Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my work. Therefore it would be appreciated if no one sued me or tried to get me arrested. It seriously wouldn't be worth the time, effort and money in the end.

A Few Days Later

Rreya's POV

"So how was your vacation?" she asked as she saw Xander Windu walk up the boarding ramp of the Stellar Envoy. "Work on your tan?"

"If by tan you mean I nearly froze my butt off then yeah, I worked on my tan," Xander replied as he reached her at the top of the ramp. "But it was SO worth it. Look!"

Directing her gaze to where the Padawan was pointing, her eyes fell upon what she'd noticed the moment she'd spotted him entering the ship's landing platform. It was, after all, quite long and had quickly caused her sense of humor to wonder if her friend wasn't compensating for something else. Seeing it up close, though, she had to admit that it looked like it'd been professionally put together and had a sort of aesthetic appeal that the majority of Jedi lightsabers didn't have. Most lightsabers prioritized function over appearance, with their wielders believing that making their weapons look pretty was a sign of attachment to be removed. Still, she'd reserve final judgment until she saw it actually work instead of sparking in Xander's hands before exploding.

"Nice toy," she said, trying her best to sound unimpressed. "Does it even work?"

With a smirk she remembered all too well from their sparring sessions back in the Temple before the war she watched as he unhooked his lightsaber and, with the press of the activation studs, she saw something that surprised her. The blades were different colors!

"What? You couldn't decide on one so you went for both?" she asked as she looked back and forth between the gold and purple blades.

"Actually they were both in the same place and the Force seemed to want me to have them both, so I thought to myself 'why not?'" he replied with a shrug before shutting down his weapon. "Besides, it's close enough to what Erica made for me before the Battle of Geonosis that I have some experience with both a dual-blade and dual wielding."

"So it's not likely you'll cut your own arms off but its up to the Force if can actually hit anything?" she said with a smirk of amusement. "In other words: same old, same old."

"Ha ha! You've got such a WONDERFUL sense of humor," he said as he began to head towards their improvised quarters. "So, we got a new assignment or what?"

"Yep. Master Kuro's just waiting on the two of us," she replied as she fell into stride behind him.

They walked in on the others and the welcomes Xander Windu received were varied, from Erica predictably coming over to give him a hug to Master Kuro doing a simple acknowledgment nod. Some went for something halfway, like the Catharian simply giving a warm smile plus a nod but in the end it didn't really matter.

"Now that we're all here I'll brief you on our next assignment," Master Kuro said before activating the holo-generator that Jadak had installed in the floor of the cargo hold. "As some of you may know, by keeping up to date on the war, the Separatists have launched an invasion of the planet Ryloth. The Republic garrison under General Ima-Gun Di and Captain Keeli are putting up a brave fight but they're starting to see the bottom of their food, medicine and ammunition supplies."

"I take it getting them resupplied isn't an option?" Knight Keto asked as they all looked at the holographic image of the planet Ryloth.

"Unfortunately no," Master Kuro replied before tapping a button on her comm-strip. "As soon as the Separatists cleared out the Republic ships in orbit they established a blockade around the planet. Admiral Dao and the ships assigned to him will be trying to break the blockade in a few days but, given the situation, it was decided that a backup plan was needed."

"Let me guess: we're the back up plan?" Xander asked, making the intuitive leap.

"Correct," Master Kuro said before a ship symbol appeared next to the planet hologram. "We're to stock up on as much medicine, food and ammunition as the Stellar Envoy can carry and head for Ryloth. We're to wait on the edge of the system for Admiral Dao's fleet to begin their assault on the blockade and, if it looks like they won't be able to get through, we're to make for the planet."

"So Admiral Dao and his people will become decoys to keep the Separatists distracted while we make it through the planet's atmosphere to General Di's location," Sarahari said, showing her perceptiveness. "The Stellar Envoy is small enough that, so long as we don't shoot any fireworks, we'll slip right past them. How large a window do you think we'll get?"

"It will depend on how quickly we are able to assess the likelihood that Admiral Dao will succeed in breaking the blockade," Master Kuro replied, looking at the Catharian. "The Separatists have forces on the ground, especially around where the Republic forces and their allies are located. Once they see our ship they'll try to shoot us down. Even if we manage to drop off the supplies, getting back off Ryloth before the Separatist forces redeploy to stop us will not be easy."

"You can leave that to me," Jadak said, sounding quite confident. "The day I can't outfly a droid is the day I junk my own ship."

"If you don't mind me asking, Master Kuro, why are we being given this assignment?" she asked, thinking the job out of the group's job description. "We're spies, not supply runners."

"We are whatever the Republic and the Order need us to be," Master Kuro replied with reprimand in her tone. "General Di and his men need these supplies if they're to last long enough for a second attempt to break the blockade, should Admiral Dao's efforts fail."

"Can we really bring them enough to last that long?" Erica asked, looking at the former cargo hold as if estimating its maximum storage capacity.

"We will bring them all we can," Master Kuro replied, not giving a precise answer. "If rationed properly it should last them long enough for something more substantial to be delivered."

"Then I guess we better get going," Xander said, sounding like he was ready. "It's a long trip to Ryloth and we still need to get the supplies on board."

With agreements all around they dispersed to either clear as much room in the ship's interior as possible for the supplies or to get the ship underway to where the supplies would be waiting for pick up. As for her she'd help the latter, since it'd give her more time to consider what this meant for her personally since this would be the first time she set foot on Ryloth since she'd been found there as a child by the Jedi Order. All Force sensitive children were brought to the Temple at an early age supposedly to prevent them from learning ways of thinking that would impede their instruction in the Jedi way. It was also meant to ensure that they didn't accidentally hurt themselves or others through their clumsy, instinctual control of the Force.

Personally she thought they did so to avoid the possibility of those Force sensitives turning to the Dark Side because of the intoxicating sensations it inspired in the unprepared.

Not that she'd heard of any self-taught Dark Side user amounting to much more than a warlord or crime boss, though, but the possibility existed.

For her Ryloth was a home world she barely remembered and did not have the label of 'home' in her heart. That label belonged to the Jedi Temple, for it was there that her friends lived, where she learned to tap into the power she possessed and where she had found a calling. Still, she could not outright dismiss the curiosity she felt concerning the planet of her birth and what secrets it might have in its grasp waiting for her to claim them. Were her birth parents still there? Did she have siblings? What were the circumstances of her discovery and induction into the Jedi Order? These questions pulled at her mind, making her feel uncertain and she did not like feeling uncertain. To be uncertain was to be weak and the weak could not control the course of their own fate but rather had it shaped by the galaxy with little care about the weak's preferences. As a Jedi she had both the knowledge and the power to have sufficient control over her surroundings to shape her future to her liking.

For the most part.

Like any other Jedi there were laws that she had to obey, not to mention rules and people with more power and influence than she had. She knew that it'd be impossible for her to become powerful enough on her own to be able to act without anyone or anything being able to oppose her. Thus she would have to be satisfied with getting as far as she could before the Force and the rest of the Galaxy presented an obstacle she couldn't get past.

With some help from friends perhaps she could make it even further and she already knew of a few in her current group that met her high standards.

The Stellar Envoy

Thirty-Six Hours Later

Xander's POV

"Coming out of hyperspace in three…two…one…NOW," Jadak as he pushed the lever forward, turning the blue tunnel that they'd been travelling down to streaking stars, then normal stars.

Looking at the forward windshield of the cockpit, it'd be easy to think that there'd been an error with the calculations of the ship's navi-computer. However, if one squinted a bit, they'd see a tiny sphere of brown in the distance and know that they had arrived in the Ryloth system. For the time being, though, this would be as close as the Stellar Envoy would get since it was still another thirty minutes before Admiral Dao's fleet arrived.

