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

Hello again! Glad to be back to post this new chapter and hope you all enjoy reading it. Thank you to everyone that read and those that reviewed the last chapter! It means a lot for you guys to give your time to read this story.

Now unfortunately this story is now approaching the end, I think it is a good place to end it but I will provide an epilogue of sorts to tie up loose ends.

Review Responses from the Last Chapter...

Vic the Man – Thanks for the suggestion, I think I might be able to use that. Awesome suggestion!

Te Ne'tra Mand'alor – Probably not.

Guest – I am glad to hear you liked it! Phoenixes are awesome and I understand your point. Sorry to hear of your tornado issue! I am really glad to hear your opinion on this story and I have to say a lot of good stories are abandoned so I made a decision I won't abandon a story until its finished

Goddessofvore – Spot on!

Guest (2) – A lot of interesting points. Mythosaur being something a parselmouth could speak too? Not sure if they are serpentine or not. I was trying to not go overboard with bringing HP characters in.

61394 – His attachments weren't the real reason for Anakin falling to the dark side. The Jedi's apathy and Palpatine's manipulations certainly were a huge part of it but as well it was lure of more power, as George Lucas himself once said it was to control the fate of those around him so he would not lose them. It started with all of the best intentions but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Anakin did have more friends at least in the old expanded universe like A'Sharad Hett who would later become Darth Krayt. He was a hero to show of the younger Jedi, he was inspiring to some of them while the older ones were standoffish with him. The Jedi ever since they adopted Odan-Urr's version of the code have been on a steady downward spiral, Anakin is probably closer to what an original Jedi was at least in part. Yoda who was supposed to have so much compassion for all living things could be extreme uncaring, as a Grandmaster he isn't the best regardless of what people think, he is the one that led the Jedi to their worst defeat in history. See why you id, good on you! Definitely, Palpatine was letting his fear colour his idea of what could happen just like Anakin did with Padme when all he had to do was stop and think things through. In his fear he made what scared him happen. Kalderans were a species that I was actually glad to add into the story as they are effectively insane, racist to the end due to their fear of being hurt by other species like the Empire did to them and so they hurt them before they could. Mace Windu was hard edged but that was how he used the dark side and the light together, with stern discipline but he did care for people, a new book is coming out soon which features him carrying out Qui-Gon's last wishes as he finds he is missing him. Oh he is, they are all coming for Palpatine and he cannot hide from them forever.

Ryder10 – It has been a challenge, this is easily the biggest story that I have ever done. I suppose but it took him a lot of work to get there and they are as you will see in this chapter not perfect. I never said Palpatine's ability to see the future was perfect but it is something he relies on.

OverseerBishop – Krogan? Sorry, not them.

DarthEmrys – Glad to hear you liked it! That is something that Disney just doesn't get is that is when you have a whole galaxy as your playground you can have so many different things happening all at once. Unfortunately yes it is ending soon but there is still a couple of chapters to go. Tenebrae is dead I can assure you of that, don't know that story but I would be interested to hear what you have in mind if I can be of any help I would be glad too. Thank you for your ongoing support it is appreciated.

900 – Pretty much!

HowlnMadHowie – Thank you again for the omake! It brightened my day and you had me feeling Maleficent vibes with Palpatine not being invited to the wedding and being offended. Good point, Leia is a twin herself and there is a history of it in the Ordo family so...maybe. Good point, I mean Padme should have been able to go to a doctor even on Coruscant so I don't get why she didn't especially after Anakin told her about his vision just to reassure him. Which I think might have at least eased his worries a little. The other species you suggested, afraid not. I think I was going to bring in some more but since I lost my notes it slipped by.

- x -

1 ABY – 1001 ARR...

Chapter 44 – The Path Ahead

Pillio, Core Worlds...

Shaak Ti led a squad of Rebel Commandos as they fought their way passed the Imperial Defenders until they found what they were looking for.

The Emperor's Vault.

One of them anyway she conceded as she used the force to push the door open, revealing the small warehouse inside. The commandos moved in and carefully checked it for any automated defences and thankfully there were none. She walked in after them and saw crates piled all around with monitoring equipment and as she went through the crates she discovered art works that had been missing for decades, Sith relics and much more. Palpatine was a notorious hoarder she thought with disgust at how much he had stolen, one piece in particular she knew called the Crystal of the Stars, a crystal sculpture made of many coloured crystals which had a spectacular effect of different colours. It had been the prize of many galleries across the galaxy for years until just before the Clone Wars when in an extremely bloody heist that had left seventy three people dead it had been stolen. Either Palpatine had bought it on the black market or she tended to believe he had been the one behind the theft itself.

Much of this collection likely had similar bloody stories she thought with sadness at all of the lives lost solely to one man's greed.

After the attack on the wedding at Yavin 4 the Skywalkers had been working hard to try and take some kind of penance from the Emperor. The various powers of the galaxy were all pressing harder on the Empire than they ever had before, the Mandalorians certainly had as the Ordos were as furious as the Skywalkers and with all of their combined efforts the Empire had all but been pushed out of the Outer Rim and the Mid Rim, only a few small isolated bastions of Imperial Control still lingered there and it was only a matter of time before they lost them too. Eyes were turning towards the Core Worlds but they were still too heavily reinforced to even try and make a move towards Coruscant where the old decaying Sith Lord had holed up. Occasional missions like this one were possible but dangerous in small groups. The Ordos had even done their best to stop the flow of the special spice from the Pasdishah Imperium to the Emperor, denying him one of his few advantages and vices.

The Skywalkers though had found another way to get at the Emperor, they had already found one of his storehouses and vaults on Wayland earlier which had given them clues to several other locations with time, this one in particular she thought as she found an old Jedi Star Compass in one of the crates which made her blink in surprise, the Jedi Order had thought all of them destroyed or lost when worlds like Ossus had been devastated...they hadn't even had one in the Great Temple on Coruscant when it had still belonged to them and yet some how Palpatine had found one she thought in amazement.

She smiled, knowing the Jedi were going to be extremely happy to have this back and wondered if any more might exist across the galaxy somewhere? She would like to examine that and maybe delve deep into Jedi lore when the war was over...if she survived it she thought morbidly to herself.

She had always liked the idea of pursuing more scholarly work, investigating the past and uncovering answers to long held questions thrilled her although her duties as a Jedi had often kept her from enjoying such activities. In the long years she and the other Jedi who had left the temple with her had been hiding on Yavin 4 they had ventured to all of the different temples and palaces on the jungle moon. There had been many discoveries to make there and she had been genuinely enjoying herself in such work.

Alas it was now back to the sort of missions that she had undertaken during the Clone Wars for the Republic only now it was for the Rebellion to make sure that the galaxy would not remain under the boot heel of the Empire, she thought with some sadness. She knew it was important and necessary work but still it made her yearn for the days when she was able to pursue a more gentle and less destructive kind of work.

"General." One of her Rebel Commandos said, making her give them her attention. "The computer system has been breached, we have the database."

"Good, load up as much of this collection as we can carry. Some of it needs to be returned to its rightful owners and other pieces might be useful." She told them, not really comfortable commanding soldiers again but they did obey her orders and began to take both the crates and the database back to their ship. It would no doubt lead them to other vaults or observatories and they in turn would lead them to more. But the more they took from him the less he had which Shaak Ti thought was an appropriate punishment for one that took so much from everyone around the galaxy.

She just hoped that Master Jyl Somtay on Jakku was having as much favour from the force as she was having here. The other Jedi Master having gone to clear out another observatory that they had managed to discover the location of.

But then she thought back on the Ordos and felt a familiar worry rising up inside her as she knew that now the Mandalorians had conquered five hundred more star systems and were refusing to leave many of them like Rodia or Mirial. She knew getting them to leave those worlds without an extremely bloody fight was going to be nearly impossible, she thought back to her galactic history lessons and shuddered as she remembered just how bad some of those ancient wars with the Mandalorians had gotten. Until Revan had defeated and shattered them as a people they had been a near unstoppable force of conquest and destruction across the galaxy, for thousands of years they had remained broken and gotten weaker and weaker, devoid of a leader that could change this.

But now she thought with fear however much she tried to suppressed it but it lingered despite her efforts, they were unified again under a leader strong enough to hold them together and had rebuilt their fleet and army but worse than that they had the force on their side now...she thought with dread that they had so much power. That had always been the one real advantage the Jedi had over them but now it was within them as well, they even had lightsabers and the knowledge of how to use them.

If they truly did return to their old ways of conquest, what would be the cost of stopping them this time she thought with dread.

Shu-Torun, Mid Rim...

A large rebel taskforce was attacking Shu-Torun, a resource rich if largely volcanic world. The royal family there had once risen up against the Empire and nearly all of them had been killed for it except for the youngest daughter who now ruled as a puppet queen for the Empire. While you could be sympathetic to the young woman for losing her whole family, several opportunities to take her revenge had come and gone, in fact she had handed over rebel members who had come to negotiate with her to the Empire which had earned them a long and painful torture and then death.

She should have just sent them away because that had brought the wrath of the Rebellion down upon her and the Ore-Dukes were all too eager to get rid of the Empire for their own enrichment as without them they would rule the planet. In truth the Rebels weren't sure they would be a good group of people to run this planet but it was the best of a bad situation.

The Rebel Fleet had wasted no time in punching through whatever orbital defences that were there, made easy by the Empire ironically they all thought with a laugh as they had mandated that no station or ships or satellites could be used on Shu-Torun as a safeguard that it won't rise up against them again. That left only a few Imperial ships to defend the planet and make sure that the people below remembered just who they served.

With control of the space around the planet established the landing forces could move in, drop-ships moved towards the surface with fighter escort to make sure they made it down. The royal palace was firmly in their sights.

