The Legacy of House Ordo

by Sage1988

Five souls from Earth survive its end and find themselves in a different galaxy, Harry finds himself born into House Ordo one of the most powerful Mandalorian Houses. As the chaos of the Clone Wars spreads how will he and the others fair?

27. Chapter 27 Allies Wanted

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Star Wars.

Thank you to all those who read and reviewed my last chapter, I really appreciate you all taking the time to read it.

It was requested that I post a list of characters and their faction for this story so I will put it on my profile so if you get confused refer to that.

Review Responses from the last chapter…

BlackWatcher1234 - The Partisans? I sort of address that in this chapter and although Saw isn't quite the fanatic that he is by the time of Rogue One, he's on the way there. Haron like with the Children of the Watch is wary of zealotry as he knows how it can be dangerous due to his experiences with the Pure Bloods back on Earth. San Hill? Spot on, good memory as in this chapter he will make an appearance. Han Solo and Qi'ra? They might feature but it will be quite a bit in the future as their still kids right now. Ezra Bridger? Only a little bit older than Luke and Leia but he will come as will the Ghost Cell eventually. Sabine? She will end up out in the galaxy but for different reasons. Celeb/Kanan? No, he was with Depa on Kaller and although Depa is still alive things will happen there. Ventress and Merrin, oh yes, we will be seeing them again in the future.

dan . lew . upg, TheYoungAuthor, sh777, Mando-Vet, DeathCrawler, Guest, Travis Btmb, Bia1230, thedude19859, Rhys898, MalSer, - Thank you!

Starpottergeek - Thank you for your support! I really am happy that you like this story. The younglings from 'The Gathering'? I am a little unsure about them as Gungi in the canon is still alive how that happened I wish they had explained. Given he is on his own that doesn't bode well for his friends. If they were all still alive and together when Order 66 went out surely, they would have stuck together. In this version though, I will say they are quite safe in a Jedi Sanctuary along with Huyang. SWTOR hero ships? Not sure but ships from that era, yes. HK-47? I will think about it. Ripper technology? Not sure what you mean. Cool design, will think about it. The ships you mentioned, good choices I was considering some of them already. I put up a poll to see how people might respond to more HP characters showing up and the response was surprisingly negative. So, no Draco I'm afraid. Cal? Maybe. Sabine, she has a role to play but she's still young at the moment. Vima-Da-Boda is a weird character to do and is best I think when used sparingly. Ood Bnar, sorry from what I understand turning into the tree is just a part of his species life cycle and he brought it on prematurely to stop Kun from raiding the items he was protecting, so he won't even be able to walk again although he can still talk and guide the Jedi around him. Allara has a good teacher and will be a strong Jedi in time. I have heard the rumours about Korkie but I choose to keep an open mind unless more proof is shown. Boba Fett? I am worried as since he is a clone the Mandalorians would want to kill him to retrieve the armour since they have a disdain for clones. The Chiss, don't think so although Thrawn will appear eventually. You make many good points and I will think about them.

Carlos24cr - They will appear in this chapter.

aesir21 - Well organised resistance against the Empire gets a real boost in this chapter in a number of ways. Corellia? There is something planned for that which will happen in a couple of chapters time.

ironspike68 - Cheers! The Jedi are in a better place but there is still a great deal of trouble to come in the future and the Order is shattered and divided. The Noghri? I know, I still wanted to give them that bond with the Skywalkers so it seemed the best way but this time they are against the Empire rather than for it. The Bad Batch, a lot of people were asking for them and I thought this was a good way to bring them into the story. They might appear again, depending on if they fit the chapter. Din has a future ahead of him and while he probably won't be leading the Mandalorians this time, he will have an important role in their society.

inspiration19 - Happy you enjoyed it! The Bad Batch since the series is still ongoing is something I am hesitant to use too much. As for the Wookiees? You are good! You get to see them in this chapter and to be honest I think they would get on with the Mandalorians as they are both warrior races. The Clones, they have a role to play in the future and that will become clear soon. The Naboo fighters? That was more of a revenge by them against Padme for her actions during the Clone Wars, they just put them away and think of them as trophies.

red demon161 - Thanks! A wedding is always nice to write. Ahsoka? Sorry no she is off helping the early rebellion much like she did in canon. I know she would make a fine agent but for now she is off on her own.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark - Thank you! Your support means a lot!

Sanders7201 - HK-47 and Bao-Dur? Maybe they might meet again down the road. C-3PO and HK-47, you get a taste of it in this chapter. Thank you!

Mighty Ares - Thank you! Palpatine is certainly in for a greater struggle than he had in canon but don't write him off just yet. Corellia is going to appear soon as an important event. The original Thrawn trilogy was awesome and I just wish they were still canon. Han Solo? I don't want to reveal too much just yet.

RoyalTwinFangs - True, there will be a lot more of it though in this story.

Blaze1992 - Mandalorians will get involved in the fight against the Empire in this chapter and in a big way that shakes up everything. They were hesitant at first but soon they arrive with a roar at two particularly critical points. Tarkin? How to kill him? Any suggestions?

Djberneman - Centuries of hatred and bad blood to be honest. I once read them described as two big fish in a small pond and having to share the space makes them resentful. As for the Mandalorian Force Sensitives, that's Luna's job not his. She is the one creating this new force culture and he is involved but has a lot more duties than she does.

HowlnMadHowie - Awesome omakes! Palpatine considered the Jedi the greater threat and was more focused on them and his rise to power than a single man as he saw it. He will learn how dangerous a mistake that was in this chapter as Haron makes his presence known. No, she wasn't a force ghost, that was a copy of her personality as a holocron guardian. She was part of the Noetikon of Secrets in the Old Republic game. HK-47, he is here.

Jctherebel - Thanks! We get to see some of their new ships in this chapter.

Azai Jin - Thank you! I am very happy you like the story! The allies they have will be chosen largely by who the Empire was trying to oppress at this point in time. The ship is a Star Wars Legend and brought into service much earlier.

Callum Runchman - It does! The state of the galaxy by the end is going to be different in some kind big ways but those will become apparent in due time. Regardless of what they say in the new canon I think the Galactic Civil War started the moment there was organised resistance against the Empire so it starts right now. The other Jedi Sects? Being divided the way they are might cause trouble yes and they are not aware of each other's location at present, which is necessary so even if one is found, the others will be safe. At present the Mandalorians aren't even aware the 'Hands' exist, it might take a while before they are known to them but you are right in the Mandalorians are the only real threat at the beginning but that is soon with their help going to change. The Separatist Holdouts? They have a role to play in this fight which you see in this chapter. Thank you for your review and it was much appreciated!

WhiteElfElder - Indeed Yoda was right when he said they had a lot to learn as the Jedi when the time is right will emerge stronger than ever but, in the meantime, those outside like Anakin and Obi-Wan have a lot to do.

Cam . Katarn - Not as of yet. I would love to hear your ideas for a name!

savitarsurffer - Luna is one of the best characters in Harry Potter and I wanted to do her justice so hopefully I succeeded. Indeed, Anakin is either Palpatine's greatest weapon or his worst nightmare. Tarkin is Tarkin and honestly I wonder if he hadn't died, would he have tried to take over the Empire. Any ideas for a punishment? Tiin and Rancisis? One will be worse than the other.

More Review Responses at the end of the chapter…

On with the chapter…

18 BBY - 982 ARR

Chapter 27 - Allies Wanted

Reijar, Ordo System…982 ARR…

Haron sat at his desk, he had taken back some of the administration duties that his long-suffering wife had undertaken in his absence and it was something of a relief to be doing this than leading battles or managing a galactic military. It was certainly less stressful he thought with some relief.

It had been some months now since the end of the Clone Wars and now new year had passed, he and his people were thankfully still being ignored by the Empire but his intelligence sources had informed him that 'exercises' were being planned for the future…exercises that while did not feature names resembled several key Mandalorian systems including Ordo he thought with anger. It was just a matter of time.

And their search for allies wasn't going well either, the hatred of Separatists ran deep and many of his people refused any thought of working with their holdouts and few other factions would even consider it, not wanting to risk angering the Empire in the hopes that they would leave them alone.

That standpoint, while understandable was extremely foolish as Haron knew that the Empire would seek to control all that was within its field of vision. The Emperor would never allow any possible threat to his power and would crush under foot anything that had even the remotest chance of interfering with his rule. Case in point he thought with frustration, the recent arrests of several senators who had joined the Delegation of the 2000. Most of them without charge which meant he wasn't even bothering to come up with 'reasons' or 'evidence' anymore he was simply doing what he wanted.

That didn't bode well Haron thought with concern before he finished his work and checked his personal messages. A new one had shown up while he was working and he opened it, it was to his surprise from one of his contacts in the Senate, a fellow member of the Marisa Club. The Senator from Dac or Mon Calamari or just Mon Cala as it was sometimes known Meena Tills.

He hadn't heard from her in some time and wondered just what it was she wanted and he read the message, his eyes widening slightly as she reported the actions of a rogue Jedi named Ferren Barr who had been doing his utmost to create tension between her planet and the Empire.

While a Jedi encouraging people to fight was hardly unexpected this went way further than any Jedi should Haron thought, using the force to control people and assassinating the Imperial Ambassador. This was beyond their code and Haron realised that he had most likely fallen to the dark side in an obsession with revenge. He was pushing the Mon Calamari and the Quarren that stayed on the planet directly into open conflict with the Empire, one that they would never win alone.

What was his intention here? Haron considered, revenge obviously but did it go deeper than that? Haron could feel in the force that this was a crucial moment. Turning back to the message it seemed that King Lee-Char had at least realised the danger and on his behalf, Meena was reaching out in hopes of establishing an alliance with his people to help in case the Empire came.

Haron smirked, even as leader of his people he would not make such a decision without making sure the House Leaders were on board with it or to find out which ones weren't. However, he was immediately intrigued at the idea, the Mon Calamari and the Quarran had one of the biggest and most powerful merchant fleets in the galaxy, cruisers as large as the new Imperial-class Star Destroyers which with the appropriate refit could easily function as frontline warships, not to mention extensive shipyard facilities there and were skilled space travellers.

This was it, he thought with certainty, it was a big risk…no a huge risk given where it could lead but if they were going to find allies to help them resist the Empire and encourage resistance in turn they had to start somewhere and this he thought was a good place to start.

- x -

Deera and Zara meanwhile were at the clinic, the operation to implant the genetic material from Zara into Deera had been quick and relatively painless. Now they were having a follow up appointment to see if it had taken.

"There we are." The technician said with a smile as he adjusted the scanner over Deera's stomach. Once in position he began adjusting the controls while Deera and Zara held each other's hand, their faces alight with joyful expectation. The technician smiled and told them.

"Congratulations. You're pregnant."

Deera and Zara honestly felt like screaming out in sheer happiness but settled for a passionate snog and they got up to leave, thanking the technician on their way out, holding hands and just smiling so hard it might leave them with a permanent grin.

"A girl! Our little girl!" Zara said with almost tears in her eyes, knowing that it had to be a girl since both of them were women neither had a Y chromosome. A little girl though she thought with excitement. A child of their own! It was so exciting Zara thought with joy.

"We don't think of names just yet." Deera said with a beaming smile that seemed radiant and like a blast of sunshine. "We don't name her till the last month."

"Agreed but at least let's think of names." Zara said with eagerness, she was already so eager for the baby to be here so she could meet her daughter. An eagerness that was shared by Deera who put a hand on her stomach as if to feel her baby which physically she couldn't yet but through the force she felt the baby inside her.

It was such a tiny little light she thought, likening it to a candle in the middle of a dark room. Small but bright and warm. Deera honestly was so in love with her child already she just hoped she would have enough time to prepare for her own role as mother.

- x -

In her forest training ground Luna sat watching as her students trained, the older ones were helping the younger. They had received a whole new class of twenty students from across Mandalorian Space, they were young and would need much training before they would be ready to join the ranks of their order. Young Galen Marek, only three at present was in their youngest class and doing well much to the pride of his parents.

Some students like Lelia Ordo were already on their way, she thought proudly as the eight-year-old girl stood there with training lightsaber in hand and a blindfold on deflecting blaster bolts away from her sent by a pair of training remotes from random directions under Kento's watchful eyes. The other Ordo children including six-year-old Markus the oldest too were developing their powers and would with time would be incredible wielders of the Force and magic Luna thought proudly.

Luna smirked as she saw one of her newest students struggling to get her wordless magic down, Vysa was doing her best to catch up with the rest of them in using the force/magic.

The woman was concentrating like mad and Luna realised she was trying too hard and went over to help her.

Vysa was so caught up in what she was doing that she didn't even realise Luna was there, she lashed out with a kick but Luna easily caught it and prevented the hit from landing.

"You need to relax." Luna told her, ignoring the near miss and told her while projecting calm. "To actively channel the force, you have to be able to feel it. Magic is the same, it is more about what you feel. The unconscious part of you so you have to let go of your fears and just let it flow through you." Luna told her and Vysa looked visibly frustrated before nearly shouting.

"I'm trying!"

Then she went silent as she realised everyone was now looking at her and felt very embarrassed, Luna however kept smiling and told her as she took hold of her hands gently.

"Faith is not an easy thing to master, nor is this and the two are not mutually exclusive. You are thinking too hard, pushing yourself when you need to stop and let yourself go. It will take time but you will get this, it's easier when you're a child to get this but you are trying as an adult so it takes a while." Luna said with a reassuring squeeze of her hand. Then she decided to try a new tactic. "When you were a little girl, what did you pretend when you played make believe?"

"What?" Vysa asked in confusion at the change of topic but at Luna's insistent stare she begrudgingly admitted.

"I used to dream of being a space pilot, of flying through asteroid belts and all the coolest sights in space." Vysa said somewhat sheepishly in a whisper so only Luna could hear her, Luna smiled wondering just how alike Vysa was to Harry.

They both dreamed of flying.

"Then remember that feeling. When you dreamed and imagined yourself flying. How it felt, the joy and the thrill. Capture that feeling and hold it close to your heart." Luna told her with earnest hope that she might finally overcome the block she had in her mind that was stopping her from connecting to the Force.

