Sorry for taking so long. This month was hectic. Here, have this.

Reviews and criticism are welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.


Alsakan, Three months later.

The next three months passed by agonizingly slow. I didn't really do all too much other than the usual duties. Mace sparred with me a few more times. I don't think he was after anything specific during those sessions. I think I made it into the rotation of his usual sparring partners. I was honored. I don't think he was going to ever teach me Vaapad, but I enjoyed being able to step up to the next level.

The Battle Meditation Club started up again. Despite our ideological disagreements Rancisis and I got along alright as it was before. Any frustrations we had, would be taken up on the court so to speak. It stopped being about just training just me a few years ago. Instead, we would rotate out.

I found out my favorite range had shut down. The owner passed away and his kid turned it into a storage warehouse. The new owner had a decent reason at least. He couldn't run both his general store and his father's old range. Once things settled he would look into selling it to one of his father's friends so they could keep the place going in the future. It was annoying as I wearily had to use the range in the Temple basement for the time being. When I got back from Alsakan I decided I might ask them for tips. While I had experimented incorporating a blaster into my saber forms in the past, I had never fully focused on it nor did it mesh well. Perhaps it was time to build bridges instead of fording the river downstream to avoid said bridge.

It was just that once we really got to talking, it devolved into a theological mess regarding using the Force as intended or ignoring the abilities the Force itself has granted therefore ignoring the Force. In short they were trying to convert me into one of them and I was at least trying to turn them into Teepo Paladins or proper Sentinels.

The Gray Paladin's didn't bother me at least due to my new rank. That was nice. I knew they all but salivated over my Swiftkick. Apparently it had become even more of a collector's item in recent years. One that was still working anyway. The seals in blasters went to hell if you didn't shoot them regularly or vacuum seal them in a display case.

Initially I lamented that they had discontinued production. It was a fine piece. Luckily found I could do something about that. I reached out under a moniker and purchased the rights for it from Blastech. The pistol had been out of general circulation for sometime and Blastech was going to let the patent expire anyway.

Why bother, right? Well, with the patent, I could have the base design upgraded and have a reliable and official clone on the market before the other blaster companies tried their hand at their own clones. There were some issues with the compact blaster that I had felt needed adjusting. It was thicker than it should be and I really wished that the grips could be swapped out for smaller or larger grips and the trigger could have a crisper break. Which is why my alternate persona, Bellicose, partnered with Mandaltech to manufacture and improve on the design.

One of the conditions being they come up with an improved variant. Perhaps even a full size version. They agreed, reluctantly. Their small arms division was working on it now. It would take a few years as proper testing was required. I might have to renew the patent. We'll see as I wasn't really sure how that worked. While I had loads of money, I only kept around five percent which was still a substantial sum. The rest was invested or donated to various charities. Oh and upkeep for the damn prison world I had no idea what to do with. Luckily that world just needed shipments of raw materials and the Droids there would fashion what they needed on site including parts.

In the meantime, I leaned my helmeted head back on the tram, taking me toward the meeting spot. I ended up taking my new Z-95. Maul's Scimitar was still tucked in the Jedi Temple hangers, but I posted a note on the hatch that read:

Dibs
- Luminara

I parked the Headhunter far far away from the meeting spot. It was a risky gambit, but I wasn't going to announce my presence to these "others" by taking an Aethersprite. I would show up at the predetermined time out of the blue, but not before scoping out the meeting spot.

It was a mid level establishment. Looked like an old boot shop of sorts. Alaskan was an ancient city world, the sister to Coruscant and Corellia. Not on the same scale as their more prominent sister world however. It barely had 2000 levels to Coruscant's 5000 and a plantwide inferiority complex that made everything put into the city infrastructure into one upping Coruscant in a one-sided rivalry. However, one could only do so much without Gree infrastructure laced deep into a planet.

It was all so fancy. Statues were everywhere dedicating Republic heroes of old. This planet was forever primed to leap in and take the mantle of Galactic Capital from Coruscant. At least there was still a bit of the surface to look at. Mostly just some fancy mountains with some massive mountain-sized mosaic from ancient times. I didn't have time to play tourist.

I found I liked Alaskan a lot better than Coruscant. It was cleaner, and the bureaucracy of the capital world wasn't near as bad here. More streamlined. That was nice. The location I was in bordered on one of the more wealthier districts on the lower end of the 2000's.

