vader stood behind the seated comm technician, Piett next to him as the tech activated the comm.

"Report," Vader ordered as he folded his arms.

Raynare cleared her throat before beginning to speak. "Argento is no longer in the abandoned church. She, myself, and two of the other Fallen have been brought to an outpost. I'm not entirely sure where it is, but I do know it's close to the Industrial District. We're also not the only ones that have been brought here."

"Who else was taken?"

"I believe some of the students from Kuoh Academy, judging from their uniforms, as well as some Yōkai. That's not important right now, though. Palpatine has a way of watching you! I don't know how he does, but perhaps there's a spy or something."

"No, not a spy. Our ships. They all have back doors for Palpatine to access. They were put in place to ensure none of his warships could be fully used against him."

"Great. Anyway, from what I've seen, most of the men here are normal soldiers. They're tactical gear and have guns, but that's it. There are four squads of Stormtroopers and one squad of troopers called 'Dark Troopers', but I can't get any information about them. All I know is that there was one other squad out when I was brought in."

"We have them. They tried to capture the Devil heiresses an hour ago. We're interrogating them as we speak. Tell me of these other Fallen."

"Mittelt and Kalawarna. Mittelt is the weakest of the Fallen here in Kuoh, and Kalawarna is the third strongest. Dohnaseek, our fourth member, is still at the church with other Palpatine-loyal troops. Both Kalawarna and Mittelt were corrupted, and from what I can tell, so was Dohnaseek. That would leave our Stray Exorcists as the only ones uncorrupted by Palpatine."

"Do not be so sure of that. That problem, however, will be dealt with at another time. Who is in command of this outpost?"

"A man named Varnin. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"No, it does not. Is that all?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Very well. I have new instructions for you: you are to begin preparing for our arrival at the outpost. We have one of their ships in our custody, and it will be a simple matter of retracing its flight path. You are to take control of wherever they are holding Argento and the other prisoners. You will hold that area until we find you. Once that is accomplished, you will bring them all back here. Is that understood, Raynare?"

"Yes, my lord. What am I to do with the prison guards?"

"They are expendable. Do with them what you wish."

"And my fellow Fallen?"

"Leave them to me. I will contact you when I have arrived at the outpost. That will be your signal to strike."

"As you wish, my lord," Raynare answered, cutting the comm transmission.

Piett turned to Vader, his expression concerned, "Are you sure this is wise, milord? Those 'Dark Troopers' she mentioned may be a problem."

"Explain, Admiral," Vader stated as he lowered his arms and began walking out of the comm room, the Axxilan Admiral following close behind. Vader noticed that Piett had pulled out a datapad as he walked.

"From what we were able to gather from our prisoners, their armor has been augmented to allow them a small amount of Force powers. Nothing major, of course, but significant enough that they would be problematic for our main troops. We're not sure how this was done."

"Palpatine was knowledgeable in quite a number of Sith techniques and practices. It would not surprise me if he found a way to do this through that knowledge. I am unconcerned about the Dark Troopers, however. I do not intend to bring our standard troops on this mission."

"You mean you'll be doing this on your own, milord?"

"No. I will be taking Triton Squad and my personal guard unit. My apprentice will also remain here. He and the Devils have gone through enough conflict tonight."

"Would you like me to inform them so that you can prepare, milord?"

"No, Admiral. I will do that myself. Relay my orders to my guards and Triton Squad."

"As you wish, milord," Piett replied before splitting away from Vader and heading down another hallway.

Issei was sitting on a couch, looking down at the lightsaber he'd taken from the corpse of the Dark Jedi he'd killed. Thoughts raced around his head on a variety of topics, but not one focused on the Dark Jedi lightsaber. It was like a taboo topic in his mind. To acknowledge it would force him to confront the fact that he had killed his first person. He was sixteen years old, dammit. How was a sixteen-year-old supposed to comprehend taking a life?

"Issei?" a voice asked into his thoughts, causing his gaze to come off the lightsaber.

Rias stood in the doorway, a worried look marring her face. Her arms were folded as her gaze drifted to the lightsaber. It lingered on the captured weapon for only a moment before coming back to meet his eyes.

"Are you alright? You've been quiet ever since we left the Industrial District."