The garrison on the surface and the royal guards all took up positions to defend the palace while Queen Trios stood there, her face filled with dread at the coming attack. She watched as the rebel fighters began to strafe the ground, clearing a landing zone for their ships to land while walkers and whatever anti-air positions they had available fired back, the walkers were too slow and struggled to keep up with fighters that moved faster than they could dream of. The anti-air missiles were more effective, they hit one or two of them but that revealed their positions to the fighters who swiftly took them out. This allowed their ships to land and start unloading troops and vehicles.

She heard the heavy footsteps of her benefactor coming up next to her and his presence made her shudder with the intense cold it brought with it. She knew she owed him everything, her survival when her family had died, her position as queen, her control of the Ore-Dukes...everything. His faith and belief in her had been the only thing that had kept her alive but that did not mean that she didn't feel fear with every single second that she was in his intimidating presence.

"There is a Jedi leading the assault. That is my fight." Lord Fear said with disgust at the mere thought of a Jedi. No-one knew his real name, only that he was one of the Emperor's Dark Disciples and was a master at encouraging terror in the hearts of planets that dared to rise against the Empire.

"What about the rest?" Trios asked desperately as she saw that her people and the garrison were being pushed back but Lord Fear just told her with a stern harshness as he gripped her shoulder very tightly.

"Stand and fight, do your duty to the Empire." He said and she winced at the pressure he was applying so she quickly spoke to make him stop.

"Long Live the Empire." She said with a trembling in her voice from the pain in her shoulder and he replied before releasing his grip.

"Long Live the Empire." Lord Fear told her and he left to find his Jedi while she watched him go, her body nearly shaking but she managed to turn back to the glass and press her hand against it, feeling like a bird in a gilded cage, a performing animal for the Empire. Her father had been brave she thought with depression, he had been strong and so had the rest of her family as they had been prepared to fight and die for what they had believed in.

But she...just couldn't Trios thought with great emptiness. She didn't have it in her to resist as they had done, she just hadn't the courage to even try. So she just stared at the fight outside and hoped that the rebels would fall and leave this world, that way the Empire would not punish her again she thought with terror at being in the dudgeons of her own castle again and being subjected to the methods of Lord Fear for a second time.

- x -

The fighting was intense as the rebels soldiers pressed against the defenders, all around them soldiers were dying as the fight pressed on. T2-B Light tanks and T4-B Heavy Tanks clashed with the AT-ST and AT-AT walkers as the infantries on both sides met in a fierce exchange of laser, grenade and rocket fire.

Vel and Cassian were in the heart of the fighting, the noise was deafening as the battle raged on but they fought onward. Vel and Cassian with their blaster rifles in hand, doing their best to stay alive as fire from both enemy and ally alike flew only a very short distance above their heads while they added to it whenever they could get a shot. At their side was the hulking form of K-2SO, Cassian's reprogrammed Imperial Security Droid that he had acquired on his missions.

"I calculate our odds of survival are..." K-2SO started saying before Cassian cut him off.

"Shut up K-2."

"Suit yourself." K-2SO said and used his droid reflexes to down another two stormtroopers and a royal guard while Vel gritted her teeth at the annoying droid.

"Why did you program him to say things like that? Its a hard enough situation as it is." Vel asked him with anger and he just told her with a shrug.

"I didn't, that's just him."

Vel shook her head with exasperation before continuing with the fight, shooting down some more royal guards before thankfully the deadlock was broken by a flight of Y-Wings doing a bombing run and clearing out most of the forces in their direct path, this was accompanied by a LAATi gunship dropping someone by them, the yellow lightsaber acting as a beacon for their troops as a Jedi led them into battle.

Given how little the Jedi had been seen prior to the Clone Wars and even during they had an almost mystical aura around them and when one appeared it was always a sight to see. Their great deeds during the war had only fed this and made them seem even more impressive in the eyes of the people and the rebels that they fought alongside. Each telling seemed only to make it more impressive and while at their heart all of the rebels knew that Jedi were only mortal and could be killed, but it seemed like they could never lose with one at their side.

Vel and Cassian with this added boost to morale managed to get out of the trench they had become stuck in and press the attack, now reaching the gates of the palace where they finally came face to face with the Jedi.

Allara, former apprentice to Anakin Skywalker himself and had been a leading figure in the war in her own right, not counting the stature brought by being the student of the Jedi's greatest knight.

Her yellow lightsaber plunged into the closed doors and began to cut through the thick durasteel, it started to heat up before their eyes as she pressed her lightsaber to break the door lock. Eventually she pulled her saber out and then as they thought she was giving up she threw out her hands in a force push, the doors began to move and then opened wide enough for the rebels to enter the palace.

There at the top of the stairs was a bunch of stormtroopers and a tall figure in bile yellow and black robes, he had a lightsaber and they all felt a strange and bone deep chill from nowhere.

"You deal with the stormtroopers, this is my fight." Allara told them as she tightened her grip on her lightsaber and the others nodded, aware they were about to witness a rare event, a lightsaber duel.

"Fear, it is within all of us. Where does it hide in you?" The mysterious figure said before igniting a green coloured lightsaber and leaping into the fight. While the rebels and stormtroopers exchanged fire, their lightsabers met in a shower of sparks. Allara fell into her rapid and aggressive form 4 training, moving around the enemy like a blur that he was able to keep up with but as he held her in a saber lock he asked her.

"Why can't I sense your fear? You cannot hide fear and yet I can't feel it." He demanded with gritted teeth, he had always been able to sense the fears of others, pull them out into the open and use them against his opponents but in this woman he could feel nothing.

"Afraid of you? I have been within saber distance of Vader and lived, what are you compared to him?" Allara jeered at him before using a form 5 move she had learned from her master to gain greater leverage. "Besides, my master taught me to face my fears, there is nothing for you to latch onto here." She taunted him before she angled her lightsaber and cut off his hand on the wrist.

Lord Fear looked at the stump where his hand had once been and his saber still in his severed hand feel to the ground. Allara slashed him hard across the chest and ended his life with a single stroke.

That dealt with Allara joined the rebel soldiers in their fight, pressing forward it was a bloody struggle but they managed despite considerable losses reached the throne room and saw when they forced the door open that they were too late.

Queen Trios, last of the Shu-Torun royal family sat on her throne with a blaster burn at the side of the head while a single blaster pistol laying on the ground nearby.

Vel blinked and walked over, carefully checking for any traps before seeing that it was exactly what it appeared to be.

"She feared the Empire more than she feared death." Vel said with dismay at someone being driven to this, maybe if they had managed to capture her they might have been able to help her but she had killed herself rather than face the Empire's disappointment. This did mean that the planet would join the rebellion but it was a bitter sweet ending.

- x -

While other Alliance representatives were in discussions with the Ore-Dukes Cassian and Vel decided to take their leave, despite Vel being much better these days they just wanted some more autonomy after all of the battles they had been in...some freedom to do their own missions for awhile.

So they sneaked into the planet's impound yard and found just the ship for them.

"Hurry K-2." Cassian urged him as they wanted to get away before anyone could stop them. The YT-2400 light freighter was a perfect ship for them and they needed the freedom it would bring.

"If you would like to take a go yourself at overriding the security system, be my guest." K-2 said as he managed to unlock the ship's computer and they all rushed to board, Vel closing the ramp as the three of them rushed inside. Cassian and K-2 went to the cockpit and started the ship up and took off as quickly as possible. Vel joined them in the cockpit just in time to see them leave the atmosphere.

"So, where do we go?" Vel asked him and Cassian thought for a moment as they had the entire galaxy out there and they could literally go anywhere that they wanted. He then suggested.

"I heard there's some trouble on Roxuli."

"Then let's go." Vel said with a smile as Cassian smiled too, K-2 programmed the destination and pulled the lever, sending the ship into hyperspace.

Reijar, Ordo System...

"Clans." Ara asked intently as she looked at Leia who was frowning with intense recall.

"Wren, Pypus, Hy...Garn." Leia said with some struggle as she was drawing a blank. Ara glared at her.

"Of the ones you mentioned, one serves House Farr and the other two don't exist. Try again." She said with the sternness of a school master. Leia who was fed up stood and told her.

"This is impossible! How can you know all the names of all the clans!" She said and Ara whose glare was far stronger than hers just stared into her eyes and told her.

"It is not only possible but important as a Duchess that you do know all of the clans under you and what problems they face so you can address it." Ara told her without blinking, Leia was a little unnerved and sat back down before Ara sighed as this was getting them nowhere.

- x -

"The girl is intelligent. Why can't she remember?" Ara asked Haron as they got ready for bed and Haron smiled at her obvious annoyance.

"I suspect Leia is the sort of girl that learns more through doing than sitting in a classroom and with all due respect you are extremely dominating. It probably unnerves her." Haron offered and Ara was immediately offended.

"I am not dominating! I don't scare people." She said indignantly.

Haron just stared and she lasted all of five seconds before admitting it.

"Okay I scare people. But that doesn't make my points about Leia any less valid. The girl needs to know these things." Ara said and Haron nodded, he pondered the problem which was a bit distracting from the fact that the Empire had moved the Second Death Star before he and his people could attack and destroy it. He had their intelligence service working on it but so far they had no idea just where the blasted thing was now. Somewhere closer to the core but that was all they knew at the moment.

He managed to refocus though on the matter at hand and remembered that he had not really understood all of the different sects of Mandalorian culture either before his journey to meet all of the different houses, this led to an idea springing to mind that might be helpful to get Leia to understand the clans, learn by doing.

- x -

"Your mother is impossible" Leia said with an angry tone as she sat on the bed as Markus got undressed. "I can't learn it all in a day."