Vysa, full of confusion and doubt about this but still frustrated by her inability to connect to the Force on a deeper level decided to just try it once. She closed her eyes, casting her mind back to that day when she had been a girl and dreamt of flying across the universe. Her face easing into a warm smile as she felt that excitement again felt her burdens melt away, feeling at ease with herself, she raised her hand again but this time, the rock that she had been struggling to move all day finally lifted into the air.

Luna smiled, glad that at last Vysa was pulling down the barriers and exploring herself.

- x -

The conference room was now hosting a meeting between Haron and the rest of the rest of the House Leaders many of whom attended by hologram, in the back Ara and Neville sat at Haron's side as he outlined the situation for them.

"I know we had been looking for allies but this one seems to be a double-edged sword to me." Harlan said with concern they might be getting themselves in too deep.

"But they are also one of the few species around willing to stand up to the Empire and are worth allying ourselves with." Duke Yarlton said with a look of consideration on his face. The Mon Calamari had extensive facilities and a large merchant fleet which could easily benefit them not to mention they were desperate to make a deal with them.

"But is it worth risking war with the Empire?" Duchess Ti'harn asked with an urgent look in her eye. And she was right, this carried enormous risks but Ijaa shook his head.

"No, the risk is already here. The Empire will come whatever we do. The question we have to ask ourselves is whether we want to face them all on our own? Or will we risk it to trust others so that we can fight alongside them?" Ijaa asked them with a calm but stern look on his face. The others all looked at the table while they considered and Haron nodded gratefully to the old man for his input.

"The fact is if we don't find others to help, the Empire will overwhelm us with the sheer numbers at their command. However strong we are, even the greatest can fall to the multitude. This is a planet that we can trust not to betray us, who keep to their word and can offer us a great deal. More to the point." Haron said pressing home his opinion. "If we fight and win here, it shows the galaxy that the Empire can be beaten. That can embolden others and open doors for those that might be our allies." Haron said with conviction.

The others absorbed his words and slowly the nodded in agreement, it was a huge risk but it was also one that might be worth their while to take.

Haron smiled with satisfaction, feeling nervous at the big step he was taking with his whole people and even his family at stake. But it was their best option, if they were going to build an alliance of people to help fight the Empire, they had to start somewhere and this would be the first step.

With that done, Haron then moved on to another thought he'd had, surprised to be honest that the Mandalorians hadn't done this already.

"When the time comes for us to fight, we must reward our warriors for their deeds in battle. Give them recognition for this beyond what we do now. So, I intend to create a series of medals and other such awards that we can give for their great service. Awards that can be held by the families even if they die." Haron said, calling up a holoimage of some of the ideas he'd had.

The idea seemed strange to the Mandalorians as this was something they had always seen other people do but had never really done themselves as far as they knew. But that being said, it was a good idea. All the usual glory along with official recognition from them for great service.

But while they agreed to let the work on medals begin, it was the signing of the treaty that was the real achievement. It was both an economic trade deal alongside a mutual defence pact. Some of their engineers would also work with their shipwrights and others to work on refitting their ships for war. They also would begin to provide them with the ARC-170 designs to help bolster their fleet.

Haron just hoped there was enough time to get ready for the invasion when it came.

---

Antar 4, The Inner Rim…

Antar 4 had a very unstable history, during the Clone Wars a massive schism on the planet had divided the population between largely Republic friendly Gotal species and more Separatist aligned groups on the planet. The Separatists had proven victorious and driven most of the Gotal off the planet and replaced them with other species already in favour of the Separatist cause.

With the war now finally over the planet had not sworn itself to the Empire and to make an example of them, while this was already a terrifying thought on its own but who was leading it, especially given the recent Kalderan Invasion…Moff Tarkin.

Moff Tarkin, largely to use the weapon he praised most, fear ordered massive numbers of arrests, executions and even massacres on huge numbers of the population, even if they had been loyal to the Republic or not. All to ensure the Empire was unchallenged on Antar 4 whatever the cost.

However, he had no idea that someone was on the planet, undermining his efforts until they were ready to strike.

The Imperial Prison Camps were thousands of prisoners all being routinely tortured, beaten and executed, mass graves were being dug by excavators. People carrying small cameras and small droids equipped with recording equipment crawled around, doing their best to get all the footage of what the Empire was doing that they could.

A Gossam, a small blue skinned species that had come to live here during the Clone Wars did its level best to slip quietly into one of the Imperial Prison Camps and found a terminal in the camp that was unguarded. It attached slicer gear to it and stole all the data files it could even the encrypted ones in hopes of finding something that could be used to hurt the Empire for what it was doing. Many of her friends had died at the hands of Tarkin and his thugs and she was determined to get revenge she thought seething with rage. Tarkin needed to learn that his actions didn't just cause fear, they caused anger!

Thankfully she was able to slip back out of the camp undetected and met with her partner in the small scale and by large disorganised resistance here. He was a Gotal, one of the native species that had stayed behind. He had lost a brother and his brother's family to these camps and was only too eager to join the fight against them.

"Got the footage?" The Gossam asked and the Gotal nodded.

"All of it, now come on! We need to get out of here before-" He started to say before unfortunately what he had feared came true. A random patrol sweeping the area appeared and surrounded them. The pair grimaced, knowing full well that they were now going to end up in the camps themselves where they would die but were too angry to be afraid. They stood defiantly in front of the Imperial Stormtroopers as they were becoming known.

However, a voice from behind the soldiers interrupted everything.

"Hello there."

The Stormtroopers turned around with their blasters, pointing straight at the hooded figure, none of them however expected that he would reveal a lightsaber, falling into his hand from down his sleeve. Igniting it to reveal a blue blade the Stormtroopers, all enlisted humans rather than clones panicked at first, not sure just what to do when faced with a Jedi but soon settled with shooting him.

However, despite ten men shooting all at once, not a single shot hit the target, the Jedi seemed too able to block every shot despite how hard their tried. Then just to make matters worse, another shorter hooded figure appeared behind them and this one had another blue bladed lightsaber in hand.

Both Jedi advanced on the Stormtroopers, their lightsabers twirling around and deflecting all of the blaster fire away from them before ruthlessly they started cutting down the stormtroopers. It was over quickly, leaving all the troopers dead and the two rebels staring at them in surprised awe.

The taller figure removed his cloak and revealed his face, Obi-Wan Kenobi looking around to see if they were secure while Kalifa lowered her own cloak.

"Come, we must leave the area." Obi-Wan said quickly as he deactivated his weapon, his apprentice following suite. The two local rebels, one of whom had been a Separatist until recently was unsure of whether it was a good idea to trust the Jedi but given that they had just saved their lives it seemed only fair.

The small group made their way to a derelict house on the outskirts of the primary settlement, it was a fairly non-descript building which blended with the others around it. Nothing that made it stand out, which of course made it a good place to hide.

The four made their way inside and Obi-Wan secured the door behind them so they would hopefully remain undisturbed.

There was an R2 unit standing there, it had a purple and silver coloured casing and whistled excitedly as they appeared.

"Yes R4, things are okay." Kalifa said with a smile as she warmly patted its dome. The Droid almost like a pet warbled excitedly as she did so. "We got the footage."

"And so did you." Obi-Wan said with a sad look in his eyes given what they had seen here, he had thought things would be bad but never this bad he thought wishing he had never brought Kalifa here. He just hoped that what she was being forced to witness did not colour her view of the universe.

He had come here solely for the purpose of showing the Empire's true face to the galaxy, to gather evidence and release it as far and wide as he could. He had managed to find much and the resistance it seemed had been gathering much more. He just hoped there was enough to make at least some people realise just what was happening and that the Empire was a bad thing for the galaxy.

He turned to the two rebels an told them. "We'll stay here and then gather what we know, in the meanwhile…Kalifa, we should get some more training in."

"Yes master!" Kalifa said with a smile, eager to learn more from her Master. Obi-Wan nodded and let her to the other side of the room while the two rebels watched with sudden eagerness, now interested in just how Jedi trained.

Obi-Wan took out his lightsaber and ignited it on training mode as did Kalifa, he told her calmly but with disciplined sternness.

"Form 4 lightsaber combat is all about movement, fast switches and feints with acrobatic movements to constantly be in motion so your opponent cannot hit back. But not only does this style have no real defence beyond your own speed but also it uses a lot of energy. My own master Qui-Gon was an Ataru user and in his youth, he used the form quite a lot only to realise as he got older the flaw with using the style.

"While you are quite capable of the normal aspects of Ataru, I will be adding something to your training that my master taught himself and then me when he discovered his problems with using the form. He used heavy two-handed strikes and quick parries as well and this is what you will learn from me today. It gives you some useful offensive abilities when combined with the Form 3 techniques you have learned." Obi-Wan said, demonstrating the moves in question which Kalifa did her best to copy.

Obi-Wan was glad that she was catching on so fast, he knew life could be really short for Jedi these days as he had heard whispers of some kind of Jedi hunting force users being deployed by the Emperor. Inquisitors he called them and they were sadly responsible for killing some of the Jedi that had managed to survive Order 66. So, if the day came that he was killed by the Empire, Kalifa would stand the best chance of survival.

But for now, Obi-Wan thought, making his thoughts return to the moment rather than dwelling on the future as Qui-Gon had often censored him for Obi-Wan thought with a small smile at the memory. He had been training with the techniques Master Yoda had imparted to him but communing with the force spirits so far eluded him. But he would persist, it would take time…but he would learn.

That being said, he was also occasionally and with great care delving into Count Dooku's Holocron, he pondered whether this was a correct move on his part but it had proven exceptionally useful in their work to undermine the Empire. Some of his Form 2 techniques of lightsaber combat that would be helpful in dealing with the Inquisitors if they ever came across each other, his own skill at telekinesis had vastly improved, his own skill at public speaking and Qek-tek meditation which helped him hide himself in the force from force users more effectively and was now teaching this all to Kalifa. He was learning a lot about moulding public opinion and propaganda which was of course vital in fighting the Empire.

He wondered if maybe this was why he had yet to make contact with the spirit of his master? Whether by focusing on more immediate concerns he was blinding himself to connecting to the force more deeply? He wasn't sure exactly what the answer to these questions was but for now he just had to keep going and do whatever he could.

The fight against the Sith had only just begun Obi-Wan thought with determination.

---

Palpatine's Chambers, Senate Building, Coruscant…A Week Later…

The new Emperor of the Galaxy sat at his desk in the freshly rebuild and redecorated office. He frowned; he had not been entirely happy with all the elements of his rise to power but it had gone well enough. His palace was now under construction and one day would serve as his command centre but for now he would remain the Senate building which would be covered by his palace's shadow one day.

However, this latest blunder of Tarkin's was something that he needed to see addressed, Palpatine thought with frustration at the man's stupidity. If he had not been as useful as he was Palpatine would have executed him for this. Made him a scapegoat but Tarkin was a good administrator for his Empire.

As the man in question came into the room Palpatine glared at him.

"You have seen this?" Palpatine said, indicating a pile of data pads with details of all his actions on Antar 4, even recordings and internal documents that revealed his directly ordering the arrest and then execution of innocent civilians.

"I was merely doing as you instructed and dealing with the issues of insurgents." Tarkin said without a single care in the world. Not caring at all what he'd done and dismissing the consequences completely.

Palpatine being one himself, knew how to spot a fellow psychopath. Tarkin was in some ways far more overt than he was though and had little to restrain him. Palpatine's eyes narrowed as he realised Tarkin might one day think he could replace him and vowed there and then to make sure that he kept a close eye on him so his ambition didn't become a danger.

"Maybe, but the reverse of fear, is anger." Palpatine said to him plainly. "And you are creating a lot of both. While I care not how you carry out your assignments, this has caused me to question my faith in you. So, I will be assigning you to join the planning and then execution of the future Western Reaches Campaign, where I hope you will show greater restraint." Palpatine warned him, wanting him to remember that he was not indispensable. There were many other people ambitious enough in the Empire to do his job, even the man's own aide who would jump at the chance to take Tarkin's position for himself.

"Understood, your majesty." Tarkin said with angry and narrow eyes, not liking the threat or demotion at all but said nothing as he wasn't yet powerful enough to take the position of Emperor away from him. He would need to wait till the Death Star was ready for that he thought with an expectant sneer.

- x -

Jedi Settlement, Auratera…

Tholme was busy at work establishing his hidden network to smuggle Jedi out in the galaxy to a safe location and hopefully one day to help in fighting the Empire.

But now he had to consider another potential threat, he thought with a worried look in his remaining eye.

The Mandalorians had gained the ability to use the force.

It was such a shot out of the blue he had at first thought it impossible but the reports were quite clear, there were force users among the Mandalorians now, combining all their gadgets and equipment with the ability to use the force and to make matters worse they had lightsabers too.

It was troubling, especially with how their people were an ancient enemy of the Jedi but what he wasn't sure of was exactly how advanced their skills in the force were. Reports varied and none were particularly consistent which would have let him get an idea of their skill level.

Apart from a brief period during the Mandalorian Wars nearly four thousand years ago when a group of Jedi had actually defected to their side, the Mandalorians had never had a force culture of their own. It was a troubling development but given their limited resources and abilities right now there was little they could do.

Tholme was forced to let things lie for now and wait for more information before making a plan, he simply didn't have any other options right now. Infiltration was not likely since he had no one particularly skilled in that line of work and those he did have would be in over their heads.

---

Reijar, Ordo System…One Week Later…

Haron was reading the reports on the first recruits for their special operations teams. All was going well although there were more dropouts than he would like. He had made it clear there was no disgrace to this however nor should it ever be treated as such.

These missions were extremely dangerous and all the training you received was meant to prepare them for it. Not everyone was able to risk it all the way they could.

The same could not be said for Flight Academy, Haron thought with some relief. The new recruits were doing well under Fenn and many had now started joining his 'Sky Hawk' Program for the elite flyers.

But Haron was prevented from going deeper into this by an alert sent from his intelligence network. Imperial Fleet Units had been assembling a task force to try and invade Mon Calamari. Haron frown, he had hoped they would have more time than this to prepare. Most of the Mon Calamari cruisers were still unprepared for combat and their fighter capacity was limited.