"Is there any sign that our entry into the system has been detected?" Master Kuro asked from her position behind the pilot's chair.

"Not that I can tell but sensor resolution's not great at this range," Jadak replied as he tried to get more information from the ship's sensors. "No sign of Vulture Droid squadrons heading our way and the destroyers are staying in their orbits."

"Good. Just to be sure, though, power down all non-essential systems to minimize our power signature," Master Kuro ordered as she backed away from the back of the chair. "Keep only life support and sensors online."

"Starting everything up again once the fleet arrives will take about twenty seconds," Jadak warned, sounding only mildly concerned about shutting down that many systems.

"We can spare the time," Master Kuro said with a small smile. "I imagine it will take at least twenty minutes before we will be able to accurately predict the outcome of the battle."

"Assuming it's a close enough match to make a decent battle," he said, considering another possibility. "If the person in charge of the blockade is a better tactician than Admiral Dao, we'll know pretty early on. Same if the reverse is true."

"The only way the battle could end in less than twenty seconds would be if one side just hit the self-destruct buttons on their ships," Rreya said from the rear of the cockpit. "Won't happen on Admiral Dao's side of things but, given what I've heard about Clanker intelligence levels, they might."

"While the rank and file droids might be… intellectually slow, their commanding officers are competent enough for Count Dooku to trust them with their commands." Master Kuro said in an effort to deter carelessness around Separatist droids.

He admitted that it made sense that only a droid with the necessary programming or a person with the necessary training would be made the commander of a blockade or a frigate. However good enough to command and good enough to outfight a Republic Admiral as well as associated subordinates was another thing entirely. From what he'd heard since returning to Courscant, only those commanders handpicked by Count Dooku himself were all that impressive, with the rest being entirely too confident in the size of the forces they controlled.

They all turned into spineless cowards once it became clear that capture or death was in their immediate future.

"Well, we have thirty minutes to kill before the fireworks start, so let's get the prep work done," he said quite interested in finding something to occupy his time for the next half hour. "Gear and weapons as well as ship systems. Especially the armaments and propulsion systems."

"Wouldn't shields be better?" Sarahari asked from one of the available seats in the cockpit. "One way or another we're going to be taking enemy fire."

"Exactly. No offense, Captain Jadak, but the Stellar Envoy's shields aren't designed to soak up a lot of enemy fire. Better to have engines to avoid it with and weapons to shoot the enemy out of the sky before they shoot us out of the sky."

"None taken, Xan," Captain Jadak said with only a little annoyance. "Just don't be too quick to judge the Envoy. To do jobs for the Republic Group, we'd done a lot of special 'upgrades' to make sure we could pull'em off. I wouldn't pit her nose to nose with a Separatist frigate, much less a whole blockade, but anyone looking to scrap this ship is going to have to WORK for it."

"If there's one thing I've learned in my life, captain, it's NEVER to judge by appearances," he said with a reassuring grin.

With that he left the cockpit and began to squeeze himself down the corridor, lined on either side with relief supply containers, towards the engine room. Reeze would be there and, since the man would know more about the Envoy's engines than he did, he'd have to do his best to assist however he could. Maybe he could pick up a quick tip or three about ship engines while he was at it, just in case it became necessary on a future mission. He'd learned a lot since arriving at the temple but unfortunately, when it came to being a mechanic or a ship engineer, he'd barely looked at the proverbial cover, never mind actually opened the book. In any case, the future was uncertain and he couldn't always count on Reeze, Jadak or Erica to do the necessary repairs. With the future so uncertain, it'd be wiser to make sure everyone on board had at least the basics of ship engineering burned into their brains so that, if need required it, they'd be able to do what the others could not.

I think we went a little overboard cramming this place full of supplies, he thought as he had to think thin to get past some of the tighter points in the corridor. I hope the Jedi general and the Twi'lek's can hold out with it until a ship built for transporting relief supplies can get to Ryloth.

While Erica's estimates on how long the Republic soldiers and Twi'lek freedom fighters could last with what they were bringing them was encouraging, it'd only be that way if certain variables remained constant.

In war the only things that remained constant were the rising body count and the bill for keeping it going.

"How're the engines?" he asked, entering the engine room.

"Running as smooth as ever," Reeze replied, looking away from the console he was standing in front of. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wanted to make sure there weren't any problems," he replied even as he looked at the room. "Have any ideas for getting a little more speed and maneuverability out of the Envoy? Something we can do right now?"

"Not much that we haven't done already," Reeze replied with a look of contemplation. "We can tweak the settings a bit, maybe add a few more odds and ends that I have in storage, but to get anything substantial done we'd need to land the ship and have a few days to work with."

"Every little bit helps," he said before making a decision. "Let's focus on fine tuning the settings. I doubt we can install any new hardware right with only half an hour to work with."

"Definitely not," Reeze said, nodding in agreement. "You have any engineering experience?"

"Not really. Picked up a few tricks here and there from friends but I wouldn't call that an education."

"Then I hope you're ready because Professor Duurmun's class of ship engineering is now in session," Reeze said with a humorous look on his face.

Time seemed to pass too quickly as he listened to everything Reeze told him and followed the directions given promptly as well as precisely. The man not only told him what to do but why it needed to be done as well as how it'd help them increase both the speed as well as the maneuverability of the Stellar Envoy. He was just starting to get into it when they got the notification that Admiral Dao's fleet had arrived and had engaged the Separatist blockade.

Time to see firsthand just how even this war is, he thought, putting away the tools he'd been using to tweak the settings of the engines.

Depending on how things looked, he might need to suggest a different approach to their missions than currently existed, an approach that involved much BOOM and the destruction of enemy resources since, without them, defeat was inevitable.

A Short While Later

Sarahari's POV

"They're outmatched," she said as she watched from her position wielding one of the Envoy's quad cannons.

"Yes. Admiral Dao is putting up a valiant struggle but it is obvious that they will not break the blockade," Master Kuro said through her com-piece. "Indeed it is likely that they will not even be able to retreat should they choose to do so."

She couldn't help but growl in anger at this as the enemies of the Republic marched towards victory and there was nothing they could do to prevent this. As a former member of the Naboo Security Forces, one of the first things she'd chosen to do upon the Stellar Envoy being made their official ship had been to familiarize herself with its defensive and offensive systems. What she'd found had moderately impressed her since both the weapons and the shields were not part of the original blueprints for the standard YT-1300 light freighter. Enhanced shields, additional blasters, armor plating and high-grade sensor suites were just a few of the modifications Jadak and Reeze had made. However, when held up against the weapons at the disposal of the Separatist blockade vessels, she knew they would be lucky to get close enough to get off even a single salvo of blasts before being destroyed.

They had their own mission to accomplish as well and they couldn't do that if they were dead.

"Admiral Dao will not last long," Master Kuro said, addressing everyone connected to the comm-system. "Bring all systems online and take us in. Erica? Sarahari? Keep the space clear above and in front of us but don't draw too much attention. We won't last long if every vulture droid and enemy fighter decides to make us priority target."

"Roger that," she said as she began to formulate firing rules that would protect the ship but not be too excessive.

"Begin your approach, captain," Master Kuro ordered and a moment later the Envoy shot forward, with the stars nearly becoming streaks.

Keeping an eye on the targeting display while using the naked eye to watch for moving spots of color that would be enemy fighter craft, she knew that some people would say that the targeting sensors would detect the incoming fighters long before her organic eyes could spot anything but she was determined to make use of every resource she had. However it wasn't until they had gotten close enough for the planet to become the perceived size of a space station that opposition arrived to get in their way. Two squadrons of vulture droids were approaching and she brought her quad cannons to bear towards the oncoming threat, waiting until the targeting scanners confirmed a lock before pulling the trigger. Her experience fighting to protect Naboo meant that she was a pretty decent shot with weapons like this and it showed as the first of two droid ships she fired on exploded in fire and debris. She could hear Erica's cannons firing as well and, unless her acute sense of hearing was deceiving her, the HRD was scoring more kills than she was. While this could be written off as the result of artificial reflexes and senses, it didn't stop her from developing feelings of competitiveness.