"My mother is a very demanding woman, her standards when me and the others were growing up were exactly the same. But I know she only pushes you if she knows you can achieve it." Markus said but added. "I will speak to her about it though. You're new to this, its not right to expect you to know it all straight away."

"Thanks." Leia said without enthusiasm before sighing as she got into bed. While being around Markus more openly and having more time together was amazing, but the pressure of trying to learn another culture was daunting to say the least. There was so much to learn she thought and wondered how long it would take her to get it all down.

"You will get this. I know its a lot but you will." Markus said as he put his arm around her and then added. "I will spend some time helping you." He said with a smile pressing his lips to her forehead and feeling his confidence in her and his willingness to help her was a great relief to Leia who snuggled into him.

- x -

The following morning Markus and Leia came down for breakfast, Ara was already there and waited for Haron who was attending to some business before he came into join them. He was smiling at the young couple and Ara then decided to speak.

"Your father and I have been talking. Since Leia has been struggling to learn the traditional way, perhaps something new is needed." Ara said with a stiff voice as she was still annoyed.

"What new approach?" Markus asked, wondering just what they had in mind before Haron told them.

"We are giving you the Star Chaser, as a sort of belated honeymoon you will visit each of the clans in turn and learn about them first hand. Maybe you might be able to find things we missed and better take it all in by seeing them with your own eyes." Haron explained.

The newly weds were surprised but both were extremely happy as it was great news, some time to themselves and for Leia especially it was a chance to travel and she had always learned more by doing than studying. Some time to just be a new married couple too wouldn't hurt.

Haron was happy they were happy, he just hoped that his sisters were having a good time on their mission in Wild Space. She had been reluctant to leave her work analysing the weather control technology, Metal-Crystal Phase Shifter and other innovations that they had discovered at the Maw Installation but he could only trust a mission as important as this one to their own family.

Recently Charted Planet, Wild Space...

The Empire's missions into Wild Space had revealed a number of new species that promised to potentially become major players in the wider galaxy some day.

Recently before their routes into Wild Space had been cut off they had encountered a race of warriors that might even give the Mandalorians a run for their money, one that fought against them with an unending determination. Their focus on the ways of war might have been limiting for them as a species but they had discovered another species nearby that was as interested in science and technology as they were in battles. An alliance had been struck and it had endured for generations, even leading to some cross breeding between the two and sharing a very rich territory.

Having cut the Imperial Expeditionary Force off from any potential reinforcements the Mandalorians had themselves encountered these two new species while chasing down the Imperials. Despite initial language barriers they had at least not started shooting at each other and after enough language translation programs had been run, they had come to an accord.

The last Imperial Forces in Wild Space had been forced to this moon and surrounded, now the fight was on to end the invasion once and for all before any kind of diplomatic efforts began.

Luxan ships where fighting alongside Mandalorian ones, using pulsed lasers that carried charged particles along the beam for extra damage, agile and flown with a great amount of skill. It was rare but the Mandalorians in space were impressed.

On the ground the story was no different as the Luxan warriors moved with incredible speed and agility for their size, being on average six to seven feet tall. They had pronounced ridges on their foreheads with long chins and tendrils that they named tenkas along with long thick beards.

They wore red and crimson leather like armour but what this lacked in protection it made up for in freedom of movement and the Luxans used this to the full. They had their ranks tattooed onto their exposed chest and necks and wielded heavy weapons like they weighed nothing.

Deera, Vysa and Lelia were all on the ground fighting while Zara kept a close eye on things in space and they were deeply impressed at how well the Luxans fought, they had no fear or hesitation, not a wasted movement or pointless banter. Their attention was completely on the battle and their marksmanship was on par with the Mandarlorians own.

Deera and Lelia used the force to lift a boulder to throw it at a walker and in doing so saved a group of Luxan warriors who looked over and cheered as best as they could understand it.

Vysa meanwhile was manning the heavy blaster turret on a damaged heavy tank while a group of Luxans defended her. She took a moment to look at the blades and gauntlets of the Luxans and saw to her surprise the familiar sheen of beskar! Somehow the Luxans had discovered the great potential of the ore as well and managed to figure out how to make it into weapons and gauntlets for their warriors.

The battle was fierce and difficult, the Imperials fought with the determination of knowing that since they weren't going to get out of this alive they might as well take as many people with them as possible. This made the battle drag on to the last man, many were laying dead by the end of the day but as the Mandalorians stood opposite the Luxans, a tense moment following as they had both proven their metal today but while some wondered if another fight was going to break out between the two equally proud warrior peoples, a Luxan warrior stepped towards Deera, her people raised their weapons thinking she was in danger but she gestured for them to lower their blasters, she didn't sense any ill intent and the Luxan which towered over her looked down at her before chuckling and holding out his arm with his open fist, Deera nodded before doing the same and clasping his hand as he clasped hers. The warriors on both sides cheered as the gesture while simple was telling.

They had earned each others respect, leaving the door open for them to become allies.

The Continental, Sundari, Mandalore...

The newest branch of the Continental, the Sundari branch was a marvel of elegance and Mandalorian styles. It was much like all branches of the Continental a place for various people connected to the Underworld to stay and rest while in complete safety. It also had the most advanced technology of any branch of the hotel and easily the best weapons.

Since Winston was the CEO of the Continental chain it was the best place for him to go while he taught young Nila Ordo to manage the affairs of her new world.

"So by both pressing their blood and finger print or other identifiable appendage onto the marker they seal the contract. Breaking it would be grounds for excommunication and not only would they be barred from ever using one of the Continental's branches ever again but also anywhere that the High Table holds sway. More than that every outlaw affiliated with both would be obliged to kill them." Winston told her firmly. "Rules even in the Underworld must be obeyed or we would have complete chaos, we would be like animals, so these agreements are never made lightly." Winston told her as Nila was to learn the secrets of the High Table, she would as the new leader of Phripalmur have a seat at that particular table one day, as many High Table meetings would be held there.

So it was critical that Nila knew the rules inside and out.

"Is there no way to break such an agreement?" Nila asked him and he shook his head although credited her for trying to find loopholes so that she was aware of them.

"No, once it is sealed it cannot ever be broken and must be seen to completion. Even I have to hold to the rules, if managers break them they are marked for death and their branches razed. That is the way it has always been." He said smiling at his eager student as they continued the lesson.

Ringo Vinda Shipyards, Mid Rim...

The large circular shipyard that encircled Ringo Vinda had been converted to build Star Destroyers and recently Super Star Destroyers as well given the rising threat posed by all of the forces that now were pressing at the Empire. With the loss of other shipyards closer to the front the workforce here was being pressed to full capacity to manage the intense work schedule that was being enforced on them.

The amount of construction and maintenance required vast amounts of resources to be shipped to the facility constantly, the existing support fleet was not capable of maintaining this constant movement of materials alongside keeping the vast Imperial Fleet fuelled, provisioned and equipped. Hiring out to private firms had been the only answer and many of them were actually not able to keep up with demand and were grabbing ships wherever they could to meet the Empire's requirements.

Some of them were fortunate enough to have a few Lucrehulks that had been salvaged after the Clone Wars and pressed into civilian service, given the sheer size of these vessels and their enormous internal space they were an absolute godsend for the fleet and without them they would have needed a dozen other smaller vessels just to get things done.

One such Lucrehulk dropped out of hyperspace, it had all of the right security codes and arrived on time as a delivery of fresh materials was about to come in. It came in to dock but outer panels on the hull slid away and allowed tens of thousands of Buzz droids which leapt from the docked ship onto the space station before scuttling their way along it.

The doors to the cargo port opened and the automated area did not receive the ores that they were expecting, instead it contained nearly three hundred thousand battle droids and a dozen figures with robes on that in places were covered by metal armour. They ignited lightsabers and led the droids as they charged forward, taking the few droids or personnel here by surprise as they rushed forward and seized the hover trains that carried the materials away from the docking port. Some of them going on one train in one direction while the other group with the lightsaber wielders went the other.

The Buzz droids began to either enter the facility through the exhaust ports or directly started sabotaging the station's systems from the outside. Lights began to flicker, the security system started going offline, defence computers crashed and fuel delivery systems began to back up and leak.

The first group of battle droids leapt off the train at random intervals and began shooting and blowing up everything that they could find, attacking fuel lines so the liquid tibanna exploded causing the most amount of damage possible while the second group arrived at their destination.

It was one of the repair docks, one of the biggest on the station that was their target. Shin Hati ignited her orange red coloured lightsaber and leapt into battle with her fellow Separatist Jedi behind her, the battle droids which had been augmented for this mission and were improved versions of the Commando droids from the Clone Wars opened fire on the Stormtroopers and Imperial personnel that were present as the saber wielders cut a path for them. They managed to force their way forward, Shin was sweating as she pressed her attack, cutting down those that came across her path and her first taste of real action.

Her master had warned her, Shin thought with terror at the enemy seeming to be all around her! He had known the chaotic pace of battle, he had seen it all of the time during the Clone Wars and he had told her that she must control her fear or it would make her freeze and she was struggling to do as he had taught her, to stop herself from hesitating as it would be death if she did, a blaster bolt going straight past her head a mere second after she moved it. But like he had told her, the rush of battle also made you sharper and stronger and faster too. She had never felt more alive than she had in this moment but led her fellow Separatist Jedi and their droids onto the ship that would carry them away from this place. They cut through the crew as they went and soon all of them were onboard which was when they triggered their exit strategy.

The Lucrehulk that had brought them here was still docked to the station and its hypermatter reactor on cue detonated as did the explosives they had left aboard, blowing the ring apart at that section.

