Chapter 3

Year 13 Month 6 Day 20

In what remains of the desert of Menagerie a large group of bandits have taken control of a fort. The Red Fang were sent to end the threat, but the information was wrong. The force was much larger than expected. Now, the Mistral Empire wants to deal with the bandits after they shot down one of their ships.

The wind blew the sand toward the Red Fang. They had been embarrassed by this bandit faction. They were sent here to end this threat. But after all this time, they still stand. The commander of this siege looked at the fort. It just sat there mocking them. The fort itself was built close to a canyon. His forces surrounded the fort. There should be no way for the bandits to still be able to live there.

The commander smiled as the tanks were brought in. The drop ships that dropped them off along with the materials they need to start building the turrets. The Sand wasn't the best place to build the turrets on, but they spent the past few days terraforming where the turrets would go.

More troops arrived with the new tech. Jedi teams also arrived. Master Mai and Knight Jennie Celio were there. They must have had ten Jedi. He looked at one of the Jedi. It was Rouge. She was with a human Jedi around her age, and they both had padawans with them. Rouge's padawan was a female panther faunus. The human had a male Lynx faunus padawan.

Mai Ginger went to the commander. He saluted her.

"Commander, what do we know about that fort?" Mai asked.

"We know they have to have some way of restocking supplies, and they have tech from the war. The chief is a human who took control of a faunus bandit group. He was once a Mistral native who at some point started working for the Hamilton pirates before they were destroyed. His name isn't known. He uses the name Amas." The commander said.

"What about numbers?" Mai asked.

"We know they have over three thousand. We think they may have some droids with them. This group has sent out messages that they want to become a new nation." The commander said. He rubbed his beard as he looked at the fort. He sighed. The fort was massive. When it was built, it was the size of a small city.

Mai looked out at the battlefield. She turned to Rouge and Dan.

"Rouge, you were with Karel during the war. What do you think about this situation?" Mai asked.

"Personally master, I think they must have been here for a while. I believe they must have some way to leave from the canyon. Perhaps it's a Nixvajo situation. They probably got some veterans from the war with them. If a Human is leading them, then I wouldn't be surprised if they have people from the alliance and empires." Rouge said.

"And you Dan?" Mai asked.

"I think that perhaps the enemy helped Tyrian escape." Dan said. The escape of Tyrian was a deeply embarrassing thing for the alliance. He had once again risen as a threat to the Alliance.

"They've been here. How could they have gotten Tyrian out?" Jennie asked.

"The Black Fang." Dan said. He glared at the fort.

"They may have something to do with this." Jennie said.

The tanks went passed the troops and lined up shots at the fort. The commander lifted his comm.

"When you have a shot, take it. Level the fort if you have to." The commander ordered. The tanks fired. The heavy lasers slammed into a shield. The commander swore.

"Stop firing!" He commanded.

"I didn't know they could be invisible." Lyra Nightshade, Rouge's padawan, said.

Lyra is a lithe and agile Panther Faunus with sleek, jet-black hair that glistened in the light. Her eyes are a striking golden hue, often gleaming with determination and focus. She possesses retractable claws on her fingertips, her movements are graceful and stealthy. She was only a little shorter than her master. Karel was the one that brought them together. She was around sixteen, from Atlas.

Because of her birthplace, she had experienced the prejudices of Atlas. It wasn't until the war that people stopped caring about her race. At one point she may have hated humans, but her father served under one during the war. Ironically, it was Karel. When she discovered her ability with the force she was brought to the temple. It was at the very end of the war when she was discovered.

Rouge connected with her. She learned that Lyra excelled with stealth force abilities. She was a quick study with lightsaber combat.

"They shouldn't be." Kaelan Verdant, Dan's padawan said.

Kaelan is a slender and agile Lynx Faunus with sleek, black fur adorned with subtle green stripes. His eyes are piercing emerald green, often reflecting a sense of wisdom beyond his years. He has slightly elongated, pointed ears with tufts of fur at the tips, and his movements are graceful. He wore stylized robes that gave him maximum movement. He was seventeen and was actively going to Beacon. His arms were covered in tattoos. His muscles were well-defined. He was from a small town in Vale. He was in school when he was recognized by one of the many Jedi teachers.

Meg introduced him to Dan. They kicked it off almost immediately. Kaelan was strong, which he knew. His acrobatics were outstanding. His lightsaber skills were advanced for his age. He had an above-standard knowledge of tech. Sometimes he could get narrow-minded, which Dan had been working with him on.

"They have powerful friends." Mai said. She turned to Rouge.

"How are you at stealth?" Mai asked.

"I'm no Akio or Arin, but I have some skill. Lyra here does as well." Rouge said.