I sensed no one watching me so I moved to scout it out. Which soon proved pointless. I saw a Mirialan man on a platform leaning on a speeder. He was smoking, hopefully not a deathstick, but it was something akin to a cigar. He wore a racing jacket of some kind. Seeing no one else present I approached quietly out of the corner of his vision.

"Hello there," The man jumped and turned. He reached for a blaster in his coat pocket before recognition seemed to dawn on his face. I shook my head. Amateur. Doesn't matter how beveled or streamlined. A firearm will always find some way to snag in a pocket if you don't at least have a dedicated pocket holster mostly for protecting the trigger from being accidentally discharged. In his defense, it didn't seem his chosen profession involved much need for being a shootist.

"You showed?" He wiped his lime green brow. He was handsome. He had his black hair parted and combed to the side and he wore a racing jacket in a mix of red's, blacks and, whites. It had traditional Mirialan shapes, but the symmetry was all off. They were uneven and off kilter. What stuck out was that he was barefaced. Not a good stigma to have in the Mirialan traditions. Not that he looked like he cared much considering his coat. I realized I had seen him somewhere before. I didn't have time to dwell.

"Looks like I owe Jena. I thought Merl was crazy, but Jek knows his stuff." He seemed to straighten up. "Right then, I am Len. Always nice meeting another from Earth." It took me a full few seconds to realize he was speaking English. I was struck dumb how it sounded so foreign on someone else's lips.

"Likewise," I said in aurebesh. "Sorry, I don't have the tongue for the language outside of curse words these days."

"I can imagine, you went full in by the looks of things. Understandable, considering Merl never found you. Only one other swept under the radar like you that we know of."

"How did he find you?" I asked as he held open the door to the speeder and I hopped in.

Len shrugged, "Holonet." He walked around the speeder and hopped in. This was no common speeder. It was custom. The way Len gripped the controls told me was he was some sort of racer. We lifted into the air and got going. Did he pod race? Mirialans did have the reflexes for it. Was that where I had seen him?

"Makes sense, I take great pains to remain anonymous." I Holonet answer did make sense. I never used the Holonet other than for news now that my little news station was finally up and running. It was called the Republic Broadcasting Service by the way. I didn't name it. My directives in how the channel conducted itself was that it reported the news without bias. Clear cut and boring. Most importantly reliable. I wanted it to be the channel folks would go to after watching GNS or RNN to see what was really up. Other than that, how things operated was left up to the manager.

Len nodded. "I can see that." He seemed to expect something from me. He looked at my helmet in anticipation. Was he expecting me to take it off?

"Something wrong?"

He shook his head. He wanted to talk more, but I was watching the cityscape go by. I wanted to ask all sorts of questions. However I took pains to look indifferent.

We arrived at an apartment complex. This one was extra fancy. We walked in through the door. Hotel security tried to hold me up, but Len stopped them.

"Leave her be, latest addition to Hagen's security detail." Len's confidence outshined his nervousness in my presence. I cautiously reached out with my senses. I didn't sense anyone else that was watching us. Or anyone using the Force for that matter. Then I remembered a tiny detail.

After the guards let us through, I looked at Len. "Hagen?"

Len nodded, "Merl is Torrhen Hagen's younger brother."

I gave a single nod of acknowledgement. Asking too many inane questions wasn't something Bellicose wasted her time on. Only "How Much?" With a few caveats like not killing younglings or the pitifully defenseless. Bellicose wanted a challenge worthy of her.

I wasn't even aware Torrhen Hagen had a brother. Then again, the movers and shakers of the galaxy had always been Komari's expertise.

We got into the elevator and instead of going down into some dark hole, we went up. Not halfway or somewhere toward the top. No, we went all the way to the penthouse.

The door opened and an olive drab green skinned and very curvy Twi'lek woman in a very revealing dress was there to greet us. The penthouse was full of whites, reds, and silver lining with touches of gold here and there. It looked not too dissimilar from Len's jacket. Must have been his place.

"You're here!" she shouted gleefully as she clasped her hands together. "Come this way the others are waiting."

Len rolled his eyes. "Tisha is always like this."

I shrugged.

The living room was huge. There was an Enchani man sitting on the couch with his legs crossed. He was reading something on a dataslate. He had some sort of advanced bifocals on. He looked about my age. He was lithe and had a well muscled physique despite being among the eldest in the it was hard to tell with enchani.