He would honour his agreement though and see just what could be done in the time allotted before the invasion came. He knew roughly the size of the taskforce so he would mobilise enough ships to cover it, looking at the local system he saw that the planet in question had a moon and he smirked as he already had a plan in mind. Now he merely had to gather his forces and wait.

- x -

In Orbit of Mon Calamari, Outer Rim…One Week Later…

The Mon Calamari cruisers arrayed themselves between their planet and did their best to prepare themselves for the onslaught to come.

On the bridges of the Profundity and Home One, Admirals Raddus and Ackbar both did their best to keep professional and give their crews the most confidence that they could. Whatever they told their crews this was not likely to be easy, especially as their ships were still largely only civilian in design and had powerful shields but limited weapons. They just hoped their hidden allies would be enough to swing this battle for them.

Soon, the waiting was finally over as the Imperial Fleet appeared.

Four of the brand-new Imperial-class Star Destroyers led the formation, behind them were three Venator-class vessels, Four Victory-class Star Destroyers and twelve Arquitens-class light cruisers.

Raddus and Ackbar knew they were in trouble as compared to their fleet, the Imperials had a lot more firepower.

"Frontal shields to full. All weapons lock on." Raddus ordered on the Profundity.

"All fighters to deploy around us. Do not let them get behind us." Ackbar ordered on Home One.

The Mon Calamari fighters did as they were told. Usually designed for underwater they were not really meant for space and had intended to be replaced with a more favourable model but there hadn't been time before the battle.

The Imperials, led by Tarkin on the bridge of his freshly built new command ship the Sovereign were full of confidence as they pressed forward. Sure, that these fish people as they called them would never be a threat.

However nearby, at the northern pole of Mon Calamari's moon, someone else was waiting.

On the bridge of the Atin, his personal command ship for this battle Haron directed his own forces.

"Wait for the Imperials to deploy their fighters, then move us out of orbit and close in behind them." Haron ordered to the crew who worked like a well-oiled machine. "Launch our fighters."

"All fighters clear to launch." One of the communication officers.

- x -

At the sides of the Atin, its sister ship Echo and three Mirshko-class Heavy Cruisers, the new Viper-class Mark 2s streamed out while the two Lucrehulks they brought launched waves of V-Wing Bombers, ARC-170 heavy assault fighters and Fang-class Interceptors. The fighters formed into their squadrons. Beside them the eight Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers and two Janus-class Heavy Cruisers, each accompanied by two Crusader-class Corvettes for defence against enemy fighters.

Haron watched as the Imperials launched their own fighters, seeing that his information about the well-tried and trustworthy Republic designs had been replaced with more flimsy Tie fighters as Haron believed they were called. A poor choice Haron thought but as those fighters streamed towards the Mon Calamari ships his second in command for this battle noticed something.

"Have V-Wing Squadrons strafe landing bays on the Venator-class vessels." Neville ordered, seeing they were carrying most of the invasion force and their large dorsal launch bays were particularly vulnerable when open. "Order Fang Squadrons 1 and 2 provide escort."

"Understood." The communication officer said as he relayed those instructions.

"All ships ahead, flank speed." Haron ordered, now was the time to spring his little ambush.

- x -

Tarkin on the bridge of the Sovereign was fully confident of their success that day. These water dwellers were no match for the might of the Empire after all. Personally, after the reprimand he had received from the Emperor he was looking forward to taking his frustrations out on the pathetic water dwellers. Killing a few million would ensure they never dared insult the Empire again he thought with confidence.

"Moff Tarkin. We have enemy ships in sector five three seven." Captain Vist, his aide reported with some fear in his voice. Stopping for a moment till he could check the signals coming from them to confirm their identities. "Mandalorian Ships!"

"Mandalorian." Tarkin said with surprise, not able to grasp just what they were doing here when suddenly he realised just why the water dwellers had been so confident in defying the Empire.

They had an ally. More than that, Tarkin suddenly had a flash of inspiration at just what was happing in front of him.

"It's a trap!" Tarkin said with sudden fear in his voice as he considered the Mandalorians changed everything. The number of ships they had brought alone changed the balance of power but Tarkin was far from one to just accept defeat and ordered. "Order all fighters to return to defend us."

"Not possible sir! They're committed to their target and protecting the landing force first wave." One of the officers reported and Tarkin pulled out his blaster pistol and shot the officer that had told him what he didn't want to hear and the bridge went silent as they witnessed this and prepared to do just that.

- x -

The Landing Force and the swarm of Tie Fighters screamed towards the line of Mon Calamari ships, however the Mandalorians hadn't just hidden ships around the moon, they'd hidden ships there too. Hidden by the larger MC75 and MC80 cruisers, Crusader-class Corvettes emerged and added their own impressive point defence laser system to the blockade.

When the Tie Fighters finally got into range the corvettes and larger ships opened fire as the Mon Calamari fighters tried to engage the Ties. The flimsy and poorly defended Tie fighters found themselves being shredded by the laser fire but they served their purpose as the sheer number meant it was impossible to block all of the landing craft that rushed towards the surface.

- x -

Back in the main fleet action, the Mandalorian ships were now able to fire at the Imperial Fleet. The larger ships had the longest range so they opened fire first. The Atin and Echo let rip with their heavy turbolaser cannons, followed not long after by the Janus class ships. The Atin and the Echo with their more modern turbolasers and better targeting equipment managed to score some early hits on the heavier Imperial ships while the fighters closed in on the enemy.

The Fang class was much like the larger Komr'k class fighter transports with a gyroscopic cockpit while the rest of the fight moved around it. Their yellow blasters started strafing the light cruisers while the Vipers engaged the few Tie fighters the Imperials could scramble.

The ARC-170s too began to strafe the larger Imperial Warships, focusing on the Victory class ships. Their lack of point defence, a thing they shared in common with their larger Imperial class counterparts didn't help them. The Venators did slightly better but not much and being busy with deploying the second wave of landing ships for the assault on Mon Calamari they had left themselves extremely vulnerable. The V-Wings took full advantage and dived straight in for an attack run, unleashing a barrage of concussion missiles straight into the vulnerable and long launch bays.

Explosions ripped along the length of the landing bays, full of fuel and ammunition for the battle secondary explosions did even more damage and left the crews either dead or badly injured, either way cutting off any chance of additional reinforcements being sent to the units that had made it to the surface.

The Mirshko-class ships and the Dreadnaughts then closed in. The Mirshkos directed themselves against the Victory class ships and began opening fire. The Imperials returned fire but being harassed by the fighters this only made their batteries into targets for the fighters.

The Dreadnaughts too joined in this action but three of them surrounded one of the Imperial class ships and began to attack in unison. The large green turbolasers battered the shields of the dreadnaughts but so too did the yellow enhanced turbolasers they were using.

Combined with the heavy fire from the Atin and Echo, this let them take down the shields on one of the Star Destroyers and exposed its weaker hull to their turbolaser fire.

Finally, the big ship could take no more and succumbed to the attack, exploding in a huge fireball and its wreckage crashed into its neighbouring ship, another Imperial class vessel, taking that out of the fight as the collided in a fiery explosion.

However, for the Janus class ships however when the pair of them closed on an Imperial class together, it was a different story. These two were easily seven hundred years old and had only recently been reactivated. The new technology was increasingly difficult to integrate into the original design and many short cuts had to be taken to bring them back into service.

As they fired their larger turbolasers, the batteries were prone to overheating which slowed the rate of fire. Worse yet the shield generators were running hard to keep up with the sustained Imperial fire, but this combined strained on the ship's reactor left severe power drains across the ship. Short circuits and the old equipment began to break down, one of which was a shield generator on one of the two ships.

Suddenly vulnerable on one side, the Imperials took full advantage and fired their main battery through the hole in the ship's defences. Its heavy armour plating did protect it a little but not for long. Vicious green bolts of turbolaser fire tore into the ship's insides and wrecked it. The crew had no choice but to abandon ship and escape pods were launched with as many people crammed aboard as possible but one brave soul, the captain took what helm control he had left and sent the ship crashing straight into the Star Destroyer, killing himself and his ship to take one last stab at the enemy.

Haron saw this from the holographic display of the battlefield and frowned, he looked at the information coming in from the remaining Janus and felt a sudden tremor in the force. Looking around he saw Neville had felt it too and with the space battle well in hand, Haron turned to Neville and told him.

"Neville, you take command. I am joining the battle on the ground. Something is going on down there." Haron said and Neville nodded, understanding the sudden urgency as he could feel something bad was happening on the surface. Haron and his guards which included Din now ran for the landing bay and the first dropship they could find.

Something was wrong, Haron could feel it.

- x -

Dac City, Mon Calamari…

The edge of Dac City was a complete warzone as the first wave of Imperial invaders landed. The Mon Calamari and Quarran were taking whatever shelter they could as they fired back at the Imperials. Blaster fire was flying all over the place.

All Terrain Armoured Transports or AT-AT walkers and the All-Terrain Defence Pods or AT-DP walkers, brand new to the Imperial War Machine trampled their way up from the water and onto the city streets. Trooper carriers moved in, discharging the new Imperial Stormtroopers from their sides as they charged forward with their walkers.

But Haron, having learned from his earlier mistakes had stationed a force in Dac City to help protect it and its people. Not only had heavy blaster and fast repeaters been set up in strategic points to help repel the assault but Mandalorian Warriors were present alongside Skytrooper combat droids, Basilisk war droids and Canderous Assault Tanks.

The Canderous Tanks were their heavy guns and let rip with their mass driver cannons into the cabs of the approaching AT-AT walkers, it took a few shots but time was on the Tank's side as their limited shields gave them an edge over the unshielded but armoured walkers. Time enough to blow the cabs wide open and send the now headless walkers crashing to the ground, some crushing Stormtroopers below them.

The Skytroopers moved alongside their organic counterparts and picked off Stormtroopers alongside the normal Basilisk war droids, fast and accurate blaster fire cutting them down like wheat in a field at harvest.

The heaviest unit the Mandalorians had brought though was the Rancor. Their new droid heavy assault tank, the prototype in fact which was using its heavy blaster cannons to shoot down the smaller AT-DP walkers. They were holding a strong line against the Imperials, made worse by the fact their expected reinforcements were nowhere to be seen.

All this was invigorating to the Mon Calamari and Quarran defenders who drew confidence at their impressive fighting abilities, bolstered by three late arrivals to the battle.

Three Jedi, two Mon Calamari named Rune and Eekar Oki plus a Quarran named San Vals had emerged from hiding to fight for their home world in its time of need. The sign of their lightsabers leading the fighting bolstered their fighting spirit and made them push even harder.

The first Akaan'aran or just Akaan as they were known had joined the battle, with the force guiding them they flew around the battle field and used their powers to down the walkers. Even transfiguring the ground beneath their legs into quick sand so they sank down before slashing at the exposed leg with their lightsabers or changing Stormtroopers weapons into dangerous snakes or other creatures that would attack and kill the very men trying to make use of them.

Seeing this shocked the Jedi, the Mandalorians had the force and lightsabers! At first, they had thought it was just some Jedi that had hidden among the Mandalorians but these new abilities were unlike anything that they had seen before and it terrified them. Skills that powerful and unique were unheard of and they might now be beyond even Jedi skill levels with the force.

Nevertheless, the fight continued until an Imperial Assault Shuttle came down and unloaded its cargo. Seventeen Imperial Purge Troopers emerged, followed by three Inquisitors and finally one seven-foot-tall dark armoured warrior.

Amid the chaos of the battle for Dac City no-one immediately noticed them but the Rancor did and started firing on the shuttle. It exploded behind them but all of them were clear of it before it went up. Turning its heavy laser cannons on the Purge Troopers they all ducked and dodged before it started using the grenade launchers it had equipped.

The explosives did their job and threw many of the purge troopers into the air or bits of them at least. The Inquisitors however found different prey as they saw the three flying Mandalorians equipped with lightsabers and turned to fight them.

Caz, Roon and Makla too noticed them and felt the cold aura of the dark side around each of them, turning to face them and landed in front of each other them with their lightsabers lit.

"You might wear the armour of Mandalorians, but you can't fool us Jedi." The Tenth Brother snarled at them, former Jedi Knight Prosset Dibs thought with disgust at the Jedi being so weak and cowardly they would hide behind Mandalorian thugs.

He however had no way of knowing that the three in front of him had never been Jedi nor would ever even consider being one of them. In fact, all three being brought up Mandalorian despised the Jedi Order and being called one was a great insult.

"Just for that. We are going to kill you all." Makla said with through gritted teeth. They leapt into action and their cyan, yellow and viridian lightsabers clashed with the red blades of the Inquisitors.

The Tenth Brother, Ninth Sister and Sixth Brother all were shocked as they had all been trained to use their knowledge of Jedi training techniques to figure out just who had trained their opponents and use that knowledge to not only predict their moves but to play mind games to weaken them so they could be killed.

But these three didn't use any of the standard Jedi techniques, nothing was familiar at all and now it was the Inquisitors on the back foot as they had no idea just how to undermine their enemy this time. The Mandalorians were fast to seize the opportunity and started attacking with fast and almost wild savage attacks, derived from Revan's own variant of Form 7 which had changed a great deal from the Form 7 used today. This style formed the basis of their lightsaber fighting style and was unknown to the Inquisitors.

Their shorter blades were also more suited to one-on-one fighting, the three battered away at the Inquisitors remorselessly who were slow adapt.

They also incorporated Earth magic into their routines which was even more unnerving to the Inquisitors as this was something completely unknown to them. Hitting them with charms like the Leg Locker Curse, the Dancing Jinx and Ice Jinx, making their legs either spasm uncontrollably, lock together or coat them in an extremely cold sheet of ice.

Despite being trained force users they didn't know how to dispel this kind of attack and they all were slowed down considerably, enough that the three Akaan managed to impale them through the chest with their weapons or cut their heads clean off.

But while they had been distracted by fighting with the Inquisitors and the rest of their forces had been pinned down with other fights, Vader had managed to keep moving forward. When a Canderous Tank noticed this, it turned its main cannons on him but Vader stopped the projectiles mid-air and sent them straight back into the tank itself. The solid objects passing through their shields and impacting on the sides, wrecking both main weapons but he was not done yet.

