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The Unsung War, a STAR WARS Story
By: LaserLord123 and WodiQuix
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
Darkness has crept back into the galaxy. It has been twelve years since the defeat of the Imperium and the New Republic has grown complacent. With that complacency, the military drive gained during the war has all but disappeared. The Jedi Guardians of the New Republic, Luke Skywalker and Cade Valdarin, have mysteriously disappeared and a new threat, the First Order, has risen, fulfilling the last command of Darth Pravus and destroying the Galactic Senate with the aid of their planetary superweapon, Starkiller Base.
The Resistance, a small paramilitary group led by General Leia Organa, has managed to destroy the fearsome weapon, crippling the First Order war machine. Anticipating retaliation by their foes, Leia begins to send scouts to the far reaches of Wild Space to contact the New Republic Scout Service for assistance.
However, the First Order , regrouping after the loss of their planetary weapon, now point their ships towards the secret Resistance base on D'Qar. The Resistance hastily begins its evacuation, receiving a message from an old friend…
30 ABE
D'Qar - Outer Rim Territories
Allan Coates
It's been a few hours since the destruction of Starkiller Base. What a battle! Any celebration, however, has been eclipsed by the loss of Han Solo, the Hosnian system, the Senate, Republic Command, and the fact we know the First Order is coming to retaliate. I'm helping load weapon crates onto a waiting transport, lost in my thoughts, when I bump into an old friend: Wodi "Wishbone" Quix, a high-level special forces operative in the Resistance.
"Shake it off, kid, we need to get this stuff loaded," he says, hefting a crate of EL-16 blasters. I nod but the look in his eyes tells me he's going through the same thing. We both had many friends in the New Republic that were on Hosnian Prime when it was destroyed.
With Hosnian Prime's destruction, I lost a commanding officer and Wodi a dear friend. High General Jevin Corso, a legend in the Resistance for his actions during both the Civil War and Imperium War. His death is unconfirmed so far but very likely.
Wodi and I are loading some heavy ordnance, now-old SWS-1013 multi-purpose launchers, onto one of the transports when we hear Amminius give a shout. We look to see him positively beaming. "Amm, what is it?" Wodi asks, the two of them being near-inseparable friends.
He just keeps grinning. "General, Wishbone, you'll want to look at this." Leia and Wodi move over to his station, all three of them being veterans from the Civil War. I won't lie, I feel left out sometimes with those three. I was born three years before the climactic Battle of Jakku and it wasn't until the Imperium War, fourteen years later, that I got my taste of galaxy saving.
"What is it?" Leia asks as she maneuvers around him to get a look at the screen. He points out something on his console, like a gleeful child.
"Do you recognize this?" Amminius says. Leia looks closer as does Quix and he's the first to see it.
"Ma'am, that's a comm frequency that hasn't been used in decades. It's... yours." She nods, confusion apparent in her face.
Amminius faces Wodi, "That's right, Quix, and that was from the earliest days of the Rebellion. No one but Leia and a few others had access to this frequency." I look at the General, confusion showing plainly on my face.
"Yes, only myself and certain Specforce commanders had that frequency. It was used with the utmost secrecy, in case the Empire discovered any of us." Again, confusion racks my brain: what can that mean, a contact from decades past is reaching out to Leia?
She looks at Amminus again, "Is it just a comm signal?"
"No, ma'am, there's a holo-signal with it. Whoever it is, they want to see us."
She paces for a second. "Ok, transmit the comm signal but not the holo. If whoever is on the other side isn't friendly, I don't want them to see the base." Amminius nods, hitting a switch on the console. For a few tense seconds, all that plays is white noise.
"Background radiation is interfering with comms, hold on," Riz Dellso, a Rodian veteran of the Imperium War, says. He tampers with the device but to no avail. Finally, in frustration, he kicks the thing and the radiation clears. We hear nothing except a faint buzzing sound.
"How do we confirm if they're friend or foe?" I say in a whisper.
Leia thinks for a second or two and then leans to the speaker. "Authentication, Star." There's no reply from the other side; she must have used an identification code from the early Rebellion days.
Suddenly there's static and a reply comes through. "Callsign, Phoenix." Leia smiles a little.
"Amm, patch the holo-signal."
"You got it."
A crackling image appears, again with white noise accompanying it. Dellso tampers with the machine again and after some mild expletives, a life-size image of a man comes through, mid-to-late fifties, and looking like he had been through hell. Other than that he appears well-kept, hair and beard in military fashion even.
Wodi and the others just look at the image before Wodi lets out a gasp. He, Amminius, Dellso, and other soldiers from the Republic who had come to see what was causing the commotion stand at attention and salute. Even Leia stands straight, tears flowing from her eyes.
I look closer at the image and I see why: the man is wearing the battle dress uniform of the New Republic Army but that is not the shocking thing, it's the rank insignia on his chest. High General, the second highest rank in the New Republic Army. This is no ordinary Command official, it's Jevin Corso, a hero of the Rebellion and the New Republic.
The figure salutes back and Leia is the first to speak. "Jevin, I... I can't believe it! We all thought you were dead! Hosnian-"
Some static again ensues but then clears. "Leia, Wodi, everyone, it's good to see you safe. All of you," he says, scanning the room. Wodi walks closer to the hologram, wiping away tears, having a very strong friendship with Corso, serving with him for over two decades.
"Blastzone, it's good to see you alive."
"You too, Wishbone." He turns to Leia, "I heard about Han. I'm sorry, he was a good man and the galaxy is less for his loss." She nods, thanking him.
"I'd like to know how you heard about that. It isn't exactly public knowledge yet," she says while looking at Amminius, who merely shrugs and flashes a sheepish grin.
"I figured if Jevin had died, his personal files would go to whomever succeeded him."
She nods and looks back at Jevin, "How did you survive? I was under the assumption all Republic Command personnel were on Hosnian Prime when it was destroyed?" Jevin sighs, though it comes through as static.
"Not all of us were. Myself, Tor Ponith, Garm Bel Iblis, and a few others were at Ganthel, overseeing an Academy graduation." Leia smiles; after the Hosnian System was destroyed, along with a substantial portion of the fleet and the Galactic Senate, it looked like the New Republic would fall apart.
"What about the admiralty?"
"Most of them, including Fleet Admiral Nari, were at Hosnian Prime, overseeing the Victory Day parades but some were at the Dac shipyards, commissioning new ships. Only Admiral Vanice and Iphigin are confirmed to still be alive. I know things look bad, Leia; the Senate is gone and the military is in tatters. I've regrouped what little I can at Empress Teta and have sent out messages for help, especially to the Wookiees and Mandalorians."
She looks down again, "But without political leadership, how will the Republic function?"
"Not all the senators were on Hosnian Prime. Those that remained unanimously made Tor acting chancellor until a proper vote can be held."
I let out a whistle, "Hell of a way to get a promotion." Amminius looks at me and smirks, this time I beat him to the whimsical quip.
"Indeed," Jevin continues, "but an update on the New Republic's status is not why I called." Leia looks at him, confused, but stops when she sees Jevin is looking at Wodi.
"Quix, what's going on?" Leia asks when Wodi stands, looking away from her.
"Wodi, it's time. We've kept the secret long enough, it's time for him to come back," Jevin says.
"Him who? Someone fill me in, please?" Leia asks.
"The General means Cade Valdarin, ma'am," Amminius says in Wodi's defense.
Leia looks perplexed. "But he died five years ago. There was a shuttle accident in Wild Space, it was all over the newsnets." Wodi and Amm shake their heads.
"As you know, something happened with Luke and Cade's new Jedi generation."
He pauses and nods to Quix who continues. "About five years ago, Cade contacted us and asked the three of us to meet him on Coruscant. He wanted to disappear from the galaxy, to fake his own death in order to investigate this new threat from behind the scenes.
Jevin and I helped create a plan in which his transport would explode in hyperspace, with him getting off at the right moment. The shuttle made a brief stop in an uninhabited system and Cade jumped ship. Poof, Cade Valdarin was dead."
She looks at Jevin again, "But you don't know where he is?"
"No, but someone here does," Jevin replies, nodding towards Wodi again. "You see, during the war, Cade confided in Wodi about where he would go in case a vision he had came to pass."
Wodi nods. "He asked me to erase all records of a particular planet so that he could do his work out of the public eye."
Leia looks at Jevin and then at Wodi, "Where?" Wodi walks to a galaxy map, inputting a set of coordinates.
"Here, the Deep Core."
"But nothing is there, just empty space."
"Remember, ma'am, all records of the planet, Had Abbadon, were removed from all galactic registries. No map will show a planet there."
"So you knew where the hero of the Imperium War was all along and didn't say anything? Even after the destruction of Hosnian Prime?" Leia says, anger creeping into her voice.
Before Wodi can speak in his defense, Jevin chimes in. "Don't get mad at him, Leia. It was on my order that we kept this secret. Cade had fought and bled with us for years, he deserved a favor or two." She suddenly looks embarrassed and apologizes.
"Wodi, this is both an order and a request from a friend, find our Jedi and bring him back to the fight. We received a message shortly after Hosnian Prime was destroyed. The First Order is flaunting their victory over the Republic, but there was also an encrypted message that we couldn't make out. We have the best analysts looking into it.
I won't lie, things look bad. The Republic needs time to rebuild our defenses and we cannot face the threat of the First Order. Wodi, I'm ordering you to find Cade and contact the Scout Service. Leia, I know the Resistance is small but you will have to serve as a shield against the First Order until we can help."
She nods and both offer each other good luck, Jevin saying he will want status updates from Amm and will remain in regular contact. The holo winks out and we all stand there, not really sure of our feelings. On one hand, one of the greatest commanders of the New Republic military is alive but on the other, Jevin is right: the Republic can't deal with the First Order until they can rebuild.
"Well, what are you waiting for? " Leia says, turning to face Wodi. "Go find Valdarin and save the Republic for a second time!"
Later...
We all watch Wodi's T-70 take off, speeding towards the stars, when klaxons blare. "Ma'am, we've got First Order signals inbound!"
30 ABE
Had Abbadon - Deep Core
Cade Valdarin
I sit cross-legged in the meditation chamber of the Had Abbadon Jedi Temple, former headquarters of the Jedi Order during the Sith Wars, the melodic sounds of the forest filling my ears. Ever since Luke and I had gone into exile, I have been keeping a close eye on him, in case the First Order discovered his location. The Force flows deeply through Had Abbadon, I can see many things here, my senses reaching across the galaxy.
A short time ago, I had felt Luke under tremendous strain and reached out to him. I saw him sitting on Ahch-To, in intense concentration, so intense that he didn't feel my presence. Feeling the strain through our bond, I placed a spiritual hand on his shoulder. Through our link I was able to see what he was doing.
He was on Crait, an old Rebel stronghold and now perhaps witness to the end of the Resistance. He was projecting a very lifelike illusion of himself, to defend the Resistance. With the New Republic severely weakened and the Resistance nearly destroyed, the future of the galaxy is in question.
Twelve years ago, I did something similar. I experienced oneness with the Force, and the power nearly killed me but that was different. I was young then, the Force having constantly been my ally. Luke, however, had cut himself off from the Force when he went to Ahch-To and hadn't used it for years.
Through our bond, I poured my own power into Luke, giving him the strength to hold on a little longer. I saw him leave a cavernous hanger on Crait, standing in front of the First Order forces and they opened fire. We both trembled somewhat but with our combined power, the illusion stood tall.
Then I saw our former student, Ben Solo, and felt a pang of sorrow. Ben and I were far closer in age than I am with Luke, so our bond was more brotherly than master and student. I had even taught Ben some sword skills but my work with the Scout Service often drew me away from the fledgling order. Having delayed Ben long enough for Leia and the others to escape, Luke released the illusion.
By now, I am trembling with exertion. I can feel Luke's life-force ebbing away, the physical exhaustion having costed him much. I pour comfort through our bond and hear his voice. This is it, I can feel it. My time has come. Thank you for everything my friend, my brother, my kin. May the Force be with you, always.
"And with you, Luke," I say out loud.
It is my time, but not yours. I feel you still have much to offer the galaxy. Goodbye, Cade Valdarin.
I open my eyes to see it is night on Had Abbadon, the sounds of Nighthawks resonating through the forest. I stand and begin walking, coordinating my thoughts. Not long ago, Hosnian Prime was destroyed, along with the Senate and a large portion of the military. Wodi, along with Amm and several others, joined the Resistance years ago, meaning they escaped destruction. With the Resistance nearly gone and Luke's passing, the galaxy has indeed entered a dark time. Our only hope, it seems, is the Scout Service, still in Wild Space.
Walking through the stone hallways, I can't help but admire the beautiful tapestries lining the walls. The builders of this temple were careful not to disrupt the natural beauty of the mountain. I come to a natural opening in the stone wall overlooking a small courtyard surrounded by Uneti trees. Within, there is a small girl, only twelve years old, an Iridonian.
This particular Iridonian's name is Ida, and she is my second student. Years ago, I had traveled to Iridonia, looking for potential new Jedi. While there, I found Ida, a seven-year old girl abandoned in the frigid polar region. Ever since, she has been like a daughter to me. She is training with a sparring droid, an ancient relic from the heyday of this place, her magenta-colored lightsaber lighting the ground around her. She reminds me of myself at that age: young, full of potential, an exuberance to learn.
Continuing on down the hallway, I think of my wife, Kiara. Sadly, she passed away about six years ago in the Napkin Bombing on Hosnian Prime. She had been there to lobby for increased military action against the First Order, using her humanitarian group as reason for involvement, citing that no one wanted a repeat of the devastation caused by Gorukar and the Imperium. I wasn't there to protect her, being in Wild Space at the time.
"Attention, this is Colonel Wodi Quix of the Resistance. My ship has been hit by...''
"Sounds like someone is looking specifically for you, hotshot," Sonya says to me from the communications room, winking. I feel Wodi's presence near, even though we had both sworn to keep my existence hidden. I was under the assumption that Leia didn't know I faked my death, meaning Wodi decided it was time to reveal the truth.
I see my first student, Volke, enter the room. Volke is a Nagai, one of the first species the New Republic encountered when the Scout Service was established. A blue skinned species that I'm sure is distantly related to the Chiss somehow.
Volke had been a bounty hunter for years since his people had been driven from their home in a satellite galaxy by the Tof. He had turned to bounty hunting to raise enough money to hire an army and retake his home. Eventually, the Scout Service partnered with the Nagai and liberated their homeworld, Nagi.
After this, Volke had no reason for bounty hunting so I offered to train him. He had a powerful connection to the Force, having instinctively used it in his career for years. He agreed and five years later he became a full-fledged Jedi. "Cade, this "Wodi", his ship is trying to enter the atmosphere, should we dissipate the storm?"
I mull it over for a moment. "Yes, disperse the storm, I think Had Abbadon has been hidden long enough. Besides, I don't think the First Order will be able to strike this far yet and the settlers here will defend their homes with their lives. I don't think we have anything to fear."
The dark clouds begin to dissipate and Sonya, myself, and Ida walk to the top of the marble staircase leading into the temple to oversee a battered T-70 X-wing drop out of the atmosphere, making its way to the landing pad, next to my own E-wing and Sonya's YT-2400. "Why don't you greet him, Sonya. I'll catch up in a bit."
30 ABE
D'Qar - Outer Rim
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Walking briskly from the crowded communications room with my new orders, I head to my quarters to gather gear and some rations. Slinging a pack over my shoulder, I head towards the flight pad where technicians and droids are working frantically on starfighters, the evacuation spurring everyone to pitch in as much and as fast as they can. Several fully-loaded transports are already heading up to the Raddus in orbit, laden with supplies and personnel.
Stopping briefly at an open weapons crate to grab an EL-16HFE blaster rifle, I maneuver my way through the hustle over to my T-70 X-wing, stepping over refueling hoses and electrical wiring snaking across the stones. The Duros technician refueling my starfighter pulls the hose away and offers a salute. "She's all ready for you, sir. General Organa said you would be in a hurry."
I nod, offering him a smile. "Aren't we all? I've got a Jedi to find."
Quickly stepping up the ladder, I set my blaster and pack down inside the cockpit. A dinged, green R3 astromech with a transparent plastex dome occupying the droid socket behind the cockpit warbles a greeting as I do so.
"Hello, Spanner. All ready to go?" Spanner beeps an affirmative, reminding me to hurry.
I grin. "I know, I know. I'm getting in now."
Having belonged to my wife, Amara, back when she piloted a Y-wing for the Rebellion, Spanner has been a part of our family for years, developing quite a personality from his lack of a memory wipe. Hoisting myself inside and donning a flight helmet adorned with a yellow starbird, I lower the canopy and begin priming the fighter controls, flicking switches and depressing buttons on the console and side panels.
"This is Colonel Quix, prepped and ready to go. All set back there?" I ask Spanner, getting an affirmatory beep in response. With a thumbs-up from the technician, I lift off, waving a gloved hand in farewell to the soldiers and officers and pilots assembled outside.
Once outside D'Qar's planetary asteroid ring, I check the grid coordinates for Had Abbadon on my personal datapad, bringing up an encoded file I hadn't touched for a long time: L-10, Had Abbadon system, Deep Core. After the Imperium had been destroyed, and at Cade's request, I had spent almost an entire year systematically wiping Had Abbadon's existence from all New Republic star charts, rendering it all but unplottable. Now it's time to find it again.
"Spanner, input grid coordinates L-10 into the navicomputer."
Spanner emits a confused beep, and a translation scrolls across my screen.
My memory banks show that no planet of that coordinate string exists. Are you sure you remembered correctly?
I shake my head, grinning. "Trust me, there's one there alright."
A few seconds later, Spanner confirms that the coordinates have been entered, adding that the view of empty space would most likely be spectacular.
Here we go. Taking one last look back at D'Qar and the Raddus, I put my hand on the hyperdrive lever when Spanner lets out an alarmed series of beeps and whistles. Surprised, I take my hand off the lever. "What's wrong?"
A frantic translation scrolls across my screen. "First Order signatures incoming?" Icy tendrils grip my insides. Blast, the evacuation! How did they find us so quickly?
I jam the comlink button on my console, practically yelling into the mic, "General, this is Wodi, I read multiple First Order signatures incoming!"
"We see them, too!" Leia's harrowed but determined voice crackles over my comm. "Get out of here! Find Cade!"
"But ma'am, the evacuation-" I protest. Despite my orders, I feel a strong urge to head back down and help.
"We'll handle the details, Colonel. Now go! Find Cade!" My gut clenching at the thought of leaving my friends, and what will happen when the First Order enters the system, I yank the lever on my dash, and the stars turn to mottled blue as my X-wing jumps into hyperspace. They'll pull through, they always do, I think to myself as I lean back in my seat, tugging off my flight helmet.
Spanner emits a concerned beep and a smile flits across my face. "I'm just worried, bud. You've seen what the First Order is capable of. And the fact that they found us so fast, it's troubling."
Spanner beeps a consolation: When I was waiting for you, I overheard some of the communications personnel saying that most of the data had been wiped from the main computers. And a lot of crates were already on the transports. What was left was mostly meager supplies.
I nod, allowing myself to feel consoled. "Well, it's something. I just hope that they make it out." They've been through worse, I think to myself. They'll make it out. Taking my pack out from under my seat, I grab a ration bar. "Better get comfortable," I say to Spanner, "the trip to Had Abbadon is going to take a few days." I transmit data on Had Abbadon to Spanner for him to read and set my eyes on the swirling vortex outside my canopy screen, lost in thought.
Several Days Later…
A beeping alarm on my console signals my return to realspace as the swirling tunnel of light resolves into inky black speckled with stars. Looking out in front of me, I get my first real glimpse of Had Abbadon, having only seen the green and blue terrestrial world from computer and datapad screens. I stare in wonder at the planet, encircled from pole to pole in dark, gray storm clouds flashing with lightning. Spanner beeps with concern. "No, you got it right," I assure the droid, "this is Had Abbadon, but I've never seen anything like that storm before. Let's have a closer look."
Taking the control yolk, I maneuver closer to Had Abbadon, passing by its two moons. Even up close, there doesn't seem to be any break in the storm clouds, just a continuous vast expanse of gray hiding anything beneath. "This storm isn't natural to Had Abbadon," I say. "It seems like it was created here on purpose. Let's get down there and find our Jedi friend. I'll bet anything that he created it to keep people away in case they found this place."
As we drop into the blustery atmosphere, rain droplets immediately lash against my cockpit viewport and wind buffets furiously against my hull. The yolk shakes violently in my hands from the force of the gale. I flip on my spotlight for better visibility. "Be careful here. Slow and steady," I say out loud.
Periodically, jagged flashes of lightning illuminate the clouds enveloping us, some very close to the S-foils. "That lightning is-" BAM. A lightning bolt strikes the cockpit, shorting out my flight controls.
"Blast it!" I yell, tugging on the yolk in vain as my fighter begins an uncontrolled downward spiral. Spanner screeches. "Fighter controls have been shorted!" I jam the still-working comlink button on my dash, "Attention, this is Colonel Wodi Quix of the Resistance. My ship has been hit by lightning and I have no control. Grid coordinates L-10! Blast it, Cade, I know you can hear me! Get rid of this moofing storm!"
Almost immediately, the thick storm clouds and lightning dissipate, giving me a clear view of my surroundings. Well, that's one problem solved. "Spanner, how's that control coming?" I yell at the droid, trying to keep panic out of my voice. A few adrenaline-pumping moments later, Spanner lets out an excited tweet that flight control has been restored. I pull up hard on the yolk, and the ship thankfully levels.
I look out of the cockpit and down to gaze upon a great stone temple ringed by a vast wood, reminding me of the Great Temple on Yavin IV. At the base of the temple steps, I see two familiar ships, the Phoenix, Sonya Ravenclaw's YT-2400, and Cade's E-wing starfighter. I also see four figures emerge from an opening, with the fourth member going back inside.
Engaging my landing struts, I touch down next to the E-wing and unstrap myself from the safety harness, removing my flight helmet and mounting it on the seat back. "Good landing, buddy," I say to Spanner and open up the cockpit canopy to climb down the ladder. Spanner lowers himself from his astromech socket to join me.
Facing me are the three figures, one of them very familiar. "Wodi Quix," Sonya Ravenclaw says, grinning broadly and stepping forward, "it's been a while. I was starting to think you'd forgotten about us."
"Sonya, you are a sight for sore eyes. It's great to see you again!" I reply, smiling back. She hugs me, and then gestures to her other two companions, a little Iridonian girl and a tall, light blue Nagai male. Both are dressed in simple robes. Robes reminiscent of those worn by the Jedi.
"Wodi, I'd like you to meet Ida and Volke."
"So," I say, gesturing to their robes. "I take it you two are Cade's students?"
"That's right," Ida says boldly, "and we're bringing back the Jedi!" Sonya smiles and places a hand on Ida's shoulder in a motherly fashion.
"Come on, I'll give you the grand tour!" My smile fades as I'm reminded of why I'm here in the first place.
"Sonya, I need to speak to Cade. It's urgent."
"I'd thought you would say that. Come on, this way." She leads the way up the stone steps towards the temple entrance. As we walk, Sonya tells me what she knows about the temple and about Had Abbadon. When she's finished, I tell her about our victory at Starkiller Base and about the subsequent evacuation.
"And then, just as I was about to jump, we picked up First Order signals moving towards D'Qar, and lots of them."
"How did they find you so quickly?" Sonya asks, shocked.
"No idea," I admit, "but it's nightmarish stuff. I just hope everyone made it out alright. We had the Raddus and a complement of frigates at the ready in-system, but there was so little time..." Sonya nods, her brow furrowed. We stay silent for a while as we move through stone corridors lit by shafts of sunlight and adorned with high tapestries. Finally, our group moves through a high stone archway to stand in a great open main hall, the elaborate stone ceiling stretching far above our heads.
"This place is beautiful," I say. "To think it's been like this for millennia is amazing."
"Yep, and this place still surprises me after all these years. There's still so much to explore here. We haven't even uncovered half of the temple's secrets." As I'm about to ask more, a set of ancient wooden doors off to my right open and a very familiar face appears a moment later.
"Well, well," I say to Cade Valdarin, "welcome back from the dead, Master Jedi."
30 ABE
Had Abbadon - Deep Core
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Cade's face lights up in a broad grin as he moves forward to give me a hug, laughing jovially. He lets go and holds me out at arms length, a twinkle in his eye as he jokingly looks me over. "You've aged," he says teasingly.
"Glad to see you haven't aged a day, kid," I reply with a grin. He smiles back as we begin to walk.
"Well, training constantly for five years will do that to you."
"Hey, maybe you could give me some lessons!" I look over at Volke and Ida, standing silent but alert. Blast, they're so young. "You're making me feel like a grandfather, Cade," I say, shaking my head. Cade doesn't respond.
Well, the pleasantries are over. Time to get to business. I sigh. "I assume you know why I'm here?" Cade nods in reply and beckons me to walk with him. Sonya joins us while Volke and Ida stay behind.
We walk out the great wooden doors and down a sunlit corridor. "Yes," Cade says after a moment, "I'm aware of current events. This place, Wodi, this place is extremely strong in the Force. My senses here can stretch across the whole galaxy. I saw and felt Hosnian Prime's destruction, Han's death, Rey's burgeoning presence in the Force. I felt it all." I nod, impressed with the scope of his knowledge.
"How did you stay supplied here if you couldn't be in public?" I ask him, curious.
Cade smiles a wry smile. "Please, Wodi, I'm a Jedi. To cloak myself from the view of others is simple. I had Sonya as well, who could travel anywhere without having to pretend she didn't exist. People would just assume she was on another treasure hunt." I look at Cade again to see his expression quite differently. His eyes are downcast and his face dark, and he has a dark aura about him.
"Cade, what's wrong?" Cade doesn't reply immediately but leads us to an offshoot corridor into an old communications room of sorts, with a large holotable in the middle. He keys in a command and a large holomap of the galaxy flickers to life, bathing everything in a soft blue light. Cade inputs a string of coordinates and the holo zooms in to show a largely white planet with patches of red and black nestled in the Outer Rim, the mineral planet Crait.
"That's Crait," I say, confused. "It used to be a Rebel outpost, but it's nothing anymore. What's on Crait other than salt flats and some local wildlife?"
"Wodi," he says, looking years older for a second, the dejected tone of his voice submerging my insides in ice. I brace myself for his next words. "After the evacuation from D'Qar, the Resistance was hunted relentlessly by the First Order. The Raddus was destroyed above Crait, but the rest of the Resistance forces managed to get planetside."
Cade sits down on an old supply crate while I stand, frozen, listening to his every word. My hands tremble slightly, so I ball them into fists and hold them together. He continues, "From what I could tell, many soldiers lost their lives but… there was a familiar presence as well."
"What do you mean?" I ask immediately, burning to hear more, yet dreading his next words.
"It was Luke, Wodi. Luke projected a powerful illusion of himself to Crait. He managed to hold off the First Order long enough for what was left of the Resistance to escape on the Falcon..."
"...So, what happened to Luke?" I ask, a growing pit of despair in my stomach. Cade is silent for a while, but his eyes convey the truth.
"Luke's dead, Wodi," he eventually says heavily. At these words, I feel as if I'm falling through a deep black hole, my emotions trying to catch up to me. My brain feels sluggish. I sit down on a nearby crate and grip its smooth surface.
"Dead? That… that can't be." After sifting through my finally caught up emotions, I come to the conclusion that the numb shock and sadness I'm feeling is nothing compared to what Cade must be going through. He was closer to Luke than any of us.
"Cade, I'm so sorry," I say to him, my words sounding pitifully inadequate for the situation. Cade offers me a solemn smile, holding up his hand.
"Don't be. Luke died a true Jedi. I could ask for nothing more for my friend. He is with the Force now, he is always with us." I nod at his words, taking small comfort in them.
"Do you know what happened to Leia and the rest?"
"I actually was just speaking with them," Cade says. "Amminius is fine. They made it out, barely. But they are okay."
"That's good to hear," I say in relief as we walk down the hall and outside the temple, heading outside. "We're leaving so soon?" I ask as Cade directs us towards the landing pad. I had expected our conversation to last a lot longer.
"Wodi, there's no time to waste. Jevin is on Empress Teta. We'll catch up with him and see just what state the New Republic is in." As we walk towards our ships, Sonya catches up to us.
"Whoa, you aren't going alone."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Volke and Ida are coming, too." As if on cue, Volke appears silently by Cade's side.
"Kriff, Cade, didn't you get enough of that from the Praetors?" I say, after being caught off guard and jumping back.
"Volke used to be a bounty hunter," Cade replies, barely concealing a smile at my reaction, "it's a natural talent." Shaking my head but grinning, I climb the ladder up into my X-wing and situate myself inside, pulling on my flight helmet. Cade powers up his E-wing while Sonya, Ida, and Volke head up the Phoenix's boarding ramp.
Knowing Sonya hasn't powered up the comm system yet, I open a channel to Cade, "So, Cade, you and Sonya. What's up between you?"
"What? Nothing is up. We're friends, I know what you are thinking. Alone with her in my exile and all but no. We called that off years ago and resolved to be friends." I decide to let the matter rest for now, and focus instead on Had Abbadon's now-clear sky as we lift off. Once outside of Had Abbadon's atmosphere, I punch in the coordinates for Empress Teta on the navicomputer, and our ships disappear into hyperspace.
"Ida, quiz time," Cade says over the comm as we travel through mottled blue, "what do you know about Empress Teta?"
"Empress Teta, Koros sector, Empress Teta system. The world is a "Coruscant" of the Deep Core, a major trade hub and major supplier of refined carbonite. The planet is sometimes called Cinnagar due to the capital, Cinnagar, covering the planet's surface."
I whistle appreciatively. "Kid sure knows her stuff! I'd say she passes."
"We are entering the system in three, two, one," Sonya relays, her voice betraying the fact she's grinning from ear to ear. We emerge back into realspace to behold an impressive sight. I whistle again, looking out of my cockpit at a fleet of MC80 and 85 cruisers, Starhawk-class battlecruisers, and a multitude of other Republic ships hanging above Empress Teta, partially blocking the planet's capital city from view.
"Check out that fleet overhead, they mean business!" I say. I haven't seen such a buildup since the Imperium War. As we move in closer, a new and slightly accented voice comes over our comm.
"Unidentified ships, you have entered a New Republic security zone, we are tracking your position now. State your business."
"Wow," I remark, "they are not joking around. Usually it's a more cordial greeting."
"Wodi, let me do the talking," Cade replies, his voice pleasantly mischievous. "This will be fun!" I almost reply that being 'fun' isn't what we need to do at the moment, but stay quiet. Speaking clearly, Cade relays a security code.
"Authorization Alpha Besh One-Ex."
"Just a moment," the New Republic officer says. "That code belongs to a dead man!" Cade chuckles in response.
"Well, technically speaking, I was." I hear raised voices and movement on the other side of the comm.
"Sorry about that, Cade. I should have told him you'd be coming. I'm sending you landing coordinates, we have much to talk about." I smile. Jevin Corso, as unchanged as ever. It's been years since we last saw each other. We point our ships towards one of the closer MC80s, directed in by an escort of X-wing fighters flying New Republic colors. As I exit my ship, I notice several security guards walking our way, armed and ready. Hosnian Prime must've changed a lot of things.
30 ABE
Unknown Space
A lone ship drops out of hyperspace in a dark corner of Wild Space, a Predator-class Star Destroyer of the long-dead Imperium. Along its black hull are long, blood-red lines. This ship, called the Last Command, serves as the flagship for Xellius Rowe, former Sith Praetor of the Imperium and now commander of the Praetoriate, the last vestige of the Imperium.
Exiting the holo-communications room is a man dressed in steel gray armor. Black robes lie underneath this armor and at his waist, the hilt of a double-lightsaber hangs, light from the ceiling reflecting off it. Walking to the panoramic viewport, he stops to gaze out at the darkness of space.
His ship has entered a dark corner of Wild Space on the last command of his master, Darth Pravus, former Dark Lord of the Sith, Emperor of the Imperium, and now, a distant memory. Placing a hand on his stomach, he feels the long patch of synthskin stretching from his right thigh to his left hip, an unnatural feeling. Thirteen years ago, when Xellius had led the Praetors, Pravus led an assault on the Core world of Atrisia.
This assault was a test of both the New Republic and of its burgeoning champion, Cade Valdarin. Near the end of the battle, Pravus had cornered the Jedi and a group of Republic soldiers. On the command of Darth Pravus, he and Sheratan, a fellow Praetor, attacked. Eventually, he and Cade engaged in a duel, a duel that ended with a lightsaber strike across his lower abdomen.
"My lord?" an electronic voice shakes him from his thoughts. A glance behind him reveals a Shadow Knight, one of the last creations of Pravus before his death. The Juggernauts were the first attempt at infusing the Force into a being, at first being little more than mindless, feral killing machines. The end result was beyond amazing, turning them into silent sentinels, impervious to pain and living up to their name. A side product of the refined Juggernaut was the Shadow Knight, an evolution of the Inquisitors under the Empire.
"My lord, we have arrived at the coordinates you provided," the knight says, handing a datapad to Xellius.
"Very well. What news from the First Order?"
"Reports indicate the Battle of Crait was won, although a small portion of the Resistance managed to escape. There are also reports that Luke Skywalker was killed." Ah yes, Xellius thinks to himself, that would explain the disturbance in the Force.
Looking out into the void, a dark object comes into view. A planet, or rather, part of one. Millenia ago, Nakrem was an actual planet that suffered a natural cataclysm. This event led to chunks of the world flying into space, with this particular one, also called Nakrem, being the largest. It was here, this particular chunk of the former planet, that the Sith, before their public defeat millennia ago, hid some of their finest legions, including soldiers and Dark Jedi.
This hidden force, called the Carbonite Army, was more than enough to take several star systems and hidden when it was realized the Sith would lose the ancient war with the Jedi. The last command Pravus had given him was to find these lost legions and continue the war against the New Republic. Xellius had done as he was told, scouring Wild Space in search until he had felt the death of his master. Pravus had launched an all-out assault against the Core World of Chandrila, home of Cade Valdarin and capital of the New Republic. He was nearly victorious but in the end, it was all for nought for the Force was with Valdarin that day.
For a time, he was without direction from his master. But then, when it seemed all was lost, a secret communique was received. Snoke, leader of the First Order, had called a conclave between the most powerful Imperial Remnants: the Graal Hegemony, the Black Nova Pirates, the First Order, and now the Praetoriate. The conclave had determined to use a new weapon, named Starkiller, to eventually attack the New Republic.
While the New Republic was naively de-militarized, a new branch, called the New Republic Scout Service, presented a true threat in Wild Space. This branch served as a proxy government and had a military force appropriate for their mission. Xellius had agreed to remove this threat in order to fulfill Pravus' desire to rebuild the empire.
He walks down the steel-gray corridor with the Shadow Knight at his side. The Praetoriate, while not having nearly the resources of the Imperium, has enough to be a force to be reckoned with. Walking past an open door, he sees a tall, white-armored solider. A Juggernaut, one of the greatest weapons of the Imperium, save for Gorukar.
Arriving at the hangar, a shuttle has been prepared. An Omega-class shuttle, a cousin of the Upsilon-class utilized by the First Order. Entering the shuttle with two Shadow Knights at his side, the shuttle begins its descent. It isn't long until they touch down on the surface and, after a short walk, he finds a rock formation that does not look natural. Placing a hand on it, Xellius activates an ancient key system that uses the Force.
Slowly, two heavy blast doors, designed to look like the surrounding rock, open to reveal descending stairs. Xellius and the Knights walk down until coming to an opening leading to pitch black. He can feel the strong, tainted presence of the Force here and so lifts his hand, blasting a fan of lighting into the black. The gambit works, the lighting is absorbed into a device on the ceiling of the cavernous area, lighting the whole area and revealing thousands and thousands of frozen soldiers, there are even quite a few with lightsabers in hand.
Smiling to himself, he remembers the words of Priestess Sehai, his caretaker in the Watchers of The Beyond, the sith cult that raised him. Sehai had told him he was destined for great things. Then the words of his master ring in his ears: This war will end soon, Xellius. The young Jedi and I will fight a battle for the ages but the future is always in motion. I cannot see the outcome. You will go back to Wild Space. You are to find the Carbonite Army. One day, it will be your time to strike….
Yes it will be, he thinks. First, the Scout Service will be destroyed. Then, the New Republic… _
30 ABE
Had Abbadon - Deep Core
Cade Valdarin
The others head off to meet Wodi at the main landing pad while I head to the reflecting pool. This pool, like many places on Had Abbadon, is a font of Force energy, a conduit. Thanks to my experiences during the Battle of Chandrila, my connection to the Force has become very powerful. From Had Abbadon, I can see many things, my senses strong enough to cover the galaxy. I reach out and find the familiar presence of Amminius Sinan and hone in on him. The process takes me to the Millenium Falcon, having just left Crait.
Concentrating my energy, I create an illusion of myself. I close my eyes and when I open them again, I'm aboard the Millennium Falcon. In the engine room, I think. I look around and see a very familiar shape, Luke's old droid, R2-D2. He starts beeping in alarm until I step into the light. He calms down and I place a hand on his dome.
"It's been a while, old friend. I'm sorry about Luke." He beeps a sad tone and goes back to his work on the engine. I walk down the hallway to the crew quarters, letting the emotions of those onboard bombard my senses, from bleak optimism to blanket despair.
Eventually, I come to the crew quarters to see soldiers lying on the floor, slumped over a Sabacc table, or having hushed conversations when a soldier in a black leather jacket sees me and immediately grabs a rifle.
"Woah! Who are you? You weren't on this ship when we left!" I raise a finger and the rifle goes back down.
"Be at ease, Poe Dameron. I'm here because your commander asked me to be."
He gives a puzzled stare, "How do you know…"
"I knew your parents during the civil war, Shara and Kes." Leia and Rey walk in a moment later.
"Poe, who is this?" Leia asks.
"I don't know, ma'am, but he says you asked him to be here."
"Cade… Cade Valdarin?"
I remove my hood and hear several gasps from the small crowd that has gathered. I glance around and see several people who I fought alongside during the Imperium War and my eyes come to settle on two distinct faces: Amminius Sinan, an Infiltrator, a master spy for the Republic, and Allan Coates.
"Amminius, Allan, am I glad to see you two are alright," I say, walking over to them and shaking hands.
"Likewise, kid, glad to see you haven't aged a day," Amminius says before looking at Poe. "Dameron, stow that rifle!" He smiles before looking me over. "You're not really here, are you?"
"That's right, Amm. I'm still on Had Abbadon."
"Ah, so Wodi found you after all, good. I believe someone here will be glad to see you even more than I am." We look towards the back of the room where Leia and Rey are standing and I walk over to them.
"Leia," I say, taking her hand. "I'm sorry about Han and Luke. If I had been there with Luke at the beginning, I could have stopped all this."
She looks at me with kind eyes. "Don't blame yourself, Cade. Maybe you weren't meant to help then but now." I return the smile and turn to Rey, who has a confused look on her face.
"Did I say something wrong?" I ask her and she shakes her head.
"No, nothing wrong. It's just that, well, Master Skywalker didn't mention you a whole lot. In fact, he said you were dead." I look at Amm and we both laugh a little.
"A necessary deception, I'm sorry. But I had to keep Ben and the First Order off my tail somehow if I was going to continue my work."
Rey's eyes go wide, "You mean I'm not the last Jedi?"
"Yes, only two others beside myself but it's better than nothing," I say, causing her to smile.
"So, Cade, will you help us against the First Order?" Leia asks. I shake my head and hear many sighs from the small crowd.
"Surely you all have heard Jevin's message by now?" I see nods all around. "Then you know that as bad as things look now, they will get worse. The Republic is weak, vulnerable." I look at Leia again, "No, Leia, I am going into Wild Space. I sense something dark is happening out there and that darkness frightens me more than even Darth Pravus."
"Do you know if the Republic is trying to build a defense?" Leia asks.
"Leia, I served with Jevin for a long time. Trust me when I say he will never put politics ahead of defense. Now I must go, I'm heading off to Empress Teta. I'll try to coordinate our efforts with the rest of the New Republic."
Amm nods his understanding and as I turn, he comes up behind me. "Hey, Cade. These soldiers just went through a lot, maybe you can say something?" I turn back and see many faces staring at me, some familiar and many unfamiliar.
"I know many of you have lost a great deal today but those of you who fought in the war, you know it can get much worse than this. A great deal of the Resistance is gone but you are still here. You are the voice that says we will not bow to tyranny and oppression ever again and we will fight back until our dying breath.
It may seem like you are alone in this fight but you are never alone. The slow wheels of the Republic have started to spin and hope has been rekindled. While you live, the Resistance will never die."
I look around at those gathered around me. "Are you with me?"
"Hooyah," some murmur.
"Are you with me!?"
"HOOYAH!"
Amminius places a hand on my shoulder. "You sure know how to get a crowd motivated." I turn around and shake his hand, clapping him on the back as well.
"Be safe, Amm. I will try to communicate with you and Leia as much as possible but you know how it is."
He chuckles. "That I do, that I do. May the Force be with you." I smile again and look at Rey, with whom I have already created a telepathic link. We will speak again, in private. I bid them farewell and let go of the illusion, opening my eyes again to see the reflecting pool on Had Abbadon.
I feel Wodi's presence and his emotions flutter as he meets Sonya and is introduced to Volke and Ida. Standing, I palm the hilt of my lightsaber and think of how the Republic won against the Imperium. It was slow at first, loss after loss.
I still remember the massacre at Damaria. But after the Battle of Belkadan, the Republic picked up, those wheels were working overtime. Jevin and Tor will keep the Republic strong, I think to myself as I walk to the main hall, seeing the beautiful tapestries hanging from the smooth, carved stone walls, still vibrant despite millenia of abandonment. I reach the main hall and open the door to see Wodi conversing with Sonya. He turns around, a grin on his face. "Well well, welcome back from the dead, Master Jedi!"
30 ABE
Had Abbadon - Deep Core
Cade Valdarin
I laugh and embrace Wodi, "You've aged," I say, a playful tease in my voice.
"Glad to see you haven't aged a day, kid," he responds, looking me over.
"Well, training and sparring constantly for five years will do that for you."
"Hey, maybe you could give me some lessons!" He looks over at Volke and Ida. "You're making me feel like a grandfather, Cade," he says, shaking his head. I acknowledge the comment but my thoughts lie elsewhere.
Wodi lets out a sigh and looks at me. "I assume you know why I'm here?" I nod and beckon him to walk with me, Sonya joining us while Volke stays with Ida.
"Yes, I'm aware of current events. This place, Wodi, this place is extremely strong in the Force, my senses here can stretch across the whole galaxy. I saw and felt Hosnian Prime's destruction, Han's death, Rey's burgeoning presence in the Force. I felt it all."
Wodi glances around. "How did you stay supplied if you couldn't be in public?"
"Please, Wodi, I'm a Jedi. To cloak myself from the view of others is simple. And I had Sonya, who could travel anywhere. People would assume she was on another treasure hunt." Wodi doesn't say anything but he notices my grimace.
"Cade, what's wrong?" We come to a room with a large hologram of the galaxy, a room used when this place was the heart of the Jedi Order during the wars with the Sith. I input the coordinates for Crait.
"That's Crait," he says, confusion on his face. "It used to be a Rebel outpost but it's nothing anymore. What's on Crait other than salt flats and some local wildlife?"
"Wodi, after the evacuation from D'qar, the Resistance was hunted relentlessly by the First Order. The Raddus was destroyed above Crait but the rest of the Resistance forces managed to get planetside." I sit down and notice Wodi listening intently, I can see his hand trembling too.
"From what I could tell, many soldiers lost their lives until I felt a familiar presence."
"What do you mean?"
"It was Luke, Wodi. Luke projected a powerful illusion of himself to Crait. He managed to hold off the First Order long enough for what remained of the Resistance to escape on the Falcon…"
"What happened to Luke then?"
I sigh, remembering how it felt when I was pouring my strength into Luke to help him hold onto the illusion long enough to do what needed to be done and then I felt him pass from the world after a final farewell. "Luke is dead, Wodi," I say to him in a low tone.
"Dead? That... that can't be." I look at him, he can see how serious I am. "Cade, I'm so sorry."
I stop him, holding my hand up. "Don't be. Luke died a true Jedi. I could ask for nothing more for my friend. He is with the Force now, he is always with us." He nods in response.
"Do you know what happened to Leia and the rest?"
"I actually was just speaking with them. Amminius is fine. They made it out, barely. But they are okay."
"We're leaving so soon?" he asks as we step out onto the landing pad.
"Wodi, there's no time to waste. Jevin is on Empress Teta. We'll catch up with him and see just what state the New Republic is in."
"You aren't going alone," Sonya says, catching up with us.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Volke and Ida are coming too." Volke silently appears in front of us and Wodi jumps a little, his armored shoulder piece clanging slightly.
"Kriff, Cade, didn't you get enough of that from the Praetors?"
"Volke used to be a bounty hunter, it's a natural talent." He nods as we board our fighters and Sonya, Ida, and Volke board the Phoenix. I hear a flickering in my headset and Wodi comes on the line, I can see through the display it is only the two of us.
"So, Cade, you and Sonya? What's up between you?"
"Hmm, nothing is up. We're friends. I know what you are thinking. Alone with here in my exile and all but no. We called that off years ago and resolved to be friends."
"Ida, quiz time: What do you know about Empress Teta?" I say over the comlink after we enter hyperspace.
"Empress Teta, Koros Sector, Empress Teta system. The world is a "Coruscant" of the Deep Core, a major trade hub and a major supplier of refined carbonite. The planet is sometimes called Cinnagar due to the capital, Cinnagar, covering the planet's surface."
I smile, she's a bright one alright. "We are entering the system in three, two, one," Sonya relays over the comm. We drop into realspace and right away Wodi whistles in appreciation.
"Check out that fleet overhead, they mean business." I see what he means: several Starhawks, MC80s, MC85s, and a multitude of other Republic cruisers. I even see some Mandalorian dreadnoughts mixed in and at least one Katarn-class cruiser, the ship of the line of the Wookiee Defense Force.
"Unidentified ships, you have entered a New Republic protected zone, security systems are tracking your position now. State your business."
"Wow, they are not joking around, usually it's a more cordial greeting," Wodi says.
"Wodi, let me do the identifying, this will be fun." I look into the display, showing a Twi'lek in a junior officer uniform. "Authorization Alpha-Besh One-Ex."
"Just a moment sir… that code belongs to a dead man!"
"Well technically speaking, I was," I say, chuckling. I hear a raised voice in the background and the officer stands up and moves, a familiar face replacing him. Jevin Corso, High General of the New Republic Army and a very good friend.
"Sorry about that, Cade. I should have told him you'd be coming. I'm sending you landing coordinates, we have much to talk about."
30 ABE
Empress Teta - Deep Core
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
As we fly in closer to the band of New Republic ships floating over Empress Teta, the lead one, an old Rebellion-era MC80 star cruiser, disgorges two X-wing fighters from its hangar bay, no doubt to escort us. The two fighters circle around and settle in on either side of our group, directing us toward the large open bay of the MC80. We pass through the protective barrier shield and settle down on the deck amongst a motley assortment of fighter craft, from A-wings to Y-wings, and even an old Nu-class shuttle, a shuttle model used by the Republic during the Clone Wars.
Unhooking my crash webbing, I open my canopy and descend the ladder to join Cade on the deck. Sonya and the others soon join us. I take a moment to gaze around the hangar, taking in every detail. Although not as hectic as the bays of the cruisers I remember during the war, the hangar is still bustling with droids, pilots, and tech officers going about their business.
My gaze finally settles on a middle-aged man in a New Republic captain's uniform walking briskly toward our group from across the hangar, flanked by two fleet troopers carrying EL-16s. Upon reaching us, the captain offers a crisp salute and a smile. "Welcome to the Restoration. General Corso is expecting you on the bridge. This way."
"Hold on a second," I say to the captain as we follow him past rows of fighters, "isn't this the cruiser-"
"That defended Naboo from Operation Cinder? Yes, it is," he finishes my sentence, smiling once more. "She took a few hits from a Star Destroyer, but still managed to come out on top." The captain nods, his mind clearly years back at Naboo as mine had been moments ago.
I glance back at the others to see how they're doing. Cade appears lost in thought, but gives me a warm smile when he sees me looking at him. Sonya and Volke are conversing about something, and Ida, well, if she were to turn her head any faster, it would swivel clean off. The young Iridonian girl appears to be simply fascinated with her surroundings, looking this way and that at every small thing she passes.
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" I call back to her, smiling. Entering a large corridor broken up by large viewports showcasing a starry expanse, we stop at a turbolift.
"This'll take us right up," the captain says as he calls the lift.
"So what have you been doing all this time?" I ask as we enter the lift. This fleet, I mean?"
"Well, after Naboo, a section of the fleet, including the Restoration, was sent to the Arkanis sector. We were stationed there for quite some time, overseeing and aiding the rebuilding there. When the Imperium War broke out, we were one of the first responders to arrive at Damaria." A shiver runs up my spine at the mention and memory of our first encounter with the Imperium. "After Damaria," the captain continues, "we were sent to aid the surviving populations of worlds devastated by Gorukar."
"Quite a service record," Sonya pipes up. The captain nods.
"Thank the stars we were late to the summit at Hosnian Prime…" he trails off mid-sentence, his expression one of deep pain, and is silent. The rest of the journey to the bridge is quiet.
As we step onto the Restoration's bridge, I can't help but crack a smile. Just as I remember it, alive with communications officers in tan and blue tunics, senior personnel, and blinking display monitors. Waiting for us at the large central holotable, flanked by several senior ranking officers clutching datapads is a familiar face.
"Jevin Corso!" I grin, holding out my hand. "It's so good to see you!"
"Wodi, am I glad to see you," Jevin says, his usual stony demeanor cracking for a moment and he reaches out to clasp my hand in a firm grip. "I just wish it were under better circumstances." Cade grins at Jevin and pulls him into a hug. Jevin, clearly taken off guard, simply pats Cade on the back twice. Sonya also shakes his hand and I can almost see the stress rolling off of him. He gestures to a gold R7 astromech droid, which plugs into a socket and activates the projector.
Panels on the main viewport slide down to block out the glare from the star and the noise aboard the bridge quiets as everyone listens. The lights dim. "Right, so we're all aware of the threat the First Order poses to us at the moment. We've just received official reports from the Resistance's engagement on Crait, and the numbers don't look good. They lost a lot of people down there. We're scrambling what little we have to help."
Jevin touches a button on the holotable and a magnified image of the once-whole Hosnian Prime and her surrounding planets: Cardota, Courtsillius, Hosnian, and Raysho, appear. My throat constricts. "As you know, the New Republic held a summit to deal with the First Order. The bulk of our fleet was called in to attend it." Jevin presses another button, and the Hosnian system blinks orange before winking out of existence. A collective shudder rolls around the bridge.
"The cataclysm destroyed most of the fleet stationed at Hosnian Prime but ships on the outskirts managed to jump to nearby systems. Transmissions were scrambled every which way but there was one that was sent under the radar, trying to avoid detection." Jevin taps a switch and a barely intelligible audio log plays, broken up by strange guttural sounds and bursts of static.
I look at Sonya and she shakes her head, clearly as confused as I am. Cade, however, straightens and turns slightly rigid and pale at the transmission. I shoot him a look but Cade stares straight ahead, seemingly unaware of my gaze, of anything at all, really. Slightly unnerved, I look back at Jevin.
"We couldn't figure it out but we knew the people who could."
The Scout Service, I think to myself. Those guys could make sense out of anything, even something as meaningless as the audio log. "At first," Jevin says, "the Scout Service couldn't make anything out of it either. They cross-referenced Imperial and Imperium data packets to decipher a small portion of the message."
He nods to one of the officers holding a datapad, who reads off several words from his screen: "Carbonite, legions, and Xellius." I gasp and I'm not the only one. The other words don't resonate with me nearly as much as the last one does. I look at Cade again, who grips the edge of the holotable hard, his knuckles turning white. Xellius alive ...but how?
Nervous and curious whispers break out. Jevin holds up his hand for silence. "I'm not sure how Xellius is alive but it doesn't matter, what matters is that he is a very real threat. The Service stressed to me in this report that there's something that Xellius is seeking, judging by the tone and encryption of the message. With the First Order on our hands, we have enough to deal with right now. Our fleet is stretched very thin at the moment, and we can't commit anyone to go to Odessen."
Jevin turns towards me, "That's where your group comes in. I'm sending you to Odessen to discover more about what Xellius is up to. Despite rumors that Supreme Leader Snoke is dead, we can't afford to let our guard down. Not now. If the First Order attacks Empress Teta, or any nearby system, we need to be ready."
A chime ends the briefing, the panels over the viewport windows lift, and the lights brighten. Chatter and movement again fill the bridge. Jevin deactivates the projector and turns to us once more, sighing deeply. "This revelation is downright scary to say the least."
I nod grimly, "You can say that again. We just managed to repair the leak, and now it's dripping again."
"Don't worry, Jevin," Cade says, his voice full of determination, "if Xellius is planning something, I won't let it happen." Jevin offers him a grateful nod.
"Then get to it. We can't be divided on two fronts." He turns back toward the two officers.
"Come on," I say to the others, walking briskly back toward the turbolift, "let's see what we've got on Odessen."
30 ABE
Space
Cade Valdarin
After leaving Empress Teta behind, with a large New Republic fleet guarding it, we enter hyperspace for the long journey to Odessen, a world just barely inside Wild Space, home of the Bureau of Scouting and Explorations Services, more commonly called the New Republic Scout Service. I'm still in disbelief, Xellius alive? I should have sensed it.
Thirteen years ago, at the Battle of Atrisia, I defeated Xellius during our duel. He was near-fatally wounded but still alive and taken prisoner. But the transport he was on was destroyed in an Imperium attack and there were no survivors. He should be dead. I'll figure out soon enough what had transpired that day. I tell Ratchet to take control of the fighter. "Don't worry, buddy. I'm just going to talk to a friend."
I focus my senses and again come to the Millenium Falcon, the remains of the Resistance searching for a new base. Rey… I say through our link, Rey… Finally it connects and I can feel her confusion. I tell her to close her eyes and breathe, she does so and so do I.
When I open them again, we are both in a gray, misty fog, Rey standing a few paces away from me. "You can open them now," I say, chuckling a little.
"Where… where are we?" she asks incredulously.
"We are nowhere; you are with Leia and I am traveling through hyperspace as we speak." I see the confused look on her face. "Rey, this is what your mind created in response to the telepathic link I created between you and I, maybe this will help. Think of the Falcon." She closes her eyes and our surroundings change to the crew cabin of the ship.
"Where is everyone?" she asks, slightly worried.
"Like I said, Rey, this isn't real, it's just imagery your mind and mine are using to represent what is happening between us."
She nods in understanding, "So, Master Valdarin, tell me…"
"Please, call me Cade, I hate titles."
"Cade, I have a question. When you were first here, well not really "here" I guess, your presence felt so big, more so than Master Skywalker, why is that?"
"Luke had cut himself off from the Force when he failed Ben. As for me, I had become one with the Force twelve years ago at the Battle of Chandrila and my connection to the Force has only become stronger."
"But… How powerful are you?"
"Rey, I created a telepathic bond between you and I, without you knowing it, what does that tell you?" She gives me a look and I close my eyes, enhancing my presence in the Force. I hear a gasp and open my eyes again to see a somewhat startled look on her face.
"Woah... if you are that powerful, why did you hide from the galaxy?"
"I have my own path to follow."
"Then… will you train me?"
"No, I won't." I say, shaking my head.
"But why?" Rey asks, a hint of frustration in her voice.
"Rey, there's nothing I can teach you that you don't already know yourself. The key to being a good Jedi is something that can be taught. But to be a great Jedi? That requires knowledge of self and that I cannot teach you." She nods slightly in response.
"If you need to contact me, all you have to do," I say, gesturing around us, "is focus on my presence in the Force. I will contact you again soon, may the Force be with you."
30 ABE
Odessen - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
We drop out of hyperspace to see a beautiful green and blue world: Odessen, a world chosen by the New Republic as the headquarters of the New Republic Scout Service. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" Wodi says over the intercom. My display screen suddenly shows static and then the face of a Duros Lieutenant.
"Attention unidentified ships, you have entered New Republic territory. State your identity or you will be impounded." I gaze out at space and notice that several squadrons of T-85 X-wings were lying in wait.
"Identification code: Quix-gamma-sigma-zed-578."
"One moment," the lieutenant responds. "Codes check out, welcome to Odessen, Colonel Quix."
"I have Cade Valdarin and Sonya Ravenclaw with me."
I can see on the screen a look of confusion, "Cade Valdarin is de… please hold a moment." He leaves the screen.
"See? This is what we get for playing up your death," Wodi says teasingly.
The Duros comes back. "You are cleared to land, I'm sending coordinates now. The Colonel will love this." The screen winks out.
"Well, let's head in," I say as we angle down towards the planet. Breaking the upper atmosphere, I see just how beautiful this world is. There is a large, clear ocean with large land masses dotting the horizon. I look at my scanners to see the largest landmass, the one that serves as the base for the Scout Service. The landmass is covered in a majestic forest, with trees rivaling the height of those on the Forest Moon of Endor.
As we fly over the continent, I see a troupe of soldiers going through physical exercises. "Hey, look at that! I made some of those maneuvers for the SHARCs!" Wodi come to a large lake being fed by the ocean, the base being built into a cliff overlooking it, having been built so as to not marr the natural scenery.
"They sent landing coordinates," Sonya says, my console displaying a string of numbers. Huge bay doors slide apart, revealing a hangar brimming with ships, from T-85 X-wings to B-wing MK IIs, Y-wings, A-wings, and the bay is large enough to hold several corvette-size ships. Touching down on the bay floor, I exit my fighter and Ratchet rolls up next to me. Wodi walks forward and lets out a whistle.
"I knew a lot of vets from the Imperium War came here, but damn…"
A petite Human female, shoulder-length brunette hair, comes over our way. The rank insignia on her chest shows she's a private. "Welcome to Odessen, Colonel Quix. The administrator is expecting you." She turns my way and just stops, as if seeing a ghost, and her mouth drops a little.
Sonya comes up to her. "Yes, he's real, honey."
She shakes her head and shakes my hand. "Master Valdarin, I've heard so much about you, please follow me to the administrator's office."
"Looks like you have a fan," Sonya says playfully. On the way, I see just how much the Scout Service has expanded since the last time I was here. There are aliens that I have never seen before, and the armor and weapon kits have clearly been updated.
"The Service has grown since I was last here."
"Before you "died", you mean," Wodi says with a snicker.
"Yes, we have," the woman says. "Several very promising alliances were made with new species, several resource-rich worlds were discovered, and recently, the Administrator and Colonel Skyes were in talks to secure an alliance with the Nuvindi Dynasty… speaking of which, there's their shuttle now. Here we are, they have already been notified of your presence and will be here momentarily."
Before long, I hear a very familiar Coruscanti accent and Gavin Skyes, one of my closest friends and Wodi's former pupil, enters the room. He looks at Wodi and extends his hand. "Colonel, it's always a pleasure to see you." Wodi says likewise. He turns to Sonya, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it. "Ma'am, you are as beautiful as ever."
Lastly, he looks at me, a sour look in his eyes. I didn't tell him years ago about the plan to fake my death. After a tense silence, his eyes light up and a huge smile crosses his face. "I knew there was something off about you dying from a shuttle accident, come here!"
We clap each other on the back. "Good to see you, Gavin. I assume Jevin already contacted you?"
"Yes, he did. Jevin is one tough murglak. I have already alerted Intel to be on the lookout for anything in regards to this "Praetoriate". So, who are these two?" he asks, looking at Volke and Ida.
"This is Volke. My first student."
"You're a Nagai," Wodi says in an approving tone; when the Scout Service helped the Nagai retake their world, they proved how skilled they were in combat.
"Thank you, for helping free my world years ago," Volke says, shaking his hand.
"And this little girl," I say, putting my hands on her shoulders, "is Ida, my current student."
Gavin looks at me, at Sonya, then at Ida. "Cade, did you settle down and start a family?" he says, laughing when a woman walks in, much shorter than Gavin, a bureaucratic air about her, brown hair with silver streaks here and there.
"Cade, Wodi, Sonya, I'd like to introduce you to Administrator Terena Adare, the political leader of the Scout Service."
"Colonel Quix, let me just say it is an honor to have you here. You as well, Miss Ravenclaw." She looks at me and just stares for a time. "I'm sorry Jedi Knight, it's just that… well I was on Chandrila at that final battle. I remember seeing you and Gorukar falling from the sky. It's an honor to finally meet you. Let's get to business. We have discovered some disturbing information coming from the Teth. This is a transmission we intercepted."
A good deal of white noise plays. "...transfer of….rik to...Teth System….or glory of….arth Pravus. Shipment of...nauts to...First Order."
"That's damning evidence that something is going down on Teth," I say, palming my lightsaber.
"I agree, Colonel Skyes has already authorized the Expeditionary Assault and Tactics Unit to join you on Teth."
30 ABE
Odessen - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
My X-wing drops out of hyperspace to hang above Odessen, a scenic forested planet orbiting binary suns. I've only ever visited the world once, and that was a few years after the Battle of Chandrila. It looks like nothing's changed. I hear Ida gasp in awe over the comm and smile. "She's a beauty isn't she?" I say, checking my scopes as we head closer. Suddenly, my display monitor fizzes to life and the aqua blue complexion and red eyes of a Duros fill my screen.
