Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age or Star Wars
Coinciding with the release of the new Star Wars film, as well as the release of my first part of this series, here is the sequel to Dragon Wars: Rebellion
To new comers, its basically like a Series 2 where Rebellion was series 1. So the chapter/episode style carries on from the previous story. As a summary for the newcomers, the Sith Empire took over Thedas, changed its political structure and history and the fates of many characters. In Ferelden, the human Mage Daylen Amell worked together with Loghain Mac Tir to found a rebellion, winning their first battle, but at a cost.
The Force of Others will explore other parts of Thedas, and the galaxy far, far away, introducing the Republic. Each chapter will be told by a location point of view, first with the Thedas galaxy, and then with the republic space. In terms of the canon and overall story, this takes place after Knights of the Old Republic 2, but characters from other timelines of Star Wars, both canon and legends will have versions of themselves introduced in this series.
With the explanations out of the way, enjoy everyone and Happy Christmas.
A long time ago in a galaxy Far, far away...
The rebellion begins, Thedas has risen up in rebellion against the Sith empire. Uniting under the name of the rebel alliance, the people of Thedas begin the long task of finding a means to shrink the gap between them and the more advanced empire.
Meanwhile, Jedi Grand Master Meetra Surik has sensed the approaching darkness. The Old Republic is waning, the chancellor Gaian Valorum has reduced the republic's military strength and downplayed the Sith as an extinct threat. Hundreds of systems in the republic have left to form a confederacy of independent systems, protected by former Jedi Lord Hoth and his army of light, or have been conquered by the Dark Brotherhood, a group of dark Jedi led by fallen master Skere Kaan. While on Ossus, a man assuming the name Darth Krayt has declared the systems surrounding Ossus 'the new galactic empire' and has launched a war of conquest. Chaos has spread across the galaxy as warlords rise to make their own boats for dominion.
In the republic, Meetra calls upon her fellow former Exile, Jedi Guardian Klue and his service corps to face the new threats, and investigate an unknown ship that has warped into the Typhon system. Whilst in imperial territory, following the example of the believed dead Daylen Amell, Loghain Mac Tir launches a guerrilla war against the empire.
Dragon Wars: Force of others
Episode 21: Those whom rise
The Lambda class shuttle was the primary transport of Imperial VIPS. Through the space lanes between the planet Thedas and a distant moon named Orcho-0, the shuttle flew. Imperial fighters came up on the flanks of the shuttle, the red armoured pilots looking through the cockpit canopies at the markings on the ship.
"Shuttle Theta-6, you have blaster marks on your starboard hull, have you been in a fire fight recently?" the pilot of one of the escorts asked.
"Affirmative escort, we came upon a rebel cell seeking to steal our cargo," the pilot said.
A moment passed in which the information was verified. An attempted theft of Theta-6 was in the logs.
"Aren't we done here yet?" the passenger demanded.
She spoke with an imperial accent, and wore the garb of an imperial. A white shirt with a red collar and a black and red cloak. Her skin was tanned and hair dark, her makeup marking her as someone whom prided herself on appearance. After another brief pause, the shuttle was given the go ahead to dock with the station on Orcho-0. The shuttle came down towards the landing pad, its wings folding upwards as it landed. Dust swept across the region, marking the white armour of the 'elite' Stormtroopers. But the young men and women behind the armour were fresh out of combat training, untested. Even the commander who stepped out to greet the VIP believed that keeping order amongst the locals, the 'primitives' who still believed in swords, arrows and gods would be easy.
"Welcome to Orcho-0, how may I help you?" the commander asked.
"I am here on behalf of Governor Ridley, her construction project on the Frostback mountains requires more workers," the VIP said.
"I heard there was a rebel presence there!"
"Refugees from Ferelden and the Dales are being rounded up as we speak," she stated.
"Well, we have a great many slaves here capable of physical labour. Mostly primitives from the lands North of the continent of Thedas, Svanhild I believe it called. Many of them are strong, but they are unruly. You have a better chance of controlling the Twi'leks, we have children for the small jobs requiring crawlers, the men can lift well enough. For a price though I do have a 'special stock'," the commander explained, grinning as he looked at the woman.
She frowned, looking at the outpost and the slaves already being punished with shock staves and physical exercise. The slave trade was common in the empire, many commanders and regional governors undertook it.
"Pray tell, what is this stock, and what might be the price for securing it?" she asked.
"Wookies, migrants that tried to establish a colony on one of the distant worlds. They're much stronger than humans, and despite their dialect very intelligent. But they're susceptible to certain treatments, shock them right, behave in the right way and like dogs they'll fall under heel."