"I see. We need to find where the generator is, and destroy it." Mai said.

Rouge lifted up her comm.

"We're working together again." It was Sno.

"We haven't…" Rouge started.

The commander walked back to the Jedi.

"MI troops are coming here. The alliance agreed to a joint operation to destroy the bandits." He said.

"Great." Jennie said.

"Fine. Who's leading you?" Rouge asked Sno.

"Soule and Zia. I see you now." Sno said as twenty ships came into view. Rouge told them who was coming.

"Why do you have the comm line for a Sith Lord?" Mai asked.

"It's a long story." Rouge said.

"Never mind. Let's just get this part over with." Mai said. The imperials landed next to the Red Fang troops. Sno was flying her personal ship and landed close by the Jedi. She exited, followed by someone around the age of the padawans. Rouge started moving to meet Sno, followed by Lyra. Rouge and Sno stopped and looked at each other's apprentice.

"A padawan I see." Sno said. Rouge looked over at her apprentice.

"Saria Darkclaw." Sno said.

Saria Darkclaw possessed a striking presence, standing tall with a lithe and athletic build. Her features are sharp and angular, framed by sleek, midnight-black fur adorned with subtle violet highlights that shimmer in the light. Her eyes, a piercing shade of amber, gleam with a predatory intelligence, hinting at the depths of her connection to the dark side of the Force. She wore a black robe that accentuated her feline grace, and her movements were fluid and precise. The sleeves of the robe gave a lot of room for movement. Rouge saw the end of Sith tattoos on her arms. Her lightsaber hung against her hip. She had a certain charm to her. Rouge knew she could manipulate someone as easily as breathing. She reminded her of Blake if she had turned evil.

"This is Lyra Nightshade, my padawan." Rouge said. Rouge felt Lyra glance at her, but she kept her attention on Sno.

"What is the situation?" Sno asked.

"You don't know?" Rouge asked.

"That's why I asked." Sno said.

"…Where is Soule?" Rouge asked.

"Talking with the other Jedi here. Why are you so tense? I thought we were friends." Sno said with a smile.

"The fort is covered by an invisible shield, so we need to sneak in and destroy it. We fired at it with all-out tanks, and nothing happened." Rouge said.

"Invisible? How did they get something like that?" Sno asked.

"I don't know. That's why we're going to sneak in there." Rouge said.

"We'll join you." Sno said.

"Why?" Rouge asked.

"To make sure you don't mess it up of course." Sno said.

Soule walked over with Mai. They turned to the leaders.

"I assume you two already debriefed each other. Master Mai and I agree that you two should sneak in." Soule said.

"Of course. You can trust us." Sno said.

"Since the shield is invisible, there is a chance the enemy won't notice if it's down. If they would, plant timed charges and get out." Mai said. She handed them multiple small charges.

"Once the shield is down we will start firing. You will tell us when that is." Soule said. They finished the quick debrief. Mai walked away but Soule stayed.

"I was assuming Karel would be here." Soule said.

"He couldn't come. Jasper is still an infant." Rouge said.

"I see. His third." Soule turned away, back to the battlefront. The imperial and alliance troops got stationed together, and the commanders joined together.

"Why do you talk to him like you know him?" Lyra asked.

"I do know him. He knows Karel better, but we've met many times." Rouge said.

Zia was leading the imperial troops. She turned to Rouge and nodded.

The chief gathered his forces in the main chamber of the fort. Humans, Faunus, droid, and anyone else they could get were here.

"Brothers and Sisters in arms! The enemy is at our gate! Today, we stand not as mere brigands, but as warriors, defenders of our freedom, and masters of our destiny! Look around you! The walls may shake, the cannons may thunder, but we remain unyielding, unbroken, and unconquered! We have faced many trials in our lives, battles against tyranny, struggles against oppression. But through it all, we have endured! And today, this fortress, this bastion of our defiance, shall not fall into the hands of our enemies! Yes, they come with their advanced weapons, their cannons that spit fire and iron! But do not fear, for we have our own strengths, our own fortifications! Our shield generator stands as a beacon of our resilience, a testament to our ingenuity! Let their bullets rain down upon us, for our shield shall hold firm, deflecting their onslaught! They may outnumber us, they may outgun us, but they cannot break our spirit! For within each of us burns the fire of rebellion, the flame of defiance against those who would seek to chain us! We are not just warriors, but the very embodiment of freedom itself! So I say to you, my comrades, my brothers and sisters in arms: stand tall, stand firm, and stand united! Let our defiance echo through the ages, let our bravery be remembered in songs sung by generations yet unborn! For today, we do not just defend this fortress, we defend our very way of life! Together, we shall emerge victorious, for nothing can defeat the unyielding will of those who fight for their freedom! So let the siege rage on, let our enemies tremble at the sight of our resolve! For we are the defenders of this fortress, the guardians of our liberty, and we shall never surrender! Now, with swords drawn and hearts afire, let us show them the true meaning of defiance! Onward, my brothers and sisters! Onward, to victory!"