Focusing her mind and recalling every trick she'd ever been taught when it came to shooting moving targets, she was determined to at least match, if not surpass, her cannon rival.

While there were a few jolting impacts on the ship's shields, they were few thanks to the excellent piloting of Captain Jadak and the aim of the gunners. Thus they managed to reach the upper atmosphere of Ryloth with barely a scratch and began to descend towards the planet's surface. They were making planet fall as close to General Di's position as they dared while making sure to stay out of the range of the blockade's weapons. Changing the direction her cannons were aimed to the rear of the ship, she waited to see if any more separatist fighters would be sent from the orbiting blockade or if the new threat would come from someplace planetside. Fortunately it looked like, while the Separatists likely knew they were going to win against Admiral Dao, they still chose to prioritize the Republic destroyers over a single light freighter. Once they passed through the planet's troposphere Jadak brought the ship parallel to the surface below before setting course for their primary destination.

"Looks like it'll be smooth sailing for a little while," Rreya said from the cockpit. "Guess they didn't expect the Republic to send a small ship like the Envoy and use Dao's ships as decoys."

"It is not surprising," Master Kuro said as though it were perfectly understandable. "This ship does not have any markings connecting it to the Republic, nor is it heavily armed. Their blockade protocols required that they send at least two squadrons in an effort to intercept us. Now that we've proven ourselves formidable, it is likely the next force thrown our way will be larger in size or greater in firepower."

"Let's hope they don't hit us with it until we're closer to General Di's position," Padawan Xander said from the cockpit of the Stellar Envoy. "If we can get to them before suffering serious damage, we stand a better chance of getting back out of the system."

"And if we're not that lucky?" Rreya asked, sounding curious about the possibility.

"Don't ask," Xander replied, sounding a little grim.

What the young man no doubt suspected was that they could be shot down if they came under too heavy fire before reaching their destination and, even if they successfully delivered the supplies, they'd be stuck until repairs could be made. Depending on the severity of the damage and the availability of the necessary parts, they could be on Ryloth for quite a long while. Even if they could cannibalize parts from downed droid fighters, they might still be unable to leave the system. Given the desperate state of Jedi Di's forces, if they were rendered unable to leave it would be up to the Force as to whether they'd live long enough to acquire a means off world. They might even be stuck until Republic forces officially began the campaign to retake Ryloth but who knew when that would be considering the unpredictability of the times.

Seeing the landscape fly by, there were visible signs of war on the planet, with some villages still smoking from the assault they suffered at the hands of Separatist forces. Looking at them, she wondered how many had managed to survive such attacks and how many bodies still lay where they fell after being pierced by blaster bolts. From what she'd read during the trip to the Ryloth system, the attack by the Separatists happened without warning and had not been anticipated to happen by Republic intelligence for some time. As a result the number of clone troopers stationed on Ryloth were only enough to protect against spies and scouts, not an invasion by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. She had little doubt that Jedi Di and Captain Keeli had done everything with the forces they had at their disposal to protect civilians but, with an entire planet of people at risk, they could only do so much.

The Separatists will PAY for every drop of innocent blood they've spilt! she thought angrily as another growl escaped her lips. I'll see to it personally if I must.

"I don't like it any more than you do, Sarahari," Padawan Xander said, sounding unhappy as well. "If all they wanted was to conquer and occupy the planet they should've restricted their activities to military targets and maybe planetary leaders. Involving civilians, killing them just to create terror, proves that they have to be stopped and SOON."

"And they will be, Padawan," Master Kuro said with measured tones. "But we must make sure that, in our haste to protect innocent lives, we do not put them in harms way with impatient actions."

"I'm not going to go off like some sort of loose cannon, Master Kuro," Xander said in his own defense. "I'm just not going to turn down a chance to end this war if it walks out in front of me."

"Just make sure the 'chance' is the real deal and not bait for a trap, Xander Windu," Rreya warned, sounding like she expected that very thing to happen.

"If he is misled into a trap, Padawan Rreya, then we, as his teammates, will just have to be ready to help him out of it," Erica said, her voice making it clear that she would do whatever was required to save her master.

"Indeed," she said, adding her own resolve to the statement.

"Thanks, guys!" Xander said with gratitude in his voice at the support. "Here's hoping I don't wind up causing you all too much trouble."

"Touching as this all is, can we PLEASE keep our focus on the sensors?" Captain Jadak asked, sounding a little annoyed at the lack of discipline.

With that the informal discussion came to an end and they focused on the task at hand, which at the moment was keeping an eye out for Separatist forces looking to make their stay of the fatal and permanent kind. Still, a part of her mind couldn't help but conjure up images of Padawan Xander in trouble, only for her to arrive and free him just in time leading them to fight a glorious battle back to back. It was akin to the tales she'd been told as a young girl and indeed the path her life had taken made her wonder if centuries from now the children of Cathar would be told of her adventures. After all, here she was, a Catharian warrior, allied with promising Jedi who occasionally dressed in the armor of a Mandalorian warrior.

If that wasn't an amazing similarity to the tales of the great Jedi Knight Revan, she didn't know what was.

Still, as my father taught me long ago, I will not allow a desired future lead to present mistakes, she thought as she banished the fantasy from her mind so she would not be distracted from keeping an eye out for enemy fighters.

If Padawan Xander and her were truly destined, then the Force would make it so.

Xander's POV

"Looks like the Force is still with us," he said as the camp of Republic troops and Twi'lek freedom fighters came into view. "We haven't run into Separatist forces since we hit the atmosphere and, with Jadak's piloting, we should be able to set down in the camp without scratching the paint job."

"Let us hope that our departure is as smooth," Rreya said from her position next to him.

He'd never say it out loud for fear of jinxing them but he was a little worried that their good luck now meant some bad luck was coming their way.

As soon as they came within view, the droid forces on the ground began to direct fire up at them but only the fire from the tanks had any real effect on the Envoy's shields. Fortunately, at the speed the ship was flying and the excellent piloting skills of its captain, they were soon behind the cover provided by the rocky outcroppings that limited the avenues of approach for the droid forces. With a light jolt the landing thrusters of the Envoy fired, slowing their descent allowing them to touch down with relative softness.

"Let's get those supplies unloaded," Master Kuro said, getting up from her seat. "Then we can see if we can be of any further assistance to Master Di before departing."

"This isn't going to be a simple drop off and go?" Rreya asked, sounding a bit surprised as the group navigated the narrow space between the supply crates.

"Master Di and Captain Keeli have been under great pressure since the Separatist forces arrived," Master Kuro said, showing no discomfort despite the tight squeeze. "They will need time to recover and position the supplies where they will do the most good. We will provide that time."

"What can just eight people and a light freighter do against so many droids?" Rreya asked, sounding less than enthusiastic about fighting. "They've no doubt landed enough forces planet side to outnumber us ten to one."

"If our objective was to liberate Ryloth, I would agree that there is little just the few of us can do," Master Kuro said as they reached the boarding ramp. "However we can use guerilla tactics to distract and delay them. It will give Master Di time to distribute the supplies and get the heavy weapons back online."

A feasible enough plan, especially when taking into account the less than stellar intelligence of the battle droids, but only if they were careful enough to stay out of the crosshairs of the heavy artillery. He was under no illusions about their ability to hold up against superior numbers but the environment would hopefully provide enough cover to keep them alive. They'd likely need a local to show them the ways in and out but thankfully they had a selection to choose from approaching the ship.