"I might just accept it," the VIP said. "Can we find a place away from the rabble and the dust to discuss terms and price?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, the command centre is well enough away from the noise!"
The VIP clicked her fingers at her two guards, both of them in the red armour and robes of the imperial guard corps. They marched alongside her through the corridors of the complex. Though the commander didn't notice it, the VIP was looking at the guard postings, the way the place had been built. It was built into the natural mountain growth of the moon itself. If the tunnels collapsed, many would die. Of course these things were thought of as impossibilities. The command centre was small, having no windows and only vents for air. A semi circle of consoles was the only real thing in the room.
"We'll take the Svanhild stock for ten thousand credits and the Wookies for an additional ten thousand," she said.
"No," he shook his head, frowning at her. "Wookies are rare on this side of space, thirty thousand credits for them."
"You made it out like there was an entire colony, you have approximately twenty. Considering their worth and the importance of the project I will pay fifteen thousand."
"Twenty thousand, considering the worth of the project," the commander smirked as he put his hands on his hips.
"Fifteen thousand for the wookies, my silence on your side venture and the cargo of ale I can claim to the fleet authority was stolen during the rebel's attempted hijacking," she explained.
The commander put a hand to his chin, thinking for a long moment.
"What kind of ale?" he asked.
"The kind that is illegal, my silence, for your silence," she gestured to him and raised her hand in offer to seal the deal.
He smiled as he shook her hand. Unknown to him however one of the guards had dropped something from his cape. A ball and a half ball, that magnetically fused together and had rolled through one of the vents. Cranes at the port unloaded the shuttle's cargo and port workers began to punch in the access codes.
"You'll be sure to tell the governor of my support?" the commander asked.
"I'll be sure to tell the Arl of your generosity," the VIP said, smirking herself.
A confused look crossed the face of the commander. One shared by those who opened the crate, to reveal a group of men and women in armour. At the front of the men stood a silver haired elf, a battle crown covering part of his face. He held his sword with both hands, runes across his skin beginning to glow.
"This may hurt," he said, grinning.
One of the men beside him fired his crossbow, whilst the one on his right threw a knife. Both projectiles pierced the necks of the guards. The silver haired elf came out of the crate, and was the first to strike the other guards. He swung his sword, beheading one guard. Then, his arm suddenly passed through another's, crushing his heart.
"Fenris here," he said, grabbing the comm. device on his belt. "We're in!"
Inside, one of the red guards nodded her head. She activated her electro staff, swinging it into a Storm troopers neck. Her fellow guard grabbed the arm of the Storm trooper beside him, redirecting his blaster fire to the ceiling. He smacked the trooper with his rod, once to break his leg, then another in the head to knock him out. The commander put his hand to his pistol, only for the handle of a gun to slam into the back of his head.
"We could have waited a little longer Bethany," the VIP chided the red guard, her accent revealing her Antivan roots.
Both guards took off their helmets, one revealing a dark haired girl, the other a dark haired man.
"You know Fenris, he won't wait whilst others are in chains Josephine," Bethany said.
"I'm not saying he should, but rushing to violence like this..."
"Is why we are here Montillyet," the man said, crouching by the commander, producing a knife from his belt.
He proceeded to stab the man in the throat, spraying his blood across the floor.
"Nathaniel!" Josephine gasped, putting her hands to her mouth in horror.
"He was a slaver, he doesn't deserve your pity," Nathaniel Howe threw off his disguise.
Underneath it he had been wearing a blue tunic and plates of silver armour. He unravelled from the cloak a small quiver of arrows, then he folded out a bow. After manually attaching the string, he took out his comm. device.
"Tethras have you broken through yet?" he asked.
In one of the tunnels, two Storm troopers were standing idle. One was bopping his head along, listening to his favourite song.
"I'm Solo, I'm Solo! I'm Ha..."
"INCOMING!"
Suddenly, the wall was blown open, sending both troopers crashing into the wall. A blonde haired dwarf ran out of the dust, his coat part open to reveal his hairy chest. He carried in his arms a customised cross bow, and wore a silver guard on his shoulder. Other dwarves quickly came after him, men and women in Carta uniforms and Legion armour.
"We're in, broody?" Varric grinned.
Outside, Fenris crashed his sword through the head of a Stormtrooper.
"Sliced through the door, we're going in!"
He ran through the doors as they opened, leading the warriors behind him. In the security station, Nathaniel and Bethany fired at approaching Storm troopers. Nathaniel his bow, Bethany bolts of fire and lightning from her hands. When her mana ran dry she drank potions to replenish. As they held the door, Josephine began hacking the security system. Having been given an imperial education in tech, she was more familiar with computers than most. Sliding through different areas of the network, she accessed logs.
