Fall of Empires, Fall of Orders

The Fall of the Republic: With Palpatine's vengeful retaliation against Coruscant and the arrival of Darth Malgus, the Republic's fall is assured. Only the efforts of the Jedi can delay its' death entirely. Meanwhile, Malgus meets with the powerful Darth Vader in the Dark Lord's new base of power.

Centrality region

Malgus had to admit, Vader was a hell of a lot more intimidating then he was. The fact that he brought his apprentice AND his assassin there didn't help matters either. "Lord Malgus." Vader said. "I find myself in need of your services, as well as your fleet."

"I follow the Emperor, Vader," Malgus said with a growl. "You are only a pretend-" He was cut off as Sayane shot an arc of lightning into Malgus, forcing him back by a few steps.

"Your Sith Empire doesn't exist anymore, not in this timeline," Vader said. "And your Emperor has long been killed. We stand upon a chance to rebuild the Sith anew, to create a galactic Sith empire unlike any in the past. Join us, and you may be a part of it. Refuse, and you shall see how powerful this 'pretender' truly is with the Dark Side."

The sort-of prototype to the Dark Lord before him wanted nothing more than to use the Force against him, but the assassin's lightsabers activated as a warning against that. "I will be giving you command of a flight of Star Destroyers," Vader said. "I want you to take them to several Republic planets in the outer rim. Take them for the Empire."

Malgus sneered under his respirator, but had little choice but to obey. "Thy will be done, Lord Vader." The ancient Sith rose, leaving the command deck.

"My lord, COMPNOR's policies will make it more difficult to take control of the non-human worlds," Admiral Pellaeon said. "Perhaps we should use some of Grand Admiral Thrawn's tactics in that area."

"It is for the best," Vader said. "Ensure these tactics are recognized by all commanders as our new policies. Anyone who disregard these new policies shall be punished… severely."

"Yes, Lord Vader," Pellaeon said. "And if any of the local populace wish to… join us?" By that, he was wondering if the non-humans would be given positions in the military.

"I will not deny us the resources and skills we need. Make sure our armorers understand."

"Of course, lord Vader."

The Admiral left, and Vader turned his attention to Sayane. "I will give you command of the Chimaera and several other ships. I want you to take control of the area surrounding the Centrality. Expand our sphere of influence in any way possible. Am I clear, my apprentice?"

"Yes, my Master," she replied. "Also, is the fighter you found me in still usable? I find Shuttles… a bit slow for when I need to get somewhere with a small craft."

"The fighter is intact. Do what you must. Show no mercy. Once your mission is complete, go to the Hutt territories. The galaxy has suffered them long enough." The Hutts did deserve a massive ass kicking and a touch of genocide. They were parasites, and Palpatine only tolerated them so long because the Empire was built upon the Old Republic, which used the Hutts in some fashion. Now, they were unneeded and little more than a nuisance.

"Understood, my Master," she said as she turned to leave the Bridge.

New Jedi Order SSD Eclipse - continuing operations against the Sorcerers of Rhand

The Sorcerers of Rhand had discovered that when they called something a 'Super anything', it meant it. The Eclipse was kicking their asses, using Sith interceptors and more powerful weapons (not including the superlaser) to destroy everything that got in their way. The Mandalorians were more than grateful for the support the massive dreadnought provided for them, as any battle with the Eclipse present became an almost 100% guaranteed victory.

Needless to say, the Sith-Mandalorian alliance was going smoothly, the Mandalorians were more than happy to rally with the Sith if it meant defeating their common enemy. With the resources Jordan was able to provide, the Mandalorians now had the advantage against the Rhand, and were rapidly gaining ground they had once lost.

"I still find this… so hard to believe," one of the Mandalorian Admirals who came onboard the Eclipse said. "In just a few months, we've managed to retake over a dozen systems from the Sorcerers… "

"When I said we will win this war, I meant it," Jordan said with a smile. "Once the Sorcerers have been defeated, their territory will belong to us - Sith and Mandalorian, and the Unknown Regions shall become a little bit safer."