A human man with tanned skin and long brown hair was watching some sort of sports ball. I didn't really keep track of that. He had his boots up on the fancy table in front of the couch. He looked like an underworld type at first glance.

A human woman with raven black hair and pale skin, leaned on the nearby bar top nursing a mug of recaff. She looked like she was dealing with a stress headache by the way she rubbed her temples. She too was on a datapad. Her clothes, despite being well put together, looked out of place. She felt military.

Tisha rushed back in from one of the back rooms. She left and entered again with who had to be Merl. Tall, dark-skinned, his dark hair was only just starting to turn gray. He wore a trench coat that highlighted how broad his shoulders were. He had a look that said he was all business, compared to his brother's more carefree demeanor.

Tisha went and stood in front of the men on the couch.

"Guys," she pouted, "You should greet the new guest."

"She's here?" The human man on the couch turned and looked up at me and Len. The Enchani turned, but didn't say anything/ He shut off his datapad and nodded in my direction.

"Damn, Never thought anybody would attempt being a bounty hunter." the human man stood. "I'm Kandor."

"Bellicose." I shrugged, "It's a living." I said.

"She seems to have the attitude for it." The enchani man said. "Jek is my name."

The raven haired woman got up and marched over to Len and I. Len flicked her a credit shit, which she caught deftly.

"I am Jena Otara." She looked at me with a more critical eye than the others. I noted she had a stiff posture that seemed to confirm my suspicions that she was in the military. Question was, which one?

"Bellicose," I responded curtly.

"Merl, are you and Jek certain?" Jena looked at Merl who approached us from the side.

"From the parameters of the algorithm, she fits the bill and most importantly she came here on her own volition." Jek said, looking at his datapad once again.

"She can understand English." Len pointed out.

Merl nodded, "We are certain." Merl's voice was deep. I looked at him.

"The Monarch? Really. Taking the whole butterfly effect thing to heart, aren't we?" I said.

Merl snorted, "Does that remove your doubt Jena?" Otara nodded. She looked at me.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"You want something to drink or eat." Merl asked. I shook my head.

"You aren't going to take your helmet off are you?" Kandor asked.

"Nope," I said.

"Give her some time," Merl said. "Now we should get down to business and explain what is going on."

"That would be nice." I said.

Merl pointed at the couch. I walked over and sat on the couch with Jek. He seemed uncomfortable with that, considering the mild flinch. He scooted into the armrest of the as much as he could.

Merl waited until everyone was seated before talking.

"Alright, I am sure you guessed, our organization does more than just meet up and discuss past lives." Merl said.

I nodded, so he continued. "We are working toward a goal. One that may seem like it is not the most noble, but we have our reasons. What do you know of the old EU?"

"I remember the broad strokes but I was in middle school when I read them. You think we're are in the Legends Canon then?" I asked.

Jek spoke up. "A mix of both. A hybrid canon of sorts." Merl nodded.

I thought for a moment. That checked out. I think I had an idea of where they were going with this.

"So you aim to stop the Vong." The Vong devastated the galaxy. Trillions died. It was a worthwhile goal to stop them before they could be a threat. Poorly executed in the books or not.

Merl nodded.

"How?" I got a bad feeling where this was going.

Merl thought for a moment, how best to approach this. "We dismantle the Rebellion before it becomes a threat to the newly established empire."

I had sensed this answer was coming. I wanted to reach out and sense if they were all on board with this. I dared not give myself away in case they had anti-Jedi mind trick training. I know I would have attempted to learn such techniques if I was born a non-force sensitive. Otara seemed the only one who wasn't quite on board or simply didn't give enough of shit to care one way or another.

I was silent for a moment. There was no way that was the best option. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Empire, mind you. There was no way it would be stable enough to confront the Vong when they arrived. Their infighting and anti-alien bigotry would cause it to collapse before then. I think.

I remembered something. The party Komari and I attended back on Eriadu. The talk of accepting near humans into the fold. I remembered Loren being present at the events. Merl being Torrhen Hagen's brother. It began to add up. They were ones behind strengthening the Humanocentric movement. This wasn't some, "Let's assassinate Mothma or Organa and hope for the best." No, they were starting with the shaky foundation of the Empire and working their way up from the roots.