The droids still on the station also began to self-destruct, causing greatest amount of damage possible.

Even though they were a good distance away the party aboard the Imperial vessel felt the explosion and were nearly thrown to the floor. Shin managed to stay on her feet and pressed the attack, using the fact the Imperials were as unsettled as they were to overwhelm them and arrive on the bridge of the ship, the captain turned his blaster on her as she came in and started shooting but she marched forward, deflecting his shots with ease as the droids and other Separatist Jedi filed in after her.

It took only moments to clear the bridge and the droids as they were programmed took the bridge stations while she stood in front of the enormous window.

"Have the buzz droids break the connections and engage sublight engines, load in the calculations for hyperspace." Shin ordered and the droids did not hesitate responding.

"Yes mistress."

Shin looked to her fellows and they all looked as nervous as she was but she managed to keep her face looking calm and composed although she had no real idea of just how she had managed it.

The buzz droids deactivated the docking clamps before they carried out their sabotage and self-destruct programming and the sublight engines of the stolen ship roared to life.

The Super Star Destroyer Reaper moved into open space at an agonisingly slow pace but the Imperials on the station were in chaos and had no time to deal with the errant ship, allowing it time to get far enough away to make the jump to hyperspace.

- x -

Raxus Prime, Separatist Alliance Space...

San Hill toured the ship his people had managed to steal from right under the Empire's noses and smirked at the embarrassment and likely punishment for allowing it to happen faced by those in authority. But it had come at a very welcome time for him as it allowed him to prove the power and cunning of the Separatists to some new prospective allies.

"It is not my plan to use this gargantuan vessel as part of our own fleet, far too wasteful but we intend to dismantle the ship two construct two new vessels. A new and improved version of our Subjugator-class Heavy Cruisers, it will allow our forces to compete on even terms with that of the other space powers around us." San said proudly to his new allies, the enormous size of the Super Star Destroyer was wasteful but it would be useful in dismantling it to build two enormous ships of their own, ones that would allow the Separatist Navy to compete with not only the enemy but also they own allies who had Super Dreadnoughts like it.

"The new ships will not have the same design flaw that doomed the Malevolence?" One of the representatives asked and San just kept the smile that he always had as a business man to mask his own annoyance at being questioned over that.

"Indeed, many improvements have been made to the design and it will be an extreme sign of power to have them leading our fleet." San said and the representatives broke into a private conversation before finally turning to San who patiently waited, eager to get this meeting on course.

"It is in our best interests to join the Separatist Alliance, the decision was unanimous Prime Minister Hill." The Leader of the Dawferim Selfhood States said with a nod, San was glad as it was a wealthy collection of systems that had come together in the wake of the Imperial retreat from the Outer and Mid Rims to protect itself from another collection of systems who were in prime position to prey on their worlds, the Botor Enclave which had been a puppet state of the Empire. War with them was a real possibility and so these new ships they were building would be a great asset in the fight to come, not to mention the Jedi they had been training were more formidable than he had hoped and would be a key factor in the war to come.

- x -

Baylan Skoll at the spaceport on Raxus Prime smiled as he saw his Jedi celebrating, they had worked hard to achieve their victory and he could see that one day they would be far more numerous than they were now and not all of them would be warriors. They would be many different things and serve not the Parliament of the Separatists but the force and themselves.

All that though he sensed hinged on the decision he was about to make.

It was time that he left, he could feel it in his bones but before he journeyed into Wild Space to seek out the vision that had been pulling at him for years but he did feel a deep sense of connection to his students, he felt responsible for them but he knew they must be allowed to make their own way in the galaxy and they were only going to make the right ones if he left the right person in charge.

He looked over several of them individually, seeing in the force that they were not the one that he could trust with their future. Finally he came to his first and brightest student who had led the raid on the shipyard so well. He had trained her to be more than a mere Jedi and here she was, ready to stand on her own. He had thought to take her with him but her path he could now see lay in another direction.

He smiled sadly as he knew it must be this way for the order that he had founded to survive and grow. They all noticed him and fell silent but he told them with a smile.

"Do not let me spoil your celebration, you earned yourself a great victory today. But I have another duty to do before I depart." Baylan said and the others all looked at him confused before Shin spoke up.

"You mean back to Gazian?" She asked but he told her with some sadness.

"No Shin, not this time. The time has come for me to leave and pass the torch to another." Baylan said and felt almost happy when they all started to say that he couldn't leave, they wanted him to stay but he held up his hand and silenced them. "This order will only thrive if I leave the right person in charge before I go. One who would honour the values that I have been trying to teach you for all this time. Shin, kneel." He commanded and the young woman suddenly realised that he was leaving her in charge! She almost stumbled as she knelt in front of him and all the others all fell silent.

Baylan ignited his lightsaber and held the blade close to her shoulders.

"By the rite of your achievements, by the will of the force and in light of your leadership and dedication I name you Shin Hati as the new leader of this new Order. May the force guide you in your new responsibilities and trust in yourself and it to find the path. You may rise." He said as he carefully moved the blade around her shoulders.

Deactivating his saber he allowed her to stand and she did so almost unsteadily given the bombshell that he had just dropped on her. He put his hand on her shoulder and told her.

"I know that I am leaving them in good hands. Farewell Shin." He said before leaving and after she had recovered her senses she called out to him.

"Safe journey...Master."

Baylan smiled sadly as he boarded his ship and left the planet, Shin was ready to lead them and they would do well under her. He would love to see that but his place was elsewhere, looking for the beginning, to end the cycle once and for all, he thought as he pointed his ship towards Wild Space and never looked back.

Coronet, Corellia...

"Remember, every decision you make in battle can mean the difference between life and death." Omega said as she looked down at their new recruits. "Turning right instead of left, ducking and rolling or veering to the side. Therefore you must train hard enough to know instinctively what to do in any given situation." Omega said to her students as they stood in front of her.

"Yes Commander." They replied and she sighed before telling them.

"Complete the course, in less than five minutes. Any longer...you have to start again and we are going to keep on doing it until you all do or quit. Get to it." She told them and they all jumped to obey her order.

She watched them leave with a frown, wondering just when she had become such a drill master, she was a commander in the Corellian Defence Force who had commanded missions that had the lives of hundreds if not thousands on her shoulders and these days she didn't have the guys with her. They were all still alive but they had mostly retired due to the advanced ageing they all had although they did still act as instructors at the academy.

Probably why she was here too she thought to herself.

But the reason for her change might be due to the fact that she had a lightsaber attached to her belt. Her high M-Count had been a surprise but with instruction from the Corellian Jedi she had eventually unlocked her abilities, it had been hard and taken a lot of effort but she had managed to learn how to use the force.

But for now she was not a Jedi, but an instructor and she watched as the students flailing about on the course she just shook her head as she knew they had a long way to go.

Hospital, Lothal...

Kanan was about ready to fall into a panic as the day he had been both dreading and desperately longing for had finally arrived.

It was the day that his and Hera's son would be born.

He was there holding her hand as the labour carried on, Hera was as stoic now as she had always been and he loved her all the more for it.

"You know, my biggest fear was to have to go through this without you." Hera said as she continued the hard process. Kanan smiled as he wiped the sweat from her brow and reassured her.

"You'll never have too." He said quietly to her.

Outside of the delivery room Ezra, Zeb and Chopper sat in the waiting room, the tension as they waited for news was driving them all crazy. In fact both Ezra and Zeb were starting to get worried that Chopper was going to go on some sort of rampage if it went on any longer.

Fortunately a distraction appeared as Sabine came down the corridor, seeing from their expressions that she was not too late and behind her was Cham Syndulla, Hera's father.

Ezra, maybe wound up with all his feelings did something that if he had been calmer he would never dream of doing.

He walked up to Sabine and before she could open her mouth...he kissed her!

The others all looked on in surprise, even Chopper. Sabine was surprised too but was soon kissing him back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They stayed like that for awhile before the doctor finally emerged and Ezra & Sabine broke apart now both blushing while everyone gave them a smirk.

Then they were let into the delivery room and saw Kanan standing there with a huge smile on his face and tears in his eyes but he moved to allow them to see the sweat covered Hera who had a small bundle in her arms. They all approached and looked at the tiny baby.

"Meet Jacen." Hera said with a tired smile on her face. They all looked at the little baby especially Cham who was actually smiling as he beheld his grandson. The boy clearly took after his father, looking human but it was still his first grandchild. He gently took the baby and smiled as he looked down at him. He looked over to Hera who was smiling too.

"Hello Jacen, I am your grandfather and I am very happy to meet you." Cham said with warm eyes and a smile.

Farrgio System, Inner Rim...

Luke and Mara were cruising around the system that was deemed too dangerous to navigate by just about every single space pilot around.

Luke was a natural pilot but even his skills were being tested by this place he thought with a drop of sweat falling from his brow.

Why was he doing this? He asked himself again as he narrowly avoided another asteroid.

"What in all of the galaxy do you expect to find here?" Luke asked Mara again who he noticed was as unnerved as he was about this place.

"As I said before the Underworld Alliance is struggling to find bases in this region that the Empire won't guess in a day. A few thousand years ago this pirate haunted the Inner Rim and no-one could ever find his base. He was only stopped when the Jedi eventually pinned him down in a raid, but he died before telling anyone where his base was. While some thought he had stored some great treasure there its the base we want."

"And you think its here?" Luke asked her with disbelief. He was struggling and he had the force to help him! An ordinary pilot without major help would have no chance.

"Its the only place that makes sense when you consider everywhere else has been searched." Mara said as she pointed to something on the scanners. "There's a weird signal coming from that planetoid in the centre. Try there next." She told him as they dodged another rock that would easily have smashed their small ship into pieces. Luke knew he should stop and tell her to find somewhere else but for some reason he just couldn't find it in him to refuse her.