He levitated the heavy tank into the air and while the crew were panicking at just what was going on, threw it with considerable force into the Rancor Tank nearby. The two heavy objects met and the Canderous exploded with considerable force while inflicting enough damage to the Rancor that it shut down.

Vader then continued on, not willing to let anything interfere with his mission.

- x -

The drop ship carrying Haron and his people landed and they quickly disembarked, he looked around and saw that while his people and the locals had the situation well in hand, they were short one tank and the Rancor was sitting there almost reduced to scrap by what looked like a twisted blackened piece of metal. It only took a moment to realise that it was the remains of the missing tank.

This was confusing as to what in the hell could do that to but then Haron sensed it, being much closer now he could feel the cold and oppressive aura of the dark side and it was far stronger than he would have thought possible. He stretched out his senses and felt it moving closer to the royal palace.

Lee-Char, Haron thought with some worry. He was the target.

Haron wasted no time and took off in hot pursuit which his people quickly followed. He was surprised at the strength of the force presence, whoever it was clearly was very strong in the force and especially in the dark side.

As they flew overhead, they saw the road was lined with bodies. Not just Mon Calamari and Quarran but some Mandalorian bodies as well. Many had what looked like scorched slash marks on their chests or had their necks twisted at odd angles. That was enough to tell Haron they were dealing with a least a Sith Warrior, maybe a Sith Juggernaut. Palpatine had not as far as they knew taken another apprentice yet so this might well be his apprentice or some temporary substitute.

Arriving at the main surface Throne Room as they flew in ahead of them was King Lee-Char and some of his key advisers. His bodyguards and strangely another Jedi lay dead around them but at the centre holding King Lee-Char in a force choke was a tall figure in black armour and a cape. The helmet was making a deep mechanical breathing sound that chilled you to the bone and Haron threw a blasting curse at the dark warrior's exposed back as they landed.

The warrior seemed to sense the coming attack and whipped around with a red lightsaber in hand, but at least this made him lose his hold on King Lee-Char who fell to the floor and scrambled/was dragged away by his advisors.

"Who are you?" Haron demanded, needing to know just what they were dealing with. Whoever he was he was incredibly strong in the force but also the mass of rage and anger was like looking at a volcano erupting before your eyes.

"Darth Vader, apprentice to the Emperor himself. And you will be punished for challenging his will." The now named 'Darth Vader' then tried to grab him in a force choke like he had Lee-Char but Haron was a force/magic user too and managed with effort to dispel the attack which shocked Vader. He then sent out a powerful force wave that threw all of them back. Haron managed to land in a crouched position and pulled the Darksaber from its sheath on his jetpack. Igniting the black coloured blade with his white aura and lightning, he then charged back at Vader.

He and Vader met in the middle where their blades clashed in a shower of sparks. They began exchanging heavy blows as they swung hard at each other. Vader's strength was impressive Haron thought reluctantly as he felt his arms ache from having to match it, he drew deeper from the force and managed to keep up but it wasn't just in his strength that Vader was dangerous, it was his speed. He moved far more quickly than you would expect and that added to the power and effectiveness of his blows.

Haron could match it but was confused at just how Vader was so powerful? He might be just a natural one that had been missed somehow which was entirely possible or something else was going on.

But right now, he couldn't think about that and had to keep his arms moving in a constant motion to deal with Vader's brutal assault. It was taxing even when you drew on the force so Haron switched to Soresu which although he was not an expert in it, he was competent and instead of meeting attacks head on, he deflected and sidestepped away from them which launching a few of his own which Vader easily countered.

Everyone else even Haron's own guards where just shocked into watching as he and Vader clashed. Showers of sparks as their sabers hit with the white lightning created by the Darksaber flashing fiercely. Haron swung a sideways cleave but Vader met it head on, so Haron pivoted to come at him from another direction but Vader was there just a second before the hit would have landed.

They locked their blades and the lightning even began singeing Vader's gloves but he just kept hold, not letting up for a second despite the obvious pain. Although neither could see each other's face under their respective masks, they were both snarling at each other while grimacing with the effort of holding the blade lock.

Eventually they separated and began exchanging heavy blows again, spinning, slamming their blades into one another and neither being able to land a hit but then Vader made an error, probably made of frustration at not being able to kill his enemy. He lunged forward in an obvious attempt to stab Haron but Haron side stepped away and landed a blow on Vader's right arm. He cried out in pain but pulled away before Haron could sever the limb completely and despite what must have been intense pain kept on fighting.

But Haron who was sweating under his helmet was unwillingly impressed at his fortitude and wondering just how the hell he was so strong? He was having to draw deeply on the force just to keep up with him and this couldn't go on too long before one of them broke.

So, they continued to exchange blows with each other, Haron and Vader swung their blades around wildly both trying catch the other each other off guard before Haron took a gamble and intentionally dropped his stance, hoping Vader would take the bait.

As if sensing weakness Vader did just as he expected and swung at his exposed side but Haron moved his body so his right arm which was protected by the beskar armour he wore, it took the blow and with his left swung the Darksaber upwards into Vader's exposed side. The attack did largely miss his chest but was enough to cut his left arm off at the shoulder.

Vader bellowed with pain and let out an enraged force wave that threw Haron back and he barely recovered before Vader was on him again, throwing another telekinetic blast at him but this time Haron was able to call on a blast of his own to counter it.

The two men strained, neither willing to give ground as the air grew intense between them with the two force blasts pushing against each other. Their feet being pushed back a tiny bit as they each pushed, before finally Vader's injury on his right arm and the pain on his left stump broke his concentration for a split second. But it was enough to allow Haron's blast to hit home and sent Vader flying back into the wall…hard. Hard enough to leave a dent in the metal wall.

Vader recovered and charged forward against, despite the immense pain of his body and Haron just wanted end this fight before it got worse. He transconfigured the ground beneath Vader's feet into quick sand which made Vader stagger as he tried to keep moving but Haron then froze it solid, leaving his feet up to the shin trapped into the frozen sand. Haron was charging to meet him but Vader waved his saber around while trying to pull himself free. However, with him trapped Haron now had the advantage, catching his remaining arm with his own left, Haron sliced it off at the elbow with the Darksaber. Then, finally before Vader could recover enough to use the force against him, Haron spun around and cleaved Vader's head clean off his shoulders at the neck.

Haron was breathing hard as he saw Vader's head roll away and his body slump to the ground. He honestly was not sure just what corner of hell had spat that creature out but was hoping never to see his like again.

He looked around and saw that the Royal Court was looking at him with astonishment as were the Jedi that must have arrived at some point during the duel. But his own guards and Din too were staring him with awe. Haron sighed as he knew the cat was well and truly out of the bag now.

Haron nevertheless deactivated the Darksaber and returned it to it sheath on his jetpack and walked over to the King, nodding in greeting as a sign of respect.

"King Lee-Char, we meet at last." Haron said and the young monarch nodded before saying back looking very shocked still.

"Mandalore the Unifier. Your aid in this battle has been most appreciated, I am just glad we managed to emerge victorious although I had no idea you were a force user." The King said with a suspicious look on his face. Haron nodded and could feel the judgemental looks all around him but just said.

"The study of the force is not nor has it ever been the sole province of the Jedi and the Sith. My people have been learning its mysteries along with many others across the galaxy. This is merely the first time we have allowed outsiders to know that we can use it." Haron said, not giving too much away but enough to keep them satisfied.

Well, the King looked satisfied and said with some joy and relief.

"Then Mandalore is all the stronger and we together as allies to face the future." King Lee-Char said and Haron smiled slightly offering his hand which the King took, signifying their unity against a common threat.

"Aye, but today we demonstrated something more to the galaxy. That the Empire isn't invincible, that it can and will be defeated." Haron said proudly and a cheer went up from his people and Lee-Char's. This would hopefully act as a rallying cry for others in the fight against the Empire.

"Be that as it may, what was that thing?" The King asked, looking at Vader's headless corpse with disgust and some fear.

"I cannot say, filled with the dark side but beyond that I don't know your majesty." Haron said with a puzzled and worried look at the body. Turning to one of his own people he gave an order. "I want every bit of this thing analysed, down to the cellular level. I want to know where it came from."

"Yes, Mandalore at once." His people said and went to get a unit to take the body of Vader away. Meanwhile Rune, the Mon Calamari jedi knight that had come to help his world walked over and looked at the body of the dead Iktotchi Jedi who had been apparently slain by Vader before he could arrive.

"Ferren Barr! He killed the Imperial Ambassador! He wanted this invasion to happen!" King Lee-Char exclaimed with disgust at the Jedi who had set him and his people up.

"Then he must have fallen your majesty. I think the pressure of all that has happened must have sent him straight into the jaws of the dark side." Rune said with sadness before bowing before Lee-Char. "But I will do what I can to help your people, our people through this dark time and teach those born in our waters how to use the force." Rune said, pledging himself and his two fellows who followed him in bowing to the king.

Lee-Char didn't exactly look thrilled at that but knew he and his people would need all the help they could get.

"Very well, but know I am not exactly willing to trust a Jedi again so readily." Lee-Char said sternly to the three knights who all nodded, knowing they would need to earn his trust before he would listen to their counsel.

Haron was somewhat annoyed that they seemed to be setting up a new branch of the Jedi Order here on Mon Calamari and would have spoken against it but he didn't want a standoff with the Jedi right now. They had enough to worry about and judging by the looks one of Ferren Barr's apparent disciples was giving them, a blonde-haired human woman they would soon have their first recruit.

"In the meantime, though." Haron said, turning his attention back to the young king. "My people will continue to help your shipwrights prepare your ships for war. Given the right refit those large cruisers of yours would be a match for an Imperial Star Destroyer."

The Mon Calamari and Quarran in the room looked rather pleased at that statement, while they were talking among themselves Haron took the opportunity to see how the space battle was going.

---

Star Destroyer Sovereign, Orbit of Mon Calamari…

Tarkin meanwhile was far from alright as he witnessed the entire invasion collapse right before his eyes! The ground forces had been decimated, sending back only brief bits of data before they were killed including the rather alarming news that the Mandalorians had managed to acquire the force!

The other ships had been destroyed or disabled and now only the Sovereign remained, fighting against many warships that were converging on them.

Tarkin gritted his teeth, not able to believe things could go so wrong when it was supposed to be a moment of triumph for the Empire. Not after they had received the new Tie fighters from his old friend Raith Sienar and his company which would replace all the outdated Clone Wars starfighters used before as the walkers would replace all the old ground vehicles too. Not to mention the new Star Destroyers.

Imperial Intelligence must be playing games with them he thought to not have informed them of this alliance between the Fish people and the Mandalorians. He would have words with them and have the appropriate people executed to warn the others that such things would not be permitted again and their actions had consequences. He would accelerate the replacement of all the Venator-class vessels with Imperial class ships immediately Tarkin decided before telling the navigation officer.

"Make the jump to lightspeed, this has wasted enough of our time and resources." Tarkin ordered and the officer in question, perhaps given the direness of their situation did not answer back and instead just took the ship out of the system with a single leap.

---

Palpatine's Office, Coruscant…Two Days Later…

Palpatine had been in rage, so much so no-one had dared approach him for several days.

The Invasion of Mon Calamari should have been a simple victory. They had better ships, better weapons and Vader at its head to deal with the fish people and the meddlesome Jedi that had joined them.

But it had failed! Spectacularly so! Palpatine fumed, everything in the room rattling loudly with the force of his rage. Only one ship had made it back alive and while Tarkin was convinced Imperial Intelligence had merely not wanted to share critical details with the Navy it was simply put that they had missed a great deal!

Palpatine had spent hours torturing the head of Imperial Intelligence service for his failure. This was costly for the Empire, not in the ships or troopers as they could be easily replaced even Vader much to his surprise could be replaced. But for the fact they had failed and the entire galaxy now knew that the Empire's supposed invincibility was nothing more than a myth or just hubris on the part of their propaganda.

Several Separatist Holdouts had been emboldened by this in the Western Reaches, gathering droid armies and banding together to form a larger force. Who was leading them he didn't know but already they were starting to build up their power in preparation for an Imperial Invasion.

Worst of all though, Palpatine thought as a statue was crushed to dust by him using the force. Was the discovery that the Mandalorians had the ability to use the force now! Details on just what they could do were sparse and he had his entire Intelligence group working on finding out but no details had yet emerged. He doubted that they were as powerful or as numerous as even the Jedi were now much to his own disgust at the failures of the Purge, but still they were his enemies and had the force. Apparently even the Mandalore, Haron Ordo had this power and it was supposedly him that had fought and killed Vader!

How was that possible? Palpatine thought with his anger turning inward at his own failure. The man had been under his nose on Coruscant for years and never once had he gained even a whiff of any force sensitivity. While he doubted his servants' abilities, he did not doubt his own and assumed that the words must be nothing more than exaggeration, he thought to reassure himself although when he had finally dealt with the rebels, he would need to capture one of these Mandalorian force wielders and see just what secrets they had.

---

Western Reaches, Various Star Systems…A Month Later…

The victory against the Empire at Mon Calamari was indeed as effective as the Mandalorians had hopes and the Emperor feared. Separatist Holdouts that had been on the verge of surrendering to the Empire to avoid the same fate as Kaldera now were invigorated, resistance was not pointless. They managed to reactivate their droid armies and several of the larger factions banded together under a new mysterious leader. Combined they had enough forces to resist but not alone.

So, they reached out to the Mandalorians for help.

Now, the Mandalorians were not exactly keen on helping the Separatists, the old hatred due to the raids on their colonies stayed strong but keeping the Separatists in the war was too important to ignore them.

So, they agreed to provide some 'Military Advisers' to guide their defences and occasional military support when it might be useful.

- x -

Ando, Mid Rim…

Ando had been one of the major worlds to leave the Republic and join the Separatists during the Clone Wars. The planet had stayed loyal to the CIS all through the war and had become a bastion and major fortress world for the Separatist Holdouts since the end of the Clone Wars.

It was here that the Separatist Fleet had chosen to make its stand against the Empire, led by their new leader San Hill.