"There are still plenty of threats out there, not just the Sorcerers," the Mandalorian General said. "The Vagaari, Ssi-Ruuvi… without Rhand, they may attempt a power play."

"We will deal with them when the time comes," Jordan said. "The Ssi-Ruuvi are isolationists, they won't attack unless we get too close to their space. And for the Vagaari… they will be dealt with."

The new map of the galaxy, which included the fully mapped Unknown Regions (the Jedi Order and the Gaean dominion having sent a fleet to map the region 30 years ago to them) was displayed on a nearby holoemitter. The updates included the Republic, which according to the information on the holonet, was now falling apart. Vader's empire in the Centrality was expanding, due in no small part to the Forge Yamato had stolen. And the CIS seemed poised for victory over the dying Republic. But something was wrong. Vader was only pushing slightly in that area, not expanding like mad as most Sith would. He had a plan. But for now, Jordan's focus was to take out the sorcerers, whose last bastion was within reach.

"With our current string of victories, we are within reach to take the Capital of the Sorcerers, Rhand itself," Jordan said as the map zoomed in on the said planet. "It is heavily guarded by the Rhand fleet. Our primary objective is to capture the Rhand Temple which orbits the planet." The image showed what looked like an orbiting sphere-like object over the planet, which looked as if it had skyscrapers pointing out throughout it. "The Rhand Temple is the center for all military operations of the Sorcerers, and its capture would all but ensure our victory against them. However the temple is undoubtedly filled with their best troops, and hundreds of Sorcerers in themselves." He then smirked a bit. "So… we're gonna be giving them something else to worry about while we attack."

"Those HK Droids?" The Mandalorian Admiral asked, and Jordan nodded.

"Exactly," he said. "Once we begin the final push, Operation: 666 begins, and every last HK-series Droid I have sold them will turn on their masters. There are literally thousands of them within Rhand's capital, it will cause chaos to their command structure, giving us the chance we need."

"Then they have two choices. Surrender or die. I don't think option one is really a choice for us, though."

"No, it won't be," Jordan said with a smrik.

"What about the Jedi Order?" the Admiral asked. "Won't they find out what's going on and send someone to investigate?"

"With the Republic the state it's in now, they'll be too busy to do anything here," Jordan said. That was true, in most respects, at least. The core systems were barely holding together as it was, and the midrim was no better. The Republic was dead and it didn't even know it yet. "Even if they could, the Republic stays out of the Unknown Regions because they don't have sufficient mapping data, don't know which areas are safe for Hyperspace travel and which aren't. The only ones who do have mapping data would be the Dominion, but I doubt they'll send anyone over here when they're still dealing with the Republic, CIS, and Vader. And even if they did, they won't attack us unless we attack them."

"Speaking of Vader, he's been seemingly quiet," one of the Mandalorians said. "Hasn't made any real moves out of Centrality."

"Building up his army?" The General asked.

The Admiral eyed the diagram of the Star Forge on a nearby monitor. "Your Jedi ally did lose one of those micro-Forges he built to Vader." He said, "Speaking of which, where the hell is he?"

"Looking for a new apprentice," Jordan said. "We should hear back from him soon hopefully. And I think its obvious why Vader isn't expanding that quickly yet. It's one thing to have ships, but if you don't have the proper crews to man them they're just useless. He has enough force to control Centrality, but he can't risk overexerting his forces. On my world, Nazi Germany invaded Russia, putting them on a war on two fronts - the Russians to the east, and the Americans, British, and the rest of the allied powers to the west, dividing their resources. And it cost him as Germany lost the war, sucumbing to the combined powers of the eastern and western powers."

"Vader wants to avoid that same situation," Jordan said. "Similar to what the Mandalorians did before they attacked the Republic during the Mandalorian Wars nearly 4,000 years ago. He's attacking non-Republic or CIS affiliated worlds, worlds who don't stand that much of a chance against their superior technology and training, and doing so at a pace where his forces can control each planet they take sufficiently without dividing their resources too much."