The chief saw the flames of rebellion in the eyes of his people. They roared out. They would just as soon die as give up everything they had fought for. Mistral had abused them, but they still live! The alliance left them to die on the battlefields, but they got back up and are ready to fight back! The alien empire stole Pare, but they would stand against every weapon they threw.

The Sith watched from a high point and smiled. He had to admit that his speech was good.

The chief had split the group up. They would have a large garrison up top, but they also needed some of them below watching the canyon entrances.

Amas stood on the walls of the fort. The turrets were manned. He saw the enemy armies. The Red Fang were no longer there sole enemy. The Mistral empire had arrived, and so had the Alliance forces. Amas recognized the ship of the 122nd legion. He recognized the other ships in the air, and the other legions. The empire too had many ships in the air. They were surrounded, but nowhere near beaten.

"What are our orders?" A gunner asked.

"Let's show them our power!" Amas said. Amas ordered them to fire at the ships.

The commander watched as they let out a volley.

"They're firing!" The commander shouted. "Fire back! See if those shields are still up!"

The tanks opened fire. The shield was still up. He used the binoculars to look at the turrets.

"Keep the snub fighters in bay but keep the ships in the air!" The commander shouted back.

"Why didn't they target us first?" A troop asked.

"The turrets are damaged. The hunter team that went in there damaged all the turrets." The commander said. The alliance brought with them a small shield generator and prepared it in case the damage was less than they expected.

"How many troops can we get down in the canyon?" Zia asked.

"We'll have to use transport ships. We can get twenty down there." The commander said.

"We need to assault them. Make it up and close." Zia said.

"We'll need some more time." The commander said. He looked at the fort. The ships' shields stayed up. He looked at the turrets, and saw they had some movement. They were out of range now, but the transport ships wouldn't be. They also had smaller turrets and some mortar emplacements. That was a large reason they didn't assault the main gate. They lost some good men by doing that.

Rouge and Sno descended into the canyon. The saw small openings all along the side. It made the fort massive. At the center of the platform stood a sturdy landing pad, its surface marked with the scuff marks of countless arrivals and departures. They landed the borrowed ship.

The ship they took stopped at a landing platform. They left quickly and the ship flew away. It was slave rigged. Sno and Saria were on one side of the sturdy structure, constructed from weathered stone and reinforced with steel braces, clinging defiantly to the canyon's edge. Supported by a network of thick cables and anchored into the rock face, it serves as one of many gateways to the fortress above. Rouge and Lyra were on the other side. They hid behind crates. Lyra opened one and saw supplies in them.

"Master, I thought the Red Fang were watching the fort." Lyra said.

"They were. Perhaps at night they got supplies." Rouge said. Both spoke in barely a whisper.

"Keep your eyes peeled, lads. Can't afford any slip-ups with those hunters and Jedi lurking around." A guard spoke. The words bounced off the walls of the landing platform into the fort.

"I hear ya. But hey, at least we got this sweet gig on the landing platform. Beats scrounging for scraps in the canyons any day." A second guard said.

Scraps? They had plenty of supplies here. Rouge touched one of the boxes and saw the bandits slipping out in the dead of night with near-silent speeders to leave the canyon. They came back with everything in these crates.

"True that. And with these new weapons, those troops won't stand a chance if they try anything funny." A third guard said.

"Speaking of which, how many are we expecting up here today? Can't be too careful, especially after what the chief said about that siege." The first guard said. Rouge took a look. Only three were on the platform. She turned to Lyra and held up three fingers. Lyra shook her head. Rouge shot a glance over to Sno. She was holding her lightsaber, getting ready to strike if they needed to. Rouge took another look, getting a glance at the weapons. Blasters. The guards wore simple armor that would protect against most projectiles. They were the big, ugly, stupid type.

"Eh, just a handful, I reckon. But you know the chief ain't taking no chances. Got us all on high alert, shields up and guns ready." The second guard said.

"Damn right. Ain't no one getting past us, not with these babies." The third guard said. Sno was about to move when Rouge stopped her. She held out a spy droid, and it flew away from the guards. They didn't even notice. It flew inside the fort and looked around. There was no one near.

"Well, let's hope it stays quiet for now. But if them do show their faces, we'll be ready for 'em." The first guard said.

"You bet your ass we will. Ain't nobody messing with the fortress while we're on watch." The second guard said.