Issei pursed his lips before sighing and gently tossing the lightsaber on the glass table in front of him. It made a soft clink and rolled slightly, only stopping when Issei used the Force to halt its momentum. He tried to smile at the Gremory heiress, but it felt more like a frown.

"Yeah, I'm fine… just… thinking is all."

"I think I can guess what you were thinking about," Rias said soothingly as her eyes flicked to the lightsaber on the table.

Issei gave a mirthless chuckle at that before moving over to let Rias sit. He figured she was going to ask to sit anyway so why wait for her to ask? He felt the couch shift as Rias sat down, but he'd gone back to staring at the lightsaber.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Does it get easier?"

"Killing?"

"Yeah."

"In a way, it does. I would say it depends on who or what you're killing at the moment. For example, let's take a Stray Devil and a human. I have no qualms about killing Strays simply because they are monsters. They're dangerous to almost everyone and capturing them is a waste. Once they become a Stray, there isn't any going back."

"I'm guessing that's not the case with humans though, is it?"

"No. To put it simply, humans are far more complicated. Killing a human is far more difficult because they can change. Their emotions, thoughts, and pretty much everything else about them are always in flux. I've found that there is rarely a way to avoid some kind of regret when I'm forced to kill someone. Even the evilest of humans have some spark of inherent good in them. Humans like Vader, for example."

"I see. Do you think I could have avoided killing the Dark Jedi?"

"As much as it pains me to say it, I don't think you could have. If you'd held back, I doubt you, Sona, or I would be here. Kiba and the others certainly wouldn't be either."

"I know… but I doubt I'm ever going to stop thinking about that. Thinking of what I could have done better."

"If you ever feel like you want to talk about it, know that I and the others are open."

"Thanks."

"So, what are you going to do with that new blade?"

"The lightsaber? I'm not really sure. I'm sure I'll figure something out."

"I'm sure you will," a new voice spoke up from the doorway.

The two glanced up to see Sona leaning on the doorframe, her arms folded. They saw past her and could see her and Rias's Peerage mingling.

"I was wondering where they were. I'm guessing they were making sure no one was around to see us take out the Stray Devil?"

"Yes. They heard the shots and started moving as quickly as they could, but you know the Industrial District," Sona answered as she came off the doorframe, "So what do we know about our assailants?"

"Other than the fact that they work for Palpatine? Not much. Their gear is new. Seems Palpatine decided to improve on the Stormtrooper armor. Those sets in particular were disconcerting."

"Oh? How so?"

"They are utterly bathed in the Dark Side of the Force. I felt it when they were stripping the troopers."

"The Force can enchant items?" Rias cut in, glancing at Issei in concern.

The breathing from a nearby stairway clued them in that Vader was approaching before he answered Rias, "Indeed, heiress Gremory."

Vader stepped out, quickly followed by his personal guard of Death Troopers and a squad of Stormtroopers Issei had never seen before. The Stormtroopers all had a stylized snarling Wookie face on their chest plates and dark green lenses. Each was wearing a pauldron, though only the Commander and the second-in-command were wearing a different colored pauldron. Their paint scheme was also a deeper shade of blue than the standard 501st's.

"Good that you are all here. We need to speak."

"What about, master?"

"Raynare has reported, my apprentice. The men you faced were one of many teams sent out by an outpost Palpatine has here in Kuoh Town. I and the men behind me will be taking it."

"That seems very aggressive, lord Vader. Why the change in tactics?"

"They have the nun, as well as others from Kuoh Academy."

"What?"

"Indeed. We cannot stand by and let them be taken to Palpatine."

"Agreed. What do you want us to do?"

"Nothing. You have been through enough this night. Besides, I doubt you would want to oust yourselves as Devils to your fellow students. Am I correct in that assumption?"

"Yes…"

"That means I'm also staying, right?"

"That is correct. You and Admiral Piett will be in command while I am away. Have our men put on alert until I return."

"It will be done, master."

"Good. I will notify you when I am on my way back. That should give you time to leave, heiresses. You will do the same, Issei," Vader ordered, his usage of Issei's first name telling Issei that his master would take no arguments on this. Issei bowed his head in assent.