As the boarding ramp lowered, Master Kuro took the lead with the rest of them following behind, with him clad in his Slade Ordo disguise and the others in the required clothing.

"This is something of a surprise, Master Kuro," Master Di said as he approached with Captain Keelie and presumably the commander of the Twi'lek forces. "When we lost contact with Admiral Dao, I feared the worst."

"I have spoken with the Jedi High Council and they have promised that another effort to break through the blockade with supplies will be made," she said, slightly louder than necessary in order to make sure that more than just their group heard her. "However they realize that the second effort might take time the people of Ryloth don't have so we hired this man, Slade Ordo, and his crew to transport as well as escort as many supplies as their ship could hold. I do not know if it is enough but at the very least I hope it will help."

Captain Jadak pulled a lever and the freight lift, upon which four large crates rested. Judging from the markings they contained medical supplies.

"It is a start," the leader of the Twi'lek forces, Syndulla if he remembered the briefing file right, said before turning to his closest soldiers and saying something to them in Twi'leki.

At once the Twi'leks went for the crates, taking them off the lift and towards what looked to be a supply tent off to the side of the camp. More of Syndulla's people joined the initial group and before Jadak realized it he had natives of Ryloth going in and out of the Stellar Envoy, always exiting with their arms full of containers. He'd join to help but it would conflict with the image of a soldier for hire. Soldiers fought, they did bodyguard work and they conducted covert missions but they did NOT help to unload supply crates. Instead he looked to Erica and his 'crew' before jerking his head in the direction of the boarding ramp, pointing once at the unloading Twi'leks. Erica and Sarahari were quick enough to pick up on what he wanted but, while they did as they were told, Rreya was a little more resistant. Fortunately for him Knight Keto gave the 'disapproving teacher' glare that finally coaxed the crimson Twi'lek into entering the Stellar Envoy to help the others unload the supplies.

"While they are handling the unloading, General Syndulla, perhaps you could provide me with a more detailed description of the present tactical situation," Master Kuro said, turning her mind to other things. "The more information you can provide, the more compelling an argument I can make to the Jedi High Council to move the reclamation of Ryloth higher up the list of priorities."

What followed was a grim tail of how the invasion by the CIS began; which towns and cities were hit first, and how much was lost, both in homes as well as lives. The report expanded into how both the Republic garrison and those Twi'lek willing to take up arms to defend their world launched a counterattack, or rather tried to. It was Syndulla's opinion that the Separatists must've been gathering intel on Ryloth for months since only that could explain how quickly they managed to shatter efforts at mounting a defense. Every location that stood a good chance at being made into a base of operations had been either obliterated or occupied with so many droids that capturing it for their own use was impossible. All locations where they could've found weapons, medicine or food were likewise either destroyed or occupied by a force too large to be defeated without additional help.

In the end only their superior tactics and knowledge of the terrain had allowed them to survive this long.

"It is indeed most troubling," Master Kuro said as she rubbed her chin in thought. "While most academic knowledge of your world is readily available at any Republic library, the fact that they knew where your munitions and medical supplies were located implies very recent intel. Master Di? Were there any signs of Separatist probes or spies in the weeks preceding the invasion?"

"None that were reported, Master Kuro," Master Di replied with a negative shake of his head. "As with all systems that had the potential to be the next target of the Separatist fleet, precautions were taken to detect and stop both but it is possible that some managed to slip through our nets."

"If the Separatists are doing the same to other worlds then security needs to be heightened," Master Kuro said, having come to a decision. "Details, however, would be nice. Do you know where the nearest droid base is located?"

"What are you planning, Master Jedi?" General Syndulla asked, sounding suspicious.

"If we're to stop other worlds from suffering the same fate as Ryloth, we need to know how the Separatists are getting their information. If we can infiltrate the nearest droid base, we can access their battle net and get that information," Master Kuro replied as she turned to look the military man in the eye. "While we're there we could secure information that could be of use to you in fighting back against them, such as droid deployments, weapons depots and other damaging targets."

"The base will be heavily fortified," Syndulla said, sounding doubtful that they'd make it inside, much less get the information they wanted.

"What do you think, Mister Ordo? Can we do it?" Master Kuro asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

Great! Put me on the spot, why don't you! "Fortresses are meant to keep large forces at bay. If we strike at night, keep the team small and are careful, it's doable. We might even manage to leave enough surprises behind to prompt them to pull back their forces and give your forces some breathing room."

"Ambitious, Mister Ordo," General Syndulla said as the last of the supplies were unloaded from the Stellar Envoy. "I look forward to seeing if you can pull it off. I will see to it that you receive the coordinates of the nearest base within the hour."

Nothing was said while the Twi'leks or troopers were within hearing distance but, once those who were not crew for the Stellar Envoy were far enough away, Master Kuro approached him.

"What 'surprises' were you referring to, 'Slade'?" Master Kuro asked, sounding like she wanted a good answer.

"Strategically placed explosives. Not enough to cause the base to be written off as lost but enough to convince the tactical droid in charge to pull back his forces to defend it," he replied, trying to let his voice sound confident. "Even if we're long gone by the time they return, the droid'll see the strategic weaknesses we've made in the base and be forced to assign additional forces to make it secure again."

"It will take more than a handful of thermal detonators to compromise the base's security," Master Kuro pointed out, as if daring him to find a solution.

"If they wind up being that sturdy, we'll try to find something in the base to make a bigger blast. Munitions, explosive fuel tanks and stuff like that," he said after a moment's thought about what they'd find in the base. "It might take a bit more work but I'm sure we can manage."

"Let us hope that is true," Master Kuro said with a nod of consent towards the operation.

Here's hoping we'll have a little more than hope to see us through, he thought as he walked back up the boarding ramp into the Stellar Envoy.

Hours Later

Rreya's POV

"That is a lot of droids," she said as she looked down at the base. "A lot of firepower."

"Good thing we won't be taking the direct approach," Xander said from a kneeling position on the edge of a cliff overlooking the base.

Indeed, a direct assault on the droid forces would be suicide with their small numbers. If they had a platoon or two of clone troopers backing them up it might have been possible but they didn't, so they'd have to make do with what they had. Looking down at the base, she spotted three droid AATs positioned around the perimeter with a squad attached to each for support comprised of normal battle droids and super battle droids. At each corner of the base's wall there was a single J-1 proton cannon and on the points of each wall were watchtowers with searchlights and two droids, one of which looked to be armed with a sniper rifle. A bit more precise than she was expecting but she took heart in the fact that the artificial being's proficiency with the weapon was probably about the same as with the standard issue blaster rifle most battle droids were armed with. From what was visible inside the walls there were three battle droid patrols walking at a casual pace outside the buildings, with probably more inside the structures themselves.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, hoping this wasn't one of Xander's make-it-up-as-I-go-along plans.

"Erica, you're on overwatch. Keep tabs on us from up here and eliminate any droids that get too close to discovering us," Xander said, looking at the HRD.

"Won't that let them know they're under attack?" she asked, knowing that any blaster fire was easy to spot especially at night.

"Not with this rifle," Erica said unslinging it from her back and working an unfamiliar mechanism on it.

Looking at it she had to admit that it didn't look like any sniper rifle she'd ever seen before. In fact it didn't seem to possess any of the usual additions that were staples of blaster weapon technology so how…

"A slugthrower!?" she exclaimed almost too loudly. "What the Force is she supposed to do with that? It'll never get through droid armor."

"Not if it was a conventional slugthrower. The projectiles are made of Duralloy, the same stuff used in reinforced bunkers, and will be propelled by a micro-electromagnetic generator," Erica replied, pointing at the sole technologically advanced component of the weapon. "No sound, no flash and a projectile strong enough as well as fast enough to punch through droid armor."