The Muun Business man had seen an opportunity after the failure of the Empire at Mon Calamari and rallied all the holdouts that he could under his banner. It was a somewhat risky and desperate gambit on his part but if he was ever going to have any chance of not living the rest of his life in hiding, this was it.

He was no military genius and had few of them on his payroll but thankfully he did have some help.

"Prepare your ships in a standard defensive line. And prepare your bordering parties." The Mandalorian at his side said with a cold and emotionless voice.

"Yes of course Duke Sarek." The Ship's captain said with some confusion as many of their ground droids had been prepared for bordering operations. It confused many of them as a force of Star Destroyers was now ready to blow them all up and it seemed ambitious to try bordering operations in these conditions. But the Duke had assured them that his people had a weapon that would render the entire enemy fleet defenceless.

As the Imperial Fleet was closing to attack range San was seriously considering the possibility that the Mandalorians were setting them up to be slaughtered when suddenly to the rear of the Imperial Fleet, a number of ships decloaked.

- x -

Four Null Ships, modified Dreadnaught hulls with improved reactors and accompanied by the new Gladius-class heavy corvettes and a few of the Halberd-class Light Cruisers moved into position before decloaking and firing their special weapon on the vulnerable and unprepared Imperials.

The purple energy blasts hit the larger Imperial ships hard, their power sources being completely disabled. The smaller Tie Fighters escaped the onslaught and found themselves alone against the Vulture droids swarming against them.

Making this worse was that the corvettes and light cruisers the Mandalorians had deployed carried extensive missile batteries. Firing concussion missiles towards both the enemy fighters and some of the disabled ships while the Separatist boarding ships came in from one of the planet's moons not far away. The clamped down on the disabled hulls of the Imperial Star Destroyers and started pumping either knock out gas of poison gas in depending on what their orders where before sending in a mix of Commando Droids and B2 Battle Droids to seize the ships.

"We will expect the opportunity to analyse the Imperial ships ourselves." Duke Sarek reminded San Hill who nodded, now keen to see if he could find out what kind of weapon the Mandalorians had used to take down the Imperial Ships but knew better than to push his luck right now.

"Indeed Duke Sarek. These Star Destroyers as they call them will be a useful addition to our fleet and we appreciate your aid highly." San Hill told them, keen to find another ally himself and one that could be of great value to him in the future.

Reports soon started coming in of successful take overs and the capture of the Imperials leading the force Admiral Terrinald Screed, Captain Bannidge Holt along with General Hurst Romodi. All three would be useful sources of information when they broke them San thought with satisfaction. The Mandalorians had offered their help with that and if sharing that intel kept this alliance that secured his own safety was the price it was one that he was happy to pay.

The Western Reaches Campaign had only just begun, San thought with satisfaction and although some worlds had already fallen, the others would not so easily he thought, old droid factories and ship yards were now cranking out new equipment already and he would make full use of it.

---

Reijar, Ordo System…

Haron Ordo was reading reports as he sat in his office, the situation with the Separatist holdouts stuck in his throat, working with them was not what he wanted but they were one of the few forces in the galaxy that could realistically be useful to them. Already thanks to them they now had a chance to properly analyse the Imperial Star Destroyer and found a number of useful weak points they could exploit.

The victory at Ando had convinced a number of former Separatist commanders and scientists to come back to the old cause and with them they no longer needed as much help from the Mandalorians but still they would need to keep an eye on the situation in case that changed. He had even designed a 'Western Reaches' Campaign Bar that Mandalorian warriors could wear on their armour if they served there and the first few medal designs were being finalised.

Now they had two major allies to fight with Haron thought with a considering look in his eyes as he stared at the star map of the galaxy. The Mon Calamari and the Separatist Holdouts under San Hill.

It was a start Haron thought with resolve but more would be needed in the days ahead.

At least the battles fought so far had given him a chance to see what ships of the Mandalorian Ships worked and which ones didn't. Most of them worked really well he thought but others regrettably did not.

The Janus class ships were far too old and refitting them with new and better equipment was incredibly difficult due to their design and age. So, he had reassigned them to home defence roles while the new Mirshko class ships took their place along with the Dreadnaughts.

Since he had not officially retired them and given them the important duty of 'protecting their home' while other ships were away the traditionalists were kept happy for now, but in the future, he would be forced to retire them eventually it was just to cost intensive to keep them in service.

Getting up from his desk he realised he was going to be late for his turn to teach Vysa some magic, smiling as he hadn't been able to spend much time with her recently as they had all been so busy. Vysa had been studying intensely with Luna to open her connection to the force properly and through trial and error, she had at last managed it.

Walking out of the compound he went into the forest that surrounded the compound and found much to his own surprise Vysa levitating above a rock while some small rocks floated around her. Clearly, she had been practicing hard Haron thought, impressed at how far she'd managed to come in the year or so she'd been here.

She seemed to sense his presence and the rocks fell to the ground as she broke her meditation and she floated back to the ground.

"Ready to learn some magic?" Haron asked her with a smile and she smirked a little.

"About time! Been waiting for ages." She said with exaggerated impatience. Haron just nodded and saw she had already gotten the kyber crystal shards in her gauntlet. He held his hand out and told her.

"Right, simple start. Stunning spell and the disarming charm. More versatile than you would believe and it allows you to develop your skill within magic as well." Haron said. "Being able to cast by mental concentration will be of help in the future but for now we use words till you can manage to do it silently. Stupefy! Expelliarmus!" Haron called out, letting a red stun bolt emerge from his hand followed closely by scarlet blast of energy.

"Stunning and Disarming!" Vysa said almost whining. "Can't we do something cooler?"

Cooler? Haron thought with amusement, understanding her frustration all too well. At Hogwarts it had taken a few years for them to get good enough to try higher level magic but Vysa wouldn't need that. She would get there quickly enough he thought and reassured her.

"We all have start small and believe me, these spells are more useful than you would think. Besides it builds up your magical muscle so to speak and makes it easier to do more complicated spells later. It all adds up. Believe me, we all had to go through this." Haron said with a smile.

Vysa frowned before giving an annoyed sigh and doing as he said, speaking the words out loud and weak coloured red and scarlet lights emerged and seeing this Haron told her.

"It is all about your own belief that you can do it, not to mention the emotion you put into it. Even if that includes your own frustration. Try again." He told her patiently.

Vysa frowned before turning back towards the clearing and saying again, loudly.

"Stupefy! Expelliarmus!"

This time when the spells appeared they were far brighter and more powerful, large blasts of energy that flew out of her hand. She looked at them with astonishment before turning to smile at Haron who nodded in approval and told her.

"This is only the beginning. Luna is a far better teacher than I but I will hopefully be able to give you enough to get by." Haron said before they continued their lesson.

---

Earth, Wild Space…

Cal Kestis and Trilla Suduri were standing in front of an ancient ruin while their teacher waited for them some distance away. She had told them to enter the ruins and not leave until they had 'resolved their inner conflict' whatever that meant. Even though she was not a Jedi Master, Luna as she preferred to be known was certainly as enigmatic as any of them.

"What do you think is in there?" Cal asked Trilla who looked as unsettled as he was by the dark and foreboding structure.

"Everything and nothing." Trilla said with a breathless whisper. Cal looked at her and said with fear in his voice.

"That doesn't help."

"I know, but that's what my…master used to tell me." Trilla said with a tremor, not wanting to think of Cere as her master anymore…not after she had abandoned her Trilla thought with anger running through her.

Neither was able to say anything more and both went where their instincts were telling them to go, separating down different paths.

- x -

Cal was struggling to control of his own feelings, he could feel the force all around him and it was terrifying to be alone in a place like this. There seemed to be sounds and movements coming from all around him.

Suddenly there was a snap hiss of a lightsaber and Cal suddenly dodged as a blue blade swung close by, nearly taking his head off. He ducked and rolled, igniting the half of his master's lightsaber that he still had. He moved it up to block the next strike only to be stunned by the identity of his enemy.

"Master?" Cal said with shock as he saw Jaro Tapal standing there, back from the dead even though Cal knew that wasn't possible. He had died in his arms, Cal remembered, he saw it happen again and again in his dreams every night.

"Padawan! It's time for instruction." Jaro said with an anger in his voice that Cal didn't remember him having. Cal struck out with the lightsaber training he had only just started receive from Jaro almost out of instinct. It was clumsy and awkward and Jaro immediately let him know it.

"Still incompetent." Jaro said almost sneering at Cal who wilted inside as he tried to keep pressing. "Your will is weak. You lack discipline! No wonder you ran away to hide behind those barbarians that took you in."

Cal honestly felt horrible, each word Jaro said cut deeper and deeper into his small reserve of confidence and self-worth, Jaro then hit him with a heavy cleave that threw Cal back a step and told him with disgust.

"You will always be weak. And always alone."

Cal then finally used some of the new moves Trilla had helped him learn, resorting more to Form 2 fencing rather than a blunt Form 5 attack. Jabbing straight through his late master's guard to stab him through the chest.

Cal honestly was so shocked by this he didn't know what to say, just looked at Jaro who was still looking at him with distaste.

"Yes, my blood is on your hands, apprentice. You are a failure, a weakling, a traitor." Jaro told him with disgust while he grabbed Cal's hands and pressed the saber even deeper into his body.

Cal honestly was not sure what was going on but he knew that the real Master Tapal wouldn't say that. He would never say such things and he remembered that Trilla was inside the ruins somewhere, she had taken this risk with him and the Mandalorians had risked their own safety by taking him in. He remembered Luna and the therapist he had spoken too at her insistence who helped him realise that what had happened was not his fault. There was nothing more he could have done; he wiped the tears from his eyes and told the illusion of his master.

"No master, I am not alone. I have my friends, a new family. But I will never forget you." Cal said with calmness and resolve. "I will honour your teachings, the sacrifice you made for me. Facing those memories, letting go of my guilt…that is what has made me stronger and will continue to make me stronger because I will not run from them anymore. I may not be a Jedi, but I will face the future with determination, with resolve, at least in part thanks you." Cal said, shutting the saber down and pulling it free from the illusion's chest.

The illusion of Jaro Tapal swung his blue blade at Cal only to stop when Cal refused to fight back.

"Master. I will never forget." Cal told him, finally making peace with his master's death, realising now what Luna had been trying to teach him. "The loss has become a part of me. I will honour your teaching. And your sacrifice." Cal assured him and Jaro smiled.

"Remember." He told Cal as he walked off into the ruins. "Persistence reveals the path, and you are not alone."

The illusion then disappeared.

Cal was left standing alone, not sure exactly what had just happened but felt much better and at peace with himself than he had since his master died. He saw a small group of Kyber crystal shards around him. Glinting in the light and he reached down and scooped them up, feeling the warm weight of them in his palm.

"Thank you master." Cal said, placing them in the pouch at his waist till he could fit them into his gauntlet later.

- x -

Trilla like Cal was stumbling through the ruins, not sure what to look for or if she was even supposed to really look or just wait where she was.

The day outside had been warm but inside the ruins it had become so cold it would make Ilum look like Tatooine. She shivered, not able to shake the horrible feeling of fear that was creeping up her spine.

Then a familiar voice called out from the mist that was forming around her.

"Why was I lumbered with a failure of an apprentice like you?" Cere's voice called out angrily from all around her. Trilla looked around looking for wherever Cere was and called out to her.

"Master!" She shouted but in return Cere's voice just said.

"We should have left you to the Empire. You are not worth the trouble you bring to everyone around you. Maybe this is where you belong!" She could almost see the sneer on Cere's face as she said that and Cere suddenly found herself in some kind of horrible looking chamber. She tried to move but found she was strapped down to a horrifying table with electric prongs coiled around it. She saw some Imperial Stormtroopers looking at her as the prongs sparked and came closer. Trilla whimpered with fear as they approached her and when they touched her, she screamed out in pain, the worst she had ever imagined.

Then Trilla heard a lightsaber ignite and through her pain she saw Cal, looking older she realised to her surprise who cut down the stormtroopers and cut her free from the chair.

"Cal?" She asked with confusion, not sure what was happening. Cal told her with a sense of urgency.

"Come on! We need to get out of here before the Inquisitor comes." He told her and pulled her to her feet and then Cal stilled as a red lightsaber blade was stabbed straight through his chest. Trilla gasped in horror and held Cal as he fell to his knees, straight into her arms.

Trilla held his face and then looked up to see that a female masked warrior baring Imperial symbols was standing there, with a red lightsaber in her hands. Trilla filled with anger grabbed Cal's lightsaber and attacked the figure with all her rage at her adopted brother's death.

The Imperial though seemed able to counter her moves instinctively, no matter what she tried to do the Imperial seemed able to ready with the perfect defence.

"Just give up! You are a failure! Cere knew you would fail! That you are weak! You're nothing." The Imperial told her with a scathing bite to her words. Trilla felt every work hit her like a hammer blow but she stiffened her resolve and told the Imperial.

"I am Trilla Suduri." She spat out and managed to strike the Imperial in the mask, and when she saw just who she was fighting with, she froze, not wanting to believe it.

The Imperial threw the remains of the mask off and revealed an image of herself. Older and looking much angrier than Trilla had ever thought possible.

"See yourself. What you carry inside you." The Imperial Trilla said with a vicious smirk on her face.

Trilla herself was not sure just what to think, wondering just what this was before her. She didn't know if it was a vision of what was to come or a potential other future that she had been spared but then, looking at her evil twin Trilla smiled.

"I see what you are. My fear of abandonment, of never being good enough. Of being alone." Trilla said extinguishing her borrowed lightsaber. "I am Trilla Suduri, Mandalorian and trainee Akaan. Honorary Sister. I will find my place in the galaxy. I am myself; I will never be nothing." Trilla said as she let go of her anger at being abandoned by Cere and left behind. She would no longer be afraid of measuring up to others because all that mattered was that she stayed true to herself, that she learned at her own pace.

The Imperial Trilla looked at her with confusion and then fear, slashing out at her but the blade passed harmlessly through her, no longer able to hurt her now Trilla didn't fear her. She screamed out in anger before evaporating along with the rest of the chamber, leaving her standing in the middle of the ruins like it had never happened.