"However, Vader won't do this forever." He continued as he eyed the map of Centrality. "He has three ways he could pull this off. Firstly, he could make an army of Dark Trooper-series Droids, use them to make up for the lack of manpower… but Vader doesn't like to rely that much on Droids. Unlike Organic troops, Droids can be hacked, and turned against their creators."

"Second, he could use Clones." Jordan said, "He could use Kamino Clones like the GAR, but that means he'd have to wait a minimum of ten years before he can expand even further. Or he could copy Thrawn's example, and use Spaarti Clones and Ysalamiri. By cloning them with Ysalamiri nearby, he can cut the Clones off from the Force, thus preventing clone madness, allowing for Clones to be battle-ready from 15 to 21 standard days. However even then, it takes time to build them up to the same numbers as the GAR or CIS, plus Vader would want his troops to be effective in combat. The 14th Infantry Brigade of the GAR was almost completely made of Spaarti Clones, and they didn't bother to take cover and their accuracy was pitiful. Vader will likely want to prevent that, making sure Spaarti's are actually competent soldiers at the very least. Meaning once they develop, he'll put them through additional training which could take years."

"And thirdly, he could settle with standard recruitment," he said. "Centrality has become excessively loyal to Death Squadron, and agents in the area report massive lines at recruitment stations of people wanting to serve Vader's empire. He earned their loyalty bringing them out of an industrial and agricultural depression, they owe him and his empire everything. It will take time for them to train and supply these troops, but if they're as effective as Republic or Imperial soldiers during the Great Galactic War, it could spell out trouble."

"What do you think Vader will do?" The Mandalorian General asked.

Jordan sighed as he sat in the command chair of the Eclipse. "If I were Vader… I'd do what I plan on doing," he said. "All of the above. I would focus on the organic training, having a recruitment drive and a Cloning Program running, using Spaarti Clones to supplement the foot soldiers and ship crews, and Kamino Clones to be trained in Special Operations like the ARC's and Commando's. Meanwhile also having a sizable Droid Army to back the regular troops and Clones."

"That's going to make our job harder," the General said. "He's got more personnel to train and recruit, although he doesn't have cloning facilities."

"Yet," Jordan said warningly. "It's not difficult to build Cloning Facilities, and remember - Vader may know where Spaarti Cloning facilities his master created are located at. "

Ryloth

A small blockade of Republic warships kept watch over the Twi'lek homeworld, allowing them to defend the planet should the Separatists return. They never stood a chance as the Stalker dropped out of hyperspace, along with the Strikefast and Blizzard. "This is Darth Malgus of the Galactic Imperial Navy." The Dark Lord announced, "Surrender your vessels to us or be destroyed." The Republic simply opened fire on the ISD-2 Malgus now commanded. "Pitiful. Inform the squadron to move in and prepare for attack."

As like before, the Republic fleet was no match against the superior Imperial starships, as it became a one-sided slugging match.

The few Republic warships that were intact were venting atmosphere, their crews dying as they were shot out into space. "The enemy fleet has been… removed from their positions, my Lord."

"Prepare your ground forces for invasion," Malgus said. "Let your…" He pondered for a moment on the right term. "Public relations personnel handle the local population."

"Yes my lord," The Captain said, as orders were issued out, as landing ships were sent down to the surface of the planet.

Ryloth's slow rotation would make this a very difficult operation, as one side of the planet was pitch black while the other was bright enough to blind. But the 501st Legion were the best of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps: they would get the job done. Malgus had better things to contend with, like hunting down Jedi.

Ron's ARC-170

The repainted attack fighter dropped out of hyperspace near a planet that, historically, hated Jedi: Mandalore. The planet was in political chaos, no thanks to the dying state of the Republic. Death Watch would be on his ass the second he landed if he broadcast his Jedi status. 'Still, if I say 'fight me like a Mandalorian and not a coward', he'll try to duel me to death. Won't succeed, but he'll try.' The fighter headed directly for the capital, Keldabe, which, in later years, would give its' name to one of the few ships that could challenge an ISD.

From what he could ascertain, with the Republic in its current status, Mandalore was - officially - unaffected, along with the other independent neutral star systems. However without the Republic able to aid them in domestic affairs, they are already having trouble with local pirate gangs harassing their supply lines, and the Mandalorian Police have been able to do little to stop them. The people of Mandalore were starting to get VERY angry at how they are incapable of defending themselves, as their Police forces simply were not cutting it.