Rouge used the force to make a noise close to the door. She turned to Sno and shook her head. Sno rushed out first and made quick work of the three. Saira was right behind her. Rouge was surprised how quickly they died. She used the force to move the bodies to a hiding spot.

"What were you checking?" Sno asked.

"No one is walking the halls." Rouge said. They keep their voices low.

The long hallway has rooms and elevators every few steps. Stone mixed with metal made this part of the fort. The force users got into an elevator and started up a few floors. They got to the floor and saw two guards standing there. Sno sent a force wave at them and slammed them through windows. The noise was canceled by the sounds of gunfire above.

Sno turned to Rouge.

"You're getting slow." Sno said.

"Why kill if you're here." Rouge said. Sno smirked. They ran down the hallway. They saw at least twenty ships come down the canyon to the landing pads. Rouge grabbed her lightsaber, and so did Lyra. Bandits started moving down to meet the attackers. Lyra turned on her lightsaber, and her purple blade came out. Saria turned on her blade and a purple light came out as well. They looked at each other.

"Don't worry." Saria said. She had a dual-phase lightsaber. She sifted it to her red crystal. Lyra looked at Rouge. Rouge shrugged.

The air is filled with the sounds of machinery humming and footsteps echoing against the stone floors. Bandits and soldiers alike move with purpose. They moved further down the hallway and found an auditorium. It was empty now.

"Hold it!" Rouge turned around and they saw a squad of the bandits. They all had the same tattoo on their face. Rouge turned her lightsaber on and so did Sno. The bandits started firing. Sno and Rouge blocked the first volley. Saria stepped forward and fired force lightning at two of the bandits. The blast sent them flying back. Lyra rushed forward, slicing into two of the bandits. They dropped. Rouge stepped forward, trying to get to Lyra. Sno raised her hand as she continued to block the strikes, and force choked four bandits at once. She sent a bolt back into one of the bandits, killing them. She crushed the windpipes of the bandits she was holding. Rouge rushed forward, making several quick slices to make their deaths as peaceful as possible.

In a matter of seconds, the twelve were dead.

Rouge heard the sounds of battle above them.

"They're shooting?" Rouge asked.

"Let's make sure the we use the timed explosives." Sno said.

Dan watched the firing at the shields. They were trying to keep the turrets from firing at the landing craft going down the valley. The first wave was returning to take a second wave in. Dan decided to be part of that second wave. He and Kaelan got ready to go into the fort.

"Be careful." Mai said.

"I will." Dan said.

He and Kaelan got on this ship with a few troops. Commander Pixi sent them off.

More ships were coming to the fort. Both alliance and MI. The bandits opened the front gates of the fort and drove out tanks. They went to the very edge of the shield and started firing. They attacked the alliance tanks.

The bandits had people on walls of the fort. They started firing missiles at the ships flying toward the fort. Dan held on as the pilot of his ship dodged a missile, but we watched as the ship next to them was hit. The missile hit a vital spot, and the ship exploded, killing everyone instantly. The turrets moved. They moved to the forward base. They fired, killing a few of the troops at the front. The alliance brought up the shield quickly.

"What the hell was that?" One of the troops asked. The turrets moved back up to the sky. The landing craft had to continue to dodge as the turrets started shooting at them. Two more landing craft were destroyed in the process.

"What are they doing master?" Kaelan asked.

"They wanted us to get comfortable." Dan said. Their ship dived below the line of fire. The ship behind them was hit. It exploded before it could get to safety.

The troops landed and found the bandits were on all the upper floors firing at them. Some of the landing craft had open doors, like Dan's. Dan turned on his lightsaber and deflected the shots that would have gotten into the ship. They landed and Dan ordered the troops out. Thirty troops left the ship. Dan felt like he was back in the war. Kaelan turned on his green blade. They led their troops further in.

The sith watched the screen showing the forces invading the fort and saw force users. He smiled behind his mask. The bomb was almost ready. He was adding the Grimm poison now. Soon, Salem would be back.

The commander was in the medical tent. He was almost killed by the surprise volley. Zia stood over him.

"What happened to that hunter team that damaged the turrets?" Zia asked.

"They were killed." The commander said.

"I should have though so." Zia turned back to the battle. The ships stayed in the air. The shield they had was strong. They needed to destroy it.

Soule kept order in the battle. The tanks were damaged, and one was destroyed, but the rest were recovered. They had a group of white fang hunters climb get inside the shield. The empire continued the tradition of using a school to train elite troops. The white fang were the elite, but white fang hunters were the elite of the elite.

They planted charges on the wall of the fort. They planned on bringing the wall down where some of the turrets were. They were going to fight the bandits face-to-face.

Rouge stopped on the next floor. The bandits weren't here. She sighed.

"Are these just more barracks?" Sno asked.