"I will speak with you all tomorrow to go over our next steps."

With that, Vader turned and left through the doorway opposite Issei and the Devils, toward the hangar.

Surveillance Outpost Omicron, Japan

"You may begin, Raynare," Vader stated through the comlink.

Raynare couldn't stop the evil smile that formed on her face. It was time for a little revenge… "Yes, lord Vader."

She shut down the comlink and began her journey back to the holding cells, making sure that she went unnoticed by Palpatine's men and women. A plan began to form in the back of her mind as she walked. It was a simple plan, truth be told, but it would work for this occasion.

The door to the cells was up ahead, and no guards were in sight. She palmed the panel like the Stormtrooper from earlier had. The door slid up with little sound to the same group of guards and cells full of prisoners. It was time to get to work.

Milbren Drimach was nursing a cup of coffee when he heard the door in front of him open. He glanced up with a raised eyebrow as he saw a single Fallen enter. He couldn't remember her name, but he believed she was the newest one to be "brought over" to their side. He shrugged and went back to his coffee as one of his fellow guards went over to figure out what she was doing there.

He paid little attention to the conversation, taking a sip from his coffee. He grimaced as he found out too late that the damn thing was still as hot as Mustafaran lava. He could already tell he wouldn't be tasting anything right for the next few days. He swore under his breath as he set the coffee down. Just as he did, he saw a flash of red light and watched in horror as the Fallen gutted his fellow guard. The spear tip punched out the man's back through the armor.

The other guards were quick to grab their blasters just as he was leaping toward the alarm switch. He was shoved backward as another spear nailed the hand reaching for the switch to the wall behind him. He began to scream as he tried to grab the spear with his other hand and pull it out.

Taikan Nagamine was the first of the three remaining guards to get his blaster out of his holster. He didn't even bother shouldering the weapon, firing it one-handed at the traitorous Fallen. The shot wasn't even close. The bolt impacted the far wall and blew a crooked-looking grin into it.

"Fucking Fallen bitch!" he yelled as he fired another shot at the Fallen. This shot also went wide and would've hit one of the prisoners had they not ducked at the last second.

The Fallen seemed to blur as she sprinted toward him. He only caught a glimpse of her appearance changing before he was knocked into one of the cells. He righted himself and was about to fire again when a large red hand shot out of the cell and grabbed the blaster. He was then pulled against the bars of the cell by a pair of hands. Before he could do anything else, he felt clawed fingers slice his throat from left to right.

His free hand shot to his throat as the chest plate he wore was drenched in his own blood. The hands holding him against the bars of the cell let go just as the one large hand let go of his blaster. He fell to the ground, turning towards the cell as he did. Fucking Yōkai had gotten the drop on him while he was focused on the Fallen. He raised the rifle weakly in an attempt at revenge. He heard a noise to his left, saw pale skin and black feathers, and knew no more as the spear in the Fallen's hand skewered his brain through his eye socket.

Raynare watched the final threat, a kid no older than twenty or so, glance around the room, realize he was fucked six ways from Sunday, toss the blaster at her, and make a dash for the door. He didn't get far as his head was exploded by the blaster he'd just tossed at her, as she swiftly caught it, flipped it around, and fired.

She turned the blaster on the screamer and fired again, hitting him in the chest. She glanced down at the gun once before she tossed it away too. She went behind the control console, looking for a way to open the cells.

"Ok, what in the actual Hell is going on?" a young woman asked from a cell on her left. Judging from the uniform she was wearing, it was one of the students from Kuoh Academy.

"Rescue operation," Raynare replied as she put her wings away.

"I got that bit, but who are these guys?"

"Can't really talk at the moment, so please be quiet until I can get the cells open?"

"Lady Raynare?" Asia questioned blearily from the cell on her left.

"Glad to hear you're still alive, Argento. Got it!"

The cells opened with a resounding clank. The Yōkai who'd killed the guard she'd thrown at them walked out first. It was an Oni, a Kitsune, and a Monkey Yōkai. Raynare was somewhat impressed Palpatine's men were able to get their hands on an Oni.

"So when did the Fallen betray their human allies?" the Oni asked bluntly, glowering down at her. She wasn't a big one, only about nine feet tall.