"There are a hundred able bodied North men, with fifty additional Twi'lek and human slaves. The commander was right, they have twenty wookies!"
"We won't have enough room in the shuttle for all of them, we need to free the fighters and come back for the others. Forget the wookies, we won't be able to communicate with them," Nathaniel explained.
"But we can't just leave them," Josephine said.
"She's right, besides he wouldn't have left them behind. Football, have you found the shuttle bay?" Bethany asked.
The appropriately named, ball shaped utility droid had been working its way through the access tunnels, shutting down cameras, alarms and the wiring of additional defences. It stopped and warbled out a series of beeps.
"F8-B1 says that it is almost there, the log says that there are four shuttles. I know how to pilot, if you get me to Varric or Fenris's group I can join them and help evacuate," Josephine explained.
"If we take the risk..."
"This isn't your mission Nathaniel, I'll take responsibility, we're not leaving anyone behind," Bethany said.
She came out of corner, manipulating the gravity with mana, called force magic before the force came to Thedas. The enemies in front of her were lifted up, and then slammed into the ground. Bethany twirled her staff, slamming it into the ground. A fist of rock then bashed the soldiers into the ceiling. She shocked one as she passed, her allies following behind her. They came into the mining level, just as Fenris shoved his sword through the chest of a trooper. He nodded to the three rebels and ran down the corridor with his squad.
"Place the charge, quickly," Fenris commanded his Ferelden breacher.
The man in red heavy chainmail armour removed a rocket launcher from his back. He fired, trading the launcher for the modified beam gatling gun. It had a sword strapped to it, allowing it to act as a bayonet weapon too. He began firing as the smoke from the rocket cleared, hearing the yells of the troopers behind the door. Archers and pistol wielders behind him followed up the shooting, hitting other enemies that flooded towards the door.
"How long Bethany?" Fenris demanded.
He and his squad went through the wrecked door, entering the mining area and the prison complex. Prisoners were put in laser grid cells on platforms, ones connected to elevators that would take them to the mining levels. F8-B1 came to a stop at a conduit, and slid out its mechanical arm, beginning the process of slicing through security. On the other side of the complex, Josephine kept hidden behind Varric's squad, the dwarves crashing axes into armour, tearing knives though flesh and returning blaster fire with bombs and crossbow bolts. A carta dwarf placed a mine on the ground, running to cover as the over eager Storm troopers pursued him. The concussive wave threw the Storm troopers back and buried them beneath rubble.
"We're nearly to the shuttle bay, got some plans of my own scruples," Varric grinned at Josephine.
Varric shot two troopers in quick succession, using hand signals to coordinate his squad. They gathered around a blast door and placed pads and discs over it.
"Applying lyrium now, placing fuse," one of the legionnaires took a deep breath as they fixed a fuse onto the device.
Varric removed a pair of matches from his coat pocket. He lit the fuse and faced either side of the door with his squad. They prepped their crossbows and stolen blasters, whilst two legionnaires lit fuses on their grenades. The device on the blast door activated, melting a hole into the metal.
"Dagna will be pleased to know it works," Varric muttered.
The two legionnaires threw their grenades, the explosion blowing a cloud of smoke through the door. Then the dwarves began fitting through the gap, checking the room for any troopers still alive.
"Get up to the control room, get the doors open and man the guns, there's a secondary hanger they'll be launching fighters from," Varric said to his squad mates. "Wedge, prep one of the shuttles for launch!"
"Bethany, are we ready yet?" Josephine asked over the comm.
"Football will be ready," Bethany knocked a trooper off of a platform, throwing him into the depths of the mine below.
Nathaniel managed to sabotage one of the control panels, enough to get a cell door open. Inside were Twi'lek men and women, some were strong, but most were malnourished and sick. He looked towards Bethany, who was using electric magic to open the cell of another group of Twi'lek slaves.
"Don't worry, we're not with the Sith, we're here to rescue you," she said, drawing a pistol from her hip and giving it to the first strong looking Twi'lek she saw.
The others picked up the weapons of the dead Storm troopers. Or at least those Twi'leks who weren't supporting the old and young. Still, Bethany did look like a leader.
"We need strength Bethany," he said.
She stabbed her staff into a console, shocking it enough to open the cell door. Inside it were the twenty wookies. Both Bethany and Nathaniel had heard of the Wookies, but the descriptions they heard hadn't done them justice. Despite their dirty fur, they were gigantic, like human bears. The Wookie at the front, though not the biggest of them was the first to stand, narrowing her eyes at Bethany.