"Attention unidentified ships," the alien says, his voice authoritative, "you have entered New Republic territory. State your identity or you will be impounded." Movement off towards Odessen catches my eye and I see a flight of T-85 X-wing fighters heading towards our position causing Spanner to beep with concern.
Smiling and shaking my head, I thumb the communication switch, "Identification code Quiz-gamma-sigma-sed-five-seven-eight."
"One moment," the Duros says, looking off screen. "Code checks out. Welcome to Odessen, Colonel Quix."
"Thank you. I have Cade Valdarin and Sonya Ravenclaw with me."
The Duros blinks his large red eyes in surprise. "You have who with you? Cade Valdarin is dead-," the Duros shakes his large blue head and gets up from his chair. "Please hold a moment."
"See," I say to Cade over the comm in a whimsical tone, "this is what we get for playing up your death." Cade chuckles.
The Duros reappears on my screen and clears his throat before speaking, "You are cleared to land, I'm sending you coordinates now." A string of landing coordinates flashes yellow on my monitor. I touch another button near the screen to confirm them. "The colonel will love this," the Duros says, more to himself than to us. With another flicker, he disappears and my monitor goes back to its original display.
"Well," I say, clapping my gloved hands together, "let's head in." Leading the way, I ease my fighter forward and we break the atmosphere, flying high above a vast canopy of forest, the flight of T-85 X-wings following. Banking left, we head out towards a vast ocean with a single large landmass in the middle: the headquarters of the Scout Service. As we fly over the single continent, I spy a large parade ground where a group of soldiers are going through a set of very familiar exercises. I grin, recognizing my own maneuvers I helped develop for the New Republic, a sense of pride going through me.
"Would you look at that," I say to the others over the comm, "I made some of those maneuvers for the SHARCs!" We draw nearer to the base, the Scout Service headquarters built right into the natural rock of the mountain, overlooking a large lake that feeds into the ocean.
The coordinates I have on my screen blink twice, and below us, a large set of bay doors begins to part, revealing the hangar within. As we enter, a tech with orange glowrods directs us to separate bays. The hangar, just like the Restoration, is packed with fighter craft and even with space to spare for several corvette-sized ships.
Cables snake everywhere, and crates and containers are stacked, several high, all along the walls. People and droids tread across the floor, carrying supply containers or working on fighters. I exit my craft and join Cade and Ratchet on the ground and let out a whistle of appreciation. "I knew a lot of vets from the Imperium War came here, but damn…"
I let the sentence trail off, turning to get the full scope of the bustling room. Sonya and the others sidle up, Ida looking mesmerized by all the ships. A young woman with brunette hair peeking out from under a cap comes our way, the rank plaque on her chest pocket identifying her as a private, a datapad swinging from her hip.
Walking up to me, she smiles broadly and extends her hand. "Welcome to Odessen, Colonel Quix. The Administrator is expecting you. Let's head-'' She stops mid sentence as she turns and sees Cade, her mouth opening in almost comical shock and surprise.
Sonya places a hand on the young woman's shoulder, giving her a roguish smile. "Yes, he's real, honey." The private exits her daze and eagerly grabs Cade's hand from his side, shaking it enthusiastically.
"Master Valdarin, I've heard so much about you! It's an honor to have you here as well! Follow me to the Administrator's office." She gives us all a radiant smile and turns, leading us through the hubbub. I grin at Cade, whose ears are still slightly red from embarrassment, as we follow the eager private.
Sonya, also grinning, squeezes Cade's arm. "Looks like you have a fan!"
"The Service has grown since I was last here," Cade remarks, glancing around at the soldiers we pass, decked out in camouflaged tunics and gray armor pieces.
"Before you "died", you mean," I reply jokingly with a smothered laugh.
"Yes, we have," the private turns, hearing Cades's comment. "Several very promising alliances were made with new species, several resource-rich worlds were discovered, and recently, the Administrator and Colonel Skyes were in talks to secure an alliance with the Nuvindi Dynasty… speaking of which, there's their shuttle now." Entering a spacious office, she turns to face us. "Here we are, they have already been notified of your presence and will be here momentarily."
The private bids us a big smile and heads off. The office is comfortably furnished, with several chairs, a sofa, a blue plasteel desk, and a large window overlooking the ocean on one side. I walk over to the desk and pick up a trinket on its surface, turning it over in my hands.
I put the object back as the door opens once more to admit the new occupant: Gavin Skyes, dressed in a forest green tunic, a stark contrast to the black-armored suit he had worn during his time as a Rancor Assault Trooper, sporting a beard, and a broad smile. Although a few years older, Gavin is just as I remember him. The younger man walks to me and extends a hand, which I shake, smiling broadly in return. "Colonel, always a pleasure to see you," Gavin says.
"Likewise, and it's Wodi to you, Gavin." Gavin chuckles and moves on to Sonya, whom he kisses on the hand.
"Ma'am, you are as beautiful as ever." Next he turns to Cade, and his warm expression grows sour for an instant, but is soon replaced with a genial smile. "I knew there was something off about you dying from a shuttle accident, come here!" He claps Cade on the back, Cade returning the gesture, this time no embarrassment showing in his face.
"It's good to see you, Gavin," Cade says, letting go of him. "I assume Jevin already contacted you?"
"Yes, he did," Gavin replies in an official tone, getting back to business. "Jevin is one tough murglak," he adds, his official tone gone for a second, but returning with his next words. "I have already alerted Intelligence to be on the lookout for anything in regards to this "Praetoriate." Gavin seems to notice Ida and Volke for the first time."So, who are these two?"
"This is Volke," Cade says, gesturing to the blue humanoid. "My first student."
Gavin looks him over, "You're a Nagai."
Volke nods, taking Gavin's hand, "Thank you for helping to free my world years back."
"And this little girl," Cade says, putting his hands on Ida's shoulders in a fatherly sort of way, "is Ida, my current student." Gavin raises an eyebrow and looks at Cade, Sonya, and Ida.
"Cade," he chuckles, "did you settle down and start a family?" Before Cade can respond, the door slides open once more to admit another officer. Unlike Gavin's green tunic, she wears a tan one. She's a couple of heads shorter than Gavin, and her shoulder length brown hair is flecked with streaks of gray.
"Cade, Wodi, Sonya," Gavin says gesturing respectfully towards the woman, "I'd like to introduce you to Administrator Terena Adare, the political leader of the Scout Service." Terena smiles and nods my way.
"Colonel Quix, let me just say it is an honor to have you here."
"Thank you," I reply, nodding and returning her smile. Terena next greets Sonya, who offers her thanks. Terena stops at Cade. Bewildered for a moment, she shakes her head.
"I'm sorry, Jedi Knight, it's just that, well, I was on Chandrila at that final battle. I remember seeing you and Gorukar falling from the sky." She straightens and smiles again, "It's an honor to finally meet you. Now," Terena says, now in a serious tone, "let's get to business. We have discovered some disturbing information coming from Teth. Take a listen."
Unhooking a datapad from her belt and giving it a few taps, she holds it out, and a garbled message plays. "... transfer of... rik to... Teth System... or glory of… arth Pravus. Shipment of... gernauts to... First Order."
It's not much, but what I do hear is not good. If the message is saying what I think it is, then that means the Praetoriate is going to send Juggernauts; huge, mutated experimental soldiers, into the grasp of the First Order, all in the name of our old friend, Pravus. And it's going down on Teth.
Cade seems to have reached a similar conclusion. He straightens, looking at Terena. "That's damning evidence that something is going down on Teth." Terena nods gravely.
"I agree. Gavin has already authorized the Expeditionary Assault and Tactics Unit to join you on Teth. We-" Her voice fades out and a sick feeling is growing in my gut. As if the First Order wasn't bad enough, now they're bringing Juggernauts into the equation. My right hand begins to twitch, and I clench it into a fist. If the First Order is going to pick up a shipment of those monsters at Teth from the Praetoriate, we'll be there to say a few things.
30 ABE
Empress Teta - Deep Core
Jevin Corso
Sitting at my holo-table, I mull over troop movements. I just received a call from Lannik Endel, once Wodi's second, now Field Commander of the Special Hazards and Reconnaissance Commandos. A contingency order was given a few years back: Advisor Ponith was keenly aware of the First Order's transgressions, having aided the Imperium during the war. Tor had, with the Chancellor's approval, ordered special forces groups into long-term assignments in deep space, so that when the First Order inevitably attacked, these groups could surprise them.
The attack was a little more than anticipated but nevertheless, Special Forces units, from the premier SHARCs to Intelligence's Infiltrator units, are already performing secret missions against the First Order. I'm about to order some more movements when I hear a knock on the door. "Come," I say, still looking at the table. I look up and see Neggi, a Kage male, who served as a sniper during the Battle of Chandrila twelve years ago.
"If it isn't my favorite Intel Analyst."
He salutes. "Sorry for the interruption, sir, but there's something you need to see." He pulls out a memory stick and places it on the table, the interactive surface reading it immediately. It pulls up a holo of the galaxy, zooming in on an area in the Outer Rim, the Rekhal system, a border region on the edge of the Rim and the Unknown Regions.
"Neggi… this is the Rekhal system, it's unaffiliated."
"Correct, sir, and normally we wouldn't even look here. Rekhal has been known as a lawless system for decades, its denizens never interested in anything happening outside their space. But that's the key. No one would ever think anyone would set up shop there because it's such an unimportant system. Ever since the attack on Hosnian Prime, we have been placing reconnaissance drones in outlying systems. A drone in the Tatoo system picked this up."
He presses a switch and a speaker comes out from the table emitting the sound of static. "Much of the transmission was encrypted but we were able to make out parts of it."
"Welcome… knight of… en… First Order and Praetoriate… together well. Here are the first shipments of… uggernaut… forward to working… future. I look at Neggi, listening intently.
"We think this," he says as the holo homes in on a large asteroid, "is a communications satellite of some kind."
"Some kind?"
"The drone was able to read faint power readings from the station, much more than a normal communications satellite would generate. We think it serves as both a communications hub and an operating base for spies in our territory. Sir, we think they've been spying on us for quite some time." I nod and press a switch that activates a special hololink to both Odessen, home of the Scout Service, and to the Millennium Falcon.
After a few seconds, life-size holos of Gavin, Cade, and Leia appear. "You rang, General?" Gavin says, saluting.
"Yes, Intel has given me some information that I feel must be acted on right away. Gavin, Cade, can you divert yourselves to investigate?
"Sorry sir, we've picked up information that puts Teth as a possible Juggernaut facility," Gavin replies and I understand completely, having vivid memories of those monsters.
"Go and investigate. If it is a Juggernaut facility, take it down." I turn towards Leia's hologram. "Leia, I know you lost a lot at Crait but I need one of my best. I need Sinan for this operation."
"What's the mission?"
"There's a spy satellite in the Rekhal system that is allowing the First Order and Praetoriate to coordinate with themselves and spies in our territory." She nods, clearly seeing why this is so important: the locations of those spies can be found along with sensitive data on both the First Order and Praetoriate.
Amminius walks into the hologram, "Reporting for duty, sir."
"Amm, I'm sending you the mission brief, you're to meet up with Major Endel's SHARC team in the Tatoo system. From there, you will go to this asteroid, designated Target Besh, in the neighboring system. Board it and obtain any intel you can."
"You got it, boss. I'm looking forward to seeing Lannik again."
"I bet he is too, may the Force be with you." He nods and the holo signal for both parties drops. I stand and look at the sky, knowing that the space above is filled with New Republic ships, not as powerful as a fleet during the Imperium War, but it's something. We can survive this, we always do.
30 ABE
Odessen - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
Jevin's holo winks out and we continue our walk to a shuttle, waiting to take us to the orbiting cruiser, a Nadiri Dockyards Starhawk-class battlecruiser. While nearing the cruiser, I hear Wodi gasp. I look at where he points and see it too: the Viscount, formerly the flagship of the Republic Fleet.
"You saved her?" Wodi asks Gavin.
"Oh yeah, the Senate was about to order her decommissioned for scrap, like the Vigilance, but after all the things she had done for us, I figured she deserved better. I haggled with Republic Command and we've made some modifications. We've added some automated systems to make her less crew-intensive, but she still requires a lot of manpower."
Wodi whistles in appreciation as we glide by. Once onboard, we head to the bridge. A short while later, I walk into the corridor with Sonya, who can see something is troubling me. "Cade, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I just… it's like when we learned about the Imperium. I should have made sure Xellius was dead and now, many people will die... because of me." She looks at me and takes my hand in hers.
"Cade, no one blames you for letting Xander live; it's not weakness to show mercy, especially to an unarmed opponent. And Xellius… well he's not your fault either. I blame Pravus," she says, lightly hitting me on the shoulder.
"So buck up, Valdarin. People may and will die, there's no helping that. But we do what we can and keep trudging along. And I promise you, I will help in whatever way I can." I watch her and Ida walk down to the galley and stop to stare out at the stars, my mind drifting to how many future Jedi are out there.
Early The Next Day…
The soft chiming of a monitor on the wall wakes me from a peaceful sleep. I look at my chrono, two in the morning. I press the button and the screen shows Gavin and Wodi, decked out in armor different from the standard Scout Service kit. The NRSS isn't officially part of the New Republic military but can be called into action, if needed. So, the Scout Service needed to have its own special forces for its mission, thus the Expeditionary Assault and Tactics Unit.
"What's up, Gavin?"
"We're coming up on Teth, just thought you'd like a heads up." I put on a simple green tunic over my light shirt and exit the room for the hangar. Once there, I see Gavin has spared no expense, remembering how deadly the Juggernauts were during the Imperium War.
"Alright, Nighthawk will hold position here, just in case this is a trap, while we take the Phoenix planetside. With luck no one will recognize the ship and assume us to be smugglers or traders. Here, Quix, try this on for size." He tosses a rifle at Quix: a slimmer, more streamlined rifle from BlasTech's EL series, in a black finish.
"EL-20HAE, Heavy Assault Edition from the ACR program. R spent a few years tinkering with the EL-16. It's sturdier and packs the most recent advances in firearm technology."
Wodi looks over the rifle and takes aim. "This is a thing of beauty," he says, palming the black finish and gripping the stock, reinforced durasteel, meaning very little recoil. Grabbing one more for himself, Gavin looks at Sonya, who pats her Model-434 blaster pistol. We board the ship and take off, heading planetside.
30 ABE
Odessen - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
On the short walk back to the crowded hangar bay, I notice a change in the atmosphere of the base. The noise and energy level in the Scouting Complex seems to have been cranked up. Beings in pilot and combat gear rush past us with new vigor, shouting instructions and encouragement to one another. Even the droids seem to be affected, moving as if their servos have been given a fresh oil soak, carrying crates and hoses to waiting craft.
The energy is infectious, and I crack a grin, my spirits lifting higher than they've been in a while. I catch Cade's eye and he smiles too. We board the waiting Wolden-class shuttle and strap ourselves in. A group of EATU soldiers board with us and with a whine of engines, the shuttle takes off, heading into space to drop us off on one of the Starhawk-class battlecruisers, the Nighthawk.
Looking out the viewport at the mass of New Republic craft hanging in space, I see a new sight that makes me gasp in astonishment. I point to a very familiar elongated bulbous ship, sleek and elegant in its design. The others look to where I'm pointing, and Cade's face brightens in surprise and recognition. "That's the Viscount," I say excitedly to Gavin, sitting next to me, grinning broadly at my shock. "You saved her?" He nods.
"Oh yeah, the Senate was about to order her decommissioned for scrap, like the Vigilance, but after all the things she had done for us, I figured she deserved better. I haggled with Republic Command and we've made some modifications. We've added some automated systems to make her less crew-intensive, but she still requires a lot of manpower." I whistle, impressed, as we slide by the Viscount to land in the bay of the Nighthawk.
Stepping out of our transport and into the hangar bay, I'm immediately hit with a wall of noise. Beings are everywhere in the packed space, running with refueling hoses towards a cluster of Y-wings, carrying boxes and crates of supplies, shouting orders and maneuvers, using welding torches on berthed X-wings and B-wings, and generally making it impossible to hear.
Everyone bustles around with a mixture of nervous tension and excitement. "We're headed up to the bridge!" Gavin bellows to our little group. "Stick together!"
Ducking and weaving our way through the throng to the corridors leading out of the hangar, we board a large turbolift that takes us up to the bridge of the Nighthawk. Gavin walks over to the central command station and issues the order. As we enter hyperspace, the white stars turn to mottled blue, the thrill and dread of war again running through me.
30 ABE
Enroute to Teth - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
As the bridge crew go about their tasks, Gavin turns away from the bridge viewport to look at me, a prideful smile on his face. "Wodi, if you'll follow me down to the armory, I have something to show you. I think you'll like it."
"Perfect," I say, clapping my hands together. "Let's see what you've got! It doesn't take much to impress me these days." Cade and Sonya begin walking down a corridor in hushed conversation. Volke and Ida say that they need to meditate and head off towards the crew quarters, Gavin just on the cusp of telling them where the quarters are. I grin at his bemused expression. Readjusting my backpack and rifle on my shoulders, I follow Gavin off the bridge.
Once inside the armory, Gavin leads me past a small firing range and into blaster and munitions storage. Inside, next to a rack of older models, ranging from A-300 and A-310s to newer Relby K-25 rifles, are several sets of black-alloy composite suits sitting on low tables, complete with full-face helmets. I whistle, impressed, stepping closer to one of the suits for a closer inspection. "State of the art, geared for both heavy combat and stealth," Gavin says as I pick up the helmet. "One of Research and Development's more interesting productions. Give it a try!"
"I'm going to enjoy this!" I say, grinning. Five minutes later, I head back out to the firing range, adjusting pieces of alloy, the helmet clipped to my thigh, causing Gavin to chuckle. "Looks like it was made for you, Wodi! How's maneuverability?"
I swivel my arms and bend my legs, testing my range of motion. "Not bad, how long did it take for you guys to make this?"
"I won't bore you with all the logistics," Gavin replies, "but it was a good long while. Parts of the suit actually came from undeveloped Imperial schematics we found. There's also some Ultrachrome in the armor plates, making it extremely durable under fire. Good stuff." I nod, bringing up my left wrist gauntlet, where a small wrist link is inlayed into the armor. I wave my wrist at Gavin.
"Built-in microcomputers?"
"You may want to pull up a chair, we'll be here for a while," Gavin says with a smirk.
Later…
Very early the next morning, I wake in my quarters and dress quickly in the EATU armor Gavin had given me, grabbing a ration bar and my trusty EC-17 hold-out blaster from a nearby table, adding it to the small holster on my chest armor. The glow of my datapad makes me pause to pick it up. I tap the screen and a message from Amara shines up at me. I read it and feel a rush of warmth at her words of good luck. Tucking the datapad away, I go over to my small closet where my Resistance garb is stored in a Model 6 modular backpack.
Grabbing my EL-16HFE rifle, I head out into the corridor and towards the bridge, where Gavin is staging a last-minute briefing before the assault. The corridors of the Nighthawk are crowded with soldiers and pilots rushing every which way. I enter the bridge to find other EATU unit commanders and personnel standing about in their gear. Gavin starts the briefing a few minutes later as the last of our small group arrives.
Bringing up a holo, Gavin goes over what we already know, emphasizing the need for stealth in this operation. If intel is correct on this, and I have no doubt in my mind that it is, we'll need to take direct action. Other Scout Service elements will be waiting to assist us if things go awry. With words of good luck and encouragement, Gavin concludes the briefing. As the troopers exit, Gavin joins me and we walk back towards the crew cabins to rouse Cade.
"It seems like we just can't get rid of those things, those Juggernauts," Gavin says with a sigh.
"Well, hopefully," I say, "we'll see the last of them after this mission."
Gavin nods, then blows out his breath in frustration. "How did this happen, Wodi? I thought we destroyed the last of their factories. I thought those monsters died with Pravus and the Imperium."
"I know, I thought so too."
"With the First Order and the Praetoriate down on Teth, I have no doubt that things will get ugly."
"Then it's a good thing we'll have a Jedi with us," I reply as we come to Cade's quarters. Taking a step forward, I ring the buzzer on Cade's closed door.
"What's up, Gavin?" Cade asks from the viewscreen.
"We're coming up on Teth, just thought you'd like a heads up." Cade nods and a moment later, he is dressed and ready to go.
In the hangar bay, I look out the protective shield barrier again at the purple jungle planet Teth. The world is almost beautiful, except for the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer hanging like a menacing, dark cloud above its atmosphere. Those things are almost twice the length of the old Imperial model. Twice as long, twice as mean.
After the Hosnian Cataclysm, General Organa had asked me to search for any surviving New Republic assets. I jumped to the desert world Pasher in the Inner Rim, where I had picked up several New Republic signals, finding a battered MC85 star cruiser and a Nebulon-C escort frigate. Unfortunately, the First Order had also picked up those signals. When a Resurgent-class jumped into the system, my heart nearly stopped…
I mentally shake myself back to the present, looking away from the Star Destroyer to focus on our small infiltration team standing around me. "Here, Quix, try this on for size," Gavin says, tossing me a black-finish blaster rifle.
I catch it and look it over, noting its similarity to an EL-16HFE but slimmer, smaller, and more compact. Interesting. Very smooth design. I lift it in my hands, testing its weight, and look down its sight at the velvety black of space outside the hangar shield.
"EL-20HAE, Heavy Assault Edition from the ACR program," Gavin explains, watching me look it over. "R spent a few years tinkering with the EL-16. It's sturdier and packs the most recent advances in firearm technology."
"This is a thing of beauty," I remark, glancing down at my old EL-16HFE hanging by its drab, dingy strap around my shoulder. Gavin goes inside the black-painted U-wing parked next to Sonya's Phoenix and produces two more EL-20HAEs, keeping one for himself and offering one to Sonya, who pats the Model 434 blaster pistol holstered on her hip.
"Alright," Gavin says as we gather near the ship, "this is it. We'll be inserting in two teams. Lieutenant, your squad will provide overwatch like we discussed earlier. If we need backup, and we most likely will, I'll give you a call. My squad will move up to the old monastery and see what we can find." Tarrk and his soldiers nod in understanding. "Then let's go," Gavin finishes, motioning towards the transports.
Breaking off from Tarrk's squad, I board Sonya's vessel and take a seat, soon followed by the others. Sonya moves forward through a small doorway and takes a seat in the cockpit with Cade moving up to join her. With a thrum of engines, the Phoenix lifts off from the deck and slips out into the vacuum of space towards Teth, followed by Tarrk's U-wing, almost invisible with its black stealth coating.
30 ABE
Teth - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
"Breaking the atmosphere," Sonya says. As I gaze at the purple world growing larger and larger, Wodi walks into the cockpit dressed in his EATU armor, the top half of the helmet in the up position.
"Well, this should be fun," Wodi says, his footing a little off and Sonya suppresses a giggle.
"Having some trouble there, Quix?"
"It's more armor than we ever wore in the SHARCs, I'm just not used to it and this." He presses a switch on his gauntlet and the top half of the helmet slides down, connecting with the bottom, the helmet now covering his whole face with a black visor hiding his eyes. "What do you think?" he asks with a synthetic voice.
"It fits well, Quix," I say with a grin. "Just hobble into the enemy base and they'll be caught off guard by the laughing," I chuckle, Sonya laughing with me. Gavin comes in, also garbed in his EATU armor, visor already sealed.
"The impressive features of this suit never end, check this out." He grabs Wodi's wrist and clicks a switch causing Wodi to disappear.
"By the Force, I've never seen a personal cloaking device that powerful."
Wodi appears again and Gavin's helmet visor slides up. "Remember the Nuvindans, Cade?"
"The avians?"
"They are extremely advanced. After we started a partnership, they provided some technology, which we combined with recovered experimental designs from the Empire and created this armor."
Ratchet beeps. "Looks like we're here," I say, checking some readouts. We look out the cockpit to see the jungle stretching as far as the eye can see. I lower the boarding ramp and as soon as I do, I hear the sounds of the wilderness, reminding me of Had Abbadon. "Volke, stay here with Ida, in case we need a hasty getaway."
"I want to come, Cade. It isn't fair," Ida says, a feisty look on her face. I kneel down, moving a curl of hair behind her ear.
"Ida, this may turn out to be very dangerous if they do have Juggernauts here, you aren't ready for that kind of combat." I see her look of disappointment and smirk. "But… if we get in over our heads, I will call for backup, deal?" She smiles and gives me a hug while Wodi looks on and we exit the Phoenix.
"Cade, if someone didn't know you don't have kids, they would think Ida was yours." We head out into the nocturnal sounds of the jungle.
Several Hours Later…
After a long trek through the jungle, we come to a steep cliff and at the top is a B'omarr monastery that, according to Intel, has long been abandoned.
"Look over there, you see that?" I say to the group, pointing at a glint of metal. They look where I'm pointing and they see it too: a black shuttle with long wings.
"I see what looks like a warehouse of some kind," Gavin says. "Quix and I can check it out, you and Sonya take the monastery." He and Wodi walk off and I marvel at their advanced armor, I can barely hear any movement from them.
"Well, Sonya, let's climb."
30 ABE
Teth - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
The full-body EATU armor Gavin gave me works fairly well so far. The small biting insects native to Teth don't stand a chance against the hard Ultrachrome-weave material. I didn't count on how enclosing it would be, though. I feel hemmed in; the suit is completely closed around my body. It makes the gear the Resistance has look like third-hand merchandise.
Many of our standard helmets were surplus from the Rebellion and most of them were too big, but at least that made them nice and roomy. The fully-sealing ballistic helmet feels claustrophobic by comparison. I don't know how the stormies do it.
The nocturnal sounds of the jungle are almost non-existent, the suit's audio sensors designed for blocking out the roar of combat. Despite the one drawback, the suit is a marvel of technology. Built from experimental schematics from the Empire and Imperium, it's the most advanced combat hardsuit in the galaxy.
Tired of the near-silence, I flip up the visor, getting a refreshing blast of sound and fresh, non-recycled air. As I step over a large, gnarled tree root covered in purple vines, I hear the distinct buzzing sound of a can-cell somewhere above us, a large flying insect found on a number of planets across the galaxy.
We had crossed paths with one as the Phoenix found a landing spot in a clearing; we practically ran into it, its jointed leg just brushed the cockpit window. I remember hearing that the Wookiees on Kashyyyk believe seeing a can-cell brings the viewer good luck. Hopefully splattering one doesn't marr our odds. We need a lot of luck for this mission to succeed.
My mind drifts from the jungle terrain around us to the mess we're wrapped up in. So much has happened, in so little time: the Hosnian Cataclysm, the Battle of Starkiller Base, the Battle of Crait. The First Order still holds most of the major systems, supplanting the New Republic. It feels just like what happened after the Battle of Endor: even after suffering a major setback, the enemy still has many moves to make.
A shiver goes up my spine as I look up at the sky, where the dark outline of the Resurgent-class destroyer is still vaguely visible, far above the B'omarr monastery. A second destroyer has joined the first, a Predator-class, a haunting reminder of the Imperium. Great, that's all we need, I think to myself. "Looks like we're going to have more company," I say, pointing skyward. Gavin gives the destroyers a dark look.
"Of course," he mutters. Gavin must feel as I do, we fought countless battles against the Imperium, to still be fighting them is disheartening.
"I guess a couple of them slipped through the cracks," Sonya says, gazing skyward, "it wouldn't be the first time." Setting my gaze forward again, I notice a dull glint of metal off to my left and look to see a large metal foot, rusted with age, partially hidden by a cluster of purple ferns. I recognize it. The foot of a walker.
"There was a battle here during the Clone Wars, right?" I ask, looking around the jungle for more debris, spying a big piece not too far into the trees: the large metal frame of an AT-TE lying on its side in a clearing, its armor plating also rusted, covered in small plants and vines, its remaining legs either bent at odd angles or hidden in the foliage.
"There was," Cade answers. "A Republic task force came here during their mission to rescue Jabba The Hutt's son. The Republic used walkers to scale the cliff." I whistle softly, impressed with the sheer nerve that that operation must have taken, scaling the cliffs while blaster fire spits down at you. One wrong step and you'd be done for.
Up ahead, I see that the trees and foliage thin gradually, revealing a large, smooth cliff face at their end, long thin purple vines hanging down from its sheer surface. At the base of the cliff is another destroyed AT-TE, this one upside down, metal plating and other parts strewn about on the ground. It must have slid from the cliff during the battle.
"That drive motor would be a small fortune, if it's still inside," Sonya says, peering at the rusted walker eagerly as we step over to the cliff's base amid the wreckage. I carefully step over the skeletal frame of a B1 battle droid, its corroded arm raised in the air as if in greeting.
"Hey, we're on an important mission, here," Cade interrupts, trying to reproof her, but clearly straining not to smile, his lips set in a wavering line. I grin, glancing again over the AT-TE and other wreckage at the cliff's base before glancing up. Far above us is the top of the cliff, and something else, something black and moving through the air.
"Look there," Cade says, pointing at the matte black shuttle as it slowly descends towards the jungle, its long wings seeming to carve right through the fog. We duck behind one of the walker's legs to avoid being spotted, Gavin grabbing macrobinoculars from a built-in backpack. Putting them to his eyes, he adjusts the dial on the side, peering at the place where the shuttle disappears into the trees.
"I see what looks like a warehouse of some kind," he finally says, taking the macrobinoculars from his eyes and handing them to me to take a look. Peering at the same spot, the trees make it hard to see anything substantial. I adjust the rangefinder, looking again. I can definitely make out the dark shuttle, starkly at odds with the purple underbrush, and a flat metal structure, clearly not from the Clone Wars.
"Wanna gatecrash?" I ask Gavin, smiling mischievously, trying to hide my unease. Gavin nods, turning to Cade.
"Quix and I can check it out. You and Sonya take a look at the monastery." They both nod.
"Piece of cake," Sonya says, grinning. With quick words of good luck, Gavin and I move off towards the warehouse, swift and silent, the alien jungle seeming a lot more sinister than when we first arrived.
30 ABE
Tatoo System
Lannik Endel
It has been a few days since my last communication with General Corso. Since then, I've heard word that Gavin and Cade started their investigation on Teth, supposedly a Juggernaut production center. I thought we had seen the last of those kriffers at the Battle of Chandrila.
Meanwhile, NRI has found a secret communications station operating in Republic space, facilitating communications between the Praetoriate, First Order, and their spies. Our mission is to obtain intelligence on the position of those spies and other potentially useful information. "Sir, there he is," Captain Marks says, pointing to a blip on the radar. Amminus, a former Infiltrator, chief intelligence agent for the Resistance, and a very good friend.
"Excellent, hail him. Once he's aboard, we'll jump to the Rekhal system."
I meet Amminius at the airlock, where he leaves his RZ-2 A-wing and comes aboard our Braha'tok-class gunship. "Endel, you old space dog, good to see you!" He shakes my hand and I return the gesture.
"You as well, Amminius," I say, clasping his hand. "Come on in." I give our pilot a nod to get underway. As we enter the Rekhal system, Amminius and I gaze at the radar and the mission specs, pinpointing where the station is located.
We move in, nice and slow, all counterstealth measures active. As we get closer, I see just why no one would have suspected this place. It looks just like an asteroid. An uncommonly large one, sure, but the nearby planet, Peraga, was shattered during a cataclysm, causing the asteroid field to form. "Docking in five," we hear from the cockpit, and the docking tube extends.
Amminius dons his combat helmet, almost reminiscent of the ones we wore at Endor, while myself and the other SHARCs don new SHARC-issue armor, complete with blast helmets, lightweight blast-mesh vest and Ultrachrome-weave shoulder pads, heavy combat boots, and dark blue fatigues underneath.
As we enter the station, it becomes apparent that its creators made this place, as small as it is, spacious enough to be comfortable. Wielding my Westar-45 carbine, Amminius a GE-26N Needler, we cautiously move through the structure, every so often checking behind us for ambushes. Before long we come to what looks like a mess hall, Amminius checking his lifeform scanner.
"Picking up at least ten hostiles." Before long, I see several stormtroopers that belong to the First Order along with some black-armored soldiers that I have never seen before, an air of menace about them.
"Amm, take out the officer on the upper railing first, we'll take them by surprise." He takes aim, firing the silent needle at the black-clothed man, causing him to fall in the wrong direction, over the railing and onto a table with a clatter. The other troopers immediately stand up, rifles at the ready. I open fire, peppering the first one with green bolts while the other SHARCs fan in. We clear the room in quick order and move on.
"Lannik, this isn't right. I mean it's a small station, true, but you would think a facility like this would have a lot more security, considering how important it is to the enemy," Amm says to me. I agree with him, this is too easy. We come up to a data-room, filled with terminals.
"This is it. Marks, Sinan, get in there and pull what you can." They move in and attach data sticks to the terminals. Nemitz and I are watching the corridor for movement when I glance into the room, the monitors going through the data. I see images roll by: a Mandator-IV-class dreadnought, technical readouts of the Dac shipyards, and then statistics, reports.
"Lannik, you're going to want to see this," Amminius says. I look at Nemitz, who nods as I leave my post.
"These are reports on Juggernaut production, available warships, and various business deals. The Praetoriate has been busy since the Imperium was destroyed. Also, there's this."
He pulls up correspondence between the First Order and the GenoHaradan, an assassin league in Wild Space. "Looks like our friends aren't above using criminals for side jobs." The noise of footsteps takes our attention away.
"Grab any other data you can, then we'll get out of here."
"We have intruders!" I hear a stormtrooper yell.
"Open fire!" another yells.
"Sinan, Marks, shift it and let's go!" A minute more and they yank their data-mines and raise their rifles, ready to go. "Ready? Alright, three, two, one, go go go!" We burst out of the room, spraying our assailants with fire as we make our way back towards the airlock when I hear Amm yell and see a grenade hurling through the air.
30 ABE
Tierfon - Expansion Region
Amminus Sinan
"Good luck, Colonel. May the Force be with you," Leia says, smiling at me from beneath the Millennium Falcon parked on the cracked duracrete landing pad, standing next to several banged up supply crates. Next to the Falcon is one of the few U-55 loadlifters that we managed to take with us from Crait, red mineral salt still stuck in some seams on the dingy hull.
"You too, General." I offer her a salute, grinning. "Don't have too much fun without me."
Around us, the surviving members of the Resistance mingle about, some talking and laughing, others silent and somber. Droids of various models and colors tread throughout the group. Small teams of men, women, and droids move our meager amount of supplies out of the U-55 and out onto the tarmac, ready to transfer into our new temporary base, the Tierfon Launch Base, formerly the headquarters of the Alliance's Tierfon Yellow Aces.
Located in the Reegian system of the Expansion Region, Tierfon was listed as a deep space cache in the Rebel Files, recovered during the excavation on Durkteel. The launch base has seen better days but it's the best we have right now. At least the communications and sensor equipment still works.
"I don't plan to," Leia laughs, looking around her. "But we'll make it work. Be careful, I don't want to have to find a new intelligence officer!"
"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." I give her one final wave before making my way over to the only other craft occupying the landing pad, a red RZ-2 A-wing. Before boarding, I double check that I have everything I need, a habit I picked up from Wodi. Comlink, rations, blaster maintenance kit, a set of thermal detonators, and the picture of my wife, Otara.
I pat my old E-11 blaster rifle slung across my shoulder for good measure. Old, just like me. But the good kind of old. Smiling to myself, I climb into the small cockpit of my fighter, where my field pack, helmet, and a GE-26N needler carbine are stowed beneath my seat. Sealing the cockpit and starting the engines with a series of switches and buttons on my dashboard, the ship takes off.
Hanging above Tierfon, I enter the coordinates Jevin had provided me into the navicomputer. I give the planet a final wave before hitting the hyperdrive, jumping into hyperspace. I sigh heavily, leaning back in my chair as my fighter travels through the seemingly endless mottled blue tunnel, noticing a few grains of red salt residue sticking to my jacket. Brushing them off with a gloved hand, I think back to the ordeal we just went through on Crait. What a disaster.
A pang of sadness goes through me, thinking of all the brave soldiers we lost. I think further back to the Rebellion's defense of Echo Base during the Galactic Civil War or the massacre at Belkadan during the Imperium War. We'll pull through, we always do. If Leia's allies still don't want to help us after all this, I'll have a few choice words to say to them.
To pass the time, I again read over the mission brief from Jevin. The mission sounds simple enough, an intelligence grab. There are always complications, though. I think back to my training sergeant, who constantly reminded us that plans are great, until you make contact with the enemy, then they fall apart.
Several hours later, my navicomputer emits a series of chimes, letting me know I'm about to reach our destination. Stretching as much as the cramped cockpit will allow, I sit up and place my hands on the yolk. Dropping out of hyperspace, I emerge into the Tatoo system, a system that has become pretty important in the last few decades despite its remoteness, being home to beings who have impacted the galaxy.
"It's been a while," I say to the distant desert world, remembering past battles here, almost feeling sand in my boots. "But I can't say I've missed you." My onboard comm board goes off with a chirp.
"Colonel Sinan? Welcome to the Tatoo system," an official-sounding male voice says. "This is Captain Marks of SHARC team Besh. Let's get you onboard and then we'll be underway."
"Hey out there," I reply, peering out of my main viewport at the distinctive dark outline of a Braha'tok-class gunship, hanging above Ghomrassen, one of Tatooine's moons. "Coming in now. Hope you have some caf ready, you have no idea how much I need it!" I hear an audible chuckle and the comm goes silent.
I fly aft of the gunship to the starboard side near the rear-mounted laser cannon, where two airlocks sit on either side of the vessel. With a clunk and hiss of pressurizing air, the airlock attaches to my ship. Unhooking from my crash webbing and grabbing my gear, I raise my cockpit canopy up, jumping down to the floor of the airlock and making my way towards the white door, a figure visible on the other side of the frosty glass. I give the figure a casual salute as I reach the door.
With a hiss it slides open to reveal Lannik Endel, flecks of gray in his sandy hair and beard, wearing New Republic-issue SHARC armor, his grin matching my own. "Lannik, you old space dog, good to see ya!"
"You as well, Amminius," he says, clasping my hand. "Come on in," Lannik says, gesturing inside with his arm. I step into the familiar corridors of the gunship, following him towards the bridge of the ship. "Let's head to the bridge, how's Leia doing?"
"They were unpacking equipment as I left. We have several transports full."
"Well, at least you managed to save something," Lannik shakes his head. "What a mess. It's almost worse than when we took all those losses at Hoth or Belkadan. He offers me a smile, "Nice to be back together again. I just wish it was under different circumstances." I nod my agreement.
"Lannik, when this is all over, I'm gonna have to get you an ale. We have some catching up to do."
"I'll hold you to that. How's Wodi?"
I grin, thinking of my friend. "Well, Wodi is, Wodi. He's just as shook up as I am about Crait, but he's keeping himself busy. I talked to him a little while ago, after it all happened." Entering the bridge, Lannik and I head to the command console, where several crewmen in black naval jackets monitor computer banks.
"Alright, let's get underway."
"Yes sir," the pilot turns to give Lannik a nod. He pushes a lever on the instrument panel in front of him, and the ship jumps into hyperspace. We emerge in the Rekhal system on the outskirts of an asteroid field.
"Countermeasures active, we're off their scopes," one of the crewmen says, touching a button on his console.
"Good place to hide a station that looks like an asteroid," I say quietly, scanning the field. "I bet they don't even know which one is theirs half the time." Lannik cracks a smile as he checks the monitor. I move to join him.
"It should be... there," Lannik says, pointing to one of the asteroids on the screen, which strobes red. "That large one, next to the cluster of four, has a heat signature, as well as a strange magnetic field."
We move in closer, smoothly dodging larger asteroids. "Let's get to the airlock," Lannik says, passing me a small satchel of thermal detonators, which I sling over my shoulder. Lannik and I join Nemitz and Marks at the airlock, both already prepped. Out the airlock viewport, I see the large asteroid getting closer and closer, the outline of an airlock door becoming visible on its rocky surface.
"Docking in five," our pilot calls as our docking tube extends towards the asteroid's airlock. With a slight bump and hiss of pressurizing air, we're good to go, our airlock door sliding open.
"Here we go," Marks says, leading the way into the asteroid base. Reaching the other airlock, Marks takes out a small thin tool, inserting it into the control panel next to the door. "Running a bypass now." After a few moments, the door quietly slides open, and we carefully step inside the station.
"Nice place," Lannik says softly as we move through the tight hallways of the base, checking our surroundings for any enemy presence, blasters held at the ready.
"Yeah," I agree, "almost makes you forget you're stuck on a space rock." Almost. The interior of Target Besh is fairly standard Imperial style, with harsh lines and sharp angles replacing most of the asteroid's natural form, lighting panels set every few paces in patterns reminiscent of Star Destroyer corridors.
"You'd think their tastes would have changed after all these years," I say, indicating the lighting panels and architecture. "I guess they're just stuck in the past." Nemitz offers a chuckle.
"Looks like there's a big room up ahead," Marks says. "Rifles ready, everyone." I take a handheld lifeform scanner from my belt, holding the device at the ready as we crouch down before the room opening.
With a nod from Lannik, I activate the device and look at the small screen as white-dots appear. "Picking up at least ten hostiles," I say, holding the scanner out to Lannik for him to see.
"Right," he says, moving in front of me to hazard a glance into the room. "Looks like a mess hall," he says, pulling his head back. "Stormtroopers, officers, and another type of trooper I haven't seen before. Get in position."
Moving quickly, we stack up on either side of the entrance to the mess hall. "Amm," Lannik says through his helmet comlink, "take out the officer on the upper railing first. We'll take them by surprise." I nod, swinging my needler carbine to focus on the black-clad officer holding a datapad, his back to us. This sure is gonna ruin his day.
I squeeze off a shot, my needle hitting the officer square in the back. The man stands comically frozen for a moment, then crumples over the railing in the complete opposite direction I wanted him to fall. "Son of a moof milker," I mutter in a frustrated whisper as the officer hits the table with a loud thwack, his datapad clattering to the floor.
I cringe at the loud sound. Immediately, the stormtroopers leap up, grabbing rifles from their resting places, looking for the officer's killer. Without hesitation, Lannik moves into the room, his blaster already firing. We fan in behind him, making quick work of the surprised troopers. The air is thick with the acrid smell of charred plastic and discharged blasters.
Lannik does a quick check of all the sprawled troopers, making sure all are history. When he is done, we move on, exiting the mess hall through the other open doorway. I look back at our plastic friends occupying the floor. Something doesn't feel right. I was prepared for the worst when we started firing, for an alarm to sound and the whole base to crawl with troops.
I raise my hand, bringing a halt to our party. "Lannik, this isn't right. I mean it's a small station, true, but you would think a facility like this would have a lot more security considering how important it is to the enemy." Lannik doesn't say anything, but his expression grows concerned. He'd undoubtedly thought of the same thing: this is a trap.
After a small trek, we come to a room chock full of data terminals. "These must be the terminals we're looking for," I comment, indicating the room with my carbine. Lannik nods once.
"This is it," he says, turning to us. "Marks, Sinan, get in there and pull what you can. We'll cover the door, just in case."
Marks and I nod, moving into the throng of noise coming from all the computers. Marks selects a large terminal near the back of the room, plugging in his data stick, getting all he can. I select a terminal near the door with a large screen above it that looks fairly important. Taking my own data stick from my jacket pocket, I plug it into the console and begin working. The screen lights up as I begin siphoning data, displaying images and lines of detailed text in bright blue as they're pulled from the terminal.
Technical readouts of dreadnoughts, weapons manufacturers, shipyards, and other resources the Praetoriate and First Order have at their disposal. I grow increasingly worried and sick at the resources our enemy has. How could we have been so blind? Then a statistics report flashes on screen, accompanied by an image of a hulking trooper I've tried hard to forget. We all have.
"Lannik, you're going to want to see this," I call out. He rushes over to me, peering at the monitor. "These are reports on Juggernaut production," I explain, bringing up several more bits of worrying information for him to get a closer look at, "available warships, various business deals. The Praetoriate has been busy since the Imperium was destroyed. Also, there's this."
I pull up a series of archived transmissions between the Praetoriate and a group called GenoHaradan, a secretive bounty hunter guild that specializes in political assassinations and governmental turmoil. "Looks like our friends aren't above using criminals for side jobs."
Above the humming of the data terminals, I pick up another sound: booted feet, marching in our direction. I knew this was a trap! The others hear it too. "Grab any other data you can, then we'll get out of here," Lannik says hurriedly. He and Nemitz quickly go to the door and engage the control panel, shutting and magnetically locking it, but not before we're spotted.
"We have intruders!" a stormtrooper yells.
"Open fire!" Blaster bolts ping against the locked door and metal walls of the communications room.
"Sinan, Marks, shift it and let's go! That door won't hold them forever!" Lannik yells.
"Almost done!" I yell back, willing the data to siphon faster. A minute more and it's all there. I yank the stick out and stuff it in my satchel.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Alright!" Lannik motions for us to take up positions on either side of the door. "Three," Lannik counts down, his hand hovering over the door's control panel, "two, one! Go, go, go!" The door slides open and we fan out, blasters up and firing at the squad of stormtroopers who had tried to force their way into the communications room. We take them down in short order.
The acrid smell of charred plastoid armor and sound of sizzling flesh fills the corridor, along with another sound: the timer of an activated thermal detonator. I spy it lying underneath the form of one of the downed troopers. Blast! "Grenade!" I yell, diving to the floor and covering my head. The others immediately follow suit just as the grenade explodes, making my ears ring. We get back to our feet, Lannik nodding to me in gratitude.
"Alright, everyone," he says after a few moments, "let's move to the command center and reactor room. Nemitz and Sinan, you take the command center, Marks and I will take the reactor room. See you back at extraction in-" Lannik's words are cut off by a cool male computer voice coming over the station's comm system.
"Station compromised. Self-destruct has been activated. Five minutes to detonation. Evacuate immediately." All lights in the base start flashing red.
"Well, looks like we won't need those det packs" I say, indicating our satchels filled with the explosive devices.
"Alright, new plan," Lannik says hastily, "get the hell out of this doomed rock. Back to the ship!"
"You don't need to tell me twice!" I yell as we start running.
Back aboard the gunship, I look out the viewport at the smoldering remains of Target Besh. It had been close, but we made it. I can't say the same for the stormtroopers. We'd shot the door fuzes as we ran through, forcing them all to close. That's several hundred enemies we won't have to deal with later.
30 ABE
Teth - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
The alien jungle of Teth is slowly waking up in the predawn fog as Gavin and I trek through the trees towards the military warehouse we had spotted earlier. As I step over twisted tree roots and through waist-high purple ferns, I can feel many pairs of eyes, both large and small, following our movements. Some of them I see, gleaming in the wet fog and bright shafts of moonlight. Most of them I don't. The thought of camera droids positioned on the perimeter of the warehouse site crosses my mind for a moment, this could be a trap. My finger starts to twitch on the trigger.
"You good there, Wodi?" Gavin asks, moving next to me, his rifle held ready at his side.
"Just nervous. This blasted jungle isn't helping matters."
Gavin nods. "Perfect place for their dirty work. This planet hasn't seen any action since the Clone Wars. I'd say it's off the radar of most beings."
"I get the feeling that's about to change," I reply dryly. "Planets that come to host stormtroopers tend to become hotspots for one reason or another."
"I hear that."
We remain silent for a moment, moving closer and closer to the clearing where the warehouse is set up. I keep my blaster rifle held at the ready, scanning the underbrush for gleaming white armor or the glint of a hostile blaster. So far, we've gone virtually undetected. I hope that continues.
Then I hear it. The burst of helmet comm chatter, a totally alien sound in the organic jungle. Gavin and I immediately drop into a crouch in the brush, my heart sounding like cannon blasts in my ears. Flipping down my visor, I bring my rifle scope up and peer intently through it, slowly scanning the line of foliage to my left.
Gavin gently taps my arm and guides my blaster with a gloved hand to point it directly at two stormtroopers, their white armor partially obscured by ferns. They must be perimeter guards, holding their F-11D rifles low but at the ready. As we creep closer, I can overhear them talking.
"Must have been at least fifteen Resistance scum I killed that day, it was glorious."
"Copy that."
Silently, we nod at each other and begin to take aim. One blaster shot for each stormtrooper. Gavin holds up three fingers and slowly counts down. I ready my rifle, setting the crosshairs on the shorter of the two guards. Gavin begins to lower his last finger. My finger slowly closes around the trigger, putting on the slightest pressure.
Gavin lowers his last finger. One. Simultaneously, we open fire. The trooper in Gavin's sights goes down, his head snapping back, a burning hole in his chest. My mark goes down, too. But not because of my blaster bolt. The moment I had fired, the trooper bent down just enough so that the bolt sailed overhead, hitting a tree in a shower of sparks.
"What the!?" The trooper raises his blaster in our direction, still grounded, his black eye lenses fixed on us, but I don't give him the chance to fire or say another word. A blaster shot to the forehead sends him crumpling to the jungle floor. We stand there, silent for a moment, almost frozen in place.
"Fierfek," Gavin swears, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and striding over to the two downed stormtroopers. He kneels and checks the trooper I had blasted. "Looks like we're still under the radar," Gavin says after a few seconds, sounding a bit less tense. "This guy didn't get the chance to sound an alarm."
"Well, that's good," I agree, my heart still thudding. I shoulder my own weapon and join Gavin, looking down at the dead stormtrooper.
Stolen away as kids. Brainwashed. They don't know their parents, or their histories. The First Order is all they've ever known. But he's a murderer. They all are. What could he have been otherwise?
"Hey, Wodi." I snap out of my thoughts and look at Gavin, who holds out a small white and black blaster pistol he had unclipped from the trooper's leg holster. "SE-44C, standard-issue. It's got a basic targeting scope, but I hear it packs quite a punch."
"No thanks," I say, patting my own leg holster, where my EC-17 scout pistol, liberated from a stormtrooper patrol during my days with the Brentaal IV resistance against the Empire, rests; scratched and with many dings, but as reliable as ever. "Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather use my own."
Gavin shrugs and pockets the SE-44C for himself. "Suit yourself! You can't deny that that thing's a bit outdated, though."
"I could say the same thing about us," I reply with a smile, which earns me a winning grin from Gavin.
"Not outdated, vintage," he says, causing both of us to laugh.
During our final approach to the warehouse, there are no more troopers in sight. No alarms blare. No hidden traps spring into life as we pass. Nothing happens at all. The jungle stays completely silent. Even the animal and insect life has stopped making its noise, which puts me on edge, having gotten used to the sound.
The plant life, too, seems just as unwilling to go near the dark metal structure, slowly growing larger and more imposing. We pass shriveled ferns and withered trees, their violent purple colors drained, replaced by a dull gray or brown that suggests rot and decay. Dead foliage litters the forest floor, along with the small exoskeletons of insects and the small forms of deceased jungle fauna. I let out a shiver.
"Is it just me, or has the temperature dropped a few degrees?"
Gavin surveys the atmosphere around him, "It's definitely getting a lot creepier, if that's what you mean. Look at all this dead stuff. It's almost as if-"
"Juggernaut production is poisoning Teth," I finish his thought, a rising alarm growing in the back of my mind. The thought of poisonous air, the air we've been breathing this whole time, hits us at the same time, and we instantly snap our visors shut. I hurriedly begin the oxygen purifier unit in my suit, testing the air for toxins with several rapid eye blinks.
Thoughts are rocketing around my brain like wayward swoop bikes. Is it slow acting? It must be, we're not dead yet. What are the signs of air poisoning again? Blast! Is my mind foggy because of fear, or is it an effect of the air? I need to get a grip!
Gavin's relieved sigh over my helmet comm brings all the swooping thoughts to a screeching halt. "The air's clean. No toxins."
My suit sensors confirm his statement a second later. I let out a relieved sigh of my own and flip up my visor, Gavin doing the same. Taking a closer look at the surrounding terrain, fear still tickles my senses despite the air not intent on sending us keeling. It still doesn't feel right.
"I wonder what killed all these plants and animals then," I say, carefully taking a shriveled fern in between my fingers and examining it. It crumbles after some prodding. "They definitely didn't die of natural causes."
"I don't think we'll find the answers out here," Gavin says. "I think it's time we let ourselves in and do some poking around."
With a slight hiss, the inner door of the warehouse slides shut and locks in place with a soft thunk, the waning slice of natural light from the parted halves winking out with almost chilling finality. Putting away my welding torch, it takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. The small corridor ahead is lit with pale white glow panels set in the walls and grated floor spaced some distance apart, creating alcoves and corners of eerie shadow. The corridor is straight, with no visible side hallways or rooms.
The only way ahead is clearly forward. I gesture ahead silently with my hand, and Gavin nods. After several steps, we emerge into the storage area, where both of us stop in our tracks. I have to put a hand to my mouth to prevent myself from gasping out loud. Stretched out before us, seemingly for kilometers, is a vast space full of neatly labeled storage crates of all types, housing all kinds of combat equipment and provisions: blasters, grenades, both explosive and tactical, walker and speeder parts, power packs, foodstuffs, medical supplies, armor crates, and everything else needed to keep an army supplied. Or two.
I look at Gavin and gesture at all the crates. From the expression on his face, he's arrived at the same conclusion. I open my mouth to speak, bursting to express the thoughts bouncing around my brain, but Gavin's eyes suddenly go wide, and he holds up his fist. I tense up and listen, so caught up in my amazement that like him, I had forgotten to watch and listen for enemies. I hear the sound of many pairs of booted feet marching in our direction.
Gavin quickly closes his helmet and taps several buttons on his wrist gauntlet, disappearing. I kick my brain into action and shut my own visor, frantically tapping keys on my gauntlet. Come on, you blasted thing! A cadre of seven stormtroopers rounds one of the gray supply crates just as I disappear, but not before I had been spotted.
"Hey! Intruder!"
"What the? Where'd he go?"
"He's using a cloaking device!"
I can see Gavin slowly backing away towards a particularly large and long red crate, and I start to follow when two of the stormtroopers toss small cylindrical devices at my invisible feet. My eyes go wide with panic. Instinctively, I cover my face with my hands and dive to the ground. The grenades go off with a high-pitched whine, but rather than being hit with bits of metal shrapnel, I'm hit with a mild tingling sensation of electrical current and bathed in harsh blue light. The displays on my HUD flicker and go dark, an EMP grenade.
"There! I see them! Two soldiers!"
"Fire!"
I leap to my feet and fire my EL-20 blaster rifle at the lead trooper just as the others fire their rifles. The trooper who had yelled the command collapses to the floor, a small burning hole in his chest plate. Another trooper falls to his right, hit by Gavin's blaster shot. Together, we scramble behind a container of medical supplies, trading shots with the remaining troopers.
"Wodi! There's more coming!" From around a particularly large supply crate containing parts for a Star Destroyer deck cannon, half a dozen more stormtroopers come, rifles up and searching. They find us easily, and add their own blaster fire to the symphony of flying deadly plasma. Two stormtroopers try to flank around our crate, but are stopped in their tracks when I pop out from our cover and drop them both. I'm lining up my sights on a third when a blaster bolt hits my rifle, right where the tibanna gas power pack is located.
Bang! The blaster explodes in a wave of intense heat, sending me sprawling hard to the warehouse floor, my hands burning, the air forced from my lungs as I land hard on my back. The world devolves into tendrils of needling pain. I can feel a trickle of blood running down my left cheek where shrapnel scraped the skin.
Gavin races to my side, gripping my arm, his words muffled and tinny at the same time. I concentrate hard. "Wodi! Wodi! Come on! Get back up! You're ok!"
The world quickly stops ringing, and I suddenly become aware of an armored form making its way around our cover to stand directly behind Gavin, a blaster raised and pointed. My left hand moves to my leg holster so fast that it seems like a blur. Whipping out my scout pistol, I squeeze off two shots into the chest armor of the stormtrooper. He drops without uttering a sound, clattering to the hard floor. Gavin stares for a moment, then nods his appreciation, quickly hauling me to my feet.
"We need to move. That's not all of them."
As if to remind us that they're still there, a salvo of blaster bolts strikes our quickly dwindling cover. Using his boot, Gavin kicks the fallen stormtrooper's F-11D blaster rifle over to me. I pick it up and nod. It's time to go.
Leading the way, Gavin leaps out from our cover, firing wildly as he races down the aisle of supply crates. I follow suit. The remaining troopers are soon in hot pursuit, determined not to lose us in the forest of crates. Gavin selects a stack of smaller crates and dives behind them, firing as he does so. A trooper sprawls on his stomach, a burning hole there. I follow Gavin, pressing my back against the metal, tightly gripping my rifle.
"This isn't the best situation we're in," I voice to Gavin, stating the obvious, gritting my teeth against a fresh wave of pain, "we've got to get rid of these guys somehow."
"Suggestions!" Gavin yells, delivering a quick succession of blaster shots. Looking around, I take in our surroundings more closely. Crates of rations bars and medical gauze. Not the most ideal equipment to have in a fight but maybe... An idea hits me. If Alliance SpecForces taught me anything, it's that any tool can be improvised into a clever weapon. I shoulder my blaster by its strap and turn to Gavin.
"Gavin, open that crate of ration bars!"
"Why!?"
"Just do it!"
Gavin flings open the crate and passes me a ration bar. I motion for more. Gavin obliges, hurriedly handing me several more. I stuff them in my pants pockets. "Take some for yourself." He does so, stuffing a handful into his own pocket.
"Ok, now what?" Gavin asks, looking at me skeptically. He leaps up to trade fire with the troopers before ducking back down.
"We're going to make a run for that large blue crate at the end of the aisle," I say, pointing to the blue storage crate. "Fire your blaster and make sure the stormtroopers don't look at the ground as we're running."
Gavin nods confusedly, still lost, but a moment later, a lopsided grin spreads across his face. "If this works, drinks are on me. It's a miracle you survived the civil war."
"Compliments later. Now we run, in three, two, one, run!" We leap out from our cover and race towards the blue crate. With Gavin firing, I quickly and covertly scatter ration bars behind me, all over the space our pounding feet had just left. I hear frantic movement behind us.
"They're making a run for it! Follow them!" With a grin on my face, I sprint the rest of the way to the blue crate and duck behind it, Gavin already there. I peak above the crate to see several troopers slip and fall in almost comedic fashion but it isn't long before the rest discover the subterfuge and secure their footing.
Grinning from ear to ear, Gavin and I lose ourselves in the endless aisles of ordnance. Periodically, I drop more ration bars, careful to throw them so they don't create a trail, discarding many in the looming shadows and dark recesses the crates create. After several minutes of moving, we stop and take a breather near one of the walls of the structure.
Gavin laughs softly, shaking his head. "I can't believe that worked. Did you see them? Like Kowakian Monkey Lizards, I swear." I nod, grinning. I'm about to tell him I told him so when I notice a shadowy doorway recessed into the wall.
The heavy-looking sliding door is pitted and scored, with a complicated lock and large, faintly glowing keypad inlaid in the frame. Above the doorway, in painted white Aurebesh, a single word, like a lone sentinel, is displayed: Research.
A shiver goes down my spine, looking at that single word. My mind flashes back to the Battle of Endor, where I got a close-up look at some of the Empire's "research" when we raided Research Station 9, hidden deep in the forest. What the Imperials left behind in their haste to evacuate was chilling. We're both silent for a moment, staring at the door.
"Think we should check it out?" Gavin whispers in a hoarse voice.
I want to scream no. I want to run as far away from the door as I can and torch whatever waits inside. Because nothing these guys do is good. Because I know, I'd bet all Spanner's spare parts on it, that the Praetoriate found the research the Empire evacuated. The research the Imperium used after them. Found it, used it, improved upon it to make it even more terrible. But I also know that whatever's in there, we need to know. So, swallowing my fear, and burying it, I resolutely nod.
Gavin returns the nod and goes over to the panel, taking from his pocket a small electronic device. Sticking the device to the sophisticated panel, it beeps twice, emitting a green light. The lock disengages and with the slightest hiss, the door parts. With Gavin giving me a nod of affirmation, I step through the doorway and into the corridor beyond, desperately trying to curb the rising wall of fear.
From the three turbolifts that we enter and exit from after descending, I can tell that the laboratory is much farther down than the main warehouse complex. The air is also cooler, a sterile sickbay smell present that makes my insides squirm. When we enter the main chamber through a short hallway after the last lift, I gasp, because what lays before me is worse than what I feared. The laboratory is empty.
30 ABE
Teth - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
I gaze around, my insides going somewhat numb, my brain whirring like a busted astromech with chilling thoughts, possibilities, and conclusions. The main room is large, a circular space with panels and bulkheads all around the walls. The area is cast in eerie shadows from the sparsely lit glow panels in the walls and on the ceiling.
Signs of a hasty evacuation are evident throughout the room: long scrapes on the white-tiled floor in multiple locations, sheets of rumpled writing flimsi scattered everywhere, some bearing boot prints from being trodden on, and several abandoned crates, their lids cast aside. Along one wall is a counter inlaid with shelves and drawers, some hanging open. All empty. I also spy a computer terminal, its panels and screen dark.
"They certainly left in a hurry," Gavin says quietly, standing at my side, gazing about. He shifts a piece of flimsi with his boot. "The boot tracks on this flimsi look pretty fresh. They did this recently."