However, like it would have been if it was the Shadow Collective, it was the Death Watch who came to the rescue. Their superior equipment, ships and training allowed them to act as more than sufficient defense against the Pirates. Pre Vizla has all but won the support of the New Mandalorians at this point.

When he contacted Jordan about this development, he said he was all to happy to see the 'Pacifists' taught a lesson, and he intended once the Sorcerers were finished, the Akaan'Ade would help remove Pre from power, to set the Mandalorian People on the 'right' path… but not before Jordan slaps Satine around for being incompetent while dealing with her people.

The ARC landed, but not without catching the attention of Mandalorian security forces. Two of the would-be police personnel approached the fighter, and Ron quickly hid all but one of his lightsabers. Kane Hagosha was vocal in her displeasure over being placed in a hiding place on the fighter instead of being on his person, but Ron was the Jedi and understood a need for secrecy. "Hang on a moment, gentlemen: I'll be with you as soon as I get unbuckled."

"Who are you?" One of the Mandalorian Guards asked, "Your arrival wasn't scheduled."

"Gelos Joshua Albert's the name," he said. "I work for Mandal Hypernoughtics. I was on a business trip to Coruscant when-"

"You don't need to finish that sentence." The second guard said wavind his hand. "We know what happened."

"Good." Ron said, as he hopped out of the ARC. "Then shut the hell up and let me get back to my boss."

"We won't keep ya," The first guard said with a sigh. "After that shittstorm, its amazing anyone survived that… a bombardment like that hasn't happened since the Mandalorian Excision."

"I was VERY lucky." Ron said. Unknown to them, they were being watched. A woman in Mandalorian armor crouched on one of the rooftops to keep herself hidden from the police forces while watching the man who just arrived. He didn't speak like one, but he walked like a Jedi.

"Ordo, where are you?" A woman's voice came through the Comm. "Vizla's holding a meeting, and you're not here!"

She pressed a hand to her helmet. "I'm getting there," she said. "Someone just landed, and he said he got here from Coruscant."

"Don't bother with him. Death watch is more important than some nobody."

Telas Ordo sighed. "Fine. I'm on my way."

NJO SSD Eclipse

"All forces are ready." One of the operators of the Eclipse said, as surrounding the vessel was a fleet of Neo Sith and Mandalorian ships. "All two hundred allied ships have been assembled and ready for the jump to Rhand."

Jordan smirked as he sat in the Eclipse command chair. "Good. Prepare to launch," he said, as he pulled out his Comm device, and keyed into HK-47's code, as the Assassin Droid appeared on the screen. "HK-47… the time has come." He said in a very convincing Darth Sidious impersonation. "Execute Order: 666."

"Gleeful Acknowledgement: As you wish, Master," HK-47 said.

Jordan chuckled as he turned the commlink off. "Engage Hyperdrives, Rhand here we come." He said, and a few minutes later the fleet entered Hyperspace.

The Rhand fleet was in absolute chaos as the 'protocol droids' suddenly turned on their masters, killing with abandon. Sure, the HKs were put down EVENTUALLY, but it had cost so many lives that stopping them was what the humans of their birthworld would call a Pyrrhic victory. They were down to skeleton crews, barely enough to fly the ships, let alone fight! The 200 ship strong Sith/Mandalorian armada arrived moments after the last droid had been destroyed, and the crews of each ship automatically went 'aw, shit' the moment they saw the Eclipse. "I'MMA FIRIN MA LAZOR! BLARG!" The superlaser fired, hacking through the dreadnought that served as the flagship before they launched a full frontal assault on the remaining ships.

"Just as planned," Jordan said with a smirk. "Have Commando teams begin the attack on the temple station - I want that place secured yesterday!"

"You heard the man!" The Mandalorian General announced on the Comms. "MOVE!" Landing craft and recently refit Basilisk war droids began their assault on the station, escorted by interceptors and covered by the capital ships. This would be a cakewalk compared to dealing with Death Squadron. Or worse, Krayt's One Sith fleet.