"I don't know if you can understand us, but please understand this," Bethany threw a blaster at the Wookie's feet. "We are enemies of the empire, we fight them, will you fight them too?" she raised her hand, an offer.
One the Wookie considered for a moment, taking a step towards Bethany. She took Bethany's hand and let out a roar. Bethany wasn't intimidated, she didn't raise up a defence. The Wookie leader turned to her clan mates and let out the same roar to them. Each of them began to roar too, raising their arms up in applause.
"This is our strength Nathaniel, unity," Bethany said.
Her eyes were so determined, just as his had been. The Wookies were strong, and angry, and not the animals they looked like. They understood Bethany's directions, they understood the priority was rescue. On the level below them, Fenris's group cheered as the cells began to open. F8-B1 had done its job.
"I am not one of you, but I have tasted the sting of the empire's whip, in this we understand each other. Fight with us and we will see that you are never enslaved again, we will see the Sith pay!" Fenris too was a leader, throwing sword and blaster to those who exited the pens.
The North men and women were big and bulky, many dressed in ragged clothing and even loin cloths. One took an axe and raised it over his head.
"Let's go kill some fucking Sith!"
None of the Ferelden or Kirkwall rebels understood his words. But it rallied the northern fighters and they ran out of the cells.
"We fight," the man said to Fenris in his thick accented voice.
Fenris ran alongside the giant, slicing through flesh as he crashed his axe through armour.
"Anyone who can't fight go down that corridor, the rest of you, please come this way," Bethany said, guiding the freed fighters and slaves through the corridor of tunnels.
F8-B1 suddenly crashed through one of the vents, beeping and whistling to Bethany.
"You shut down communications, great job buddy that should buy us some time," she had learnt droid speak at the tower, though it wasn't a subject many saw the point of.
Even he hadn't studied how to communicate with the astro-mech droids. Fenris and his team, alongside the Svanhild fighters, Wookies and other freed fighters joined Bethany in their run to their freighter.
"Oi, why are bears running into our ship? I thought Varric was joking when he said those Sevenhild lot were as strong as bears," the blonde haired, elven pilot said.
"Its pronounced Svan, and the furry ones are Wookies, now get us out of here Sera, we need to support Josephine and Varric as they take off," Bethany said.
Nathaniel and Fenris climbed down to the gunner ports, the former operating beam cannon and the latter a chain gun. Sera began to raise the ship off of the dock, scraping one of the railings as she flew.
"Watch it Sera," Bethany said.
"Well if you can fly better be my guest, then we'll see how far we really get," Sera retorted.
The Wookie leader came up to the cockpit, tapping Bethany's shoulder and gesturing to the controls.
"Get the wocky away, it's fur stinks," Sera said.
The Wookie growled and roared at Sera.
"She not it Sera, and unless that wasn't evidence enough she can understand what you're saying," Bethany said.
"Then why the bloody hell doesn't she speak proper words then?" Sera asked.
As she ranted, the roar of the infamous Tie fighters echoed and the ship shook. Sera swerved the ship, throwing some of the crew off balance. The Wookie leader had to lean on Bethany for support, shaking her head as she looked at Sera.
"Sera, try to get us into position," Fenris said.
"Position for what?"
"FOR SHOOTING THEM DOWN MAKER DAMN IT!" Bethany yelled.
"Oi, don't yell at me, I'm looking to stick it to the empire nobs too you know!"
Again the ship shook, the crew feeling blaster fire hit the ship. The Wookie leader threw her arms up, marched over to Sera and lifted her off of the chair with one hand.
"HEY!" she screamed as she was thrown away from the cockpit.
"What is the bear trying to do, break the ship apart?" Sera demanded.
But much to her shock, the Wookie sat at the piloting seat, pushed a few buttons and took a hold of the control sticks. Fenris and Nathaniel both smirked as their targeting retinas lined up with their targets. Nathaniel swept a beam through his target, whilst Fenris shot his apart. The ship increased speed, and the ride was much smoother. Bethany watched the Wookie operate the machines without hesitation, as if she knew exactly how to fly the machine. Because she did know how to fly it, because the Wookies weren't animals, they were intelligent beings. Just as, if not more so than the people of Thedas. The two shuttles came out of the mining hanger, carrying cargo boxes.
"Josephine, Varric what's with the cargo?" Bethany asked.
"A change of plans, something Varric insisted on, don't worry Bethany, we've got them out," Josephine smiled as she spoke through the shuttle comm.