I nod, my mind still racing. If the First Order evacuated this hastily, that meant they must have had something of value they didn't want to fall into New Republic hands. I instantly think of the Juggernauts, but somehow, that doesn't seem right. Sure, the Order and the Praetoriate wouldn't want us getting our hands on their killing machines, but we had raided their factories before. We'd have had the chance a long time ago. We knew about the process and its effects. This feels more sinister. More secretive.
"They can't have had much time to get all their equipment out," I say finally, going over to the terminal, tapping a few buttons. The monitor remains dark and blank. Must have been wiped, I think. "They were warned while we were busy upstairs."
"Well, maybe they left something behind," Gavin says. "If they had to get out this quickly, they might have been careless. Missed a few things."
"Maybe," I reply doubtfully. "I can't see the Order evacuating all their equipment and personnel in the time it took us to get here. From the look of things, it seemed like this room was crammed full of tech. Unless..." I trail off, thinking.
"Unless what?"
"Unless they had advanced warning. Maybe they had some kind of perimeter alarm that we triggered when we got too close to the warehouse."
"Or they knew we were coming all along," Gavin says dryly. His words send a chill down my spine. The chill goes into my bloodstream and spreads, because deep down, I know he's right. How could the Order have known we were planning on coming here? I mentally force myself to stop from thinking of possibilities, right now we have to focus on getting out of here.
"Let's get back to Cade," I say, starting to turn back towards the lift when Gavin lays a hand on my arm.
"We're not the only ones in here," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. I tense up immediately, straining my ears when I hear it: a faint scrape, coming from the adjacent room off the main one we're standing in. My finger stiffens on the trigger guard of my F-11D.
Moving together, rifles raised and ready, we quietly approach the door leading to the next room, stacking up on either side of the heavy durasteel portal. With a nod to Gavin, I press the activation panel on my side of the door, and it slides open. We rush in, our rifles in firing position.
I nearly blast the chrome RA-7 protocol droid standing on the other side out of surprise. I stand there, my blaster pointed at the droid's large cranium plating, a shocked expression plastered across my face. The droid doesn't react, it just moves off towards empty bacta-like tanks locked into the floor.
"A droid?" Gavin says, lowering his blaster. I shrug, nonplussed. Gavin walks over to stand next to the droid as it stops by the first tank in a row. "They took all their lab equipment when they evacuated, and they left a droid here?" He looks the droid up and down.
"Come on," I say, moving past the droid to grab Gavin's arm. "We have to-"
A cold metal grip locks onto my arm, and I'm halted in my tracks. The RA-7 has taken hold of my arm, squeezing tight. I try to pry it free, but the metal fingers almost seem like they're welded to me. "What the hell? Get off!" I say, trying once more to pry the droid's metal fingers loose. Gavin moves to help.
"Hey, droid, let go of his arm! What the hell is wrong with you?"
Almost in slow motion, the droid turns its head to fix its large insectoid photoceptors on us. They glow a dull white. "Reaver." Its voice is low and full of static.
"What?" I say, momentarily stopping my efforts to get free.
"Reeeaver."
Suddenly, all the glow panels switch on at once, a bright pulsing crimson. "Whoa!" I yell, glancing hurriedly around.
"I think it's time to leave," Gavin says, his voice rising in obvious panic. I once more try to yank my arm free, to no success.
"Ah, blast it." I reach down and take out my EC-17 scout pistol and shoot the droid through its photoceptors. The thing falls to the floor, sparking and smoking. I hastily put away my sidearm and rub my arm to get some feeling back into it. "We gotta get out of here!"
"You don't need to tell me twice!" Gavin says, already moving back into the main room. I rush to catch up.
Back in the main room, I momentarily halt in my tracks. Gavin does the same. The computer terminal is no longer blank. Across the screen, in large letters, is the word REAVER. As I look, the final 'R' blinks several times and then disappears.
"It's a timer!" I yell a split second later. "This place is going to go up! It's rigged!" We break into a run and reach the turbolift from the short corridor we had passed through to get to the lab. Gavin slams the 'open' button. Painfully slow, the doors part, and we race inside, the red light continuing to flash.
"Up!" I yell, slamming the appropriate key. Our lift rises and I slump against the wall, breathing hard, my heart racing. Neither of us says a word the entire trip. We're ascending in the final lift when I feel the shockwave of the first explosion.
As our lift opens, we stagger out, racing towards the door leading back into the warehouse. We burst through, emerging back into the cavernous space full of crates. "We made it," Gavin says in relief, putting a hand on a nearby crate to steady himself. There's another shockwave, a second explosion. Right inside the warehouse, somewhere off to our left. We're knocked off our feet, hitting the hard duracrete floor. I land on my stomach, right onto my rifle.
"They rigged the warehouse, too!" Gavin is yelling in my ear. I haul myself up just as another explosion rocks the foundation. Crates and debris are sent flying, deadly projectiles that impale or shear straight through anything in their path. Smoke is starting to flow thick.
"Come on!" I yell, sprinting towards the exit. _
30 ABE
Teth - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
"Shhh… hear that?" I say, while we creep through a deserted hallway in the monastery.
"Yeah, I do, it's coming from over here."
We cautiously move towards a vacant room when I hear the sound of an object moving through the air. "Grenade!" I yell, grabbing Sonya and pulling her close as a white light blinds me. All of a sudden, I feel the absence of her weight against my arm. The blinding light fades and I look around, seeing Sonya's Deathhammer pistol on the ground and I see an all too familiar sight: a tall, white-armored figure, a large blaster cannon easily held in its arms.
A juggernaut… "Fierfek," I say, having picked up some curses from Gerik Ordo. The juggernaut starts firing at me and I leap high onto the wall and, igniting my saber, launch again, my peridot blade swiping against its' armor, a lightsaber-resistant armor. I duck and weave to dodge its melee attempt, cutting through the blaster cannon and striking the armor again, finally stabbing it through the abdomen.
I look around, worried about Sonya, when I feel an all too familiar Force signature. Xellius. I run, following the presence until I'm back at the main auditorium, now lit, Sonya held by Xellius in the middle and black-armored stormtroopers along the staircases and upper walkway.
"Ah, the guest of honor has arrived," Xellius says, his voice slightly distorted by his mask, the same mask he wore during the Imperium War.
"By Malachor, how did you survive? The explosion..."
Xellius laughs, not taking his hand off Sonya. "Yes. There was an explosion but that was after Imperium spies extracted me and made it look like there were no survivors."
"And Pravus gave you a command, to find another Sith legacy."
"Yes and I'm afraid I can't have you meddling in my affairs this time." Igniting his lightsaber, he grips Sonya tighter. "Does the famous Last Knight have a weakness? Let's find out." I can see a devilish grin under his mask. Sonya looks at me and I can feel Gavin and Wodi's presence on the upper balcony; looking through my peripheral vision, I see the black armor of the Expeditionary Assault and Tactics Unit. Without taking my eyes off Xellius, I whisper to them telepathically to wait for my signal.
Sonya starts trying to move for a quick somersault and Xellius reins her back in. "Na ah, my dear. You have just become a very strong bargaining chip."
"Sonya, do you trust me?" I ask, locking eyes with her.
"You know I do."
I close my eyes and breathe deeply. Ever since I experienced oneness with the Force at Chandrila, my connection to it has been stronger than ever. With enough concentration, I can access a sliver of that power. I open my eyes and look at Xellius again, time now seeming to move slower. Now, I say telepathically to Wodi and Gavin while extending my left arm and pulling Sonya to me with the Force before Xellius can react.
As she lands in my arm, I tell her to stay down, charging fire in my hands, "Force Flame'' the Had Abbadon settlers call it; an ancient Jedi technique called Pyrokinesis. Completing my spin while putting Sonya on the floor under me, I slam my hands on the ground, the flame exploding in a wave in front of me, engulfing the stormtroopers while Xellius holds his hand up, shielding himself with the Force.
Wodi and Gavin are peppering the upper walkways on the other side of the auditorium with fire from their rifles when a deafening explosion breaks one of the walls, the other members of the EATU unit that came with us. Xellius, like he always has, runs up a flight of steps, using telekinesis to hurl fallen troopers at me, which I easily dodge. I see one of the EATU troopers fall to blasterfire but two others take his place, firing cylindrical thermal detonators from their underslung launchers, more chunks of the monastery walls coming loose.
I pick up Sonya, who holds onto my arms tightly. "You ok?" I ask, after a quick embrace.
"I'm ok, thank you," Sonya says after I give her back her Model 434. "To actually see you in action is something else." I smile at her as Wodi uses a built-in grappling hook to lower himself to our level.
"Well, that was fun," he says, regarding a fallen stormtrooper, his helmet melted beyond recognition.
"Wodi, take Sonya with you and take that hallway, it should lead you to the control center, shut this place off, I'm going after Xellius."
Later…
Coming to a long walkway leading from the main hall to a side tower, I see Xellius racing across, a TIE Silencer sitting on a landing pad across the way. Not willing to let him escape again, I summon the Force to me, running to the edge of the platform and launching myself forward, landing just behind him as he reaches the platform.
He turns around, igniting his double-saber and swinging. I duck, barely missing a decapitating strike that gashes into the stone wall of the walkway. Rolling back up and igniting my own saber, I meet his return swing and push him away, launching my own set of strikes, Xellius meeting every one of them. Finally, there's a pause.
"Seems like your skills have grown since we last met," I say, slightly winded.
"Yes. After I heard about what occurred at Chandrila, I knew I would need to expand my abilities," he says, spinning his lightsaber in a deadly weave.
Coming in for a strong right strike, I meet his blade and with my free hand, I hit his arm hard, causing him to drop his hilt, its automatic dead-man switch shutting it off. He drops low, bringing a leg up high and kicking my own blade from my hands and performs a vault, bringing himself back up from the ground and we get locked in hand-to-hand combat, both having learned the Echani fighting arts. A punch here, a kick there, we are evenly matched, neither breaking the other's defense.
I kick my left leg behind his right, he does the same to me, and with a yank we cause each other to fall over. One foot landing on the stone floor, we use the Force to boost ourselves sideways, rolling horizontally. He charges me again but I manage to land an open-palmed hit to the face, stopping his momentum.
Before I can hit him again, he launches in a high vertical leap backwards, landing next to his ship and summoning his lightsaber. "Curse you, Valdarin, this is not over! I will complete Lord Pravus' command, your Republic will fall!" he declares before getting in his ship, the ion engines roaring to life.
Before he can open fire with his cannons, a red light hits his ship, several T-85 X-wings from the Nighthawk have come to face off against the TIE fighters that have risen from the forest floor. I watch his fighter speed off before heading back towards the others.
30 ABE
Teth - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
I exit the purple-leaved forest to see the Phoenix in the clearing where we had set her down. It's been maybe half-an-hour since my duel with Xellius in the monastery. I still can't believe it, I knew he was still alive thanks to Jevin but to actually see him was something else. It seems his "Praetoriate" does indeed have access to Juggernauts and Shadow Knights, that's not a good sign.
The last I heard from Jevin, he was sending Lannik Endel, Amm, and a group of SHARCs to a communications satellite that the First Order and Praetoriate have been using for years to spy on us. I walk up the ramp, passing by several EATU soldiers hitching a ride back to the cruiser who salute as I walk by. Making my way to the cockpit, I find Sonya typing away at a console on the dash and Gavin and Wodi sitting in the passenger seats, tinkering with their EL-20HAEs and their advanced armor suits.
"Mission complete," I say loudly, feeling exhausted and slumping in a chair when we hear the communications panel go off. I flip the switch with the Force and out of the holoprojector in the center of the middle console comes a small version of Jevin. I'm always surprised by hologram technology and how far it has come.
"Jev, what is it?" I ask, sensing his distress.
"I think this is something everyone should hear." Sonya nods and transfers the connection to the large projector in the crew quarters and we walk there.
"Alright, gather around everyone," I say as the projector shoots out Jevin's life-size image along with two others, two very familiar faces. "Amm, Lannik!" I say with enthusiasm. I haven't seen Lannik for about seven years.
He nods towards me. "I knew something was off when you died because of a shuttle accident."
"So, how did the mission go?" I ask, directed to Amminius.
"Well, about that… we knew some senators were on First Order payroll but there were more than we thought."
Wodi stands up. "You're joking. Jevin, tell me he's joking."
"I wish he was, Quix, but it's true. We've sifted through the data, there are several more turn-coats than we thought, although apparently the First Order didn't feel they should know about Starkiller Base. They were at the summit on Hosnian Prime. However, there is something suspicious that I'd like you to look into."
Gavin salutes. "Of course sir, what is it?"
"A certain senator of Coruscant was not on Hosnian Prime, even though the summit manifest says otherwise." Ida, who has always been very intuitive, walks up to the projector.
"Wait, if the manifest showed he was there, he would have "died"," she says, quoting the word. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to use his real name. Wouldn't it get flagged?"
"She's a smart one, Cade. It indeed would seem like that. All his accounts are dry, and his residences are empty. But Alpha Blue found several accounts open belonging to an old cover-identity used when the senator was a freelance spy during the civil war."
"So who is it?" I ask, sitting down on the couch near the projector.
"A senator named Kovin Groth. The data shows he is currently on the Freeport." I look at Gavin with a question, since he has been in Wild Space longer than I have.
"Basically, Mos Eisley in space," Gavin says nonchalantly. I nod and look at Jevin again.
"I doubt you would ask us to go on a simple manhunt. There's something else." Jevin nods.
"Yes, an assassin gang in Wild Space, the GenoHaradan, has also been working with the First Order."
I can feel Sonya's hand touch my shoulder: the GenoHaradan is the syndicate whose leadership I slaughtered in my anger following Kiara's death in the Napkin Bombing. "Turns out this gang has been serving First Order interests in Wild Space." It clicks into place, Gavin already heading to the cockpit to input coordinates.
"There's something else you should know," Jevin says, urgency in his voice. "The data Endel and Sinan found has hinted that the First Order plans to attack Mon Calamari Shipyards. To that end, I'm heading there with a New Republic task force to hopefully discourage an attack, but we may need back up."
Wodi nods. "Of course, say the word and we'll kick the Praetoriate right up their-" I tap his shoulder before he finishes and discreetly nod down to Ida. "Heh, oops."
"There's a Hutt by the name of Garga. He's willing to provide you information, and oddly enough, for free." Wodi scoffs and Jevin continues, "Alright, it's set then. You, Wodi, and Gavin, go to the Freeport and get whatever info you can about the GenoHaradan."
He looks at Amminius. "Meanwhile, Sinan, go to Mandalore, I have a feeling Gerik will want in on this and Lannik, go to Kashyyyk. At last report, Salurra was with his defense force fighting First Order forces there." Confirmations go around and the holos wink out.
"Well, better settle in for the long haul. This will be fun, I've never seen this Freeport," Sonya says, pushing down the hyperspace lever, sending us hurtling into hyperspace.
Several Days Later
30 ABE
Mandalore – Outer Rim Territories
Amminius Sinan
The first thing I notice dropping back into real space is the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer hanging above the planet like a dark, knife-shaped storm cloud. The ships seem to be everywhere nowadays. Stang. I rapidly tap keys on my center console, trying to power down non-essential systems to reduce detection, moving to turn on the sensor jammer. I think about sending Gerik a message but stop right as I'm about to depress the button. The Order is likely on the lookout for unsanctioned communications.
I bank left slightly to avoid hitting a small chunk of something metal floating in space. My eyes drift from the Destroyer to the various pieces of metal scrap rotating aimlessly around me. Some of the pieces are unrecognizable, but others are familiar: a scorched engine section and blackened bulkheads of an old Corellian Corvette, the aft section of a Gozanti-class cruiser, even the cockpit and wing fragments of a Lambda-class shuttle mixed in with the empty astromech socket of an X-wing.
So this is why we haven't heard from Mandalore in a while, I think as miniscule pieces of debris tink against my cockpit transparisteel, the Order's been policing the system and blasting anyone trying to come in or leave. Well, here's one guy you won't get so- My comm unit crackles; an accented and distinctly unfriendly female voice fills my cockpit.
"Attention RZ-2 A-wing interceptor, we have you on our scanners now. This system is under the jurisdiction of the First Order. Prepare to be taken in for questioning." My insides freeze. The jammer should have prevented detection. I look again at the jammer system. An indicator light shows the device is out of power. Great.
I tap my comm, thinking fast. "No, ma'am, you've got it all wrong. This is Colonel Screed of the First Order, authentication Black Star 8764."
"One moment." Several tense seconds pass. The officer comes on again, "Unfortunately, that code is no longer in operation. It seems you missed the briefing, "Colonel". The Resistance surely can do better. Prepare to be impounded."
I groan internally. Of course they're outdated. I depress the button again, channeling my best Imperial snob. "I've been on a deep cover assignment, unable to check in with Command for the latest codes, you see. Let me pass. I have business on this planet. I can get the proper codes for you later if you insist." I can tell she isn't falling for the ruse, especially once I notice several red dots moving on the radar at high speed.
"Come to a dead st-" I cut her off, silencing my comm unit. It was a boring conversation anyway.
"I think it's time I excuse myself from this party," I say to myself, quickly re-activating buttons on my console. As soon as I start maneuvering my fighter out of the debris field and back towards open space, green lasers streak from the three TIEs, disintegrating bits of debris around me and bouncing off my shields. "Blast!" I yell, bobbing and weaving, trying to dodge the laser bolts. Another salvo hits my shields, and another.
"Go ruin someone else's day, will ya?" I yell out loud. I try another maneuver, but the pesky TIEs stay on my tail. They're fast, much faster than the old Imperial models. My shield display begins to blink from green to red as another laser blast strikes home. I've got to lose them somehow.
An idea begins to form at the back of my mind. During the Galactic Civil War, what set us Rebels apart from the Imps was how we fought. We used unconventional battle tactics, on land and in space. We adapted and sometimes fought dirty, if need be. Those tactics still hold true to this day against the First Order and Praetoriate. Those tactics could once again save my life.
More laser blasts arc over and around my ship, with a few shuddering the cockpit. My shields blink more and more urgently. Those TIEs are fast, but at that speed, they'll be slower when handling tight turns. Or dodging incoming obstacles. Breaking out in a grin, I place my hand over my spare parts ejector and slam my hand on the button.
On my screen, I see the miniature icons of the spare parts hurtling away behind my fighter's outline, directly into the path of the three blips pursuing me. My canopy glows dimly with the color of explosions and I'm hit with the shockwave as the lead TIE loses control and careens into its wingmate, the spare parts no doubt having smashed right through the transparisteel cockpit. Two of the blips disappear on the radar screen. I check my scope for the third. It's hanging back.
"Yeah, that's right!" I cheer as I quickly prepare to calculate the jump back into hyperspace. Someone's got to hear about the First Order presence on Mandalore. I'm just about to enter the final string when I'm slammed against my cockpit console hard, my vision going fuzzy, the coppery taste of blood in my mouth from biting down on my tongue.
To my right I see the outline of flames streaking from my right wing, the swiveling-cannon mount sheared off, the wing section in tatters. Shaking my head, I'm rocked again as another missile strikes the cockpit. I'm now streaking towards the gray-brown planet of Mandalore, flames trailing behind me.
"No! No! No!" I frantically toggle switches and attempt to steer with my control yoke, but no luck, the controls are gone. It looks like I'll be visiting Mandalore's surface after all, I think as I break the atmosphere and streak towards Mandalore's domed capital city, Sundari.
Below, I can see patches of new vegetation beginning to grow on the desert plains, evidence of the hard work the Mandalorian people undertook after the war to make their planet hospitable again. Making a last-ditch effort, I toggle a set of backup switches and yank on the control yoke with all my strength and my fighter responds. Only slightly but I'll take it, being partially in control of your crashing starfighter is better than not at all.
Grunting with the effort, I aim the nose of my ship at an open cavern of a docking bay in the middle of the large dome, bracing myself as the blue supply crates and landing strip markings inside grow steadily larger and larger in my shaking cockpit canopy. With a huge crunch and screech of folding metal and flying sparks, I skid into the bay, scattering supply crates and loading droids of all sorts as the ship plows a path through the dock. Straight towards the far wall. This is gonna hurt, are my last thoughts before WHAM!
Later…
I groggily come to, my head feeling like it's full of a thousand kilos of sand. Every part of me seems to be throbbing. I'm not sure how long I was out for, but I can feel that I'm on the move and not of my own volition. I can feel several pairs of hands grasping my shoulders and waist, moving me along. Carefully, I crack my eyes open and look to my left. Things are still a bit fuzzy, but what I can make out sends icy tendrils of fear into my gut. Armor. Stormtroopers!
Instantly, I snap into fight-or-flight mode, adrenaline flooding into my system. I'm not about to let them take me to interrogation. I wrench my left arm out of the grasp of the stormtrooper holding it, preparing to deliver a savage punch to his faceplate, swinging my leg back to kick his knee.
"Woah! Shab!" My raised arm is abruptly forced down and I can feel the collective grips on me tighten. We come to a halt. An armored form steps in front of me, and I find myself staring not into the soulless eye pieces of a stormtrooper, but the T-visor of a Mandalorian helmet. The armor isn't stark white, but a deep blue.
"Calm yourself, vod, we're friends."
I shake my head, willing the mental fog to lift. The blue Mandalorian shifts into focus, as do our surroundings. We're in a small, sheltered alley off a main street. I can hear the bustling of crowds and other noises associated with a city metropolis, but oddly subdued. There are five other Mandalorians surrounding me, all in different colored armor.
"What..." is all I can manage to say.
The blue Mandalorian seems to understand my unspoken question. "We were alerted about your crash in the docking bay and came to get you out. The whole shabla place is crawling with stormtroopers now. It's lucky we got to you first, we barely made it ourselves."
"They've posted a bounty on you," says a Mandalorian in sand gold armor on my right. He sounds young. "The entire district knows you're here by now, maybe the entire planet. You're Resistance, aren't you?"
My mind finally clears enough for me to speak. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm Resistance. What's going on?"
"Occupation," a Mandalorian in yellow replies, her voice full of ire. "Welcome to the new Mandalore," she gestures with one yellow gauntlet indicating everything. "The First Order really makes it feel like home."
At that moment, sounds of blasterfire tear through the air, followed by a chorus of screams. All the Mandalorians flinch. The one in yellow balls her gauntleted hands into fists. "How long has it been like this?" I ask, motioning that I feel confident enough to stand.
A Mandalorian in red passes me my ammunition satchel and E-11 blaster. I shoulder both over my brown poncho, cinching the worn strap on my blaster rifle to secure it more tightly across my shoulder.
"After the First Order went public, they made strategic moves on many worlds," the red Mandalorian replies. "They showed up just after the Hosnian Cataclysm, wanting our raw materials and shipyards for themselves. They even wanted our kids to join up. We tried to fight, but we couldn't stand against them. Not alone."
"It didn't help that a whole cadre of traitors let them in," the sand gold adds, pounding his fist into his open palm in anger. "Half of the representatives seemed to be in the First Order's osik'la pockets." I feel a pang of guilt mixed in with a hot anger at what the Order had done. We had no idea what was happening here.
"Well, you're not alone anymore," I say, nodding my assertion. "You've got me now." The young Mandalorian in sand gold laughs drily.
"One old geezer against the entire occupation force? Yeah, I think I'll turn myself in now and get it over with."
"Why did you come to Mandalore in the first place?" the blue Mandalorian asks, coming back from peeking out of the alleyway. "You couldn't have picked a worse time to drop by."
"I need to speak to Gerik Ordo. There's something that I was sent here to tell him, something that I think he'd like to be a part of."
"Why not just write that bit in your will?" the sand gold Mando quips. I choose to ignore him.
"Mand'alor is pretty busy at the moment, running our own little underground," replies the red Mando. "He and Wren have their hands full as it is, but if you want to speak to him, we can take you to him."
"Underground?"
"How do you think we got to you so fast?" Blue Mando asks. "We were monitoring Order transmissions. Speaking of which, we need to move. And quickly. The patrols have moved to another search grid, but they'll be back."
Quickly and quietly, our motley group exits the alley and moves down the street, melting into the crowd of fellow Mandalorians, the blue Mandalorian leading, the others walking in loose formation around me, hiding me mostly from view. The sand gold Mandalorian walks next to me. I take the chance to look around at the "new" Mandalore. All around me are the signs of a First Order occupation: red banners emblazoned with their insignia hang from buildings and archways.
More than several buildings are charred and riddled with blaster holes, their windows boarded up with notices on the doorways about violating terms of some form or another. Propaganda posters are plastered everywhere, showing handsome officers in impeccably tailored uniforms, mighty ships cutting through the starscape, and gleaming white stormtroopers heroically charging into battle. Its disgusting.
I also see holographic bounty posters have been updated with my, thankfully sparse, information, the all-points bulletin. Fifty thousand credits for any leads, yikes. But what alarms me the most about the place are the people that walk around us. Some are armored, and some not. The armor and tunic colors appear drabber, it's as if the fight has been taken out of the Mandalorians. Regardless of what they wear, everyone seems to be in a rush to go somewhere and avoid eye contact.
On the street, a First Order speeder makes its way towards the city center, carrying a squad of stormtroopers, scanning the crowd. They don't get many glances back in return. Next to me, I can feel the young Mandalorian tense up at the sight of the troopers.
"Not a fan, I take it," I say quietly to him, trying to lighten the mood. "Maybe if they added a little flare to the decorations…"
"I wish I could take my vibroblade and gut every First Order chakaar on the planet," he responds.
"Oh. You'd make a great chef."
"You don't know what it's like, do you? Seeing your heritage slowly being thrown away and replaced with… this, or worse. They say it was like this back when the Empire was here, how they took over and turned what made us Mandalorian against us. It's worse now and the people we elected to our government helped to build this, they're still helping."
"Believe it or not, I do know something about that," I say, sighing. I helped build the New Republic, you know. I was a Rebel. I fought in both wars, trained the troops, and executed the missions. I remember being so proud of what I helped create, what we had all fought so hard to create. I said to myself, this time, it will be different. This time, there'll be peace to last. Things started out rough, sure, but we sorted everything out well enough. We made progress, and there was finally time to breathe.
But then things began to fall apart. The Senate became full of warring politicians. Everything became a deadlock between them and the galaxy suffered for it. The smallest motions could take months to decide, endless debates and double-crosses and hidden agendas. The forces we had sacrificed so much to keep out of the galaxy began to creep back in thanks to our absence and indecision.
The final straw for me was Leia, I think. For a lot of us civil war vets. My friend, Wodi, in particular. Her evidence of the threat the First Order posed was shouted down on the Senate floor as war mongering, and her entire name slandered. She left, and a lot of us left with her."
I notice that all my escorts are silent. They'd all been listening to me go off. I look at the Mandalorian in blue, who I assume to be the leader of the group, and he turns and offers a solitary nod.
"In short, ner'vod, you know exactly how we're feeling."
"Yeah, I guess I do."
The blue Mando nods ahead of us. "Patrols ahead. Keep your head down." At that moment, a Mandalorian in forest green armor passes by our group, momentarily bumping shoulders with our group leader.
"Oh, sorry, ner'vod. It must be the Sunspot in my eye."
"No harm done, vod. What's the weather like on Concord this time of year?"
"Lots of rain. I wouldn't recommend it. If you're looking for clear skies, try Batuu."
"Will do. Meet you at Black Spire Outpost for an ale?"
"I'll buy this time."
I watch the exchange with interest. The conversation seems to be some sort of secret code, a tool us Rebels used frequently back in the days of the Empire when communicating with informants or each other in Imperial-occupied cities. We still use the tactic today in our own messages inside the Resistance. Nodding once in farewell, the Mandalorian in forest green continues walking down the main street, disappearing into the crowd. Blue Mando shakes his helmeted head.
"Alright, change of plan," he says quietly to our group. "We've switched locations. The Order's gotten wind of our base. This way."
"Lead the way, fearless blue leader," I say, flashing him a grin. Taking us down a series of side streets and past several more stormtrooper squads, we emerge into a different district, and after taking a large hover speeder, come to a stop at a complex of several buildings.
Speeder traffic runs steadily past the area in straight lines. In the center of the cluster of buildings is a multi-layered, tall black one. "Here we are," blue Mando says, indicating the complex. "These are the off-site offices of MandalMotors Manufacturing. Or they used to be."
I look up at the black skyscraper, wedged against the other buildings in the complex. All the windows are dark. "You said this used to be the off-site office complex of MandalMotors?" What was the reason for the move?" Even before I finish my question, I can already guess the answer.
"First Order," the Mando in red explains as we walk. "MandalMotors is at the heart of the Order's operation on Mandalore. It's where they're producing their fighters, gunships, and other equipment. When they showed up, they wanted complete control of the factory's operations, so they, ah, forcefully moved all personnel to the factory complex itself, and left this building unoccupied."
"Ah. They left you the keys to the castle, then? How thoughtful of them."
"In a manner of speaking. An employee provided us with the codes before he was moved."
Checking around, the blue Mandalorian leads our group to the side of the black building to a sealed door. Taking out a keycard from his belt pouch, he waves it in front of the scanner and then types a sequence of numbers on the small keypad inlaid into the door's frame.
"Sarin, you're up," he says, gesturing to the Mandalorian girl in yellow armor. She steps to the keypad and then enters another string of numbers. With a faint hiss, the door slides open.
"Guests first," Sarin says to me with a sweep of her yellow gauntleted arm. "Try not to wreck anything."
I give her a grin and step into the building, followed by the troupe of Mandalorians. The inside of the office building is in disarray: chairs and desks and other office equipment lie strewn about the floor, and on some surfaces. Carbon-scoring and scorch marks frequent the walls.
"Ok, this is more than a bit creepy," I say, glancing around at the aftermath of the First Order's eviction notice. Apart from ourselves, the office seems completely deserted. "Where is everyone?"
"The lower levels are where the action is, Sinan." The voice nearly makes me jump out of my boots. There's something very familiar about it though. Mounted on the wall nearest our group is a security camera pointed our way.
"Lift's this way," Blue Mando says, indicating a hallway from the main room we're standing in. We board the large lift and begin our descent. Now in the lower levels of Black Spire Outpost, I see what the security camera was talking about when it mentioned action. Dozens of Mandalorians and droids of all models stand at consoles or hurry about, carrying crates and armaments and gadgetry.
Supply crates, droid charging ports, blaster racks, foodstuff packages, and computer terminals line the walls. Down branching hallways I can see more equipment and crates. Dominating the center of the action is a large holotable and at the table are two familiar figures.
"Amminius Sinan, the legend," Gerik Ordo says with a pleasant tone, moving from the holotable to greet us. His black and green armor remains as dented as ever, a testament to the number of battles he's been in. A leather sash runs from one peeling green shoulder plate to his worn belt, many different clan emblems stitched across the material. A frayed hunting kama hangs from his waist.
Gerik removes his helmet and tucks it under one arm, revealing his smiling face and slightly graying hair. Several days worth of beard stubble shadows his cheeks. We grasp arms, Gerik pulling me into a one-arm hug. "You haven't aged a day since I last saw you. How are you, ner'vod?"
"As well as one can hope to be, resisting the First Order. I see your fashion sense hasn't improved since we last met."
"Neither has yours," Gerik replies with a chuckle.
He waves me and my rescue party over to the holotable where the other Mandalorian waits, her armor uniquely colored in purples, oranges, reds, yellows, and whites. A stylized Alliance starbird adorns her right shoulder. Her distinctive magenta and silver helmet regards us as we approach. I recognize her instantly: Sabine Wren. Artist, poet, and Rebellion freedom fighter.
"I believe you know Sabine Wren," Gerik says, motioning me forward. I nod, extending my hand and giving her a smile.
"We've never met, ma'am, but I'm quite familiar with your work. I was SpecForce myself. I think some of your posters hung in our barracks.
"Welcome," Sabine chuckles, warmth in her voice. She removes her helmet to reveal short purple hair, warm brown eyes, and a smile. We grasp hands. "So, you're the Rebel that caused all the uproar in Sundari."
"Freedom fighting comes naturally to me, I guess."
"I know the feeling. Welcome to our own resistance. Are more of you on the way?" My smile fades, and I feel a sinking in my chest.
"No, ma'am-"
"Sabine. Please," her almond eyes crinkle in a smile. "We are all friends here."
"Alright then, Sabine. I'm sorry. I'm not bringing in the cavalry to beat back the First Order, as much as I'd like to. We recently suffered some setbacks."
Sabine nods in understanding. "We heard of your losses at Crait. I'm sorry. We tried to help but the First Order came down hard. Are the rest of you safe? Is General Organa?"
"As safe as we can be at the moment. We're slowly rebuilding, but it'll take time. Leia's as tough as they come. The losses shook her, but she's recovering."
"That's good to hear. She'll pull through, I'm sure of it. But if you didn't come here to fight the First Order, Amminius, then what did you come here for? The others likely told you how dangerous Mandalore can be right now."
I look at Gerik. "I actually came to speak to you, Gerik. I was sent here to collect you. There's an important mission that I, and others, think you'd like to be a part of. I wasn't expecting to get shot down though!" Gerik smiles.
"A mission, huh? For the Resistance?"
"Partly," I explain. "We're working with the New Republic Scout Service." Gerik looks shocked. He places both gauntleted hands on the holotable.
"I thought, with the Hosnian Cataclysm, the Home Defense fleet was destroyed. Along with all the rest."
"That's what we thought, too. That's certainly the First Order's line. Guess the Order forgot about the Scout Service, though. They've got ships, weapons, manpower, everything. There are remnants of other NR fleets still out there, too. Leia sent agents to find them and Wodi to meet up with the Scout Service."
"How is Wodi? I haven't seen him in a long time. Good man."
"Alive and kicking. And hoping you'll join us."
"Is he leading this mission?"
"Ah, no. Cade is." Gerik blinks several times.
"Cade. Cade who? You don't mean…"
"I do. Cade Valdarin, in the flesh," I say, my lips forming into a smile. The activity around the holotable has halted completely. Even the droids seem to be listening intently. Sabine stares wide eyed, a mask of shock plastered on her face. She fiddles randomly with dials on the holotable, seemingly not aware of her actions.
Gerik stands motionless for several seconds, looking as if he just got hit by a charging ronto. "Cade Valdarin. Alive," he says, almost as if in a dream.
"Cade needs you, Gerik. We're going after the Praetoriate, to destroy Pravus' legacy once and for all."
Gerik processes this information, a range of emotion flitting across his face: joy, confusion, amazement, sadness, determination. Finally, he looks at Sabine, who nods. "Go," she says. "You are Mand'alor, I cannot command you. Go help your friend. And you tell him, too, that once he's done saving the galaxy for a second time, to come back here and help us save Mandalore."
Gerik nods, a wide smile cracking across his face. "I will. But," he looks hesitant for a second, "the underground. If I leave…"
Sabine smiles again. "The movement won't die if you leave for a short time, Gerik. I have more than enough hands to keep the First Order occupied for a long while. Just don't take too long. I'll see if I can arrange transport for you."
"Then I'll take Sarin, Ree, Keda, Fahey, Nad, and Ikko." The last two names jog my memory. The blue Mandalorian street steps forward.
"Nad and Ikko. They were with us during the Imperium War?" I ask.
"The very same," the blue Mandalorian says, stepping to Gerik's side.
"Fearless blue leader! I didn't know that was you!"
"I didn't think it was the right time to catch up, avoiding First Order patrols. Mind had to be on the job. Ikko's on a scouting mission in the academy district, Mand'alor. I'll comm him." Nad walks away, placing a hand to the side of his helmet to make his call. The rest of the team moves off to gather supplies.
Gerik gives me a smile. "It'll be just like old times, won't it?"
"Well, hopefully not just like old times."
"Yeah, I could do without another Gorukar."
Our group, now all present, covertly exits Black Spire outpost and boards a resistance-owned Aka'jor-class shuttle located some distance away. Sabine and several of her fighters follow, some on foot, some in nondescript speeders. Other cells are alerted of the plan and move in on their own targets.
Now in the shuttle, we head to the heart of the First Order on Mandalore: MandalMotors. With a staged diversion by Sabine on the outside perimeter, along with other points within the city itself by the other cells, the bulk of the First Order force is too preoccupied to notice that some of their TIE fighters have gone missing on the landing strip.
The TIE pilots we encountered won't be alerting their superiors anytime soon. With the clearance codes transmitted to the orbiting Star Destroyer and confirmation that the onboard trackers have been disabled from Fahey, the green armored tech expert, our team prepares to jump into hyperspace. Looking back one last time at Mandalore in the copilot seat, I give a rude hand gesture to the orbiting Destroyer. I also silently promise to return to aid Sabine and the others as the stars morph into a blue tunnel and I feel the rumble of entering hyperspace.
_30 ABE
The Freeport - Wild Space
Gavin Skyes
The Phoenix drops out of hyperspace to see what looks like Cloud City, only with two large saucers at either end of a long, cylindrical section in orbit above a star. "Well, there it is, the Freeport. Think of the seediest cantina you can, but in space. You'll find all sorts of interesting characters here: people going about their lives, spice runners, gun runners, racketeers, pirates, slavers, you name it. Intel points to a contact willing to meet us in the Nova Star Lounge on level 31."
Nods all around and I see Cade and his pupils, Wodi, and the EATU soldiers remove their armor and robes and don more civilian-like attire, we don't want to draw unnecessary attention. The Scout Service and, by proxy, the New Republic, isn't that welcome in certain parts of Wild Space. Many see us as willing to exploit resources that are in their territory, even if those worlds are unclaimed.
Kouvu, a male Kyuzo, dons a large round hat and tunic common to his people, Kavira wears a dress that accentuates her Falleen features. As for me, I take a long, light-tan bantha leather trench coat with khaki military pants, establishing the look of a smuggler. We exit the transport into one of the many hangars of the Freeport to see a bustling hive of activity.
"Kouvu, stay with the ship. I need you to keep an eye out, in case we have unwelcome visitors or need a hasty getaway." He nods and moves some crates around, taking a seat. "Shall we?" I say to the others and we walk onto the promenade. It is quite a sight: stalls line the sides of the walkway, vendors hawking their wares.
Volke, having been a bounty hunter before becoming a Jedi and having been here many times, says he has an old contact and leaves to speak with them. As we near the lounge, I lean back to Kavira and Lemmen, telling them to stay out here but with line of sight, in case things get hairy. We enter the lounge to hear a soft, pulsing rhythm sounding in the air. As we find a table next to the bar, I glance around.
"Sonya, any idea what the hutt looks like, this Garga fellow?"
"No," she shakes her head. "I've never seen him before but from what I've heard, he's not your typical Hutt: a legitimate business man, no front company, no criminal cartel."
"An honest Hutt," I scoff. "I'll believe that when I see it." We wait a little longer when Cade starts staring at something outside the lounge.
"Did you see that?"
"What's up, Valdarin?" I ask, knowing full well that his Jedi senses are likely picking up something that I can't.
"I saw someone who looked very familiar, I've worked with him before, I'll be back." Sonya gets up and starts to say something when Cade puts a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be right back, I promise," he says, his black padded jumpsuit catching the light from overhead.
"Well, might be here for a while, may as well get comfortable," Wodi says with a sigh and orders a drink. I join him at the bar while Sonya and Ida stay at the table. We wait about ten minutes or so when I feel something nudge my elbow.
I look to my left to see a very inebriated Twi'lek, his purple skin looking even more so, a hulking Herglic stands behind him. "Can I help you?" I ask him, noticing a tattoo on his neck, the Thalassian Slavers.
He nods towards the table where Ida is sitting. "The little girl, how much?"
I hear Wodi stand up. "Excuse me?" I ask. He points at Ida and repeats his question and I can see Sonya wrap her arm protectively around Ida, like a mother sandpather protecting her cub. "Look pal, you're drunk, why don't you and your friend leave and sleep it off."
"Come now, don't be so possessive," the Twi'lek responds. Wodi inches closer to the man and I stand with him, I can tell this won't end well.
"Do you know who we are?"
"But of course," the man says in a stuttered slur. "Republic soldiers, bah! Look at what has happened to your vaunted Republic!" As fast as lightning, I see Wodi punch the guy straight in the face, clobbering him to the floor. The Herglic bodyguard starts to reach for Wodi when I draw an S-5 pistol on him.
"Try it and I'll fry you." He holds up his hands and stands in surrender as Wodi pulls the Twi'lek back up, blood gushing from his nose.
"Now, why don't you try talking about Republic soldiers again?"
"Republic soldiers are strong, honorable warriors and I was wrong to think otherwise."
"And?" Wodi says, forcibly making the man look at Ida.
"And I'm sorry to have disrespected you, little miss, please forgive me." Wodi shoves the man into the Herglic and orders them to leave. A bartender droid comes over to our spot and Wodi gives him a credit chip.
"Sorry about the commotion." We sit back down and I notice Sonya sliding her Deathhammer pistol back into her hip holster, she had a bead on the Twi'lek the entire time. Wodi sees Cade coming through the entrance and we all look up to see a blue-skinned humanoid with glowing red eyes next to him.
30 ABE
The Freeport - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
I left the others at the lounge when I saw a familiar blue face in the crowd of vendors and pedestrians, a face that I saw multiple times during the war. Weaving between the stalls, I see the figure again, dressed in a simple green jacket and military-issue pants and boots. I catch up to them as they are inspecting weapons from a vendor and they turn around.
"Z? Zeatuli?"
"Valdarin? I heard you were dead… but then again, I shouldn't be surprised." He beckons me over, placing the rifle down and we begin walking in the direction of the lounge.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the Republic capital was just destroyed and I know several senators have recalled task forces to defend their home systems. So are you part of the Scout Service?" He shakes his head and we end up back outside the Nova Star lounge.
I see Wodi deck a purple Twi'lek and Sonya holding Ida tightly. I walk in with Zeatuli when Gavin and Wodi turn and see us.
"Z? What in blazes are you doing here?" Wodi asks.
"Working for Republic Command, what else?" he responds, nodding to Sonya and taking a seat at the table.
"Wait, you're an Infiltrator, this is neutral space. Are you with the Scout Service?" Wodi asks and looks at Gavin, who shakes his head no.
"He's with Alpha Blue, the black ops group," I say quietly.
Z looks at me. "Very astute, how'd you know?"
"Well, normal military forces would have been recalled into known space and if you were with the Service, why would Gavin lie? That leaves one other option, black ops. My guess? You and Alpha Blue are heading deniable operations against the First Order and Praetoriate."
He nods approvingly. "That's right, we've been masquerading as a PMC out here and actually have accumulated quite a few recruits and try to hit them where we can." Zeatuli turns to Wodi and Gavin. "So, I imagine you are looking for Garga, right?" They nod.
"Jevin felt that Garga could provide some information we can use," I say to Zeatuli as we begin following him through the concourse.
"I'd say so. General Corso is actually the one who ordered Alpha Blue out here. Jevin is a smart man, he was playing angles even before Hosnian Prime was destroyed. But on to Garga. The Hutt is atypical of the species; where most are criminal kingpins with massive empires, he is content to be a legitimate business man."
I hear Gavin scoff again as he maneuvers out of the way of a particularly nasty looking Ithorian. "An honest Hutt, that'd be the day."
"It's true. No extortion racket, no gun or slave running, not even a smuggling ring, just a transport service that handles foodstuffs. He does have his hands in a sophisticated information gathering operation, though."
We come to a stately door and through it, I can see an ornate room, decorated with various works of art from the indigenous species of Wild Space. As I look around, I hear a booming voice say enter in Huttese and we see a Hutt holding a datapad, a Hutt much more fit than any I've seen.
30 ABE
The Freeport - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
The Hutt beckons us into the room and the first thing I notice is that this Hutt is much more muscular than a typical Hutt.
"Come in, come in. How can I help such illustrious characters such as yourselves?" Garga says in Basic.
"Illustrious, I like the sound of that," Wodi says, smiling.
"Garga, we need information regarding the First Order and Praetoriate," I say, taking control of the conversation.
"Of course friends, I have datacards for you over here." The Hutt hands me several and I can see some are detailing the GenoHaradan and there's one about Kovin Groth.
"Thank you, Garga, you're doing the Republic a favor."
"There is one… other thing," Garga says. "You all served with the Rebel Alliance to some degree. Tell me, have you heard of Sunspot Prison?"
I look at Wodi, the member of our group who actually was a member of the Alliance, I was only eight years old at the time of the Battle of Endor and Gavin is only a year younger than me, Sonya a year older.
"Sunspot was our… secret detention facility for high-level Imperial criminals," Wodi says.
Garga hands him a datapad. "Some of your friends are being held there." Wodi looks at the pad intensely and looks back up at the Hutt.
"Is this accurate?"
"Information is my business, Colonel Quix. Members of the Resistance, both from before and after the Battle of Crait, are being held there, along with members of the New Republic."
Wodi folds his arms across his chest. "But last I heard, it still belonged to the New Republic, did something happen?"
"The First Order and Praetoriate are not above using third parties to accomplish their goals. The Haxion Brood, an underworld crime syndicate, was contracted by both groups to take out the Republic presence guarding the penitentiary and hold it for them."
Wodi wrinkles his brow. "How, when? There was a battalion of elite troops there. To take them all out? That'd take some work."
I look at him and frown. "I don't think you want to know the answer."
Most likely, the Haxion Brood bought off a large part of that battalion; corruption had been a problem in the Republic for years. It's sad to think about. The New Republic was spiraling downward into corruption and complacency and then the Imperium War happened. During the war, the New Republic became what we had intended it to be: a strong democratic force with a strong and adaptive military force but not tyrannical, not like the Empire.
Then we lost that. In the decade after the final battle at Chandrila, something happened. Political infighting became the norm, the military was again downsized to a simple peacekeeping force, and something we learned all too late was that the First Order had senators in their pocket. We knew that the First Order would continue what the Imperium had started and still did nothing.
Later…
"Well, what should we do now?" I ask as I enter the docking bay behind Sonya and Gavin. I notice my wrist comm blinking and activate it.
"... Cade, do you read?"
"Jevin, I'm here, what's going-" I'm cut off by the sound of blasterfire and water splashing. "Jevin… Jevin!"
"I'm here, kid… GET DOWN! While you were away, the First Order decided to launch their attack. The fleet is holding their own but they landed AT-M6s on one of the surface cities and we got stormtroopers breathing down our necks." I hear Jevin pop off some shots before coming back to the speaker. "How soon do you think you can get here!?" A few more shots, the sound of artillery hitting water, and then nothing.
I look at Sonya, not needing to say anything. Gavin nods and punches in a code onto the holo projector on his wrist comp that connects him to Odessen and a holo-image of Administrator Adare shows up. "Terena, is Major Ayala available?"
"Here, sir," a green-skinned Twi'lek says, coming into view.
"Ayala, I need you to prepare a strike force. Dac is under siege, the First Order is attempting to take out anything that can rebuild the fleet."
"Understood," he says, crisply saluting and the holo winks out.
"Let's go, we didn't almost die on numerous occasions to watch the New Republic be destroyed now," I say, full of confidence. "Wodi, you should take a small unit to Sunspot, if there's a battalion of Resistance and Republic POWs there, we can't leave them at the hands of the First Order. We need all the help we can get."
30 ABE
The Freeport - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
I watch the Phoenix lift off from the grungy and pedestrian-choked landing pad of the Freeport and fly out through the ray-shielded hangar barrier to the stars beyond, silently wishing them good luck. Turning back towards the crowded street with my hands in my pockets, I walk back towards Garga's office, my old EC-17 holdout gripped in my right hand with the stun setting on, just in case. You can never be too careful in a place like this. Disguised in civilian gear - a shabby waist-length brown poncho, tool sash, and beard stubble, my graying hair unruly - no one pays me much attention as I wheedle my way through the throng of beings and droids.
On the surface, I'm just another old spacer out for a drink and a good time, maybe when his wife's not looking, supporting no cause but his own. No one would suspect me as a solider of the New Republic and Resistance. Well, maybe Garga would, but that's because he seems to have dealt with our kind before. As far as Hutts go, though, he's surprisingly decent. I don't think he'd sell us to the highest bidder. But those two slavers somehow knew who we were, that has me worried.
A short little Crocin in goggles and a hulking green skinned Grissling in a long dirty blue coat barge past me, likely heading to the cantina. I readjust my equipment sash and keep walking, trying to keep my anxiety in check. Crowds were never my strong suit, and unsavory crowds are even less so.
My wife was always the one who could navigate these types of situations with ease. Speaking of wives, my comm vibrates, and I take it out to see a message from Amara. I smile, imagining her at my side and how she'd be acting soothes my nerves. She's always been a people person. Stars, I miss her. I steer clear of the entrance to a seedy restaurant, where a brawl over a grav-ball tournament, if my ears aren't failing me, is in full swing.
"Hey, friend," a green suction-cupped hand grasps my poncho, and my grip on the pistol suddenly becomes as strong as beskar. I turn to see an inebriated Rodian clutching at me, his other hand holding a cloudy bottle.
"Friend, got any spare creds? I need to take a cab to, er, s-somewhere in the … lower levels. I, uh …" I do my best to shrug off his hand.
"Sorry, I'm out of credits at the moment. The spaceport's that way, though. I think I saw a cab or two-" I stop mid sentence, because I've just glimpsed two familiar figures making their way towards me. One, a hulking Herglic, a wicked grin stretching across his wide, sharp-toothed mouth. The other, a magenta-skinned Twi'lek, his teeth bared in a satisfied smile. My heart starts pounding faster, and I attempt once again to free myself from the Rodian's grasp, desperate to melt into the crowd. His long fingers tighten around me.
"No, no, mister. You stay right where you are." His voice is no longer slurred and drunken but sing-song. When I shift the hand in my pocket gripping my blaster, I feel the barrel of his own blaster pistol press into the small of my back. The bottle is gone. "Try to remove it, and I put a hole in you. Not anything vital, though. Those fine gentlemen want a word first. Something about a New Republic lapdog who needs to be taught his place in the galaxy."
I'm frozen, standing off to the side of the bustling street, the two slavers I had encountered making their way purposefully towards me. Kriff, where's the police, or whatever passes here? I think, my eyes darting left and right for possible escape options. I could try and cause a disturbance, get people moving. No, I wouldn't get far with the blaster pistol in my back.
The Rodian seems to sense my thoughts, and jabs the barrel in further, painfully. "I wouldn't try what you're thinking of doing." The Herglic and Twi'lek have almost reached me. I can see the malicious glint in the Twi'lek's eyes. No, I'm not going out this way.
I wrench myself out of the Rodian's grasp and fall to the street with a painful thud, the Rodian's blaster discharging with a loud thwap. The bolt hits the side of a wooden stall, sending up chunks of splinters. The shot causes an outcry of alarm from those around me, and people duck or begin to move fast away from the scene.
I get to my feet and begin to dash up the crowded street, trying my best to make myself scarce. I hear shouts behind me and hear people being shoved out of the way. Several blaster shots sizzle past my head. Oh kriff. I bring out my scout pistol and fire back at my pursuers, my stun bolt missing and sailing through the air. "Come back here, Republic scum!" More blaster shots. I hear cries of pain and thuds as several people collapse to the ground around me, dead.
I cringe, feeling a splash of sadness for the lives ripped away in front of me. Up ahead is the entrance to Garga's hideout, and I feel a rush of hope. If I can just make it there. Two forms appear out of the wide entrance, and I can tell that they're some of Garga's entourage. Rodian guards, armored and tough looking. They raise their long rifles, pointing them at me. My heart sinks. Maybe Garga isn't as honest as I thought. "Drop, soldier!" One of them yells at me, gesturing down with his free hand.
I instinctively do as he commands, falling once again to the dirty street. Garga's guards fire at my pursuers, a salvo going through the chest of the Rodian that grabbed me, another hitting the Twi'lek in the temple, turning his purple skin and lekku a charred black. The two guards then focus their attack on the Herglic. He goes down, too, after taking several rounds through his body, collapsing to the ground with a crash, his big blaster spinning away. I take a second to stare at the three prone forms of my would-be assassins, riddled with blaster holes, a sense of relief wash over me.
The guard who had told me to drop comes over, offering his hand to me. I accept and he pulls me to my feet with a light grunt. "You okay?" he asks, nudging the thick arm of the dead Herglic with his boot.
"Yeah," I say, running a hand through my mussed hair. "I'm good. Thanks for that."
"Just as a future reference, I wouldn't go picking fights with slavers, unless you want to end up in chains. Or worse."
I grin. "I'll try to keep that in mind. Mind if I step in? I've got another date with the Hutt." The guard shakes his head and chuckles.
As I walk through the sliding doors, more guards slide past me to help clean up the mess outside. I head into the bar, where I see Garga lounging, taking a pull from a hookah, his large yellow eyes following me as I approach him. He lets out a deep laugh and slaps his tail against the floor.
"Getting into more trouble I see, soldier!" he says in Basic. "How am I going to explain to those poor Thalassians," he utters a Huttese curse word, "that two of their employees won't be returning home?" He says this last part with an exaggerated wink of one of his great eyes.
"Hey," I smile and shrug, "accidents happen all the time." Garga lets out another deep laugh.
"I like the way you think! I never liked slavers myself, it's a dirty business." He motions to the data terminals behind him and we move to them. Garga taps a few large keys with his meaty hand, bringing up several data files. "The forces at Sunspot are no laughing matter, I'm afraid. A combined guard of stormtroopers and Haxion Brood hunters won't be easy to slip past."
"Stormtroopers, we can handle. I've been fighting bucket-heads nearly all my life. But I've never dealt with these Haxion Brood types before." Garga begins slithering towards some new screens, beckoning me to follow.
"If conflict can be avoided, I'd recommend it. Highly dangerous and cybernetically augmented bounty hunters and commandos, and their reprogrammed bounty droids. Big hulking things. The Brood operates out of Ordo Eris, an asteroid stronghold, and mainly focuses on the smuggling and gambling sector of the underworld. The First Order must be paying through the nose for them to operate this far out of their territory."
I study the file on the Brood hunters, looking over the information that Garga managed to gather. I note the specialized weaponry and armor plating on both the organic hunters and commandos, and the heavy plating and large crushing arms of the droids. Garga plays a holocam clip of the Haxion Brood in action. It appears from the recording that a smuggling ship came under attack from the gang. I watch as the Brood slaughters the poor souls that came across them trying to defend their cargo. It's not a pretty sight.
"Yikes," I comment as the holorecording ends. "I'd hate to see these guys on a bad day."
"They are indeed a force to be reckoned with. But you and your team are no common smugglers, are you? You brought down the Empire. You destroyed the Imperium. Compared to that, the Brood is a single speck of stardust. Now, tell me, what do you plan to do to get your people out of there?" he says, swiveling his large head in my direction. I think for a moment.
"Well, what we're going to need… are disguises. Damn good ones."
"The Brood is known to send out hunters after targets that displease them, the syndicate has a long memory. Now that they're in league with the First Order, I have no doubt that some of your Resistance soldiers and allies have fallen prey to them."
"Neither do I," I say, my fingers curling into a fist. "Let me call in my allies. We'll need the whole team to come up with a plan." Garga nods.
"Make your call. When you're finished, follow me. I have many gifts that I think you will enjoy."
After calling in the small SHARC team from a secluded corner of the loud and vibrant bar, and listening to the message from Amara, a message that made me feel like a young kid in love again, I follow Garga to one of the adjacent buildings, connected to his hideout by a long hallway. "My team will be here within the hour," I tell him. "They've been standing by in a neighboring sector monitoring First Order communications, checking to see if any Resistance or New Republic frequencies have been intercepted."
"Good. Good. I will arrange for an escort to take them here. We don't want any more… incidents. Ho ho!"
"I'll tag along as well. It'll help to have a familiar face. In the meantime, though, I'm interested to see these gifts of yours."
"You will not be disappointed, believe me." We emerge through a battered door into a vast room chock full of everything. Multi-colored shelves stacked with all kinds of mismatched gear and weaponry. My eyes go wide, staring at row after row of supplies, from various armor pieces to grappling lines and jetpacks to hats and helmets to racks of blasters of all makes and models.
Garga chuckles at my amazed expression. "I thought you would like my store. Take a look around. When your friends arrive in-system, come and find me. Everything you need will be half price." With a wave of his thick arm, Garga moves back into the hallway, the doorway sliding shut behind his powerful tail. I chuckle as I begin to wander, perusing the shelves like the other customers. An honest and generous Hutt. Can the galaxy get any stranger?
Later…
Standing on the bustling landing pad with a trio of Garga's guards half-an-hour later, our backs against a small maintenance alcove, I watch as a nondescript ZH-40 Tribune-class light freighter sets down on one of the careworn landing pads, its thrusters letting off small jets of steam. Even during the station's "night" cycle, the place is alive with flashing lights and bustling bodies. "There she is," I say with a small gesture toward the ship. "Just another drifter crew looking for some credits, right? Come on."
As the whine of its quad ion engines subsides, the sound just audible over the rest of the noise, a boarding ramp descends below the cockpit and four people disembark, all in various civilian clothes. We go to meet the new arrivals and I take the lead, it'll help to have a friendly face. As we approach, the gray and yellow-skinned Nautolan in front, Fix Stinni, the leader of the small team, raises a hand in subtle greeting, striding toward us in a long dark green tunic. Behind him are Vash Noza, a teal-skinned Duros in a muted-yellow jacket, and Kista Thiddex and Tendra Keller, both female humans, wearing nondescript tunics of black and gray.
"Nice to see you in one piece, sir," Fix says quietly, giving me a smile, shaking my hand.
"Likewise. This station's a bit rough around the edges, but I guess you could get used to it. Not that we'll need to, hopefully." I nod at his and the other's clothing. "It looks like you've all got the rough-and-tumble drifter look down."
Kista grins. "The look seems to come naturally for you, sir!" I chuckle as I gesture everyone back towards Garga's and we begin walking.
"When you've been fighting intergalactic regimes as long as I have, the look just sort of sticks." Walking in a group, we make small talk, weaving through the throng of beings and droids, hesitant to discuss our mission in case any unfriendly ears are listening. We steer clear of a fierce betting game on one of the side streets, and a short distance later, I have to drag Tendra out of the clutches of an intoxicated woman, intent on taking her to her flat to do "pleasurable business."
Finally reaching Garga's establishment, I usher the others in through the sliding doors, then follow. The guards bring up the rear. "Nice place," Vash comments as we walk through the multi-colored lighted passageway towards the bar area. "Not the usual slime infested bolt hole I immediately think of when you mention Hutts." One of the guards offers an amused grunt. Entering the still-lively bar, the guards direct us to Garga's personal chambers down a smaller hallway at the back. "My friends," the Hutt spreads his small muscular arms wide in greeting as we enter. "Welcome, welcome. The work of resistance is never done, is it?"
Tendra and Kista exchange a look, eyebrows raised. Garga nods to his guards, who exit the room. The door shuts, and the sounds of laughing and clinking stops. Soundproof, I think to myself. Smart move. "Now that we're more secure," Garga says, moving over to a holotable and a bank of computer terminals, much more advanced models than the ones outside, "I trust that your friend has informed you all of why you are here."
"Prison break of high-value targets," Fix confirms, nodding. "Valuable personnel for the Republic and Resistance the First Order's keen to keep locked away." Garga acknowledges his words with a nod of his great head.
"Were you told about the other jailers that guard the prison?"
"What," Vash says, "the psycho cyborg bounty hunters or our pure, honest, upstanding troops they paid off?" I grimace. Hearing it put so bluntly hurts.
Garga chuckles. "Then you are aware of your obstacles. To infiltrate the prison, your friend put forth the option of disguises. In his own words, 'damn good ones.' If your goal is to look like Brood hunters, I have what you require. Follow me."
"After we find some kit, we'll bunk for the night and meet back here to discuss tactics. Garga's offering us room and board," I say, gesturing to the others to follow.
Kista raises a thin eyebrow. "For free?" I shrug, showing her a smile.
"You'll find that Garga's an exception to the rule in many ways."
Once again inside the giant equipment store, where the others are thoroughly impressed, we quickly get to work. Before separating, we decide that both myself and Vash will be the Resistance prisoners. There really isn't a better person to pose as a Resistance prisoner than an actual member, I think to myself, while Fix, Tendra, and Kista will pose as Brood hunters.
We split up, each person scouring a different grid of shelves. Perusing through the aisles in my section, various pieces of equipment catch my eye, and I mentally catalog where they are. Not for myself; I'm essentially all set in my outfit, but for the others. A battered chest piece and back plate of clone trooper armor, a faded yellow vertical stripe of paint running down the center of the chest, an ammo belt with large pouches for equipment and explosives, several sets of unique helmets, a box of Geonosian sonic detonators, and a rack of battered Rebellion-era A280Cs to round off the whole thing.
I smile, picking up one of the old weapons and checking it for power. Satisfied, I expertly remove the barrel to check for carbon scoring or other damage. All clean, except for more than a few scratches and dings. Just like me, I grin. Old and battered, but still good. I heft the blaster, its weight familiar in my hands, like an old friend.
Memories come back as I stand there. The frozen plains of Hoth, the forests of Endor, the deserts of Jakku, the-. "Erm, Colonel?" I quickly look up to see Vash standing there, watching me. The Duros grins.
"Just old memories," I say, putting the rifle back.
After roughly an hour later of combing through Garga's haul and selecting various pieces of bounty-hunter worthy equipment: pitted and dented armor pieces and helmets, ammunition satchels and tool pouches, sturdy gauntlets, flight suits, blaster rifles, and various grenades - we move back to the secure room off the bar and begin the transformation process from galactic drifters and smugglers to tough-as-nails bounty hunters. From studying the holorecordings and other media Garga gathered, we paint our armor pieces to match the colors seen most often on real Brood hunters, dark blue and yellow, also copying the crime syndicate's circular black insignia on various pieces of plating and clothing.
As the others finish putting on their battle-scored armor, I whistle in appreciation at our handiwork, folding my arms in satisfaction. "I'd call that a job well done."
"Damn," Vash says, "it looks like you three stepped straight out of the holos. You should keep those outfits. Especially you, Keller. The 'space trash' look suits you." Tendra signs a gesture that makes the Duros laugh. Garga promises to have someone fashion fake prosthetic limbs to go along with the whole disguise.
Later, we take separate rooms upstairs to sleep for the night. Like the downstairs bar and lounge, the rooms are well kept, although I do find a few shelled insects lingering in the small refresher sink. Oh well. No place is perfect, I've been in worse spots.
After a breakfast of fried nerf strips, eggs, and bread, we get to work, planning the infiltration and extraction phase of our daring raid. If all things go accordingly, it'll be fairly quick. Get in, locate the prisoners, free them, and then bug out. The only downside is how many prisoners we'll be extracting. After a fairly lengthy time of planning, we wrap up, grabbing our gear and heading back towards our waiting ship that will, hopefully, not get us shot out of the sky. As we board the ZH-40, I take one last look at the bustling station, sincerely hoping it won't be one of my final memories.
_30 ABE Sunspot Prison - Outer Rim Territories Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Our light freighter exits the mottled blue tunnel of hyperspace, shuddering back into realspace in the Calamari sector. I sit forward in the passenger seat in the cockpit behind Kista, shielding my eyes as I look out into space. In the forward viewport, the visage of a bright yellow sun dominates the field of view. Visible near it is Sunspot Prison, hanging in its orbit, appropriately named for looking like a dark blotch on the superheated ball of gas.
"There it is," Kista says, gesturing at the prison out the rapidly tinting viewport. "Lovely looking place, right?" Fix nods at the ship's controls and is about to speak when the comm unit crackles.
"ZH-40 freighter, we have you on our scopes. State your business now or we'll send you streaking into the sun." The voice is harsh and distorted, sounding partially like a droid attempting to talk through a faulty vocoder.
In the distance, I see four different makes of starfighters flying out from around the prison, making a beeline towards us. The screen emits a tone, indicating a target lock. I point to the screen as more target lock warnings flash in red.
The Nautolan's large dark eyes take on a fiery determination, and he squares his shoulders and dons the angular helmet sitting next to the console. When he speaks, it's in an equally harsh voice, but with a cocky undertone. "We were on assignment from the syndicate out in the Expansion Region when we ran into some Resistance scum. We thought you'd appreciate the extra company. But if not, I'm sure we can eject them right here and now. Your loss."
"Not at all," the voice responds after a lengthy pause. "Always looking for more guests, we've been running low. We'll fly you in and take a look at your haul."
"Got it," Fix replies, wiping his forehead. He snaps off the comm and gives those of us assembled a thumbs up. I return the gesture, a feeling of worry slowly creeping in my stomach. Blast, I still can't get a handle on it, after all these years. I mentally force myself to remain calm.
"First phase is complete!" Kista says, clapping her gloved hands together. Vash reenters the cockpit, followed by Tendra, who holds two pairs of stun cuffs in one gloved hand.
"Time to put on your own disguises. Come on, Resistance scum." She says the last bit with a quirky smile, jingling the cuffs. A grimace flashes across Vash's noseless face, and he holds out his wrists, resigned.
"This is the part of the plan I was looking forward to the least."
"Hey," I tell him as Tendra moves forward. "Join the club." Before I'm snapped in, I take a moment to muss my hair and clothes, aiming to look as if I hadn't gone down easy. Vash does the same, rumpling his jacket and other clothing. The station looms larger in our viewport, and the sharp angles and lines of the floating prison seem even more menacing with the harsh glow of the nearby sun amplifying and shining behind them. My heart starts to race again. I've got a bad feeling about this place.
I hadn't even learned of its existence until I was well into my career with Alliance SpecForces. It didn't sound too pleasant then, either. Two of our escorts peel away, while the other two, an old Z-95 Headhunter and a model I'm not familiar with, enter a large boxy hangar through a purple ray shield.
Overseeing the Haxion Brood ships at a distance, like dark demons in space, is a trio of TIE fighters. The sight of them does nothing to calm my nerves. "Looks like the Order wants to make sure things go off smoothly," Kista says quietly.
"Let the scum do the dirty work," Tendra replies. We follow the Brood ships in, Fix setting the ZH-40 down and turning off main systems. I can't see his expression behind his helmet, but if he's anything like me, he's scared as hell.
On the hangar deck, I glimpse a small number of beings, all wearing armor plating and sporting an assortment of weapons either slung at their backs or out and at the ready. I also see three First Order stormtroopers and a black-clad officer watching us off to the side of the hangar. When we move to the boarding ramp and it descends, I count at least ten figures, including three hulking droids, plus the stormtroopers.
Tendra has Vash by the wrists, and Kista holds me by my own. Both yank us downward to kneel on the hangar deck. One of the actual Brood hunters steps forward, accompanied by the female officer in crisp military dress and cap, her face clearly showing agitation that it was not she who had stepped forward first. It's clear from the amount of armor and weapons on the Broodsman, and the way he stands, that he's the leader of the group.
"So," he says, looking us over with his helmeted head, his voice distorted, just like the one who greeted us. "These are our two new guests." I glare up at the armored bounty hunter. The man regards me, then promptly slams a fist into the side of my head.
Stars of pain erupt in my vision, and I'm only vaguely aware that I've fallen to the deck, my head aching. It feels like his fist was made of iron. Kista brings me back up roughly, still playing her part, though I can tell from the way she takes hold of me again, tightly squeezing my shoulder, that she's concerned.
"A lot of the ones we get need to be taught their place first," the hunter explains indifferently, flexing his hand, which I can now see is a cybernetic graft, the lights of the hagar glinting off of its metal surface. With lightning speed, he executes a vicious uppercut into Vash's stomach. Vash grunts in pain, his large forehead touching the floor as he doubles over.
Tendra hauls him up again. "Get up, scum." The officer nods her approval, gesturing someone to her side. The three stormtroopers and a junior officer materialize from the crowd, moving forward and attempting to wrest control of us. Tendra and Kista yank us back.
"We've got these two," Fix says. "We caught them. We bag them." The Brood leader holds out an arm to stop the officer from moving forward.
"We've got this, Lieutenant Vercet." Vercet's icy blue eyes flash for a moment, but then she nods stiffly.
"We'll be watching," she says, and moves away with her guard.
"We've got plenty of space," the hunter says, talking to Fix, glancing momentarily at the retreating stormtroopers. "As we've said, we're running low on entertainment. This'll freshen things up. Get them processed and put 'em with the others in K block." I can only begin to ponder his meaning before we're dragged off towards the cell complex.
Now in uncomfortable orange prison uniforms, we're escorted to K-block. As our party moves in quick steps down the eerily silent hallways of the vast prison, the walls showing signs of carbon scoring and blaster damage, evidence of the hostile takeover. Brood hunters, many in full face helmets and sporting cybernetic augmentations, stop to regard us. More than once, I spy a watcher in a New Republic uniform regarding our procession from behind their visors. A few turn their helmeted heads away as we're dragged along, but some look on with eagerness.
"Happy, are you?" Vash says to a soldier stationed at a hallway junction, his voice full of ire. The soldier wordlessly kicks him in the side, and I glare at the turncoat as we stop at a turbolift.
"K block?" the soldier asks, completely indifferent to my accusatory stare. Our jailers nod. "Good," the man replies. "I don't think mine will last much longer. I've got good credits on him, too."
His helmeted head turns to glance at me before he calls the lift. "You look like you've got some fight!" I don't reply. The soldier chuckles coldly. The lift arrives, and we board, rising up and into K block.
When the doors part, I'm greeted with the sight of a multi-leveled detention chamber, with ray-shielded cells on every level, watchful guards observing our procession from the railings. As we exit, I can see that a handful of cells on the first and second level are occupied, but most are empty.
"Some new friends for you!" the second member of our escort calls to the room, his voice echoing off the walls. He gets only half-hearted insults thrown back at him from some of the cells.
Vash and I are dragged to adjacent cells, and roughly pushed inside. I'm pushed so hard I fall flat on my face on the cold metal ground and the shield comes online. "Enjoy your stay." I hear a guard laugh visciously. "You three, come with me. Regale me with how you caught these prisoners."
The voices recede, and I can't help but feel a momentary panic attack. But Fix and the others are professionals. They know what to do. They'll be back shortly. Stay calm, Wodi. You can do this. Just play your part.
"Hey, Quix, you good?" Vash asks from his cell.
"Yeah," I reply, leaning against the metal wall. "You?"
"Never better."
"Quix?" a low, hoarse, and bubbly sounding voice asks from the other cell next to mine. "Wodi Quix? Of the New Republic, it can't be?" The voice is familiar, and I get up and walk closer to the ray shield, trying to peer into the darkly lit room. I can't see anything to either side of my cell.
"Yes," I say after a moment. "Who-" I begin to ask when I hear a bark of laughter, one of both relief and sorrow.
"Aha, it is you!" The voice becomes stronger. "I was worried, after the Cataclysm, that you… But never mind that. I hope that Amminius Sinan and Gavin Skyes are faring better than you." At the mention of those names, the puzzle pieces click in my brain, and I finally know who it is I'm talking to.
"Admiral Kerex?" I say, trying to peer deeper into the dimly right chamber.
"Yes," the voice replies, "a bit of a demotion from Fleet Admiral of the New Republic, isn't it?"
"I thought that … after Hosnian Prime. How did you survive? You were part of the Home Defense Fleet stationed there, weren't you?" Kerex laughs, but there's no humor in it.
"As luck would have it, we had engine trouble, and emerged out of hyperspace just as the system and Home fleet were destroyed. We avoided the worst of the debris field, but we were damaged from the blast. A few other ships made it too and I ordered a retreat. Most of the remaining ships fled.
The rest of us tried to get back up and running but we didn't make it. A fleet of First Order ships dropped out of hyperspace and rounded us up. My crew and I were split up and sent off to detention centers across the galaxy. And so we ended up here… in this accursed place."
"How many of you are there?" Vash asks in the cell next to me.
"There were originally around 150 of us. Now there are only about 75. Not all these cells used to be empty," Kerex says, his voice full of sorrow. I blow out my breath, shocked and saddened at his words.
"What happened to them?" I ask after a moment, not entirely wanting to know the answer. Before Kerex can reply, a group of Brood hunters emerges from the turbolift. The one in front points to a cell and the others move to the cell, one triggering the shield to drop.
"No! No! Don't touch me! No!" From inside the cell, two of the bounty hunters drag a struggling Rodian by his arms. I look on helplessly from my cell as one guard delivers a savage punch into the Rodian's midsection.
"Cowards!" Vash yells. The guards pay us no attention. The Rodian folds in on himself, whimpering, and the guards take him from the room. "What the hell was that?" Vash asks angrily.
"Something that's been happening for a long time," Kerex answers bitterly.
"Sport," another voice supplies further down. "You saw those war droids when you were brought here?" Suddenly, I know exactly what's going on.
"They're making prisoners fight to the death," I whisper, the realization forming a cold weight in my stomach. "And we're next."
"Wodi," Kerex says after a pause, his voice a whisper, "I don't think that these scum captured you and your comrade by random chance. There's a reason you're here. Did Jevin send you?" I nod, despite the fact that Kerex can't see me.
"Yes. We're here to get you out of here. All of you."
"How?"
"I have help."
"Ah." With that, I settle down on my bunk, trying to control my nerves as I wait. After about half an hour, three Brood guards enter the detention area. Almost immediately, I recognize the armor of Kista, Tendra, and Fix. I feel a bundle of nerves and excitement take hold of my gut, all cold and warm at the same time. This is it. "What's up?" one of the guards calls from the second level of the center.
"Boss says you're needed at command. Malfunctioning solar shield arrays."
"Damnit, we just fixed that this morning!" Two of the three guards of our block lower their access platform to the ground, and they rush towards the turbolift platform past my team. They both fall to the ground, burning holes in their backs as Kista, Tendra, and Fix whirl around and fire.
The shots echo loudly off the metal walls. I wince, hoping nobody heard the commotion. Before the third guard can so much as start, Fix shoots him in the helmet, and the guard tumbles over the railing of his platform to the ground, landing with a sickening crunch.
"What the?" someone shouts.
"Quiet!" Tendra admonishes, her voice amplified. She and the others take off their helmets. "We're with the New Republic, we're going to get you out of here." Stunned silence ensues, then quickly followed by excited whispers. Kista moves to my cell and unlocks the door, grinning. I flash a grin of my own.
"Any trouble?" I ask, rubbing my sore forearms.
"No. The command center was easy enough to storm. All the guards there were distracted watching a broadcast of a fight between a prisoner and a droid. It was horrible." I grimace at the thought.
"There's nothing we can do about that now. Let's evacuate everybody." Working quickly, we shut down the ray-shields and shuttle the occupants down to the main floor using the platforms. Twenty minutes later, 77 orange-clad Republic prisoners are crowded on the floor. Kerex makes his way over to us, laying a three-fingered hand on my shoulder. "We're ready, let's get out of here."
"If only it was that easy," I say. "We've still got to make our way out of here."
"For the record," Vash says with a charming smile, "the whole thing was my idea."
"Alright," I say to get everyone's attention, and the low murmur quiets. "Everyone, follow us. We've got incoming friendlies to help with extraction, along with a fighter escort. We've also got a transport in the hangar that can take a few passengers."
"How will you deal with all the bounty hunters?" a Twi'lek woman asks.
Fix holds up a satchel of green Geonosian sonic detonators. "We have a few parting gifts and a surprise or two." I look at Fix quizzically, and he gives me a wink. Tendra and Kista step forward, two bags full of blasters.
"Those who are combat-able, grab a blaster. If things get ugly, we'll need all the firepower we can throw at them."
A good deal of the prisoners step forward, accepting weapons. When both sacks are empty, about thirty-five of them are armed, including myself, Vash, Kerex, and a tall muscular Chagrian, one of his cranial horns broken off. "This is Reymar Kinall," Kerex says, nodding to the Chagrian man. "Special operative and second highest rank here." I give the Chagrian a nod of recognition. He smiles at me, his pointed tooth grin a little unsettling.
"Colonel Quix. Your reputation precedes you. I'm also a SHARC, Special Ops Squad Zeta."
I smile back. "Honored, let's go." Moving quickly, we exit the block, blaster wielders up front and in back, forming a protective shield around the others.
Later…
"Last parting gift," Tendra says, planting her sonic detonator in the recess of the hallway, down low near the base of a bulkhead. We had been planting them in a criss-cross pattern on either side of the halls going from the prison block. So far, we had met only four guards with zero casualties. As we round a corner, I come face to face with a trio of New Republic guards, almost smacking into the lead one.
"Drop them!" I yell as I point my blaster at them, and immediately, two of them raise their hands, letting their blasters clatter to the floor.
"Take us with you. Please," one says, pleadingly. "We're not with them." The third one hesitates, then drops his blaster, too.
"Pick those up," I say, feeling a surge of pride at their courage. "You might need them. Let's get you out of here."
"Are there more of you?" Tendra asks, moving to stand beside me.
"A few," one guard says. "But not many." I nod, looking at Kerex for confirmation. The Quarren shows me a smile.
"Call them," I say. "Tell them to meet us at the hangar bay as quickly as they can. We can't afford to waste time." The guard I had almost clocked nods and takes out his comlink. We begin moving again, rounding a bend.
An alarm starts blaring, freezing us momentarily in our tracks. Lights strobe, illuminating the corridors in blood red. "Blast!" Reymar curses. "They know we escaped!" I turn to the New Republic guard who had taken out his comlink, a dawning realization washing over me. No.
The man drops his device, then levels his blaster rifle at us, a cold sneer twisting his face, his eyes wild. His expression says he already knows he's dead. "Don't mo-" he begins to say when a blaster bolt sears his chest, abruptly cutting off his words. He drops to the floor.
"Blasted turncoat!" Kerex yells, aiming his rifle at the two other guards, who drop their weapons again.
"No, please! I swear, we're with you!" one shouts. I can sense genuine terror in his voice. And honesty.
"Easy, sir." I say, placing a hand on Kerex's rifle barrel. "They're with us." Kerex gives me a look, but lowers his weapon. Now isn't the time to argue.
"Come on!" Kista shouts from up front, motioning us forward with her pistol.
"Call your friends," Vash yells to the two guards as we run. "Try anything, though, and you go down with us."
After traversing several corridors, we come to the hallway leading to the hanger. "Move!" I yell, sprinting up the last corridor, firing wildly back at our pursuers. One of my shots strikes a bounty hunter in the eye lens of his helmet, and he drops instantly in a shower of sparks and smoke. Another series of explosions goes off as that section's worth of sonic detonators goes off. A wrist rocket flies past and strikes the wall, just missing Fix and a human female New Republic guard.
"We're almost to the hangar!" Reymar yells, lugging a heavy assault cannon, outpacing me. A stitch in my side is leaving me gasping, but I don't stop. Blaster bolts zing by, striking the walls, the floor, and supply crates stacked in piles. A few hit their mark, however. Two prisoners drop with holes burned through their backs. Another one trips, then takes a round to the back.
I feel a pang in my chest at their loss. We burst into the large hangar, when I grind to a halt. Standing between us and our transport are twenty First Order stormtroopers and the officer I had seen earlier, their weapons pointed at us. Our group, despite outnumbering them, stops dead. Nothing strikes fear in you quite like a firing line of stormtroopers in their gleaming white armor. The officer shows us a callous smile before giving the order to fire.
We dive every which way as the stormtroopers obey. More than a few prisoners end up on the floor, dead. I take cover behind a crate, squeezing off shots as I lean out of cover, attempting to distract a few troopers as other prisoners and guardsmen get to safety. But there is no safety. With the stormtroopers in front and the bounty hunters behind, we're boxed in. A few brave members of our group attempt to make a break for the shuttle, but are cut down instantly by the stormtroopers' heavy cannon, set up behind a wall of crates.
Just as I'm trying to figure out how we can get to the shuttle, two stormtroopers run in from a side hallway, carrying portable rocket launchers. I scream for everyone in earshot to get down. The troopers fire their rockets and they fly straight into the engine casings of the light freighter. A bright flash, then a tremendous wave of sound and heat crashes down on us as the ZH-40 explodes, peppering debris and hot chunks of metal everywhere. I groggily get up from the floor, my vision hazy and ears ringing.
I can see several of our number are bloodied by the explosion, some with pieces of metal sticking out of or through them, clearly dead. Someone slides in next to me, and I turn to see Kista. "Where are your friends?" I yell at her above the sounds of blaster fire, my words making my skull buzz, still muffled. She's about to reply when the floor beneath us rocks once, then again.
Outside the hangar shield, I see a Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvette rocketing towards the prison, with a fighter escort of X-wings and A-wings streaking ahead to provide covering fire. A corvette-sized ship, bearing the Brood's emblem, breaks in half, venting debris and fire. I grin with pure relief. "About time!" Kista yells, also grinning.
The Hammerhead enters the hangar and sets down, its turrets laying down fire as a boarding ramp descends. In clumps, we make a break for the ramp as the corvette continues to spit fire, taking out troopers and Brood hunters. Once the last of our group is aboard, with Kerex supporting them, the ramp begins to ascend. As it does, I notice Fix standing beside me, holding up a remote detonator. He turns to me and grins, then presses the trigger. The lights of the base go out, and I hear cries of alarm.
The ramp seals, and the Hammerhead flies out of the hangar, dull thuds and scrapes of metal accompanying it. "What did you just do?" I ask, genuinely curious. Fix shrugs.
"I just activated the station's ion pulse, cutting power and gravity. And lowered the protective solar shields."
"So," I say, a smile spreading across my face, "you're saying Sunspot Prison is about to live up to its name?"
Fix smiles back. "I don't think we'll have to worry about Sunspot Prison being a threat anytime soon."
One hour later, our Hammerhead sits in friendly space, surrounded by a small flotilla of New Republic and Resistance ships. I sit at one of the long benches inside the mess of the MC95 cruiser Champion, enjoying a refreshing cup of loop juice and relative quiet with the surviving members of our prison break. Besides helping with an emergency surgery during the trip, the stint aboard the corvette had been a blur of fatigue, pain, and relief. Only fifty-four of us managed to get out, including the New Republic guards, who also took losses in the firefight. Medics and other members of the Champion's crew mill around with us, helping where they can.
"We did a good thing," Vash says, swirling his cup, sitting beside me. I show him a smile.
"We did. It could have gone a lot worse. I'm just glad it's over." Vash nods, and takes a sip of his juice.
"I hear that we're en route to join a task force on Mon Calamari once we finish up here. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to taking out more First Order scum."
"I'll drink to that," I say, raising my glass and clinking it with his.
_30 ABE
Mon Calamari - Outer Rim Territories
Jevin Corso
"Incoming!" A large cannon blast hits the ground near me, the force of the blast causes me to lose my footing and several soldiers are sent flying. It's been a few days since the First Order and Praetoriate attacked the shipyards, a complete surprise attack. After asking Cade and Wodi to go to Odessen and meet with the Scout Service, I took a small but capable force to Mon Calamari since Amminius discovered intelligence that the shipyards were a target.
"Sergeant, where's our air support?" I yell out to Sergeant Derga.
"Sir, B-wings are in the air!" I hear back. Another soldier, a tech, races over to me, hunkering down with me behind the carcass of a crashed X-wing.
"Sir, scans are back from orbit, Admiral Vanice reports there's a Mandator-IV, no doubt the command vessel." I nod and turn to see a strange sight, giant eels hopping out of the water. Ever since the battle started, the local defense forces, the Mon Calamari Rangers, have been assisting us. They aren't nearly armed enough to go up against the First Order or Praetoriate but if Endor taught me anything, it's to never underestimate anyone based on technological sophistication.
An AT-M6 is lumbering towards us when a school of giant eels, used as mounts for the rangers, pop out of the water with such speed that when they sink their teeth into the walker's legs, they push the leg in, causing the massive monstrosity to fall over with a tremendous thud in the water. "There's an opening, let's go!" I order and we begin charging towards the tower. We stack up at the doors to the tower and I prime my EL-16HFE rifle, still in prime condition even with all the service it saw during the Imperium War. After breaching the doors and clearing out the stormtroopers inside, my comlink beeps to life. "This is Corso, go ahead."
"Jevin, do you… it's Cade. What's your status?"
"Cade, am I glad to hear your voice, where are you now?" The sound of blaster fire outside the tower draws my attention.
"We're in orbit now and I'm looking at a ship that is just asking to be boarded." I smile at his enthusiam.
"Cade, it's reckless but we need to halt their advance, good luck." The kid will be fine. If he can destroy a massive Imperium fleet on his own, a dreadnought should be a piece of cake.
30 ABE
Mon Calamari - Outer Rim Territories
Gavin Skyes
The communication with Jevin ends and we speed off towards the dreadnought. We met up with the Expeditionary Fleet en route to the system and as soon as we dropped out of hyperspace, Nighthawk and the other Starhawk-class battleships launched their fighter complements.
"All fighter wings, focus on defending those shipyards, Cobalt Squadron, give us cover as we head to the dreadnought." Several Expeditionary Assault and Tactics soldiers enter the hallway outside the cockpit. Seeing them reminds me of the good old days with the Rancor Assault Troopers, boarding a Predator-class destroyer and taking it out from the inside.
"Colonel, your orders?" the lead one asks me, her helmet visor sliding into place.
"We're boarding that ship," I say pointing to the dreadnought in the distance. She just shakes her head, muttering that we've all gone crazy. We fly in closer when we get a holo signal and Sonya patches it through. A small Chadra-Fan appears on the projector, dressed in a white admiral's uniform.
"Vanice?" I hear Cade ask incredulously.
"Cade, it's good to see your death was a ruse, it has been some time since Damaria."
He nods back. "What's the situation, Admiral?" A burst of static ensues.
"Not good, these kriffers have us against the wall, we are barely scratching their lines." An image pops into the holo, the image of a Mandator-IV, highlighted in orange.
"This is presenting us with some trouble. Cade, we need to decommission her." I can see him smile and unclip his black lightsaber hilt.
"I have an idea for that." I see Vanice shake her head in amusement.
"Alright then, I'll have two cruisers providing covering fire, good luck."
The image winks out and I raise my wrist communicator. "Cobalt Squadron, we need the shield on the portside hangar offline." I hear a return confirmation and see our escort head off towards the massive dreadnought, weaving intricately to avoid laserfire.
30 ABE
Mon Calamari - Outer Rim Territories
Cade Valdarin
"Sonya, are you sure you can do this?" I ask, tugging the restraints.
"I'm sure, just hang on." The Phoenix takes some insane maneuvers and I can see our escort of T-85s and E-wings taking on TIE Silencers and there are even some TIE Stalkers out there.
"Phoenix, this is Cobalt One, preparing to knock out the hangar shield, stand by."
I see a blue-decaled E-wing fly by with two X-wings and let their lasers fly, hitting a power conduit next to the hangar, their fire causing the shield to fizzle and finally drop, with our ship slipping through right before they come back up. Before long, the ship sets down on the durasteel deck, the landing gear causing the ship to reverberate. As soon as the ramp descends, Gavin's Expeditionary Assault and Tactics soldiers rush out, EL-16HFEs and EL-20HAEs primed, their black frames gleaming in the light.
I exit the transport, lightsaber already ignited and before long, I deflect a shot from an upper walkway. Volke leaps and lands on an upper walkway, his yellow lightsaber cleaving through troopers. Ida ignites her saber as well but I hold her back, giving her to Sonya. "Sonya, get planetside and help Jevin if you can!" I yell as more stormtroopers take fire and I can hear Ida's protest but I've created a Force bond with her, giving me the ability to speak to her telepathically.
Ida, no. You aren't ready for this fight, you'll be safer and of more use on the ground. She doesn't say anything but just nods determinedly and Sonya wishes me good luck. I see a trooper rush behind a crate and ready his EL-20HAE; where the EL-16 is a compact blaster rifle, the EL-20, made by the Scout Service through tinkering with the EL design, is more of a battle rifle, toting higher power than its sibling design and fielding an underbarrel grenade launcher, firing cylindrical thermal detonators. He nods at me and fires a micro grenade at a group overhead on a walkway, sending them plummeting to the deck. After a few more minutes of fighting, the hangar is clear, a loud alarm blaring overhead.
"Ok, gather round." I hear from one of the ebon-armored soldiers. Though his voice is distorted by his helmet, I can still make out a distinctly Coruscanti-accent. The top and bottom half of his helmet slide apart, revealing Gavin's piercing blue eyes and blonde hair. "Here's where we're at, we know these ships are massive behemoths with thousands of troopers aboard, there is no way we can clear them all, ideas?"
"The siege cannons," one of our techs, a Feeorin, offers. "Those things require a lot of energy, we overload them, it'll cause a massive explosion on this thing's underbelly. Should be enough to take this ship out."
Gavin nods and emits a holo-representation of the dreadnought from his gauntlet. "Ok, Kouvu, you take Jenson, Emargh, and Loyla, take out the shield generator. I'll go with Cade, Volke, Tez, and Malcolm, we'll overload the control station for those cannons.
The hangar shakes again, a ship outside the field is opening fire near it. I look closer, using the Force to increase my vision and see an Amphibious Interstellar Assault Transport, a gunship used by the Mandalorian Protectors under Mand'alor the Reviver. I hear slight static in my ear piece.
"Vod, I am glad I caught up with you! You always find the best fights, Oya!" I smile, that voice belongs to Gerik Ordo, my good friend and leader of the Mandalorian people. The force field drops and I use the Force to prevent the decompression from affecting us and before long, the AIAT settles down and its loading ramp descends revealing a very familiar armored figure.
He walks out, arms raised, beholding us. "Ha ha, I knew you were alive!"
Gavin walks over, shaking Ordo's hand. "I thought you were busy?"
Gerik claps us on the back. "Your friend there can be very persuasive." He gestures towards the ship and I see another familiar figure emerge, dressed in all black, the form-fitting FlexArmor of the Infiltrators, master spies for the New Republic.
"Amminius Sinan, always showing up when least expected!" Gavin exclaims.
He walks down the ramp and makes a slight bow. "I aim to please."
Gerik puts his helmet on and turns towards me. "We're with you, Jetti, let's sink this bird." Gavin nods his head and our groups move as one towards the inner workings of the dreadnought.
30 ABE
Mon Calamari - Outer Rim Territories
Gavin Skyes
"Colonel Skyes, that dreadnought is tearing us apart, I hope you have a plan!" I hear the whistle-like voice of Admiral Vanice say through my helmet's internal comlink.
"Admiral, I may have something that can help. Captain Baruk, execute!" Looking at the holo-display coming out of my gauntlet, I see a display of the ongoing space battle and several large blips appear: Baruk's small flotilla, comprising several Starhawk-class Mk II battleships and a newer vessel created by Service engineers with recovered experimental designs that were never implemented from both the Empire and the Imperium.
This ship is a Nebula-class Star Destroyer. The destroyer is a "pocket" Star Destroyer, coming in at only 1040 meters long. Our engineers, being much more intelligent than any in the Empire, were baffled at why the Imps settled on obvious command towers. Instead, the bridge lies atop the superstructure in what is more like a bunker.
Well armed for its size with advanced turbolaser batteries, ion cannon batteries, and missile batteries, along with magnite-powered tractor beams, and an extremely efficient and dedicated power system, the Nebula-class far outstrips any Imperial Star Destroyer except the Executor-class. It hasn't gone up against a First Order vessel but better late than never.
The Scout Service, while under the purview of Republic Command, is technically not part of the standard military. However, we have been given many tools to deal with the various threats in Wild Space, including interstellar warlords with militaries that could be a serious threat to any galactic-level force. As such, all tools, from ships to small-arms, are military-grade, having been spared from the disarmament act.
Our group begins moving towards the cannon control room, located in the lower parts of the ship. Along the way, we battle stormtroopers and I notice that there are combatants not in stormtrooper kit as well. Stooping over one that I had blasted clean through the chest, I notice a symbol, the sigil of the Haxion Brood. "Huh, what do you make of this?" I ask out loud.
Cade comes over and examines the corpse. "Well, we know they are using the Genoharadan, I'd say the same for the Haxion Brood. I mean think about it, the First Order is stretched thin, trying to wipe out the Resistance and maintain control of systems they've taken from the New Republic, systems that are already buckling and ready to revolt. They would need a third party, or parties, to work where they can't."
"Good point, let's keep moving," I say, standing up and checking the charge on my EL-20HAE.
Later on, we pass a viewport offering a view of Mon Calamari and the space battle over the docks. The Nebula is covering Vanice's flagship, Valiant, while they make much needed field repairs. We keep moving through the corridor, checking every corner for signs of trouble. We walk down a little farther when I turn to Amminius.
"So, Amm… mind if I ask you a question?"
"Huh, uh sure, go ahead."
"Well, the Battle for Chandrila, I wasn't on Gorukar, do you mind explaining some things?"
Amminius stops and looks at me. "Kid, why are you asking about that?"
I shake my head. "Well, Luke told me some things at the celebration after and recent events seem connected." He mumbles an agreement and gives me a nod. "So, what Luke told me was that Pravus had wanted Cade to take control of the station from him but never went into why that was, any ideas?"
"Well, from what I understand, it was something to do with the fact that Cade is unusually talented in the area of energy absorption. Luke told me that Cade was the only Force wielder in recent history who could have taken the energy of Gorukar and not die in the process. I think Pravus knew that and wanted to tempt Cade into using it. Absolute power is absolutely corrupting." I nod slowly and continue moving onward.
30 ABE
Mon Calamari - Outer Rim Territories
Cade Valdarin
"Let's take this left," Ordo says, carrying a Westar-45 carbine, the staple assault rifle of the Protectors. I nod and point to Amminius to use his scanner and he moves up front. Since we had split from the other group, we've come across some resistance but not much, which is troubling. This is a dreadnought and the centerpiece of the attack group here.
"Hold up!" Amm says in a hushed voice. "We have signals up ahead." I reach out with my senses and can feel what seems like a whole battalion. Gerik readies his carbine and says something in Mandalorian, no doubt excited about the fight. I breathe in deeply, igniting my lightsaber.
"A Jedi? That's not possible, Skywalker is dead!"
"Open fire!" another yells.
Holding my left hand up, palm open, I absorb several bolts and launch myself high into the air, coming back down and slamming both hands on the ground, releasing the absorbed energy in a massive shockwave that sends the closest troopers flying and those further away off their feet. The others storm in, blasting those who fell off their feet before they can recover and I rush those left behind, my lightsaber easily cutting through their armor. Before long, the room is clear and Gerik claps my shoulder.
"Twelve years later and you still got it. Let's keep going, the bridge is up ahead." Stacking up on either side of the large blast doors, Gerik raises his hand and gives the go-ahead. He and Ikko place charges on the door and it explodes in a spectacular fashion and all hell breaks loose, bolts flying all over the place. I roll into the room, using the Force to pull several troopers in my direction as I stand back up, at the same time igniting my saber and swinging in a diagonal arc, slicing several bodies as they pass me, limbs landing behind me on the floor.
Then it hits me, a slight vibration in the Force. I look around the room but see nothing. Amminius comes back from reading a terminal when he sees my expression. "Cade… what is it?"
"There's a presence here, a Force presence, a trained sensitive."
"Is it Kylo Ren?"
"No, I would know if it were, it's connected to him, though."
Meeting up with the other group, we press on. Walking through hallways, Gerik suddenly holds up a hand and we stop. He swivels his head and pops a shot into a side hallway, a dark-armored stormtrooper falling to the ground. As Gerik and I move to investigate, a soldier whistles in admiration at Gerik's prowess as a warrior.
A short while later, we enter the cannon control room, brimming with First Order and Praetoriate troopers. "Ok here's the plan, see that walkway?" Gavin asks, his tone hushed. We all nod. "Gerik, you and Ikko lead a group and provide cover fire from there. Amm, you and your Resistance friends breach that wall over there, we'll go up the gut and we'll catch them in a crossfire." I begin to move when I feel the Force presence again.
I stand up and close my eyes, I can feel the presence of Ben Solo coming off of this person, a young Miraluka female by the feel of it. I start walking towards the troopers and purposely reach out to the Force-sensitive. Her head turns and stops when she sees me and I can feel a mix of emotions, from surprise to shock and finally to anticipation. She has been waiting to fight a Jedi.
The sound of a lightsaber igniting draws the attention of the others. At the same time, Gerik, Amminius, and Gavin's groups move in, blasters ablaze. The Knight of Ren leaps towards me, grabbing the electrostaff from the sheath on her back. "Finally, a real challenge!" she exclaims on landing.
"Where is Kylo Ren?" I ask as she walks towards me. She laughs in response, the face of her helmet an opaque visor, hiding her features away.
"Supreme Leader Ren is far too busy to deal with the likes of you, but me… I'm all yours."
In the midst of all the blaster fire, I leap towards my opponent, lightsaber swinging downward to meet her electrostaff, sparks hitting the ground. I land and roll to avoid a thrust and bring my saber up as I end my somersault, bisecting a stormtrooper and telekinetically fling another at the warrior, who simply impales his body and throws him aside.
In a surprising move, she flips and manages to kick my saber out of my hand, a combat maneuver similar to what Xellius did on Teth. As soon as she finishes her spin, she brings her staff into a killing thrust but I grab it at the last second, absorbing the energy of the staff. With some exertion, I flip her backwards, knocking over two stormtroopers in the process.
30 ABE
Mon Calamari - Outer Rim Territories
Cade Valdarin
The Knight lands in a tumble but quickly gets back up and enters a ready stance. "I see something familiar in your stance, it reminds me of an old student." That peaks something in my adversary, I can feel curiosity as well as panic. "That's right," I say while lowering my blade somewhat. "I trained Kylo Ren."
"No, that's not possible, he was trained by the former Supreme Leader."
I smile. "Let me guess, he told you he killed Skywalker as well? If you don't believe me," I say as I deactivate my saber, "come and get me." Like a fool, she charges, thrusting her staff to hit me dead in the chest but I deftly maneuver with the Force and dodge every attack. Finally, after sidestepping to the right, I grab the staff, using the Force to protect my hand, and toss it aside as I bring my right hand, saber ignited, to her leg.
This causes only a searing but superficial blow but it's enough to stop her momentum and seizing the moment, I launch a blast of Force energy at her, sending her careening to the back of the power room. On her landing, she immediately gets up, looks at me for a moment, and then shoves two troopers out of her way, running to escape. The stormtroopers then look at our group.
"If you want to live, throw down your weapons," Gavin says, authority resonating in his voice. The troopers don't listen and open fire, but we are faster and in seconds, both troopers lie smoking on the floor.
"Right, that's over with, what should we do now?" Gerik asks.
"There, that console should control the siege cannons, where's our tech?" I say, pointing to a terminal with several energy displays on it.
"Here, sir," an EATU soldier says. "Private Drevik, sir." I let him start working his engineering magic on the console when I feel a familiar presence, Ben Solo. I turn and look at the group, specifically Amminius.
"Amm, I'm going to be... indisposed for a bit, you can handle things here, right?"
He gives me a confused look. "Sure, but what do you mean?"
"I'm going to talk to an old student." I look out of a nearby viewport overlooking Mon Calamari, the battle still raging. I close my eyes and focus on Ben's presence. A shred of a bond left between us, I am able to telepathically communicate with him, just like with Rey.
I open my eyes again and see I'm onboard a Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, Ben looking out the viewport at the stars. He then gasps and turns and when he recognizes me, the look on his face is one of fear mixed with astonishment. "Cade… but you're dead."
"Don't believe everything you hear, Ben. Or is it Kylo now," I say as I begin walking towards him. He fidgets slightly and then tries to punch me only for his arm to go through my phantom projection.
"But how, why? If you didn't die five years ago, why hide until now?"
I stop and gaze out at the stars. "Well, you happened. You destroyed everything Luke and I had tried to build, tried and failed," I say with a smirk.
His eyes widen. "... There are now more Jedi?" He walks away from me. "So what? I already killed the man who would have betrayed me. You will only be a stepping stone!"
"Oh, so you killed Luke? Funny that, because I was with him at the end and I swear I remember he made you look like a fool while the Resistance escaped." He snarls and tries to attack me with his lightsaber.
I sigh and shake my head. "Still as impulsive as ever, I see. And look at this," I say, moving my fingers down my face to imitate the scar he has. "I taught you better than that."
"Shut up!" he yells. "I killed Luke Skywalker and soon, I will reign in a new galactic order and..."
I cut off his monologue by using the Force to cause some of his nerves to go into shock, an ancient ability I learned during my training under Argus Valdarin during the Imperium War.
"So, if you aren't here to kill me," he gasps as control of his body returns, "why are you here?" I look out at the fleet build-up here, several Resurgent-class destroyers and I even see one or two Predator-class destroyers, a sign of the First Order's relationship with the Imperium and now the Praetoriate.
"I'm here to give you a fair warning. Your friend, Xellius, is the center of my attention but once I'm through with him…" I slightly move my head, "You're next. Unless Rey has dealt with you."
"The scavenger? I'd be much more afraid of you than her."
"She is much stronger than you think... but that's enough for now, I'll see you later, Ben." I release my hold on the projection and open my eyes again to see Gerik and Amminius watching the corridor to the gunnery room.
"Ok, you're done with your Force thing?" Amminius asks. I nod. "Ok then, let's get back to the hangar." As we run through the corridors, I notice parts of the deck falling from the ceiling and the sounds of explosions ring loudly.
"Reminds me of Gorukar, you know, after you killed Pravus. Everything was starting to fall apart and it was crazy." He looks back at me for a second. "At least there are no capsized ships to draw our attention."
"I can always change that if you'd like," I say back to him as I try to keep pace, he is surprisingly fast for his age. This gets a laugh from him, Gavin, and Gerik. Eventually we get to the hangar and I see Volke standing at the bottom of the ramp, several stormtroopers felled around him. "No trouble, I take it?" I ask as we all clamber onboard and make room for Sonya to get to the cockpit.
"None. Ida here helped, she takes after you, you know." As I'm about to admonish him for endangering her, she steps into the room and that smile melts my frustration. This little twelve-year old girl, practically my daughter, takes after me alright: brash, willful, proud, and a fighter. She gives me a hug and Sonya lets us know we are taking off.
I walk to the cockpit with Amminius and Gavin in tow. Landing in the Nebula, we exit just as the charges go off on the Conspirator. The explosion is magnificent, an extremely bright blossom of red-orange light, the sheer power of the blast is enough to move the escorting Star Destroyers out of their positions. "Ba-boom!" Gavin says, using his hands for emphasis.
"You guys are amazing, we can see the flash from the ground! We'll mop up the rest of the Praetoriate forces here and then we should talk, meet me at the docks," Jevin says over the comlink. I smile, he missed his chance for a good time but I'm sure there will be much more excitement before this is done.
30 ABE
Mon Calamari - Outer Rim Territories
Jevin Corso
Several Days Later
The clean up of enemy forces around Mon Calamari took a little longer than we thought. After Cade and the others brought down the dreadnought, I thought the remaining ships would flee, but they fought hard. I make my way to the common area to find Wodi Quix, just returned from a mission to Sunspot Prison to liberate New Republic and Resistance prisoners. Laughing and shaking hands, we both turn to look out across the ocean, the setting sun creating an idyllic image.
"Well, Wodi, now you can add a prison break to your list of accomplishments."
"You managed to protect perhaps one of the most important worlds in the New Republic with only a handful of ships. I'd say we're even."
Another look at each other and we burst out laughing. We're still at it when we see Cade enter the room. "Cade, you still got it," I say, putting a lid on my euphoria. "I'm jealous." Cade chuckles a little before he sees Sonya and the girl, Ida, overlooking some datapads and walks over to Ida, placing a fatherly hand on Ida's shoulder.
"Marshal on deck!" a voice yells. We all stand at attention as I see the new High Marshal of the Republic, Garm Bel Iblis, walk through the door.
"At ease, everyone," the gruff Corellian says as I walk over and shake hands. Cade lifts an eyebrow at Garm but I pay him no mind.
"Marshal, I thought you were at headquarters on Empress Teta?"
"I was but something came up that I need to discuss with you, we can't trust open comms," he says as Cade walks over to us.
"Marshal Bel Iblis, always a pleasure to see you."
"Likewise, my Jedi friend."
"Hologram?" Cade asks after a few seconds.
"Close. Holodroid, a new toy cooked up by R . I also brought these." He points to a crate that his attendant opens. Within are EL-20HAE blaster rifles.
"A gift from the Scout Service. Now for my visit. The Republic is teetering on the edge and I'll be honest, we might not ever recover. The First Order is trying to crush any ability we have to fight back. While I try to keep the New Republic, or what's left of it, fighting, the Scout Service will focus on the Praetoriate. Jevin, I want you in command of the Service. Take down Xellius, the First Order is bad enough."
I look at Gavin and offer a handshake. "No hard feelings, Colonel."
"None taken, sir. Less paperwork." His comment gets a laugh from all of us. I smile as Garm, Cade, and Gavin discuss the future of the Scout Service and look across the ocean, where the sun is setting. This war will take much longer than we thought. There's a darkness out there, just hovering in the back of my mind, I feel like there's something more than just the Praetoriate, something I am missing but can't quite figure out.
-Interlude-
Over the next year, the New Republic Scout Service, its ranks continuing to grow, would wage war against the Praetoriate. The Praetoriate has more than proven itself the successor of the vile Imperium, from the scale of their attacks to the advanced technology they wield, they have met the Scout Service in each sortie with the same ferocity that their predecessor wielded.
Throughout the so-called Unsung War, Cade would hunt Xellius but as always, he ran. Soon though, rumors abound that the Praetoriate was attempting to recreate the research of its predecessor. One year later, High General Jevin Corso, one of the few surviving members of Republic Command, has ordered a mission to the world Dakata, a forest world in uncharted space to investigate these rumors.
31 ABE
Dakata - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
"Amminius, check in." Silence. "Repeat, Amm, come in."
We had come to Dakata about a week ago after rumors started circulating, rumors that Xellius was trying to recreate and improve Pravus' genetic experiments. While Jevin headed up a task force to defend the island world of the avians, Nuvindi Prime, he asked us to investigate this place. So far, it reminds me of Endor, a never ending forest with a bunker randomly placed in it. We had sent Amm and Pravik, another Infiltrator, in to assess the threat.
"He's not responding, that's not like him," Wodi says.
"Well, let's go, if he's in trouble, he needs us." We begin to get up when I feel Amminius' presence nearby.
"Holy murglak! You people would fail the entrance exams for Infiltrators, we are on a stealth mission!" he says, putting emphasis on the last two words.
"Well, you didn't respond, what were we supposed to do?" I ask him, trying to sound serious but failing.
"I gave you morse code!"
I look at him. "How am I supposed to know that!"
"Alright ladies, break it up," Gavin says, straining not to laugh. "We are on a mission, for kriffs sake."
I look back at Amminius. "Lead the way, sir." He mumbles something about respecting your elders but I don't pay him any mind. We descend the stairs into the dark bunker when my comlink goes off. Depressing the button, I hear Volke's voice.
"Cade, just thought you'd want a heads up, there's a patrol heading your way." I turn the comlink off.
"Let's wrap this up, we're about to have company." We enter what looks like a lab and tanks that resemble cloning chambers. "What do you suppose is in here?"
"No idea, but it feels… wrong," Gavin says, turning on his blaster's flashlight. I come to a computer terminal and begin sifting through data, finding various key phrases: mutant, Force-induced, DNA, and so on. I keep seeing the words juggernaut and modification over and over.
"Xellius, my old friend, what are you up to?" I say out loud.
"Cade! You might want to see this!" I hear Gavin yell from the next room. I enter it to see several of the tanks filled with large, grayish, muscular humanoids occupying them, cybernetics adorning their faces.
"They're called Reavers," Gavin says, looking at another terminal. "Looks like they're grown in a small amount of time, with flash training and cybernetics filling in the gaps. Increased strength, stamina, and resilience. I think he's trying to improve the Juggernaut… again."
I look at the tank, mulling over my decision. These things are like the Shadow Knights and Juggernauts before them, killing machines with one master. "Set explosives." He looks at me. "Gavin, these things are monstrosities, nature twisted beyond recognition." He nods when an alarm goes off.
"Alright kids, we found what Jevin asked for, let's scram," Wodi says and I tell Volke through our telepathic link to meet us at the Phoenix.
A short while later, after successfully evading patrols in the forest, we sit in the spacious crew cabin of Sonya's freighter. I activate the holoprojector, using a special code that goes directly to Jevin, who is now in charge of New Republic and Scout Service operations in the Outer Rim and Wild Space.
"Cade, glad to hear from you. What'd you find?"
"Well, Jev, looks like our friend is definitely trying to improve on Pravus' work. We're sending the data now." I give him a few moments as he confirms.
"Well… fierfek."
"That's what we said. What's next?"
Jevin audibly sighs. "Remember our friend, Kovin Groth?"
"The turncoat senator?"
"That's the one. His account pinged again. An Infiltrator unit, Echo 1-2, located him on the desert world of Paz'rec, which, coincidentally, also the base world for the Genoharadan." That can only mean he is still working with the Genoharadan.
"Nuvindi Prime is safe, the Nuvindans are much more than we thought. These guys are a few years ahead of us in technology. But we've picked up rumors of a First Order refueling station in the Unknown Regions, on the border with Wild Space. Garm has asked us to investigate."
"We can do it," I say, taking a seat.
"No, I want you to check out Paz'rec. It worries me that a former turncoat senator is seeing an assassin gang for who knows what. Meanwhile, we do have scattered Infiltrator units in play, they can scout out the refueling station." I nod and we end the transmission.
"Wait, before we go after this group, there's something I need to say. The Genoharadan may be more hostile than we expect."
"Well, Cade, I mean if they were hired to take us out, I would assume so," Amm says with his trademark sarcasm.
"No, Amm, it's… remember seven years ago, when the Napkin Bombing happened?" Nods all around. "Well, what you don't know is that Kiara's death affected me a lot more than I thought… a lot more."
"Wait, you kept it together, I remember that clearly," Wodi says.
"I did, at first. But then the anger came: anger at Pravus, anger at myself for not being there to save her and so many others. When I learned the Genoharadan were trying to disrupt the alliance between the Service and Nuvindi Dynasty, I needed an outlet. I found it."
Wodi starts looking at me coldly but then smiles again. "Cade, everyone has their dark moments, it's what makes you human. What counts is that you learned from the experience." We land in the hangar of the Nebula, one of the new Nebula-class Star Destroyers, meeting up with Captain Baruk and get underway.
Later that night, as I'm meditating, I feel, rather than hear, a call. A call through the Force. Yanibar, come to Yanibar, it says. I open my eyes to see I'm still in the meditation room. Like the Viscount, the ship has meditation rooms to help calm frayed nerves and I hear a slight knock at the door.
With the Force, I open the door to reveal a very familiar Wookiee. "Sal!" I yell, immediately standing and hugging him. Salurra has been one of my closest friends and confidantes, for thirty-one years now, ever since the Liberation of Bespin, where he pledged a life-debt for freeing him. I begin telling him about what I've been doing for the past six years after I "died."
The Next Day…
I meet up with Gavin on the bridge where he is overlooking some data terminals. "Hey, Gav, you got a sec?"
"Hmm, oh sure, what's up?" he says, putting a datapad down. He sees the look in my eyes and sighs. "Cade, we're brothers, whatever is bothering you, you can tell me."
"Well, it's just that… I won't be joining you on Paz'rec."
"May I ask why?"
"Gavin, you guys aren't Force users. I don't expect you to fully understand."
He leans against the holomap projector. "Try me. Cade, I fought at your side for a good portion of the Imperium War. I think I can understand some of your Force mumbo jumbo."
"Well... I felt a call through the Force, telling me to go to some place called Yanibar."
He stands a little straighter. "Cade, whenever you felt "called" before, it was usually an Imperium ambush. How do you know this isn't a trap?"
I remember the feeling I had when I heard the words in my head. "I don't know. I just know that the presence I felt when I heard the message felt familiar."
"Well, I'm no Jedi, so I can't relate, but listen, you aren't military. If you feel you need to do this, do it."
I hold my hand out to him and he takes it, shaking my hand. "Cade, we've shed blood together, we're family. You know that right?" I smile and thank him.
We start walking toward the hangar of the Nebula, personnel rushing through the halls and he nods at passing soldiers. "While we take care of Paz'rec, do what you need to do and then meet us at Argo Prime, we'll need help with the First Order's refueling station."
I nod and he exits the hangar as I'm suiting up. During my flyby of the Nebula, I hear the voice in my head again. Yanibar. I have never even heard of Yanibar but I close my eyes and can feel where the call is coming from, subconsciously typing in coordinates, the stars turning into lines and finally the blue tunnel of hyperspace.
31 ABE
Odessen - Wild Space
Gavin Skyes
I watch Cade's ship disappear into hyperspace, shaking my head. Always thinking he has to bear these burdens alone just because he's a Jedi. You'd think he'd learned by now. In my periphery, I see Wodi enter the hanger. "Was that Cade? Where's he off to?" Wodi asks in a concerned tone.
"He felt a calling," I say, making a flourish with my hands.
"Of course he did," Wodi sighs.
"Come on, Wodi, you've been with him since he was a child, he has always been like this, no? Thinking he has to take all the responsibility since he's a Jedi?" He gives a mirthless laugh in response and nods.
"Yeah, and it's going to get him killed someday. Permanently. So, where's he heading?"
We walk to a nearby mess hall offering a spectacular view of the expansive ocean. "A place called Yanibar, I've never heard of it but the Imperium War taught me that when these things happen, it's best just to let him do his thing." Wodi nods in agreement, then shakes his head, smiling.
"So… ready to head to Paz'Rec?"
I pull out my trusty S-5 pistol, checking its charge. "Oh yeah, let's show some punk bounty hunters how a real soldier operates." Heading to the command room, we see Service officers already mulling about the command terminals.
"Blastzone, are you joining us?" Wodi asks, smirking at Jevin.
He smiles back and offers a slight shrug. "Not this time, old friend. Bounty hunters are below my pay grade," he says jokingly. "Besides," he taps the holotable with his finger, "I'm needed here. Much more exciting." We all laugh at that remark and I see two familiar faces in the ranks, Admiral Vanice and Lieutenant-General Grissom and nod their way. Jevin notices.
"Charra and Jon will be commanding the attack at Argo Prime. Where's Cade?"
"He's preoccupied. "Force mumbo jumbo", I believe you'd call it," I respond.
Jevin shakes his head. "Never mind then. Alright colonels, after you've rounded up your merry band, you will go to Paz'rec, do recon, and deal with these Genoharadan in whatever way you deem necessary. Meanwhile, I'm heading to Nuvindi Prime. Our liaison there tells me the Nuvindans have detected Praetoriate forces encroaching on their system. Something's brewing there and I don't like it. Jon and Charra will be marshaling their forces at Terminus to attack Argo Prime. You'll meet up with them after you deal with the Genoharadan. Good luck to all of us."
A little while later, we all board the Phoenix, and while Sonya goes to power up the ship, I help Wodi secure some cargo and begin chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Wodi asks me, his eyebrow raised.
"It's just that… well, if Cade wasn't who he was, I imagine we'd throttle him for bailing."
Wodi laughs in agreement. "Oh, definitely. But we all learned during the war, once Cade is set on something, there's no changing his mind." We finish and settle down in the cabin. Wodi and Amminius start playing Sabacc while I catch some winks. Paz'rec should be interesting to say the least.
31 ABE
Yanibar - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
It's been a few days since I left Gavin and the others at Odessen as they went to Paz'rec to deal with the Genoharadan. It's odd, I had no idea where Yanibar was, I just followed the Force and here I am. The planet is on the border of Wild Space and the Outer Rim, on the far side of New Republic territory.
From orbit, it looks like a large brown sphere, with occasional white clouds dotting it. My sensors show that it's habitable but not by much. As I clear the atmosphere, I note that the terrain is rocky and desert-like. Flying over a canyon, I spot a decently sized spaceport: a large, ringlike complex with ships of all makes and sizes coming and going. There are even some that I have never seen before.
I start flying closer to the spaceport when I feel it again, the "calling" I felt earlier. It's coming from the southeast. After some time, I see a large temple, almost like the one on Had Abbadon, but smaller: a square yard with a triangular structure in the middle. There are smaller, open square yards that look like they serve as training areas. I can see students training there and can feel the Force within them, pulsing and alive, but no lightsabers in sight.
I also see older people with these children. Family members, it looks like. An interesting idea; the Jedi Order always maintained that a Jedi needed to remove their familial connections in order to avoid the Dark Side. I don't agree with that. Passion and love, they can lead you to dark places, true, but can also save you.
In another one of the training yards, I see what looks like a telekinesis lesson and what I see amazes me. A woman stomps her foot to the ground, the Force swelling in her. Once her foot hits the ground, I see large stones of differing sizes fly up around her in a defensive circle, blocking blaster stun bolts, none even coming near her. An impressive display of telekinesis.
I find what looks like a landing pad and touch my starfighter down, Ratchet jumping out of his droid socket once I open the canopy. After a few steps, an intricate disc, razor sharp, hits the ground in front of me. Purely on reflex, I draw my saber and see several figures around us, dressed in armored jump suits with small, flexweave kamas.
"You'll find little welcome here, Jedi." This comes from the same woman I saw flying in, an Echani, a near-Human. Her skin is light, her hair is snowy white, and her eyes a brilliant silver.
"Easy everybody, I'm here because the Force drew me to this place."
One of the men, this one definitely human and quite bulky, walks up to me, a snarl on his face. "You think we'd let a Jedi here, after what you did?" My confused expression must draw interest because the woman walks up as well, placing a hand on the man's arm.
"Roka, I don't think he's aware of what you are talking about."
Roka stands back a little and the woman looks at me with bright silver eyes. "My name is Mi'Ri, follow me. We will look after your ship and droid." Ratchet fidgets a little but calms when I subtly motion with my right hand and I follow Mi'Ri in the large square courtyard, walking under the small roof that goes from the outer wall to the main temple, following the axes of the larger square courtyard.
"My name is Cade Valdarin, by the way." I get a closer look at the children training and I don't need to use the Force to tell they are surrounded by their families.
Mi'Ri notices my stare. "Yes, Jedi, the children live with their families. Unlike your order, we do not separate families, to give as normal a childhood as possible. You disapprove?"
"What? No, in fact it makes perfect sense to me."
I can feel a slight change in her thoughts at that comment. "I don't know how connected you have been to events. Do you know of the Clone Wars?"
"Yes, we aren't backward," she says in a playful voice, rather than an annoyed one. "We have settlers here who fled the Clone Wars. There were even some battles near the Yanibar system decades ago." She looks me over from head to toe. "You are young for a Jedi, you weren't alive during the Clone Wars?"
"I wasn't. It's fair to say you weren't either?"
"No, I was not. My grandmother was, though. She could tell you more." She pauses and turns towards me. "So, Cade, do you know of my people, the Zeison Sha?"
We enter the main triangular structure and it reminds me even more of the temple on Had Abbadon: the main chamber is a large, cavernous room with a high-arched ceiling and light coming through natural windows.
"To tell you the truth, I have never heard of them until now. Much knowledge was lost in the Great Jedi Purge."
A pang of sorrow shoots through me as I say this. My parents were among the last victims of the purge, killed shortly before the Battle of Scarif. Mi'Ri looks at me and places a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, that's terrible." I look at her, perplexed. "The Zeison Sha have developed strong, empathic skills, most likely stronger than anything the Jedi have experienced. And I'm sorry, the purge cost you something close?"
"Yes, my parents. They were among the last of the Jedi Order and were able to hide for years, but…"
"But the Sith are unrelenting," Mi'Ri finishes. We come to what looks like a headmaster's room when Mi'Ri turns to me. "The Elder will be joining us soon. Do you have any questions?"
"Yes. When you first saw I was a Jedi, it was, well, let's say an icy reception. There is some animosity between the Zeison Sha and the Jedi?"
Mi'Ri ushers me to a chair and she takes the one opposite.
"As you know, millennia ago, the Sith were once Jedi who left in a schism. During the wars that followed, many people were displaced. A group of those refugees were trying to flee a Sith armada with the Jedi providing cover. However, a stray cannon shot disrupted their hyperdrive as they were entering hyperspace, causing their jump to go drastically off course.
They weren't the only ones. The main ship landed here, you can actually see part of that original ship as a shop at the spaceport. Other ships took damage and found haven elsewhere. The ship my ancestors were on landed on a planet we call Tavira.
Eventually, the descendants of those groups came here and out of necessity, the Zeison Sha were born. As for the hatred towards Jedi, well, many people felt and still feel that our ancestors, and by extension, we, were abandoned." I nod in understanding and Mi'Ri smiles at me. "You aren't exactly what I thought a Jedi would be like."
"I'm an… unorthodox Jedi," I say back, returning the smile. Suddenly, the door from the upper level opens and in walks a wizened old Echani woman, late seventies at least. I stand and bow politely.
"My apologies for dropping in unannounced but the Force brought me here."
She looks at me as if this were a military inspection. "You are older than I thought you'd be but you are finally here." I look at Mi'Ri who shrugs. "She has no knowledge of why you are here, but I do. Let me look at you, Cade Valdarin. So, you are the one who defeated the Imperium," she says in an approving tone.
"You know about the Imperium?" I ask and she scoffs.
"We are not so removed that we do not know the ongoing events of the wider galaxy. Pravus came here, seeking recruits. The Zeison Sha have always been powerful telekinetics and he sought more of his "Praetors" but I refused him. The Zeison Sha are not warmongers."
"I imagine he didn't like that."
"Indeed he didn't, but he left without a fuss. I believe he felt the cost to his own forces would be too high if he attacked us." She continues talking when it hits me.
"You called me here, didn't you?" I ask. She smiles but shakes her head no.
"I am the one who called you," a voice says from behind me and I turn around. "My son." _
31 ABE
Paz'rec - Outer Rim Territories
Gavin Skyes
The Phoenix drops out of hyperspace to orbit a swirling desert world on the tail end of the Outer Rim towards Wild Space. This planet, in the middle of nowhere, serves as the headquarters of the Genoharadan, a secretive cabal of bounty hunters and assassins that focus on political assassinations and galactic destabilization.
"We're coming up on the planet now, take a look at your three o'clock," Sonya says, activating the new stealth systems she had installed in her ship.
Wodi and I peer out the viewport to see a Predator-class Star Destroyer. "Well, at least we're on the right track," Wodi says as he picks up his EL-20HAE, checking the charge and patting the stock. I smile to myself: how did we get to a point where seeing a Star Destroyer is considered a good thing?
Amminius comes from the crew quarters with Gerik, who tagged along. "How are we looking?"
"Descent is good," Sonya says as we start to enter the atmosphere, wind buffeting the hull. I hear Amm mumble something about hating deserts when I notice a structure in the sands, situated at the base of a mountain. We go in and land a distance away from it, hidden by a small outcropping of rocks.
We hike to a large sand dune overlooking the structure. I check my new SE-44C and the charge is full and spin the pistol, sliding it into a thigh holster on my EATU armor before sealing my ballistic helmet into place with Gerik whistling, an odd sound through his helmet.
"Gavin, if you get tired of the posh life of the Scout Service, you can join the Protectors, you already have the pistol twirling down."
"Very tempting," I say as we come to the top of the dune to overlook the base entrance when Wodi and I see two guards on patrol. Not nearly as threatening as the First Order guards back on Teth but all the same, these mercs look like they mean business. Based on the hardware they are carrying, they must be well-funded.
"How likely do you think it is that those mercs can detect this armor?" Wodi asks me in a snarky tone.
"Let's find out," I say. "Ok, Wodi and I will take the guards and then check for any surveillance equipment." We tap our gauntlet keypads, both becoming near-invisible. After our mission on Teth, I had our techs look into upgrading the suit's defenses against EMP devices and they should prove more resilient to countermeasures.
I creep up on the right mercenary while Wodi takes the left and we both take out military-issue combat knives, a little less civilized than a blaster but useful when stealth is required. In a quick, fluid motion, we quickly and silently take care of the guards. We move their bodies out of sight of the entrance and Wodi places a device on the bunker, a device that short circuits any surveillance devices watching the entrance and the door itself. The others appear momentarily and Amminius snorts at us.
"Well I could've done that, just more stylishly of course." We descend the stairs, leading further and further underground. The staircase is dark and sparsely lit.
"This place is more than a bit spooky," Wodi says quietly next to me. I nod and grip my EL-20 tighter. As we keep walking, my thoughts drift to Cade. He had been so focused on following this thing in the Force, I hope he found it. We walk on further when we come to a bulkhead door and all look at Amminius. He pulls out an electronic device, one that was used countless times during the Imperium War. Placing the device on the door, the device emits a yellow light and the door slides open. Amm retrieves the device and attaches it to his FlexArmor, having a magnetic clip attached to it.
Entering slowly, I'm about to say something when I hear the priming of a blaster rifle.
31 ABE
Paz'rec - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
The Phoenix touches down in a windswept canyon of dull brownish stone and sand, void of any plant or animal life. Random patterns of grit stick to the cockpit viewport, and a low wind sends particles of grit against the rapidly cooling hull and swirling past the viewport. Blast, I can feel the chill of this place seeping into the cockpit. The very limited data on this world indicated two things: desert and cold.
"I wonder if the rest of the planet is as charming as this area," Amminius comments from his passenger's chair, staring out the window at the less-than-inviting landscape. "Reminds me of that charming slag pit, Daxam IV, during the Civil War. The gritty sand really ups the tourist factor. I'm surprised we're not waiting in a queue to get to the nearest pleasure resort." I grin and look back at him, his humor giving a much-needed confidence boost.
"Maybe you can ask the GenoHaradan to make you a resort manager. I'm sure they're just itching to put this place on the galactic map. It'll beat out Canto Bight, for sure," I say, looking at the surface.
Gerik laughs, gauntleted arms folded on the back of Amminius' chair. "Somehow, I don't think even Sinan would be able to do that." Amminius turns and offers him a playfully rude gesture, and Gavin chuckles.
"Alright, boys," Sonya says, completing her check of the ship systems and rising from her chair, patting her holstered blaster pistol beneath her coat. "Let's save the lucrative business plans until after we save the galaxy and get to it."
"What do you have in mind?" I ask, curious. My efforts to find out more about the GenoHaradan had yielded less than helpful results, with some entries only barely coming to half a page on my datapad. The others look at her, evidently curious too.
"Well," Sonya says, a mischievous smirk lining her face, "it all comes down to our senator friend, Kovin Groth. I think he just might be one of the guild's Overseers." I frown, unfamiliar with the term. I look at Gavin and he shrugs.
"What, you mean like a ringleader?" Amminius asks.
"Close," Sonya nods. "I found out quite a bit from a former, ah, contact of mine." Amminius and I exchange a glance, Amminius flashing me a grin. I return it, Sonya's slightly reddening face clearly indicating the meaning of "contact."
Gavin gives me a look and Sonya gives us all a dark look before continuing. "Anyway, the contact told me about some of the inner workings of the guild, stuff that you can't find in your average holozine. The GenoHaradan is headed by four Overseers, their identities kept secret, even from their own members.
Their whole operation thrives on secrecy. Most of the galaxy doesn't even know they exist. So, I was thinking, why don't we go in there and enlighten them on the identity of one of their Overseers? The resulting chaos and backstabbing through the ranks should keep them occupied long enough for us to deal with the First Order and Praetoriate."
I nod, mulling over her plan, working through the details and ramifications, feeling a growing confidence in it with each passing moment. Sonya's plan just might work. If what she found out about these guys is true, then a bombshell like that could throw the whole organization into upheaval. Corruption and hidden agendas are practically a given with criminal organizations, something I learned from the Empire.
"This could work! We reveal Kovin, and the whole place will go ballistic with the news," Amminus says, grinning, and claps his hands together.
"So much for my pleasure resort idea. I like it, Sonya! Short, sweet, and most importantly, potentially explosive!" I say, smiling. The others express their agreement, and soon, we're trekking through the sand and up a short dune, the wind spitting gritty particles at us. Looking around, I can't help but laugh at our group, all with goggled-masks on to deal with the sand. We continue our march when we see what we've been looking for.
The structure is carved right into the rock, like we noted during our descent, with only a wide, rusted door announcing the presence of the base. There are two mercenary guards standing outside it, sporting some pretty nasty blasters and tech strapped to their bodies. On my right, Sonya extracts a pair of macrobinoculars and peers at the door and the two guards.
"Somehow," she says, leaning close so I can hear her over the wind, "I get the feeling that these guys won't be too happy to see us. I don't think there's a situation where we can walk in with them alive."
I nod, as does Gerik, his helmet's rangefinder lowered over his visor. "Yeah," the Mandalorian says, "they don't look like they're there to make small talk. Want me to handle them?" He unclips the strap on his holster and takes out a heavy blaster pistol. Gavin stays his hand.
"There might be some sort of surveillance system or audio pickup outside. Even with the wind, I bet that if we start a shooting match, someone will notice. We'd best do this quietly." He looks at me, and I nod. Our suits, upgraded models from the ones we wore on Teth, are specially designed for stealth, with special hardware that renders us near invisible. With a touch of a button on my forearm, I disappear, and so does Gavin.
Together, we move down the side of the dune and approach the two guards from an angle. Our suits and the swirling sand may make us hard to see, but footprints slowly moving up to the door would be enough to make anyone spooked. Controlling my breathing, I creep up to the guard on the left, extracting a small vibroblade from my thigh pouch and grip it in my gloved hand.
With a motion from Gavin, I clamp my hand over the man's mouth and plunge my blade into the soft tissue of the guard's neck, piercing a layer of leather clothing before finding my mark and twisting. The guard spasms once, then falls still. I gently lower him to the ground and move him away from the main entrance, his booted feet making light tracks in the sand.
A look at Gavin shows he's doing the same, dragging his guard away and to the side of the door. Taking a small device from my belt, I brush away a layer of crud from the door and stick it to the surface. After a moment, I remove the device: a mini EMP designed to quietly short-circuit any listening or recording devices nearby.
De-cloaking, I give a thumbs-up to the others, who begin their approach, momentarily joining us at the entrance. "I could've done that," Amminius says, nodding to the dead GenoHaradan members. "Just more stylishly, of course." I give him a grin as Gerik inserts a thin tool from his wrist gauntlet in the slit between the doors, applying a small bit of force before the doors slide open. Quickly, we file in, Gerik slowly closing the doors behind us. We find ourselves in a short, dark hallway, ending at a descending stairwell leading into gray-black darkness.
"I don't like the look of this," I say, glancing down as we stop at the top step. I can only see down a few stone steps before the rest are swallowed by darkness, and a shadowy flight of steps leading to an unknown location is never a good sign.
"Neither do I," Gerik says quietly. "Too many things that could be hiding down there. Tripwires, mines, darts, ray shields-"
"Thank you for painting that charming picture," Amminius says drily. "Remind me to add that to the brochure."
Sonya squares her shoulders and gestures forward. "Well, we aren't accomplishing anything standing here. Let's go see what the GenoHaradan are up to."
Later…
I step off the last stone step and into the passage below, our footsteps echoing slightly, sounding in the ringing silence like cannon blasts. No mines or darts or tripwires had been activated as we descended. Our trip had been tense, but luckily uneventful. The passage, lit by grimy wall illumination panels, leads to a door. The door looks well-constructed, with a layer of rust ringing the frame. Despite the rust, it looks like it could survive a thermal detonator blast.
"Slicing it is," Gavin mutters, extracting his datapad and a thin cord, approaching the door's activation panel, inlaid into the metal frame, wet with condensation. He plugs in and begins tapping away at his pad. The others and I keep watch, our blasters at the ready, but no one springs out at us. After a few minutes, Gavin softly curses and continues to tap, the small red light on the panel flashes from red to green. He reels in his cord and puts away his datapad, exchanging it for his blaster. He looks at me and I nod.
Gavin presses the button, and the door quietly hisses open, revealing an inky blackness beyond. We all look at each other for a second, then head inside, Gavin first, followed by me, Gerik, Sonya, with Amminius covering our rear. As we take our first few steps inside, I can instinctively tell that this room is large. Our quiet footsteps seem to echo off the ceiling and walls. The sound makes me wince; in the stillness, they sound like artillery shells.
I change my helmet's display to infrared but stop. I feel a prickle at the back of my neck. We're not alone here. My heart is racing in my chest, the sound so loud in my ears that I almost miss the symphony of clicking sounds, the priming of blaster rifles.
"Duck!" I shout and throw myself to the floor as red, orange, and blue lasers crisscross the room, striking all manner of surfaces and throwing up showers of hot sparks. I hear one laser bolt hit a plate of Gerik's beskar, making a characteristic clanging sound.
After a few moments, the blaster fire ceases, and silence falls momentarily. "Get up! Drop the blasters," a harsh, modulated female voice orders. Suddenly, lights blink on, throwing the room into sharp relief, dazzling my eyes momentarily. I can see more than a dozen pairs of scuffed booted feet in my peripheral vision, and I feel the hostile stares of many pairs of eyes on us.
We cautiously get to our feet, our weapons lying on the cold floor and our hands raised. I grit my teeth, mentally preparing to feel the searing pain of a blaster bolt vaporizing my organs. But no bolt comes. We're encircled by about forty beings in various clothing and armor plates. All have blasters and other weapons drawn and pointed at us. The speaker, in front, wears a helmet with tubing and a thin slit for a visor, pointing a nasty RSKF44 heavy pistol at me.
"We tracked your ship," the hunter says, indicating the planet's surface above us with a flick of her blaster pistol. "Who are you? What do you want?
Next to me, I hear Amminius make a disbelieving huff. "R brainiacs. Unbelievable. I'll be having a word with them." The woman laughs, a dead electronic sound. Sonya takes a small step forward, and the room tenses. She raises her hands higher and addresses the crowd.
"We come with information vital to your organization. All we ask in return is safe passage to our ship."
"The fact that your little band knows anything at all is a problem."
"Sure, it is, but without our information, you might as well be sitting in the dark. You need what we have." The hunter considers us, cocking her head slightly, trying to figure out Sonya's angle.
"How about we make a trade?" I say, trying to control the anxious tremor in my voice. I swallow hard and continue.
"We tell you what we know, and then you let us go." The main hunter is silent, and I interpret that to mean that we can continue. We have their attention. I nod to Sonya, who takes out her datapad. Blasters are swung in her direction. She makes another calming motion, then taps a few keys.
"Kovin Groth," she says, and pulls up a data file showing a middle-aged man's craggy face, displaying it to those assembled. "That's why we're here." The gathered bounty hunters and assassins stare at the image projected from the datapad blankly. There are some quiet murmurs of recognition, which gives me the smallest boost in confidence.
"We already know who this man is," the woman hunter says. "He's a senator, with a particular love for the seedier side of life. Deals with spice, slave trading, and black-market goods. We know this because he often associates with our couriers and uses our services." I share a dark look with Amminius. To think that the organization we helped to build started to fall apart because of sleaze bags like this.
"Well," Gavin pipes up, "you might find this interesting," he pauses for added effect. "Kovin Groth is one of your four Overseers." The room is silent for a few moments, and then the woman hunter scoffs.
"I don't believe you."
"We have secure data tapes and communications that we sliced from one of his many alternate accounts. All on this pad. Groth is one of your men." I see the female's fingers twitch on her trigger, she's nervous.
"I will take your datapad and blast it into pieces, and then I will kill you."
"What about Groth?" a voice asks from the crowd. Others voice their assent.
"It doesn't matter," the woman snaps, gazing around at them. "Their information isn't worth anything. Kill them and destroy that datapad!"
"Hold on," a male voice protests. "We should at least look at what they've got before we vaporize it."
The crowd around us is jostling and arguing with one another, and then comes the blaster shot. The whole room explodes into pandemonium. Arguing voices rise over the din as members begin to fight each other, blaster shots announcing the clear winners of those arguments. I look to the others in our group, the same thought clearly on all our minds.
"I think it's time we exited this party and let them figure this one out," Gerik says before he dives for his blasters the same moment I reach for mine. I snatch my rifle just as bolts fly in our direction. The hunter who had ordered our execution turns towards us and is about to shout something when a red bolt punches through the side of her neck.
She drops wordlessly to the ground. We race out of the room, trading fire with a few hunters, and Gavin closes the door behind us, searing the control panel with a blaster bolt. We fly up the steps to the entrance hallway and burst back out onto the cold dunes of Paz'rec.
"Well," Amminius huffs, running next to me. "That's one way to skin a Gundark!" We double time it up the dunes. By this time, several members of the GenoHaradan have fought their way up to the surface and are chasing after us. Gerik solves this problem by firing his jetpack missile. As bits of debris and cloth rain down, we race the rest of the way back to the ship.
31 ABE
Yanibar - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
"My son." I turn around and can't believe my eyes. Even though my parents were killed when I was only three years old, I easily remember the stoic face of my father, Dex Valdarin, Jedi Knight and General during the Clone Wars as well as one of the last survivors of the Purge.
"Father," I say after a moment of pure awe. "I never thought I'd see you again."
He looks at me with a soft gaze. "Come now, Cade. You know better than that. The Force binds all things: past, present, future. Your mother and I are always with you in the Force and in here," he says, placing an ethereal hand on my chest.
"But why call me here?"
"I called you here because years ago, I came to this planet. During the Clone Wars, my ship was struck off-course during a hyperspace jump and I landed here. The reception I received was far icier than yours."
The Elder moves closer and smiles. "Yes, you can imagine. Our peaceful temple, courtyards filled with pupils training, and out of the sky comes a ship on fire, with a Jedi onboard, no less." She smiles at my father's ghost. "But luckily, this Jedi was different."
I look at her and bow. "Thank you, then. For helping my father."
"I had my reasons. You see, Cade, one night, the Force gave us both a vision of the future. And it revolved around you."
I stand straighter and look at my father again. "Cade, the vision I had, you and the Zeison Sha have intertwined destinies. Tell me, when you came here, what did you see in the courtyard?"
"I saw children here, with their families."
"And what did you think of that?"
"It makes sense, really," I say after a moment of silence. "To deprive a child of their familial connections is wrong. The thought that children needed to be separated from their family to prevent a temptation to the dark side was wrong; one can control their emotions and not fall to the dark side."
He looks at the elder. "See, I told you he was a new breed of Jedi. You see, Cade, you truly are a different Jedi. I saw you, training a new generation of Jedi, warriors of the Force who follow the same beliefs as you. I believe that the Force has chosen you to rebuild the Jedi into something greater, something better, and the Zeison Sha are the first step." I look at him again and he notices my expression.
"I know it's been a long road, Cade. I'm sorry your mother and I were taken from you when you were so young. You can thank Palpatine for that. But you have come a long way. Mon Mothma will forever have my thanks for raising you as her own. Even though you never received formal training in the Jedi way, here you are, one of the most powerful Force users ever.
But to bring you to the Zeison Sha isn't the only reason I called you here." I turn back to my father, about to ask what else but I stop when I see my lightsaber floating in front of me. "We were stolen from you before we could start your Gathering."
The Gathering, if I remember what I found during my travels with Luke, shortly after the Battle Of Jakku, is a millennia-old tradition wherein young padawans would find their kyber crystals.
"But I already have a crystal," I say, telekinetically activating the saber to show its green blade.
"Yes, but the crystal is not bonded to you, it's bonded to the blood in your veins, my blood. But the crystal is not wholly your own. It is time to find your crystal," he says as the saber deactivates.
"We aren't exactly close to Christophsis or Xauvis. Where am I going to find one?"
"Cade, look around you, but more importantly, feel around you."
I close my eyes and reach out with my senses… the Force is strong here, much stronger than what I had felt in orbit. "There are crystals here, I can feel the Force resonating." He nods approvingly and tells me to close my eyes again and focus solely on the Force.
I subconsciously raise my arm towards the presence. I open my eyes when I feel a rush of air and hear water. I find myself at the top of a subterranean waterfall. The presence is coming from the bottom, but I feel something else, something cold and dark. I look back at Mi'Ri and Maivoc, who both smile.
"This is your journey, Cade, yours alone," my father tells me.
I leap down the chasm, using the Force to cushion my impact before I reach the bottom. Looking up, I see the distance was greater than I thought. The air around me feels cold and clammy and there is a mist covering the floor.
You must face a test to find your crystal, I hear my father tell me telepathically. There is something, something from your past that is unresolved, that has haunted you to this day. You must face it. My hand drifts to my lightsaber as I feel a darkness, far darker than Palpatine, Vader, or even Pravus. I walk a little further when I hear the snap-hiss of another lightsaber. I turn around, igniting my own, when I see a startling sight.
There, in front of me, is a man my age. Similar hair and build, the only difference being ashen gray skin, a red lightsaber, and black eyes, blacker than the blackest night. Those eyes remind me of Pravus and the evil he wrought on the galaxy. But when I look at those eyes, it hits me… this is me.
When I defeated Pravus aboard Gorukar, he had tried to convince me to take the power of the station for myself since I was capable of fully harnessing it. But I had foreseen where that power would have taken me; I would have been consumed by it, the ability to silence any resistance with a single thought, the power to obliterate a star with the slightest of effort. That vision frightened me more than anything since. This must be the test my father mentioned, a fear that shook me to the core and one I've held ever since.
"This is a test. You're my deepest fear. That despite all my training and conviction, that power would have changed me." I ignite my saber and salute, the dark apparition does the same. Then he attacks, furiously battering my defenses. We clash again and again in the cavern until he launches a wave of pure, destructive energy at me.
Using the Force to block it at the last second, the impact of the wave knocks me against the cavern wall and he takes advantage of the break to slash the hilt of my lightsaber, a shower of sparks erupting in my face. As he lunges his lightsaber at me in what would be an impaling strike, I side-step and back away when a thought crosses my mind. This is a test, not of skill or strength, but of self. Facing the mirror.
The phantom moves in for another attack: a straight overhead, vertical strike. At the last second, I stand still and the blade stops, inches from my forehead. "You are a part of me," I say to the phantom. "You cannot harm me because I accept you, and have always accepted you as part of myself. I control my darkness, it does not control me." The phantom sheathes his lightsaber and walks into me, disappearing.
I stand, breathless. I don't know why I feel so fatigued but also, unburdened at the same time, like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I glance around when I hear singing and the mist clears, revealing a cave behind the subterranean waterfall. There are crystals, lots of crystals. "Magnificent, aren't they," my father says, having materialized next to me. "You passed your test, now claim your reward."
I walk into the newly formed cave and stop when I hear them all humming. "Close your eyes, Cade, tell me what you hear." I do so and listen to the Force, allowing it to guide my actions.
"I hear… singing. A simple, yet beautiful tune."
"Good, good. Now, find it." Keeping my hand outstretched, I follow the humming tune until I feel it right in front of me. I open my eyes and notice a crystal sitting on a mound of dirt. It doesn't look like any crystal I've seen or read about. I hear it singing slightly louder and I pick it up, marveling at its smooth texture.
"What do you hear from the crystal, Cade?"
"Singing. I hear it singing to me."
"No, listen closer." I close my eyes and listen deeper and I hear the crystal speak to me. It asks who I am. I give my answer. Then it asks me to teach it, so I recite my version of the Jedi Code: There is emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge, passion, yet serenity, chaos yet harmony, death yet the Force.
I hear the crystal speak again: You are different, unique. So too shall I be different, unique.
Feeling something change in the crystal, I open my eyes again to see a faint turquoise color. The crystal feels different, like it's a part of me now. Tucking it away in a pouch on my belt, I walk out of the cave to see my father and Mi'Ri there. "Did you find your crystal, Cade?" he asks.
"Yes, I did." I say as I show him my new crystal.
"Very good. Now…" he trails off as my lightsaber floats in front of me, split in two. "You will need to construct a new lightsaber." Sparks fly out of one severed end as if emphasizing his statement.
"I need to go back to Had Abbadon," I say.
Later That Evening…
We sit around a fire watching the young Zeison Sha initiates put on a demonstration of their telekinetic abilities, they are surprisingly powerful for their age. I notice for the first time how beautiful Mi'Ri is: striking silver eyes, her seductive light skin, and that voice. She's a beautiful Echani, more so than many baseline Human women I've met. She is talking quietly with one of the young initiates and giving her words of encouragement.
"She is beautiful, isn't she?" my father says, appearing next to me, sitting on a stone bench.
"Well, yes." I reply quite simply.
"I know what happened to Kiara. I'm sorry, not just about that but for, well, everything. There was so much your mother and I wanted to teach you, so much we wanted to tell you.
I look at him. "It's ok, father. It wasn't your fault, Palpatine and Vader are to blame."
He places an ethereal hand on my shoulder. "We are proud, so immensely proud of the man and the Jedi you have become. I see greatness in your future."
"What do you see?"
"The future is always in motion, son. But I see you not just rebuilding the Jedi Order, but reforging it. You understand the flaws of the Jedi, you know how to change them for the better."
I see Mi'Ri look at me and smile a beautiful smile, playfully pushing the young girl towards the courtyard lit by torches on the corners of the yard. She puts on an impressive display of telekinetics, slamming her foot on the ground and lifting up several small stones and then making an intricate show with them. Mi'Ri and I applaud her.
"I'm afraid I have to go now, Cade, but I will see you again."
"I know. I love you, father. I have never forgotten you or mom."
"The Force will be with you, always, as will we." He then disappears in a mist.
Mi'Ri comes to sit next to me. "You are an amazing person, Cade Valdarin. I have never felt anyone able to use the Force like you can."
"Thank you. During the Imperium War, I trained under the guidance of my ancestor's spirit and learned abilities that have been forgotten for millenia."
"So, can you tell me about the Imperium War?" she asks, inching closer and listening intently.
After detailing the Imperium War and my role in it, a process that takes several hours, I finish my story. "I defeated Pravus and brought down Gorukar, breaking it apart and causing it to crash into the ocean."
"Fascinating, and how did you defeat Pravus? With your blade?"
"Well… partially. I disarmed him, literally. With a swift maneuver, I had cut off his weapon hand, slashed his face, and stabbed him in the chest. After trying to convince me to take the station for my own, he lunged with his remaining hand, using the Force to generate lightning down it."
I grimace, remembering this next part and Mi'Ri notices, placing her hand on mine. "What happened next?"
I see genuine care in her eyes. "I severed his connection to the Force," I say quietly. I can tell that she understands my disgust.
"I didn't even know that was possible," she says after a while.
"Like I said, training under the spirit of Argus Valdarin allowed me to learn long-forgotten knowledge, like the ability to sever someone's connection to the Force. To cut oneself off from the Force, that's simple. But to cut another sentient being off from the Force is something completely different. But it comes with a price… I tapped into Pravus' inner darkness when I connected with him and almost lost myself."
"Well, it sounds like you didn't, in fact, quite the opposite. It sounds like you found even more conviction in your beliefs."
I smile and nod. "I did, the thought of tapping into that power to control the galaxy crossed my mind in the minutes after he died but I realized that it would have been wrong to protect the galaxy in such a way."
She flashes me another smile. "You are different from what I expected a Jedi to be like."
"Like I said, I'm not a normal Jedi."
"I think, Cade Valdarin, I will be interested to see what happens between you and the Zeison Sha in the future. Some of our warriors may give you a hard time, being a Jedi and all, but most accept the wisdom of Elder Maivoc. These forgotten techniques, maybe you can teach me some time," she says in a gentle way and with a smile. I smile back.
"I'd be honored, Mi'Ri of the Zeison Sha."
She smiles at me when the young trainee comes back from her demonstration. "Come, young one, let's get you home. Good night, Cade. Meeting you has been interesting, very interesting." She and the girl walk out into the night, leaving me with my thoughts.
Ratchet then rolls up to me and beeps, he has a message. He projects an image of Wodi. "Hey kid, I hope you found what you needed on Yanibar. We solved the problem with the Genoharadan. Turns out all you need to get bounty hunters off your back is to cause a civil war.
We're heading to the Argo system, that refueling platform needs to be taken out. We can put a serious dent in the First Order and Praetoriate's naval capability, at least for a little while. Hopefully, we will meet you there."
"Ratchet, get the ship prepped, we take off first thing in the morning. I'm going to talk to Mi'Ri and see if some of her warriors can join us. From what I've seen, we can use the help. But first, we'll need to go to Had Abbadon, back to my workshop."
31 ABE
Nuvindi Prime - Wild Space
Jevin Corso
A tall Nuvindan walks into the technologically sophisticated command center, built to help foster a relationship between our two governments. A Warhawk, a rank comparable to the New Republic's High General. "Warhawk Ryyx, a pleasure to see you again," I say, nodding to the taller man. The Nuvindans are mostly humanoid, with the only major difference being a pair of large wings on their back, ranging from black to white, giving the species the nickname "Angels."
"High General Corso, I wanted to discuss operations in the Thune system, if you have a moment."
"Of course," I say, joining him at the holo table.
Thune. For some reason the Praetoriate has been hell-bent on taking the planet but we've managed to hold them at bay. The Nuvindans have ships comparable to our own in terms of sophistication, shaped similar to a Gozanti-class but with the head of the ship shaped like a bird's beak. I have even fought alongside their soldiers on Thune itself, defending the many canals of Thune City. The planet is in a strategic location between Nuvindan space, Scout Service space, and Praetoriate space.
"I've ordered the Angel Wing Guard to this area of the system, the Praetoriate seems to be marshaling there."
I nod. "Good, we are sending the 32nd Guard Division to Thune City, they can hold it for now and Admiral Vanice and Captain Baruk are sending a combined fleet to Agaris. But, Warhawk, I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to help us with a major operation."
He turns to me. "Imagine, our two governments were at one time distant, then a war comes and now we are strong allies, what is it?" he asks as he stretches out his wings, causing a rustling sound. I input coordinates on the table and an image of a gas giant shows.
"This is Argo Prime, a gas giant in the Argo system. This is what we need help with," I say as the image magnifies to show a fairly large space station bristling with weaponry, a tether to a large bulbous collector within the outer atmosphere of the gas giant, and several large berths for Resurgent-class destroyers.
He whistles. "That… is impressive."
"Yes, and sadly, it's not ours. The First Order and Praetoriate have been using this for the last year, refueling ships for attacks in Republic and Scout Service space. I plan to take it out."
"How do you plan to do that? The station looks like a fortress," the Warhawk remarks as he scrolls through data on the station.
"Well, it helps to be friends with a Jedi. I was hoping that Cade would be able to use his abilities to get a small strike team onboard and then open the way for a larger assault force."
We converse more about the upcoming plan for Argo Prime when a Nuvindan solider, a Falchion, a rank comparable to Major, comes in and salutes us both. "Sorry to disturb you both but there's a matter that requires your attention. Lira San has sent a distress call for urgent aid. Long range scans have also detected Praetoriate activity around Dornea."
"Well," I put my hands on my hips. "Osik." It's the best word I can conjure up. I contact Wodi and momentarily, a mini holoimage of him appears. "Wishbone, do you read?"
"I'm here, Jevin, what is it?"
"Wodi, what's your status, we need to hit Argo Prime."
"We just got done on Paz'Rec and are moving to the rendezvous. Cade said he'll meet us there."
"Understood. We've received word that Praetoriate forces have been seen around Dornea, I'm heading there to work with the Dornean Navy."
"Got it. Once we're done at the refueling platform, we'll head to Dornea. Having a supply of modernized Braha'toks would be invaluable."
I smile, Wodi hasn't forgotten that the Dorneans lent their powerful gunships to the Rebellion. "Good luck, Wodi, stay safe."
"You too, I'll see you soon." I end the hololink and turn towards Ryyx again.
"Warhawk, keep your forces defending Nuvindi space, we are getting scattered reports that they are testing our lines at random locations. We need to keep Odessen and Nuvindi Prime safe." He nods at me and wishes me luck. I make my way to a docked shuttle used for New Republic Command officials and we take off towards Dornea.
It should be interesting, I've never actually been to the Dornean homeworld. We pass the Nebula, the first of the new Nebula-class Star Destroyers. As we enter hyperspace, I begin to think some more. Thirteen years ago, during the last year of the Imperium War, the New Republic had been at its strongest, both politically and militarily.
We had become what every Rebel had fought in the civil war for. Then we let corruption run rampant, demilitarized, and didn't keep an eye on the First Order. We knew they were out there... hell, they fought against us during the Imperium War.
I shake my head, I shouldn't be thinking like this. We've survived worse. First we'll deal with the Praetoriate, then, the First Order. Then we can set about rebuilding the Republic. Turning around, I open a crate of blasters, namely a model BlasTech just recently released, the E-25 blaster rifle.
The gun is small and compact, sharing a model with the E-22. I've always believed in having my troops equipped with the most up-to-date technology. I place the gun down as we exit hyperspace. I can see a small fleet of Brahatok's in orbit, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. That's a good sign since the New Republic military is severely depleted and until we can rebuild, Planetary Defense Forces will be key and Dornea, with a long and proud naval tradition, has the most powerful PDF.
"Pilot, take us in for landing," I say to the young ensign, watching as the world grows bigger and bigger in the viewport.
31 ABE
Had Abbadon - Deep Core
Cade Valdarin
The trip from Yanibar took a few days but I needed the tools from my workshop to build a new lightsaber. Mi'Ri and the others decided to come with me in an old Clone War-era freighter and decided to mill about the temple while Mi'Ri followed me to the workshop.
"Here we are, go ahead and get comfortable," I tell her while she takes a seat and looks out the window.
"Cade… this place is amazing."
"I'll say," a new voice says. I look up to see Volke and Ida standing there.
"Volke, weren't you on Odessen?"
"I was but I got a feeling you'd come here. Ida begged me to bring her along."
Ida smiles at me and then notices Mi'Ri. "She's pretty, Cade." Mi'Ri holds back a giggle when she sees my expression.
"Did Sonya bring you?" I ask and moments later, Sonya comes through the doorway smiling.
"What can I say, have you seen Ida's smile? It's infectious!" she says, laughing.
"Mi'Ri, this is Sonya, one of my closest friends. She stayed here with me when I went into exile." They exchange greetings and Sonya takes Mi'Ri with her to tour the temple while I focus on my lightsaber.
I set my crystal on the table, the crystal glowing a faint turquoise. Also on the table are the rest of the materials needed for lightsaber construction. With a supply of dark silver ancient alloy found in the temple, still strong after all this time, some Wroshyr wood, courtesy of my friendship with Salurra, and black textured rubber, I get to work.
At the emitter, I fashion a small, simple shroud that extends just above it, with a small trapezoidal piece of metal covering the base of the energy blade. The next section of the hilt, the switch, I keep simple: a smooth metal piece housing the power switch and little else. Next, I add a black, textured rubber grip, particularly useful when performing fast strikes. Lastly, the pommel. For this, I fashion a cylindrical hand weight made of Wroshyr wood, complete with a loop to allow for easy storage on a utility belt.
Hefting it in my hand, the weight distribution is perfectly even, with the extra weight in the pommel serving to assist my preferred lightsaber form: Form V, but with more emphasis on precision than brute force. I hold the hilt vertically and close my eyes, falling deep into the Force. Breathing deeply, I use the Force to set the crystal into place. Activating the blade, a unique vashoom-sound emanates from the hilt and a turquoise-colored blade springs to life. I smile: this is my lightsaber. Sonya comes in and smiles too.
"Nice color, it fits you," she says. Mi'Ri comes in as well and she smiles at me, a look I am starting to enjoy seeing.
I deactivate my sword and clip the hilt to my belt. "It feels… right. The crystal I mean, it feels like its a part of me."
Mi'Ri nods. "It suits you, a new color for a new Jedi."
"Indeed it does," a new voice says.
I look to my left and see the spirits of my father and Luke appear. "Father, Luke, what are you doing here?" They look at me and then look to my left, I do the same and see another spirit: a small, green, elfin-eared creature. It laughs at me.
"Right, your father was, powerful you are."
"You're Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi."
"Correct, you are."
"Why are you here?" I ask the three of them.
Luke walks towards me. "We came here because there's something that needs to be done before you move further."
My father looks at me. "Cade, you are a master in all but name. We came here because… " he says as my new hilt begins floating in front of me.
"Doubt you have, young Valdarin?" Yoda asks me, his head tilted.
"Well, I always thought, in a galaxy where we met, that… well… that you wouldn't agree with me, that I wouldn't be a Jedi."
Yoda chuckles at me. "Beliefs, funny things. Shaped by our environment, they are. Doubt yourself, you do, that a true Jedi you are?"
"Cade, just because you see some things differently than traditional Jedi doesn't mean you aren't one," Luke says. "I fought by your side during the Imperium War, I traveled with you for more than a decade before that, I know you. While you see things differently, you still stay true to the Jedi way. You fight evil, tyranny, and oppression. Evil will always exist but must never be allowed to flourish, you told me that once, remember?"
Smiling at him, I nod. "I miss you, Luke."
"I know, I feel the same. I'm sorry that during my exile, I didn't reach out to you. But look at what you have accomplished! A fully trained student and another on the way, you are a true Jedi. A bit unorthodox, sure, but you are a Jedi."
"Kneel, Jedi Knight," Yoda says as my lightsaber floats in front of me, activating and bathing the surrounding space with light. I kneel down on my left knee and see Sonya and Mi'Ri smile as well. My father nods as does Luke.
"Ready you are, Cade Valdarin. By the right of the council, by the will of the Force, rise, Jedi Master." The sword deactivates and I stand, all three ghosts nod their heads. "Suits you, the title does. First will you be, of the new Jed, for a new age."
"Thank you, Master Yoda. It is an honor," I say, bowing my head.
He nods back. "Then prove us right, you will. Defeat evil again and rebuild the Jedi Order."
"We are all proud of you, Cade, and have the utmost faith in you," my father adds. I say my goodbyes and the masters of the past vanish into nothingness.
"All right," I say, clipping my lightsaber to my belt. "Now that we have that out of the way, we should get going." We walk down the stone steps of the temple to the landing pad and I see the old freighter the Zeison Sha had ferried me in alongside the Phoenix. Ida bounces alongside me.
"I always considered you a master, Cade." I smile and hold her hand as we walk. I join the Zeison Sha in their old freighter since it's large enough to dock my E-wing. Our pilot pushes down the lever and we jump into hyperspace.
31 ABE
Argo System - Unknown Regions
Gavin Skyes
It has been a few days since we left Paz'rec and we are now on our way to Argo Prime to hit the refueling platform used by both the First Order and the Praetoriate. I asked Admiral Vanice to send a task force to meet us there and she did not disappoint. About halfway en route, we met up with Admiral Barsen of the Service and a small flotilla including MC85s and a Nebula-class Star Destroyer.
This "pocket" Star Destroyer may be small for a capital ship but mounts weapons and defenses that can take on even an Executor-class. The Protector, Barsen's personal ship, has hangars filled with fighter craft: T-85 X-wings, E-wing MK IIs, B-wing MK IIs, and several groups of Y-wings.
"Ok, listen up," I say as I enter the command room, where the admiral, Wodi, and others are gathered around a holo-table. "This just came in from our contact with the Resistance. It's a message... from Palpatine."
Several gasps erupt and Wodi rubs his temple. "How is that possible? He died at Endor."
"I don't know, Wodi. But if working with Cade has taught me anything, it's that nothing is impossible with the Force. Apparently, he's been behind the scenes all along."
Amminius rubs his chin. "So everything since Endor, he has had a hand in? Does that mean Pravus, the whole Imperium War, was all a test?"
"I don't know, and I don't know what this means for us but I'm sure Cade will have something to say about that. But we need to focus, Palpatine may seem like the biggest threat right now but if Xellius succeeds, we're doomed."
Reaching up and touching the holo presentation of the gas giant, Argo Prime, the map zooms in on the Argo refueling platform. "So we all know our mission, take this station out. The only problem is this." The map zooms out to show the space around the station, several Resurgent-class destroyers and a Predator-class in blockade position.
"We need to fight our way onto the station, recon suggests there are prisoners here who need our help."
Admiral Barsen looks at the projection. "Those ships will present a challenge but doable, the Nebula-class was developed with the Predator-class in mind. You're sure Master Valdarin is coming to join us?"
I nod. "Cade is an extremely honorable man. I trust him with my life." He nods back.
"Very well. We will launch as scheduled and pray that Rey and the Resistance can tackle Palpatine."
We disperse and I see Wodi and Amm looking crestfallen. "Guys, what's up?"
They look at me morosely. "Kid, you're a year younger than Cade, you weren't really part of the civil war," Wodi says.
"We were all at Endor, Cade included. We saw the Death Star explode and Palpatine was dead. Knowing he's back… it's haunting."
I clap him on the shoulder. "You know Cade has been doing his whole telepathy thing with Rey, I'm sure they are on this."
"Yeah, you're right. In the meantime, we have a job to do," he says as we gaze out the viewport as the Protector exits hyperspace to see several more destroyers than our recon earlier noted. Immediately, alarm klaxons blare and I hear Barsen begin to issue orders. I look at Wodi and a small but elite team of Expeditionary Assault and Tactics Unit soldiers and we jog to our gunship.
As we glide through space, weaving to dodge laserfire and watching fighters dance, I can't help but think of Cade. He has always been extremely sensitive to the Force. If Palpatine is alive…
31 ABE
Argo System - Unknown Regions
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Blossoms of fire erupt just outside our U-wing transport's viewport as we juke and jinx to avoid starfighter and station turbolaser batteries, our pilot gunning towards the Argo Prime refueling station alongside a trio of A-wing fighters. Beside me are Amminius, Gavin, and ten other soldiers, all outfitted in zero-g space gear with E-25 blaster rifles for our mission. I stare numbly out at the space battle taking place, my mind reeling from an impossible truth, one that I'd been grappling with ever since I heard it in the briefing: Emperor Palpatine, tyrannical ruler of the Galactic Empire, is alive. Alive and dangerous. Alive and scheming. Alive and near victorious.
That simple fact alone threatens to break down my guard and fill me with a roiling storm of emotions. After the briefing, I had called several of my Resistance contacts and asked them to corroborate what had been said, dread coursing through my body. My contacts had all spoken of a briefing with Poe Dameron, where a snippet of audio had played in secret Sith code, in which Emperor Palpatine had demanded submission or destruction. My mouth had felt as dry as the Jakku desert then. All we had fought for and sacrificed had seemed utterly meaningless. We hadn't achieved lasting peace. We couldn't even stop the remnants of the Empire.
I had boarded the transport anyway, as I had done countless times before. At Tatooine. At Hoth. At Sullust. At Endor. At Jakku. Now at Argo Prime. Next to me, Amminius grips my arm, and I can sense the same anxieties floating in his mind. I look at him, and he offers a smile. That smile sends my courage rushing back in, and I grip his arm in return, offering a smile of my own. We can get through this. We're rebels. We have something the Empire, the First Order, and the Praetoriate will never take away: hope.
Later…
Our transport peels away from the station as our squad makes its way towards one of the large airlock doors on the station's exterior. The ground shudders beneath my magnetized boots as the turbolaser batteries fire away at distant targets. Hopefully they won't have the ability to target anything soon. Unhooking a high-power welding torch, I ignite the fuse.
My helmet visor darkens considerably to protect my eyes from the powerful blue-white flame. Beside me, Gavin has his own torch lit and together, we begin cutting, forming a large circle moving down the door. Our two cut lines eventually meet, and Gavin gives me a nod. Gesturing for the others to get back, I give a push with my gloved hand on the cut section of the airlock.
It gives slightly and then whoosh, it sails out into the vacuum with a gust of escaping air, soon followed by a small MSE-6 droid and an unfortunate stormtrooper. "Throw it!" I yell to the soldier across from me. She nods and hurls in a magnetic flash charge. I glimpse a white eruption through the airlock hole before we charge in, our blasters up and ready.
Two stormtroopers are reeling from the explosion, hands over their eye lenses. We put them down before they have a chance to recover. The last member of our thirteen-being squad inside activates the ray shield on the secondary airlock, re-sealing the breach.
"Alright," Gavin says, motioning everyone together. "Rally up! The command center of this refueling platform is a few levels up. This station relies on precisely cooled gasses to function, which are controlled from that area. If we overload the bays where the gas is kept, we can blow this thing and cause a chain reaction that'll hit the surrounding Star Destroyers. Cade's on his way now with some new friends of his, and they'll be onsite to assist shortly. Let's move!"
Later…
The last stormtrooper falls to the deck in a heap, a smoking hole in his collarbone. I shift positions, crouched halfway between bulkheads, peering through my rifle scope, my legs starting to cramp. I move my feet around in my boots to get the blood pumping in my lower half again.
"That's the last one," Amminius calls across the way, tapping the life-form scanner attached to his gauntlet. "We're clear here."
With the ongoing space battle, much of the station's personnel had been scrambled to deal with the threat outside, leaving only a light security force behind to lock down the station interior. Odd, given the importance of this platform. A growing unease shifts within me, and I blow out my breath, trying to refocus myself.
"Everyone good?" Gavin calls out. Confirmations come back from positions throughout the hallway as soldiers pop back out of doorways and from behind crates and bulkheads. Amminius and I share a glance, and we both nod to one another.
I flick my eyes to the downed troopers, and Amminius shrugs, but nods a silent confirmation. He's uneasy, too. There's something we're missing here. As we move off down the hallway and turn at a junction, I move to walk alongside Gavin. "There's something funny going on here," I say to him, matching his pace. "With the importance of this station, you'd think that there'd be more guards around. We've only run into a few squads at best."
"I noticed," Gavin says quietly, checking a readout on his left gauntlet. "With the way these skirmishes have been going, we might make it all the way to the command center without needing Cade and his new friends."
"I doubt that," I reply. "Let's divert from this area and take a less expected path. Readouts of this place show a large open area that could be a cargo bay. It might have a lift we could use to bypass other patrols and go straight up to the command level. If we continue our straight shot to the command center, we could be setting ourselves up for an ambush."
"Good thinking," Gavin says, nodding. He motions for the squad to stop. "We're diverting our path a bit. We're headed to a cargo bay that could have an express lift that'll take us right to our destination."
We come to a large door leading to what indeed looks like a cargo bay beyond the glass. A slicer opens up the door's control panel and gets to work while we watch for any guards. None appear, and a few seconds later, the door quietly hisses open. We head inside single-file, and I sweep my blaster around the cavernous room, filled with cargo boxes and containers in neat rows and piles, checking for any signs of movement.
I look at Amminius, who checks his scanner. "We're the only ones here, for now," he confirms. "Shame, I was getting used to our company."
"Let's see if we can find a lift," Gavin instructs. "Fan out. Comm if you see anything useful." He motions for me to join him, and I fall into step beside him as we start our search of the bay. After a few minutes of searching, I begin to notice a pattern in the setup of the bay. Not on the floor with the rows of containers and boxes, but on the ceiling.
Every few meters, a large cylindrical pod hangs attached to wires and cables, with segmented pipes branching out to connect them all. There are four rows of them, with seven units each. They remind me of generators or light fixtures, but the only lights that I can make out on them are small blinking ones on the surface of each pod, almost like a… diagnostic panel.
The realization hits me like an out of control speeder. There's something inside those pods. Holding tanks. Oh, blast. "Wodi, what's up?" Gavin asks, following my gaze upward towards the pods. After a few seconds of looking, he turns to me, his face ashen. "Oh, fierfek."
I nod, my memory flooding with images and sequences of terrifyingly strong super-soldier creations in sharp detail. "I'm calling everyone back," I say in a hoarse whisper, my throat feeling like it's being squeezed, and am about to take my comlink out and get everyone the hell out of this bay when the bottom of the tank opens and something drops to the floor. A Reaver!
The gray hulking humanoid, dressed in sleek black combat armor, grabs Gavin's gun barrel before he can blast it and flings him into a nearby stack of metal crates with a crash!
"Gavin!" I yell, opening up on the creature with my blaster. "Damn it!" Elsewhere, I hear yells of surprise and panic as more Reavers drop from their tanks mixed with the sounds of spitting blaster fire. I concentrate bursts of fire on the creature's head and chest, trying to stagger it.
The Reaver seems to shrug off my attacks and advances towards me, a wide grin on its terrible face, ready to tear me to shreds. Then I see its wrist-mounted blaster cannon. I fire a volley at the blaster mount, and my shots cause it to explode. The shrapnel spits right back at the Reaver, and it collapses, its face and arm a bloody mess. I turn my attention back to Gavin. Another Reaver is advancing toward him, its blaster aimed at the dazed man's head. Not on my watch, freak, I think to myself.
With a growl, I rush the thing and charge into it. It feels like running into solid rock, but the thing staggers and falls into a stack of cargo crates. I put three shots into a gap in its breast armor before it can recover, breathing heavily. Turning to Gavin, I grip his wrist and haul him back to his feet. "Come on, Gavin, get up! You've been through worse!"
"That was… painful," he groans.
I hand him my EC-17 scout pistol. "Don't lose this one, I want it back." Gavin accepts my pistol with a nod and we rush towards the shouts of our team. They've taken cover behind some overturned containers, trying to prevent the Reavers from advancing, firing wildly at the creatures, who evade our blasts with ease, continuing to make seemingly deliberate slow progress towards us. A soldier is too slow to take cover again and takes a salvo to his upper chest and shoulder. He cries out and falls to the floor, the other soldier beside him propping him up and beginning first aid.
"Aim for the wrist cannons!" I yell as we dive into their number, firing at the advancing creatures, who begin making more strategic maneuvers. As we score a few hits on our opponents, more Reavers appear, this time from another section of the bay. We've been flanked.
"I think I like stormtroopers better!" Amminius quips as he ducks down next to me. "Better looking, better manners, too!"
This new group of Reavers suddenly abandons their slow march towards our position and charges. These new models may have better tactical sense and thinking, but I can still see the insane glint in their eyes. At that moment, I feel utter terror, because I'm sure that right now, I'm truly going to die. Torn to shreds in a hangar bay.
The closest Reaver is about to smash into our group when a bright light flies through the air, slicing through the thing's neck and bisecting another.
"Cade!" I say, turning and seeing the Jedi rushing toward our position.
He reaches with his hand, calling back his lightsaber as he reflects a volley of blaster bolts into the wall and a stack of cargo crates before executing a series of kicks to an advancing Reaver, staggering it before chopping it down. "Yes," Amminius whoops, "now it's a battle!"
"Cade!" Gavin says between shots. "Glad you could show up!"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he says, smiling. "I brought some backup!"
I look back to see a mixed species group in lightly armored outfits, throwing sharpened discs and hurling nearby objects at the Reavers with the Force.
"We can do formal introductions later!" Cade shouts as he dodges a blaster bolt.
"Those are some friends!" I say as I target another Reaver and begin blasting. "You always know how to make an entrance."
A young Echani woman with light, almost white skin and silver hair, moves to fight alongside Cade. She expertly tosses a disc, sending it soaring through the air and into the face of a Reaver.
"Doesn't do much to improve his looks, does it?" Amminius comments as the Reaver topples to the deck. "At least we don't have to look at him anymore."
"I think he looks much better," the woman smiles. "The disc will be a talking point, at least."
I grin. "Always helps to look at the positives."
A short time later, our combined group moves down the hallway towards the command center, the transparisteel windows offering a breathtaking, but oddly detached, view of the battle happening outside. Blossoms of fire erupt among the stars, and green and red lasers crisscross as tiny models of starfighters weave and dance amid the throng of giant capital ships. A group of Republic bombers flies in formation, headed towards the adjoining shipyard to unleash their payload.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I ask Cade, walking next to me. He doesn't respond. I look at him, and a flash of concern takes hold of me at his appearance: he is very pale, and his eyes appear unfocused. Suddenly, he stops, resting his hand on my shoulder for support, eyes closed.
"Cade?" I can hear my voice rising from panic, and I try my best to fight it down. "Everyone, stop! Something's wrong with Cade!" Our group stops, and everyone circles up around us.
"Cade, what's wrong?" Gavin asks. Cade doesn't answer, his eyes still closed, gripping my shoulder. I quickly run through the list of things to do when a soldier is wounded on the battlefield in my head, but before I can take action, Volke appears at my side from the crowd.
"He heard her call," the alien Jedi says quietly.
"Whose call?" I ask him, trying to keep my voice level. Gavin voices the same question.
"Rey," Volke responds.
31 ABE
Hyperspace
Cade Valdarin
We have been traveling for at least a day now, having left the Deep Core for the Unknown Regions. Having built a new lightsaber and been given the title of Jedi Master by those who came before me, I have a renewed vigor. But that has been dampened by a new feeling, a dark, murky feeling. One I have not felt since Endor all those years ago.
"Ratchet, take the controls," I say to my loyal astromech, having decided to fly solo for a while instead of hitching a ride on Mi'Ri's transport. "It's ok, buddy. I'm just catching some shut eye," I say after some concerned beeping.
I lied to Ratchet, though. I'm not sleeping, far from it. I close my eyes and reach out with the Force, trying to find that dark feeling I felt earlier and I can feel it reaching out to me. I open my eyes again to find myself somewhere underground, a dark chamber of some sort.
Lightning periodically flashes, lighting the area around me. I see statues of Sith Lords towering over me, and a large, spiked throne. I know this place, a place Luke and Lando had searched for during the Imperium War. Exegol.
"Finally, you have come," I hear a gravelly voice say. I turn slightly and cannot believe my eyes.
"... no, that's impossible, you're dead."
"You said it yourself, my friend. Nothing is impossible with the Force." Before me is a ruined form of the Galactic Emperor, Palpatine.
"How? How did you survive?"
"The Dark Side is a path to many… unusual abilities," he cackles.
"Why did you call me here?"
"I wanted to see for myself the one responsible for stalling my return for more than a decade."
I feel a dark pit in my stomach. "Pravus… Darth Pravus and his Imperium were tools!"
He smiles. "No, young Valdarin. Many years ago, above the Sanctuary Moon, events played out much differently than I intended," he says with no emotion.
"Xander Verush was already named a Sith and was to destroy Luke Skywalker, taking his place at my side. But events occurred that I did not foresee. No, I had no part in the creation of the Imperium. By the time I had regained my form, your "Imperium War" had already begun. Pravus was indeed worthy of the title of Dark Lord and Emperor and was a most powerful ally, even if he was unaware I had returned."
I start to circle Palpatine in this world my mind is creating. "But what would you get out of the war?"
He smiles again, a toothless smile. "A test. A test to assess the strength of your pitiful Republic. If he had won, my new empire would have been born much sooner. If the Republic won… " he finishes with a question, letting me answer.
"If we won, the Republic would have been weakened. Gorukar was used on several strategically important worlds, that was by your order?"
"No, I had no part in the Imperium. But Xander was the most astute student, he learned strategy well."
"And because of the devastation wrought by the war, the Senate focused on demilitarization in order to rebuild those lost worlds."
"You should be proud, you stalled my return for years," he says with a cruel laugh.
"Why bring me here?" I ask as his spectral form moves closer to me.
"Cade Valdarin, you are powerful, much more powerful than the girl."
"Don't discount her, she's stronger than you know."
He smiles. "Yet you know why and have not told her. The scavenger is power, raw and undefined. But you, my young friend, you are power refined. Yes, I felt it when you became one with the Force. You are neither Jedi or Sith but something different, light and dark mean little to you. You use the Force in its purest form."
"I would never join you."
"Imagine it, Cade. You could rule the galaxy with me, bring order, perfection, peace."
I begin chuckling and see confusion on his face. "You know, Pravus tried the same line, wanting me to take command of Gorukar. I will tell you now what I told him then, peace through tyranny and oppression is not peace."
"I offer you unlimited power and you refuse?!"
"I will never stand for domination and oppression."
"Very well, if you will not join me willingly… " he raises his hands and for a split second, I can feel a dark force around me, he's trying to take my life force telepathically. I increase my own presence in the Force, which visibly repulses him.
"Indeed you are powerful, if not stubborn. So be it, Jedi. If you will not join me, then perhaps the girl will." I raise my hand and blast a torrent of fire at him but then I'm violently thrown out of our telepathic link before I can assault Palpatine's mind. I wake up to find myself still in my ship, the viewport fogged over and I can see my left hand blackened with ash, as if I actually used the Force to create flames to attack him.
I still can't believe it: the Emperor, alive, after all this time. The Imperium War and Darth Pravus may not have been a part of his plan but aided his agenda all the same. Ratchet beeps, drawing me out of my thoughts.
"No buddy, I'm fine, I just need to talk to someone." I reach out to Rey's mind, to tell her to be prepared. Rey, please be there. Finally, she feels my presence and opens her mind. I see her in a desert world, a world that looks very familiar. Pasaana, where Luke and Lando had journeyed many years prior during their hunt for Exegol. "Rey, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can," she responds. Our minds link and I see her entering a festival. "What is it, Master Valdarin?
I look around, noticing landmarks Lando had told me about. "You're looking for Exegol," I say as I run a hand through a colorful tapestry.
"Yes. You've heard about Palpatine?"
I turn, "I've spoken with Palpatine, through the Force."
"What, why? What did he want?"
I sit down on a bench. "The same thing Pravus tried to get me to do, join the dark side, fight for evil, use my power in a way that violates everything I stand for…" I end my statement looking at her solemnly.
"What is it, Cade? What's wrong?"
I sigh. "This chapter of your life… you will learn things that will change you, if you let them."
"What do you mean?" she asks. After a pause, she starts again. "You know something… something about my past?"
I slightly nod my head. "I do, and no, I will not tell you what. It would do no good for me to tell you what I can see. There are things you need to learn on your own. But I can tell you this, your past doesn't define you." I smile when she nods at me, a determined look on her face. "I need to go but the Force will be with you, Rey. Always."
I end my link with Rey to hear Ratchet beeping excitedly. I see why a moment later as we exit hyperspace to see a large, red-orange gas giant, a gray space station in its orbit, looking like a nasty scar. Looking at my readouts, I can see the battle already underway, a Nebula-class Destroyer leading the battle. I reach out to sense Wodi or Gavin when my comm picks up a signal.
_31 ABE
Argo Prime - Unknown Regions
Gavin Skyes
It has been at least several hours since the fighting began and the space battle is nothing short of amazing, it reminds me of the dogfight above Chandrila thirteen years ago. After arriving in the system, Gerik, Wodi, Amm, myself, and several EATU members and SHARCs boarded our U-wings and blasted towards the space station as our fighter wings and corvettes provided heavy cover fire.
Sitting in a cramped hold, unable to do anything but rely on your pilot to get you to your destination safely, is sadly common for our little group. After having been delivered safely to the outer wall of the station, the gunships bailed out to safety, leading to the next step in our assault. Fitted in vacuum-sealed armor, Wodi and I brandish high-end fusion torches, strong enough to cut through the outer shell of the station. While I'm cutting, I chance a glimpse of the battle happening just a short bit away: the Starhawk-class battleship is still a tough frontline unit, one the New Republic should have kept plenty of after the war ended.
Luckily for us, though, a majority of them were given to the Scout Service, instead of being scrapped. I see one, the Dreamer, launch a barrage of missiles and turbolaser fire, obliterating an enemy frigate and severely damaging a Predator-class Star Destroyer. Getting back to the task at hand, Wodi and I finish tracing large circles with our torches, large enough to get our sizable assault team of thirteen through.
"As soon as we're done, everyone gets through, I don't want to write a eulogy for a soldier killed by blast doors." Once all of us are through, we unstrap our blasters, keeping our helmets on tight in case of explosive decompression.
Making several hand gestures, our assault team begins the trek towards the command center, located in the middle of the station. Along the way, we have several shootouts with stormtroopers, taking place throughout the myriad rooms and hallways. We come to a long hallway when my helmet comm starts beeping, an urgent message. I hit the activate button on my gauntlet to hear Vanice's voice in my ear. "Colonel, do you read me?"
"I'm here, ma'am. Infiltration successful, we're proceeding to the command center."
"Good to hear. I just wanted you to know our Jedi friend has arrived with some new friends. I'm patching him in now."
"Cade, you read?" I ask out loud.
"I'm here, Gavin. Sounds like I missed a hell of a trip. I got what I needed on Yanibar and I brought some friends with me. I'll be there soon."
I smile to myself, Cade never misses the action. Ending the comm link, I motion our team to continue moving. Eventually we come to a cargo bay, filled with cylindrical tanks, similar to what we found on Dakata, where we found…
"Oh fierfek," I say out loud. Wodi nods and I begin to raise my E-25 when a hulking, gray-skinned humanoid drops down in front of me. On pure instinct, I raise my barrel to blast the thing when it grabs my rifle and flings it, and me, to the side. My head throbs and I hear Wodi yell something that is inaudible and then I see, more than hear, red flashes all around. More gray figures dropping from tanks on the ceiling, with one landing right in front of me.
The thing holds a wrist blaster to my face and time seems to slow down. I can even see red light from within the barrel. Finally my senses revert to normal just in time to meet my fate when an armored figure slams into the Reaver, knocking it into several cargo containers. The figure then gives me their hand and I hear Wodi's amplified voice. "Come on, get up! You've been through worse!"
Hoisting me up, he hands me a spare blaster pistol until I can grab my E-25 and we unload our blasters into the fallen Reaver. I turn around to see other members of our group already formed into defensive postures, crouching behind the larger cargo containers and returning fire. Wodi kicks my rifle over to me and without looking down, I pick it up, sliding the strap over my shoulder, both of us firing nonstop at the other Reavers while rushing over to the rest of our group.
A Reaver leaps towards me and time seems to slow down again, my reflexes too slow to turn towards the new threat. As I'm about to scream, a blue-green blade appears out of nowhere, cutting the trooper in half, its torso landing on the ground in front of me. I look to my right to see Cade leap in the air, flipping and reaching out to his saber, landing in front of me and blocking a volley of blaster fire.
"Cade! Glad you could show up!"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he says, "I brought some backup!" I see several men and women, wearing armored jumpsuits and throwing what looks like razor-sharp discs and using the Force. "We can do formal introductions later," Cade says as he and I jump out of the way of even more blaster fire.
Before long, the onslaught of Reavers stops and our combined groups come together. "Gavin, Wodi, and others, allow me to introduce you to Mi'Ri and the Zeison Sha," Cade says as he extends his arm to indicate his new friends.
"Nice to meet you all, it's always nice to have Force-wielders as friends!" Wodi says.
"That's interesting!" I say, pointing to Cade's lightsaber. It's obviously a new one altogether. "What happened to the other one?" I ask as he sheathes his lightsaber and joins our group as we continue moving towards the command module.
"Long story. Short version," he says, turning to look at me, "is… Force mumbo-jumbo." This causes a round of laughs.
I notice the striking Echani woman, one of these Zeison Sha. "So, who is this?"
She puts her hands together and bows. "I am Mi'Ri, of the Zeison Sha."
"Colonel Gavin Skyes, of the New Republic Scout Service, at your service," I say, bowing as well.
"All right, casa nova, let's keep moving," Cade says, his voice sounding a little annoyed. I hold up my hands in mock surrender, something tells me Cade has feelings for this woman. We walk down a hallway with viewports offering a view of the space battle raging above, the allied fleet is holding its own under the command of Admiral Vanice.
The two Nebula-class Star Destroyers, the Defiant and the Protector, are leading the battle and taking the brunt of fire, having been fitted with advanced shields, created after trial runs with the MC85 star cruiser. Several Starhawks are bombarding the shipyards attached to the station.
Continuing on, Cade all of a sudden stops, resting his hand on Wodi and sporting a very concentrated look. "Cade, what's wrong?" I ask, full of worry. He seems to not hear me and walks closer to the viewport, eyes closed.
Volke appears at my side. "He heard her call."
"What? Who called?"
"Rey. I felt it too," he says and looks at Mi'Ri, her fellow Zeison Sha, and Ida, they all nod. Volke returns his gaze to me. "She's facing Palpatine and is near death, she's very weak."
"So she's reaching out telepathically?"
"Yes. Judging by what I'm feeling from Cade, we won't be able to move him or talk to him. All his concentration is on Exegol."
31 ABE
Argo Prime - Unknown Regions
Cade Valdarin
Be with me. That's what I heard Rey say. Mi'Ri and I had led a small group of Zeison Sha Warriors onto the station and had saved Wodi and Gavin's group from being overrun by Reavers. We didn't have any trouble until we came to the cargo bay when I saw Gavin staring down a Reaver that had leapt towards him. I threw my lightsaber with Force-enhanced speed, bisecting the hulking mass right in front of him. Then there were more Reavers.
I had ended up back to back with Mi'Ri while weaving with my lightsaber, it felt strange. Our minds connected. It was as if our techniques had melded together perfectly, our movements complimenting each other. I also was able to feel her thoughts, her emotions. After some introductions, we moved on, walking down a hallway when I felt a call in the Force.
Be with me. I can feel Rey's presence but it's very weak. Without saying a word to anyone else in my group, I stop and place a hand on Wodi's shoulder. Closing my eyes and reaching out to her, it doesn't take long. I can also feel Palpatine's newly empowered presence and use it like a beacon. It takes no effort for me to enter Rey's mind and connect with her telepathically.
"Rey, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Cade. I hear you. It's Palpatine, he's too powerful."
I look down at her. "Yes, he has regained his strength, he's as powerful as he was at the Battle of Endor."
Her eyes suddenly get bigger. "You can fight him, you match Palpatine in strength!"
"Rey, I have my own mission-"
"Then it's over, I failed. This is the end."
"End? No, my friend. Failure is not the end. Failure is a necessary part of life, one that teaches us, shapes us. Without failure, how would we know success?"
"But he's too powerful, I can't beat him."
"Rey," I say while raising my arms to gesture around me, "there is a strength that you, me, all Jedi have always had over the Sith and all their various forms."
She looks at me, a question plastered on her face. "The Force, Rey. The Force is all around us, it binds us, moves through us. The Force connects all things: the past, present, and future. Do you hear them, Rey?"
"No, I can't hear anything."
I smile, more to myself than her: despite my statements that I am not her teacher, here I am. Teaching her about the Force. "Focus, Rey. Forget about Finn, forget about the Resistance, about Ben. Put them aside and surrender to the Force."
She closes her eyes and breathes in deeply and smiles. "I can hear them, there are so many!"
"A Jedi is never alone, for the Force is always with you," I say as I exit her mind. I give her some of my strength, urging her to fight on before my connection is blocked by Palpatine. Coming back to the real world, I notice Wodi and Gavin looking at me with worry, Mi'Ri's hand on my shoulder.
"Cade, are you alright?" Wodi asks me.
"Fine, why?" I ask and then look down to see my robes drenched in sweat.
"You were shaking," Wodi says. "We weren't sure if we should have snapped you out of it or not."
"You were right not to," I say, suddenly feeling out of breath. "I was telepathically communicating with Rey, helping her fight Palpatine."
"Do you think she has a chance?"
"It's slim, but yes, I think she does." On that note, we continue moving on through the station. At the next junction, we see a blockade of stormtroopers lying in wait for us.
"Look! There they are!"
"Open fire!"
"Cover!" Gavin yells as our group jumps left and right to take cover behind the bulkheads. "According to the map, there's no other way to the command deck, we're cut off!"
"Maybe not!" I yell as I fire some shots back with a commandeered E-1S rifle, the service rifle of the Praetoriate, while holding my saber in my dominant right hand. A shot to the gut takes a stormtrooper down for the count when I see a large, gray humanoid amongst the white armor, firing from a wrist-mounted blaster, a Reaver. "We have company!" I yell as my blaster overheats and I toss it to the side.
Wodi and Gavin aim their blasters at the new threat. "Watch those wrist blasters!"
"Kriff, they're fast!"
"Skyes, get a grenade in there!"
Gavin hurls a thermal detonator and as soon as it lands, I use my mastery of Pyrokinesis to make the explosion exponentially bigger. The blast knocks several stormtroopers and their reaver escorts to the ground, their armor melted. One last reaver remains, slowly falling back while pelting us with fire. I deflect each shot and right as it turns to leap away with its bio-mechanically enhanced legs, I pull it towards me with the Force and leap, slicing horizontally while he passes me.
The reaver's bisected corpse lands behind me and Wodi looks at me. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
After a suspenseful but quiet journey, we come to the command deck and oddly enough, the door is wide open and no one is in sight. I walk in, slowly and carefully, my trigger finger on the power switch of my lightsaber when red force fields activate, cutting me off from the rest of the group.
"Kriff, not again," Wodi curses. The same thing happened on Gorukar thirteen years ago. I'm about to tell Wodi to lead the group to our exit hangar when I hear clapping. Turning around, I see Xellius on the upper level, this time without his mask on.
"Well well, the great Cade Valdarin, caught in my trap."
"It's over, Xellius. I know all about the Carbonite Army, I won't let you reactivate it."
He begins to laugh. "You think the Carbonite Army is what I'm after? It is but a fraction of the true prize."
"What do you mean?"
"That, you will have to discover for yourself. Take him!"
I turn and immediately activate my lightsaber when I feel something cold, like something is missing. I can't feel the Force. Noticing my distress, Xellius cackles. "Yes, my friend, that is correct. You are being blocked from the Force by these."
Two panels on either wall light up, revealing a Ysalamir, a lizard-like creature that can negate the Force to such a point that it's almost non-existent. I glance back at Wodi and he nods, he and the gang start messing with control panels around the ray shields in an attempt to deactivate them.
"You have no idea how long I've been looking forward to this moment. With the Force, you are nearly unstoppable but without it… well, let's find out," Xellius says with a smirk. From either side of the room, several Juggernauts and Reavers enter and I ready my lightsaber.
Even without the Force, I can still fight. Xellius stays back, the Ysalamiri must be affecting him too. Falling into my preferred combat form, I am able to maneuver deftly to avoid their vibroblades. This goes on for a while until I see that Xellius has moved. However, my attackers keep on pressing, forcing my attention away.
After a time, I hear a snap hiss and turn around to see Xellius flashing a wicked smile and then feeling a sharp pain in my stomach. I see the Reavers and Juggernauts back off and Xellius stands over me to gloat as he deactivates his weapon.
"Finally, the great Cade Valdarin, wounded and defeated, I never thought I'd see the day. And now…" he says as he raises his saber for the killing blow. In a split second, I raise my hand and feel the Force again; the Ysalamiri don't remove the Force, that's impossible. They muffle it to the point of near-non existence but it is still there, barely. Feeling the Force, barely, I use it to lift everyone around me, including Xellius, and slam them into the ceiling with such force that bones crack.
Xellius lands in front of me and gets up quickly, moving towards me again but then shifts his saber-staff to a defensive pose as the ray shields falter and Wodi and Gavin begin firing. He deflects several bolts before running away. I try to stop him but my wound prevents me from doing so. Wodi and Gavin rush over to me with Mi'Ri in tow and start shouting words of encouragement but they are muffled, faded. I see Gavin grab the ysalamiri and throw them as far as he can away from me.
Remembering my training under Argus Valdarin during the Imperium War, I calm my mind, entering a trance-like state. I perform Morichro, a Force technique that slows bodily functions to the point of near death. As my eyes begin to close, I see the graceful form of Mi'Ri come into view, her light skin and piercing silver eyes still easily seen even with my dimming vision.
I hear her voice but her mouth doesn't move. Do not worry, Cade Valdarin. You will not die, your story isn't over. As I hear her voice, my eyes finally close. I feel like death but there is a warm embrace around me, even as darkness settles in, and finally… nothing.
31 ABE
Argo Prime - Unknown Regions
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Talk about an inconvenient time to have a Jedi moment. Standing exposed in the corridor, inside an enemy installation, amidst a space battle that's getting more intense by the minute, requiring the timely actions of our strike team. I look at Volke. "Any idea how long this will take?"
Volke shakes his head. "There is no way to know."
"Should we try and wake him?" Gavin asks. "We're on the clock, here. We need to take this station out of commission."
"I wouldn't," Volke says. "He's communicating with Rey. For Cade to do this, it must be important."
"It better be important, he's an easy target like this."
Mi'ri walks forward and places her arm on Cade's shoulder, protectively. It feels wrong to not have him on a hover gurney, with him shaking like he's in shock. I readjust my grip, helping to prop Cade up against the wall along with Gavin and Mi'ri. His robes are damp in patches with sweat.
The others of our group are spread out in a defensive ring, on alert, though I can tell from their stances and occasional shuffles that they're nervous. I don't blame them. Amminius glances back and catches my eye. Is Cade alright, his expression reads. I shrug, shaking my head. When it comes to the Force, I'm no expert.
"Colonel Skyes," Mi'ri says, "you should go on ahead with your strike team and complete your mission. I will stay here with Cade. When he wakes, we can join you."
Gavin nods, and is about to give the order when Cade's eyes open, and he focuses on us. Relief floods through me.
"Cade, are you alright?" I ask him tentatively.
"I'm fine," he says, standing steady on his own feet, nodding his thanks at our support. "Why?"
"You were shaking," I answer. "We weren't sure if we should have snapped you out of it or not."
Cade nods. "You were right not to." He suddenly seems fatigued, and looks like the weight of the galaxy is pressing on him. He presses his hand to his face. "I was communicating with Rey, helping her deal with Palpatine."
"Do you think she has a chance?"
"It's slim, but yes, I think she does." Cade glances at Gavin, and Gavin nods. It's time to move. We've got a station to take offline. Rounding the next bend in the hallway, we finally meet back up with our old friends. Twelve stormtroopers in total, several with heavy blaster rifles, form a blockade, shielding the way forward.
"Look," a stormtrooper calls, pointing, "there they are!"
"Open fire!"
Red blaster bolts spit at us as our group scrambles back and out of the open. I take cover in the recess of a bulkhead, peeking back out to fire a volley at the troopers. I quickly duck back inside my cover as a barrage of laser bolts slam into the wall where my helmet and upper torso had been.
I risk a glance out a nearby panel to see the space battle overheard, our ships can't take much more. I jump back out and send one of the stormtrooper defenders to the deck. My victory is short-lived. Closing the gaps in the stormtrooper's ranks are hulking gray figures in combat armor.
"Damn it," I curse. "Reavers! Didn't we just leave this party?"
"Apparently not," says one of our squadmates, hunkered down in another section of bulkhead.
"Watch those wrist blasters," Gavin yells out.
I begin peppering them with fire, taking down a few more stormtroopers in the process. This hallway battle is taking too long. The command station is right around the next bend. Seeing the stormtroopers clumped up like that gives me an idea.
"Skyes," I yell out loud, "get a grenade in there!"
"On it!"
Moments later a thermal detonator comes flying past my alcove, rolling to a stop right in the middle of the pack of troopers. It goes off, with a much larger explosion than normal. All the troopers are down and out for the count, save for one Reaver who attempts a tactical retreat. One moment the thing is falling back, the next it soars back toward us, compelled towards a low humming near my head.
With an expert slash, the Reaver is cleaved in two, landing with a wet smack some distance behind us, bisected down the middle. I pointedly avoid looking at the corpse and instead look at Cade, who thumbs off his saber, replacing it at his belt.
"Remind me to never get on your bad side," I say, moving out of the alcove, shaking my head. Cade grins. "The blast was way more deadly than a normal charge."
"It was a normal detonator," Cade says with a wink, "I just gave it a bit of help."
"You Jedi always have a trick up your sleeve," Amminus says, moving over to us. "I bet you'd make a killing at gambling dens."
"He'd probably get himself killed," I say, grinning, "gamblers don't like Jedi." This wins a round of laughter.
"Alright team," Gavin says, making his way to the front of our group. "That's enough chatter, we've got to stay focused. The command center is just beyond this bend. I need everyone to be alert." He nods to Cade. "Lead the way."
Moving at a brisk pace, we make our way through the last stretches of hallway to the command center. No patrols try to stop us, and no Reavers charge at us from around corners. As we find the entrance to the command center, alarm klaxons go off in my head. Something's not adding up here. The heavy blast door is retracted into the wall, the open and completely unguarded doorway inviting us to walk right on through to the room beyond and do what we came to do.
"Oh," Amminius says, "this has got to be a trap. Could they have been any more obvious with it?"
"You're telling me," I say.
"Maybe we got them all?" a soldier says hopefully.
"No," Gavin says. "Quix and Sinan are right. This is definitely a trap. Good thing we've got our ace in the hole. Think you can scope out the room beyond, Cade? We'll watch your back."
Cade nods and unhooks his lightsaber, thumb on the activation button, and slowly walks through the doorway and into the room beyond. As soon as he steps through the threshold, there's a sudden hum, and a red ray shield appears at the opening of the door, blocking our access.
"Kriff," I curse. "Not again." Something very similar had happened on Gorukar thirteen years ago. Cade turns back to us and is about to say something when he turns again, his lightsaber gripped tightly in his hand. I then notice the figure in a black tunic standing on the upper levels of the command station, his cruel face out in the open for all to see. Xellius.
"It's Xellius!" I yell back to the others.
"Bloah!" Gavin curses, shoving his way to look through the ray shield. He's promptly replaced by Mi'ri, who firmly moves the larger man aside with ease.
"He'll be ok," I say to her. "He's faced tougher situations than this. But we've got to get in there and help him if we can."
Cade activates his blade, but his stance quickly falters. Something seems to be muddling his focus. He puts a hand to his forehead, clearly disoriented.
"Why isn't he using the Force to blast that murglak?" Amminus asks.
"He can't," Mi'ri says grimly, her face creased with worry. "He's being blocked from it, we all are."
"How can you block the Force?" Gavin asks. "I thought it flowed through everyone and everything?"
"There are certain devices and creatures that can suppress the energy field."
My confidence in Cade's handle on the situation quickly evaporates, drying up faster than water in the Jakku desert, an intense fear replacing it.
Cade looks back and his eyes lock onto mine. He's not afraid. Looking into his eyes, my fear fades away, replaced by grim determination. I give him a nod, and Cade turns to confront the first of his opponents, Reavers and lesser-refined Juggernauts, slashing them with his lightsaber.
"We've got to get in there!" I say. "Let's see if we can disable that shield!" Several of our company move forward and extract tools from belts and satchels, beginning to work on the panels on the sides of the ray shield barrier. Looking back up at Cade, I can see that he's still holding his own, even without the aid of the Force. Another Reaver falls to the floor, a glowing slash partially separating its shoulder and spine.
"How's it coming?" Gavin asks, kneeling to examine the exposed circuitry of the panels.
"This is tricky tech," an Abednedo soldier says, brandishing a precision cutter, "but I think we're making progress. A few more minutes at most. Based on how our Jedi is faring, we have the hard part." I nod, and so does Gavin.
I look back through the shield to see Cade's progress. His lightsaber is a glowing blur of blue-white, producing stunning light patterns as he twirls his blade through the air, severing another Juggernaut as it tries to grab him. Then I see Xellius, suddenly standing in front of Cade, impaling him through the stomach, his crimson lightsaber protruding out the back of Cade's smoking robes in the lower back.
My scream seems to rip from my throat like a howling wind. "No!" I stand helplessly in front of the ray shield, my gaze locked on Cade and his wound. Cade stumbles and falls to the floor, a look of bleary pain on his face.
"Get this shield down!" Gavin yells, his voice cracking.
"I'm going to kriffing gut that piece of filth," Amminius seethes, his hands clenched into tight fists, his normally humorous nature gone.
Suddenly, something inside the command center stops my whirling thoughts, and I stare in awe as Cade raises a hand, barely supporting himself with the other one, using the Force once again. Xellius and the remaining Reavers and Juggernauts are lifted into the air, flying upwards to smash into the ceiling with tremendous force.
"Got it!" someone calls, and the ray shield deactivates. Gripping my blaster tightly in my hands, I charge into the room, followed by Amminius, Gavin, Mi'ri, and the others, firing at Xellius, forcing him back from Cade and into a defensive blocking pattern. Outnumbered and wounded, red blood trickling from his mouth and nose, Xellius disappears with a whirl of his cloak.
The immediate threat dealt with, I hastily shoulder my carbine and rush to Cade's side, kneeling and taking his hand. The younger man doesn't say anything, and I can feel his overall presence weakening. He's slipping. Gavin yells on the comlink for a medevac while Amminius and I kneel beside Cade. Amminius quickly removes a portable medical pack from his satchel and opens it, taking out a syringe, a knife, and a small bacta patch. He hands the syringe to me.
Uncapping it, I pull the sleeve of his robe up and plunge the needle in his arm. "You're going to be alright, Cade. Everything's going to be alright." I shut my eyes for a moment, forcing the image of a very young green-eyed Jedi boy out of my mind. Carefully, Amminus cuts away the charred fabric around Cade's wound and places the bacta patch over it, sealing it in place.
"We need to turn him over so I can apply another patch." Mi'ri appears, oddly calm, and with her help, I gently lift Cade from the floor while Amminius again cuts away cloth and applies the second bacta patch.
"Hang on, Cade. We're going to get you back to the cruiser," he says, his voice a little hoarse. Gavin rushes over and kneels down with us.
"It's alright, Cade, medevac is on the way. Just hold on. We're going to get you out of here." Cade doesn't seem to hear us, and his eyes begin to close. No!
"He's fading!" I say in a panic.
"Where's that kriffing transport?" Gavin snarls.
"No!" Amminus pounds the ground with his fist. "I didn't fix you up to have you die on me! Wake up, Cade! Wake up!"
Suddenly, I feel a sense of calm wash over me, completely blocking the roiling panic. Evidently, Gavin and Amminius feel it, too, because they fall quiet. Looking up, I see Mi'ri, kneeling in front of us, calm and compassionate.
"You are Cade's closest friends. Your feelings are justified, but are not warranted. He is entering a deep trance, to heal himself. We need you to be calm and in control."
I nod. "You're right. Thank you, Mi'ri, for whatever it is you're doing."
"I am not doing much," she says with a smile, "but you're welcome."
A short time later, the medevac team arrives with a portable hover-gurney, and after we load Cade onto it, we finally complete our mission, overloading the control room and booking it to the transport, the station quickly collapsing behind us.
_31 ABE
Deep Space
Cade Valdarin
Several Weeks Later…
Awaken, a voice hearkens to me and I open my eyes to see a bright light overhead. A medical ward. I'm on a ship, that much I can tell. I begin to inch my body upward when a sharp pang shoots through me. I look down at my stomach and notice a circular patch of synthskin, the area where Xellius ran me through. Luke had a prosthetic hand, I guess I needed something to be even.
As I'm gazing at my new wound, I notice my right hand being gently held by Mi'Ri. I heard her voice before everything went dark and again, just before I woke up. There's something else, I feel closer to her. Bonded. I had heard of such a bonding technique in the ancient texts: a powerful connection is made through the Force, allowing one to give a portion of their life force, their essence, to another. Mi'Ri did that for me.
But it's more than just being healed, I feel like I know her intimately. Squeezing her hand slightly, she stirs and opens her eyes and smiles. "It's about time you woke up."
"That," I say as she lets my hand go free and I sit up, "is the most I've ever been hurt."
"You were clinically dead!" another voice says and I see Jevin and Wodi come into the room. "But you've survived and I am not surprised. But, Cade, Quix and I are getting up there in years, stop giving us heart attacks."
"You know me, I like to keep you on your toes," I say, smiling back. "What happened? After, well, you know."
Wodi walks up to me and hands me a datapad. "Xellius ran, like usual, and then Baruk's flotilla managed to take out the station. Several more of those Nebula-class destroyers showed up, giving the Starhawks a run for their money. And that explosion? A thing of beauty. But there's something I don't understand, Cade."
I get out of bed and stand, Wodi placing his hand on my shoulder to stabilize me. "What's that, Wodi?"
"Well, where Xellius stabbed you… that should have killed you, even with our intervention. What happened?"
"I entered a meditative trance to slow my body's function, to the point of near-death. I needed to give you time to get me to a medical center."
"And Mi'Ri?" he asks, nodding toward her. "She hasn't left your side for weeks!"
"That, Wodi, I'm not entirely sure about but right now, I don't care. I just want to say thank you," I say, looking at her and she smiles and bows her head.
"It was my pleasure."
Jevin shakes my hand and tells me to meet him on the bridge later. Everyone leaves except Mi'Ri. "Mi'Ri, thank you, for saving my life."
"It was nothing."
"No, it was very important and selfless. But what I don't understand is why? You barely know me."
She smiles at me and takes my hand. "Come, let's talk somewhere private."
A short while later, we are sitting in a meditation room, similar to the ones on the Viscount. "Cade, the reason I helped you is because I have seen how important you are, not just to the Jedi, but to the galaxy. You have such a destiny ahead of you, I wanted to do everything I could to help you."
"But why do I feel so much closer to you?"
She gives me a kind smile. "I'm not sure. When I used some of my life force to help you, it created a bond. The bonding is a powerful thing but… well, I think maybe our minds wanted to connect."
"What do you mean?"
"Cade, do I have to say it? We both have feelings for each other and our minds, during the bonding, opened up to each other." She takes my hand again. "I will admit, at first, I was intrigued by you: a very powerful Force-wielder, a hero of the known galaxy, there was an aura about you. But during the short time we have known each other, I've seen how courageous and selfless you are."
"I feel the same," I say, wrapping my fingers around her and we lightly kiss. "But there's so much I don't know about you."
"You know, there is a way we can fix that. In addition to the healing bond, the Zeison Sha also discovered a way for two minds to link and share memories. Sit with me." We both sit down, cross-legged, and close our eyes.
"Ok, now what?"
"Calm your mind, Jedi. Imagine the stillness of space, the beauty of the stars. We are luminous beings and with the Force, are connected to all." As she says this, I feel something, a presence starts to form in my mind, Mi'Ri's presence. I suddenly know her past and see her memories and can feel her feelings for me. The process takes a few seconds and my eyes open to see hers staring at me intently.
"That was… incredible. I feel like I have known you my entire life." I say, astonished.
"Among the Zeison Sha, the sharing of minds is very intimate. It is only done with those whom we have chosen to bond with." She blushes as she says this, her light skin even lighter. "I have chosen you." She places her palm on my chest, over my heart.
On instinct, I embrace her, kissing her passionately, a feeling washing over me that I haven't felt since Kiara's death. She returns the embrace and I feel a wave of Force energy wash over me, a very gentle wave, nothing harmful. I feel so connected to this woman that I only met a short while ago but thanks to the bond she created when she saved my life and the bridging of our minds, I feel like we have known each other for years. She pulls me closer and moves toward the bed, gently laying down and allowing our emotions to wax full.
Later…
I open my eyes to see her staring back and we just sit there for what feels like eternity, letting the Force flow between us. "Mi'Ri, I feel like this was meant to happen, like the Force brought us together for a reason."
"I feel the same way. The Force didn't create our feelings for each other but I do feel that it brought us together. Whatever your destiny is, I will be honored to be a part of it."
31 ABE
Defiant
Jevin Corso
It's been a few weeks since our mission at Argo Prime and since Cade nearly died. I've had friends on the edge of death before and I've had friends die on my watch. But Cade is different. I don't like placing more importance on one life over another, but Cade is different.
Giving him some time to recuperate, and seeing him walk off with this Echani woman, Mi'Ri, I figured it'd be best to give him some space. In the meantime, being one of the few surviving members of Republic Command means that there are reports, lots of reports, to handle. I've also been monitoring the situation on Mandalore.
Ever since Amm's little stunt there, getting Gerik off-planet, the First Order has muscled in, doubly so now that Palpatine and the Final Order are out of the picture. After his defeat at Exegol, those worlds that the First Order had taken from the New Republic rose up and started fighting back. On Mandalore, they clamped down hard. Home to MandalMotors, a noted starship manufacturer, Mandalore's caches of natural resources and shipyards were taken over by the First Order to aid them and the Praetoriate in their quest to take over the galaxy.
Ordo has been in almost constant communication with the Mandalorian resistance for most of the past week. I'm about to ask him how bad the situation is when I see Cade and Mi'Ri enter the bridge, hands locked. I smile, it's about time the kid moved on.
"Well, well, I believe you owe me, Colonel Quix,'' I say to Wodi, smirking. He sighs and fishes his pocket for a moment and hands me several credit chips. "Glad you could join us, Cade. Seems like you had a good night." He flashes a sheepish look at me and I chuckle. "But now that you're here there's something you need to see."
I click some buttons on the holo-table in the center of the bridge and an image of Mandalore appears, with several triangles above the planet representing the First Order occupation force. "While you've been on death's door, we received alarming reports about the Mandalore occupation, it seems that Palpatine's death has made the First Order desperate. From what our Infiltrator teams have reported, they have started to ramp up the number of arrests and executions per day."
I look at Cade again. "We need to help them, Cade. We owe them."
"I agree. Besides, I'm Gerik's adopted blood brother, that makes me part-Mandalorian. Let's do it."
Gerik walks into the room, smiling. "That's my vod, let's get going." At that moment, a siren blares and a communications officer, a junior officer, activates a switch on the holotable.
"We are receiving an emergency holo-signal from Mandalore."
The table is activated and the upper body of an armored Mandalorian appears. Holo-technology has come a long way, and the Nebula-class is one of the most advanced ships of the time. Besides a blue sheen at the edge of the image, I notice the armor is brilliantly colored in a bright purple.
"Sabine," Gerik exclaims, stepping in front of the image. "What is it?"
"Mand'alor…. Order is blocking… transmissions. They've started bombarding parts of the planet. Clans Bralor and Awaud have reported that several smaller outlying cities have been vaporized. Please hurry!" The transmission fizzles and fades, leaving Gerik with his fists clenched.
"Cade, will you come with me to the hanger?" he says quietly, releasing his fists. I watch the two of them walk off, somewhat annoyed but I let it slide. Cade is close to Wodi and I, of course, but Gerik is his age and Gavin only a year younger. They are truly like brothers to him.
"Right, well here's the plan," I say, turning back to the holoprojection and highlighting the specifics. This war with the Praetoriate and First Order has been going on for over a year and judging by the defenses at Mandalore, the First Order is digging in hard. It shouldn't be a problem though, we survived the Battle of Chandrila, we can survive this.
31 ABE
Defiant Hangar
Cade Valdarin
I follow Gerik to the hangar after hearing a desperate plea from Sabine Wren to come to Mandalore. When we enter, I see two people around my E-wing. "What have you done to my ship," I say in a humorous tone.
"Not much but she's up to spec now," one of the two near the ship says. An armored Mandalorian whose voice I recognize.
"Nad? Nad Kunch?" I ask. He flashes a casual salute and continues to work, using a plasma torch to weld a seam on the fuselage. Gerik smiles and puts his helmet on.
"I figured if we are going back home, we need your ship up to par," Gerik says smugly. "Come on," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder as we walk closer to the ship. "MandalMotors is known galaxy-wide for making snubfighters that are well-armed and armored. My friend here, Master Technician Gamos, was the chief mechanic for MandalMotors and Mandal Hypernautics."
The unarmored Mandalorian in welding goggles looks at me and smiles, grease stains adorning her face. She removes a heavy glove and reaches out to shake my hand.
"I've heard so many things about you, Master Valdarin. I don't think Mand'alor has spoken more highly of someone than he does of you."
"So," I say after she lets go, "what have you done with my ship?" She smiles and hands me a datapad.
"We've updated your targeting computers, weapons systems, engines, and added a beskar weave to the hull. This ship is now much more durable and much more powerful without sacrificing speed."
I grin at her. "I appreciate the assistance." As she smiles back, I see Gerik and Nad walk over to another part of the hangar bay.
"Well, Jetti, if we are taking our home back, might as well do it in style." As Gerik finishes his statement, Nad pulls a tarp away, revealing two M12-L Kimogila heavy starfighters.
"Kimogilas? More outdated ships?" I ask him, shaking my head.
"Yes, they are, but did I mention Miss Gamos here was the master technician and mechanic for MandalMotors? These aren't just any Kimogila's, they, like your E-wing, have been upgraded and modified. These boys pack a punch."
The intercomm activates. "All right kids, we're almost at Mandalore and we are expecting some very heavy resistance. You want to join us on the bridge?" Jevin asks.
I lean closer to the speaker. "Actually, Jevin, Gerik and I are getting to the surface in a different way. Speaking of," I say while turning to Gerik, "how are we going about this?"
"Like a Mandalorian," he says, a roguish tone in his voice. I shake my head and smile, I should have expected that answer. Wodi and the others enter the hangar and board two U-wing gunships. After patching a comm link between our fighters and the gunships, I hear Jevin's voice again on the comm.
"So, I take it you two won't be joining us?"
"No, my friend," Gerik replies. "Sabine managed to send me coordinates before she was captured, they lead to a compound… the residence of Clan Rook's chieftain. A traitor. We're going to teach them what happens when you collaborate with hut'uunla stormtroopers."
"The Mandos hate traitors even more than we do," I add to the conversation. "We'll go to this Rook stronghold, rescue Sabine, and join you at Sundari."
"Got it, we'll see you there."
Flying out of the hangar, I see several Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, First Order light cruisers, and Maxima-A-class heavy cruisers.
"Looks like a party, let the hunt begin!" Gerik says loudly in my headset.
Looking to my left, I see scores of T-70 and T-85 X-wings launch and move toward the waves of TIE fighters coming straight at us. Turning my attention back to the surface, we dodge anti-aircraft fire and eventually enter the atmosphere to see the arid desert surface of the planet, random patches of flora here and there, evidence of the planet-wide restoration project that earned Gerik the title of Mand'alor the Reviver.
"Ok, here we go. Cade, follow me. Jevin, Wodi, those inbound Fang fighters are from the resistance, they'll lead you to Sundari."
_31 ABE
Mandalore - Outer Rim Territories
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Moving at a brisk pace, I jog down the corridor leading to the Defiant's hangar bay, Amminius, Gavin, and Jevin in toe, accompanied by a small squad of soldiers in specialized beskar-weave combat gear, weaving through other fleet personnel and droids trundling through the hallway.
"I always said I'd come back to Mandalore," Amminius says. "But I didn't figure the Order would miss me so much! I hope they haven't taken my wanted posters down. I looked quite dashing in them!"
"They probably had to hold all the Mandalorian women back to do it," I grin. "Just hope that Otara doesn't mind your new admirers."
Emerging into the cavernous space, abuzz with chatter and the din of starfighter maintenance, I get a good look at the blue tunnel of hyperspace outside the hangar force field before it resolves into the muddy brown world of Mandalore, sitting amidst a sea of stars. And Star Destroyers. I count at least nine, along with several support ships, forming a loose but formidable ring around the planet. They didn't say this job was going to be easy.
After the Resistance defeated the Final Order on Exegol, the scattered remnants of the First Order and Praetoriate came here. From Amminius' initial report, things had seemed pretty bad, but now that a firebombing campaign had started, it was much worse. I can see patches of blackness on Mandalore's surface, even from here. Kriff, it feels like after Jakku all over again. If the First Order follows the empire's example, things could get pretty heated down there.
We head to the lead U-wing, painted blue with gray highlights, sitting between a pair of red BTA-NR2 Y-wings. I find a seat on the transport and do my customary check of my rifle, this time an old but well-maintained A280C. I expertly handle the blaster, checking the power pack and wiping a smudge off the barrel with my flak jacket before shouldering it by its strap.
I had liberated plenty of planets with one before, and with a little luck I'll do it again. The others find their seats around me, Amminus sitting beside me, Gavin and Jevin across, the others filling in the seats around us. Jevin brings up his wrist comm and keys in a code, patching him into the small squad of E-wings and Mandalorian fighters.
"So, I take it you two won't be joining us right away?" he asks.
"No, my friend," Gerik's voice comes through our onboard comm system. "Sabine managed to send me coordinates before she was captured. They lead to a compound east of Sundari… the stronghold of Clan Rook's chieftain. A traitor. We're going to teach them what happens when you collaborate with hut'uunla stormtroopers."
"The mandos hate traitors even more than we do," Cade adds. "We'll go to this Rook stronghold, rescue Sabine, and join you at Sundari."
Jevin nods. "Got it. We'll see you there." He lowers his wrist and grips his restraints, nervously tapping his foot against the deck. I haven't seen Jevin nervous like this in a long time. I shoot him a worried look and he nods again, straightening his shoulders, but I can tell he's somewhat forcing the motion. I know how he's feeling.
"Well," I say. "This is it, isn't it?" The others turn to me. I swallow, forcing down my nerves. "This is the final push. We win here, the First Order and Praetoriate burn out for good. We'll have won."
"Yeah," Amminius says, uncharacteristically solemn. "It'll be the last hurrah. We'll have finally brought peace and justice to the people of the galaxy. And this time, they seem like they're ready to embrace it."
"Dameron's report said that there were hundreds of thousands of vessels that aided in the push at Exegol," Gavin says. "Civilian, decommissioned military, pirate, smuggler. All of them. I guess that means we're not so outnumbered now. They're finally ready to stand with us."
"We've had friends all along," I say, staring out through the force field at the bright stars beyond. The notion brings a smile to my face. I turn back and give a grin. "Let's go give them their galaxy back."
Amminius whoops and raises his blaster in the air, his stalwart E-11 that he's kept for all these years. Jevin nods with a smile, and Gavin smirks. The other soldiers cheer. We rebels may finally have a chance to enjoy the peace we fought so hard to bring. I sit back in my seat as our transport hums to life, the engines causing the cabin to vibrate with a steady thrum. Maintenance technicians drag hoses away from berthed fighters, the noise level in the hangar steadily rising with the activation of ion thrusters.
"All wings," our pilot says over the comms to all craft in our hangar. "Green light in three. Check in." Callsigns and ready statuses begin to come in. I take last minute inventory over my gear before settling back in my seat once again, closing my eyes momentarily and letting the comm chatter wash over me; the chaos of last minute prep has always had a calming effect on me.
On other hangar decks in our battle group, other fighter groups and gunship wings are going through the exact same routine. The last fighter wing checks in, and the red lights in the bay change to green.
"All wings, we have a green light," the pilot says, a grin audible in her voice. "Let's go free Mandalore!" Our U-wing lifts off from the deck and slides out into the blackness of space, now criss-crossed with bright laser fire, accompanied by other gunships, flanked by fighter escort.
"Here we go!" Amminius shouts as we speed towards Mandalore's surface, dodging laser fire and enemy fighters. X-wings soar past us to engage an approaching wing of TIE Silencers, their thrusters burning red.
"There's a lot of flak out there, gunships. Stay alert," an X-wing pilot comes over our comms as a TIE explodes off to our right, its shredded right solar panel narrowly scraping our hull. "We'll pick off as many eyeballs as we can. Yellow Squadron is engaging their support ships. We'll take you down with Blue Squadron."
"Copy, Gray Leader. Appreciate the support."
Dodging another salvo of laser fire, our gunship rockets between two Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, accompanied by our fighter wing and fellow troop transports, about forty in total, another escort group picking off enemy fighters and capital ship turrets in our path. I grip my restraints as we narrowly avoid colliding with an intercepting TIE fighter, getting peppered with debris as an A-wing blasts it to pieces, the surface of the planet getting closer and closer.
"Breaking atmosphere in twenty seconds," our pilot relays over the intercom. Through the forward cockpit, I can see the domed capital city of Sundari, ringed by smaller city domes further out. To our left and right, a group of Mandalorian fighters levels with us, guiding us along. As soon as we break Mandalore's atmosphere, green lasers begin to spit at us from surface-to-air cannons positioned around Sundari.
"Nothing can ever be simple!" Amminius says, shaking his head.
"Hang on back there!" our pilot calls. I press my back hard into my seat, gritting my teeth. Our escorts peel off to engage the air cannons as the gunships continue racing towards Sundari.
"Breaching in five," Gavin says, exiting the cockpit and sitting back down. "The main entrance to the dome is heavily fortified, but our bombers are taking care of that. We're being dropped off at the main government building along with two other groups. We'll head in first and make contact with a contingent of the Mandalorian Resistance at the plaza. The other units will deploy in various areas throughout the city.
Our goal should be to inspire the general populace to take up arms with us. We may have numbers on our side, but they've had a lot of time to occupy Mandalore. They'll have a better knowledge of the terrain than we do."
"Good thing we know a few Mandalorians who can help us with that," I say.
"Let's hope this visit is shorter than our last one," I say, remembering the slog to root the Imperial Remnant out of the system. Even with the Mandalorians' help, it had taken close to a month. Our transport races closer to Sundari, the capital city's dome growing larger and larger in the forward cockpit. Mandalorian and New Republic fighters dodge and weave, engaging the cannon emplacements and TIE fighters.
Our pilot aims the gunship at an open hangar leading through into the city, the doors blasted open and billowing smoke. We race through the smoke and into the dome, the air inside also choked with gray ash. Many of the skyscrapers are pitted and blackened, small fires raging on many of the intricate plazas and walkways, the glass shattered. We streak past the buildings and towards the palace, the surrounding cityscape eerily absent of people. Hopefully Gerik's message will change that.
All of a sudden, red laserfire begins to come at us as an unseen blaster cannon opens up. Our pilot curses and dodges the incoming lasers. "Drawing fire. Hang on!"
"Looks like the Order is still upset that I escaped!" Amminius calls up into the cockpit.
We weave through buildings, the cannonfire following us, slamming into surrounding buildings and structures. "It's coming from the right side," one of the gunners yells. Our U-wing veers around a building in that direction, ready to pick off the threat when a rocket warhead sails from atop the building directly into the spot where the cannonfire is coming from, the resulting explosion and collapsing rubble taking it out for the count.
From the roof, a group of armored figures jumps into the air and follows us down towards the plaza landing pad. "Mandalorians!" Amminius grins. "Gotta love 'em!"
"They must be the ones we're supposed to meet," Gavin says.
"Looks like it," I say. "The Mandalorian Resistance." I look at the burning pile where the cannon used to be. "That was one hell of a shot!"
Our transport touches down on the pad, the floor reverberating with the impact, and the engines slowly whine down.
I unstrap myself from my seat with the others and heft my A280C as the bay doors open, letting in the hazy light and smoky air. We step out onto the landing amidst a group of about twenty Mandalorian warriors, all in armor of different shades, various patterns and signets adorning each set. One of the Mandalorians steps forward, her armor a bright silver mixed with deep purple, wearing a Nite Owls helmet similar to Sabine Wren's.
"You're General Corso?" she asks, addressing Jevin.
"I am," Jevin nods in response.
"I am Fenris Sha. We are the Mandalorian Resistance." She extends her gauntleted hand, and Jevin shakes it. "We come at the command of Manda'lor. You're going to try and take the palace?"
"That's the goal. Can you help us with that?"
"Rest assured, General, we can."
"I've heard good things about your soldiers. Manda'lor Ordo thinks very highly of you."
Fenris Sha straightens. "We're his best. Unfortunately, as good as we are, we can't take back an entire planet. The stormtroopers are too dug in, and they have control of many of the government buildings."
"We can help with that," Amminius chips in. The other U-wing comes in for a landing, setting close by our own, its hull pockmarked with charred blaster marks. The absence of the third U-wing is apparent.
"Where's the other transport?" Gavin asks the frazzled pilot, stepping out with the other soldiers. He removes his flight helmet and wipes a gloved hand through his matted hair.
"She crashed, sir," he says. "We took some heat, but managed to make it. I'm not sure if anyone survived. They clipped a building pretty badly and crashed into a promenade."
"Did you mark their location?"
The pilot nods an affirmative, taking out a datapad from his flight suit with a green marker on it. Fenris Sha steps forward and takes the pad, studying it before gesturing forward to four of her troops.
"The Market District," she says to the lead one, a Mandalorian in red and gray armor, a gray kama strapped around his waist, handing him the device. "Skirata, go check for survivors, then join us back at the palace."
"On it, save some for us." Skirata and the three others rocket into the air and head back the way we had come.
"Alright," Fenris Sha says to the rest of her unit, "we're headed to the palace, but we've got to make do with the forces we have here. Keep it tight, and press your advantages. Let's reclaim our home!" She moves to join me and Jevin at the front of our group, nodding her helmeted head towards him. Jevin and I nod back, and I activate my helmet's faceplate, sliding it over my face, the internal HUD winking on. Here we go.
Moving as a group, we begin to make our way down the cracked glass and pavement, twisted buildings to our right and left. I keep my head on a swivel, my A280C up and sweeping the surrounding terrain. The absence of enemies has me worried. I know they're out there, but I can't see them. I kick my helmet's magnification up and scan a walkway above us, looking for signs of movement. I switch to thermal, still nothing.
The sounds of blaster fire and heavy cannons echo in the distance, making the quiet even more unnerving. We pass by another ghostly skyscraper when suddenly blaster fire whizzes at us from all directions, sending two of our number to the ground with holes in their chests. "Fierfek!" I curse as stormtroopers step out of doorways and from behind walls and other debris all around, boxing us in. A firing line takes up position, bursting through the palace doors ahead.
"We're pinned! Take cover!" Jevin yells as we scatter.
I slide behind a pockmarked wall, my left knee aching from the maneuver, a painful reminder of my age. Red laserfire criss-crosses the courtyard and walkway, slamming into duraplast and metal. Several more shots find their mark, and another soldier in our group crumples.
A few shots bounce off Mandalorian beskar, making loud metallic clangs. One of my volleys hits a trooper, sending them flying backward, but another armored form quickly replaces him. They just keep coming. Several of our Mandalorian allies rocket into the air to try to get a better angle, blasting away at our foes, but they immediately draw fire from snipers and turrets. Two go down hard, one smashing into the ground, the other careening into a building, his jetpack trailing sparks.
"This is getting us nowhere fast!" I say to a Mandalorian fighter beside me, his armor a forest green.
"You're telling me, vod!"
We exchange more fire, but can't seem to gain any ground. I silently wish for a Y-wing bomber or two with fighter support as I swap out the drained power pack in my rifle. They helped us a great deal in our previous liberation. But all available bombers are engaging other targets across Sundari and beyond. I haven't heard a word from Cade and Gerik. I hope they're having an easier time of things than we are.
On either side of us, missile warheads fly through the air and slam into the stormtrooper's defensive positions in fiery bursts of orange, sending them flying back, their armor charred. Another group of Mandalorian warriors rockets down to our position, including the four warriors who had left earlier to search for survivors of the crashed U-wing. "Your backup has arrived!" the one called Skirata says, holstering a Westar pistol, gesturing with one gauntleted hand behind him.
From out of the smoke comes another U-wing transport. It touches down on the pad and disgorges a group of Mandalorian fighters, two very familiar people leading them. Cade and Gerik rush over to us, thankfully looking no worse for wear. "You missed most of the fun," I say, flipping up the visor on my helmet. "How was it at the compound? Where's Sabine?"
"Sabine is fine," Cade responds. "She went with a contingent of Mandalorians to raid the central armory and other government offices. We also managed to get all of Clan Rook on our side."
"Sounds like we gained a useful ally," I say, nodding, glad that more blood didn't have to be shed. I smile, thinking of Sabine's numerous colorful ways of disrupting Imperial order. "Hopefully Sabine has enough stock of colorful explosives for the armory."
"Sounds like a good time," Gavin says, nodding. "It was getting hairy here for a moment. Thanks for the support." The others nod their appreciation.
Amminius walks over and grins. "Couldn't stay away, eh? I do tend to have that effect on people." He flashes me a grin, and I shake my head, but grin back. Jevin gestures our unit forward, and with Cade and Gerik leading, we move into the palace. _
31 ABE
Mandalore - Outer Rim Territories
Gerik Ordo
We touch down on the Rook landing pad with no guards in sight. We begin walking forward when Cade enters my peripheral vision. "Uh, no offense, Gerik, but how are we going to keep the whole clan from attacking us? I mean, if we take out the patriarch-"
"Matriarch."
"-Matriarch, I don't know how Mandalorian politics work but wouldn't the rest of Rook try to avenge their chieftess?"
I take off my helmet and turn to him. "Normally, yes. However, some of Clan Rook is honorable and will recognize me as the rightful Mand'alor. I went through the trials, I was voted in by all clan chieftains."
He shrugs, "Hopefully honor still means something these days."
We keep going into the fortress and I notice several armored warriors waking on the upper mezzanines, watching us. This continues until we come to the main foyer. I step forward and let the light shine on my armor, letting all see that their Mand'alor is before them.
"Your chieftess is guilty of conspiring with our enemy and for the death of your fellow Mandalorians. As Mand'alor, I invoke our most ancient law, that of honorable combat." I hear murmuring among the gathered Mandalorians and finally, one steps up, in chromium-colored armor, with a Wampa pelt over their shoulders. Rook has always been a bit… ostentatious.
"Mand'alor," she says, placing a fist to her chest, a sign of respect. "I will take you to the throne room." We follow the female warrior through the throngs of armored Mandalorians and I can still hear some murmuring.
After a time, we come to the throne room of the keep and seated on a lavish throne sits the chieftess of Clan Rook, her armor an elaborate gold and silver with black accents. Rook has always been grandiose, prone to displays of arrogance and thinking their riches make them kings of Mandalore.
"Well well, if it isn't Mand'alor, come to save his world," she says in a condescending tone.
"Ursula, you know why I'm here," I respond, not moving my gaze but allowing my helmet sensors to see that a troupe of her warriors has gathered on the balconies behind us. "You betrayed our world, our people, and you must answer for that."
"I have kept our world from total annihilation! Have you forgotten Hosnian Prime? My efforts have shown the First Order how valuable the Mandalorian people can be."
"They've also led to the death of your countrymen!" I yell back at her. "The First Order is lining our people up and killing them in the streets, our economy is in ruins, our industry trashed. How is this a better Mandalore?"
She gets up in a fury and stomps towards me. "I didn't hide underground like a rodent when the First Order came, I didn't leave our people behind to die!"
"I left because it was the only thing to do. Alone, we can't beat the First Order. When we stood alone against the Galactic Empire, we failed. They burned our world, took our resources, and enslaved our people. Unity is the path to freedom, not division." I gesture to Cade, standing resolute beside me.
"We're not alone anymore. The Scout Service and the survivors of the New Republic Defense Force are here as well." As for you," I say, pointing at Ursula, "I didn't sell out our people over a petty vendetta." Hearing more murmuring among the crowd, I turn back to them. "You all know how Ursula was after my position. I wonder then, was siding with the First Order just a ploy to get the title?"
"Of course not!" Ursula says quickly, angrily. "Everything I have done, I have done for Mandalore. The killings were regrettable, but I saved countless more lives. I stand by my decision!"
I place myself in front of the crowd of warriors in the atrium, Cade still standing near the entrance, his face betraying no emotion but I can see his hand resting on the pommel of his lightsaber, ready to fight at a moment's notice. "Ursula, we all know how you felt after I won the title of Mand'alor. My guess is that the First Order promised you the title in exchange for giving them an opening to take over our world. You disgust me."
She is silent for a long time before grabbing her beskad laced with cortosis and pointing it at me. "I've had enough of your slander, Gerik, and I accept your challenge. Keep your Jedi back."
I nod at Cade, who nods back. The warriors next to him don't seem keen on getting close, many know of Cade's reputation as a fighter. I draw out my own beskar-forged sword, catching the light from overhead. The throng of Mandalorians around us step back, forming a battle circle, a tradition stretching back to Mand'alor the Ultimate. Ursula steps towards me, saluting with her blade.
"I will enjoy this," she says. Even with her helmet on, I can tell she is smiling a wicked smile. "The chieftains were wrong. They gave you the title of Mand'alor, you are just a child."
"A child who has done more for his people than you ever will. Look at our world, before people like you let the First Order in, our world was experiencing rebirth! I won the title fairly, the vote was unanimous and I won the trials."
She snarls and lunges at me with her sword and I bring my own up in a parry, deflecting several blows. Ursula has always been known as a fierce fighter and she keeps forcing me on the defensive. I see Cade out of the corner of my eye and subtly motion with my hand for him to not interfere, I can see his hand close to the hilt of his new lightsaber but if he intervenes, what I'm trying to accomplish here will fail.
She lunges at me again and I side step at the same time, grabbing her arm and throwing her over my shoulder, causing her to land on the ground. She quickly gets up again and we get into a series of parries, the circle of armored warriors around us backing up as our blades fly wildly at each other. Lunging again, she makes contact with my pauldron, the vibration echoing through my body as the beskar deflects the blow.
I raise my sword and we start again. However, this time, I use all my aggression against the chieftess, landing blow after blow against her dueling sword and not giving her time to counterattack. After furiously assaulting her defenses, I flip my wrist at the last second during my next attack, maneuvering my blade at an angle to slice down her tendons on her unarmored wrist, causing her to drop her sword. As she kneels, holding her wrist in pain, I bring my blade to her throat.
"You are defeated, yield. I have no desire to spill more Mandalorian blood."
"You know the rules, Gerik. My life is forfeit."
"No," I say, pulling her up. "You are not my enemy, the First Order is."
"You play a dangerous game, Mand'alor," she says as she bows. "I accept you as my chieftain and pledge my clan to your cause."
"OYA!" The warriors gathered around us shout and stamp their feet. I look at Cade, who smiles back at me, flashing a grin. Shaking hands with Ursula, I shake my head; it took more then a decade for Ursula to accept me as Mand'alor and all that was needed was a duel.
"We need to get you noticed," Cade says.
"What do you mean?" I ask back.
"Well, Gerik, you are the leader of the Mandalorians. Your people knew about the Mandalorian resistance and the rumors that you led it but how many actually knew you were alive? If they see you and hear a call to arms, they will listen. We were children when the second Death Star was destroyed but you remember what happened. People rose up against the Empire and overthrew their oppressors. The same can happen here."
"The Keldabe Tower," Nad chips in. Nad has always been a tech expert. He puts some of the New Republic combat engineers I know to shame.
"The First Order booted out the Kal'ree Broadcast Company but the tower still has holonet connections all over the planet and the sector. We can get you there and let the people know you are alive, Mand'alor. Not only that but can inspire them to rise up. The people have bunkered up but if you make the call, they will come."
"It's dangerous," Cade says, rubbing his chin. "But then again, so was attacking Gorukar. I'm in, the sooner we liberate Mandalore, the sooner we can get back on track with Xellius, he's hunting for something and while we are here, he is making more progress on finding it."
"Cade, thank you for this. I know the plight of the Mandalorians is small compared to Xellius but… well I'm glad I made you my blood brother," I say to him, shaking his hand. Cade smiles back.
31 ABE
Mandalore - Outer Rim Territories
Cade Valdarin
After overseeing an honor duel between Gerik and Ursula of Clan Rook, I now have a greater appreciation of the Mandalorian culture. Ursula, having been defeated, has pledged her clan to both Gerik and Mandalore. At my suggestion, we are now going to the Keldabe Tower, the former home of the Kal'ree Broadcast Company. Walking to the cockpit of our gunship, I open the hatch and pat Gerik on his shoulder.
"How are we looking?"
"Well, how do you feel about AA turrets?"
Smiling at him, I peer at the display on the console. The tower is the tallest building on Mandalore, a single edifice in the middle of nowhere. Nearby, more growing vegetation, results of Gerik's efforts to regrow his world. The tower has AA guns situated on the desert surface and in the tower itself.
"So, what are we doing, running the gauntlet?" I ask.
Gerik smiles, he's always liked my Mandalorian attitude. "No," he says, putting on his helmet, mostly green with black accents. "Clan Rook will be handling that," he finishes, his voice now synthetic-sounding through his helmet. He presses a button on the dashboard and I hear the bay door of our U-wing open and I can see our partner gunship doing the same. Several armored Mandalorians in the gunship stand and head toward the now open door and begin falling out. The last one, Ursula, her armor easily distinguishable from the rest, nods her helmet back at us.
"Oya!" she yells as she falls out, the sharp whine of a jetpack coming seconds later. Looking through the viewport again, I see the Rook warriors flying towards the tower, the AA guns lighting up to take them out. Several are knocked out of the sky and I wince as they hit the ground, the height of the fall sure to kill them, even in their beskar armor.
Ursula is still flying strong and I see her and several other Rooks launch rockets from their jetpacks. Following the contrails, I see the rockets hit their mark, small bursts of flame appearing on the desert floor and the side of the tower.
On the landing pad connected to the tower, I see a squad of stormtroopers appear and begin firing at both the Rook warriors and our gunships. Some are taken out by the Rooks, some by our gunships, and by the time our U-wing gets to the landing pad, there are about ten left. The bay door opens, overlooking the pad, and the stormtroopers look up at me at the same time I activate my lightsaber, a bluish-green hue lighting the darkness of the bay.
I leap out as a cascade of bolts soar around me. Landing and immediately rolling, I bring my saber up as I stand, slicing one stormtrooper up diagonally to his left shoulder while holding up my left hand and using absorbed energy from blasterfire to create a telekinetic blast. Gerik, Nad, and several Rooks take care of the rest until one trooper is left. He looks at me, my lightsaber casting a faint green-blue glow on his white armor.
The trooper starts walking backward, rifle quivering in his hands when his armor clinks on Gerik's. He turns around and drops his gun in fear, holding up his hands in surrender. Gerik looks at him and laughs. "Do you know who I am?" he asks the trooper in a sinister tone.
"Man...Mand'alor?" the trooper says, voice quivering.
"That's right," Gerik replies, then forcefully kicks the trooper off the platform. "And this is my planet!" He watches the trooper fall to his death before moving on. We walk up to the door leading inside and stack up on either side.
"That was a little...extreme," I say to him.
"Hey, First Order scum deserve it. Cade, you haven't lived on Mandalore, we have been attacked and occupied far too often in a relatively short amount of time. It feels good to let out some anger. I know you don't approve sometimes but remember, not all of us are Jedi."
"I'm not questioning your decision to kill him, brother. I'm just saying, the door has a retinal scan, and that trooper probably had the eye we need," I say back, smirking.
"Oh… oops. You can get us in though, right?"
With a sigh, I activate my blade again and plunge it into the heavy durasteel door leading to the main suites of the broadcast station, moving my blade down diagonally to the left and then again from the upper left down to the right, creating a large x on the door, still orange from the intense heat. Taking my blade out of the door and deactivating it, I hold up my left hand, palm on the door.
"I sense at least ten stormtroopers on the inside, be ready."
"Cade, we're Mandalorians. We are always ready, right boys?"
"Oya!"
Nodding back to them, I blast the door inward with the Force, taking out two troopers. Then, moving quickly, the Mandalorians with me, Gerik included, begin to open fire with Westar blaster carbines, turning the once luxurious main foyer of the Kal'ree complex into a charred mess, lounge chairs turned to shreds and ribbons, metal fixtures melted into wax.
I see one trooper climb a flight of stairs with a rocket launcher and he fires. Before hitting our group, though, I seize the rocket in mid-air and redirect it, causing the trooper who had fired it along with several others to jump out of the way but most are caught in the explosion. After a small firefight, the suite is cleared.
Nad gets to work on several consoles, the machinery starting to whir with activation. "We are in business. Alright, Mand'alor, the First Order will likely jam this frequency as soon as they can, let's make it brief." Gerik nods at him and steps into the center of the room, a holoprojector hanging from the ceiling eyeballs him. I notice, as he steps into the projection, that all the warriors in the room, Nad included, have gone silent.
"My fellow Mandalorians. The First Order has lied to you, they have told you stories of my death. But they are wrong. I am alive and I ask you, sons and daughters of Mandalore, rise. Rise up and fight the First Order. For too long have our people been oppressed and our world pillaged. I ask you, as Mand'alor, join me to free our world. Fight! Help is coming." Gerik steps out from the projector and nods at me, gripping his Westar carbine in one hand and we head back to our gunship to join the main force in Sundari.
31 ABE
Mandalore - Outer Rim Territories
Jevin Corso
After splitting off from Cade and Gerik, we followed the Fang fighters into Sundari. In the cramped bay of our U-wing, several Scout Service troopers and Gavin's Expeditionary Assault and Tactics soldiers are busy charging weapons. The Scout Service, thanks to their mission, was never demilitarized, fully prepared for the dangers of scouting unexplored space.
Their weapons are top of the line: EL-20HAEs, a variant of the EL-16HFE, and E-25s. I see some charging EX-45 Scatterguns, a new shotgun model made by Golan Arms, and others are placing DL-49 blaster pistols into thigh holsters. One of them looks up at me and stands, saluting. I return his salute.
"So, General. Mandalore. I've never been here."
"I have, after the Imperium War. I saw Gerik's reforms bear fruit and begin to heal the planet, then the First Order took over. I still can't believe we didn't know about this until now," I say, a feeling of guilt in my stomach.
The EATU solider clicks a charge into his EL-20 and presses a switch on his gauntlet, causing his ballistic helmet to fully enclose his face. "Don't worry, sir. We'll get it sorted."
"We'll be passing through the dome in five," a distinctly Coruscanti accent says. I turn to see Gavin walk back into the bay from the cockpit, his helmet sealed as well. "General, we are dropping off at the landing pad to the main government building," he says, a holo projection coming out of his gauntlet. "The other units will deploy in certain areas of the city, our goal should be to inspire the general populace."
The bay reverberates, we've landed. "General, we've made touchdown, opening doors on your go," the pilot relays from his seat. I give him a nod and the bay doors open to show the cityscape on fire. We are greeted by a small group, about twenty strong, of Mandalorian resistance members. After meeting Fenris Sha, a Mandalorian lieutenant under Gerik's command in the Resistance, and watching a small unit of Mandalorians move off to rescue a downed transport and her crew, we set off.
I grip my EL-20 and motion to Gavin and the rest and we start down the long walkway from the landing pad to the palace. Nearing our target, stormtroopers rush out from the palace, taking firing positions. Our group rushes into cover and returns fire, turning the pristine marbled floor of the palace into charred ash.
"Take cover!"
"Sniper, sniper!"
"Grenade, get down!"
A loud explosion goes off near me and I am lifted from my feet. My ears are ringing when a muffled shape comes into view, holding its hand out. My vision returns and I see Gavin's outstretched hand and his helmet visor sealed, giving a somewhat chilly feel to the man who has served under me for more than a decade.
"Come on, sir, get up! We're exposed!"
I take his hand and he hauls me up, handing me my rifle and we rush to take cover behind a fallen column. We begin returning fire and the space between our group and the walls of the palace becomes acrid with the smell of discharged blaster bolts. We can't break past them, they have a better position than us. A stormtrooper armed with a sniper rifle appears on an upper balcony when I blast him in the middle of his face plate, causing him to tumble over the railing and hit the ground with a crack.
Before long, all are down for the count. Gavin walks next to me, kicking the fallen sniper whose helmet is now a shattered mess. "Killing stormies never gets old. Right, sir?" he says with a laugh.
"Never. It'll be a sad day when there are no more stormtroopers," I respond, laughing with him. "Let's get to it, the other teams are reporting they are hitting their designated sites," I say when an explosion in the distance goes off. Besh Team has destroyed the First Order armory. "Besh has done their job, now we need to do ours, let's get this done."
We begin moving up the steps when another U-wing comes into view, its side doors open with a very bright light shining in it, a lightsaber. "Looks like Mand'alor is here," I remark, smiling to myself. The two land with a troupe of Mandalorians in tow, they look to be from multiple clans and as one we move into the main government building.
31 ABE
Mandalore - Outer Rim Territories
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Sparks trail from the exposed circuitry of destroyed gun emplacements as the last echoes of blaster fire die in the halls of the administrative building around us. I lower the barrel of my A280C, letting out a breath of relief after the tense fighting. Despite our numbers, getting to this area of the building hadn't been easy. Several booby traps and squads of stormtroopers had made things interesting, to say the least.
Mandalorians and New Republic soldiers emerge from behind pillars and other bits of cover as the silence continues uninterrupted. I nod to Amminius, who gives me a thumbs-up. Those of us still standing move to help those injured during the battle or check the perimeter for lurking enemies. After securing a bacta patch on a soldier's arm from a portable medpac, I walk the boundaries of the atrium on guard duty, a perfect excuse to stretch my legs.
The air smells of smoke, charred circuitry, and the acrid vapor of discharged blaster bolts. My boots crunch on bits of glass, metal, and white betaplast from destroyed armor pieces. Scattered across the floor and upper levels above are the remains of the stormtrooper security force stationed here to stop us.
I look down at one prone form of a trooper, his chest plate cracked, exposing the bloody undersuit beneath. His red-stained gloved hand is curled over his chest, his final act trying to staunch the blood pouring from his body. The sight strikes a chord of sorrow within me: these troopers didn't have a choice in their service, setting them in stark contrast to the majority of stormtroopers I had fought during the civil war and after.
Someone walks to stand next to me, and I look up to see Amminius. He gives me a solemn nod. "Shame, isn't it."
I nod. "Yeah. It doesn't feel like it once did, y'know?"
We stand in silence over the dead soldier for a moment, contemplating. I hear a noise of anger and disgust behind me and turn to see Gerik kneeling beside the corpse of a trooper, his helmet removed. Amminius and I walk over to where he and Cade are talking, Gerik animatedly gesturing to the trooper, who I can now see has a Mandalorian hairstyle and features of many of the Mandalorian people I had seen on the planet. My heart sinks, my jaw clenching.
How many of these youths had we unknowingly cut down? My mind races with the possibilities, and I have to make an effort to shut it down.
"It's not enough they take our planet, they have to take our children, too?" Gerik's face is white with anger as he utters a Mandalorian curse that I don't understand. I don't need to. Its meaning is clear in the look he gives a nearby First Order officer's corpse. Several other Mandalorians look visibly upset, clenching gloved fists and tensing.
"Gerik," Cade lays a calming hand on Gerik's dented shoulder plate, "I promise we'll make this right." He looks around to all the assembled Mandalorians and repeats his promise for them to hear. "We'll make this right."
From an offshoot corridor, I hear booted feet on the tiled floor and tense up, preparing for more stormtroopers, but relax as more Mandalorians appear around the bend. Leading them is a Mandalorian in royal blue and yellow, the armor style unlike the more traditional outfits of the warriors I've seen and fought with.
"Damn right we will!" the figure says, his voice loud and confident through his helmet's speaker. The others turn to greet the new arrivals.
It turns out that this warrior is Enris Rau, nephew of Fenn Rau, the Mandalorian pilot that I had encountered a few times during the early Rebellion. This Rau is very different from his uncle, from what I remember of him. Fenn was solemn and reserved; Enris is confident, almost cocky.
With rallying words from Gerik, we move out once again, moving up the large staircase to higher levels of the building, our boots clomping across stone depictions of Mandalore's past. We reach another landing when Cade stops walking, closing his eyes, as if listening for something. Amminius, Gavin, Jevin and I stop by him as the others of our party halt on the landing, blasters up.
"She's here," Cade says, no doubt reaching out with the Force. "The Miraluka we ran into at Mon Calamari. One of the Knights of Ren."
"That will certainly complicate matters," Gerik says, moving over to stand with us. "But we can't stop now. If that chakaar shows her face, we'll deal with her. Come on, let's keep moving."
We head further up the stairs. As we do, we encounter several more squads of stormtroopers. As I fire my blaster back at our attackers, I have to forcibly shut out the part of my mind labeling each of them as a Mandalorian; a child forced into this authoritarian regime. If I can't get my own thinking under control, I'll just end up freezing and get myself or someone else killed. Another trooper falls to the floor, her faceplate cracking against the stone with a loud thud. After another few moments, silence ensues once again.
Climbing one more flight of stairs, we come to a long ornate hallway, leading into the main government chamber, the high chair of the Manda'lor visible at the far end. Expecting trouble, we go in cautiously, blasters at the ready, but emerge into a room completely empty of resistance.
"Well," Amminius says, lowering his E-11, "that was certainly underwhelming." I nod.
"You'd think that with everything they threw at us, there'd be something important up here."
"There is."
I turn to Cade, his eyes closed once more, his brows furrowed in concentration. Suddenly, he opens them and looks around at us.
"Did anyone else hear that?" he asks earnestly.
"Hear what?" I say, gripping my blaster tightly, listening hard to the empty silence, my pulse quickening.
"Does this room seem off to you?" Amminius asks me once I deem an ambush isn't imminent. I glance about the throne room again, noting the dias and carved depictions of Mandalorian warriors and symbols across a few of the walls.
"No," I say slowly, trying to figure out what my friend is thinking. I look again, and suddenly it clicks. When we had approached the great building, I had noticed that at the top, where the throne room clearly was based on its architecture, there had been long ornate windows spaced periodically across the structure's surface, the colorful glass brightly reflecting the sun. Seeing those windows had given me a new surge of hope: the First Order hadn't managed to totally strip away Mandalore's beauty.
"The windows," I say, pointing to where one ought to be, the bare wall face now obvious. "Outside, there were windows dotting the surface. But inside, it's just blank walls. They're hiding something here."
Ammnius nods. "The scale of the room is off, too. I only noticed it when we walked in. Based on how it looked outside, the space should be much larger than it actually is. The walls are definitely hiding something. Question is, how do we lift the curtain and see what's behind it?"
I walk up to one of the walls and study it closely. Nothing immediately jumps out at me. The walls appear completely normal, like they'd been constructed right along with the rest of the building. "Do you still feel something?" I ask Cade, standing off to the side by one of the walls. He nods, a puzzled frown on his face.
"Yes, it's almost as if something is calling out to me, but it's been damaged somehow. The call is faint, but definitely coming from here."
I carefully study the wall closest to me, and my eyes alight on one of the carved depictions of ancient Mandalorian warriors. I step closer to get a better look. The mural depicts an ancient battle taking place, with armored warriors facing ranks of cloaked figures wielding lightsabers. Jedi. One of the panels on the chest plate of a Mandalorian with his saber held high in a death blow to a kneeling opponent looks slightly different. Could this be it?
Carefully, I touch the spot. The chest plate panel flashes orange, and with a quiet hiss, all four walls retract upwards into the ceiling. My moment of triumph is replaced quickly with another emotion as I glimpse what's behind the facade. Glass tanks filled with a viscous bacta-like green fluid are lined up on one side, wires snaking across the floor connecting them together. Each has a blinking yellow light on the top of the tank, most likely a status indicator. Inside each tank, suspended inside by a harness and jabbed with multiple tubes, are bodies of young Mandalorians, their eyes closed, transparent masks covering their noses and mouths.
Shock ripples through the ranks as we hesitantly step closer to examine the hideous experiment. I stare at the body of a young girl, probably no more than thirteen or fourteen, her pale hair rippling above her in a cloud, her skin pale, her veins standing out darkly on her ghostly flesh. This is insane, I think as I look down the line, my mind struggling to comprehend such evil.
"What… what is this?" one of our soldiers asks, his voice full of terrified awe.
"It's some form of mind control," Amminius supplies quietly. I turn to see him accessing one of the computers, his expression growing darker as he reads what's on the monitor. "It seems like they've been working on it for a while. There are more facilities similar to this one all across the planet. Larger and more equipped. This one's unique somehow, though. I can't figure out why. They use code words to indicate some power source."
I look at Cade to see how he's processing this, and see the Jedi with his eyes closed, no doubt feeling the suffering and pain flowing through the Force. He pivots slowly to face behind us. "Guys, look at this."
We turn away from the poor souls in tanks to see a large crystal-like apparatus, all the wires across the floor connected to points all over its bright green surface.
"What is it?" Jevin asks.
"It's a kyber crystal," I say, now understanding why we couldn't hear the phantom call for help. "Like what powered the Death Star's superlaser. It's a big one, too."
"The biggest I've seen," Cade says, placing his hand on its surface. He studies the wires placed across its surface, carefully prodding one. Green crackles of energy coruscate across the crystal's surface.
"Can we get them out?" Gavin asks, going back to stand at one of the tanks. Our team medic, a female Kessurian, runs a handheld scanner up to the tank, scanning the vital signs of one of the youth.
"Vitals are weak," she reports a few seconds later, "but strong enough to pull through. We should be able to disconnect them, but we need to get them into bacta tanks right away." I nod. It's time to get to work.
Over the next half hour, we carefully extract each youth from his or her chamber and patch up wounds left by the wires. My hands and pants are covered in viscous green goo as I handle fragile limbs and frames, applying bacta spray and patches where needed. Once the last youth is pulled and treated, we carefully line them up in a row on the floor, ten in total.
A team of Mandalorian and New Republic soldiers is assigned the task of taking them to the New Republic triage center, at Sundari's main medical complex. Once we see them on their way, the rest of our small assault team heads down the hall to another offshoot corridor of the throne room, the entrance sealed by a thick silvery blast door. "Beskar," one of the Mandalorians comments, tapping his own armor with a knuckle. "We won't be able to get in the normal way. Blasting through will take too long."
The "normal" way for us usually involves some type of frame charge or lock melter if a hackable console isn't nearby. If Cade's intuition is correct, and it almost always is, the last Knight of Ren is behind that door, poisoning more minds against the free galaxy. We haven't got time to waste.
"Stack up," Gerik commands, and we do so, us on the left, the Mandalorian warriors on his right. "The Jedi will handle this."
Cade walks down our makeshift aisle, his unlit lightsaber in one hand, and places his other on the door, palm and fingers splayed against its surface. I grip my blaster tightly, my heart starting to hammer in my chest, each thump the pounding of an AT-AT foot. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Get in, secure the area, and protect your squad.
"Ready?" Cade asks. Various expressions and nods of affirmation follow, with my own mixed in among them. "Here we go," Cade mutters, more to himself than to anyone else, and inhales, then pushes with his hand against the door, sending the beskar obstacle flying inward with a mighty crash.
"Go, go, go!" Jevin yells. We rush inside, blasters and carbines firing at the stormtroopers within the room. It's time to end this occupation.
_31 ABE
Mandalore - Outer Rim Territories
Cade Valdarin
Having met up with Jevin's group, we pushed into the main administrative building with our new Mandalorian allies, stormtroopers at every turn. We kept pushing until we got to the main foyer, then things took a turn for the worse. The room is multi-level, providing multiple avenues for snipers. They've had over a year to set up in this building and it shows. The walls are all spartan gray and there are gun emplacements periodically placed throughout the halls.
"Heads up!" Gavin yells, slamming into the wall to dodge a bolt. He hurls an ion grenade at the upper level, causing a violent explosion to erupt from a turret, taking out several troopers in the process. Several more enter the room, blasting away at us, scoring the floor and walls. Two Mandalorians are hit and fall to the ground and one EATU soldier takes a blast to the unprotected part of his suit, right below the arm, falling silent.
I throw my saber in a buzzsaw motion at the troopers, causing them to jump away. At the same time, I leap into the air and land next to one as he gets up from the floor. He sees me as he stands, bringing his weapon up but I'm faster, kicking him hard in the gut, knocking him forward just enough that as my lightsaber flies back to my hand, it slices through his arm, causing him to drop to the floor in pain. He tries to grab a sidearm but I end his attempt by slicing horizontally across his face, cutting through his helmet and he drops without a word.
The other troopers are swiftly defeated and the atrium falls silent, save for the sparks emitting from the destroyed cameras and gun emplacements. Gerik moves forward, kneeling down and removing the helmet of one of the stormtroopers. "Damn," he says, his voice a low tone. I walk over to stand next to him and see why. We both look down upon a young man, a child really. No more than sixteen or seventeen years old, a Mandalorian child.
"It's not enough to take our planet, they have to take our children too?"
"Gerik," I say, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I promise we will make this right." I repeat my promise to the others as well.
"Damn right we will!" a loud, boisterous voice says with the synthesized sound of a helmet. I turn to see a Mandalorian enter the foyer, a small horde of armored warriors behind him.
"Enris, glad you could make it," Gerik says to this newcomer.
"Enris?" I ask out loud. The blue-armored Mandalorian walks up to me and scans me from head to toe and lets out a hearty laugh, reaching out to shake my hand.
"Well well… the famous Cade Valdarin! Enris Rau at your service."
"Rau, eh? Are you related to Fenn Rau, by chance?"
"My uncle, on my mother's side. I became a Protector, following in his footsteps. After Gerik became Mand'alor, I became the leader of the Protectors."
"He's also one of my best soldiers," Gerik says, clapping Rau on the soldier. "I asked Rau to bring the Protectors from their base on Concord Dawn, it's high time the Mandalorians retook our world, let's move out!"
As one, our group begins to ascend the large staircases to the upper levels of the building when my senses flare, a swift movement in the Force. It feels like the Knight of Ren I ran into is here. "Guys," I say, stopping with Gavin and Gerik next to me, "that Miraluka, the one we ran into at Mon Calamari, is here."
"That will complicate things but we can't stop now, I don't want to be remembered as the Manda'lor who failed to save his world," Gerik says in response.
We encounter heavy resistance going floor by floor, the stormtroopers dug in deep. We've also encountered more indoctrinated Mandalorian youth, I can tell with each one that Gerik's stress is increasing. We eventually come to a long hallway, the throne of Mand'alor at the far end but as we start moving towards it, ready for an ambush, I feel another prickle in the Force. Help me.
"Did anyone else hear that," I ask out loud.
"Hear what?" Wodi asks me, sweeping the room with his blaster.
"I don't know," I say with confusion, apparently having been the only one to have heard it. We look around the large chamber some more and it's revolting. We see Mandalorian teenagers hooked into stasis chambers, each with tubes connected to their arms and legs.
"What the fierfek," Gerik says, his voice trailing off as he places a hand on one of the tanks.
"Looks like some kind of mind control," Amminius says, using his bypass device to rapidly access a computer terminal. "I guess the First Order's losses at Exegol were greater than they cared to let on. According to this, they are trying to take advantage of the fact that all Mandalorian children are taught combat survival from a young age and then brainwashing them into surviving the First Order. But how…" He trails off, looking further into the files and talking to Wodi.
I continue walking through the lab with Gerik, feeling my own anger and disgust rising at this senseless waste of life when I hear the cry again. Help me. Turning around, I see what has been reaching out to me, a kyber crystal. Not a simple crystal like what you'd find in a lightsaber but a massive one. It's hooked up to the stasis chambers, with cords covering its surface, electricity coruscating across it.
"Guys," I say, suddenly feeling a surge of sadness, "look at this."
"What is it?" Jevin asks.
"Kyber crystal?" Wodi chimes in. "Like what powered the Death Star's superlaser. It's a big one."
"The biggest I've seen," I say in response. I place a hand on the crystal and close my eyes, letting the Force swell around me. I can feel the pain the crystal is transmitting in the Force, being used to brainwash these children into new shock troops for the First Order. I ignite my lightsaber and in two quick motions, cut the power cords connecting the crystal to the stasis chambers.
"Can we pull them out?" Gerik asks, placing his hand on the tank of a young woman hooked into one of the chambers. "Hold on, child of Mandalore, we will get you out of there."
The team medic, a female Kessurian, runs a scanner over the young woman and two others in stasis chambers, the scanner emitting a beep several times. After a few more scans, she puts it back in her backpack. "Vitals are weak but strong enough to pull through, we should be able to disconnect them but we need to get them into bacta tanks right away."
"Izzi, Gaz, Irk, you go with the corporal, get them into tanks as soon as you can," Gerik says to three armored Mandalorians. They salute and help us carefully remove the tubing from the youths, having been forced into and through their bodies. Once all have been disconnected and their wounds temporarily patched, the Kessurian medic, her team, and the three Mandalorians take one teen each and head back the way we came.
"Right, now let's kick these murglaks off Mandalore," I say as we turn back into the hallway. We walk down the marbled walkway to the throne room when I feel a disturbance in the Force. "Wait, something's wrong."
"Of course something's wrong, the bastards are still on my planet!" Gerik says next to me.
"No, I mean in the Force." I open my senses and before long, I can feel why. The same Miraluka we had fought before is here, the last Knight Of Ren.
At the entrance, Scout Service soldiers stack up on the left and Mandalorians on the right, myself in the middle. The door is made of pure beskar, thick enough that even plunging my saber into it wouldn't be enough, but these First Order types are not the wisest when it comes to Jedi matters. Placing my hand on the center of the door, I open myself to the Force.
"Ready?" I ask out loud, hearing grunts in reply. With a surge of power, I blast the door inward on its hinges and it flies into the room, slamming into the wall with a spectacular bang. We are into the breach, blaster fire filling the cavernous throne room, an acrid smell rising from the discharge bolts and smoking flesh. Republic soldiers and stormtroopers trade fire, some falling in smoking heaps when I feel a sharp ping in the Force.
Looking at the rear of the room, I see the last Knight of Ren giving out orders to a stormtrooper commander when she feels my presence and stands stock still before pointing towards me. "All units open fire on the Jedi!"
Suddenly, all rifles are pointed at me and firing. In a flash, I ignite my lightsaber, deflecting most bolts back to their point of origin, taking out several troopers while Mandalorians fly in and take out the rest with rockets from their jetpacks. I see the knight run up the staircase and into the throne room proper and start to destroy data terminals. "She's trying to erase the data, I need to stop her!" I yell to Gavin.
"Go! We got this!"
Getting a running start, I catapult myself across the length of the room to the other side and rush into the throne room, reaching out and telekinetically flinging the Knight of Ren away for a terminal she was about to destroy. She gets back up and ignites a lightsaber of her own. "Looks like you've upgraded," I say smugly. "No doubt a gift from your new master."
She smiles back viciously, "I have learned more than I ever did under Snoke or Kylo Ren. Enough to fight you," she says as she launches herself at me in an erratic pattern, striking violently. Even though I have much more experience, it seems Xellius has indeed taught her well, she is putting up a good fight. She attacks again and again, but is not giving into reckless abandon; she is actually using her footwork to her advantage. But I manage to break her focus when I flip my weapon at the last second, avoiding her parry and hitting her in the face with the hilt.
"You don't have to die," I say, deactivating my saber. "Surrender now and I'll spare you, I have no ill will towards you."
"Spare me? Why?"
"You are a pawn in all of this. It's your master that I'm after." I can sense her feelings, she truly is considering her options and then that feeling is replaced by cold indignation. Her red blade ignites again.
"I know you, Valdarin, your reputation. You don't let those who cross you go, all those Praetors during the Imperium War, each one, killed by your hand or the Republic, I'll take my chances."
She leaps and lands behind me. I ignite my blade again, quickly turning around and deflecting her blade, pointed at my chest. She snarls and jumps again. In a quick motion, I turn around again, hitting the girl with a blast of telekinetic power, launching her through the window and sending her over the railing and she lands in the middle of the large atrium.
Gavin looks up at me as I run out onto the upper walkway and look down at the Miraluka. He and several New Republic soldiers and Mandalorians train their weapons on her when she knocks Gavin over by sweeping his leg and leaps high. Deactivating my lightsaber, I jump and punch her in the jaw, knocking her straight down to the ground. She struggles backward when I land, igniting my saber again.
I maneuver for a heavy overhead strike that she manages to parry but bring my blade back again quicker than she anticipated and I rush her, batting away at her defenses until finally knocking the saber out of her hand and holding my blade at her throat. Her hands up in surrender, she stands, looking me in the eye.
"You are a Jedi, you will not kill a defenseless prisoner," she says with a smirk.
I can sense her intentions, she's trying to think of a way to attack me again. "Don't try it," I warn. She looks at me and stops, knowing she cannot win now. Gavin and Wodi come up the staircase to slap binders on her wrists and begin leading her down the stairs. At the midpoint, I sense her thoughts flare again and she breaks the binders, running towards the closest window to make a break for it.
Before she gets too far, a shot rings out, a green bolt hitting the knight right in the back, causing her to stumble before fatally falling from the upper walkway to the ground floor, hitting the marble with a crack. I look off to my right to see a blaster pistol raised in Gerik's gloved hand, smoke wafting from the barrel.
"You're getting slow," he says, his voice full of mirth. I shake my head and start heading back up the stairs. "Where are you going?" he asks.
"Whatever is in this room, she was trying to destroy it, to prevent us from seeing it. That means it's important," I trail off as I enter the room to see data terminals, a lot more than I had seen while fighting the Miraluka. They stretch back all along the length of the room, each with various scripts of text and images on them. Some, I see images of Star Destroyers, battle plans, even weather readouts.
"Looks like battle plans," Jevin says, walking in with the others behind me. Once a soldier, always a soldier, and ever since he was made a general, Jevin is always thinking ahead. "Amm, Maloc, Zeel, you guys have any data sticks left?" he asks the three Infiltrators of our group.
"On it," Amm replies and he and his team begin sorting through the various terminals, checking to see which has the most important data and inserting their data sticks into terminals, a small blue light indicating the download in process. I continue walking forward when one catches my eye. Taking a seat, I begin sifting through the various readouts until I see two distinct words: PALPATINE and HYPERGATE.
"General, check this out!" Amminius says, and Jevin quickly comes up beside him. "Looks like this mind control they tried here, they were planning on doing it on other worlds."
"Of course, that's how they got their Stormtrooper Corps, it makes sense they would try to replenish their forces. Download a copy, we need to get this information out to the surviving fragments of the New Republic Defense Force and the surviving senators. Cade," he says, turning towards me but stops when he sees how deep in thought I am. "Cade, what is it?"
I barely register the comment, watching the words on the monitor closely when I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Cade, what did you find?"
"Take a look at this," I say, pointing to an emblem at the top of the screen. "Do you know what this is?"
"That's the old symbol for the Office of the Chancellor, I think," Amminius says, having joined Jevin. After the Galactic Civil War ended, New Republic Intelligence dug around for any information they could find from the time of Palpatine's tenure as Chancellor.
"They're logs. Palpatine's logs, his personal journal. Check the dates," I say. Amminius leans in closer, peering at the screen.
"That's… that's impossible. That date is…. More than fifty years ago, before Palpatine even became a senator."
"But what's it about?" Gavin asks, having joined us from the hallway.
I turn around to look at my friends, my brothers, since the Galactic Civil War. "I need to read more, but several things stand out. It mentions how Palpatine and his master were meditating and had a vision."
"A vision? A vision of what?" Gavin asks.
"It's not really clear but he mentions dark space multiple times, they were looking for something." Looking more at the record, I see that their search was abandoned, shortly before the Invasion of Naboo. But later on, in entries dated shortly after Palpatine became chancellor, it mentions he again focused on dark space.
Only this time, a presence drew him in and invaded his mind and left him a single command: to prepare the galaxy for their arrival. "We need to take this data with us and study it."
"Agreed," Jevin says. "It might provide clues as to what Xellius is doing, since his forces worked so hard to protect this place."
Several Days Later…
After killing Xellius' new apprentice, the clean-up of enemy forces in the system was relatively easy with the assistance of the now-emboldened Mandalorians. For the past few days, I've been investigating the logs we found, logs from both Palpatine and Pravus. Logs that proved my worst fears, that the Sith Empire was never destroyed. The Sith weren't destroyed, per se, but they continued on in the Rule Of Two, reducing their numbers and leading most to believe the Sith had died out.
These logs, however, prove that a large group of ancient Sith somehow left the galaxy and based on what I've read, they are planning an imminent return. I've managed to find some clues in these logs as to how they did so with one word, Zeffo.
"Cade, you in here?" I hear Jevin call. I respond and he walks into the room. "We have a guest, it's Tor." That gets my attention, I haven't seen Tor Ponith in a long time.
"Ok, I'll be right there, I think I've found something with these logs."
"With the Sith who somehow left the galaxy? By all means, keep looking then, I'm sure Tor will understand."
Not wanting to miss out on a reunion but knowing time is of the essence, I keep digging into the files. They mention the Zeffo homeworld but that's it. Sounds like Palpatine searched Zeffo over and over but found nothing that could help him.
Reading further into Pravus' logs, I see a mention of an expedition to Zeffo but he didn't find anything either. I recall hearing that the Empire operated on Zeffo during its early years and maybe this is why. I finish reading the logs and head into the holo-communications room of the palace where the rest of my friends are gathered.
All of them are gathered around a cylindrical holo-emitter, the image of a planet, Dornea, being projected. An aged Bothan, looking far more grizzled than when I had last seen him, is also there.
"Tor Ponith, as I live and breathe."
The familiar, furry figure turns around and extends a hand towards me. "Cade Valdarin, I knew there was something wrong about your death. You look good."
"Well, what can I say? I packed a lot of living into the last few years. So what brings you out here? You are deep in the Outer Rim."
"To see you, my friend! But I also bring bad news."
"What news would that be, sir?" Jevin asks.
Tor points to the holoimage and I scan it. "Dornea? From what I last heard, they left the New Republic after the Imperium War, when the Senate decided to demilitarize?"
"Correct. They did and took their considerable military might along with them. While the Scout Service was working to liberate Mandalore, other Remnants of the First Order launched an attack on Dornea, in order to take the Dornean fleet for themselves."
"I take it we tried to counterattack?" I ask.
"Indeed, we don't forget our allies, even though they left the Republic. The largest task force we could scrounge together was sent there, with Marshal Bel Iblis leading it."
"What happened?" Wodi asks, walking into the room. "From the tone of your voice, something bad happened."
"Garm…. Garm is dead," Tor says, looking at each of us in turn, allowing the enormity of the news to sink in. Garm Bel Iblis, former Correllian senator turned rebel, had been a military leader in both the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic, ultimately being named High Marshal shortly after the Hosnian Cataclysm. He was the highest ranking officer left alive in the Defense Force. To hear he's dead, it's almost inconceivable.
"Garm is… no, the old man can't be dead," Jevin says in shock.
"I'm afraid he is, Jevin. The Dorneans confirmed it. As sad as it is, his death has at least one positive outcome. The Dorneans have rejoined the Republic, or what's left of it. They felt his death was extremely honorable, made in their defense. General Etahn A'baht, the leader of the Dornean Navy, has agreed to work with what's left of the New Republic Defense Force and the Scout Service. But now we're missing a High Marshal…" he says, slowly turning towards Jevin, who begins to put his hands up in protest.
"Jevin, he's right. You are the highest ranking officer left after Garm," I say, placating him. "In times of hardship, leaders need to rise."
Jevin nods, resigned, and Tor walks over to him, placing a pip on his rank insignia. "Jevin Corso, I have watched your career ever since Daxam IV and believe me when I say you have earned this."
"Yeah, it's just that… I can't believe that Garm is gone."
"Yes but now is not the time for mourning, it is the time for action," I say, patting Jevin on the shoulder. Inserting my own data chip into the holotable, I bring up a holoimage of the world Zeffo.
"Zeffo? What are you up to, Valdarin?" Gavin asks, rubbing his chin stubble.
"Those data files we found at Mandalore, the ones that hinted that both Palpatine and Pravus were searching for something more than Gorukar? Well, I've read more of the files and I think what they were looking for was not of Sith origin."
"You're kidding, right? With you it always seems like it's some ancient Sith device the bad guys are after. Something not Sith would be a nice change," Amminius says, laughing.
"Agreed. I read more and found mention of a "Project Auger," an excavation project during the early years of the Empire on Zeffo for artifacts of the ancient Zeffo species. I think it was a cover."
"A cover?" Tor asks, folding his arms and furrowing his brow. "A cover for what?"
"For something he called the Gateway," I say in response and I can see the wheels turning in Tor's mind.
"Gateway? This Carbonite Army was a frozen group of Sith, is this what I think it is?"
"Unfortunately, yes. A faction of the ancient Sith left the galaxy millenia ago and I believe it was with a gateway device the ancient Zeffo had created."
"Well… shab," Jevin says.
"It gets worse than that, Jevin," I say, placing my hands on the edge of the table. "I think these Sith contacted Palpatine through the Force before he became chancellor. I think," I say as I look from left to right at all my friends, "these Sith have been behind everything, from the Clone Wars to the Final Order."
"Wow. That's a galaxy-shaking revelation if I ever heard one," Amminus says.
"I'm going to go to Zeffo," I say after letting the information sink in for everyone. "Project Auger was abandoned twice. I don't believe Palpatine found anything there, but luck may be with us where it wasn't with him."
Tor places a hand on my shoulder. "Reminds me of when you left us to go to Had Abbadon during the war, and we all know the outcome of that decision. You do what you can to find this "gate" and we'll do what we can to stave off the complete destruction of the New Republic. May the Force be with you."
I nod at them all and begin walking into the corridor when Mi'Ri and Volke appear in front of me. "We are coming with you, Master. I've talked to your girlfriend, and I don't think she'll take no for an answer." Mi'ri smiles at me and gestures towards the hangar.
"I like your apprentice, Cade. He takes after you: brave, wise, and a bit reckless," she finishes with a smile. We walk to the hangar and board a YT-2400 transport and fly away from the space station around Thune, a strategic stronghold for the Scout Service. I punch in the coordinates for Zeffo and initiate the jump to lightspeed.
31 ABE
Thune Station - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
Four Months Later
"Ok, you are clear for entry. Welcome back to Thune, Master Jedi." An ensign ushers us into a connected hallway leading out of the hangar.
For the last four months, we had been on Zeffo, the eponymous homeworld of the Zeffo species, an ancient Force-using culture that lived millenia ago. I look in the bag strapped to my shoulder, an oval-shaped metallic object nestled within. After several months of fruitless searching, I finally found an ancient research station with references to a gateway and a device that I believe is similar to a holocron.
I also kept up with news from the front: the First Order, even with major losses at Exegol and Mandalore, is still putting up a fight, usually alongside the Praetoriate. The Unsung War, as Scout Service soldiers have called it, still rages on and has moved to mostly Wild Space.
As we walk down the corridor, I look through the viewports to see a large fleet buildup. I even see the Viscount, the first of the Viscount-class Star Defenders, once the flagship of the New Republic Navy, and almost a victim of scrapping. But Gavin, as the commander of the military contingent of the Scout Service, managed to save the ship and she has been undergoing a massive retrofit ever since, with upgraded weapons and power systems to reduce the massive manpower requirement. She looks as if she was fresh off the assembly line.
We enter the command room and I see Ida with Sonya, who nods when I look at her. Looking towards the center of the room, I see Jevin, now the supreme commander of the remaining New Republic forces, pointing at glowing areas on a holographic map of the galaxy. From what Wodi has told me via holo-message over the past few months, he has really taken to his new role, stepping up to be the leader that everyone knew he could be.
"Cade! Welcome back," Wodi says, extending a hand. I shake hands with him and hold up the metallic, egg-shaped device for him to look at. "What is that?"
"This," I say, placing it on the holo-table, "is the answer to our questions… I think. I found it on Zeffo, in what seemed like a research lab."
"But what is it?" Jevin asks, having closed the holo-map and the various military leaders around him all look at me.
"I think," I say while placing a hand on the device, "this is like a holocron. You know what that is, right?"
He smiles back. "Of course, it's a data repository, Jedi holocrons being only accessible to Force wielders."
"That's right. I believe this is a Zeffonian holocron." I press a few more buttons and then close my eyes and inhale deeply, allowing the Force to surge around me. The Zeffo used the Force in their everyday lives, so it's feasible that this device acts just like a holocron does.
With a hiss, the oval splits in half, with an emerald green crystal suspended between them. A hologram, the same color as the crystal, emerges, a representation of an alien creature that I have never seen before, what I can only assume to be a Zeffonian. The hologram searches the room and a laser appears from its eyes, scanning all of us from head to toe.
As the laser recedes, the creature turns his head towards me. "Greetings, warrior of the Lifewind. It has been several millennia since this unit was last activated."
Jevin walks a little closer to the hologram and starts rubbing his chin. "This thing is old. From what little I know, the Zeffo died out a long time ago."
"Incorrect," the hologram says, turning to look at Jevin. "My people did not die out. Rather, they left this galaxy."
"How did you leave?" Wodi asks. "I thought there were anomalies beyond the galactic barrier that destroyed any ships that tried to pass them."
"I never said they left by ship," the Zeffo replies. "My people, when we had realized our pride and our hubris had been our downfall, undertook a massive project in secret to circumvent the anomalies, without the need for starships. And without the knowledge of those of our race who sought to eradicate us."
"You built a gateway," I say, realizing what Xellius meant months ago by the Carbonite Army not being his true goal. "A gateway to another galaxy."
The scattered commotion around me stops as everyone looks at me, shock on their faces and then look back at the hologram. It nods back solemnly. "Well, that changes galactic history," Gavin says, shaking his head. "Everyone thought the Sith Empire was defeated a thousand years ago by the Jedi."
"And people thought the Sith were defeated again four months ago," a new voice says. The voice belongs to Poe Dameron. One of Leia's last acts was to give him a field commission as the leader of the Resistance, or what's left of it.
"The fleet that came to help us at Exegol thought the Sith died with Palpatine and his Final Order. So I guess we were all wrong."
"Dameron, glad you could stop by," Jevin says. Jevin outranks everyone gathered here. Even though Poe technically is no longer part of the New Republic military he still shows him deference and salutes.
"Of course, sir. We may have left the Defense Force but we have never forgotten it. The Resistance is at your disposal." As he says this, I feel a familiar presence and see Rey enter the room and notice a new lightsaber hanging on her hip.
"But where is this gate? It can't be anywhere easy to access, or else somebody would have found it by now," she asks, looking at the hologram. The hologram then shifts to a galaxy map, a pulsating circle slowly moving towards the outer edge of the galaxy, homing in on Wild Space.
"Wait a minute, this hologram is ancient, right?" Jevin asks. "There'd be millenia of stellar drift, stars and planets could explode, knocking your gate elsewhere. How do we know if this is still accurate?"
"I have overlaid my systems with your telemetry data. This map is accurate, the gate is there."
"Sergeant, what planet is this showing?" Jevin asks an officer at a nearby terminal.
"Checking databases now. Nirauan, sir."
Nirauan is a newer world to the galaxy, having only been discovered by the Scout Service a few years ago. "Why there?" I ask the hologram. "Why build your gate there?"
"That... is an unpleasant memory. Our people had, for thousands of years, been the sole species of this galaxy to have mastered space flight and use of the Lifewind, what you call the Force. We spread throughout the galaxy, creating colonies and watching species grow, like the great Wookiees of Kashyyyk. For a time, there was peace.
However, some of our people grew to despise this lifestyle and felt that our command of the Lifewind and technological superiority gave us divine providence to rule the galaxy. This led to unrest and eventually civil war, with one of our sages, Kujet, leading the separatist movement. Eventually, the separatist faction won and we were forced to retreat or face extinction.
In desperation, a gateway was built, one that had the power, through the Lifewind, to connect ours to another galaxy. It was our final hope that those who left would learn from the mistakes of that conflict and recreate Zeffo society."
"How come this Kujet didn't eventually use the gate himself? As a sage, wouldn't he have known of the plan to build it?" I ask.
"Unknown. I believe that Kujet, in his mad lust for power, forgot the gate and focused on the matters he could control. His rule was eventually ended by his subjects, but this second war destroyed what was left of the Zeffo in this galaxy. Eventually, our people faded into obscurity and were forgotten."
Wodi rubs his chin. "If everything Zeffo was lost, how did the Sith find the gate and activate it?"
"As I mentioned, the device was powered by the Lifewind, your Force. It is possible the Sith detected this and discovered how to use the gate. To my great shame, the final legacy of my people will be used for evil. I beseech you, warrior of the Lifewind, destroy the gateway, and prevent it from being used to cast our galaxy into eternal darkness."
I nod and the holographic representation of the Zeffo disappears, leaving the image of Nirauan, a mix of rich green and brown, showcasing its temperate climate.
"Well, we have no idea if Xellius knows where the gate is but considering my luck, he does. Jevin, we should send what forces we can to Nirauan."
"Good thing the Viscount is ready to go and her captain is back in fighting shape." As he says this, Kerex walks in, dressed in his white uniform, complete with insignia denoting him as the Fleet Admiral of the Defense Force.
"Battalion leaders, meet me in hangar bravo," Jevin says, holding his ear piece. He then looks at me, "Cade, meet us down there when you are ready, the jump to Nirauan will take a few days so we should leave as soon as we can, come on," he finishes with a gesture to Wodi, Amm, and Gavin.
31 ABE
Thune Station - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
Zeffo. It's all about Zeffo. I'm sitting on my bunk late into the night, unable to sleep, looking through Republic and Imperial records on the planet that's been the focal point of our investigations for the past four months. During the days of the Republic, archeologists would flock to the planet, hoping to uncover its secrets. Must have been pretty irritating for the local populace.
The Empire continued that tradition, albeit with much less care, occupying the planet and bringing in their heavy mining equipment to crack open the ancient tombs. From the records, it seems things didn't go very well. Electromagnetic winds and local fauna disrupted the excavations and the initiative, named 'Project Auger', was abandoned.
Cade said Palpatine was looking for something, but he didn't find it. Typical of the Empire to occupy a world and desecrate it for what it wants, then abandon it when it's no longer useful. What the Empire didn't find was something that Cade feels is the key to everything, an artifact called the Gateway, some ancient piece of Zeffo technology allowing extragalactic space travel.
My mind again plays back the theory we'd been developing on the significance of Zeffo and the Gateway. The theory itself seems impossible: extragalactic Sith who left this galaxy via the Gateway are trying to return, and are responsible for everything from the Clone Wars to the Final Order. I still have trouble grasping the full scope of the plot, and sometimes it sounds absolutely unbelievable when I try to pick it apart. But one thing I learned from hanging around a Jedi is that anything is possible. If Cade believes the threat to be real, then so do I.
I had been in contact with Cade and his small team for a few months now via comlink and hologram, keeping up with his progress, or mostly lack thereof, and relaying our efforts to break the final remnants of the First Order and Praetoriate in Wild Space. After the extended action on Mandalore, the long break away from the front was a blessing, although sometimes I do miss being up in the thick of things.
My wife, Amara, couldn't be more pleased with my current assignment. Having more time to be with her is a significant trade-off. Amminius is here, too, in another section of Thune Station. When we're not up to our necks in research, reports, and strategy, we spend time with our loved ones. It's a nice getaway from all the noise. I'm thinking of the restaurant we frequent when there's a light knock on the door.
"Wishbone, you awake?" Amminius asks from the other side.
"I am now," I say smiling, setting down the datapad on my bunk as the door hisses open to reveal my friend in rumpled military fatigues, holding two bottles of Corellian ale. He flashes a grin.
"Up late studying for the Spec Forces exam again at this lovely hour?
"Something like that," I say, chuckling. "I seem to recall that I scored two points higher than you did." He grins and moves to sit down beside me, offering one of the bottles.
"Ah, your memory must be getting faulty. I scored higher. I only said I didn't so you wouldn't feel bad." I grin and take the proffered bottle, inclining my head to let him know I'm onto his joke.
"Whatever you say, Sinan. So, why have you graced me with your presence at this hour?" Amminius takes a sip and gestures to my datapad with the bottle, where the image of Zeffo rotates.
"Only the place we've been reading about for the past few months. I swear, I know more about that planet than I do about my own wife."
"I doubt that," I say, smiling and shaking my head. "If Cade is right about the place, it changes galactic history as we know it."
Amminius sighs and runs a hand through his gray flecked hair, his demeanor changing from confident soldier to vulnerable man, a side I have rarely seen. I set down my drink, concerned. Amminius shakes his head and looks at me, his expression deeply troubled.
"It's just… even after all this time, I can't get this idea out of my head that all we fought for was a sham. Something prefabricated, and that our actions ultimately meant and contributed to nothing because everything was designed to be that way. The Empire, the Imperium, the First Order, all of it. All of it was just the means to an end… It's numbing."
His words trigger my own fears on the topic, and they bubble up to the surface once again, making my gut clench and my thoughts race. I take another sip of ale, forcing myself to be calm as the drink slides down my now-dry throat. I take a steadying breath and look at Amminius, about to offer numb words of comfort when a sudden truth forms before me, like a beacon of light cutting through the darkness, beating it back. It ignites a fire of courage inside me, a flame that sheathes me in certainty. I sit for another moment and stand up.
"I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the finer points of this "Gateway" and what it means, but you wanna know something? I don't think our story was all according to plan. The Sith rule through fear, and they're counting on a divided and broken galaxy for their return. A galaxy so desperate for some semblance of order that they fall at the feet of their new masters. The Separatists, the Empire, the First Order, even parts of our Republics, all of them were designed to divide one way or another, to break us down bit by bit.
But then we united. We fought back against their vision, their design. We broke the mold they had made for us. Me, you, Jevin, Cade, Gavin. All the rebels and free-spirited beings across the galaxy.
Despite their best efforts, we threw a spanner into their plans time and time again. If those Sith had had everything laid out and pre-determined, the Final Order would be reigning supreme, with the galaxy in flames. We'd all be dead, and any resistance completely shut down.
These Sith might have had a hand in the wars we fought, might have been trying to play both sides, but they couldn't control everything. I believe that we can win, once and for all. We can win and shut these guys out for good."
As I finish, I see Amminius looking at me with renewed confidence, his eyes lit with that fiery hope I had seen countless times before during the war. I can feel my own insecurities melting away. I know we can do this. Amminius offers me a big grin and nods.
"Wishbone, I do believe you missed your calling as a motivational speaker." He extends his bottle towards mine, and we toast. Half an hour later, I climb back into my bunk, my thoughts untroubled, confidence still warming my blood.
Later…
The following day, my comlink chirps with a message from Cade. He's finally coming home, and he's found something important. This news sends an even bigger wave of confidence surging through me, and I hurriedly head to the command center, where I inform Jevin, Gavin, and the other members of command.
"It wouldn't be a proper vacation if he didn't come back with a souvenir," Amminius smiles, folding his arms and leaning against a console. "Hopefully he brought us all something."
Gavin chuckles. "Took him long enough. I was about to reach my breaking point with everything Zeffo."
"When is he set to arrive?" Jevin asks, all business, stationed at a holotable, charts and maps projecting from it.
"Within the hour," I reply. "Let's get the team assembled and ready for his debrief."
One hour later, the command staff of Thune Station are assembled in the logistics and briefing room, compiling data and other pieces of intelligence. Amminius and Gavin load intel from datapads into the holotable computer, and Jevin speaks with an aide who holds a datapad. Sonya is showing Ida the finer details of one of her new blaster pistols, much to the discomfort of the command room guards, who eye the exchange warily. Stationed by the door on the lookout for Cade's arrival, I try not to get too worried on Ida's behalf and check the chrono on the wall to distract me when I hear the quick steps of military boots approaching down the hall.
"He's here," I say to the room and turn as Cade Valdarin strides into view down the corridor, a look of approval and general good spirits on his face. Following behind are Mi'ri and Volke. I grin at the lot of them and extend a hand, which Cade shakes amiably. "Well, if it isn't the Zeffo tourist himself."
"Wodi! It's been a while," Cade says enthusiastically, shaking my hand.
"Four months! Four long months. The team has just about reached its breaking point with Zeffo research!" I grin to show him I'm kidding. "But it's good to have you back, Cade." We walk forward, and I notice for the first time the item Cade holds in his other hand: a metallic device shaped roughly like an egg, faint blue lights blinking in and out of existence across its surface in elegant patterns. "What is that?"
"This," Cade says, walking through the crowd to the holotable and placing the device onto its surface, "is the answer to our questions. I think. I found it in what seemed like a research lab."
"But what is it?" Jevin asks, a look of puzzlement on his face, a look I share.
"I think this is like a holocron," Cade says, placing a hand on the device. "You know what that is, right?"
"Of course, it's a data repository, Jedi holocrons being only accessible to Force wielders," Jevin says.
"That's right. I believe this is a Zeffonian holocron."
"Well, let's give it a try!" Amminius nods encouragingly. "Work your magic, Valdarin."
Cade places his hand out on the object's shiny surface, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. The blue lights begin to blink more steadily. Suddenly, with a hiss like a helmet seal being cracked open, the device opens along a hidden seam, revealing a dazzlingly bright green crystal floating inside. I hold my breath, in awe.
The crystal glows brightly, and suddenly the image of a being, an unfamiliar alien that can only be a member of the Zeffo species, appears, the image larger than any person in the room. Several people take a step back in surprise. I look in wonder upon the facial features of this ancient being, its large head shaped like the prow of a hammerhead corvette, with high cheekbones and piercing green eyes, several intricate pieces of jewelry attached to its cranium.
With an almost sing-song tone, beams of light sprout from the creature's eyes and pass over everyone in the room, taking them in from head to toe. I jump as the light appears, watching it warily as it passes down my body, as if scanning me for something. It doesn't hurt, but I feel a strange prickling in my limbs, like I'm the subject of attention at a large gathering.
"What… what is this?" someone asks, but no one answers. In another moment, the beams of light disappear, as does the prickling sensation, and the Zeffo being speaks, its head turning to regard Cade.
"Greetings, Warrior of the Lifewind. It has been several millennia since this unit was last activated." Its tone is resonant and clear, a deep baritone that seems to swirl throughout the room, shushing everyone and everything. Its words trigger further awe in me, making all the research we had done into the Zeffo world and culture gain new meaning.
Jevin, always the practical thinker and skeptic, breaks out of the spell first and walks forward to gaze up at the Zeffo being, rubbing his chin in thought. "This thing has to be millennia old. From what little I know, the Zeffo died out a long time ago."
The Zeffo turns its great head to regard Jevin standing there. After its appraisal is complete, it speaks again. "Incorrect. My people did not die out. Rather, they left this galaxy."
Left? I look up at the hologram and speak past my feeling of awe, its words bringing back what I had been taught in my classes about our galaxy, things that make its statement impossible. "How could you have left? I thought there were anomalies beyond the galactic barrier that destroyed any ships that tried to pass them." Around me, I see several people nod their agreement.
"I never said they left by ship," the Zeffo replies. "My people, when we had realized our pride and our hubris had been our downfall, undertook a massive project in secret to circumvent the anomalies, without the need for starships. And without the knowledge of those of our race who sought to eradicate us."
"You built a gateway," Cade says slowly, as if lost in thought. "A gateway to another galaxy." His words trigger a rippling sense of awe that I can feel spreading throughout the room. I look at Amminius, who raises his eyebrows at me. A gateway? Where is it? How do we get there? How is it activated? And most importantly, how can we close it? The Zeffo nods its great head in solemn confirmation.
"Well," Gavin says in an amazed voice, shaking his head. "That changes galactic history. Everyone thought the Sith were defeated a thousand years ago by the Jedi and Old Republic."
"And people thought the Sith were defeated again four months ago," someone new says as they walk into the briefing room. Poe Dameron. Ace pilot and commander of the Resistance. I had only ever had brief contact with the man during my time in the Resistance, but I had heard plenty of stories about his bravery and courage, and his headstrong nature.
"The fleet that came to help us at Exegol thought the Sith died with Palpatine and his Final Order. So I guess we were all wrong."
"Dameron, glad you could stop by," Jevin nods a greeting.
Poe returns the nod. "Of course, sir. We may have left the Defense Force but we have never forgotten it. The Resistance is at your disposal."
Just then another person walks into the room. Rey, in white Jedi attire. Apparently both had been waiting just outside. I see a few personnel begin to whisper and point excitedly. Several living legends in a briefing room together should indicate now more than ever the importance of our work here.
Rey looks at the Zeffo hologram. "But where is this gate? It can't be anywhere easy to access, or else somebody would have found it by now."
In response, the Zeffo lifts a hand and its image is replaced by a galactic map, expanding to fill much of the room. The map slowly zooms in on a blinking red dot on the outer edges of the galaxy. In Wild Space. It all clicks. Of course! Where else would you hide something you didn't want others to find?
"Wait a minute," Jevin says, puzzled. "This hologram is ancient, right? There'd be millennia of stellar drift, stars and planets could explode, knocking your gate elsewhere. How do we know if this is still accurate?" A valid point. One I hadn't stopped to consider.
The Zeffo's voice emanates from the holotable. "I have overlaid my systems with your telemetry data. This map is up-to-date. The gate is there."
"Sergeant," Jevin says, ushering over an Abednedo. "What planet is that showing?" The sergeant consults his handheld datapad, checking the coordinates on the map.
"Checking databases now." He pauses for a moment as the information comes in. "Nirauan, sir."
Ah, that planet. My mind flashes back to a few years earlier, when the Scout Service scouts returned from a mission to map portions of Wild Space. Among a list of curious moons, exo-planets, and other space anomalies was this planet, which they did a scan of before returning to base. Apparently the scan hadn't been set to detect mysterious extragalactic traveling gates.
"Why there?" Cade asks, folding his arms. "Why build your gate there?"
The hologram sighs. "That... is an unpleasant memory. Our people had, for thousands of years, been the sole species of this galaxy to have mastered space flight and use of the Lifewind, what you call the Force. We spread throughout the galaxy, creating colonies and watching species grow, like the great Wookiees of Kashyyyk. For a time, there was peace.
However, some of our people grew to despise this lifestyle and felt that our command of the Lifewind and technological superiority gave us divine providence to rule the galaxy. This led to unrest and eventually civil war, with one of our sages, Kujet, leading the separatist movement. Eventually, the separatist faction won and we were forced to retreat or face extinction.
In desperation, a gateway was built, one that had the power, through the Lifewind, to connect ours to another galaxy. It was our final hope that those who left would learn from the mistakes of that conflict and recreate Zeffo society."
A few moments of silence follow as we all process the Zeffo's words. Some of the civil war the Zeffo mentioned had been in reports I had read. It was a sad tale. Many of the reports had concluded that the entire Zeffo species had been wiped out, or died off slowly after that, unable to sustain themselves away from their homeworld. Others had insisted that the Zeffo were still out there.
At the time, I had wanted to agree with the latter, but the former had seemed like the most logical conclusion given the facts and the span of time that had passed. If anything, though, my time witnessing the extraordinary proves that sometimes even the most impossible situation can be true. The Zeffo are well and truly alive, but not here. I smile; that fact is another comfort in the grim situation we face now.
Cade looks up at the hologram. "How come this Kujet didn't eventually use the gate himself? As a sage, wouldn't he have known of the plan to build it?"
"Unknown," the Zeffo replies. "I believe that Kujet, in his mad lust for power, forgot the gate and focused on the matters he could control. His rule was eventually ended by his subjects, but this second war destroyed what was left of the Zeffo in this galaxy. Eventually, our people faded into obscurity and were forgotten."
I rub my chin in thought, mulling over his words. If the Zeffo species and culture were obscure ancient history by the time these Sith came around, how would they have known what to even look for? I raise this question. "If everything Zeffo had been forgotten by then, how did these Sith find the gate and activate it?" The Zeffo turns its gaze upon me again, the feeling of being studied by an impossibly ancient member of a lost species still unnerving.
"As I mentioned, the device is powered by the Lifewind, your Force. It is possible the Sith detected this and discovered how to use the gate." The Zeffo's great head turns once again to regard Cade, its mannerism suddenly urgent. "To my great shame, the final legacy of my people will be used for evil. I beseech you, warrior of the Lifewind, destroy the gateway, and prevent it from being used to cast our galaxy into eternal darkness."
Cade nods resolutely, his expression determined. With another sing-song tone, the hologram of the Zeffo disappears, leaving the image of Nirauan spinning in its place. I gaze upon the holographic representation of the temperate planet, looking so ordinary floating in Wild Space, containing a secret that's anything but. One way or another, the fate of the galaxy will be decided there. Just like at Yavin, Endor, Jakku, and on Gorukar. It's a tall order, but against all odds, we were victorious before. We can be again. I straighten, ready to receive new instructions. It's time to end this.
_ 31 ABEOnboard the Viscount
Cade Valdarin Several Days Later
I wake up from a peaceful sleep, Mi'Ri's head nestled next to mine, to hear a small beeping coming from my comlink. Getting up without disturbing her, I gaze groggily at the message, we're close to Nirauan. I gently shake Mi'Ri awake and let her know we are close. We both get up and she joins me in the refresher for some last minute intimacy before we enter heavy combat.
She gets dressed first and smiles. "Cade, I have a gift for you, if you want it."
"Of course I do," I say, standing up straight. "What is it?"
"Close your eyes," she responds.
I do so and hear some rustling, then open my eyes. On the bed lies a set of clothes along with a pair of armored bracers. The outfit is clearly inspired by the apparel worn by the Jedi for centuries but with a few alterations. Firstly, they are more form-fitting, like Luke's had been, to allow for easier range of motion. Second is the color scheme: black combat boots, navy blue pants, and a dark teal blue tunic with a gray-colored Jedi Order insignia on the upper back, between the shoulders. I also see on the bracers a stylized diamond, the Valdarin family crest.
"Different style for a different Jedi," she says with a warm smile.
"And the bracers, how did you know what my family crest is?"
"I saw it when we linked minds; the armor is like mine, forged in the way of the Zeison Sha, with the Force."
Slipping on the ensemble, I feel the Force flowing through the armor. Fastening the bracers to my forearms, and my black leather belt made of Wroshyr wood fiber, a gift the Wookiees had given me following the Battle of Chandrila, around my waist, we walk to the bridge. In the halls of the Viscount, we pass rushing troops every which way, it reminds me of the hours before the invasion of Xauvis thirteen years ago. The atmosphere is the same as then, hectic and high-strung, the air charged with anticipation and fear for the upcoming battle. Walking through the bridge, I see a burst of activity from the crew, no doubt running last minute equipment checks and tests, and I enter the battle map room at the back of the bridge, complete with a holo-table.
"What if Xellius is already there, we'd be walking into a trap!" Wodi says as I walk up next to Jevin.
"It'd be nothing new, Quix. We always walked into traps during the war," Gavin replies somewhat smugly and then nods at me. I nod back.
"Trap or no, we have to go," I say, placing my hands on the holo-table. "If these Sith return, it'll be the end of the galaxy as we know it. There would be carnage that the galaxy has not seen for millennia."
"Well then, this won't be a blue milk run, will it?" a new voice says, a bearded man in his late fifties appearing shortly after.
"Cade," Jevin says, looking at me, "who's this?"
"Everyone, this is Kyle Katarn."
"Katarn, eh? I recognize that name…. You were with the Rebellion, weren't you?"
"Not officially but yes, I did some wetwork for the Alliance."
"I knew it, my squad helped with your missions at times. I'm Jevin Corso."
"Corso? Captain Corso?" Kyle asks.
"High Marshal now," Jevin responds. "How in blazes do you and Cade know each other?"
"Turns out Kyle is Force-sensitive. Luke and I sensed his power during the Imperium War, during the fighting on Kashyyyk. He's mostly self-taught, like me. Naturally, we became fast friends and now I'm calling in a favor," I reply.
"So you're a Jedi, too?" Wodi asks.
"Nope. I'm just a guy with a lightsaber and a lot of questions," Kyle says, chuckling. "Still, it's good to see you again, Cade."
"Take a look at this," Jevin says as I shake Kyle's hand, inputting a frequency into the table and the image changes to a solar system, the Nirauan system. "The reconnaissance drones we sent ahead of the main fleet have been sending back their findings. The system is empty."
"What? You're kidding," I say in shock.
"We beat the bad guys to the punch for once? Pay up," Gavin says smugly, nudging a muttering Gerik.
"Come on, let's get down to the hangar before we drop into realspace," Jevin says.
After a short turbolift ride, we come to the hangar where the majority of our assault force is gathered. As the Viscount-class is both carrier and dreadnought, its hangars are massive in scope and since the threat of the First Order is mostly gone, a good deal of the Resistance has joined us.
"Wow, this is… a lot," I remark, noticing the myriad of species here, from Humans to Nikto, Ozrelanso to Kessurian, and more. I even see a Bith or two among the throng of beings but my eyes travel to a muscular Iktotchi missing half a horn and an eye on the right side. I walk over to him and notice an emblem emblazoned on his pauldron that I saw many times during the war.
"Shock Troopers?" I ask him, indicating the emblem.
The man proudly nods and the soldiers around him all stand at attention. "At ease, major," Jevin says to the man, stifling a chuckle at my reaction.
"Sorry sir, it's just that… we've never been in the presence of a legend before. I'm Major Raak Chano, Shock Troopers, 32nd Battalion."
I shake the man's extended hand. "Nice to meet you, major. Though I'd hardly call myself a legend, just in the right place at the right time."
He shakes his head. "Sir, I was at Chandrila. I saw you bring down the Imperium fleet and Gorukar. That makes you a legend in my books, same goes for my men. You may not be military but you have our respect." He bows his head and those around him do the same, a bow that I return.
"Cade, over here!" I hear Gavin yell over the cacophony of noise. Walking over to a side of the hangar, I see Gavin next to some EATU soldiers, looking over a rack filled with weapons, from old A280s and A310s to EL-16s and the new EL-20HAEs.
"We're dropping out of hyperspace now," he says as the blue tunnel disappears, replaced by stars. "Man, that never gets old….and look at that! I don't see any enemy ships."
"That's a first," I hear from behind and see Lannik Endel.
"Lannik! Good to see you again!" I say, shaking his hand.
"You too. Little Cade is all grown up," he says, chuckling, while turning to Jevin. "Sir, I brought all the SHARC units with me that I could find." Jevin nods in appreciation and I see Rey and Poe join us.
"Poe, Rey, well met," I say, nodding at both of them. They nod back.
"You know, I thought the Sith threat was over when we defeated them at Exegol," Poe says with a sigh.
"It was, for a time. But if there are Sith out there and Xellius succeeds in opening this gateway, your victory will mean nothing," I say.
"So, where do we start?" Gerik asks, coming back from talking with his Mandalorian lieutenants. "I just talked with Salurra, the Wookiee and Mandalorian fleets are standing by two systems over as planned."
I raise my left forearm, where I have both my Zeison Sha-forged metal bracer and a Wrist Comp, a standard issue New Republic device given to special forces that serves as a micro-supercomputer, and emit a holo-map showing the planet. "According to the Zeffonian VI, the gate complex should be in this area," I say, pointing to an unassuming plateau on the surface. "The Zeffo built a device within this structure where the Activation Matrix activates the gate."
"Do we have this Matrix?" Rey asks.
"No," I say, shaking my head. "But if we can destroy the gate before Xellius can use it, the matrix will mean nothing."
"That's assuming we can destroy it without causing some massive explosion that takes out us, the planet, or heck, even the entire galaxy," Jevin says, rubbing his temple. "But I don't see an alternative, we are going to drop all available ground forces. Just because nothing is showing up on sensors doesn't mean we can't be prepared."
Boarding my gunship, I see Rey exchange hands with my companions and introductions follow. Looking out to the red-tinted surface of the planet, I close my eyes: these events will either reshape the galaxy forever or destroy it. Where are you hiding, Xellius? Our little game has gone on long enough.
_31 ABE Nirauan - Wild Space Cade Valdarin
The shuttle ride to the surface is uneventful. It appears intelligence was correct, Xellius does not know the location of the gateway although he likely has the Activation Matrix for it. I look out the window as our U-wing descends further towards the surface, droplets of water appearing as we enter the night sky. I hear a rustle and notice Rey standing next to me.
"Master, we haven't really spoken in the past few days."
"It has been a rather eventful few days, hasn't it?" I say, shaking my head. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well… what do we do from here? I mean after we deal with Xellius, what do we do?"
"We… Well, we rebuild. The Republic, the Jedi, all of it. It will take time, certainly, to regain what was lost but I am certain we can do it." I'm about to continue speaking on my plans for rebuilding when a console beeps from the cockpit and the pilot leans back into the cabin.
"We are approaching the LZ!"
The gunship touches the ground and the ship reverberates as the landing gear buckles and stabilizes. The bay doors open and I step out, scanning the environment, noticing its beauty. There is no indication of technology. Gavin comes back from using his earpiece and walks next to Jevin. "Sir, battalions are reporting they are in position, we're set."
"Good. Cade, lead the way," he says, nodding at me. I nod back and activate my Wrist Comp holoprojector, scanning the map provided by the Zeffonian hologram again.
"Our recon units are confirming no enemy presence in the area," Jevins says. "This feels like a trap." Wodi and several others voice their agreement and we begin our trek through the forest, still with no signs of sapient life on the planet.
After a few hours of walking through the forest, we come to a rock wall on the side of the plateau and the Zeffonian hologram confirms that the gate is here. "That's brilliant, I don't see anything," Gavin says, voicing his frustration.
"I think it's time we turn to the expert again," Wodi quips, nodding at me. "Stuff like this is his specialty."
I scan the rock, looking for any type of mechanism for a secret door when it hits me. The Zeffo were a Force-using society, they treated it as a deity of sorts as well. Closing my eyes and raising my hand, I inhale deeply, letting the Force fill my body. I gently push out with the Force and hear a soft chunk. I open my eyes again and see a part of the wall sink into the rock and then into the ground. What remains is a solid wall of karnite.
"Well, step one is out of the way," Wodi says with a smile. "Now, how do we open this?"
"That's just great," Gerik says with a huff. "Another obstacle. I could try blowing it."
"No," I tell him, scanning the karnite wall for any clues. "It's got to be something else."
I see an ovoid shape in the karnite and reach into the bag Mi'Ri is carrying, retrieving the Zeffonian holocron. Placing it in the slot, there's another kachunk and the wall splits in two, revealing an opening with a staircase leading down. The inside of the facility is very different from the Nirauan wilderness, the floor and walls made of a polished metal, hiding the fact that we are inside a plateau.
"Well, that's unexpected," Kyle says, walking in first. I follow him in and the rest join us. There are old, no, ancient computers here, most dead, some with barely legible print on them. I peer around the corner and see some ancient Zeffonian skeletons, failing to prevent Ida from seeing them. This place looks like it was left in a hurry and thanks to the karnite door being sealed for millenia, it's been undisturbed until now.
"Well well, you finally decided to show up," I hear a sinisterly familiar voice say, clapping. I turn around to see Xellius, dressed in robes and armor similar to what he wore as the head Praetor of the Imperium. Flanking him are two of his reavers with several shadow knights in tow. I also see black-armored stormtroopers who give menacing looks with their icy blue eye-lens.
"Figures you'd be here," I say as I activate my saber, illuminating the ground with a faint turquoise glow. Kyle ignites his green saber and Volke and Rey follow suit with their yellow blades.
"I had you tagged ever since you landed on Zeffo, you are not nearly as subtle as you think. I hate to cut this reunion short but I have a destiny to meet. Take them," he says as he steps backwards and heads down the tunneling staircase. We bring up our blades just in time to deflect the opening salvo.
Jevin uses his EL-20 to blast the legs of a metallic table, likely what used to be a holoprojector or the Zeffo equivalent, and flips it on its side, creating a makeshift barrier. Gerik unloads a blast from his fusion shotgun, a weapon created by Mandal Munitions specifically for the Protectors. The blast hits one of the reavers full force, sending it flying.
I parry the blade of a shadow knight and block several more attacks then launch my own and lock blades, forcing the knight's down, giving Kyle an opening to blast him in the face with his Bryar blaster pistol while using his green saber to block incoming fire. The room becomes hazy as smoke begins guzzling from blaster rifles. Another shadow knight lands in front of me, launching an acrobatic assault.
I defend against their attacks with ease, falling back to my preferred form, forcing her lightsaber towards the right and immediately following up with an impaling strike through the chest. The shadow knight drops her hilt and falls backward, dead, as the rest of the reavers begin to fall. I can see more stormtroopers and reavers heading our way down an adjacent hallway when Jevin gestures at me.
"Cade, go! We'll stay here as long as we can but this will mean nothing if Xellius opens that gate, go!" he finishes as he props his EL-20 on the edge of the table, unleashing another salvo down the hallway, causing the stormtroopers to scatter and dive for cover. I look at him and the rest of my friends, worried about them being trapped but Jevin is right: Xellius has the Activation Matrix, he can activate the gate and if that happens, none of this will matter.