"I see." I wasn't sure what else to do but play along.

"This isn't some misplaced Pro-Empire fuckery. We'll need the ships and infrastructure intact. Not destroyed in a disastrous civil war. We need fodder."

"Why not give the New Republic the tools and tactics to defeat the Vong? Wouldn't that be better?" I asked. There was no way to prevent the Clone Wars and the Separatists would probably be no better than the empire if they won considering their leadership.

Merl looked at Kandor, "We had this conversation before. Still do at times. The course we take is always in flux. If a suitable alternative arised. I see no reason to not entertain the idea. The New Republic may seek to dismantle their standing military force after the Rebellion and we can't risk that."

"Why not just let things be. The Vong are defeated in the end?" That was rich coming from me, but I was Bellicose at the moment and had to play the part.

"Things have already changed too much for that to be certain. We want to save the trillions killed in that war." Merl said.

"Elaborate."

"The True Mandolorians being in power is one issue. Who knows what other damage she caused?"

A chill went down my spine.

"Another of us. This one managed to be reborn as a Jedi. Komari Vosa specifically." Jek announced. I tilted my head in real confusion.

"How did you figure it out? Oh and who is that?"

"Well," Jena said. Tisha offered me a drink as she set down some drinks for each one of us. I took one pulling out an emergency induction port (a straw) and fed it into a hole under my helmet. I noted Len shaking his head. "Komari was the final boss in the Bounty Hunter game. She was in a place to alter the results of Galidraan."

Len spoke next. "She had an impact on Luminara Unduli too. She is not the stick up the ass enforcer of Jedi tenants in this timeline. No doubt Komari's influence and worldview was impressed upon Luminara when she was taken prisoner during the Stark War."

"Jango even staged a rescue for Komari, if the rumors are true." Otara continued. Wait, so they thought Komari influenced me? I decided to take a risk.

"Are you sure it is not the other way around? That Luminara was the influence on Komari?" I asked. Merl shook his head.

"We considered that, but Loren was certain before the accident."

Jek bowed his head in shame. I didn't need to reach out with the force to sense it. So Jek had something to do with the flashbang.

"Who is Loren?"

Otara shook her head. "She was one of us." Merl gave her a look and Otara hesitated. "It is a long story. She fell during a mission. She was dead certain that Komari was like us before she… passed." The tension in the room seemed to be the remnant of an old argument.

"Sounds like you take a lot of risks in this outfit." I leaned back.

"Komari is no longer an issue. She no doubt took advantage of the fourth moon's location during the Yinchorri Rebellion, but ended up underestimating the Yinchorri themselves." I managed to squash down any emotion relating to her death so I moved the conversation forward.

"Wasn't Luminara the Hero of Yinchor?" I asked. "Heard something about that on the news a while back."

"Most likely due to her survival."

"What else was changed?" I asked.

"Other than the subtle changes we made, and what Komari did, it seems to have changed little. Damask still died as he did in canon, as did Maul. We will have to send someone to Raxis to ensure it stays that way." I knew personally that Maul's return wouldn't be a problem. Plo and I ended Plagueis. Pretty sure Damask was dead. No, I know he is gone for good.

I think they just assumed things went down the way they did in canon. I mean the news stories weren't the most detailed. When have they ever been? The Jedi didn't like broadcasting a Jedi Master's death like Qui-gon's or the details of what went down. I don't even think my duel with Maul was even mentioned. Have no idea if the holonet recorded the fight or not. Palpatine must have had any footage taken down, with his new power. Or Maul himself for that matter. He was pretty meticulous with his assassinations. Damask's death was mentioned in a blurb on the news a while back citing natural causes.

I shrugged, "You want me to join your little band of butterflies then. What if I say no?"

"Please don't call us that." Kandor muttered.

Merl nodded, "Then you will be free to go, but should you interfere with our plans, we won't take it well."

I shrugged, "Let's say I do join you. What then?"

"Well. We will have a few missions for you from time to time. Considering your skillset, you should be able to handle them well enough. We don't normally gather like this." Merl was interrupted.

"We only get together like this to welcome newbies." Tisha pouted. "We should at least get together for Holidays like Life Day."

"Merl and fun don't mix well." Kandor said.

"Len mentioned that one other refused to join your outfit." I changed the subject.