She looked behind her, at the Twi'lek and Thedas families, all of them sharing reunions. They had accomplished something great, but this was just phase one of the mission.
"We'll meet you at the rendezvous point," Bethany said.
She began took several bags, beginning to pass out weapons and armour. Armour made by dwarves, Ferelden and Kirkwall armour, even some plates from Storm troopers or the regular imperial military. Then came weapons, swords, axes, bows and arrows and blasters. Sera unzipped her imperial disguise, revealing her red, shoulder less top and skirt. She put her brown skirt back on and pulled her bag away from the new recruits. Inside it was her bow and arrows, her archery glove, utility belt and a shoulder guard.
"I'd rather stick some arrows in people anyway," she said and Bethany smiled.
Despite some of her many flaws, Sera was a good archer, and she was creative too. Bethany would prefer her on the field than in infiltration and piloting. Bethany put on her own equipment belt, adjusted her scarf and white top, reinforced with chainmail. Then she picked up her custom staff 'staff of the new growth' and walked over to the Wookie pilot.
"All right, this is where I need you to take us," she said and began to whisper the coordinates into her ear.
Frostback Mountains-Rebel raid-phase 2
Under the grey cloths they laid, Loghain and his men. Knights of Ferelden, the assembled army of a destroyed country. Now they waited, waited for the moment to strike. They had slowly crawled up the mountain path, until they were near enough the imperial stronghold to see it. Built into the mountain, the stronghold belonged to governor Ridley. She had experience in the Sith military, limited to communications and trade organisation though. Shuttles lanes hadn't yet replaced roads, and Ridley used caravans to transfer supplies. The empire dug into the mountain, taking mineral deposits that would be transferred to caravans, taken to Orlais and transported off world via shuttle. Loghain saw it as the empire bleeding their world dry, leaving nothing for them. The empire took not just minerals, but lyrium too, and any artefact of elven origin. Then there was the bodies, young Thedosians indoctrinated to be loyal to the empire, to join their enforcers the Storm troopers or be cannon fodder for their regular military.
A full scale war would not be fought with the empire, that much Loghain knew. Storm troopers were well disciplined and loyal, but in actuality poorly equipped. Their armour had more weaknesses than the kind the regular Sith military used. Any marksmanship ability a Storm trooper had, was minimised by the helmets they wore. Their armour made them weak against the elements too. Whilst a regular Sith soldier was adaptable. In short, the Storm troopers were equipped to intimidate populaces and the regular army was trained to kill them.
Against either force, the rebellion would not last. But hit and run tactics, a 'guerrilla' war would drain the empire's resources, whilst the rebellion would build theirs up. Traditionally. a guerilla war's primary goal was to drain an enemy's resources and eventually their economy, to make fighting and holding on to land more costly than it was worth. Loghain however suspected that the empire would not so easily cast Thedas aside. For all the good the Ferelden mages and the man who united them had done in freeing Ferelden, their actions had shown the Sith the value of mages and that Thedas was ready for a higher form of war.
"The shuttle is incoming," Loghain heard Cauthrien say.
She was using a spy glass, he however used a pair of binoculars taken from an imperial officer. Turning the dial on its side, Loghain looked through the clouds at the shuttle. He analysed how it flew, much smoother than that red Jenny girl.
'Were they discovered?' he wondered for a small moment.
Then he saw that the shuttle was flying on the same path he had agreed on with Bethany. The shuttle flew over the castle, making sure Ridley and everyone else was looking at it. For a moment it drifted over the landing bay, before it rotated. Its guns aimed at the fuel tanks.
"Now," Loghain declared.
As the blasters fired, and the explosion broke the outer wall of the castle, the next phase of the plan begun. From the wilderness of the mountain road ran Eamon and Teagan's men, knights and men at arms in heavy and medium weight armour. They ran as fast as they could, carrying their blades and arrows. Some of those archers stopped near the castle wall, firing arrows at the men posted at them. As these men fought, Loghain and his group threw aside their covers and began unravelling the climbing rope they had gathered. Loghain made sure his was the last man down in his group. Rappelling off of a cliff was still a very new and dangerous process to the rebellion. Loghain had done his fair share of climbing in his youth, trees, and even mountains. Before the Sith arrived he and Maric spent years fighting the Orlesian occupiers. That meant finding new places to hide, and new ways to get to those places. Loghain understood the physics of it, he understood that if the man at the top of a line climbing down was incompetent, or had the slightest slip, there was a good chance he would knock off every man on the rope on his way down. That was a mistake Loghain unfortunately saw on the line of rope across from him, one person on the middle of the rope fell off, and took the two others beneath him with him. Loghain himself was taking a risk, anyone did when they trusted another with holding their rope.