So he flew them over to the planetoid and as they flew around around it, something came into view that changed his opinion on this theory.

"That's a docking port. We're in the right place." Mara said with a little excitement. Perhaps due to the fact that everyone had dismissed her idea that this system was the place. Luke himself was certainly reconsidering his earlier scepticism as he moved the ship into the docking port.

- x -

Donning breathing masks with an air supply both Luke and Mara left their ship and went into the facility that seemed to be built into the planetoid itself. Mara had a blaster pistol in hand while Luke kept a firm grip on his lightsaber and his senses alert. Torches lit the dark corridors that had been carved out of the rock itself until ancient lights kicked on, making both of them jump as they readied themselves.

When nothing came they didn't relax and Mara told him.

"Keep your wits about you, don't act like a hapless farm boy." She warned him and Luke just glared at her which actually made the corner of her mouth lift up slightly as she knew she had annoyed him.

They kept on moving but nothing happened, searching around they found no piles of treasure but they soon came to a major open area. A glowing blue channel of energy flowed through it and that was when they heard the clanging of droids, they turned and saw what looked like a small army of droids that looked ancient coming straight at them.

Putting away her pistol Mara pulled her lightsaber from her belt and they both ignited them. The droids did not seem to be armed with any kind of weapons and seemed be using tools or their own arms to attack. They were clearly not built to fight as they were slow and cumbersome, Luke and Mara using their lightsabers to cut down any that dared to come close to them.

Luke loved the sight of Mara fighting, it seemed strange to say but she was easily the most graceful woman that he had ever seen. She twisted and pivoted with the skill and precision of a champion dancer but soon they saw that the droids where just continuing to pile on towards them.

Both of them broke off the engagement and leapt with the force to the next gantry above them, then to the next one and the one after that. The droids unable to keep up stopped still as their primitive logic circuits just didn't know how to process it.

Soon the pair arrived at the very top where they saw a panel with a red screen. Luke carefully checked it and saw no obvious signs of trouble and so he put his hand on it.

"Skywalker! What are you doing?!" Mara demanded, wondering just how dumb you had to be to just touch something when you had no idea just what it did but Luke was preoccupied with what was happening.

"The controls are telepathic, they connect to you when you touch the screen." Luke said, trying to describe just what he was experiencing. "I can sense all of the systems, the droids have been maintaining the place on automatic, the station can manipulate gravity to pull in asteroids for a constant supply of raw materials or make paths for ships to come and go. Its ancient, hundreds of thousands of years old. I changed protocols on the droids so they won't attack us now." Luke told her, it was like having a computer screen inside your mind and all you had to do was think and it happened.

Mara was feeling extremely happy that they had found the base and it was even better than she had imagined with the greatest defence they could ask for. But at the same time she couldn't help but wonder just who had built this station and why.

That was a question they might never get the answer too but she was just glad they had it and she had to hand it to Skywalker, he was a far better pilot than she had given him credit for she thought and wondered if he was a naïve a guy as she had thought him but this thing between them...it was something neither of them could fight and wondered just where it would lead them.

Kaldera Prime, Kalderan Space...

The chilling sound of Darth Vader filled the bridge of the Executor as it hung in orbit of the Kalderan home world. The rest of Death Squadron was arranged around the planet as they glassed it from orbit, green turbolasers falling all over the surface and rendering it a lifeless cinder.

As they had done to every single other Kaldaren world.

But even now it was not done, Vader thought with anger as he knew many of their people had fled in ships and would need to be hunted down. But the one good thing about this was that they were no longer a threat to the Empire and would at last allow him to focus on the Rebellion, not least finding Anakin Skywalker and killing him along with his entire family.

They would never doubt who was the poor imitation he thought with anger and disgust, but also the Emperor too Vader thought with determination to see that old man dead and buried where he should be, or perhaps rotting on a spike somewhere he thought with determination.

He had used this campaign to remove any true loyalists to the Emperor, Death Squadron was his and his alone he thought with dark satisfaction. He had two apprentices of his own who would do his bidding and ensure the loyalty of his servants, one a growing force on the battlefield and to potentially command his army while the second was a pilot who could serve as a perfect spy or lead his fleet whenever he had need of it.

The only frustration was that he had lost the services of the Harrower-class Heavy Cruisers and the dependable if somewhat limited Admiral Pellaeon as they had been diverted to reinforce the Core Worlds ahead of the expected invasion from the Rift Alliance and the Rebellion.

He had instead gained a large fleet of his own in return he thought with pride. The Executer, a Super Star Destroyer, Eight Imperial-class Star Destroyers, Five Victory 2-class Star Destroyers, Twelve Arquitens-class Light Cruisers, Twenty Lancer-class Corvettes and 2 of the rare Interdictor-class Star Destroyers.

Quite a powerful fighting force, Vader thought and knew now that all that remained was to find an ally on Coruscant to ensure he could strike at the Emperor, kill him and take the Imperial throne for himself, then he thought with eagerness he could focus his time and resources on finding Skywalker and ending him forever.

- x -

Little did Vader know that his attempt to destroy the Kalderans was not as successful as he had imagined, the large refugee fleet retreated into the Unknown Regions and their ships would not go away as he had imagined, they would adapt into a nomadic species and would haunt the space lanes for years and even centuries to come. An insane xenophobic species that could not be reasoned with or destroyed so easily.

They were already the bogey men of the space lanes and now they would be even more zealous in their stealing and killing...because of Vader.

Kessel, Outer Rim...

The chaos of the Imperial retreat from the Outer Rim had allowed the Underworld Alliance many opportunities but this one could be easily the most lucrative.

Kessel, source of some of the best spice in the galaxy had been all but abandoned and the few Imperial units there were all concerned with trying to keep order, sure that the Empire had not abandoned them and would soon return once the Rebellion had been beaten back.

But a couple of months had passed and no sign of reinforcements from the Empire and now to make matters worse the Underworld Alliance had learned of the situation. The other factions in the war might have overlooked Kessel but the value of the planet had kept it in their minds.

Talon stood on the bridge of the Errant Venture with Booster Terrick, watching as the fleet he had assembled assembled to challenge the Imperials. The Ravengers in their M-Ship heavy gunboats flanked them with Interceptor-IV modified freighters, then came the Corellian Corvettes and light freighters and the old X-Wings that had been lend leased to the Underworld Alliance by the Rebellion.

It was quite a fleet they had assembled which headed straight in to battle. The Imperials had a space station and a number of smaller warships that were used to catching smugglers not fighting fleet battles but never the less they jumped into action.

The Errant Venture had the large turbolasers so it busied itself with the space station while the smaller ships engaged the rest. The Interceptor-IV freighters despite their limited armament fought with the Imperial Tartan-class corvettes and the light freighters and X-Wings busied themselves with the Tie Fighters while the M-Ships began to strafe the larger ships and station.

In the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo had always prided himself on his survival instinct but he had somehow signed on for this! He jerked the controls hard and his co-pilot said.

"Sir, we have a leak of fuel near the aft section." Bollux or BLX-5 was known, his companion Blue Max who was housed in his chest as they went off to deal with it and Han frowned as he saw the leak was causing them to lose speed. He quickly told his main gunner.

"Jenny, we're gonna lose some speed soon for a bit, keep those fighters off us!" He told her as he weave a snaking path through a fighter screen ahead. Jenny's response was quick and curt.

"Do you want a go?" She told him with a sharp annoyed voice as she was extremely busy keeping the fighters off of them from one of the laser turrets.

"Calm down sweetheart." Han said as he did another duck and roll to throw off their enemies, he always got out of these things and he had no doubt that he could now. Jenny almost growled at him but went back to shooting instead so they might live another day.

Han was hoping to strike it rich if he could get into smuggling the spice here, it would be make him rich and hopefully all of them too. Him and his small crew he thought a moment later as they continued the battle, winning after a long hard day of struggle allowing the Underworld Alliance to set up its own operations on Kessel.

Krant, Mid Rim...

After word of mass slaughters of the Krantian colonists had reached Liber8 and the Rebellion Kagame had sent a force to help the people of that world under the leadership of two people who knew that world well...Echuu Shen Jon and Naat Reath. The planet had been their hiding place during the Jedi Purge and they had only left it a short time ago when Kagame himself had brought them out of hiding.

There was no one better to liberate this planet.

They knew places that could serve well as a base like the Jedi ruins or the Sith Temple in the forest, allowing them to land their attack force undetected and move through the thick forest to the enemy camp and retake the Ghost Base where the rebels had originally stationed themselves.

Echuu and Naat both had their lightsabers out, leading the soldiers into battle and using the force and blaster deflection to break enemy lines and retake the stronghold before taking the fight straight to the cities of the colony, forcing the Imperials into a retreat to the recently terraformed moon Hanoon.

So Echuu and Naat, eager to finish the job took their force and followed them there.

The new fields and canals were a distinct improvement over the dusty and rocky surface of only five years ago but it was not the reason that they were here as they pressed forward towards the newly established cities, liberating them one by one until they reached the final one, New Geddes where Moff Yittreas had built a fortress for himself.

The Jedi used artillery to weaken the fortress before storming it, Echuu and Naat proving that despite being older than when they had fought in the Clone Wars they were just as strong if not stronger for their greater experience, their soldiers following them into the building as the gates and ray shields fell. Their green and blue lightsabers acting like a beacon for their troops as they pressed forward.

It was like yesterday for the two Jedi, remembering the days when they had been master and apprentice fighting the early battles of the Clone Wars, especially that Devastator Crisis. But this time instead of teetering on the edge of the dark side, they were in harmony with themselves and each other.