"They didn't. I did a few days ago. Most of the Fallen here in Kuoh are being coerced into working with these bastards."

"Coerced how?" the Kitsune asked as the first set of humans left their cells.

"Not really the right person to ask about it. My master, the one who just asked me to free all of you I might add, would be. I'm mostly here for revenge."

"Revenge for what?" the Oni asked, this time glancing at the humans who were slowly becoming more and more shocked at the sight of the Yōkai. Raynare dropped her disguise, causing those in front of her to jump.

"For this. What they did to make me work for them has a side effect when it's broken. This is that side effect."

"Ok then. So how are we going to get out of here?" the Kuoh Academy girl questioned, picking up the blaster Raynare had tossed.

"We're not, at least for now. There's still too many of them out there. We're going to hold until my master gets here, which shouldn't be long."

"So do we wait for explanations about everything later?"

"In short, yes. Now let's start getting this place ready for trouble!"

Major Irtay Varnin marched to the hangar bay, a squadron of Stormtroopers behind him, all ready to bring in the Gremory and Sitri heiresses. Varnin was sure he was going to get a promotion for this. Operation Hunter's Moon had been his idea, and so far, there had been no issues in getting any of the targets requested by the Emperor. He'd finally be able to get away from Kuoh Town, which he believed was far too entrenched in the supernatural, and move up to one of the outposts near Kyoto or maybe even Tokyo.

From there, he could plan another Hunter's Moon and hopefully earn another promotion! He wanted to get to the rank of High Colonel, a lofty enough position without all the damn paperwork of the even higher up ranks, like Brigadier General. There he could reap the benefits of the eventual takeover of Earth and reconstruction of the Empire without the hassle of working through papers or setting orders or whatever else have you.

"Report on the shuttle, Deck Officer," Varnin ordered through his comlink while turning down a hallway.

"Transport shuttle Inimicus is landing in the hangar as we speak, Major Varnin," the Deck Officer replied, causing Varnin to grow a smug smile.

"Excellent. Inform the holding area to prepare two cells for our brand-new guests."

"Right away, Major."

The final door between Varnin and the hangar slid open just as Inimicus landed. He approached the craft while his men fanned out behind him. He stopped just before the area where the entry ramp would be lowered and waited. He never lost his smile as he waited, rehearsing just what he would say to the two Devil prizes inside the ship. The ramp lowered as the door leading into the ship's interior opened.

"Welcome to Omicron, heir-HRGHK!" Varnin was cut off as a trio of Death troopers with the 501st pattern emblazoned on their armor shot out of the ship and swiftly killed half of the Stormtroopers he'd brought with him.

The other half of his Stormtrooper squad was killed by a squadron of Stormtroopers from the Inimicus. All of the Inimicus Stormtroopers, all of which were wearing the old version of Stormtrooper armor, were also wearing the paint scheme of the 501st. Once all of his men were dead, both the Death Troopers and the Stormtroopers quickly snapped to attention at the sides of the Inimicus's entry ramp. Varnin felt his feet leave the floor as he reached for the invisible hands around his throat. That was when he heard the breathing.

Khooh Puuhr

Varnin stared in horror as the worst person that any Imperial Officer could ever meet stepped out of the shuttle and slowly walked down the steps. He felt tears well up in his terrified eyes as the pressure on his throat grew tighter. The black-gloved hand he knew was the cause of his choking was constricting slowly as the man who just left the shuttle began to speak.

"Thank you for your welcome, Major," Darth Vader said calmly as his hand constricted further, "though I doubt I was the one you were expecting."

Varnin took one hand away from his throat to begin reaching for the pistol at his side. If he could just get a shot off at Vader, maybe he could-

He never finished the thought as Vader clenched his fist, snapping Varnin's neck. The former Sith lord dropped the now-dead Major Irtay Varnin and turned to the door.

"Let us go and introduce ourselves."

Author's Note: Seems like a month between updates is my tempo. Not that I'm complaining. College is starting again soon so that fits perfectly. Anywho, nothing else to really say here. See you in a month I guess?

Note: I hate the fact that FF screws up all of the little things I do for these chapters (Bolding, Italics, Underlining, etc.)...