For at the top of the mountain, it was a struggle for those to hold the rope. They had others to support them, but some of the men burnt their hands sliding the rope through them. Others drifted towards the edge, then there was the soldiers down below. Eamon's distraction was not enough, some of the troopers on the castle walls took aim at the climbers. Suddenly, the turrets from the shuttle fired and killed those men. Then the shuttle door opened and a sight that made the Ferelden knights cheer emerged. Fenris and Nathaniel's men, their Svanhild allies and a few Wookies. They landed on the castle walls and began cutting and shooting their way through the men.
"We need to send messengers to the caravans, divert them away from us and send for reinforcements," Ridley said.
When Loghain landed on the castle wall, he removed his bow from his back. Knocking back on the string, he aimed at Ridley. She was young, as young as he had been when he took command. Looking at the conviction and strength in her eyes, part of him believed she was different from the other imperial officers. Perhaps there was no bigotry, perhaps her confidence in her abilities was because of her abilities and not her arrogance.
'She reminds me of him,' he thought.
All that he thought before he let go of the string. Any admiration for a an enemy's skill, or pity for their allegiance (which Loghain rarely had, a patriot was a patriot). When Ridley fell to the floor, her blood staining her uniform, there wasn't a complete breakdown of command. Or there probably wouldn't have been, the base wasn't filled with incompetent people that had to be told what to do. But there was that moment of chaos, when troopers hesitated for but a moment and the rebel morale soured. That small moment of hesitation was all the battle tested members of the rebellion needed to tip the battle in their favour.
When the troopers were dead, or bound, Loghain stabbed his sword into the dirt and raised the broken helmet of a Storm trooper. Bards would write that the scream of victory rocked the mountain, another moment in which the rebellion proved it could stand against the empire. But it had hardly been the point of the battle. Further away, another branch of the Ferelden rebels carried out Loghain's plan. Caravans of supplies were ridden from the cities towards the base. Supplies one man and his band would take.
"Forward," that man whispered.
It was spoken as a command he didn't want to give. Because he didn't want to be a leader. Some time ago Alistair had been a Knight-Trooper, a templar/trooper hybrid, an experiment of the empire. But he witnessed the horrors the Sith were capable of, not in the name of the empire, but of the force they coveted. He abandoned the armour and wore pads of brown leather, pads bound by a rope string across Alistair's chest, with fur around the edges of them. Alistair's boots also had fur on them. He rode a black horse, his father's sword on the saddle, along with a force pike and crossbow. Alistair himself carried a pick axe, ideal for battering armour or piercing the gaps.
Those he led were from the villages of Ferelden, hunters, thieves, anyone who hated the empire enough to do something about it. Then there were those with the most skill. Behind Alistair was Leliana, the red haired beauty, the hand of the 'true divine'. She wore leather armour over her red top and knocked back arrow after arrow, shooting imperial guards around the caravans. Sharing their horses were Zevran and Oghren, elf and dwarf of contrasting attitudes. Zevran threw knives and Oghren crashed his hammer through the helmets of the troopers. The most terror was inspired by Sten of the Qunari. Like most of his race he was tall and powerfully built, unique in the fact he did not have horns. Yet he still had astounding strength, dismounting his horse and lifting two troopers off of the floor, pinning them to the trailers they protected and choking them to death.
"Leliana, Zevran, calm the horses, take the reins and then start guiding the trailers back to the castle, the rest of you dispose of those bodies," though he did not want to lead, he was good at it.
The raiders took supplies, and possessions off of bodies. When not rebelling, they still had credits to make. Imperial banners were torn from the castle, and a mass of Ferelden refugees formed camps there. Loghain looked down from the castle gate, nodding to Alistair as his group trotted into the castle, their bounty behind them. Bottles of wine were opened and Loghain allowed the group to be merry.
"Enchanters, the time has come to be alive, in the circle of magi, where we will thrive with our brothers!"
A tavern singer with a lute played, Loghain could not recall her, or perhaps his name. He watched them enough to know they had been born one sex and not the other. The song they played did nothing for the Svanhild rebels, whom began singing boisterous songs in their own language. Some were still covered in blood and revelled in the victory and new friendships.
"The Wookies that Bethany recovered fought well, but there will be a problem if we can't communicate," Eamon explained to Loghain.
"So long as they understand orders it will be fine," Loghain said.
He, Eamon, Teagan, Anora and Cauthrien stood in a tent, a paper map of Thedas on their table. As brilliant as the holo maps were to Loghain, he knew the old ones were easier for the two former Redcliffe lords to understand.