"Crude but effective," Master Kuro said with a nod of approval.

"We'll wait for the best gap in the perimeter patrols that we're likely to get," Xander said, sounding more like he'd put some thought into the operation. "Then we slip past both them and the searchlights before leaping over the wall. Once inside we conceal ourselves in the nearest blindspots in their security or an empty building. Once we're sure it's safe we'll make our way to that building since it's likely the C&C and THAT is where we'll find their database. Once inside we will crack the system, copy the intel and then leave before slipping back out."

"And your surprises?" Master Kuro asked, no doubt wondering when that part of the plan was going to come into play.

"We'll plant them both on the way in as well as on the way out. Their munitions shed and fuel depot should add bang enough to knock a hole in their walls but still leave the base salvageable enough that the droid in charge won't abandon it," Xander said, pointing out the two locations inside the wall. "That'll draw off the heat from Jedi Master Di and General Syndulla's forces since repairs will take a while and security will logically be reinforced to compensate for the damage."

"Assuming it doesn't wind up making the droids call in for additional forces making things even harder for the Twi'leks and the troopers," she pointed out, not wanting important possibilities to be overlooked.

"The Separatists have an entire planet to pacify and occupy," Xander said, not sounding worried about the possible scenario. "One droid base getting hit won't bring the entire occupation force down on them. At most two tanks and maybe another platoon of battle droids would be sent to reinforce the position."

"Difficult but not impossible for Master Di to handle," Master Kuro said before narrowing her eyes. "We will follow your lead, Mister Ordo. I pray this does not prove to be a mistake."

A nod was all the Dark Woman got in response before the entire group focused on the patrols circling the perimeter, as well as the movement patterns of the searchlights. The movements of both were machine precise but what could one expect from droids? But this worked to their advantage since it made sure that the gaps between them all would remain constant. Tensely she waited for the signal to move and, just as she was about to fidget for the first time, Xander gave the go ahead. As one they dropped down from their lookout spot, using either the Force or cables to descend to the ground below, and once they landed they moved swiftly, silently, towards the outer wall of the base. Adjustments were made en route in order to ensure that they did not expose themselves to either optics or searchlights but, when her back was up against the wall with nary an alarm to be heard, she took it as a good sign.

Seeing Xander give the 'hold position' signal, she watched as he fired the grapple line towards the top of the wall and, once it was secure, he was pulled up slowly by the retraction mechanism the line was attached to. This was a sound move since fast moving objects tended to attract attention more than slow movements and, once he came within a foot or two of the top he came to a stop. It was easy to deduce that he intended to peak over the top and see if it was safe for them to cross over. Seconds ticked by and she wondered how long it'd be before one of the outer patrols or searchlights found them. Situations like this were so different from traditional battlefields because, while both had their share of stress, this type was decidedly more intense.

"It's safe. Let's go!" Master Kuro whispered before Force leaping over the top of the wall.

Following the Jedi Master's example she leapt upwards, putting just enough power into it so she could clear the wall without noticeably overshooting the wall. Sarahari was the last to make it over the top due to the lack of Force powers but, as she did so without incident, she didn't comment on it. Once all of them were safely inside the walls they scattered to whatever wall or object was large enough to conceal them from the interior patrols. Sadly there wasn't any one object or wall large enough to conceal a group of four effectively so they'd been forced to split into groups of two. She and Master Kuro hid behind a stack of supply crates while Xander and Sarahari concealed themselves beneath one of the smaller transports parked within the base walls.

Once more he gave the signal to hold their position in addition to one to remain silent but, rather than wonder, she merely waited for the reason to appear. It came in the form of the sounds of a droid patrol, with their clanking feet and nasally digitized voices, marching closer with every passing moment. Listening to the chatter it made her wonder how such dimwitted creations could be giving the Grand Army of the Republic and their assigned Jedi generals such a hard time. Then she remembered the sheer number that could be manufactured before being unleashed on the defenders of the Galactic Republic and conceded that quantity had a quality all its own. Even if the clone troopers were superior fighters, they could not be replaced as swiftly as a battle droid could with their assembly line method of being 'born'. Still, she took some relief from the fact that the ones in command of the droids were flesh and blood, making the dream of winning the war all too possible.

Flesh and blood beings could only die once and, with the Separatists, taking down the ones in charge would bring their entire army to a halt.

Those power hungry pieces of Bantha poodoo would never allow the reigns of control to be in anyone else's hands but their own.

Watching as the patrol went by, she turned to Xander to see him give the universal 'follow me' gesture before the Jedi in Mandalorian armor crept away in the direction of the base's C&C.

If outside was tense, then inside is downright nerve wracking since there was a much smaller margin for error to work with and a much higher chance of being spotted. Every shadow, every object was a potential point of refuge and the only thing in their favor was the fact that the guards weren't being very quiet as they moved about the base. Talking and footsteps gave them ample warning to conceal themselves but the number of places they could hide weren't always… practical. She'd seen more than a few times when Xander and Sarahari had to get quite close in order to ensure that the droids noticed nothing. While the former's state afterwards was impossible to determine without using the Force, the latter was showing subtle signs of being… flustered. It wouldn't be obvious to just anyone, you'd have to have a solid grasp of Catharian body language, but ever since she noticed a way to mess with her friend, she'd done research in that area. The young woman might be doing a good job at keeping emotions masked but good wasn't perfect.

This'll make for some juicy ammunition later, she thought even as a tiny grin appeared on her face. Maybe I can make it even juicier with a little careful manipulation.

An opportunity appeared a short while later when they came within eyesight of the C&C building and the only things capable of concealing the four of them being a dumpster with an open lid and what looked to be a roughly coffin-shaped storage container. Even though the storage container was closer, she was quick to hop into the dumpster and waited for Master Kuro to hop in with her since that'd force the female Cathar and Xander into the container. Given that there was barely enough room with the container's lid closed to fit the two of them, gear and all, they'd have to be pressed quite tightly, quite INTIMATELY, against one another. Seeing as how it'd be at least three minutes before the droid patrol was far enough away for them to come out, she expected the cracks in the Catharian's mask to become fissures.

When Master Kuro didn't immediately follow her into the dumpster she began to worry that her plan was about to backfire but relief soon replaced it when the white-haired Jedi Master hopped into the dumpster. A moment later the woman pulled the lid down, leaving them with only an inch of space to see through to monitor the droid patrol's position. However, when the Dark Woman looked at her with suspicion in her eyes and a bit of disapproval, she knew that her ploy had been detected and discerned. Given how professional and mission oriented the senior Jedi on site was, she didn't think she'd get the stern talking to until they were safely back aboard the Stellar Envoy. Fortunately that'd give her plenty of time to fabricate an explanation that would paint her actions as completely innocent and perhaps even beneficial.

Like she was testing Xander's emotional control when placed in close intimate contact with an attractive female humanoid.

Sure, she'd have to make it sound a little more scientific and logical in order to completely eliminate any possibility of fault landing in her lap but she had the experience to pull it off.

She was somewhat infamous for her antics back at the temple, after all.

Sarahari's POV

"I… think they're gone, Slade," she said, trying to keep her voice even despite the… closeness… of the current situation.

For a moment Xander seemed to be listening to something only he could hear, most likely reaching out with the Force, but soon nodded before reaching behind himself to open the container they'd taken refuge in. It was with a gasp of relief and fresh air that she left the container since with the newfound space she could finally bring her thoughts back to where they belonged. It wasn't easy to do so since, with their entry into the base, she had been forced into close contact more than once in order to ensure that the battle droids did not see them. She knew it was innocent, knew that it was merely a tactical move, but the part of her that had been entertaining a… closer… relationship with the Jedi Padawan led to her imagine various possible futures.