"Yeah, no one's here." Rouge said. Another floor with no one here. Lyra's ear twitched. Saria heard it too.

"We're close." Lyra said.

"You hear it?" Rouge asked.

"Yes, not this floor, but…" Lyra listened again.

"Three floors." Saria said. The force users went back in the elevator and went up the three floors. The doors opened, and dozens of bandits were there. Rouge sent out a force wave, knocking everyone down. The force users quickly found cover. Sno was next to the wall. She quickly cut a hole in the wall and attached to the wall a flare. Ships continued to come down. The sounds of battle rang out all around them.

The bandits started to get back up. They started firing at the force users. They blocked some of the strikes, but they were pinned down. One of the landing ships stopped at that level and fired at the wall. The shield blocked it.

"I guess that confirms the shield starts here." Saria said. She knelt down and started chanting. Dark side energy started gathering around Saria. She sent out a wave of dark energy, which slammed into the front wave. They screamed, then turned around. The bandits started firing on each other. Lyra looked over at the Sith apprentice with shock and horror. She dominated the thoughts of the bandits.

They screamed as they had their minds corrupted, and they saw their allies as their enemies. They fought each other. Lyra looked at Rouge, who had a look of disgust on her face. Sno was smiling at Rouge.

The Sith sorcery only affected the front troops. Twenty bandits at most. They fought with the much larger group of bandits behind them. They fought each other until all the twenty affected were dead. They took out about as many as they lost. In that sense, Saria was responsible for killing the forty. The bandits were angry now. They tossed grenades. Lyra caught them all in the air. She tossed them back, but they exploded before they could get to the bandits. A bandit stepped forward and fired a rocket at them. Rouge stood up and caught it. The bandits fired at her. With her free hand she blocked the bolts. She sent the missile up to the roof. The roof started to collapse, and the rocks fell. The bandits had to move to not be smashed. Sno sent out a wave of force lightning, chaining the lightning from one bandit to another. The bandits dropped dead. The elevators opened, and red guard troops exited.

"We'll handle this." The captain of the group said. They headed the other way, moving closer to the noise. More and more troops arrived on the level. The room with the shield generator was at the end of the hallway, near the stairs. The force users stopped when they saw droids moving toward them.

The white fang detonated the explosives, bringing down two sections of the wall. Two turrets were destroyed. The ground shook as hundreds of droids emerged from the sand. The space outside the fort was filled with droids. They moved toward the coalition forward base. The voice of Amas rang out.

"Attention, invaders! Hear me now, for I speak with the authority of those who refuse to bow to tyranny! You come seeking to crush our defiance, to snuff out the flame of freedom that burns within our hearts. But know this: you face not just mere men and women, but the very embodiment of our resilience, our ingenuity, and our unwavering determination! You thought you had us cornered, trapped within these walls like rats in a cage. But you underestimated us, just as you underestimated the power of the desert itself! For while you were busy plotting our downfall, we were preparing for the inevitable clash, laying the groundwork for our counterattack!" Amas said.

"He has the flare of the Hamilton pirates." Zia said.

"Behold, the sands themselves rise up against you, unleashed as a tide of vengeance to sweep away all who would dare threaten our way of life! Thousands of droids, hidden beneath the surface, now awaken to join the fray, their metallic bodies gleaming in the harsh light of day! So I say to you, invaders: tremble before the might of our defiance! For no fortress, no army, and no power in this world can hope to stand against the united will of those who fight for their freedom! You may have thought us weak, but now you will see the true strength of our resolve!" Amas cried out. The defenders heard the cries of all the bandits.

Droids rose close to the shield of the alliance. They moved forward to the shield. Some of the ships landed to let troops out. With the fewer ships, the turrets targeted more ships. The droids were moving toward the troops. The few ships fired at the droids.

"How did you not find the droids?" Zia asked the commander.

"The deserts are covered in minerals, which makes metal like this hard to find." The commander said.

The front-line troops got ready for the first wave of droids. Zia put on her helmet and pulled out her blasters. She wasn't going down without a fight. She went to the front lines next to Soule.

"We got reports of hundreds of droids rising up in the fort." Soule said.

"We may be outnumbered here." Zia said. The reports went out to alliance and Mistral. More troops got ready.

Ironwood looked at the situation. He didn't understand how this could have happened. This shouldn't be possible. Thousands of droids don't just appear out of nowhere. He was getting too old for this. Ironwood and Winter started heading to Menagerie.

Vox saw the report. She realized that the Black Fang must have had their own droid factories. She gathered more Sith and troops to attack the fort. They had to destroy this bandit nation before it became another Pare.

With all the attention on the fort, Tyrian was able to easily sneak back into Vale. He had to get his first apprentice. He had to rebuild the assassin order.