"Apparently there is a fortress in the mountains, Skyrim, or was it hold?" Teagan put a hand to his chin as he spoke.
"We're not going to set up a base, not yet, we took this castle with the intent of resting our forces and planning ahead. What are Tethras and Motillyet doing with the cargo they recovered?" Loghain asked.
"They're going to make an investment of some kind, apparently our Muun ally made a special request to the dwarf," Eamon said.
"I will send a message to them, if they want to keep secrets they become commanders, I'll not have them using lives for their agendas. We need to set up a situation for prisoner exchange, we can't afford to keep them at the rate were stacking them and I wouldn't waste the ones we can use. Have any mages stepped forward?"
"We have them all still listed as dead, Finn has been assisting with intelligence, Wynn is seeing to the wounded and Irving is helping her, for someone who was once tranquil he has stepped back into his magic quite well," Anora commented.
"What about that insolent one, the young man from the Anders?"
"That's what they call him, but he hasn't been seen since we left Ferelden, and I can confirm he definitely didn't go on the suicide mission," Cauthrien explained.
"I spoke with both Irving and Wynn about him, apparently fighting for something other than himself wasn't in his character," Eamon huffed.
As they spoke of the possible future, Leliana walked across camp. She had taken off her armour in favour of her chantry robes, looking up at the castle walls to see Alistair sitting on them. He was resting an arm on his knees, looking up at the moon and the stars around it. She set down next to him, lightly kissing his cheek.
"They're discussing their next move, you know what ours has to be," she said.
"Loghain knows what he's doing, he fought Orlais for years," Alistair said, his voice distant, not quite dismissive of her but still not paying absolute attention.
His gaze was distant too, as if he was looking at a specific place in the stars.
"Can you see him?" Leliana asked.
Alistair lowered his head, and she touched his cheek, turning his head to look at her.
"We need him," he said.
"We need to be the people he knew we could be, wherever he is in the galaxy he needs us to be as good as we can be. Which means surviving, as good as Loghain's tactics are, they won't survive orbital bombardments. That means that we have to convince Loghain to let us search for the ancient knowledge, the technology of the precursors. The message we found was just the beginning Alistair, there is more out there," Leliana explained.
"I know, but what will we become if we chase it?" Alistair asked.
"A force capable of standing against the Sith, a rebellion that he is going to need..." Leliana paused as she looked at Alistair, almost afraid to say what she was thinking. "For when he gets back!"
Alistair nodded his head, wherever Daylen Amell was, the rebellion still needed him.
Hutt space
Korvis, a planet of deserts and rocks. It still had its rainy seasons, long ago the native people believed that blood sacrifices were necessary to summon forth the rain. They formed arenas and in their 'modern' times turned these rituals into games of sport. Though the native species was extinct, it had become home of many Hutt clientele, a holiday destination of sorts. The ecosystem had been altered because of imported creatures and continual colonisation. Even the arena itself had changed, to use the tech the Hutt's needed to contain thousands of slaves.
"Come, come, bring them in," said Torvan Renal.
Torvan was a Nikto, and like many of his species ancestors was a servant of the Hutts. He was not a slave himself, in fact he commanded much respect and had a senior position in the Deus cartel. The Nikto wore clean robes highlighted with gold, rings on his fat fingers and he had treated his skin with genetic therapy most lower Nikto's couldn't afford. He stood in the dusty training ground of his estate, reserved for gladiators he kept. Today was the day he would analyse slaves to determine worth and use. The Trade federation built battle droids guided them in, the droids themselves were an old, inferior model compared to what the reformed federation was building for the confederacy. Torvan liked them, finding the way they talked and acted cartoonish. That wasn't to say they weren't still deadly.
"Welcome to your new homes," the trainer, Maximus said.
The design of his chest armour marked him as Mandalorian, he also carried the scars of battle, as well as a whip to keep slaves in line. His role was to choose gladiators. Torvan looked for other slaves, those whom could serve the needs of their master's body, or building their legacies, fighting their wars, some even for just dying. He saw Wookies whom would be good for a construction project on Korriban, saw Theelin females good for a Theelin man's repopulation efforts in the Outer rim, Twi'leks that could serve for the entertainment and pleasure of a Hutt on Tatooine. There were a few humans, but most were insignificant. Torvan found humans to be like a lottery, they were so genetically diverse, no two were the same.
"This Wookie was a hunter on his world, I can see from his stance and the state of his paws, he'll go to the arena," Maximus said. "This human shall be for the mines, the Twi'lek too," the Mandalorian came to a Nikto, looked at his muscles and broken head spikes and sent him off to the arena.