Futures that would, could, might contain moments very similar to what they'd experienced while hiding in close quarters from the droid patrols, albeit in more comfortable surroundings and perhaps involving far less clothing.

"C'mon!" Xander whispered to her before making his way towards the C&C structure.

Shaking her head clear of distracting thoughts, she brought forth the discipline that had been instilled in her by her mentors on Cathar during her training to become a warrior. They were in enemy territory and needed to be focused on the task at hand if she was to avoid doing anything that might alert the droids to their presence. Bringing her DC-15 to the ready she followed Xander, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of imminent droid contact as she moved. Fortunately for her they didn't encounter any further obstacles that required hiding and soon all four of them were outside the entrance to the C&C room ready to enter. It was a bit odd that there hadn't been battle droids guarding the entrance but then again perhaps the person in charge didn't think anyone would manage to penetrate so deep into the base. Whatever the reason, it was time to seize the building and begin extracting the necessary information so they could leave for more friendly territory.

"Blasters set to stun," Xander said as he turned a dial on his blaster rifle. "One shot per target. DON'T miss."

A nod was all she gave as she adjusted the setting on her DC-15 and, when the door was opened, she charged in first, immediately spotting a Trade Federation official. Taking aim she fired the second she had a clear shot and watched as he slumped to the ground unconscious even as the rest of her comrades neutralized the remaining occupants of the room. Before long they were the only ones conscious and moving in the room, leaving them free to do what they had to do.

"Move swiftly. Others will have heard those blaster shots, stun or not," Master Kuro said as she closed the structure's door and took up a defensive position. "You're up, Ordo."

With that Padawan Xander moved to the main console in the room and took a device off of his belt that'd been constructed by Erica. A quick connection by cord to the port on the side and the layers of security programming began to fall away under the assault of the HRD's slicing programs. It took a little over a minute before full access was acquired but, once that was done, files quickly began to transfer to the attached device for storage. Based on what she'd been told, the invention would focus on the most recently created files first before moving onto the older ones. They'd all known from the beginning that they'd never get all the information the base network had access to but they'd grab as much as they could before circumstances forced them to leave.

When the base alarms began to sound loud and clear, she considered it a compelling circumstance to be ready to leave as soon as possible.

"How much longer?" Padawan Rreya asked from her position guarding the other entrance into the building.

"File transfer is at forty-two percent," Xander replied after checking the console for that information. "From what I'm looking at we'd need about ten minutes to get the whole thing."

"With the alarm going we have four at most," Master Kuro said as she seemed to listen to something. "Then we'll be surrounded by droids who'll likely obliterate this structure before they'll let us leave."

"Let's hope it's enough," Xander said as the progress bar on the main console's view screen slowly advanced.

With the situation explained she prepared herself for the assault to come even as she changed the settings on her DC-15 to kill rather than stun. Now that the droid forces knew that they were there, the organic residents would definitely be moving themselves to the rear of their army of killing machines. That meant, if they were going to fight their way free, they'd have to scrap every last clanker between them and freedom and that couldn't be done with the stun setting. However it was three minutes later when the screen dramatically changed and, based on what she could read, it looked like the console's connection to the battle net had been severed.

"Damn!" Xander said even as he removed Erica's device from its position and put it back on his belt. "They cut the connection and shut me down. At best we've got sixty-five percent of what we could've gotten."

"It'll have to be enough," Master Kuro said as she advanced towards the door. "Let's go."

Weapons raised, they rushed out door, hoping to catch any droids waiting by surprise and it was partially effective since they were all able to exit the structure before the incoming blasterfire started heading their way. As soon as she had a clear line of sight on a droid she opened fire and thankfully her practice at the target range of the Naboo volunteer security force paid off. While not one hundred percent accurate, enough of her shots succeeded in hitting a vital parts of the battle droid, causing it to go offline immediately. As she looked around, she saw that the layout of the base actually worked in their favor since the structures limited the approach routes the droids could use and weren't tank friendly. That didn't mean that the heavy artillery wouldn't be forthcoming, it just meant that there'd be limits to how they could move and thus aim their deadly barrels.

Not that she believed for a moment that Xander would direct them to challenge the droid tanks because that would be complete suicide, even with Master Kuro and Padawan Rreya present.

As a group they began to move towards the wall they'd used to get into the base but it was difficult since they had to dive behind cover from time to time in order to protect themselves. For a moment she thought that they'd bitten off a little more than they could chew when out of nowhere one of the droids developed a gaping jagged hole where its head used to be. As it fell over a super battle droid developed a similar hole, albeit smaller and with no exit 'wound', but the end result was the same as the mechanical murderer dropped to the ground. It took a third time of this happening before the assembled droids began to fall into chaos as they tried to figure out where the attacks were coming from. She and her comrades took full advantage of this as they began to carve a path through the crowd of droids to their escape point. It wouldn't last forever since she figured that sooner rather than later the commanding officer of the base would order the droids to divide their forces between Erica and the interior of the base.

When that happened the pressure that'd been so recently removed would be back on them, making their departure more difficult.

"Time to see if we can't speed up our exit plans," Xander said as he plucked a thermal detonator from his belt, armed it and then threw it somewhere off to the northwest.

With explosive force almost enough to cause the group to stumble, an explosion much bigger than should've been possible for a thermal detonator rocked the base. Those droids that were closer to the point of detonation were knocked clear off their feet, with those that were hit by flying shrapnel going offline. Another thrown detonator and an explosion that seemed to have more to do with fire than shockwave occurred, threatening to spread to the rest of the base. With these introduced factors the droids had more than one thing to worry about and the amount of trouble went down accordingly for the group trying to vacate enemy territory. It was with the final two thermal detonators that the wall she'd been expecting to climb over was brought down, leaving them a nice little gap to run through.

"I think that will be quite enough, Slade," Master Kuro said as they ran for the hole in the wall. "Any more damage and it's all but certain that this location will be abandoned in favor of something stronger."

"Understood, Jedi Master Kuro," Xander said as he put both hands back on his primary weapon.

As they made it outside the base, though, they found themselves face to face with the entirety of the perimeter guard and with the tanks present… well, her confidence dropped and she began to consider the most honorable way to die in battle.

Then the unexpected happened.

A downpour of blaster fire began to rain down upon the droids that in no way could've come from Erica alone, and as a result what had looked like a hopeless situation filled up with hope. Before long not a droid or tank remained functional, leaving them free to walk away without a scratch or serious wound on them. It was only a few minutes later when their saviors revealed themselves as the joint clone trooper and Twi'lek resistance force that they'd launched this operation to aid. Why they had come to aid them she didn't know but she was grateful nonetheless since the hope that her group would succeed in returning to the Envoy alive had been virtually nonexistent beforehand.

Had they come of their own volition to act as back up or had Erica called them in when she saw the droids massing to crush them?

We'll probably find out soon enough, she thought as she holstered her blaster. For now it's over.

Clone/Twi'lek Resistance Camp

A Little Over an Hour Later

Xander's POV

"Here's all the data we were able to acquire from the droid base's network," he said as he passed the device Erica had made to General Syndulla. "Hopefully you'll get some use out of it."

"I'm sure it will be quite useful," the leader of the Twi'lek resistance said as he took possession of the device. "Thank you, Slade Ordo."

A nod was all he gave in return since saying any more might've made him appear a little too chatty, ruining the 'soldier for hire' image he needed to maintain.

"How are the droid forces reacting to our attack?" Master Kuro asked from the bottom of the boarding ramp of the Stellar Envoy.

"Much as you had planned. The droids have withdrawn much of their forces in order to reinforce the defenses of the base," Syndulla replied, turning to his Master. "We can use this time to reinforce our defenses and keep them off balance until the Republic can bring the remainder of the supplies."