Trilla breathed a sigh of relief, letting go of her anger had finally set her free and let her find her own inner peace. She smiled as she saw some Kyber crystal shards appear before her, their warm glow as she collected them was comforting after the trial she had just faced and once she had them, she eagerly left the ruins. Outside she found Cal who was looking rather shaken, presumably having faced a similar trial to hers.

Trilla without wasting time with words grabbed him in a hug which he quickly returned. They both needed the comfort and they stayed like that for a good while before separating and Trilla smiled before calling him for the first time. "Brother."

Cal seemed shocked at this but soon smiled back and called her. "Sister."

"Then you have at last found what you were both looking for." Luna said, appearing almost from nowhere giving them both a start but they both relaxed when they realised it was her.

"Yes, letting go of our past traumas and accepting them. And by realising we are not nor have we ever been alone." Cal said humbly and Trilla nodded in agreement.

"Then you are both ready to begin your magical training." Luna said, smiling serenely at the pair that she honestly felt had a great future ahead of them.

---

Tantive III, Deep Space…

Bail Organa had been a worried man of late, seeing the rise of the Empire and the suppression of liberty across the galaxy made him question many things. The shock of finding out that the Chancellor was the Sith Lord who had been manipulated both sides in the Clone Wars, both before and after too was horrifying especially as he knew just what the Sith were like from their presence in history.

He and Mon Mothma were finding it hard to know just who and who not to trust in the Senate these days as so many that they had once thought good and noble people turned out to be nothing more than puppets on Palpatine's strings.

After what had happened at Kaldera and in a few other places he realised that regretfully peaceful reform was not going to be enough to stop the Sith and their corruption this time.

A fact that had become even more apparent after the defeat the Empire had suffered at Mon Calamari. That had shocked a few people in their belief that the Empire was sure thing he thought with a small sense of satisfaction. The Mandalorians being there had caught everyone by surprise and the head of Imperial Intelligence had disappeared not long after.

That had irritated the Emperor, Bail thought with amusement, worried for how he might retaliate but impressed at the victory and more so as it had sent a message across the galaxy.

That the Empire wasn't invincible and could be defeated.

So, he and Mon had begun to set up some resistance groups across the galaxy, trying to encourage those that had could to fight back and rebel against the Empire. Today he was meeting with a group of people that should help that aim.

An old Class VI Bulk Freighter hovered outside his own ship as they docked, the airlock confirmed a hard seal before opening, Bail stood there with Captain Antilles and a squad of his soldiers but it wasn't soldiers that came aboard, instead it was a group of executives and ship designers from the Incom Corporation.

"Senator Organa, thank you for your help." The lead man said, looking tired but grateful. "We would likely have all ended up in Imperial prisons along with our families if you had not seen fit to warn us of the Empire's attempts to nationalise the company."

"It is my pleasure and duty to see that as many people can be saved as possible. We have a safe place for you and your families to go." Bail reassured them and the Director nodded before handing him a datapad.

"And we have something for you in return. Before we got the contracts with the Republic during the Clone Wars this would have likely been a decade away or more but we have a new space superiority fighter. One that is designed exclusively for space combat and takes many of the lessons learned from the ARC-170 Heavy Fighter. The T-65B X-Wing Interceptor." The Director said proudly.

"Highly manoeuvrable, shielded with a small profile to make it harder to hit. Well-armed and easy to pilot. Hyperspace capable for long range missions. Excellent in both atmospheric flight and in space. One of our best creations." The Director told Bail who was impressed if the ship turned out to be as good as advertised. "We have some of the prototypes of the ship for you to test out."

Bail smiled; this was a good step in the right direction he thought.

---

Reijar, Ordo System…Same Time…

Unknown to Bail some members of the Incom Corporation had gone their own way and taken another ship with a few of the precious prototypes to their company's best benefactor in hopes of aid.

"Impressive work." Haron said, admiring the design of the new starfighter. He could see some of his own people liking the design and the Mon Calamari were in need of a good interceptor design which this would suit nicely. Teamed with the heavier ARC-170s and V-Wing Bombers they were a potent force he thought. A vast improvement over the Z-95.

"We will set you up on Mandalore with your own facilities there to continue your work, safe from the Empire." Haron said to the Incom personnel that had joined him.

They were glad of the safety and Haron went to arrange for an escort to get them to Mandalore, when in his office he looked at the arrangement of Mandalorian Forces and would need to establish some kind of uniformity of ships used as the great variety of ships they had made balancing task forces difficult.

No rest for the wicked he thought as he saw Ara come in with Grahuur who had been busy recently with his own family having had a new cub recently. He smiled warmly as they came in and Ara with a grim look on her face told him.

"Haron, we just received word from our spy network. It seems they have turned the Empire is turning its attention to the Wookiees. An invasion is set to happen soon." Ara told him with anger, knowing full well since the Wookiees had been loyal members of the Republic and were no threat to the Empire, the only reason to target them was to enslave them as others had done so many times before.

It sickened both Ara and Haron, they both hated slavery with a passion and having had Grahuur in their company for some time had a great deal of respect for him. The Wookiee in question asked in their native language if the Mandalorians would consider lending his people their aid.

That was not even a question in Haron's mind he thought with determination. He was never going to allow the mass enslavement and likely major genocide of the Wookiees on his watch. His people didn't have that much history with the Wookiees but he doubted they would mind too much as the Wookiees were as much a warrior people as they were Haron thought with a smile.

---

Kashyyyk, Mid Rim…

The enormous forests that covered Kashyyyk's surface made it hard for an invasion force to find a place to land their units in large numbers. Only one of which could be found near the coastal city of Kachirho, the planet's capital city.

Only a year or more ago Republic clones had stood on this very beach alongside the Wookiees to defend their world. Only now those same clones and human recruits would be invading with the sole purpose being to enslave the entire Wookiee population. The Empire had even legalized slavery and would have a number of Trandoshan slaver guilds with them to 'officially oversee workforce acquisition'.

It made Haron sick, he thought, trying to keep his rage contained as he stood in the tree platform command post with Grahuur and Tarfful, a Wookiee chieftain who was leading their warriors as he had the last time. Next to them Bo-Katan had joined them alongside Eliza Kane and Ijaa Yusagi.

On the beach below Canderous Assault Tanks, Basilisk War Droids and two Rancor Heavy War Droids had been put into position to fend off any landing while the Wookiees stood in the trenches with Mandalorian Warriors and Skytrooper droids. Heavy Blaster repeater positions had been set up along with mortars in the trees and in the trenches. Heavy cannons had been placed further back in more protected positions.

"Why exactly are we risking our lives for a bunch of walking carpets?" Bo-Katan said crossly, not wanting to waste their resources on helping others. She didn't even bother to say it in their native language Mando'a, just speaking in basic which Haron knew the Wookiees understood. They didn't like what she had said, he noticed and sighed in exasperation and told her sternly.

"Because we need allies. If the Empire concentrates its full resources against us, they will overwhelm us with pure numbers alone regardless of how skilled we are. We need to keep as many other worlds fighting as possible so they have to divide their attention, not to mention when the time comes to take the fight to the Empire, we will not be able to do that alone." Haron scolded her, Bo-Katan's expression wasn't visible due to the helmet's they were all wearing but he could feel her annoyance at being treated like a child.

All of the Mandalorians were wearing their helmets, the war with the Empire having pushed a revival of some aspects of their culture. It was now the trend that in the presence of non-Mandalorians you must never remove your helmet. It was considered a sign of weakness although in the private it was fine to remove it or in the company of your fellow Mandalorians but never were you to be without your helmet in the presence of outsiders.

Haron looked over to Tarfful and his aide Chewbacca, neither was impressed at her comments he could tell and he reassured them.

"My people have pledged to help you and we honour our agreements Chieftain." Haron told them and the Wookiees didn't fully buy it he could feel especially given how the 'Republic' had betrayed them. He understood their feelings completely and intended to make sure they knew the Mandalorians kept to their word.

"They do have us outnumbered by a five to one margin. How are we going to address that?" Ijaa asked, actually interested in seeing just how true the stories were about how good a warrior race the Wookiees were. If they were even half the warriors that he had heard they were then it would be an honour to fight alongside them.

"Oh, we deploy our 'hidden assets'." Eliza Kane said with a smirk as she was fully aware of just how Haron had taken advantage of their location to hurt the Imperials.

"Mandalore, the Imperials have begun their march." Din's voice called out from the observation post where he was keeping a long-distance eye on the Imperials. Haron replied calmly.

"Indeed, keep our artillery batteries informed of their positions constantly."

"Understood." Din said professionally and Haron smiled under his helmet. Glad to see he was able to stay so calm in the face of enemy.

"Well, now it begins." Haron said to the others. Tarfful made a comment in his native language to Grahuur and Chewbacca, Eliza who was curious at what they had said asked him.

"What did they say?" Haron frowned before answering.

"You don't want to know."

- x -

The Imperials were using an island just off the coast as their base for advancement into the city, much like the Separatists had during the Clone Wars. There was a deep channel of water between the island and the land but their vehicles would be more than able to cross it. They had even modified the AT-AT walkers to be watertight so they could walk the relatively short distance on the channel floor. On the surface TX-130 Saber-class fighter tanks and hover transports would bring troops over while in the skies TIE fighters would give them air superiority.

Unknown to them however, knowing Imperial battle doctrine as he had spent a number of years studying the man who was writing it, Haron Ordo had planned for every single one of these things.

The hover vehicles moved faster than the walkers did so the walkers went first, the idea being that the heavy walkers would make landfall on the beach first and clear the way for the smaller hover tanks and troop transports to follow.

The Walkers were slow and made little headway until they were submerged in the war on their way to the beach, then the hover vehicles began to move over the water's surface towards the beach. Overhead the Tie Fighters moved.

But when the walkers were at the deepest part of the channel, Haron sprung his trap.

From what looked like rock formations a short distance off, lights suddenly appeared and started rising upwards. But these were no rocks defying gravity and the water, they were Mon Calamari Submarines brought especially for this battle.

The Submarines raced towards the unsuspecting walkers and let loose with a barrage of torpedoes straight at them. The torpedoes slammed into most of the walkers and knocked them sideways, so they now lay on their sides on the surface, trapping many of the troopers inside as the torpedoes and impact with the channel's floor made some spring a leak or blocked ways to escape. If anyone did manage to make it out of the stranded walkers, they would find themselves being picked off by the submarines that hovered nearby watching to ensure none escaped.

That meant when the hover vehicles reached shore, they found themselves without the landing zone being clear and with none of the heavy fire support they had expected. Artillery and mortar fire started raining down on them while warriors on the beach and in the enormous branches above opened fire. Blaster shots were flying everywhere as Wookiee and V-Wing gunships flew around the battlefield, their gunners opening fire on the Imperials below.

The Rancor Heavy Assault Droids then started shooting their large laser cannons at the approaching, the Basilisks joining in by firing sprays of fast laser fire at the enemy.

The Stormtroopers and Saber Tanks were charging straight into certain death.

They couldn't even call down fire support as anti-air batteries concealed in the high trees opened fire on the Tie fighters while Viper and ARC-170 fighters approached from a landing zone a few miles behind the lines.

Tarfful, Chewbacca and Grahuur cheered with the battle already being in their favour. Haron nodded, glad things were going to plan before turning to his communicator.

"Admiral N'Val." Haron called out to Duke N'Val who had been given command of the space forces for this battle. "Is the situation secure?"

"Both Star Destroyers in orbit have been disabled by the Null Ships and secured by Skytroopers." N'Val reported with confidence. "We are prepared up here."

"Rain hell down on them Admiral." Haron ordered calmly, glad that they had captured the two Star Destroyers although he only intended to keep one. The other would be a nice gift to the Wookiees to help them defend their world from future attacks along with some of the extra Separatist ships they had salvaged at the end of the Clone Wars.

Then just as he had that thought, enormous yellow bolts of energy started descending down on the Imperial Staging Base on the island a short distance away.

Seeing the slaver scum being wiped from the face of their world was enough to make all the Wookiees roar with satisfaction, something Haron could well understand and more to the point he was sure that his own people were impressed at the courage and ability the Wookiees had.

When at last the guns fell silent, the beach was covered with dead Stormtroopers and wrecked vehicles. His people and the Wookiees too had taken some losses but nowhere near as bad as it could have been.

Again, they had given the Empire a bloody nose and would enjoy a party with the Wookiees later that night. Many of his own people found themselves being drunk under the table by the Wookiees and trying to arm wrestle them only to be beaten but the mood was so good they laughed and enjoyed themselves with a species worthy of being their allies. The Mon Calamari and Quarran found themselves too being welcomed as heroes for their role in the battle and seemed to strike an easy connection with the Wookiees.

Haron himself didn't drink as he considered their position now, things were looking up with the Mon Calamari and a good chunk of the Separatist Holdouts now their allies and now the Wookiees would stand with them too but it was not enough Haron thought with worry. The Empire's army might as well be infinite and if they were to be strong enough to not only resist but fight back, more would be needed.

He however did his best to put those thoughts aside for now and just enjoy their victory today, he was just glad he had predicted right and planned accordingly. Trying to take a force like the Empire head on was a sure-fire way to get yourself killed, so you don't play it their way.

You play it smart; you play to your strengths not theirs.

Din, he noticed was coming up to him and he smiled at the young man who had done well as their artillery co-ordinator, he was proud to see him accept the responsibility and would see him given a position and authority worthy of his skill in the days ahead. But first, Haron thought with satisfaction, he had a promise to keep.

"Din. Well done, this victory today is due in no small part to your own skilled co-ordination of the artillery. So, its time I upheld a promise I made you some time ago." Haron said with a smile. Din he could feel was puzzled by what he meant and so he led him to the nearby landing zone where a familiar ship was now parked. Din looked at it with surprise and Haron told him proudly.

"Well, there she is…the Razor Crest. She's had her engines rebuilt, systems upgraded, weapons improved and a far faster hyperdrive installed. And from today, she's yours." Haron said with a smile.

Din was speechless, he had dreamt for years of having his own ship. This ship he had fallen in love with from the moment he saw it and now it was his!

"Mandalore! I don't know what to say." Din said with genuine tears of joy in his eyes. Haron smiled as he told him.