The bandit chief smiled as his trap had worked. His men started cheering. Amas was smarter than they thought he was. They only saw the bandit chief. They never saw the tactician. The destroyed part of the wall would be fixed later. His droids were fighting the saboteurs. They couldn't stand up to him.

Rouge struggled to keep up with the blaster fire.

"We may need to retreat!" Rouge shouted to Sno. She used the force to crush a droid and toss it into the hoard, but that didn't stop them.

"We need to destroy that shield generator!" Sno said.

"You think you can get in there?" Rouge asked.

"…No" Sno bit out.

They were not prepared. They entirely underestimated Amas. Saria used the force to send a crate in the hallway. It crushed a few droids.

"They built a factory in here!" Lyra shouted. Rouge looked at her for a second. She touched a fallen droid. She was going to throw it at the advancing droid army. Rouge realized she shared the psychometry force ability. They backed to the elevator. The red fang held off the bandits. But now they faced an endless hoard.

"They got the metal from below! They've dug miles in every direction to find the metals." Lyra said.

"Dammit!" Saria said. The red fang started firing at the droids, taking some of them out. They raised blasters at the red fang and started firing. The droids were killing the red fang quickly. The elevator opened. The force users got in, and four red fang. A squad stayed behind to buy them some time.

"Get out of the Fort! Droids are swarming!" Rouge shouted into her comm. The door opened to the elevator, and Dan stood there.

"Droids?" Dan asked. They heard the footsteps of the droids coming down the stairs. Dan turned to the sound.

"Run! They're thousands of them!" Rouge said.

"We need the ships first!" A captain said. Rouge cursed and turned to the stairs.

"Get every explosive we have on that stairwell!" Sno shouted. Heavy troops aimed their rockets at the stairwell and fired. The explosion rang out. The stairs were destroyed. A droid jumped down, then so did more. The troops fired at the droids.

The first wave of droids made it into the shield. Zia fired at the droids, taking each of them down. But the endless hoard kept coming. They got the reports of the endless droids inside the fort. The commander got out of the tent and held a blaster pistol. He got to the front lines and started firing. They fired back.

The assault had turned into a defense. The droids outnumbered them utterly. Soule sliced two of them in half and used the force to keep sending them back. He was glad the camp was on a hill. The droids had a hard time climbing the sand to get to them. Rotary turrets were stationed and started to fire at the droids.

"How did all this go unnoticed?" Soule asked.

"Don't pretend the empire could have foreseen this. We've all gotten lazy with this peace." The commander said.

Soule rose his hand, sending a massive pile of sand down on the droids. He clenched his hand, creating a massive scrap of metal.

"This is the work of the Black Fang. It's the only option." Mai said.

"Why would the Black Fang want this?" Zia asked.

"They want war, what is this?" Mai asked. She blocked another strike.

"Like Pare…" Soule said.

"I wasn't there when the droids turned." Mai said.

"Be glad. At least there are no Grimm here." Soule said.

The droids continued to push the troops back. After the stairs were destroyed, they made a hole in the roof and dropped down. The droids keep coming. They were forced to flee. The troops got in the elevator and waited. The droids didn't go down them. They were forced give up all the ground they had made.

The elevators were all going down as fast as they could. They were full of troops. Rouge was breathing heavily, and leaning on Dan. Her hair was covered in sweat.

"We failed. We have to leave." Rouge said. Sno was catching her breath as well.

"They have thousands of them." Sno said.

"We barely did anything to them." Dan said.

"We killed a few hundred of their live bandits." Lyra said.

They got to the bottom level with the landing pads. The ships were sitting there, taking in as many as they could.

They watched as the ships left, full of troops the force users turned around. Kaelan meditated. The troops who got there first were the ones who got to leave first. The new troops had to wait for the ships to return. Lyra heard the noise of the droids. The troops had to hold out till they could be picked up. Dan stood next to Rouge.

"We're going to get out of this." Dan said, putting his hand on Rouge's shoulder. Rouge gripped it and smiled at him.

"We always have." Rouge said.

The sounds of the droids were coming closer. The troops hid behind all the cover they could find. The force users turned on their lightsabers. The troops watched the doors. The first landing pad was already under attack. Then the next and so on.

"This isn't how it should be." One of the troops said.

"Quiet soldier." Sno said. The droids were getting closer. The noise of the unending hoard was getting closer.

The first of the droids turned the corner. The soldiers opened fire. The first few droids were killed quickly. The hoard continued to move forward. The droids were falling, but the ones behind them simply pushed through the destroyed droids. They opened fire at the attackers. The force users had to move to cover. Kaelan sent a force blast, sending dozens of droids flying. Any droid hit head-on was destroyed. The troops fired a volley when they got the opening. The droids continued to enter the landing pad, firing at the troops. Some were killed.