Naat had conquered her demons regarding her brother's death and Echuu of his former apprentice, they had both loved Stam and come to terms with their grief together over their years of hiding and surviving.

Now they worked in total unison with each other, moving like they were one, always covering for each other and complementing each other's fighting style. They were unstoppable as they cut through Stormtroopers until they reached the command centre where the Moff was hiding. The almost skeletal looking man in a dark Imperial Navy Uniform looked ready to surrender but Naat threw her saber around in an arc before bringing it back to her hand, slicing him cleanly in two.

They probably should have taken him alive to be tried for his crimes but long messy trials would only anger the population, better this way they both thought so their people could move on and leave their monsters in the past, where they belonged.

With the fortress firmly in their hands they signalled Kagame who did not take long to answer their call.

"I hope things go well on Krant. Has the planet's population been freed and the tyrant removed?" Kagame asked them and Echuu nodded.

"He is dead and the planet and its moon have been liberated. They are open to joining the Alliance." Echuu said with a smile, taking some enjoyment in that. Never in killing however the people he killed might deserve it, he was no monster but he was wise enough to know that you must sometimes do it to ensure the best for the people.

"Excellent, they deserve their freedom and the security of knowing that they never need fear that monster again. Well done to you both." Kagame said with a smile before the transmission was cut so the pair of them went to celebrate with their soldiers and the locals, it promised to be a very lively evening.

Death Star Construction Site, Simocadia System, Inner Rim...

The retreat from the Outer Rim had a harsh effect on the Second Death Star Construction, they had managed to get a working hyperdrive into the vast object before it had happened and just in time for them to move it to the uninhabited Simocadia System where work had been accelerated with the growing threat of Rebellion.

The number of resources dedicated to the project had increased to get it even vaguely operational in time to be of any use to the Empire. At present speed though it would not be truly operational for at least another two years and that was unacceptable for the Emperor.

He needed the Death Star especially now, three previous overseers of the project had been executed painfully for falling behind schedule and people who had said to transfer resources from the project towards fortifying defences or increasing the fleet had often met the same fate.

This meant it had fallen to Prince Xizor to get the project moving and with the blessing of the Emperor to operate in the open he had managed to get things moving, the basic structure and hyperdrive had been installed and the superlaser was now in place but it was still lacking much of the superstructure and facilities.

But it was intact enough for Xizor to bring his little plan into being.

Being in charge had allowed him the opportunity to assign his own people and mercenaries to security, his own pilots to deliver supplies and the use of slave labour meant the workforce was not particularly loyal to the Empire either.

Apart from the engineers and scientists working on the superlaser there was only a token Imperial force here now.

Exactly as Xizor had planned, he flew to the enormous structure in his personal space yacht with a flight of Starviper class fighters for protection. He smirked as he had everything exactly as he wanted, years of kissing ass had finally delivered to him to the ultimate weapon.

Guri at his side was silent as she worked through the details of his operation, he had levered a lot of the Black Sun's resources on this and it would be a disaster for anything to go wrong, maybe even fatal as the Pykes, the Hutts and the Underworld Alliance would all take advantage of their lack of funds and resources. The Black Sun might survive but who knows Xizor thought with cold detachment as to his mind there was no way that this could go wrong, he had covered all of the angles and would be able to bring the Emperor and anyone else that crossed him to their knees with this weapon.

He could have waited till it was more complete but that would merely bring a greater Imperial presence and he wasn't having that so he was making his move...today.

"Send the message to my people, the word...is now." Xizor said with a cold smile and Guri nodded before sending the signal.

- x -

On the temporary command bridge at the centre of the enormous structure Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod the Imperial Officer assigned to the project did his best to make sure that they kept to the schedule which was a miracle in itself given the incredible and impossible targets that the Emperor enforced on them.

Around his staff worked with the Prince's people and this honestly was a mixed blessing for the Moff as he was uncomfortable with allowing civilians and outsiders into such a delicate project, but their help was the only thing keeping the construction moving at the pace the Emperor expected.

The Trandoshan mercenaries that were acting as security frequently came to the bridge to receive orders so the sight of the vicious looking aliens did not arouse suspicion straight away nor did the fact they were all armed.

Meaning the Imperials there did not react quickly enough to save themselves when the Trandoshans all shoot or clawed them to death.

It was a scene before repeated all over the Death Star, the Imperial guards and personnel being killed by the Black Sun mercenaries, the only place where they were not stationed was the primary fire control chamber where a group of scientists who were working on the primary weapon locked the door as they learned of the uprising.

"Hurry!" One of them urged his fellows as he did his best to keep the criminals out while they did their best to sabotage the weapon. They couldn't allow such a dangerous thing as the superlaser to fall into the hands of the enemy.

"Working on it!" Another of them shouted as they worked the controls frantically and yelled out in success as they rendered the computer system and firing controls useless. But then the door burst open and although they had been ordered to keep the scientists and engineers alive the mercenaries lost control and killed them all.

Xizor when he found out was livid, especially after learning of the damage to the computers and superlaser, he commanded for them to find experts who could fix it immediately as the Death Star was going nowhere in its present state and the superlaser wouldn't fire.

It was harsh blow, Xizor thought as he had been counting on being able to move against the Emperor today! Now before the Imperials realised just what he had done, he needed to get this fixed before anyone discovered it he thought desperately.

Lake House, Naboo...

Mace Skywalker was blind folded as he swung his lightsaber in a sequence of moves, Depa stood opposite him with her own lightsaber and parried each one.

"Every single form of Lightsaber combat has its own advantages and disadvantages. Form 1 is easy to learn and good for dealing with multiple opponents but poor when facing a highly skilled single opponent. Form 2 is the opposite as it is highly effective against a single opponent but weak against multiple enemies at once not to mention being poor at blaster deflection. Form 3 is perhaps the most effective defensive form around but has no offensive ability. Form 4 is fast moving and hard to predict, perfect for smaller and quick fighters but leaves the wielder highly vulnerable since its sole defence is based on the user being fast enough to evade attack but will also make you tire quickly. Form 5 is perfect for larger and stronger people allowing them to batter their opponents defences while being able to return to a defensive position when needed but can leave you vulnerable when dealing with fast moving opponents. Form 6 is a mix of all of the different forms so while it has a bit of everything, it does not have anything special about it except it is useful for those planning to incorporate force based attacks and duel sabers or a saberstaff. It also doesn't do well against multiple opponents especially when dealing with blaster fire. Every Form 6 user who fought in the First Battle of Geonosis for example died due to that weakness." Depa told Mace who nodded as he parried her strike.

"So what makes Form 7 special or different?" Mace asked her and Depa explained to him as she let him press the attack.

"Form 7 is not so much a fighting style as a state of mind." Depa said, being the sole true practitioner of Form 7 otherwise known as Vaapad left alive now. "It is fuelled not by movement or technique but your own internal emotions and also to some extent that of the enemy. You take the emotions that you feel especially the dark ones. You use those emotions, letting them run through you to give you greater power, pushing yourself to feats that seem beyond anything you can do without them. With practice and enough skill you can even absorb the emotions of your enemy and use them to empower yourself even more. But it is extremely easy to get lost in those emotions and fall to the dark side, that is when you fall into the original version Juyo. Intense discipline is required to maintain control. That can make you seem harsh and uncaring at times but it lets you use the dark side without falling to it." Depa said, giving him the first lessons in Vaapad while Tash who was also included in this watched from the side waiting for her turn.

"Is it really that powerful?" Tash asked Depa who nodded.

"It can be, we all draw strength from the force but to be able to draw from both the light and the dark sides of the force at the same time? Those who have achieved that have been among the greatest and most powerful practitioners in history and highly accomplished. But these lessons can be exceptionally harsh on whoever is trying to learn however if they have the discipline to master themselves, the benefits are immense." Depa said as she finished with Mace who was sweating as he took off the blindfold and walked unsteadily to the bench where he gave Tash a look of encouragement before taking a much needed sit down. Tash nervously got up and walked into the centre of the room and put on her own blindfold as she ignited her lightsaber.

In another room Anakin was training with Wila who was now wielding a training saber of her own as he spun rocks around her, he was making them come in at different angles so she would have to use the force to block each one and he had blindfolded her to make sure of this. She was struggling and he could sense her growing frustration but Anakin smiled and reminded her.

"Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them. Let the force guide you. Trust your instincts." He said gently and Wila winced as another stone struck her and went to pull the blindfold off but Anakin told her.

"I forbid you to take that off. If you want to leave this room then you are going to have to learn to let the force guide you."

This only served to annoy Wila.

"This is stupid! When will I ever need this?!" She demanded as she raised her lightsaber and Anakin seeing her frustration told her calmly with a smile, remembering his own annoyance with this part of Jedi training.

"What if you lose your eyesight? Being blinded even temporarily could end up being the death of you in any situation. Not to mention learning to feel things before they happen will make you better able to defend yourself from opponents especially those that try to shoot you or attack you with a lightsaber. Now, stop trying to force it, just relax and let the force guide you." He said, trying to let her understand just how to do this.

Wila finally began to calm herself and took a deep breath and readied herself before he starting sending the stones towards her, this time she finally allowed the force to guide her and moved her arms in time to block each stone that came at her.

"See, you can do it." Anakin said with a small amount of pride in her accomplishment, he wondered which forms might be best for her and settled on Form 4 Ataru as it was perfect for smaller, more agile fighters like her but he would also insist on her learning Form 3 Soresu to make sure that she had something to fall back on if an overwhelming assault did not work for her. Beyond that he would be curious to see just what she might choose to specialise in when the time came.