"Say nothing, just enjoy it. She's yours now." Haron said with pride. Completely sure that Din would put his old ship to good use.

---

Yridius, Outer Rim…

The planet Yridius was a fairly normal planet that orbited two red dwarf suns and was now suffering a dangerous drought that was making it hard for the local population to survive. The Empire never going to get involved in the affairs of an unremarkable little world with nothing valuable to its name.

Fortunately, three individuals had learned of their plight and had come to their aid.

The drought had dried up the rivers that had once fed the settlement and the only other body of water nearby was a lake at the top of a mountain. Short of moving over twenty thousand people over half the planet's surface towards the ocean this was their only real option.

So, the only choice was to build an aqueduct to keep them supplied with water for the duration of the drought. The people worked hard with the aid of three outsiders who had arrived when they were needed most to help them. They were all different, incredibly so. The leader of the group was a human female in her late twenties, tanned skin, black hair and hazel eyes. Dressed as your standard spacer and a dynamic personality that drew everyone in and got them motivated.

The second was an Zabrak, greyish brown skin with small horns in the top of his head and mournful gold eyes. He wore overalls and a belt full of tools around his waist and clearly had the engineering genius to make anything work and solve any problem.

The third was an Aleena, male again but had a mechanical rig on his back that gave him additional hands and legs when he needed them. He was able to use those arms to get places others couldn't and to help the locals learn how to maintain the aqueduct when they eventually left.

It had taken a few months of hard work to get it finished, but the aqueduct was finally ready and as the three strangers and locals waited with baited breath to see if it was going to work, an enormous cheer rang out when they saw the glorious water flowing down the aqueduct.

The locals were absolutely delighted and thanked the three strangers endlessly for their hard work, made promises and offered gifts but none were accepted and instead the visitors just told them they had saved themselves with their hard work and only needed a little help from them to discover what the solution was.

It would be a long time after they left before a child admitted to seeing the three of them carrying the legendary weapon of the Jedi Order on their belts, lightsabers which could only mean their settlement had been saved by the Jedi but after they had saved their settlement and now vanished into the wider galaxy once again, they saw little to no point in reporting it. Why bring trouble to their door when the Jedi were long gone.

But they still toasted the three outsiders in private for their help. Remembering their names long into the future; Kerra Holt, Bao-Dur and Kazdan Paratus.

---

Honoghr, Outer Rim…

The planet of the Noghri had been the home and hiding place for Anakin Skywalker and his family for some months now. Nearly half a year they had been here, helping the Noghri learn to maintain the equipment that was helping to restore their world.

It had been nice to stay in one place and the opportunity to do some important upgrades and repairs to the Open Sky and to continue Allana's training as a Jedi which was easier to do in one place rather than constantly on the move. It had also been easier on Padme and the children and allowed Anakin to spend time with his family.

But also, he had been working on repairing the strange droid he had found in the Imperial Lab, it had been proving a more difficult challenge than he had expected but at last after nearly six months he had finally managed to crack the data core and get all the parts working. He had not known what sort of droid he was dealing with at first, maybe an older protocol droid but it had a staggering amount of combat and assassination programming inside it. This was an assassin droid with a side-line in extreme combat. Its programming was out of date by quite a bit Anakin thought but it had enough adaptability to adjust to the modern-day weapons without much difficulty. That had made him hesitate for a moment before deciding to continue with reactivating it.

He at least had the sense to rewrite the command access, giving himself the position of primary user. He also had the sense to put a block in that would prevent the droid from harming Padme, Allana or the children just in case and make sure it was water and air tight before finally activating him.

It took a moment for all the circuits to come to life but slowly one by one they activated; an orange light appeared dimly in each eye before growing brighter. A low hum sounded as the droid came to life, an electronic voice sounded slowly.

"Diagnostic: HK-47 activated. Running checks on all primary systems." The Droid, now known as HK-47 stated. The name of course Anakin recognised immediately and was struck dumb by the fact he now had Revan's personal droid assassin in front of him. Was this the will of the force? Anakin asked in disbelief, it had to be, to allow him to find a nearly four-thousand-year-old droid and be able to reactivate him.

While he was thinking this, HK-47 had completed its checks and was able to assess its current status.

"Assessment: Considerable damage to all circuits with time and erosion making unit almost inoperable. Recent repairs…adequate but I still feel broken all over. Exclamation: Oh, how long has it been since I was last activated?"

"Over three thousand years according to the data I extracted from you before I reactivated you." Anakin told him with a considering look although his hand still remained close to his lightsaber.

"Surprised Exclamation: Over three thousand years! Master! How could a droid as special and unique as myself be abandoned for three millennia? It is disgraceful…Oh, why am I calling you master?" HK-47 said with some exasperation clear in his voice.

"Because I am your master now. I found and repaired you and given the situation in the galaxy I may have need of your services." Anakin said, wondering if he had made the right decision but he wasn't going to second guess himself now and if this droid was as effective as it had been before then it would useful to him too. HK-47 would need some software updates but otherwise was ready to go.

"Master Skywalker! Mistress Padme is most insistent that you come, it is time for dinner…Oh my…R2…he's replacing me!" C-3PO said with a horrified noise of exclamation.

"Annoyed Declaration: Oh lovely. A melodramatic and uptight protocol droid. This voyage will be long and annoying, I can see that already." HK-47 said at C-3PO. R2 meanwhile made his usual series of whistles and Anakin reassured the droid he had built himself.

"R2's right. Don't worry 3PO. HK-47 isn't here to replace you. He is going to be some extra muscle for our own safety as we travel." Anakin said with some amusement. HK-47 seemed to get excited and asked him.

"Delighted Exclamation: Master! Oh, how I hate saying that. Are we going to get into trouble and kill many meat bags?"

"Probably." Anakin said, chuckling at him referring to the Imperials as Meat bags, wondering if this is how Revan felt when the droid had used that term.

"Confident Declaration: Then Master I look forward to travelling with you! It will be nice to let my motors run properly again." HK-47 stated with a certain macabre enjoyment.

Anakin again wondered if this was a good idea before leaving to go join Padme for dinner and introduce their new protector. The droids followed him and 3PO commented to R2.

"I don't like the look of him at all R2."

Anakin just shook his head with exasperation…droids.

---

Salient System, Outer Rim…

Unlike most systems around the galaxy, Salient had always been independent. Not a part of the Republic or the Separatists and companies based there had traded with both sides during the Clone Wars, the neutral system also served as a useful hub for galactic corporations to hide their wealth and assets for those that might actually try to make them pay their rightful taxes, not to mention employ workers cheaply to make technology and other products which weren't legal in either state but still highly profitable. Humans were its dominant species but there was also the Avian species known as Hiitian and thankfully both species lived fairly peacefully with each other.

But the Empire, its pride bruised by their recent losses in the Western Reaches, at Kashyyyk and at Mon Calamari had now turned its attention to this isolated system. Perhaps Tarkin who was behind the invasion wanted to tear down corporations that were funding his rivals in the Empire or maybe he just wanted to prove he could lead a successful invasion on his own he tried to assert the Empire's power over a system that not only was not threat to it, but actually had a number of benefits remaining neutral.

Fortunately, the Salient System's wealth allowed it to operate a fairly considerable defence fleet including twenty older capital ships and four cruisers, all retrofitted with Separatist weaponry. Not to mention each of its three planets had a militia force and the Salient Strategic Command had employed smugglers, mercenaries and several other forces to defend them from Imperial aggression.

Due to recent losses the Emperor had refused to allow Tarkin use of more than one Imperial Star Destroyer, the Sovereign Tarkin's own flagship. The rest of the taskforce were comprised of in Tarkin's own opinion, outdated Venator-class Star Destroyers.

This infuriated Tarkin as he had done nothing wrong and to protect himself from further punishment, he had a patsy admiral leading the assault which he could blame if something went wrong or if it went right would let Tarkin himself take the credit.

The Admiral was a relative no-one promoted due to family connections as was starting to become the norm in the Imperial Military. That meant only the Venators and a few support ships made up the invasion force had little experience leading it.

The Venators arrived together, dropping out of lightspeed and proceeding towards one of the three inhabited planets of the system, Epiphany which itself had a moon which held Zerpen Industries headquarters.

But they didn't get far, Zerpen made many important military technologies including turbolasers and ion cannons, good quality ones too which was why some companies like Sienar which were rivals to Zerpen were pushing the invasion to wipe out their rival. But it also made another product that would be a big credit earner in wartime and thanks to the Clone Wars ending as abruptly as it did, they had a good-sized stockpile of them.

Mines.

Tens of the thousands of them, all coated with sensor refracting paint and a signal scrambler to prevent it from being detected.

And thanks to the Mandalorians taking an interest in the system, the locals knew exactly what vector the Imperials were coming in on through their intelligence network. The mines didn't go off straight away though, instead the Salient Defence Force waited till the Imperial Fleet was in the middle of the field before activating the mines.

Explosions ripped across the hulls of the Imperial ships, sending many personnel to their deaths in the dark vacuum of space or in horrible explosions. The bridge of the flagship the Dauntless, was hit by one of the mines and killing the admiral and his chief of staff. Leaving the fleet in chaos as individual captains took mutually exclusive actions, turning at random and some ships collided with each other.

At the edge of the field Gladius and Halberd class ships launched missiles at the stricken Imperial Ships while remaining outside their range to shoot back. Imperial Tie and ARC-170 fighters from several ships tried to weave through the field to attack the Mandalorian ships but Separatist Droid Tri-Fighters had been deployed and swarmed at the edge of the field pouncing on any that managed to get through.

Some ships did their best to reverse their way out of the field but mines had been left behind them just in case and were duly detonated when they made contact with the enemy. Other ships tried other routes only to plough into more mines. When the heavily damaged ships managed to crawl out of the minefield, they were pounced on by Mandalorian and Salient ships.

- x -

Verpen Industries Headquarters, Epiphany's Moon…

In the command centre they'd set up in the company's main building, a cheer went up as they saw the Imperial Fleet routed completely by the ambush they'd created. Salient Officers and officials alongside Verpen workers and Mandalorians and some rebels that had chosen to come in hopes of finding a victory against the Empire.

"Now that is how you defeat the Empire!" Their leader cried out with excitement at the sight on the screen.

"Indeed, Saw Gerrera." Duke Ge'hark Orius said with a frank look at the intense excitement the man had for the death of so many Imperials. He could see the brewing signs of fanatism in him and wondered if allowing him near any of their campaigns was a good idea.

"Enjoy the win. They get harder from here on." Haron said as he turned to the leader of the Partisans Rebel Cell. He knew the man's record from the Clone Wars and since, like Ge'Hark he had concerns but put them aside as for now they were allies against the Empire.

"Well, me and my people are going out there to fight the Empire. I hope to see you doing the same." Saw said with an expectant look in his eyes. If he thought to intimidate him it had the opposite effect, Haron was irritated, as if he would let himself be intimidated Haron thought and told him.

"Mandalorians do not run from a fight, but we face our enemies on our terms. Saw this only the beginning and dark days lie ahead. We fight smart, or die." He warned the man but Saw just ignored him and said.

"I thought so."

Not sure exactly whether Saw was going to take his advice or thinking him a coward Haron just shook his head before turning to the Hiitian President and when certain Saw couldn't overhear him made a surprising invitation.

"Mr President, perhaps if you are willing to indulge me, I have a proposition to make."

The President was mystified at first but soon agreed to Haron's suggestion as it made a great deal of sense and could secure their future, it was also a crucial step in resisting the Empire in the future and securing the welfare of his people.

---

Reijar, Ordo System…

It had been nearly nine months since she had been impregnated and finally Deera Ordo was giving birth to her first child.

She yelled and cursed but thankfully the labour was relatively quick and Zara was with her every step of the way.

"A lovely baby girl Countess." The Midwife said proudly as she handed the baby to her mother. Deera and Zara were immediately entranced by the beautiful little life they had created, she was perfect they thought. A dark tuff of hair on her head and her mother's green eyes, she looked up at them before snuggling into her mother which only brought a tear to Deera's eyes.

"Our little girl." Zara said with pride as she put her arms around her wife, Deera gently rubbed her finger against the little girl's forehead and asked her.

"What do you think about calling her 'Mari'? Like your mother?" Deera asked, she would love to call her Helenya after her own mother but with the taint of being a murderer it would be a bad thing to tie around her daughter's neck.

Zara was almost speechless at her suggestion to call their daughter Mari after Zara's own mother who had been a great and strong lady with a wicked sense of humour. Lost too soon to an illness Zara missed her every day and would love to name her daughter after her.

"Mari Ordo." Zara said proudly.

Both lost themselves in staring at their little daughter even when the others popped in to see the new baby they hardly noticed and were quietly left alone to bond.

---

StormFront, Mandalorian Lucrehulk, Deep Space…Last Month of the Year…

The ship hung in space as it waited for its guests to arrive, four to be exact.

Haron stood in the landing bay to greet them as they arrived.

King Lee-Char was the first to arrive onboard his personal flagship, the Titan. Well named as the unique vessel was almost the same size as the Storm Front and just as well armed. He greeted Haron with a friendly bow and handshake which Haron returned evenly before they waited for the second of their guests to arrive.

The Separatist Holdout Leader came next and he was the one that caused the biggest stir among his own people as he had been one of their Council and one of Count Dooku's most loyal allies, San Hill. The Muun business man nodded politely to Haron who reluctantly returned it slightly before they both thought it best to wait for their others in silence.

The Wookiee King, Grakchawwaa came next. He and his bodyguards towered over most of them but Haron greeted them warmly with respectful nod and salute which the Wookiee returned with a loud roar that would have scared people if you didn't know Shyriiwook and realised they were only laughing.

The final guest to arrive was the Hiitian President of the Salient System, Foylkk easily as tall of the Wookiees he greeted them all politely before all of them and their bodyguards went to the main conference room to begin their talks.

"Well, we all know why we're here." Haron said as he started speaking. "All of us have become targets and enemies of the Empire. Palpatine won't stop until he crushes us all under his boot and the flag of the Empire flies over all of our worlds."

Grakchawwaa started speaking in his native tongue and it took a moment for the protocol droid in the room to translate.