"And they will. I have little doubt that a plan is on the works as we speak to get larger shipments past the Separatist blockade," Master Kuro said with confidence she clearly wanted to pass on to the Twi'lek male.

"I truly hope that is the case, Jedi," Syndulla said with all due grimness. "While the supplies you have provided will sustain our counter offensive against the Separatists for a time, the rest of Ryloth suffers."

"Many worlds suffer at the hands of the Separatists, either because they're under assault or have already fallen and are made to work to support the war effort," Master Kuro pointed out so as to prevent any sympathy fishing trips. "Nevertheless, I will report what I have seen here to the Jedi Council and recommend that Ryloth's liberation be made a priority of the Grand Army of the Republic."

"Thank you, Master Jedi," Syndulla said with a half bow of respect. "I hope that they listen to you."

With that the Twi'lek general turned to tend to the needs of his people and no doubt examine the contents of the device used to hack the CIS battle net. With luck it would provide enough useful intel that the Twi'leks would be able to turn things around as far as the resistance was concerned and help pave the way for the clone troopers to kick the droid army's tin-plated butts off Ryloth. He knew it was overly optimistic for the battle for the planet to occur soon, there were many worlds in need of rescuing after all, but if he recalled correctly, Senator Orn Free Taa had some pull with Chancellor Palpatine. Perhaps if he managed to speak with the senator and worked with him, some headway could be made to bump Ryloth up the list of worlds set up for imminent liberation.

It was something to think about on their trip back to Coruscant.

Once General Syndulla was out of earshot, Master Kuro's demeanor changed as she turned to address Master Di.

"How bad is it?" Kuro asked, obviously wanting a blunt estimation of Ryloth's status, as well as the resistance's strength.

"It is much as you see here, Master Kuro," Master Di said, gesturing to the collection of clone troopers and armed Twi'leks. "The invasion happened swiftly and cut us off from any established places where a strong defense could be constructed. We've been reduced to living in the wilds of Ryloth, using natural geological formations to protect ourselves while limiting the avenues of approach available to the droid army. Sadly, without air support of any kind and only limited infantry weapons, all we've been able to manage is to slow their advance, inconvenience them, as they continue to plunder the planet of anything valuable."

"Sadly you must continue to do so until the Republic launches its campaign to liberate the planet," Kuro said with a concerned tone of voice. "With such limitations in numbers and firepower, anything more ambitious would be far too risky."

"Indeed. There have been instances where the Separatists have been particularly cruel with the people and Syndulla has been outraged enough to launch an all-out attack on the droid armies. I have managed to persuade him not to each time but it is becoming increasingly difficult," Master Di said, echoing her concerned tone. "If the Republic doesn't take action to free Ryloth soon, I fear he will take more drastic actions to satisfy both himself as well as his people."

"Do your best, Master Di," Master Kuro said with conviction. "As I will do upon returning to Coruscant."

"May the Force be with you, Master Kuro." Master Di said with a formal Jedi bow.

"And also with you, Master Di," Kuro said, matching his bow with one of her own.

With that the crew of the Stellar Envoy boarded their ship and a few minutes later were once again airborne, heading for space. As they began their climb he had to wonder what the response of the blockade would be this time since all they had sent the first time was a token force of Vulture droid fighters. Would they send more to shoot down any ship attempting to leave the planet? He didn't think so, considering the limited carrying capacity of the Stellar Envoy and its lack of official Republic markings. A tactical droid would choose a measured response based on existing technical specifications of the light freighter sending only enough fighters to tactically ensure the target's destruction. One of the organic commanders would likely see the ship as unworthy of committing a sizeable attack force given their probable overconfidence in their military might. So long as Jadak's skills continued to live up to the man's boasting, he was confident that they'd be able to make it to hyperspace without any real danger coming their way.

"Well, if it's all the same to the rest of you, I'm gonna get out of this armor and slip into something a little more comfortable," he said as he took off his helmet, shaking his head a bit to get rid of his helmet hair.

"Good idea," Erica said, sounding in favor of his course of action. "I need to make a few adjustments to the armor to make it compatible with the jet pack we found in Boorka's vault. While most of the fundamental technology has remained the same since the time of the Old Republic, there've been enough improvements that some customizations need to be made."

"Once you've made these adjustments, it'll be combat ready?" he asked, sounding hopeful about his future flying options.

"Assuming all my diagnostics come back green afterwards, yes," she replied, sounding confident that everything'd would work according to her designs.

"Just remember to get some practice in before you go flying around the galaxy," Rreya said as he moved to change into his Jedi robes. "You need to at least LOOK like you've mastered it."

"Yeah, yeah!" he said, halfheartedly waving back at the crimson Twi'lek.

It was the usual banter that kept their friendship strong, so he didn't take it personally.

Walking along the decidedly more spacious halls of the ship, he wondered if he'd get enough spare time back at the Temple to get some lightsaber training in. There hadn't been much of a pause between their efforts to find the son of Jabba, looting Boorka's vault, him getting his new lightsabers and ferrying the supplies to Ryloth. Like any new possession he wanted to get a feel for them, to fully make them his own, but he couldn't do that so long as he was working as 'Slade Ordo'. There wasn't near enough room in the Envoy to get any decent sparring done without risking damage to the ship and Ordo couldn't be seen wielding lightsabers by the Separatists. If he wound up getting some missions as Padawan Xander instead, he could get both training in from Master Kuro AND some field experience fighting droids with them.

No sense wondering about stuff I don't have control over, he thought as he reached his team's improvised quarters and picked up his Jedi clothes. Spies don't decide where they go. The higher ups do.

Heading towards the refresher, the one place he could change in privacy aside from the crew quarters, he took three steps before sensing he was being followed.

"Don't you have some modifications to do?" he asked Erica without looking back at the HRD.

"Some of the modifications require getting your measurements; some very PRECISE measurements," Erica said, sounding like she had something sneaky planned.

"Then I'm sure you can use that biometric scanner over there to get it WITHOUT getting into the refresher with me," he said before he slipped inside the small room and shut the door behind him.

CLICK.

There. That should keep her out, he thought as he set the Jedi clothes down. No way she'll be able to slice the lock or break in without having quite a few awkward questions to answer.

Then he remembered what the HRD had been designed to do.

He began changing as quickly as he could.

The Jedi Temple on Coruscant

Days Later

Jedi Master Mace Windu's POV

"The time has come for you to get some practice with your new lightsaber, Padawan Xander," he said as he escorted his former student towards the headquarters of Temple Security. "To that end I have asked one of our most skilled wielders to teach you. Jedi Master Jastus Farr."

"I've heard of him," Xander said as they turned right down a new corridor. "Big guy and one of the few Jedi with a dual bladed lightsaber."

"Dual bladed lightsabers are not common because many consider them to be dangerously aggressive in nature and therefore go against the Jedi way," he explained, having a more balanced opinion of the lightsaber variation. "Nevertheless, Master Farr has proven capable of wielding it without any negative side effects."

Indeed, there were teachings within the Jedi Order that were dangerous to teach just anyone and a few that could only be taught with the approval of the Jedi High Council. His own created style of lightsaber combat, Vaapad, was particularly aggressive and dangerous since it led the user dangerously close to the Dark Side due its focus on physical combat. Only he, Master Bulq, Master Billaba and Master Vos had sufficient knowledge of the style to be considered practitioners of Vaapad. Nevertheless, he was very selective with who he chose to instruct in the style and absolutely required that the potential student have advanced emotional control. Those who had too little control would be swallowed up by the aggressive emotions involved and slide towards the Dark Side perhaps to be lost forever. He would be grossly negligent in his duties as a Jedi Master to allow anyone to learn the discipline without first making sure that it would be safe to do so.

In the case of Padawan Xander, he would not consider teaching Vaapad to the boy just yet.