Dan closed his eyes and brought his hand up. He brought his hand down, and the entrance collapsed. The droids didn't notice. They couldn't get through though. The remaining droids continued to fight. The ships dropped down and fired on the droids. They used weaker weapons so the landing pads would be safe for later. The ships landed, and the survivors rushed to get onto the ship. Dan covered everyone's retreat.

He jumped on last, not before watching a troop be killed right before he got on. Dan stepped on and deflected another shot back into the droid. They lifted up and left the canyon.

As soon as the troops left the canyon, the droids went back to the fort. Many were destroyed, but more made it back in.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? It seems our esteemed guests have decided to cut their little visit short, fleeing like scared rabbits at the first sign of trouble! Oh, how the mighty have fallen!" Amas was atop the walls again. He ordered his men to stop firing. They proved their point. He pointed to the field where the remains of tanks and ships lay.

"Look at them scurry away, tails tucked between their legs like whipped dogs! They thought they could waltz in here, all pomp and arrogance, and claim our fortress as their own. But what did they find instead? A hearty welcome from our droid friends, it seems!" The laughter of the bandits rang out. He watched as the last of the ships landed back in the enemy base camp.

"So let them flee like the cowards they are, back to whatever hole they crawled out of! For here, within the walls of our fortress, we stand as one, united in our defiance and unyielding in our resolve! Let them lick their wounds and nurse their wounded pride, for they shall find no quarter from us! And when they dare to return, they shall be met with the full fury of our wrath!" Amas said.

The Sith watched as they won the first battle. The droids and bandits they lost were nothing compared to the wound they dealt the attackers.

The troops gathered together. They lost good men and women today.

"They have a droid factory inside the canyon walls. We were unable to get to the shield. The droid hoard was too much for us." Rouge reported.

"A droid factory inside of a fort? How could this have slipped your notice?" Soule said, facing the wounded commander.

"What reason would we have to think a bandit group could have such strong defenses? He was no leader, but a brute."

"That's enough." Mai said. "We learned much from this loss."

"Yes. We learned that the red fang can't detect anything." Soule said.

"We learned that the enemy was far more prepared. This fort was abandoned for decades, and at the edge of the desert. I suspect that Salem herself took interest in this fort." Mai said.

"She's been dead for years now. How did they not find it?" Soule asked, calmer.

"This section of the desert was always going to be toward the end of the terraforming plan. There was no reason to believe anything could happen here." Jennie said.

"How did the bandit find it? And how did he get such a large band?" Soule asked.

"I'm sure we've gone over that before. He was a part of the Hamilton pirates and survived the Sith attack on them." Mai said.

"Blaming us won't help." Zia said.

"She's right." Roni said. She entered the tent.

"Master Roni. What are you doing here?" Rouge asked.

"I fought in the clone wars Rouge. I've destroyed many droids in my time." Roni said.

"If you're here, then I assume we have more reinforcements." Soule said.

"You assume correctly. Your forces are on the way." Roni said.

"Great. Now we just need Pare to be here and it will be like old times." Soule said with sarcasm.

"They may join us." Roni said.

"Just what we need." Soule said.

"It may well be." Roni said.

Tyrian had found his apprentice. She was perfect to join him. She was trained in the arts of stealth from Beacon, but she had been tossed aside. She was too violent to get her hunter's license and during the war she was kicked out for her "mental instability". She was a natural killer.

The scar on her cheek was from an imperial during the war who she killed. She was alone. Tyrian felt the poisons in his arm mix together. He walked as close to her as he could without being spotted. She kept track of everything with a nervous rapidness. She was waiting for an attack from anyone. Perfect paranoia would keep her alive on missions.

Most wouldn't notice the hidden knife in her sleeve. No matter where she went, she was never unarmed. She wore clothes that allowed her to move her body completely. She was pretending to be something she wasn't. She was pretending to be one of the weak. One of the unimportant. But she was destined for so much more.

She sat down on a bench. She watched everyone pass by but looked as if she barely noticed. Tyrian sat next to her. She glanced over at him. He glanced over at her and smiled at her.

"Hello there, Sable. I have an offer for you that you couldn't refuse." Tyrian said. He smiled more as she unsheathed the knife in her sleeve. She was perfect.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Echo reborn." Tyrian said. He showed her a blank mask. She recognized it. She looked up at him.

"That order was destroyed at the end of the war." Sable said.

"Almost destroyed."

"Weren't you captured?" Sable asked.

"Yes, but here I am. Powerful friends. And now, a powerful weapon." He moved his cloak slightly and showed Sable his new arm.

"How are you here?" Sable asked.