"King Grakchawwaa will never allow any of his people to be enslaved by the rotten old man." The droid said, Haron knew full well that the king had used far harsher language than that but didn't mention it.

"His Empire's resources are virtually infinite. What can we do against that?" San Hill said, his business mind making the situation seem almost hopeless but as a man marked for death, he had little choice but to try.

"Stand together!" Foylkk said loudly to get the meeting on track. Haron gave him a grateful nod. The words struck home and allowed Haron to make his proposal.

"In time the Empire could overwhelm all of us, be it economically or by its military might. So, we need to not only foster more rebellion across the galaxy to force the Empire to divide its attention, but combine our strength." Haron said getting to the main point of his meeting. "For mutual defence and for economic stability so they cannot wage that sort of war on us. By standing together and resisting, we set an example to the rest of the galaxy. That it is possible to fight back and win. One of us alone may fall but together we are far greater than the sum of our parts. If you wish to be a part of this, then say so now. If not, no one will think any less of you. There is danger in this." Haron said, not needing to remind them of that but felt it had to be said.

The room was silent as they all shared looks and thought deeply about what they were being faced with.

It went on for some time, they each broke to discuss the situation with their own advisors before an hour later they all returned to the conference room. Taking their seats, Haron asked them from the head of the table.

"Well, you have all had a chance to discuss it. Now we decide, all in favour?" Haron asked, rising his hand and hoping he wasn't the only one in the room to do so.

King Lee-Char was the first person to raise his own hand which Haron was grateful for and he was quickly followed by King Grakchawwaa. Haron gave them both grateful nods before to his own surprise San Hill raised his own hand and gave a calculating smile that made Haron know he would have to watch this one. And finally, when all the others had made their vote, President Foylkk raised his own hand to complete the vote.

All in favour Haron thought with relief but knew this was only the beginning and they had a lot of details to work out before they officially established the charter. They would likely be here a few days working on that but in the end, they would be ready to face the Empire.

"Then from this moment on we are all allies together against the Empire and its Sith Ruler. To that end we shall take the name of an ancient alliance that was formed to resist and fight the Sith. The Rift Alliance." Haron said, choosing the name as it was a fairly well-known name from history. It had been crucial against the Sith Empire once before and now it would be important against them again.

---

Unknown Location, Arkanis Sector…Same Time…

The Partisans had expected to be stuck in the Salient System for some time but since the fight against the Empire was now somewhere else, their leader Saw Gerrera had decided to relocate too here. He was planning a serious of hit and run attacks that would give the local imperials more than a headache.

"Right, we start with a bombing. Public, enough to get some attention." Saw said as he and his people crowded around the briefing table. "We hit hard and fast, enough to spread the message."

"Perhaps a multipronged attack would be extra effective." A voice said and everyone wheeled around with their blasters pointed at the intruder.

It was single male Iktotchi in Jedi Robes standing there with his arms folded, not caring even slightly about all the weapons aimed at him. One of the Partisans who was more familiar with all the famous 'heroes' of the Republic during the Clone Wars recognised him.

"You're Saesee Tiin. The Jedi Master." He explained. The mention of him being a Jedi Master seemed to unnerve the rebels even Saw who asked him.

"What's a Jedi doing here? I thought you were all extinct?" He challenged the Jedi Master who scoffed.

"More Jedi survived Order 66 than the Empire would ever admit." Saesee with a dismissive shake of his head. "But many are content to hide and wait to die rather than take the fight to the Empire. I am not, nor are those with me." Saesee Tiin said and clicked his fingers making four other Jedi drop down beside him. That really startled the Partisans but Saw made them stand down before someone got too scared and fired.

"So, what do you want now?" Saw asked with suspicion. He didn't need people wasting his time.

"To fight the Empire and you are one of the few we feel has what it takes to really fight this war." Saesee said sternly.

Saw was surprised but inwardly was glad, five Jedi would be a good asset to his fight against the Empire but he wondered if they might try to take over the group. So, he warned him.

"If you want to really fight the Empire…then you can stay, but only if you remember that we fight the real fight here and things will get messy." He warned them.

But they didn't back off like he assumed they would.

"Good." Saw said, seeing they understood the sort of things they were going to have to do to fight the Empire properly. "We all call each other by name, fight with us and you must too." Saw said, expectantly waiting for them to identify themselves. Saesee Tiin had already been named so he turned to the others and one by one they introduced themselves.

"Keelyvine Reus." A middle aged and stern looking woman said with dark brown hair and pale skin, dressed in green formfitting clothes uncommon to the Jedi.

"Jaizen Suel." A blue skinned Pantoran in white Jedi robe said.

"A'Sharad Hett." A tall human male in his twenties said with long dark hair in a ponytail.

"Sanya." A female Devaronian said with folded arms.

"I also have leads on several other Jedi that might be willing to join our cause." Saesee Tiin said with confidence, which was the truth. For nearly a year and a half he had been travelling around the galaxy looking for surviving Jedi to join him, at least the four he had recruited were good fighters and had more to come or so he hoped was the will of the force.

Those that hadn't wanted to join him, well they had no business calling themselves Jedi and if it took running from the Inquisitors as the Emperor called his new Jedi Hunters to get them to actually start fighting then it was a move well made. He had not revealed their locations of course but he had not been careful about hiding his identity and that often had the Inquisitors investigating the area. So, the Jedi there had been forced to run rather than be caught. They would either stand up as Jedi or die hiding like cowards Saesee Tiin thought with firmness, not caring about those that would forget their duty as he saw it at all.

---

Qylon Sigma, Mid Rim…

Qylon Sigma was once the centre of a great mining operation that left the planet scarred but still lay on a number of important hyperspace routes and so had maintained a reasonable standard of living for the people there.

Until recently when the Empire had begun strip mining any remaining resources the planet held and using it as a staging base for future expansion even though it had remained loyal to it all through the Clone Wars and even as it transitioned into the Empire. But it was all for the good of the Empire and had no consideration for the people who lived there, bars and other businesses that might have profited from having the Imperial Fleet were 'nationalised' for the benefit of the fleet and the owners turfed out on the street.

For over a year the people had been suffering and their poverty had attracted attention, a figure that had been living in the distant wilds of their planet in isolation. No one went there and so no-one had known he was living there but the suffering of the people had roused him from his self-imposed exile and brought him to the city.

The Imperial Governor had been living the high life for some time, enjoying the fruits of the industries he had forcefully taken ownership of, now he ran half naked through the city streets with the filthy peasants screaming abuse at him. He just kept running trying to understand just how all of his perfectly ordered life and the unassailable presence the Empire had here had come crashing down.

In a matter of days, he thought with terror.

First the supply convoys had stopped delivering to the city's Stormtrooper barracks, it had gone missing so had the Stormtroopers pay roll. The Stormtroopers had started turning on each other and the Imperial Fleet personnel as rumours spread of them hoarding supplies and stealing to enrich themselves with bits of the stolen supplies and credits turning up in each other's bases. Then the head of the ships stationed here, Admiral Boyd had been killed by a drunken Stormtrooper after rumours of him cheating with his wife had come to light. The rumours spread so fast no-one had been able to contain them and finally the different branches of the Imperial Military had been on the edge of fighting each other.

Then one of the Corvette Captains had for reasons that no-one could understand fired on one of the Stormtrooper's homes and killed his family.

They had turned on each other before he or the others could do anything, killing each other and then just when he hadn't needed it, the civilian population had risen up in a revolt against them. They had killed any Imperials that had survived the infighting and now he was alone and surrounded on all sides. How he wondered incredulously, how had all the discipline and rules and order broken down so quickly and left things like this?

Suddenly he tripped and fell face down in the mud, he heard the peasants around him laughing at his expense and he forced himself to get up so he could get a good look at the offenders so when the Empire came back he could have these people executed only for a cloaked figure to emerge from nowhere. He looked up at the figure with fear as something about it made him shake with fear. He couldn't get a look under the hood but just what this figure was answered only moment later when a cylinder appeared from beneath the sleeve and into their hand. A familiar cylinder that all Imperial Personnel were warned to look for.

The cylinder then with a distinctive snap hiss, produced a strange blade with a dark green core and lighter green aura around it. He barely had time to scream before the Jedi for what else could his assailant be, took his head clean off with a single effortless strike.

The people around looked at the figure who deactivated their weapon and hung it from their belt before lowering their hood, revealing an old man with wispy grey white hair on his balding head and a trimmed beard. His face was weathered with lines from living a hard and basic life and he was dressed in simple worn clothes. He saw the people surrounding him and one of them asked him.

"Who are you?"

The man hesitated not seemingly to want to answer but then he changed his mind and spoke to the gathered crowd.

"I am what the Empire fears, what the Emperor fears. Someone willing to question, willing to stand up and say that I will not tolerate your ways. I will fight to protect those that can't, stand for freedom and the right of all of us to choose. The Empire sold their vision of the galaxy as if it was an answer to all our problems and to bring stability back to the galaxy but now we all see them for what they really are. An oppressive dictatorship that tramples freedom and equality underfoot and takes all without giving anything back. I intend to show the galaxy the truth and I would ask any of you that see as I do to join me. Join me as we liberate the galaxy." The man said, unknowingly giving his group a name as he spoke 'Liber8'.

He then chose a new name for himself, one that would symbolise the struggle to come.

"As for what you may call me, I am Kagame."

---

There we are, hope you all enjoyed it as the war starts in earnest. The Mandalorians and others will not let the Empire rest easy. Please review and let me know what you thought.

King Lee-Char's personal ship was based on an unknown Mon Calamari design shown in Star Wars: General Grievous Comic, which Grievous boarded and killed the crew of. Most of its details are unknown but it was supposedly as big as a Lucrehulk.

Kagame is based on a character of the same name from a TV show called Continuum (2012-2015). He was played by Tony Amendola, Kagame led a group called Liber8 against the Corporate Congress and when I was playing up a new rebel faction it seemed a good fit. Some of his character also comes from a character he played on Stargate SG-1 called Bra'tac who was also a freedom fighter and a master warrior. I know Tony Amendola was also the basis for Eno Cordova but I decided to use him for this too.

More Review Responses from the last chapter…

Wtar Sars - Thanks! I know I have issues with grammar and sentence structuring I do try and thank you for being understanding. I did a lot of research for this story I admit and I love the backstory and lore which is why I get so deep into it. Glad to hear you like the story, thank you again!

Walli - I really appreciate your support! Thank you!

TB-GB - Luna/Ahsoka? Interesting idea, I will think about it. The Ordos and the Skywalkers? Probably not as they each have their own destinies but that is not to say that they won't cross paths again.

Victorvonboom - Like I said with Starpottergeek, in this story the younglings are likely safe in a jedi sanctuary, in this story there was an organised evacuation and they would have been on those transports.

Cherry Pitz - The Mandalorians rather than using wands which can easily be taken off you or dropped, have kyber crystal shards in their gauntlets that act as wands would. Should they call it magic? Possibly but I think they'll divide it in two, the force is stuff like the Jedi and Sith do while Magic is the more specific stuff. You made a good point about calling it magic to annoy the Jedi and Sith but it is known to the entire galaxy as the force so that is what they call it.

SonOfHekate - Glad to hear you like it! Meetra I don't think left much behind but what she did allowed the Jedi to recover from the Dark Wars. Her legacy was in people, specifically her companions not objects. The other dukes and duchesses are now aware as of this chapter. But Meetra Surik? There is a plan for her since she is a character that I think deserves more recognition.

RedNoseReindeerX - I understand your points. Messing with genetics is I think a bit dangerous as who knows why you might end up with. The reason I did this is that I heard recently scientists did manage to achieve it here and now. So if it can be done here, then it would be certainly possible in Star Wars.

Kossboss - Cheers! I really am glad you like it.

Joe02 - Happy to hear you enjoyed it. Your support means a great deal to me! The Bad Batch are cool and I like them too. I am thinking of bringing them back in the future but I wish we knew more of what happens to them. You are spot on, there is something coming in regards to Corellia. How might it affect the Rebellion in the future, well that's something I can't really talk about without giving too much away but it has an impact. Will the Mandalorians supply the Rebellion? Maybe, they are interested in fanning the flames of that across the galaxy. Marauder Corvette? He has two ships in his fleet like it already the Gladius and the Halberd but the Rebellion might use it.

A Guest - I know, Vader will only appear at important moments and nor will he be so easy to defeat.

raw666 - Can't say he will or he won't but Tarkin gets a telling off from the Emperor and is now in hot water.

Chris the Metis - Indeed.

TheGuy - Thanks! Pride is one of the big sins and Sith in particular are guilty of this and Palpatine certainly is one of the most successful Sith in history. The Jedi are just as guilty of pride though as they brought a lot of their own problems on themselves.

M1stymix - Thanks! I really liked the New Jedi Order from the Legends canon, and I hate how the Jedi and particularly Luke were made to look bad again by the sequels, I mean while Luke had complete faith in his father's hidden good after all Vader did, he would then suddenly on the strength of one vision kill his innocent nephew?! I mean what?! And how he would deny Grogu connections like the old Jedi did? Where did that come from?! Sorry for the rant there, thank you for reviewing.

Jebest4781 - Appreciate your support! Thank you!

Gwynx - glad to hear you liked it! I'll see if I can fit them in.

TYPE-RWBYFanatic64 - Indeed.

Morkail - Thanks! In the Core Worlds and in some areas yes, but in the Outer Rim and places where the Separatists once held it is much clearer earlier on and as to the rest of the galaxy seeing how bad things are, there are those trying to bring that to light as you will see in this chapter. Indeed, the Jedi sanctuaries and there will be some more Jedi sects that form in the future will all be somewhat different and as for Palpatine keeping his underlings in check? We shall see.

frankieu - Appreciate you saying that!

DarthEmrys - Thank you!

Tassadar112 - HK-47 is a character who I really like and think he is one of the best droids in the galaxy! You get to see more of what he thinks of the galaxy in the next chapter.

EP - Merci.

tf330129 - Thanks! :)

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Next Chapter - The Struggles in the Western Reaches continue, the Clones have a choice to make, more factions begin to join the war and rebellion spreads across the galaxy. The Emperor meanwhile has some decisions to make.