It was later that day that he received word from the Rebel Spy Network that Prince Xizor had seized a battlestation the Empire had been building, capable of destroying an entire planet. It had been a few years away from completion and they had been looking for a location to attack it but Xizor had beaten them too it. According to all accounts he planned to use it to destroy Coruscant the moment it was operational and while that would hopefully bring an end to the Emperor the planet was home to only the force knows how many people and they did not deserve to die.

So they would need to move fast Anakin realised and sent the message out to get a taskforce together as soon as possible, the galaxy's fate might well be decided in this battle.

Imperial Fleet on route to Second Death Star...A Day Later...

Admiral Gilad Pellaeon was standing on the bridge of his personal flagship the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimera as it led his fleet of Harrower-class heavy cruisers towards what he could only consider certain death if the Death Star's superlaser was working. He just hoped that for once Imperial Intelligence were right that the dratted thing was disabled or it would likely tear his fleet apart.

He held such ridiculous super-weapons in the great contempt, they were a waste of time and resources that would be better spent on other projects like the navy to make a more effective fighting force. Now this one was threatening to destroy countless people if it wasn't stopped, the Emperor wanted to reclaim it but if necessary Pellaeon was permitted to destroy it to make sure Xizor could not use it against the Empire.

And as loyal as he was to the Empire Pellaeon was leaning towards that option not least of which was to make sure that his fleet and men were safe. Stopping the fleet for one last drill before they went into battle Pellaeon was surprised to find another fleet was doing the same thing!

But particularly because this was a Rebel Fleet!

"Hands to Action stations!" He called out and wondered just what had given them such bad luck, they didn't have time or the ships to spare for a fleet battle against both the Rebels and then Xizor! Pellaeon thought with gritted teeth, knowing this was going to severely weaken them before they even saw the Death Star.

But then to his surprise, a channel was opened and a figure appeared in front of him that he had not seen in over twenty years.

"General Skywalker." Pellaeon said respectfully before Anakin responded with a nod.

"Admiral Pellaeon, it has been a long time." Anakin said.

There was a lot of tension in this discussion, once they had been allies against the Separatists and trusted each other with their lives. Even now that they were on opposite sides in this war they still held each other with great respect.

"Yes it has. I am right to assume you are here to destroy the Death Star." Pellaeon said with certainty, knowing it was far too big of a coincidence for them both to be here at this time otherwise. Anakin surprised everyone by nodding and then spoke himself.

"And you are here to reclaim it for the Emperor."

"Correct." Pellaeon answered. Anakin took a moment, looking to the force for guidance before saying.

"The path ahead might not bode well for either of us. While I would never trust an Imperial to keep his word, I might trust you." Anakin said which made Pellaeon blink that Skywalker was willing to actually trust him despite them being on different sides but he knew Anakin of old, if you earned his trust then he would always let you have it unless you gave him reason to think otherwise.

"What is it you propose?" Pellaeon asked, wondering just what was going on while his crew watched in disbelief. Anakin was in much the same position as the rebel crew on the MC80 cruiser Starlight looked at him.

"Fighting against each other would only weaken us and give Xizor more time to fix the superlaser. Until it is dealt with either way...we fight a common enemy." Anakin said.

The idea seemed almost like a fantasy, Rebel and Imperial working together? It sounded impossible but Pellaeon knew as did Anakin that fighting each other would only do the enemy's work for him. In fact Pellaeon was almost certain that he and his fleet would likely be destroyed if he had to face Anakin first as the rebel fleet was just as powerful as his and he knew how capable Anakin was.

It was outrageous to even consider it but a temporary truce would solve a lot of those problems.

Pellaeon knew he could be killed for making a deal like this but at the same time he was not going to destroy his fleet in a pair of battles that he wasn't sure he could win. So much to the shock of his crew he gave his answer.

"Until the Death Star is either recaptured or destroyed, we have a deal General Skywalker." Pellaeon said and Anakin nodded. The transmission cut out and his second in command came up to him looking shocked and appalled.

"Admiral! We cannot side with...Rebel Scum!" He said about to say he was taking command of this fleet but Pellaeon fixed him with a hard glare and told him with a cold stern voice.

"What else should we do then? Fight them, even if we win which is not certain regardless of whatever propaganda says then we will lose likely half the fleet at best. Not counting damage to the surviving ships. That will delay us for a month or more before we can even think of fighting Xizor and the Death Star's superlaser might well have destroyed Coruscant by then. So making an temporary alliance with our enemies to deal with a greater threat is a far better option than being foolish." He told the man who was far too cowled by Pellaeon's words and quickly fell back into line.

Pellaeon knew this alliance was not likely to hold but if it held long enough to deal with Xizor, then it was a move that was worth making regardless of the risks to himself and his fleet. Anakin was likewise having similar worries but it was the best option in a bad situation.

Second Death Star Command Centre...A Hour Later...

Xizor was growing increasingly frustrated as the engineers and so-called scientists he had managed to hire failed to get the hyperdrive or the superlaser working! Their inability to manage such a complex machine was only making him more and more anxious. He knew it would not be long before the Empire came to reclaim the Death Star, he had called together all of the ships that he could muster to defend the place until they could move it to somewhere else that was more secure.

Then the moment he feared came...but not in the way he had expected it.

A large fleet of ships did drop out of hyperspace straight ahead, composed of both Rebel and Imperial vessels!

Rebellion and Empire together! He thought with astonishment as never in a million years would he have seen this coming. An Imperial Star Destroyer was flying in with Harrower-class heavy cruisers, the hangers deploying Tie Fighters on mass while an Mon Calamari Cruiser came in with Nebulon-B Frigates and Corellian Corvettes not to mention X-Wings A-Wings and B-Wings came in to attack his ships.

Xizor fumed as he needed that superlaser now! The Imperials had at least put up the deflector shield to protect the Death Star before he had taken over but that would only keep them out for so long.

"Get it working!" He told his people with anger as he saw the battle taking place out there.

- x -

Outside three fleets clashed, the pirate Warlord-Class Heavy Cruisers and the Loronar Strike-class Medium Cruisers that Xizor had purchased or hired for the Black Sun's fleet were under heavy fire from the larger Imperial vessels, the Harrowers worked in pairs against a single one, tearing it apart before moving on to the next, Tie Bombers strafing them to aid in the fight while the Chimera would take care of a ship on its own. Tie Fighters clashed with the multiple different and oddly mixed Black Sun fighters and bombers.

Gilad was watching the battle and was busy co-ordinating his fleet as they pressed forward, he was actually impressed at the Rebellion and how well it fought. Their pilots clearly were extremely well trained and their ships highly adaptable. When they didn't have the resources they found other ways to make things work and the fact they were able to gather so many different types of forces and unify them in a combined attack that was highly effective...it was remarkable.

He found it a shame that they were enemies as he liked some of their ships and tactics, not truly the old fashioned navy he had been raised with but it was still very impressive.

- x -

The Rebel Fleet was pressing against the Black Sun in other ways, their X-Wings and A-Wings engaged their starfighters supported by their corvettes while the B-Wings strafed the Interceptor-class frigates and Gozanti cruisers, paving the way for the MC30 frigates and Thranta class light cruisers to take out the Black Sun Corvettes.

Anakin was smiling slightly as he saw the efficiency of Pellaeon's fleet, remembering the days in what seemed like a lifetime ago now when he had been in command of a Republic Fleet. Pellaeon had always made his ships run efficiently and he hadn't changed even fighting for the Empire Anakin thought as he saw the precise and dedicated Imperial assault on the Black Sun.

The gunners on the Chimera for example were undoubtedly some of the most accurate that he had seen, each shot connected with its target and the formation of the support ships was exactly to plan.

It was a shame that they were on opposite sides of this conflict Anakin thought sadly, he would have been welcome in the Rebellion and a major figure in their navy but his loyalty was to the fleet that he served. He was dedicated to order and unfortunately that for him meant fighting with for the Empire.

Anakin turned his attention back to the battle and then saw an opening in the enemy formations and commanded.

"Green Squadron move to grid 45.67, Blue Squadron follow. We are punching through these lines." Anakin told them.

- x -

Green Squadron and its A-Wings plunged forward, cutting a path through the Starviper fighters the Black Sun was using and then Blue Squadron in their B-Wings came in to use their heavier armament to destroy the frigates that were blocking any further advancement. Tie Bombers came in after them and used their proton bombs to strafe and take out the Heavy Cruiser that tried to block the now expanding gap.

- x -

Xizor watched from the Death Star's command centre and saw that his fleet was collapsing into a chaotic mess that was being slowly crushed by the might of the combined Imperial/Rebel Fleet. Worse he saw the line nearest the shield generator collapse, meaning it would only be a matter of time before they destroyed the generator and the Death Star would be vulnerable.

He snarled into the communicator.

"We need that superlaser!" He demanded and the chief engineer answered back sounded incredibly harried.

"The superlaser is working your majesty but it is highly unstable! We need to conduct a few more tests to ensure it is safe first before we can even risk a test firing!"

Xizor however, fearful that the enemy would breach the shield before that and out of patience after days of being told the wrong answer turned to the fire control officer.

"Target the Mon Calamari cruiser and fire!" He commanded, almost shouting with his emotions so high.

The Fire Control Officer, a Weequay hesitated as he had heard what the Chief Engineer had said and didn't want to risk firing a weapon that was unstable. Given the sheer power of this weapon it was just too dangerous, but Xizor just glared at him. The sort of glare that promised not only would you die a long and incredibly painful death but so would your friends, your entire family and even your pets if you had them.

So with great misgivings he locked the superlaser onto the large Mon Calamari cruiser and pulled the lever.

There a great rumble as the reactor's output was increased to supply the necessary power to the superlaser and all of the crew just prayed that it worked.

- x -

Outside on the field of battle, Anakin's science officer a Mon Calamari informed him.

"Sir there is a massive build up of power coming from the Death Star. Its surging!" She warned him and all of them were momentarily terrified that they were about to be blasted into atoms.

But then they and everyone around saw a massive explosion radiate out from the main reactor that in a fraction of a second consumed the entire station in the blink of an eye. Killing Prince Xizor and most of the leadership of the Black Sun along with him.

The unexpected outcome left everyone in complete shock and confusion, however it did not take long for the remaining Black Sun forces to flee as they had no interest in being martyrs and dying for a dead man, they would flee to wherever they could and carry on their own business.

The Rebels and Imperials did try to stop them but they were no real threat and so both fleets regrouped.

There was a tense moment as the two fleets stood facing each other and for a moment a battle between them seemed extremely likely.

But Anakin and Pellaeon were both men of their word and so rather than waste their already somewhat depleted energy on a wasteful battle they both recalled their ships and mutually disengaged. Anakin was hoping that Pellaeon would be alright for this temporary alliance and certainly that he would not be held responsible for the destruction of the Death Star when it had been the complete fault of Xizor trying to use a weapon before it was ready. He just wished him the best and that they might meet again under more pleasant circumstances.

Anakin would if Pellaeon was ever captured by the Alliance or its allies make sure he was treated well but that would be a disgrace he would never wish on the man. He deserved better than that and looking into the future he could only gain a sense of what it might hold for the Admiral but he was soon smiling as he could tell whatever it was...it would be good.

- x -

Unknown to everyone, one of the fighters that the Black Sun had been using carried not a living pilot but a droid built to resemble a human woman.

Guri had been flying one of the Starvipers but seeing the destruction of the Death Star had made her leave the battlefield and as she did so she realised that for once she had a chance to actually be on her own and make an existence for herself free of any master. It might take a while but she was fairly certain that she could make a...life for herself she thought even though it felt strange as a droid talking about life. But she would make those decisions later she decided as she flew her fighter away to destination unknown.

Rift Alliance Conference, Mandalorian Flagship Infinity, Deep Space...One Week Later...

"The Council is in agreement then?" Haron asked as he and the rest of the Rift Alliance Council met to discuss the newest member of their coalition. Word of the Death Star's destruction at the hands of the Rebellion had been a most welcome surprise as it had saved them all the trouble and ended any more of the Empire's supposed Super-weapons. The Empire didn't have the resources to build another Death Star or anything on that scale. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that they might try and make smaller ones but who knows.

The council members all nodded and Haron acknowledged it.

"Then by the sponsorship of General Rain Falls on the Ground of the Than...The Atrisian Commonwealth is admitted to the Rift Alliance." Haron announced and the other members turned the new representative of the Atrisian Commonwealth, General Tyzec Johc, a human male in his later forties. He nodded and took his seat at the table.

As interstellar states go it was a large enough, two hundred settled worlds that had now broken away from the Empire and now stood with them as an member state. It also was providing them with a launching point for strikes at the Core Worlds.

But the Empire had heavily fortified the area and any attempt to break through the Imperial defences was likely to be extremely costly.

Haron had not forgotten the attack on his son's wedding and he knew Ara hadn't either, they had both been looking for some way to get at Palpatine but the old creep had buried himself in too deeply on Coruscant that they just couldn't get to him.

It was extremely frustrating Haron thought with gritted teeth but they would find a way to get to him, there must be a way he thought as the meeting carried on with the conquest/liberation of the Expansionist Region and the Inner Rim, they would chip away his empire piece by piece if they had too.

Imperial Palace, Coruscant...

Palpatine sat on his throne with a growing rage, lightning streamed from his hands and blasted anything that it could reach, living things that were unfortunate enough to get hit were engulfed with the most incredible pain imaginable before being incinerated by the sheer voltage being achieved by Palpatine in his rage.

His ultimate weapon had been stolen and then destroyed by Xizor's mishandling of it which was bad enough, he didn't have the resources to build another Death Star and even if he did then he could not do it in the time. That robbed him of the last real chance he had to turn this situation around, the Empire that he had worked his entire life to build was now crumbling, more and more territory was being lost every day and the mood of the simpletons that populated it turned ever more sour.

He was losing control he thought with disgust at this weakness and then his mind was hit with another the ailments that had been plaguing him ever since his supply of the spice Melange had been cut off. Palpatine could feel the cold sweat running down his face, the rapid beating of his heart and the incredible pain in his head among others which had been dragging him down every single moment.

His doctors or the fools that called themselves doctors had told him it was expected to suffer side effects of coming off the spice but apart from some pathetic medicines that did little more than dull the edge of the effects they claimed there was nothing that they could do.

Palpatine had killed more than a few in an effort to ease his suffering and it had done nothing as a growing sense of dread came over him, the end was approaching.

Knossa, Ossus...

Master Yoda was in his chambers of the Jedi Library, deep in meditation as he pondered on the state of things. The state of war galaxy was finally starting to come around as the various factions began to tighten their grip on Palpatine and his Empire, driving it back and back slowly towards the Core Worlds.

The Fall of the Empire was all but guaranteed now and hopefully the return of freedom to the galaxy.

But he felt a familiar weariness grip him, one that had been coming more and more in recent times and despite his best efforts, even he could not elude the ravages of time. He had lived a long time even by his own species terms and seen to the establishment of this colony, even training Grogu but the time to become one with the force...was fast approaching. Yoda was not afraid of death, there was only the force after all but there were decisions he needed to make before the time finally came.

Great Temple, Yavin 4...

The powerful force aura of Yavin 4 still endured after thousands of years which was Anakin had returned to the small moon and sat at the very top of the large temple. With the Empire now in retreat it was safe to return here again and Shaak Ti was planning to open a new Jedi Academy here when the war was done.

Anakin though was deep in meditation, he and Padme had both been looking for a way to strike at Palpatine but he had dug himself too deeply in his palace on Coruscant and would not leave. The Core Worlds were highly fortified and he would need a miracle to get to him.

So he was using the force aura of the planet to see if he could gain any insight that might point him in the right direction but after hours of meditation he was getting nowhere and was about to give up and go back to his ship as the sun was dipping below the horizon when finally he managed to get a vision but it was extremely hard to follow.

- x -

Vision Begins...

The planet of Coruscant which Anakin knew well filled his vision and like the very last battle he had fought in the Clone Wars, there was a huge number of ships of many different kinds clashing in orbit with the Imperial Fleet, there was so much going on you could never see it all.

But that image dissolved and an asteroid replaced it, he had no idea just why this might be so important but looking he saw the familiar planet of Iego in the distance.

Vision Ends...

- x -

Back now on the top of the Great Temple Anakin frowned as he considered what he had just seen. He didn't understand how a single asteroid might be important but clearly something must be there worth their attention. Anakin would send a team to check it out but who knows, maybe it was nothing although he was fairly certain that the Force had given him that vision for a reason even if he had very little idea just what it meant.

There we have it, hope you all enjoyed it and please leave a review to let me know what you thought.

Jenny was the name given the girlfriend that Han Solo had in the original cut of A New Hope, I wanted to give Han a crew so she and Bollux who comes from the old Expanded Universe seemed to fit.

The Luxans were of course taken from Farscape as they were one of the few warrior races that I think could give the Mandalorians a run for their money.

When I checked the stats of the Subjugator class ships, (The Malevolence) I was surprised to find out that the ship is about 4845 metres long. Compare to a Super Star Destroyer which is 19000 metres it is only a quarter of the size.

Omake by HowlnMadHowie...Thank you for writing it!

Imperial Palace
Palpatine is frustrated being unable to see into the future and is annoyed when Deadpool enters his private meditation room
Palpatine: I left instructions NOT to be disturbed!
Deadpool: I know but you said you wanted to be notifed of anything VERY important! Seeing as YOU can't see it coming!
Palpatine's eye twitches in annoyance: Well? What is it, speak!
Deadpool: Oh, right! Great news! Leia Skywalker and Markus Ordo are getting married! Bad news, you're not invited to the wedding.
Palpatine growled in frustration: I cannot let this stand! I am the Emperor! I should be invited for this momentous occasion!
Deadpool: I know, right? But don't worry! I sent them a fruit basket to show your displeasure!
Palpatine stares at Deadpool in annoyance: Oh, a fruit basket, how..lovely.
Deadpool: Spoiled fruit that will explode if someone picks them up!
Palpatine nods in approval: Better, I would much prefer you sent them thermal detonators but explodiding fruit will have to do.

Yavin IV
Just before Markus and Leia meet at the altar
Deadpool falls down from a great height behind Leia and Markus
Deadpool jumps up as if he didn't hurt himself to find everyone with weapons poited at him.
Deadpool: Uh...Sorry I'm late to the party! I lost my invitation, a Wookie ate it!
Leia: Why won't you just...DIE!
Deadpool: But I won't be able to give my wedding gift to you! I mean aside from the fruit basket that is.
Markus: Yes, exploding fruit, very funny. Now how about exploding brains, much better!
Deadpool: But...um...you really don't wana shoot me! You'll ruin the surprise that comes later!
Markus pulls out his blaster pistol: Don't care, prerfer you dead than to ruin my day. Besides your death would make excellent wedding gift to Leia.
Markus shoots Deadpool until he has no more head.
Heron frowns: How did he get in here without raising any alarms? Someone check security!
Mara: I didn't let him in! I swear! I hate that guy!
AckbarL It's not a wedding, it's a TRAP!

Next Chapter – A forgotten rock gives a possible chance to strike the Emperor himself, as the forces against the Empire gather and the stage is set for not only a major battle but the future of the Jedi Order.