"Nothing could stop me from my destiny of rebuilding the order. Join me." Tyrian asked.

She grabbed the mask and saw on the inside was a note.

"There will be others Sable. This is your new life. Never again will you be forced to hold back. Show them who you are." Tyrian said. He walked away, knowing he had got his first recruit. Now he just needed to get the other twelve.

Month 6 Day 24

More forces were brought to the Menagerie desert. Pare had sent aid as well. The forward base had become much larger. The fort was still standing.

"There are two things that need to be taken down if we want to destroy Amas and his army. The shield generator, and the droid factory. We know where the shield generator is, and if it falls, we can bombard the fort." The imperial general said.

"The problem with that is getting to the shield generator." Soule said.

"Yes, it is, but we have access to many weapons that can destroy droids. During the clone wars, these clone poppers were one of the most common weapons. All droids have a weakness to weapons like this. Electric dust does the same, to a lesser extent." The General said.

"How many poppers do you have?" Roni asked.

"Each starship has hundreds per crate and multiple crates. We have enough." He said.

"Then we need someone able to get in there." Soule said.

"There are hundreds of droids there. Maybe thousands. That's why we failed." Rouge said.

"It may be a suicide mission. But it has to be done." The imperial general said.

Amas stood atop wall. His gaze fixed upon the distant horizon where the coalition base camp lies shrouded in the fading light of dusk. The bustling activity of the fortress below has ebbed away, leaving behind a serene calm that enveloped him like a comforting embrace.

With hands clasped behind his back, Amas surveyed the enemy encampment with a mixture of curiosity and determination. The flickering lights and distant silhouettes of soldiers moving about their duties paint a stark contrast against the backdrop of the desert night, a reminder of the looming threat that still lurked beyond the walls.

As the first stars begin to twinkle in the night sky, casting their gentle glow upon the desert below, the chief takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders, ready to face whatever challenges may come his way. For he knows that as long as he stands vigilant atop these walls, the fortress shall remain unyielding, unbroken, and unconquered.

"Out there, beyond the horizon, lies our enemy's stronghold. A bastion of their ambition, a testament to their arrogance. But it shall not stand unchallenged for long. We will stand firm, like the rocks that endure the relentless assault of the desert winds. We will weather this storm and emerge stronger on the other side. So let them scheme and plot within their walls. Let them gather their forces and muster their strength. For when the time comes, they will find us ready. And they will learn, as all who oppose us do, that the fortress of our defiance is impregnable."

Amas stayed up there, watching the enemy. Deep within the bowels of the fortress, hidden away from prying eyes, lies the clandestine workshop where the droids are born. The workshop itself is a sprawling labyrinth of corridors and chambers, its walls lined with shelves of spare parts and racks of tools. Conveyor belts crisscross the room, ferrying components to and fro as robotic arms deftly assemble them into the intricate forms of the droids. The creation of the droids, the creation of his army was below his feet.

The Sith watched as the Coalition gathered together. Not since the day they killed his master had they come together like this. He felt honored that they were honoring him like this. Soon, he will have them all where he wanted them. Soon, he will bring back his master.

Tyrian gathered his assassins together in the former chambers of the order. He had them all take in what they once were.

"This is our past. We will be stronger then they were. Even Echo will be eclipsed by our power. This place became a place of pride and arrogance. We let this stronghold, hidden away to all, become a place of laziness and inadequacy. That is why Echo was killed. The previous grandmaster before him failed the order. That is why Echo had to kill him. But it was too late. The remaining assassins were too weak. They couldn't stand up to the might of the Jedi or the Sith. This place will never again hold the assassins, except for lessons in arrogance. Follow me, assassins. Together we will strike fear into the hearts of all. No grand Patron will shackle us. We will do what we know to be best." Tyrian turned to the assassins he gathered.

"The world will fear us again. We shall shape our future. But first, we need to eliminate the weak."

Author's Notes: Chapter 3 done. This chapter brings me back to the SGW days where I would write about battles. Amas is more then the mere brute he looks. The droids are a massive threat, not individual, but combined. These droids stop at nothing to defend the fort.

Tyrian was rescued by the black fang Sith and given his arm by them too. He is starting his own assassin's order. Tyrian has created thirteen masks to give to the assassins. At the start they will all be white, like Jet's mask when she joined the assassins.

The Hamilton pirates were introduced during the cold war era of Jedi Hunter. They were killed towards the end of SGW, but not all died. Most of the stormtroopers that escaped the battle of Mistral joined them, and they would be most likely dead now. If any are still alive, they are probably with Amas.

This didn't finish in one chapter. Who knows how long the Amas saga will last?

If you have any characters you want to share, you can leave them in a review, or a PM.

May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerx12