Star Wars: Fate of The Force Walker

Prologue

The damaged lights in the white metallic hallway aboard a CR90 corvette flickered heavily, causing the hallway to look ominous and unsafe. Muffled gunshots could be heard within the ship, distant explosions shaking it quite heavily from time to time. Running from behind a corner and entering the empty hallway were a group of three human men, a zabrak male and a zeltron male. All of them were armed to a various degree, some of them sporting the signs of recent battle, slight wounds on their bodies. Some of their combat armors were decorated with a modified symbol of the Jedi Order.

Panting heavily, the group of armed soldiers ran to the end of the hallway, approaching a sealed door, that would lead to the ship's communications center. The human man at the front of the group, sporting a stylized beard, was holding a small datacard, as he reached the door and the control panel on the wall next to it. As his companions positioned themselves near him, panting in slight exhaustion, the man leading the posse began to try and open the door in front of them.

"The clones have already boarded us.. hurry up, Bronn!" The red-skinned zeltron man shouted, crouching down as he pointed his blaster rifle towards the other end of the hallway, as the sounds of battle slowly came closer, their comrades being slaughtered by the Empire's elite clone troopers all across the ship.

Zeltrons were a near-human species native to the planet Zeltros. Distinguished by their usually red skin, and bright hair colors, zeltrons, especially females of the species, were naturally beautiful and very feminine in their appearance, making them famously attractive to humans, as well as many other humanoid species. Aside from being known for working as actors, dancers or even escorts and prostitutes due to their affinity to pleasure, luxury and hedonistic behavior, many zeltrons still worked as mercenaries, bounty hunters and smugglers.

"Something's wrong, the door's stuck!" The human man, named Bronn replied, as he frantically tried to activate the control panel next to the door, and get it open. But something was jamming the door, which made drops of sweat roll down the man's forehead.

As he continued to try to get the door open, his compatriots growing increasingly impatient and stressful, the distant sounds of gunfire and screams came to a sudden end. Gasping audibly, many of the men immediately turned to look at the other end of the hallway, knowing that their vanguard had been wiped out, and that the Empire's forces would soon come to them.

Suddenly, the hallway's lights went out, after flickering a few times. Complete and utter darkness fell upon the immediate area, shrouding the soldiers in black emptiness. The only source of light was the control pad of the sealed door, which Bronn was still working on. Not even the emergency lights had yet to turn on, leaving the group of armed men trapped in complete darkness, as their breathing only grew heavier, their eyes frantically scanning around the hallway, and trying to get used to the dark, as they were currently unable to see anything.

After a short moment, the group could suddenly hear heavy footsteps echoing along the darkened hallway. The soldiers upfront tightly squeezed their weapons in their hands, frantically looking around, though still unable to see anything. As the footsteps came closer, the group of militiamen could then hear an eerie sound of breathing, almost metallic in nature. The zeltron man at the front sweated profusely, his hands shaking as the person approaching them got only closer, the breathing becoming slightly faster.

Before they could react any further, the distinct sound of a lightsaber activating filled the hallway. Only a meter or so away from the men upfront, a blood-red lightsaber blade was brandished out of its hilt, illuminating the immediate area with an eerie red color. The zeltron man and a human soldier next to him were frozen with fear, as they could then see a tall, dark figure clad in intimidating armor, filled with all kinds of symbols and decorations. Unable to do anything, paralyzed by the fear they felt just by seeing the lightsaber-wielding demon before them, the zabrak soldier behind them clenched his teeth together, aiming his rifle at the assailant.

"What are you waiting for!? Open fire!" The man shouted, as he looked down his weapon's sights, moving his finger to the trigger.

The intimidating attacker however reacted swiftly, swinging his lightsaber and immediately cutting down the zeltron male with a deep slash all across his chest. The zabrak man behind the human opened fire, but the two blaster bolts he fired were deflected by the armored Force user with ease, the second one flying straight back at the shooter, hitting his weapon and destroying it outright, while also wounding the zabrak's hand. The devilish assailant then swiftly swung his lightsaber at the human man near him, effortlessly beheading him with a wide slash, the unfortunate soldier's head flying far away off his shoulders.

After killing the two men in front of him, the armored Dark Side user then set his sights on the zabrak, and the human that remained in front of Bronn, who still tried his best to get the door open, though now drowned in sheer panic, his fingers shaking uncontrollably. The human a few feet away from Bronn opened fire on the attacker with his blaster carbine, spraying at the lightsaber-wielder to the best of his abilities, though all of his shots either missed due to the darkness, or were blocked by the attacker's lightsaber.

The armored man then proceeded to reach out with his left hand, pulling the human soldier to him with the Force, and impaling him with his red-bladed lightsaber. The human man groaned in pain, as the lightsaber was then pulled out of him, allowing him to fall on the floor, and die from his wounds. The zabrak soldier attempted to pull out his sidearm pistol, though finding it difficult with his injured hand.

This gave the dark figure the opportunity to use the Force once more, as he pushed the zabrak man against the nearby wall, keeping him pinned against it with the use of the Force. He then swung his lightsaber around once again, before slashing at the zabrak and eviscerating him with the blood-red blade, after which he let go of the soldier, allowing his lifeless body to fall on the floor as well.

After that, the man in black intimidating armor breathed audibly again, as he then turned his sights on Bronn, who whimpered desperately to himself, realizing that he couldn't open the door. The human man quickly turned around, pressing himself against the wall next to the door, his hands shaking as he stared at the approaching figure. Bronn knew that he was face-to-face with the Galactic Empire's infamous enforcer, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Tales of the Sith's ruthlessness had spread far across the Galaxy, many cowering in fear just by hearing his name.

As the Sith Lord approached him slowly, preparing to strike a fatal blow, the door next to Bronn suddenly, and rather miraculously opened. Without thinking for another second, the human man quickly stepped in front of the door, and tried to escape the clutches of the horrible Darth Vader.

As soon as he stepped to the doorway, Bronn could only see the glimpse of a figure standing in his way, before he could feel stinging pain go through his chest. Gasping audibly, the human man looked down, seeing the red blade of a lightsaber driven straight through his upper torso. He then looked up again, seeing the face of a mirialan woman a few inches away from him. With a smirk, the female winked her eye at him, after which she pulled her lightsaber out of his body, and gently nudging his chest with her finger, causing the mortally wounded man to fall back on the floor, and die in mere seconds afterwards.

After the group of soldiers had been slaughtered, the two lightsaber-wielding individuals glanced at each other. Darth Vader silently stared at the mirialan female, the former Jedi turned Dark Acolyte, and now one of the Inquisitors working for the Empire, Barriss Offee. The young woman was wearing a tightly fitted light combat armor, made out of both lightweight metals, as well as black fabric and leather, and decorated with the symbols of the Galactic Empire, signifying her role as an agent for the ruling government of the Galaxy.

As the two colleagues stared at each other, they both deactivated their lightsabers, the hallway becoming illuminated again, as the emergency lights finally were activated. Barriss put her lightsaber hilt back on her utility belt, as she then glanced at Lord Vader again, eyeing him up and down. The young mirialan still hadn't exactly gotten used to the Sith Lord's new outfit, as it concealed his true identity, which Barriss had known for most of her life before.

The awkward silence between the two Force users was cut, when a dozen clone troopers suddenly jogged behind a corner further down the hallway, turning towards the two of them, and proceeded to make their way to them. The clones were clad in the Phase II armor that the Republic had used before, although slightly modified to include the symbol of the Galactic Empire on each of their shoulder pads. They had also been rebranded as "stormtroopers", although much of the Galaxy still saw them as the same soldiers that had previously fought in the Clone Wars. The troopers belonged to the 501st Legion, now appropriately nicknamed Vader's Fist.

Although they still looked similar to the clones that had served under Anakin Skywalker before the fall of the Republic, the troopers' armor were colored in clean white for the most part, though the former blue markings having now been replaced by a much darker hue of blue, and been added with additional dark grey and black markings. All in all, the clones of the elite fighting force were known as ruthless combatants, being led by their equally ruthless and cruel Sith commanding officer. Wherever the 501st would hit, massive destruction would follow in their wake.

As the squad of clones arrived to the two Dark Side users, they immediately saluted the Dark Lord of the Sith, before positioning themselves along the hallway's wall, forming a row on each side of the wall. Vader and his mirialan colleague could then notice a human man, donned in an Imperial officer's uniform, walking past the squad of clones, and approaching the two of them. The middle aged officer stopped before the Dark Lord, standing in attention and giving him a salute as well.

"Lord Vader, Inquisitor Offee.. we conducted a search on the ship's bridge, and determined that this militia is indeed affiliated with General Kota and his Jedi sympathizer friends.." The man explained, wearing the insignia of the rank of a captain on his grey uniform, as he continued to salute the Sith Lord, who simply signaled him to stand at ease with his gloved hand. Barriss scoffed quietly, as she folded her arms, and pointed at the dead soldiers at her feet.

"I think we could have figured that out ourselves, Captain Dodonna. All of these soldiers are wearing the same mark that Rahm Kota and his band of rebels use as well.." The young woman pointed out, as the human man glanced at her, and bit his lip slightly, nodding his head.

"Indeed, my Lady.. but since we can now say with confidence that the crew of this ship are in cahoots with General Kota and his militia, we should conduct further searches, and calculate the hyperspace routes they have travelled through, to pinpoint possible locations to their base of operations." The Imperial Captain, named Jan Dodonna responded in a respectful tone, which was met with the mirialan female slightly rolling her eyes, having thought of that exact thing herself already.

Before his colleague could answer to the captain, Lord Vader proceeded to reach out with his hand, as he glanced at the fallen Bronn on the floor, lifting up the small datacard he had been carrying with the Force, and pulling to his darkly glowed hand. The Sith Lord then simply looked at the Imperial officer standing next to him, and handed him the datacard.

"The contents of this datacard should prove insightful for the Empire, Captain Dodonna. Make sure that Rear Admiral Pellaeon relays its contents to the Imperial Intelligence for further study. They were desperate to send it out to their rebel friends in the ship's communications center beyond this door, so I'm certain that you can understand the potential importance of this datacard.." The armored Sith Lord stated, as the Imperial Captain and his direct subordinate took the datacard in his hands, nodding in understanding.

"Of course, my Lord. I'll take it to the Rear Admiral immediately. What shall we do with this corvette?" The Captain asked, putting the small datacard into one of his pockets. The helmeted Sith Lord fell silent for a short moment, as he quickly looked around, before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Confiscate anything that might incriminate the rebels, and give us clues about their supporters, and then destroy it... we must deny them every resource we can.." Vader replied to his subordinate in a collected and professional tone, displaying is calculative demeanor, despite his reputation of a merciless killer.

After giving out his order, the armored Sith Lord turned away from the human officer, and begun to walk along the hallway, and head for the ship's airlock. As Captain Dodonna gave a salute to the leaving Dark Lord of the Sith, Barriss bit her lip, as she then walked past the Imperial officer, and caught up to her colleague. The two of them walked along the CR90 corvette's various hallways, heading for the airlock that would let them board Lord Vader's personal star destroyer, that had previously captured the Corellian corvette, which they were currently aboard on.

"Kota and his men are getting more audacious; the fact that they were so desperate in trying to relay the contents of that datacard must mean that they're planning a large assault against the Empire. They were bold enough to do a hit and run attack against the Fondor shipyards just a few weeks ago.." The young mirialan stated to the Sith Lord, as she walked beside him, while they walked past and over the many bodies of Kota's militiamen and clone troopers along the ship's hallways.

"I was under the impression that it was your and the rest of the Inquisitors' task to root out these rebels, and stop their attacks before they happen? It doesn't seem like your methods have been effective, now that the Fondor shipyards are near unusable for the time being.." Darth Vader replied to his companion, whom he had known for many years now, even before both of them falling to the Dark Side of the Force. As the human Sith didn't even bother looking at her while berating her, Barriss bit her lip again, feeling annoyance.

"I assure you that the Inquisitors have uncovered and destroyed over a dozen insurgencies, as well as hunted down several rogue Jedi. The Citadel on Lola Sayu is active only because of our efforts in rooting out rebels and suspected Jedi survivors, not to mention Jedi sympathizers..." She explained, trying to defend herself against the Sith Lord's allegations of her and the rest of the Inquisitorius failing at their jobs. Vader simply scoffed, as he then stopped, and turned towards the mirialan, lifting his finger up as if to lecture an unruly child.

"And yet you have failed to get any closer to discovering the whereabouts of General Kota and his allies. Because make no mistake; Kota is not working alone.. he more than likely has supporters within the Imperial Senate, and that is precisely why my master is losing patience, as he cannot simply disband the Senate and persecute any and all senators for conspiring with rebels, unless we want a full-blown civil war to engulf the Galaxy once more..." The Sith Lord answered, preaching to his female colleague who was visibly not keen on being treated like a mere servant who had failed in her mission. Lord Vader knew this all too well, which is precisely why he intended to keep on doing it.

"My Lord, you have my word that we are making progress in finding out just who these people are, and who sponsor them. And taking over this ship is just another step towards the right direction, and the eventual fall of these insurgents. Trust me, Lord Vader.. I'll be an asset serving with you to bring down Master Kota and all of his allies.." Barriss tried to assure him further, knowing that the young Sith Lord was not thrilled to be working with her in any way, most likely due to their problematic history. Vader simply shook his head as he looked at the young mirialan.

"You think of yourself being more important than you actually are, Barriss. The only reason why I tolerate you aboard my ship, is because you're one of the Inquisitorius' leaders, and my master still thinks that you're useful. However, once we've determined who Kota is getting support from, and what their plans moving forward are, I want you as far away from me as possible..." The armored Sith Lord answered, as he glared down at the shorter young woman, who bit her lip tighter, inhaling deeply.

Barriss had tried her best to appeal to the young Sith Lord, and get on his good side, but her efforts didn't seem to bear any fruit. As Vader proceeded to leave, stepping away from the young mirialan, he then suddenly turned back towards her to give her one last spine-chilling glare, as the armored human man breathed audibly through his black helmet.

"And you will leave my ship the minute I tell you to, either on a shuttle, or out of the airlock. I already know which option is my favorite... and perhaps you'll have time to think about yours in the meanwhile.." The Dark Lord of the Sith noted to his colleague, before turning around again, and heading towards the nearby airlock, that would allow him to board his star destroyer and leave the captured Corellian corvette behind.

Barriss stared at the leaving Sith Lord, as the human man walked through the nearby airlock, and boarded his ship. The young mirialan squeezed her hands into fists, letting out a defeated sigh. She had worked month trying to uncover the truth about Kota's militia, and the people supporting him, but despite her efforts, she had garnered no respect or any sort of acknowledgment from the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Knowing that Vader was the strongest and most influential of the Emperor's agents, as well as his secret Sith apprentice, Barriss had tried her best to appeal to her former Jedi colleague.

The young woman knew that in order for her to continue surviving, even past her usefulness to the Emperor, she'd have to have powerful allies within range, and Lord Vader was her best bet in doing that. Barriss' colleague and rival Sora Bulq, one of the other Inquisitors, had brokered an uneasy truce with her a while back, as they had decided to work together in order to get rid of the up and coming Sith Lord. She however knew that they could never defeat Vader, and had long since decided to only make Bulq think that she was on his side, while trying her best to get on good terms with the target of their planned assassination. So far, her weequay colleague had been none the wiser about her plans, which comforted the young woman.

As she turned towards the nearby airlock as well, Barriss quickly glanced around the damaged hallway, seeing all the dead bodies around her. Since the rise of the Empire, the Galaxy had been in constant state of conflict, resulting in massive casualties on all sides. The mirialan Inquisitor had seen her fair share of death and destruction, and knew that she would only see more of it in the coming months. And since she had no desire to join the dead, she needed to focus on ensuring her survival, from dangers both within and without the Empire.

But that task, especially reassuring Lord Vader of her loyalty and usefulness to him would be a difficult one. The two Dark Side followers had a very bumpy relationship, due to the things Barriss had done in the past. And she knew full well how Darth Vader would not forget the times he had been wronged, always remembering the names of the ones who had brought him pain and suffering.

And the things Barriss had done to him, and the person he used to love more than anything, she was certain that her attempts at charming the Sith Lord to trust her would prove an even more difficult undertaking. Since she had now seen that trying her best to bring down the enemies of the Empire would not impress the Dark Lord, she'd need to think of something else, before her time would eventually run out.

But in the meanwhile, she'd continue to work with Darth Vader and her fellow Inquisitors, in order to bring the enemies of the Empire to the light, and eliminate them. Unless these small insurgencies weren't dealt with soon, it was evident that their movements would only grow, and lead to further destruction through a bigger conflict, which could possibly doom the newly emergent Empire to be a rather short-lived Galactic government...

**Hey there, guys. So, we're starting a new adventure, huh?

First of all, I decided to release the prologue now, even though it is a short one. I hope that you can all be patient, as the first chapter is well underway, although there is still much to be done with it. But, progress is being made every day.

About the story's name; it was derived from one of the suggestions I got from DevilDragon8. Thanks goes to them for helping me come up with the name for the story. I hope you like it!

There is something I want to talk about, so do read this at least. This story's second chapter could be comprised almost entirely of fluffy and cute flashback scenes, if that is something that you'd want to see?
Let me know in the reviews or through private messaging, if you guys want the second chapter to be devoted to cute and cheesy stuff, or if it should be just a normal chapter. I won't start working on that chapter, until I know whether or not it should be devoted to flashback scenes.

So, do let me know what you guys think, and I'll get right on it, after finishing the first chapter!

So, the scene in this prologue chapter was quite obviously influenced by Rogue One's ending scene. I tried not to make it too much like the scene in the movie, but close enough that people will easily spot the similarities.

It's not specified in this prologue, how much time has passed since the end of the previous story. Do spend this time between the prologue and the release of the first chapter to try to think just how much time has passed. You can put your guesses and assumptions in your reviews as well. xD

As I didn't really talk about it at the end of the previous story, the armor that Darth Vader is wearing is not like what he wears in the movies. It's not a mechanical suit that he needs to wear, but just something that he uses for protection and to hide his identity. But he can take off the armor and walk around as he was during when he still were Anakin Skywalker, so no worries about that.

The look of the armor is sort of like a mixture of the armor Tulak Hord used (Google him), and Darth Revan's and Kylo Ren's armor. The voice modulator in his helmet is pretty much like Kylo Ren's, changing his voice enough that people won't know his true identity. And the lightsaber he wields now is basically just the lightsaber Darth Vader uses in the movies too, visually at least.

But anyway, I've talked quite enough about this, so please do enjoy the start of this epic new story, and stay tuned to see how this all will end! Speculation and suggestions are of course welcome in reviews and private messages, so don't be shy to voice your opinions!

...

On personal side, there's not much to talk about. There was a terrorist attack here in Finland last week, the first of its kind, so people are a bit on edge currently. Here's hoping that I won't die to a thing like that.. it's enough that World War III is constantly in danger of starting...

I'll keep on writing the story, despite my mood and everything not having much improvement. But, I'm not dead yet, so might as well keep going!

Thank you all so much for supporting the story, and I hope to see you all through this entire thing! Stay tuned for more to come in the future, and remember to give me your thoughts about it along the way.

Thanks so much, and stay safe, everyone!

May the Force be with you, and Keelah se'lai!**