While there did not appear to be any lingering side effects from the young one's brush with the Dark Side on Ord Mantell, the fact that Xander employed it at all made it clear that his emotional control was not strong enough. Indeed, if the report provided was accurate, then all that it would take to make the Padawan lose his control was a situation possessing sufficient stress and morally offensive actions. He was not without sympathy for his former student; witnessing such a brutal means of torture and execution could test even those of the rank of Master, but it didn't change the fact that he still had much to learn as a Jedi.

It was a short while later that the two of them arrived at the headquarters of Temple Security and, upon entering, he saw the usual assortment of members reviewing files or speaking with their various sources across the Republic. In the case of Master Farr, he was in mid-conversation with a Rodian male and seemed to be pressing the green being quite hard.

"C'mon, Fraado!" Farr said, sounding like he was having some difficulty. "You and your brother deal with all the cutting edge slicing tech in the Outer Rim. If anyone's got a new code cracking program that could get them into the Jedi Temple, you two would know about it and who made it."

"C'mon, Jastus! You know how things work out here!" Fraado said, trying to defend his lack of cooperation. "You get too curious, ask too many questions, and you get dead real quick. I'm just a humble businessman selling what everyone out here wants."

"A 'businessman' like you always knows who he's dealing with and where they're operating out of," Farr pressed, sounding like he'd keep it up as long as necessary. "You give me the information I want and I'll see to it that the ban on you working in the core worlds goes away. Whether it stays away depends on how clean you keep your 'business transactions'."

"I'll… I'll see what I can do," Fraado said, sounding like he'd come through with the information after taking some… precautions. "I'll call back tomorrow."

"See that you do," Master Farr said before terminating the connection.

"Problems, Master Farr?" he asked as he arrived at the man's desk.

"Just the usual, Master Windu," Farr replied with the appropriate level of respect. "One of my contacts told me about a plan to invade the temple and he seemed more confident than most that it stood a chance of working. I've been making the rounds of the usual supporters of such operations but haven't found anything of value just yet."

"Keep the Council apprised," he said before making a mental note to keep tabs on the investigation.

"Of course," Master Farr said before turning his gaze to Padawan Xander. "I take it this is Padawan you want me to give pointers to?"

"Yes. This is Padawan Xander," he replied, turning halfway to the young Jedi. "During the time after the Gathering, the Force guided the creation of a most unique lightsaber."

As if to aid in the conversation the young learner held up his creation for Master Farr to see firsthand.

"A most unique design," Farr said as he picked it up to physically inspect. "Most dual bladed lightsabers do not come with the ability to separate in the center."

Watching as the member of Temple security activated the separation mechanism, he admitted that it was something of an odd feature that he could not recall being utilized in recent times. However the more impressive part came when both halves had their blades ignited, revealing one purple blade and one golden blade. Neither were common colors among the Jedi Order, nor were the properties of the crystals responsible for the color of the energy blades. He had read Master Galia's account of what'd happened on Illum but, while the war was ongoing, any investigation into the hidden chamber within the cave system would have to wait.

"A bit too unique but they suit you well, young Padawan," Farr said before deactivating the lightsabers. "Now let's see what I have to work with."

The large, blue skinned Jedi led them to the private training room of the Temple Security force where its members honed their skills. Many of them were like Master Farr in that they employed dual bladed lightsabers but only Farr had sufficient mastery of the weapon to instruct someone else in its proper use.

"Before we try sparring with real lightsabers, we'll be using these practice staffs," Farr said, picking up two from the rack before tossing one to Xander. "Same as the practice lightsabers; completely nonlethal but painful enough to provide incentive against repeating a mistake."

"I remember," Padawan Xander said as he caught the tossed training tool.

Seconds later the weapons were activated and he watched as the two Jedi followed sparring custom before taking up proper combat postures. As an observer, he evaluated both combatants to judge how the match would proceed. Padawan Xander's ready stance was competent enough, given that it was his first time wielding a staff weapon, but there were clear signs of unfamiliarity and hesitation. On the side of Master Farr, though, were the smooth movements of experience and skill that made it difficult to determine how he would start things off. It was a foregone conclusion that Farr would win the match but there was some question as to how long it'd last. He remembered his own lessons with the Padawan and Master Kuro had kept him apprised of her own progress instructing the young Jedi. Both of them agreed that there was some genuine potential for skill in lightsaber combat in Xander and it was evident to him now more than ever.

In the blink of an eye Farr made the first move, swinging his staff from the right but he could see it as a feint rather than a true attack. For most students they would immediately move to block the attack, only to fall victim to the real attack that would come once the youth's weapon was sufficiently out of position to make blocking it impossible. However time and experience apparently improved the young man's battle sense as he repositioned himself out of the way of the likely impact point of the feint and strengthened the defense on the opposite side. This caused Master Farr to grin somewhat but it also triggered next phase of attacks, each proving to be more skillful than the last and, as a result, hits began to land on Xander. To the boy's credit he didn't let the successful attacks aggravate him emotionally, but rather inspired revisions in tactics as well as the creation of new strategies. Some of the young man's moves were quite cunning for one his age, with one or two succeeding in forcing Farr to take a step back in response. However, as the sparring match reached the seven minute mark, Master Farr executed a quick combination of techniques that ended with the successful disarmament of Padawan Xander.

"Well, I can see that you've taught the Learner well," Farr said as he deactivated his practice staff. "Most of the flaws I see come from lack of experience. That can be solved with sufficient practice and skilled instruction. However… with the war being what it is, there's bound to be interruptions in the lessons with one or both of us needing to be elsewhere."

"Then perhaps a condensed curriculum might be more appropriate," he proposed, conceding that all Jedi had responsibilities outside the Temple that could not be ignored. "The difficulty would be substantial but it would get the desired results."

"Is there a reason you want such accelerated progress?" Farr asked with a bit of curiosity in his voice.

"As ruled by Chancellor Palpatine, many clone battalions are led by Jedi of the rank of Knight or Master. However the Order has never been and will likely never be at full strength due to the many problems of the Republic," he replied as he explained his position. "As a result we have been forced to assign Padawans to appropriate knights and masters sooner than we would normally. Strengthening Padawan Xander in the use of his lightsabers is a necessary step in order to ensure that he is not unprepared for the trials ahead."

"I'm ready to do whatever I have to to do my part in the war, Master Farr," Padawan Xander said, showing his resolve on the matter.

"I'll hold you to that, Padawan," Master Farr said with implications that could not be mistaken. "How long until the Padawan's next mission?"

"Master Kuro's team will be assigned other duties for the next two weeks. That is the most time that can be spared before the Padawan will need to return to the frontlines," he replied, leaving out the fact that it'd likely be a return to the role of 'Slade Ordo' as well.

While he had the utmost faith in every member of the Jedi Order, Dooku's fall to the Dark Side proved that the risk existed. Indeed, with the traumas and difficulties of the war against the Confederacy of Independent systems, every Jedi would have their beliefs put to the test. With this being the case, precautions had to be taken in order to minimize the potential damage that could be caused by one of their own turning to the Dark Side and joining Dooku. While he had suspicions that that it would not take Dooku long to deduce the truth of Xander's dual identities, he could not risk it happening as a result of one of the Order delivering it to the Separatist leader in person. Thus only the Jedi High Council and Xander's team knew the truth of his alias and he had already ordered them not to share this with anyone else without Council permission.

"I will reassign my cases to another, then," Farr said, accepting the time limit he'd been given. "Come back in an hour, Padawan. Your 'condensed curriculum' will start then."

"As you wish, Master Farr," Xander said with a bow before turning to tend to whatever loose ends he needed to.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Master Windu," Farr said after the Padawan was well out of earshot.

"So do I, Master Farr," he said, acknowledging the risks involved in such intense training. "So do I."