Deactivating my lightsaber, I start jumping down sets of stairs, noticing that they seem to never end. I activate my wrist comp, projecting a miniature version of the Zeffo hologram. "How deep is this place?"
"The facility itself spans the planet, the gate mechanism is situated at the core." I sigh and deactivate the hologram, picking up the pace. Hopefully Jevin's diversion is working, we've come too far to lose now.
31 ABE
Nirauan - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
The deck of the Viscount reverberates subtly beneath my boots as we exit the blue swirling tunnel of hyperspace to float above the jungle world of Nirauan, the planet's red tint bleeding into the black of space around it. I gaze out the hangar shield at the starscape beyond, the inky blackness completely absent of enemy Star Destroyers and turbolaser fire. Relief mixed with more worry floods my system.
The complete break from being targeted immediately upon arrival in-system is definitely a plus, but I can't shake the feeling I had voiced during the briefing. This feels like a trap. My hand strays to my EC-17 scout pistol, securely in its holster strapped to my thigh, an automatic reflex. I glance at Amminius, leaning up against a supply crate checking over his E-11 blaster, who raises an eyebrow at me. I shrug.
"I guess the recon drones weren't lying," I say, nodding towards the hangar opening. "We really are alone here."
"Nice change of pace, isn't it?" he says with a grin, though I can detect his own unease beneath the carefree tone. "Gives us time to stop and enjoy the view. I didn't peg Xellius as being the late type, though. More of the in your face upon arrival variety."
"Yeah," I reply, glancing out at the planet again, my own feeling of unease further twisting inside me. "I didn't, either."
Activity in the cavernous hangar ramps up again as personnel return to their tasks and final preps are finished on fighters and gunships. Troops shoulder blaster rifles and survival packs, following their unit leaders onto their assigned U-wings and other transports. I see Gerik, Lannik, and a few other battle group leaders making their way over to Jevin and Cade, and I motion for Amminus to follow me as I head over as well.
"But if there are Sith out there and Xellius succeeds in opening this gateway, your victory will mean nothing," Cade is saying to Poe Dameron as Amminius and I thread our way over to the gathering.
"So," Gerik says, folding his arms across his armored chest. "Where do we start? I just talked with Salurra. The Wookiee and Mandalorian fleets are standing by two systems over as planned."
Cade holds out his left wrist, a hologram of Nirauan appearing from his wrist comp device. He zooms in to show a topographical map of the planet, stopping at a large plateau, the land below it covered in dense forest.
"According to the Zeffonian VI," he says, pointing at the plateau, "the gate complex should be in this area. The Zeffo built a device within this structure where the Activation Matrix activates the gate." I stare at the miniature shimmering plateau, the land formation extremely unexceptional in its appearance, with no hints of any outside structures or machinery to indicate it houses the means to transcend the reaches of our galaxy.
So this is where it'll happen. I suddenly feel a strong desire to walk inside that plateau, to see this ancient technology; to activate it, just to see how it works. We could learn so much. We could travel to new worlds. We could help more people. We could- No.
I clamp down on my line of thinking, hard. No, this mentality toes a very dangerous line, a line that, once crossed, we could never go back from. Using the Activation Matrix would destroy us. We'd be no better than the Empire, or the First Order, or these extra-galactic Sith, forcing our will on the lives of others. We wouldn't be saviors. We'd be conquerors. I mentally shake myself. Come on, Wodi, get it together. Rey's question thankfully grounds me back into the present moment.
"Do we have this Matrix?"
Cade shakes his head. "No. But if we can destroy the gate before Xellius can use it, the matrix will mean nothing."
"That's assuming we can destroy it without causing some massive explosion that takes out us, the planet, or heck, even the entire galaxy," Jevin says. "But I don't see an alternative. We are going to drop all available ground forces. Just because nothing is showing up on sensors doesn't mean we can't be prepared."
I nod, his comment putting the gravity of our situation into harsher clarity. This very well could be our last mission together. I look at Amminius, the look conveying things both spoken and unspoken. He nods and offers a smile, that smile affirming everything. I feel a burden drop from my shoulders, falling from my person like a heavy, suffocating garment. I return his smile, banishing my worry. Better make the most of this one, then. It couldn't be for a more worthy cause.
We break from our briefing and head off to our respective transports. As I strap myself in alongside Amminius and Gavin, I take one last look at the hangar of the Viscount, still bustling with bodies. Rebel bodies. At that moment, I couldn't be more proud of the choices that led me here. I nod to my friends and grin. "Let's go ruin Xellius' day." The doors close and our U-wing's engines reverberate as we lift off and slide out of the hangar bay towards Nirauan.
Later…
After two hours of trekking through the jungles on Nirauan, there's one thing I can say for certain: this planet is empty. Empty, and eerie. As we wind our way through the strange red trees and plant life that cover the jungle floor, we do so in complete silence. It's as if this area's fauna simply packed up and left.
The trees and brush around us are entirely devoid of any movement of native creatures, and the streams we pass through are equally barren. The only constant is the planet's sun beating down on our necks. It's completely unlike any jungle I've visited before, and I've been to some pretty interesting ones. They had life, you could always hear it. But this place is something else.
Amminus makes his way over and falls into step beside me, E-11 hanging from its strap on his shoulder, screwing the cap back on his canteen. "Holding up, Wishbone?"
I give him a thumbs up, hefting my A280C. "Never better! Reminds me of basic training on Yavin IV."
"Those were the days. I seem to remember you tripping over a tree root and landing on your face once," Amminius says with a grin. "Didn't you slam your head into a Y-wing's jet engine back at base later on? Graceful, even back then."
"At least I wasn't the one who forgot to pack his ration kit and had to get some from me!" I say, offering a grin of my own. "Just be glad we beat them to the punch this time. Imagine this trek to the gateway if we had plasma rounds going off everywhere."
Amminius nods. "Yeah, that's one plus. You know, I still can't figure out how we managed it. To beat them here. You'd think they'd have claimed this entire area already."
"Regime upheaval can be quite the beast," I say knowingly. "Everything in chaos, your resources decimated, your people in disarray."
"I almost feel sorry for them," Amminius says, smirking.
We carry on in silence for a time. After another short rest, our group resumes its march through the jungle. Right as we crest a hill, I see it. A huge wall of stone stretching across our path, blocking any more progress through the jungle; the base of a great mountain. My pulse quickens. We're here at last.
Amminius and I wind our way through the line of soldiers towards the knot at the front, where Cade, Jevin, Gavin, and Gerik are gathered with other unit leaders.
"Well, this is definitely the place," Jevin says as we join the group, the hologram of the mountain, blown up in size, emitting from his glove. "Now how we get inside is another matter. There aren't any diagrams of hidden entrances or passages, though they could be scattered anywhere from here to the summit."
"I'd rather not trek up the side of a mountain trying to find a door that may or may not exist," Amminius says. "We might have grabbed the advantage in arriving here first, but I don't want to press our luck. Every moment we sit here is a moment for the Praetoriate to catch up to us."
I nod with the others in agreement. "I think it's time we turn to the expert again," I say, nodding at Cade. "Stuff like this is his specialty."
With the hint of a smile, Cade steps forward, splaying his palm on the reddish stone. After a few moments, he seems to realize something and takes a step back, raising his hand, palm facing the mountainside, eyes closed. As ever, his command of the Force fills me with awe.
A soft chunk makes us all turn toward a spot in the rock, where a rectangular patch of stone has indented and revealed itself, slowly receding into the ground to reveal a wall of dark stone. Karnite. The material the Zeffo used to build their tombs. We're definitely in the right place.
I move forward and knock against the wall with my knuckle. It feels exceptionally thick. "Well, step one is out of the way," I say with a rye smile. "Now, how do we open this?"
"That's just great," Gerik says with a huff. "Another obstacle. I could try blowing it." He indicates the missile warhead attached to his jetpack.
"No," Cade says, putting a hand on the Mandalorian's arm, halting him. "It's got to be something else."
He moves to the wall, scanning it intently. After a moment, he straightens and hurries to Mi'Ri. I look closer at the karnite obstacle, noticing an impression I hadn't registered before. It looks like it's just big enough for…
Cade returns to my side clutching the Zeffonian holocron. Subconsciously, we all take a step back as Cade carefully inserts the holocron into the wall. Immediately, I know he made the right choice. The holocron briefly flashes blue, and then a crease appears as the wall separates into a wide opening into the mountain.
Cautiously, we begin to file inside, the opening revealing a short flight of steps leading into some sort of ancient cavernous control room. I catch my breath as I pass into the large space, the technology here so old, yet so powerful. Motes of dust catch the light from outside, the flickering shafts as soldiers pass through revealing the copious amount of grime that has accumulated over the centuries.
Most of the ancient consoles are dead, but a few flicker feebly with strange text. The air inside the control room is musty and stale, reminding me of descriptions of the Zeffo crypts our archeological teams described. The image of a tomb is further cemented when we see the yellowed skeletons of humanoid-shaped beings near stacks of crates caked in dust. Zeffo.
I'm about to inquire on what our next course of action should be when I hear the sounds of booted feet crunching slowly through the detritus on the floor. Immediately, I spin around, my blaster up.
Flanked by two Reavers in their black segmented armor and a trio of Shadow Knight acolytes is Xellius, grinning maliciously at the lot of us. From unseen corridors and alcoves, black-armored Praetoriate stormtroopers emerge, their rifles pointed at us, blue eye lenses flashing menacingly.
"Well, well, you finally decided to show up," Xellius says, sarcasm dripping from his tone, clapping his gloved hands slowly. The stormtroopers and guards stare on silently.
"Figures you'd be here," Cade says gripping his lightsaber, its blade shimmering into being. The other Jedi follow suit as we tense up, our blasters at the ready. The stormtroopers focus their own weapons with metallic clicks, the Knights revealing long lightsaber hilts of their own. My finger hovers over the trigger of my A280C, my body coiled like a spring, jaw set.
"I had you tagged ever since you landed on Zeffo," Xellius says dismissively. "You are not nearly as subtle as you think. I hate to cut this reunion short but I have a destiny to meet. Take them," he says, stepping backward and striding towards another flight of steps leading further down.
The firefight begins. I dive behind an ancient computer console as blaster bolts shred the top to pieces, firing a salvo at an emerging stormtrooper, who crumples to the floor, his weapon flying from his gloved hands. My knee is throbbing with pain from my landing, but I block it from my mind. Cade and the other Jedi deflect shots back as soldiers scramble for cover.
The air is thick with flying blaster shots and sizzling smoke and shouts. From the din I hear Jevin's voice: "Cade, go! We'll stay here as long as we can but this will mean nothing if Xellius opens that gate! Go!" A moment later I see Cade sprinting after Xellius, the other Jedi closing ranks to deal with the Shadow Knights and Reavers.
We hold here, then. I grit my teeth and pop back up, squeezing off more shots, hoping that Cade isn't too late to stop what's coming. I check my surroundings to see how my friends are faring. Amminius is behind a stack of crates with another soldier. Gerik and Gavin are against stone columns supporting the ceiling. Mi'Ri and the Jedi are holding their own. Our other forces are taking cover where they can.
A sudden movement above me makes me look up, and the form of a Shadow Knight descending towards me dominates my field of view. My reflexes kick in slowly, and just as I raise my rifle, a shot hits the being, flinging them off course and into the ground next to me in a heap. I look to see my savior: Jevin. I give him a nod of thanks and continue fighting. Gavin rushes over and slides in next to me, covering me as I slap another power pack into my rifle.
Movement again catches my eye, and I look to see Jevin gesturing to get my attention. I lower my blaster. He cups his hands to his mouth and shouts: "Wodi, they're trying to prevent us from backing Cade up. You and Gavin go with Kyle, help out Cade if you can! The rest of us will stay here!"
I nod to show I've understood and wait as Jevin and the others create an opening, rushing off towards the stairwell tailing Kyle Katarn, his green blade deflecting blaster bolts. Mi'Ri brings up the rear as we leave the control room and thunder down the steps deeper into the facility, the sounds of battle echoing after us.
_ 31 ABE
Nirauan - Wild Space
Jevin Corso
"Cade, go! We'll stay here as long as we can but this will mean nothing if Xellius opens that gate. Go!" I shout as I use the overturned metallic table to mount my gun and open fire. I see Cade give a hesitant glance before disappearing down the stairwell, the light from his blade still illuminating the walls for a second.
A stray blaster shot zips over my head, taking my attention away from Cade. I duck back down in cover, wondering what is happening outside, let alone in orbit. Putting two fingers to my ear comm, I hit the frequency to contact the Viscount. "Admiral, come in. Admiral Kerex, come in!"
"Jevin, we're here, but we've been ambushed, Star Destroyers appeared out of nowhere!"
"How!?"
"It's the armor, heavy stealth armor, like the Insidious. We are losing too many ships, I'm signaling the Mandalorian and Wookiee fleets."
He's about to say more when the comm signal fizzes and pops before cutting off. The Viscount must be taking a beating, but having witnessed first hand how durable the ship is, I bet she'll come out on top. Coming back to the battle at hand, I notice a Shadow Knight beginning to leap to make an attack on Wodi's blind spot. As the thing is in midair, I shoot and hit the knight in the abdomen, causing them to land in a crumpled heap. It seems even the command of the Force doesn't stop a blaster bolt punching through you.
Wodi flashes me a quick nod in thanks and turns back to open fire and I take a moment to check in with the ground forces outside the facility. The Praetoriate has ambushed them as well. The battalion leaders report that they have entrenched themselves in and around the Zeffo facility in an attempt to keep the enemy from reinforcing Xellius, but losses are mounting, including Major Chano of the Shock Troopers.
I disconnect my comm signal and motion for Wodi's attention, cupping my hand around my mouth when he gives me it. "Wodi, they're trying to prevent us from backing Cade up! You and Gavin go with Kyle, help out Cade if you can, the rest of us will hold here!" He nods and Kyle leaps in front of Wodi and Gavin, his green blade batting away laser bolts as they rush down the stairs. Mi'Ri brings up the rear as she catches her disc blade, returned from a fallen stormtrooper.
"Ok, grunts," I say to the rest of our group, "we hold here, no matter the cost."
31 ABE
Nirauan Space - Wild Space
Unath Kerex
Upon arriving in the Nirauan system, Cade and Jevin left with an assault group in the gunships almost immediately, with time being of the essence. If the Praetoriate knows the location of this planet and has the means to activate the Zeffonian gateway leading outside our galaxy, they can usher in a darkness not seen for a millennium. It had been only a few hours after Cade's group descended towards the planet that all hell broke loose.
Predator-class and Resurgent-class star destroyers appeared like phantoms, showing up out of nowhere. As I try to regain command of the hectic bridge, the comlink fuzzes. "Admiral, come in. Admiral Kerex, come in!"
"Jevin, we're here but we've been ambushed, Star Destroyers appeared out of nowhere!"
"How!?"
"It's the armor, heavy stealth armor, like the Insidious. We are losing too many ships, I'm signaling the Mandalorian and Wookiee fleets." I'm about to say more when the signal to the surface drops out. Jevin and Cade will make it, I've seen them go into worse situations. I sit back into my chair and input some commands into the consoles.
"Lieutenant, are internal comms still operable?" I ask. The Nautolan nods at me. "Then tell Commander Waverider to launch all fighter squadrons, we need to fight as long as we can and buy the ground team enough time. Helmsman, move us closer to that destroyer, have Starhawk groups Aurek and Besh position themselves at these coordinates and turn broadside towards the enemy," I say as I review the tactical holo-map the chair is displaying.
Sending the signal to Salurra to have him mobilize the Wookiee and Mandalorian fleets, I stand up again and walk over to the viewport, watching a dazzling light display as red turbolaser fire and blue-white ion cannon fire launches at the nearest Star Destroyer. The holoprojector behind me hums as an incoming signal activates it. I turn around and see the small figure of Admiral Vanice and turn again to see her ship, Valiant, a captured ISD from the Galactic Civil War, retrofitted and painted in New Republic colors.
"Admiral, can you read me?"
"I hear you, Vanice. What is it?"
"Sir, I had a technician scan both the system and the planet, there's nothing that looks like it will be a gateway, do we know what Cade is looking for?"
"No but we can't worry about that now. Have your squadron focus fire on the destroyer nearest your port side." She nods and the hologram shimmers and disappears. In the distance, I see her Star Destroyer slowly turn portside and two Starhawks join it and lay down fire against an opposing Predator-class.
31 ABE
Nirauan - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
Hot on the trail of Xellius, I have been running down this hallway for what feels like hours, with occasional resistance along the way. I've cut them all down with ease, this tunnel seeming to stretch on forever. Soon, I enter a cavernous room, the walkway connecting to a circular platform, with two other walkways at angles leading to separate tunnels to the surface. In the middle of this platform is a pedestal, with a slot in the top of it, just the right shape for the ovoid-shaped Zeffo devices.
Two ebon-armored stormtroopers turn around while Xellius moves on ahead, raising their F-11D rifles and opening fire. I bring up my saber, igniting it and deflecting the shots back with pinpoint accuracy, knocking both over the railing into the endless abyss below. Two Juggernauts replace the stormtroopers, their assault cannons ready. Dodging their fire, I deactivate my saber and hook it to my belt, spinning in the air and landing in front of them, slamming the ground with fire in my hands, causing a wave to emanate forward, engulfing them and melting their armor.
I stand up again and grab my lightsaber, holding it at the ready but not ignited. Xellius just stands there, his back to me, holding the Activation Matrix in his hand. He turns around, his face a portrait of sadistic glee. "It's over, Xellius. I won't let you activate that gate."
"It's too late. Soon, the Sith will return and usher in an age of darkness not seen for a thousand years."
"But why do this? These are Sith, ancient Sith. They crave power for themselves. They will not accept your leadership."
He smiles and backs up slowly as I cautiously advance towards him. "You assume I am like Sidious or Pravus before me, eh?" he says, laughing. "They were meant for conquest, for ruling. Such is the way of true Sith, to desire power above all else. But not for me," he says while pushing up his right sleeve to reveal an intricate ice blue circle-like marking etched there.
I recognize the symbol, from my time journeying the galaxy with Luke after the Civil War. The emblem is the mark of the Watchers of The Beyond, a Sith cult in Wild Space. It's clear now what the group's curious name means.
"You're a member of the Watchers of The Beyond," I say, slowly maneuvering for a quick jump at Xellius.
"Yes," he responds with a sneer. "And I want revenge. Revenge for what the Jedi and Republic did to my people, making them nothing more than marauding scavengers."
Sensing that he is about to try to reach the pedestal, I leap towards him, but he turns faster than I anticipated and hits me with a wave of Force energy, sending me flying. I manage to grab the railing at the last second, taking a moment to look down at the endless chasm below me, just barely making out the faint red glow of magma at the planet's core. I haul myself up in time to see his hands outstretched, the ovoid Activation Matrix floating into the slot on the pedestal.
With a hissing sound, the ovoid shape splits into two halves, like the holocron, only with a sickeningly pale blue-green crystal in it. A second later, a pillar of the same color shoots up from the pedestal, going straight up through the carved-out chamber to the surface. I sense the beam going into space and ripping a hole in it.
My earpiece immediately lights up with chatter, mostly from the fleet overhead. From what I can make out, they saw the giant shaft of light sprout up from the planet and then form a circle, the gateway. I disconnect the link and see Xellius standing there, his back still towards me, arms hanging at his sides, and uttering a deep, sinister laugh.
"Can you feel it, Valdarin? Feel the darkness through that gate?" He turns around, his eyes a deep yellow color, not quite as sinister as Pravus' ebon-black eyes but still just as disturbing. "I am as powerful as you now."
"Let's find out," I reply, igniting my saber. We launch at each other and clash in midair, our swords creating a dazzling light display. The battle is fierce from the start, reminding me of my duel onboard Gorukar with Pravus. Neither of us seems to be able to break the other's defense. Xellius launches a vicious onslaught, his blade a flurry of blood-red light, but I manage to withstand the barrage.
As he finishes a maneuver, I deflect his blade at an angle to the right and kick him in the gut, moving the fight onto one of the walkways. I parry several more blows and notice a gap in his offense, launching a vicious flurry of my own. Angling my strike at the last second, I cut the lower end of his double-bladed hilt, removing the lower blade and taking away his advantage.
The severed section of his hilt falls to the floor, sparks coming out of it and Xellius switches his grip to fit the remaining part of his hilt. He switches to a style more akin to Niman and attacks me head on. I parry his blow to my left and bring my own blade down for a diagonal strike from the upper left shoulder.
He brings back his sword in time to parry it and locks blades with me. "It's over, Valdarin! The Sith will return and this galaxy will burn with their vengeance!" He shoves me away and I'm about to attack again when my earpiece goes off again.
"Cade, it's Kerex! A ship is coming through the gate, whatever you are going to do, you need to do it now!"
Xellius flashes a wicked grin. "My, my, how the mighty have fallen. For years, I have wondered what you would do in a situation you couldn't win, now I get to see that dream become reality. Everything you have fought for… will burn!" he shouts as he launches another assault. Our blades connect and bob and weave, and we each score glancing blows against each other.
Eventually forcing his saber down towards the ground, I quickly swing upward and to my right, cutting off his left hand. His saber falls to the ground, deactivating with a hiss. In a quick, fluid circular motion, make a diagonal strike, cleaving Xellius from left shoulder down to right hip. Keeping the momentum, I plunge my lightsaber, impaling him. This time, aimed right for the heart. His face scrunches up and he gives me one final glare as his body falls over when I deactivate my lightsaber, slumping to the floor. I look at the pillar of pale blue-green light still shooting up from the pedestal, wondering how to turn this off.
31 ABE
Nirauan System - Wild Space
Unath Kerex
The plan is falling apart. The Wookiee and Mandalorian fleets have been delayed, Xellius having anticipated a pincer trap. We are currently on our own. From what I've heard from the ground, things aren't going well. Cade ran off to destroy the gate and Jevin was holding the line to prevent the enemy from stopping him. Fast forward a few hours and both fleets have taken heavy damage, with many lifeless ships drifting in orbit. Between the cruisers and battleships is a high-octane dogfight between military-spec T-85 X-wings and advanced TIE Silencers.
Our onboard scanners pick up one of the more daring X-wing fighters, that of Commander Waverider's, whose reputation as a pilot nearly rivals that of Luke Skywalker or Wedge Antilles. I see a blue dot on the scanner disappear, one of Waverider's wingmates was destroyed, but then several green dots, TIE fighters, disappear. A bright light on the surface grabs my attention. A pale blue-green color turns into a pillar, shooting up from the planet. The viewports tinge in response to the bright light and I notice the Praetoriate Star Destroyers that remain slightly vector off, away from the light. The pillar then stops a distance above Nirauan and forms into a circle, the pale light filling in the space in the middle, making what looks like a pool of water.
"Admiral Kerex, what is that?" a female Zabrak gunnery officer asks.
"That," I say, pointing to the circle, "is the Gateway, I believe. Get me Marshal Corso!" The comm signal fizzes and then stops, indicating a signal is established. "Corso? Jevin, can you hear me?"
"I hear you, Kerex. I assume you've seen that pillar of light?"
"I see it, I imagine that is the gateway. Do we know Cade's status?"
"No, I told Katarn to take the other Force users and go after Cade but we haven't heard anything. We've met up with the Shock Troopers, or what's left of them, and are holding up just outside the Zeffo facility."
"Understood, hold the line, Jevin." Ending the communication, I give targets to the gunnery officer. I also notice the Wookie and Mandalorian fleets finally arrive in-system. We may now have a chance.
"Admiral Kerex, come in!" The comm link bursts to life, Commander Waverider's voice.
"Commander, what is it?"
"Check your scanners. Something is coming through the gateway!"
I do so and the commander is right, a large signal is appearing, right where the gate is. I look outside at the gate, seeing pale blue-green lightning coruscating across its surface. Then a small object appears through it, slowly getting larger as the object comes through, the nose of a large ship. I quickly input Cade's comm frequency.
"Cade, it's Kerex! A ship is coming through the gate, whatever you are going to do, you need to do it now!" I don't even hear a response when purple-colored laser fire emanates from the gate.
31 ABE
Nirauan - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
I remove my hand from my earpiece, having heard multiple units report mounting losses both on and above the planet and look at the Activation Matrix, light pouring out from it. I sense from orbit the darkness emanating from the gate, Sith on the other side, and they are hungry for revenge.
I cautiously reach out to the crystal, well aware there is likely a security field or other safety measure. My hypothesis turns out to be correct: once my hand gets close enough, a green shield activates, sending a jolt of electricity through me, knocking me back. I stand back up, pondering how to handle this shield when my danger sense flares off. The ship, more of it has come through.
"Cade, more of the ship has come through-" Kerex relays over the comms before being cut off.
"Copy that, Admiral," I say, even though the comm line is dead. I ignite my saber and strike the shield, my sword bouncing off of it. I pace in front of the crystal when I feel a dark presence behind me, far darker than Xellius. As dark as Sidious or Pravus and it feels like an ancient, gnarled tree. I turn around, blade ready, and see a humanoid figure standing there, robed in icy white, hooded and cloaked.
The figure rolls back its hood to reveal a strange, humanoid-like head that looks like nothing I have seen in this galaxy. Their skin is ashen gray, with long, pointed ears and two inverted V-shape openings in the middle of its face, what I assume to be a nose. Its eyes are black, with red slits, the eyes of a predator. I notice the skeletal hands have only three digits as well.
The being's eyes look at my feet, noticing the fallen corpse of Xellius, face down and eyes blank. "You are not Xellius," the being says in the ancient Sith tongue.
"Xellius is a little... indisposed at the moment," I say back in Basic, getting a bemused smile out of the figure.
"You are not Sith, interesting," the Sith smiles at me and looks me over, then closes his eyes. "You are Valdarin, I suspected as much," he says in Basic.
"How do you-"
"Know you? Lord Pravus kept us well informed." Judging by the cackling, the Sith is amused by my expression. "Did you think we only communicated with Xellius? We have been more involved with your galaxy than you can possibly imagine."
"Cade, you need to do something now! That ship has partially materialized and is tearing us apart!" I hear Kerex yell in my earpiece.
"Destroy the gate, if you must. But know this: we have traveled for centuries, one or two more is of no consequence."
I feel a dark presence starting to envelope around me, the Sith is trying to mentally attack me, just like Palpatine did. I close my eyes and inhale, focusing on my breathing. I achieve oneness with the Force again, something I did not think possible after the Battle Of Chandrila.
The dark presence starts growing stronger and I open my eyes and stand up, evoking a less than amused expression from the phantom. Lifting my hand, I blast pure Force energy at the sith projection, causing him to shout in anger and disappear. Watching the space where he was for a little longer, I turn towards the Activation Matrix.
The pedestal pulsates with the pale green-blue energy of the crystal and I can feel death in the battle overhead, the sith warship is destroying much of our coalition. I swing my saber at the cocoon of energy around the Activation Matrix with no success, the energy simply batting away my lightsaber. I try to push the crystal out of its socket but nothing happens.
Sheathing my lightsaber, I mentally prepare a shield of energy around me and, using my hands as pry bars, rip the energy cocoon apart. In a split second, I grab the Activation Matrix and crush it in my hand, causing a blinding light and a deafening explosion that knocks me into the railing of the walkway. My vision goes blurry and I vaguely see Kyle and Rey rushing towards me before all goes black.
31 ABE
Nirauan System - Wild Space
Pash Waverider
It's complete chaos out there. I bank my X-wing left to avoid the fiery debris of one of our escort cruisers, bits of carbon-blasted metal and other unidentifiable objects hitting my cockpit viewport with dull thuds. TIEs blaze by, and I zero in on the one lagging behind, sending it spiraling into the void in flames. The constant comm chatter in my ear is deafening. Another cruiser is hit with a devastating salvo from a Praetoriate Star Destroyer, beginning a slow list to port as small explosions blossom throughout its hull.
"We're not gonna last long against this!" Sondee Desser calls from her RZ-2 A-wing. "Where's our support?"
"Currently venting flames and bodies," I reply back darkly, the visage of the shattered MC95 cruiser visible off the starboard bow. "Haven't heard a thing from Reek Squadron. They were still prepping inside. So was Saber."
"At least Talon's out with us. And Dross and Aurek Squadrons. That's something," says Lin Dellis, ever the optimist. His own X-wing fighter flips back to join formation, having just blasted a fleeing TIE Silencer. "More might well join us. As long as their hangar bays weren't completely compromised." Even still, if I had acted sooner, more pilots would be out here with us now, alive and fighting, and not floating corpses inside destroyed husks of capital ships.
It's all falling to pieces. Admiral Kerex had told us to do a light patrol of the surrounding area, thinking we had finally caught the Praetoriate flat-footed for once. We had arrived in-system completely alone, and the ground teams departed for the surface. Thinking multiple fighter wings was overkill, I had only called out a few squadrons to join us. All had been quiet for a few hours and then the Praetoriate had appeared. They were ready, too.
We blast our way through another TIE wing, dodging enemy laser fire as the capital ships around us exchange fire, cannon rounds punching into and through hardened durasteel. I smile grimly as one of our Starhawk battleships scores a critical hit on a Praetoriate Destroyer, its bridge and engines going up in a fiery inferno. One less threat to worry about.
As we slide by one of our Nebulon-C escort frigates, the Pillar of Hosnian, green laserfire glancing off its shields, I see something that makes my blood run cold, something worse than the fleet of Praetoriate ships, something worse even than the Final Order fleet at Exegol. A pillar of bright blue-green light is shooting up from Nirauan, widening at the top to form a vast circular portal. The gateway. The chatter in my headset increases significantly, full of panicked voices and shouts.
"Stay focused, pilots!" I call out on my general comm. "Keep blasting! Target their support cruisers and fighters. Y-wings, payloads to bridges, shield generator arrays, and engines. We've still got time!"
"Commander, we've got incoming friendlies!" Myn Iblik warbles from on the comm. "The Wookiees and Mandalorians are here!"
As she finishes, Mandalorian and Wookiee ships are arriving in-system behind the encroaching Destroyers, cannon batteries lighting up the enemy's exposed aft, disgorging their own fighters to join ours. I grin wildly, we may just pull this off. The launching of Talon Squadron from the damaged bay of an MC30C frigate, a survivor of the Hosnian Cataclysm, further bolsters my spirits. But we're not out of this yet.
I pour new vigor into my control yoke, sending ship after ship spinning away, juking and jinxing my fighter to avoid fire. A piece of metal lodges itself in my starboard engine, alarm klaxons going off shrilly, adding to the cacophony of noise in the cockpit. Flicking a series of switches on my console, I silence them. My droid companion, RS-D7, warbles in alarm, yellow aurebesh text flitting across my screen.
"Yeah, I know about the damage, buddy," I assure him. "See what you can do back there. We've still got work to do."
Sighting a bomber group heading towards the Enduring Hope, a Vakbeor-class cargo frigate valiantly holding its own against the punishing barrages of a Destroyer, I turn my fighter to intercept them, blasting them into balls of fire.
As I swing back around to join my squadron, passing by the Pelta-class Command Cruiser Bright Spark pouring turbolaser fire at a Praetoriate support ship, I see something else to add to our long list of troubles, something that caps them all: the arrowhead-like bow of an alien ship is emerging from the gateway, like a long, deadly weapon from a pool of electrified water, shocks of energy traveling across the gateway's surface.
I punch my comm button linked to Admiral Kerex. "Admiral," I say, my voice calm and steady despite the obvious threat, "come in!"
Kerex's voice fills my headset a moment later. "Commander, what is it?"
"Check your scanners. Something is coming through the gateway," I inform him grimly.
"Understood, Commander. I see it. It's imperative that that ship not emerge!"
"I'm on it, Admiral." I shut off my comm and open up my frequency to all New Republic, Resistance, Wookiee, and Mandalorian fighters in the system.
"All fighters, this is Commander Waverider. A ship is coming through the gateway. That ship can't be allowed to enter our galaxy. Fly carefully. We don't know what it's capable of. Good luck, pilots. May the Force be with us."
"We're with you, Commander," Lin Dellis says as other pilots radio in their affirmations. Soon, I'm surrounded by fighters of all types and makes as we speed towards the prow of the dread ship, weapons ready. As it continues to emerge from the gateway, it begins to resemble a star destroyer, with harsh angles lining the prow. Our frigates and cruisers are already bringing weapons to bear against the vessel.
"Ready cannons! Here we go!" I call as I speed forward, anticipating some form of retaliation from the Sith ship. Its prow hangs in space for a moment, seemingly defenseless. Then a concussive wave of blue light emanates from the ship, rippling over our incoming fighters, the shockwave sending everything in the vicinity spinning away.
My fighter's controls short out, and I'm left drifting, my momentum still propelling me forward, watching as my comrades lose control of their craft as well, some of their ships simply breaking apart or slamming into one another and exploding.
"All wings, report in!" I yell into my comm. "Lin, Sondee, Myn, Vero. Anyone?" All I get back is garbled static. I look out my cockpit viewport to stare into the cockpits of other drifting fighters. Those not destroyed show their pilots still alive, some flicking switches, others trying to signal with their arms to others. I spy Sondee signaling to me and respond with my own wave.
Another violent explosion lights up my viewport, and I shield my eyes, squinting through my tinted visor at one of our Mark II Starhawks, Resilient, breaking apart from the force of invisible attacks, chunks of it sailing off as surrounding cruisers scramble to get away from the debris radius. Another wave of blue energy, and the front end of another Nebulon-C cracks away from its back half, its front turbolasers still pouring fire at the Sith ship.
Our slim chance of stopping that monster from coming through seems spent. I barely register the explosion as a Wookiee frigate blossoms into fire. We failed. And the galaxy will enter into a new period of suffering, far worse then the Empire. I look out my viewport at the encroaching enemy ship, fully expecting it to ram right through us, silently accepting my imminent death as one small mercy, but fearing for the lives of everyone I leave behind.
Then through my numbness and shock, I notice the pillar of light coming from Nirauan shake once, then again, as if destabilized. It suddenly starts to fizzle, like a badly tuned holonet voice broadcast. Could it be? I look to the gateway, and sure enough, the ring is becoming unstable, too. A spark of hope rekindles inside of me. Then the pillar of light piercing the black of space ceases to be altogether. As I look on, the gateway retracts, becoming smaller and smaller, closing in on the emerging Sith vessel.
A whoop of triumph escapes me as the gateway closes completely, shearing the bow of the ship in half as it does, blue flame licking at its hull as it joins the same fate of so many of our own. My cheer goes on and on, my face wet with tears of joy and grief and everything else as I see the last remnant of the Sith ship explode into fiery debris. We've done it!
"They did it!" I yell to no one, over and over. "They did it! They did it!"
Suddenly, my comm beeps, and the voice of Admiral Kerex comes over my ship systems. "Commander? Commander Waverider? Can you hear me?"
"I'm here, sir," I reply, my voice hoarse from my shouting, a broad grin stretching across my face.
"Thank goodness. Commander, we're sending rescue craft your way now. Hang tight. A celebration is in order, I think, when you're all back safe."
"I couldn't agree more, sir." I laugh and let go of the comm button, leaning back in my seat with my arms behind my head as I wait for rescue, gazing out at the stars.
31 ABE
Nirauan - Wild Space
Wodi "Wishbone" Quix
It's done. The battle is over, and we've come out on top. The gateway is destroyed, and the Praetoriate forces have been routed, Xellius and his mad dreams of ruin gone from terrorizing our lives any more. The immediate minutes and hours after the gate's destruction are a blur of chaos. A mass of hugging bodies and cheering voices and tears of joy and grief all mixed together to form one voice of joyous exultation.
Ships and fighters of all classes and types land on Nirauan's surface, disgorging more jubilant revelers: pilots, soldiers, technicians, gunners, medics, admirals, Wookiees, Mandalorians, and more. Capital ships like parade floats dot the sky above as fighter squadrons do victory laps over the landscape, trailing streams of color from their exhaust vents. It feels like just after the Battles of Endor and Chandrila, but different altogether. All those battles converged into this one, all leading to this final stand.
Eulogies are given and toasts made to the valiant soldiers lost during the fighting, and when it grows dark, I find myself sitting on a stone wall with Amminius, clapping along with others as people dance and raise their voices to music, the red moon of Nirauan shining down bright on our heads. Tomorrow, more will arrive to join in the celebration, including both our wives, and my new son, a boy I had only ever talked to over comm calls and hologram, a young teenage orphan from a world shattered by war. The prospect doesn't frighten me in the slightest. I catch Amminius' eye and grin, gesturing to Gavin, who dances in the circle with one of the members of Mi'Ri's kin, cheeks flushed with more than drink. "Gavin seems like he's doing well over there."
Amminius grins back. "That he is. I do hope the music continues when the ladies arrive." He leans in closer, concern in his eye. "How's Cade?"
"He's doing better," I say, thinking of my earlier visit to his bedside at the prefab medical center. He didn't seem to be aware of anyone's presence surrounding him, but focused on something else entirely. No doubt something Force-related, probably another healing trance. "He's going to be sorry he's missing the fun, though I doubt it'll be fully over when he comes to. The doctors think he'll be waking up tomorrow."
"So what happened down there? What happened after you and the others left to follow Cade?" Amminius asks, setting down his bottle, his face full of intense curiosity and wonder.
"Well," I begin, setting down my own drink, "it was flight after flight of stairs, and then a long hallway. Luckily, Cade had already dealt with any enemies, so we didn't have to fire a single shot. The hallway seemed to go on forever. It was strange, like we'd never reach the end. But we did.
There was a weird blue-green glow the closer we got to it, and when we came out, we saw Cade unconscious on the walkway in the gate activation room next to a pedestal, which powered the gate I think. All the computers controlling the gate were completely destroyed. Xellius was there, cut almost in two. We picked up Cade and here we are."
Amminius whistles appreciatively, then grins. "Wishbone the hero, once again."
I laugh, clinking my bottle against his proffered one. "How about yourself? Things were getting pretty heated when I left."
"They were," Amminius agrees. "We finally mopped up the forces inside the control room, but then we had to deal with the ones outside. Let me tell you," he blows out his breath. "That was a job. Jevin, Gerik, Poe, and I were trying our best to coordinate our forces, but the stormtroopers just kept coming. We knew what would happen if we failed, so we pushed through.
Volke, Gerik, me, and a small commando force took control of a few First Order walkers the Praetoriate must have had on loan, and then things began to turn our way after that. It was quite amusing," he grins, "turning their own weapons against them."
"Irony at its best," I agree, grinning. We sit back and watch the dancers, my heart and mind clear and untroubled. Tomorrow, a new day will come, and in more ways than one. I again find myself thinking back to all the choices that led me to this moment: joining the Brentaal resistance group during the early days of the Empire, my time with the Alliance, fighting battle after battle, and then with the New Republic, and finally the Resistance and Scout Service. I smile. Truly, I couldn't have made any better ones. Looking around at my friends and comrades, I again join in the symphony of clapping, raising my voice with hundreds of others in song.
31 ABE
Nirauan - Wild Space
Cade Valdarin
I can vaguely make out the forms of Kyle Katarn, Mi'Ri, and Rey coming towards me as my vision begins to fade, having been slammed hard into the walkway after destroying the Activation Matrix. My vision goes black but I can tell I'm being carried away at a brisk pace and can hear the sound of metal groaning, the walkway is giving way. I hear a muffled, deep voice, Kyle's, before my vision goes black.
Waking up again a while later, I notice I'm surrounded by a fine gray fog, the Netherworld of the Force. Pushing myself off the ground, I notice my new outfit from Mi'Ri is gone, replaced by sandy brown ephemeral robes, just like my previous experiences here. Laughing, I sit back down on the ground in a meditative stance. "I've been here too many times for someone that isn't dead," I say out loud.
"Now that, I agree with," I hear a very familiar voice say and turn around to see Luke standing there, leaning on a tree that appeared out of nowhere.
"Luke," I say, standing up. I walk over to him and we grasp forearms in a traditional Jedi salute.
"Master Valdarin," he says, bowing his head in deference.
"It's been a long time, master," another familiar voice says and the spirit of Ben Solo, formerly Kylo Ren, appears.
"Ben, I sensed that you had dropped your dark persona. It suits you."
"I'm just sorry I wasn't able to see you in person again before… well." Ben is only nine years younger than I am, I was more of an older brother to him then a master.
"You died a Jedi, I'm proud of you," I say, nodding my head at him, a nod he returns. "So," I say, turning to Luke, "I'm guessing you brought me here? Every time I've been here, it wasn't my doing."
Luke smiles. "Yes, my friend. I brought you here. You have truly shown the galaxy the worth of the Jedi, saving the galaxy from the dark side three times."
I shake my head. "Only two, it was Rey who fought Palpatine."
"Yes, but I saw it, you taught Rey how to hear us. Without you, I doubt she would have been able to overcome his power. And now, you have possibly defeated the Sith for good."
I shake my head, "They are still coming, I just bought us a century or two to prepare."
"This is why you are perfect to rebuild the order. The Jedi had become too…. complacent, arrogant, corrupt. I believe the Force has chosen well."
"Chosen?" I ask.
"Yes, I believe you are a survivor, chosen by the Force."
"To watch all my friends die while I live on?"
"No. To live and not only rebuild the Jedi Order but to reforge it. You carry with you a unique perspective of the Force and of the Jedi. I think you are a perfect choice to rebuild the Order into something new, something better."
I smile at his words and bow in appreciation, a bow he returns. Ben smiles at me too and bows. "I think you are a great choice, Cade. I'm only sorry that I'm not around to be a part of it."
"I'll never forget you, either of you. The Jedi will be reborn and remade."
"Then I only want to say this, my brother, may the Force be with you, always," Luke says, the mist slowly fading away and then nothingness. I open my eyes again, only this time to the real world, to see that I am still on Nirauan, in a prefabricated medical center. I look at my hand where I crushed the Activation Matrix, afraid that my hand had disintegrated.
To my relief, it is only blackened and charred with some mild pain. I see Volke and Ida sitting next to me, sleeping, and Kyle standing up, reading a datapad, which he puts down once he sees I'm awake. "Well well, Master Valdarin. You had us worried there for a second. How are you feeling?"
"Good, the hand still hurts though."
"Be glad you didn't lose it." He leans his head out of the room and shortly after, Mi'Ri, Jevin, and Wodi walk in. Mi'ri leans in and kisses me lightly.
"It's good to see you up, you had us all worried," Mi'ri says.
I push myself up, Mi'Ri supporting me until I signal that I'm fine and stand up to meet Jevin's gaze.
"Kid, you never cease to amaze me. First, it was the destruction of an ancient Sith space station, then helping Rey to hear spirits of the Jedi and defeat Palpatine, and now destroying an ancient hyperspace gate and stopping the ancient Sith from returning."
"I doubt that stopped them, Jevin. I spoke to one before I destroyed the crystal. The anger, the hate I felt from this Sith was unlike anything I have felt. Even more so than Pravus or Palpatine, I doubt they will just give up. The way he made it sound, the Sith are already on their way and have been for quite some time."
"Then that just means we will have to be ready for them," Gavin says entering the room. "Starting with rebuilding. The New Republic is in ruins, the Resistance in shambles. I say we rebuild a galactic government, but this time we learn from our mistakes, instead of repeating them.
"I agree," I say, shaking his hand. "It's time to rebuild the Jedi too. If ancient Sith are returning, the Jedi are needed to fight them on even ground. First, we need to create a new government. I think that is the best step towards a peaceful, united galaxy for when the Sith do eventually arrive."
I turn around again to see Rey enter the room and we smile and bow to each other. "Mast… Cade. I'm glad to see that you are awake. So you are already thinking about rebuilding the Jedi? Does this mean you have already found a planet to start with?"
Seeing Salurra enter the room and nod his shaggy head at me, I smile at Rey. "I have, but for now," I turn with the others to gaze out the window at the incredible Nirauan sunrise, "let's enjoy a hard won peace."
Epilogue
Thus, the Unsung War ended. After the Battle of The Gateway, knowledge of the conflict was made public, earning the Scout Service the respect of the entire galaxy. Having destroyed the Praetoriate, the Scout Service, spearheaded by High Marshal Jevin Corso and Colonel Gavin Skyes, led the effort to rebuild a galactic government with the remaining galactic senators.
This new government was made with the intention to harness the strengths of the Old and New Republics but with the weaknesses of neither. To that end, and with the knowledge of the Sith's imminent return, it was decided to keep a strong standing military but also to bolster the training and funding of planetary defense forces. Another change, albeit small, was the title of the head of state.
Both the Old and the New Republic had used the title of Chancellor. It was believed, however, that the office had been tainted, both by Palpatine, and then by the ineffectiveness of the office in the later years of the New Republic. A new title was created, simply called the First Senator, a position created at the twilight of the New Republic but was little used before the Hosnian Prime attack.
Lastly came the Jedi. Cade, having become a legend to the galaxy, eclipsing that of Luke Skywalker for his efforts against both the Imperium and Praetoriate, was held in high regard by many. Some wanted Cade to take a more active role in the government, to become a member of the Senate. Others, because of the respect he commanded from the military, felt he should become a general in the new galactic military. Some even felt he should be made the first head of state of the new government.
Cade, however, was adamant the Jedi not become closely linked to the government, citing that the old order became too closely involved with the Republic and that this partly led to their fall. Refuting the offer, stating that the role of the Jedi is to serve, not govern, Cade focused his energy on rebuilding the Jedi Order. His close friends, Jevin Corso and Wodi Quix, both high ranking members of the new government, decided to publicly announce the rebuilding of the Jedi Order on Alaris Prime. This announcement had the unexpected but entirely welcomed effect of drawing support for the new Jedi Order, from all over the galaxy. Even a small number of Jedi that had been in hiding ever since Order 66 revealed themselves, joining the new order.
While Cade had refused any political role in the new government, there was an undeniably strong bond between the two organizations, stemming from Cade's relationships with many high ranking members of the military and senate. In the end, he did have one major impact on the new government, that of a name. Believing that strong bonds of fellowship were needed to unite the galaxy, he called this new government the Galactic Coalition.
The Coalition leadership, including the leading body of the military, Coalition High Command, and their civilian counterpart, the Defense Committee, and the upper echelons of the Senate, felt that the knowledge of the extragalactic Sith should be made public, the information too important to keep hidden. While this did result in panic for a time, the knowledge led to many species bonding together in a true union. Multiple plans were made for the day the Sith do eventually return. But for now, the Galactic Coalition reigns in relative peace, with only minor pirate skirmishes in the Outer Rim and beyond.
While the rebuilding of the galaxy was of paramount importance, the individual stories of the heroes of the Unsung War would not end there.
Cade Valdarin- Jedi Master Of A New Age
Cade Valdarin, having been instrumental to the defense of the New Republic, the death of Emperor Palpatine, the defeat of the Praetoriate, and for preventing the return of the ancient Sith, finally was able to focus on rebuilding the Jedi Order. After a time, when enough Jedi, both old and new breeds, had gathered, a new council was formed. The council voted unanimously to name him the new Grandmaster, despite his reluctance. In this capacity, Cade created a new school of Jedi, the Rangers, to scout the galaxy and fight evil and injustice wherever it was found through diplomacy, mediation, and at worst, by force, all the while searching for any signs of the Sith.
Jevin Corso - Perpetual Military Man
Jevin Corso, now in his sixties, and as the highest ranking military officer left of the New Republic Defense Force, was asked to become the first Joint Supreme Commander of the Galactic Coalition Defense Force. Knowing that the ancient Sith were not defeated but merely delayed, Jevin implemented many contingency plans and authorized secret plans for their eventual return.
Wodi Quix - Tireless Soldier
Wodi Quix, having served in the militaries of the Rebel Alliance, the New Republic, and the Resistance, decided to finally hang up his blaster, pursuing a civilian role in the new government. Being unable to completely leave his military life, he became a member of the Defense Committee. In this role, he and his longtime friend and brother-in-arms, Jevin Corso, were instrumental in building a new galactic military and making plans for the eventual return of the Sith.
Amminius Sinan - Master Spy
Amminius, having served for years as an Infiltrator for the New Republic and a high-level intelligence agent for the Resistance, was asked to serve the Intelligence Division of the Galactic Coalition. Following in the footsteps of his friend, Wodi Quix, Amminus decided to retire from active duty, instead serving as an instructor for a newly formed special forces unit of Coalition Intelligence, Strategic Analysis and Retrieval.
Gavin Skyes - Frontiersman
Gavin, decorated for his many heroics in both the Imperium and Unsung War, joined the new Galactic Coalition Defense Force. His commanding officer, Jevin Corso, felt that his talents as the military leader of the New Republic Scout Service were too impressive to ignore. The Scout Service, renamed as the Frontier Exploration Corps, was given more autonomy than under the New Republic as they worked to explore more of Wild Space, the Unknown Regions, and even attempt to scout outside the galaxy in preparation for the Sith. Gavin Skyes served as the first commander of the corps.
Gerik Ordo - Mand'alor the Reviver
Gerik remained Mand'alor following the Battle of the Gateway, reestablishing his projects to rebuild war-torn Mandalore. Gerik, just as his mother before him, was asked to help train the special forces of the galactic government, becoming an instructor in the newly formed Advanced Combatives Echelon program, ACE for short. Gerik's lasting legacy to his people would be a blooming Mandalore. Due to the close ties he shared with Cade Valdarin, the Mandalorians and new Jedi Order shared extremely close bonds.
Mi'Ri - Mother of the Jedi
Mi'Ri, new to the galactic scene, became a powerful voice in the galaxy, forming ties between the Zeison Sha and the new Jedi Order, reconnecting them to their long lost brethren. Mi'Ri, Cade's lover, would eventually become pregnant and her condition became a symbol of the new Jedi Order. Establishing the new Jedi Order alongside Cade, Mi'Ri became beloved by all Jedi.
Sonya Ravenclaw - A Different Kind of Smuggler
Following the establishment of the Galactic Coalition and the new Jedi Order, Sonya found herself in a new line of work. Thanks to her interactions with Cade Valdarin and the founders of the Galactic Coalition, in addition to her heroic actions during both the Imperium War and the Unsung War, Sonya found herself once again in the boots of a smuggler, only this time, recovering lost and stolen art and treasures taken by the Galactic Empire and its various offshoots, and returning them to their rightful owners.
36 ABE
Alaris Prime - Mid Rim Territories
Cade Valdarin
I wake up to the sounds of the fading night of Alaris Prime, hearing birds sing harmonious melodies as a new day begins. Next to me is Mi'Ri, the mother of my child. Maneuvering myself out of bed without waking her, I stand up and put on simple navy pants and a heather gray tunic and slip into a dark brown cloak Mi'Ri made shortly after the new Jedi Council voted me as the new Grandmaster. Looking down at Mi'ri, in restful sleep, I reach out to her in our Force bond, telling her I love her without words, sending warm feelings. She doesn't wake but her lips form into a smile and she returns the warm feelings.
Walking into the next room, I place my hands on the crib holding my son, Aiden. Born a little over a year ago, Aiden, even when in the womb, is incredibly strong in the Force. Due to his incredible potential, Aiden has already formed a strong bond with me, and through that, I also tell him I love him without speaking a word before walking outside into the jungle of Alaris Prime.
Four years ago, after the Galactic Coalition was officially named, I began the arduous task of rebuilding the Jedi Order. Mi'Ri, of course, has been a great help, establishing ties with Yanibar and the Zeison Sha, with some warriors even joining our fledgling Order in a transfer program. Jevin and Wodi, who both went on to become major figures in the Galactic Coalition, decided to publicly announce my plans to rebuild the Order. At first, I was worried this would bring out Jedi hunters but it had the opposite effect. Dozens of people came to Alaris Prime, some as hopeful students, others as non-sensitives still wanting to help the new Order as support staff.
Even Jedi who had long been in hiding since the end of the Galactic Republic, like Cal Kestis and Quinlain Vos, joined. The knowledge that the Sith will eventually return, even with the Nirauan gate destroyed, is haunting, to say the least. To that end, I formed a new school of Jedi, the Rangers. Their mission is to travel the galaxy and hunt for evil and injustice, combating it where they can, by mediating, arbitrating, and at worst, by force. Their real mission, though, is to be on alert for any signs of the return of the Sith.
I begin the walk towards the new temple, still under construction but mostly completed. With the aid of the Wookiees, under the leadership of the Rock Council led by Salurra, the temple is being built in such a way that it does not interfere with the environment. Passing through the main gate, I smile as I see a group of trainees on the practice grounds. Unlike the previous incarnation of the Jedi, I don't believe age should prevent anyone from learning the ways of the Force.
As long as one is willing to learn, they shall not be turned away. The group ranges from young children to adults well into middle age and older. They are practicing basic maneuvers with training swords while others learn basic techniques with the Force. One of the Jedi who came out of hiding, Cal Kestis, had asked to be in charge of training younglings and trainees before they were assigned to a master for more specialized training.
"Ah, Grandmaster! Good morning," Cal says, noticing my presence and walking over to me, inclining his head in respectful acknowledgement.
"Cal," I say, bowing my head in return. "I told you, you don't have to call me that."
"I know, I just wanted to see if it still bothered you," he says with a grin.
"Who's bothered by what?" Kyle Katarn asks, joining us. Kyle, having been voted in as a council member, serves as both a master and a senior Ranger.
"Cade. He is still bothered by being called Grandmaster."
"Really? Why?" he asks, turning to me. "Cade, the council voted unanimously, we all agreed you are more than worthy of the title."
"I know," I say, shrugging. "It's just that… Well, the Grandmasters had been the oldest and wisest of the order."
"So just because some of us are older than you, we should be Grandmaster instead?" a new voice says, revealing the aged face of Quinlain Vos.
"Master Vos, an honor, as always," I say, bowing in deference to the elder Jedi.
"Cade," he says, shaking my hand. "Kyle is right, the council was united, you are more than worthy of the title."
"Yes, but…"
"Cade, just because Cal, myself, Kyle, even Ezra, are older, doesn't make us better Jedi. You not only defeated Darth Pravus, you achieved oneness with the Force, and prevented the return of the ancient Sith. So I believe you are more than worthy of the title; you may be young, but you are perhaps the strongest Jedi I've ever known, and I knew both Master Yoda and Anakin Skywalker."
I smile and bow again to Quinlan when I hear the sound of shuttle engines overhead, turning to see a Diplomat-class shuttle, the standard class for Galactic Coalition dignitaries. A shuttle I had been expecting, for I invited Jevin and my other friends from the wars to Alaris Prime. Jevin, having taken Garm Bel Iblis' place as High Marshal of the New Republic Defense Force at the end of the Unsung War, was asked to become the first Supreme Commander of the Galactic Coalition Defense Force. Wodi, on the other hand, retired from active service, joining the Defense Committee, a newly formed civilian group that serves as a counterpart to High Command.
"Were we expecting company?" Kyle asks.
"Yes. I invited Jevin and the others to see the new temple. After all, a lot of this," I say, gesturing to the initiates in the courtyard, "we owe to them. The Coalition has been generous with funding too."
He voices agreement and joins me on the walk to the landing pad while Cal and Quinlain go back to teaching their respective classes of younglings. We enter the landing bay, large enough to accommodate a corvette-sized ship, to see the shuttle's landing gear extending, lurching as it absorbs the shock of hitting the ground. The boarding ramp descends moments later.
Several armed troopers exit the ship, rifles held at their sides, an honor guard. They wear a fully armored suit, similar to a stormtrooper kit, but still use the familiar blast helmet based on that worn by Alderaanian Consular Security, a legacy kept from the Rebel Alliance but modernized, with tinted goggles that provide an enhanced HUD to the wearer. Their rifles are brand new models, the EL-25 blaster rifle, created by Blastech Industries, having just recently secured a new contract with the Galactic Coalition.
Before long, Jevin walks down the ramp, dressed in his dark green and black dress uniform, complete with rank insignia denoting his position as Supreme Commander. To his left is Wodi Quix and to his right is Gavin Skyes. Gavin, instead of choosing to serve in the Defense Force, was made a general and commands the military forces of the newly formed Frontier Exploration Corps, the spiritual successor of the New Republic Scout Service.
"Jevin, Wodi, Gavin, it's great to see all of you again. Where's Amm?"
"He wanted to visit," Jevin says, pulling me into a bearhug, "but the training of new recruits never stops. We are developing a new special operations unit, Strategic Analysis and Retrieval."
"Sounds intriguing," I say, shaking hands with Wodi and Gavin. "So, Wodi, how is the civilian sector treating you?"
"Honestly, I'm much more comfortable with a rifle in my hands but it's rewarding work. Someone has to keep Command in check," he says while smirking at Jevin. "It's just too bad some people aren't interested in peace."
"What do you mean?" I ask as two T-87 X-wings fly overhead, Jevin's honor flight.
"Mon Mothma dealt with them early in her term: the New Separatist Union and the Confederacy Of Corporate Systems. They are causing tensions along the border regions."
"Anything major?" I ask as we round the corner into the temple proper.
"No, nothing so far. The Galactic Coalition is the most powerful force in the galaxy right now. I don't think they will try anything, but you never know."
"Well, if it does escalate to open conflict, the Jedi will fight, but not as generals. You know how I feel about the Clone Wars."
We pass more classes, seeing young and old, and all manner of species training to become the next generation of Jedi. "Cade," Wodi says, gesturing around at the temple in amazement. "I'm continually amazed by the progress you've made in just four years."
"You and Jevin helped. That public announcement brought in dozens of potential Jedi and hundreds more support staff. So," I say, turning to them, "I must thank you." They both shrug it off and we continue walking.
"You helped create the Galactic Coalition, Cade," Jevin says in response. "First Senator Nilva asked me to pass on a personal invitation to the christening of the new MC101 battlecruiser."
I show them the new council chambers and continue on through the living quarters. The temple has more than enough room to house students and staff but all members of the Order are given the option to live on campus or not and their families are invited to join them.
"Oh, Cade, how is progress with your projects on Dantooine and Ossus?" Gavin asks me, coming back from having kicked a ball back to a group of younglings.
"They are going surprisingly well. Rey and Finn report that the Dantooine academy is mostly intact and the farmers there have been extremely supportive in their efforts. We should be all set and running in another year or so and Master Bridger and his expedition have started their work at the ruins of Ossus. I'm hoping, one day, it will again serve as a repository of Jedi and galactic knowledge. We are also looking into refurbishing the old temple on Had Abbadon."
We pass into one of the many high-ceiling corridors when I look out the large window at the junglescape of Alaris Prime, seeing a familiar shape flying in the sky near the closest mountain range. "Hey, do you guys want to see something amazing?" I ask towards the group.
"I'm game," Gavin says.
"Depends, is it up that mountain?" Jevin asks, looking out at it. "Kid, you aren't even fifty and you're a Jedi. Wodi and I, we're getting up there in age."
"Come on, Supreme Commander. You aren't that old yet. Just five years ago, you were still fighting on the ground, in person." I turn around and smile at Jevin. "Don't worry, old man. The Wookiees have a path up the side of the mountain. I'd really like you to see it, it's… symbolic, for the new Jedi Order and Galactic Coalition," I finish as Mi'ri joins us, smiling as she greets the others.
"Mi'ri," I say as Jevin nods, "bring Aiden. It's time."
After a few hours of climbing up the mountain path, we walk into a large open clearing, the center of it dominated by a large nest. Gavin looks around, confused. "Uh, Cade, this is an aerie… but for what? It's huge!"
I smile and turn around. "Have you heard of the Shyyo Bird of Kashyyyk?" Everyone shakes their heads, none of them have heard of it. "The Shyyo," I explain, "is a magnificent creature of Kashyyyk, an avian of tremendous size that has won a place in Wookiee culture as their protector."
Wodi walks forward and examines one of the two eggs in the aerie. "These are eggs, are you saying it lives on Alaris Prime too?"
"No," I say, while reaching out in the Force. "But a related species does. I'm not sure how it came to be here but the two are very similar." After I finish, a large bird, similar to the Shyyo, appears through the canopy, only with brown feathers, not white. The sudden appearance takes Jevin and Wodi aback while Gavin, still a child at heart, stares in wonder. Only Mi'Ri, cradling Aiden in her arms, stands still, no sign of worry in her face. The bird lands and bows its head low enough for me to place a hand along its beak.
"I found her wounded about a year after we came here and started building the temple. I healed her and created a bond. Now, it's becoming a tradition to bring younglings here. It serves as a way to strengthen their connection to the Living Force. Mi'Ri," I say, holding out my hand for her to take, "I want Aiden to experience what we have."
She brings Aiden up with her and holds him just carefully enough to pull away, if need be. I look at the bird and speak to it through the Force, telling her that this is my son and the future of the Jedi. The bird then lowers her head and places her beak just close enough to Aiden's little body, allowing him to place his tiny hand on the bird.
"Wow, that's something you don't see everyday," Jevin says, awestruck.
"The Great Purge nearly destroyed us, but we are reborn and I will reforge the Jedi into something greater, something better. Instead of denying what makes us living, sentient beings, we should embrace that. Darkness is inside of us, true, but with training and discipline, we can overcome that darkness." I pet the giant Nyzerhawk and look back at the others, my hand on Mi'ri's shoulder, "I could not ask for better friends. With you, all this and more will be possible." After some tears, we look out across the canopy towards the rising sun, with high hopes for the future.
FIN