Torvan continued looking at the line of slaves, his eyes coming to rest on one who had been robbed of his hand. He stood a foot over the man beside him, tall enough to be intimidating, but still not be considered a giant amongst humans. His skin was dirty, though there was some kind of race related tan to it, he had the muscles one could gain from regular exercise and fighting. Some scars were on his body, but they mainly gathered on his face. Maximus stood away from the young man, but did not need to cross the distance between them to know him.
"The severed limb, the shape of the cut, that came from a light sabre," he said and that caught Torvan's eye.
"The burn on his face, the way it is shaped, that's from force lightning, a dark Jedi power," Maximus said.
The man's eye twitched a moment, Torvan watched him closely. Apart from that one moment, the human was passive, his eyes were barely open and partly covered anyway by the bangs of his brown hair. However long he had spent in transport, his hair had begun to become long. A scar also ran over his eye, not deep enough to blind him though.
"He was found amongst the wreckage of a ship, in deep space sir," one of the droids explained.
"The smugglers that recovered him were astounded that he survived," said another.
As Maximus had said, there was a burn mark on his face, beginning from his cheek and forming a half bridge over his nose.
"As am I, what is his designation?" Maximus asked.
"Um, its...number 13 sir," the battle droid said.
"Thirteen, have you fought dark Jedi before?"
There it was again, a slight movement in the young man's eye, not enough for him to open it but there was something in him that recognised the name Jedi.
"Answer when your number is spoken," the Mandalorian unravelled his whip. "Thirteen, answer the question, SPEAK!"
The old warrior swung his arm back, bringing the end of the whip far out behind him. Then with a luxury he had perfected for years on worlds where slavery was legal, he swung the whip forward and lashed the young man across the chest, cleaning off some of the dirt on him and leaving a red mark.
"Answer," he repeated, before lashing him again.
Next to the young man, a Twi'lek nudged his shoulder.
"Answer them, or they will continue to hurt you..."
"Silence number fourteen," Maximus snapped.
He swung the whip at the Twi'lek, catching him on the eye and making him recoil. The Twi'lek still stood, but clutched his eye in pain, his knees shaking and face filled with fear as Maximus reared the whip back. When he swung it round, the tip cracked and all froze. The one armed man had caught the tip of the whip, a difficult feat to accomplish when Maximus wielded it so harshly. Then, they saw the young man's eyes, now fully opened. They were red, a colour not common amongst humans. But beyond that there was something that caught both the Mandalorian's and Torvan's interest. Anger, courage, defiance, and not just in his eyes but stance too.
Maximus raised his hand, wires on his glove charging with electricity before he touched his whip, passing an electrical current through it. The young man shook briefly, sparks of electricity passing through his body. Yet still he stood and Torvan blinked for a moment. He could have sworn he could see the man's eyes sparking. Maximus pulled the whip out of the man's hand and struck him with enough force to throw him to the ground.
"That one will go to the arena," Torvan said and the Mandalorian nodded in agreement.
The young man looked up at the sky, defeat in his eyes. Three people looked down at him, a blue light glowing around them. Two were dark haired men, one shorter than the other and in blue robes, whilst the other had blue and yellow robes. The girl had red hair and wore red and brown robes, playing with one of the two bangs over her eyes.
"Well, this seems to be a fine mess you've gotten into," the man in the yellow and blue robes said.
"He's been in trouble before Niall," the girl said.
"Not like this Petra, but I'm not worried," the younger man said.
"Technically Jowan we have nothing to worry about anymore, that's what they say after all!"
"Very funny," the dark haired man shook his head and knelt beside the one armed man. "You can see what this is can't you?"
"Unless space robbed him of that many brain cells."
"His magic and the force protected him Niall," Petra said.
"You always had the potential for that kind of power, you know what you need to do with that power," a smile crossed Jowan's face as he stood tall. "Fight, for what is right, as you always have my friend..."
"Daylen Amell!"
Next Episode 22: Those who fall
Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, yep, Daylen Amell returns, but he's obviously not the man he was at the beginning of Rebellion. Some original ideas came into this story, the introduction of the Svanhild people. Thedas is just a single continent in what would be a large planet, so there's more than what we see in the game, Svanhild is based upon Norse and Medievil German language, culture and armour.
The second part was kind of a Spartacus nod, in fact, in my head Mandalorian Maximus (another obvious reference here) is voiced and modelled after Manu Bennet of Spartacus and Arrowverse fame. Daylen's arc will be very similar to Spartacus in some ways, but ultimately be the story of him getting back up again, but battling with a new darkness within him.