Otara was the one to speak up. "He refused to be a party to our mission and went to go raise livestock on Dantooine."

"Sounds like something we all should have done." I tried not to choke on my own hypocrisy with that line. Again, I reminded myself I was playing the part of Bellicose.

Merl shook his head. "Not the point. Now if you wanted to join our outfit. There would be a trial period."

"You'd have a shadow for a week or two." Otara said.

"Oh, so which of you will it be?"

"Not one of us," Merl said. I heard the sound of droid servos and turned in my seat to see a protocol droid with thicker plating and more well built joints. It was obviously set up for combat, but the protocol exterior would be seen as less threatening to the untrained eye. The rust colored paint gave me a uncomfortable sense of deja vu.

"Greeting-I am HK-47"

I turned my helmeted head back at Merl. Explained why they didn't disarm me. If I made a wrong move HK would have sniped me from behind the curtains.

"I see you picked a good shadow." Inside I was mentally screaming. How the hell was I supposed to do anything with HK watching over my back. I couldn't just return to the temple. More importantly I wondered how I would keep my promise to Anakin and not reveal that to this group. They hadn't looked too closely into what happened on Naboo, with Komari dead there was no real reason to either. Unless they already knew who I was and were playing me. Which was a distinct possibility. I mentally sighed. I had one last question.

"What do you do about Jedi mind tricks? You studied that right?" I asked.

"That is an avenue we haven't explored as much as we like. Training for that is highly regulated and you can't trust what the holonet says on the matter. Any texts bought regarding the subject get you put on a watchlist. Some cultures have their own ways of getting past that like the Mandolorians, but good luck learning anything from them. Shame we didn't have anyone on the inside with them." He looked at my armor. It was mando shaped, but distinct enough to not be immediately linked to them.

"As the brother of one of the most notorious Humancentric leaders, aren't you already on a watchlist?"

Merl sighed. "Yes, but that would raise flags that don't need to be raised."

"We had a way but…" Jek was stopped by a sharp look from Merl.

I shrugged. "Okay then. Just have to avoid Jedi then until they all get fragged down the road. It's been my policy so far." I looked, noting no visible reaction from HK.

Merl noted as well. "HK is cool. Don't worry about it."

"Right, I will get going." I stood up. "It was a pleasure meeting you all. I look forward to getting to know you all better."

"These are the details of your first mission." Jek tentatively handed me a separate dataslate. I noted his unease. I didn't comment on it. I looked at Kandor who was as relaxed as possible, leaning back in his seat on the couch. Tisha was sitting on the floor leaning to the side. She looks preoccupied with some sort of piece of jewelry on her bracelet. Merl was so intense even while sitting. Len was still leaning on the wall. They were all guarded but not tense. I again chose not to use the force in case they were lying. Jek immediately scooted back into the corner of the couch.

I skimmed what they had in mind. I expected some sort of assassination mission, only it wasn't. It was an escort mission."

"Weapons? Arming insurgents are we?" I said with a bit of mirth. "Seems counterintuitive if you're hitching your horse to the Empire."

"We will reveal the whole plan to you in time." Merl said.

I shrugged and turned to leave. I saw Len leaning on the couch. I couldn't place where I had seen him before. The burnt red protocol droid followed me silently. Just before I got to the door Tisha ran up clearly meaning to embrace me in a hug. I stiffened and grabbed the grip of my swiftkick. I didn't expect it, but I visibly relaxed when I saw it was a hug.

"It is always nice to see another and welcome to our little group of butterflies." Tisha smiled. I heard Kandor groan from his seat on the couch.

I nodded awkwardly as I pulled away from the Twi'lek and turned to leave the apartment. "I should go.

"C'mon HK." Tisha frowned and pouted again, but said nothing.

"Statement- I am still right behind you."

Before I left, I turned back. "What about the Chancellor?" I asked.

Merl kept a straight face. "An assassination it planned, but not for a long time. He needs to be at his laziest after the Empire is established, not while he is still trying to become Emperor."

I gave another nod and turned back and entered the elevator.

In the elevator, using my enhanced hearing I heard Kandor say, "And I thought Merl was a hard ass."

I didn't hear the rest as the elevator doors shut leaving just me and the assassin droid.


A/N: I am tentative about going this direction with the story. Multiple SIs tend to be hard to pull off. I am treating it as an experiment at the moment. We'll see I guess.