"Stupid question, but why don't we just use the superlaser and destroy the station?" The Admiral asked. "Why bother boarding it?"

"Because, the temple has the location of any bases the Sorcerers have that we don't know about." Jordan said, "We need to make sure we purge the Sorcerers to the point where they shall only exist in our memories. Plus they could have weapons research, and other documents we can use to our advantage. I would have had the HK droids obtain it, but there are places even they cannot go without raising suspicion. Once we collect what we need, then we blow it up with the Superlaser. "

"Well, that makes sense." The Admiral muttered.

"You just want to use the damn superlaser." The General said with a smirk.

"It destroys ANYTHING that gets in the way." The Admiral shot back. "Wouldn't YOU want to use it?"

"We'll be using it, don't you worry." Jordan said with a light chuckle. "Everyone wants to use the Superlaser to blow something up."

Mandalore

Ron liked the planet that was home to the self-proclaimed rivals of the Jedi. The New Mandalorians, he could do without. Especially Duchess Satine Kryze, who seemed to insist to be with him at ALL FUCKING TIMES. "My Lady, with respect, I have no idea WHY you seem so interested in ME of all people," Ron said to said Duchess who followed her.

"You were at Coruscant." Satine said, "I simply wish to know what happened to… a friend of mine."

'Friend my 260 pound ass,' Ron thought as he mentally rolled his eyes. Satine was more than a little interested in Obi-wan Kenobi. If it weren't for the presence of Siri Tachi (who was dead) and his commitment to the Jedi Code, those two would probably have gotten married at some point. He had no problem with her personally. Her pacifistic IDIOCY, on the other hand…

"If you are referring to General Kenobi, he is alright," Ron said, surprising the Dutchess. "I do my research ma'am."

"Was he involved at all in the fighting?" She asked.

"He boarded a ship from what I understand and tried to kill the reborn Palpatine before the Sith bastard escaped," Ron said. "Might've had an easier time if he had some of the galaxy's ultimate badasses with him."

"The Death Watch would never fight with Obi-wan," Satine said. "They hate him about as much as the Separatists do."

"Who says I was talking about Death Watch?" Ron said. "Most of those idiots are posers compared to men like Canderous Ordo and Jango Fett. THOSE are true Mandalorians. They knew when to fight and when NOT to fight. Unlike Death Watch." He then turned to face Satine. "Unlike YOU."

Satine's eyes narrowed slightly. "It's because of our warrior past that our people was nearly destroyed during the excision!" she declared. "All we used to care about was war with the Republic, it would have lead to our end! Our path as soldiers and warriors would just destroy us all, that is why the New Mandalorians exist."

"Oh wake the FUCK up, Dutchess!" Ron shouted. "Just LOOK at your people! You're being harassed by low-budget Pirates and Slavers now, and they are knocking you around like playthings, and your 'police' force can barely do a thing to stop them! The only ones who are doing anything to stop them are those Warriors and Soldiers you claim 'would lead Mandalore to Destruction'."

"They aren't the ones leading Mandalore to its destruction, Satine - you are." Ron announced, "You made the Mandalorians so weak, that they are incapable of fighting just to defend themselves! You have become too dependent on the Republic to bail you out of everything! And just look at your people… most of them want to return to their warrior past, they want to fight because it's in their blood. Don't believe me? Then why is there a massive recruitment drive being lead by the Death Watch? Why are legions of your so-called Pacifist people wanting to dawn their own set of Shock Trooper armor and fight their own battles?"

"We… we are simply in troubled times," Satine said. "The Death Watch are nothing more than Terrorists, anyone who follows the warrior ways will just lead us all to ruin, maybe not today, but someday in the future."

'Urge to take lightsaber and impale this IDIOT, RISING,' Ron thought, but kept the urge inside. "Death Watch glorifies it, you don't want to see it," he said. "Why the fuck can you take a hint from the Jedi Order's past and find BALANCE between the two?"

The duchess blinked. Ron wanted to facepalm. The Jee'dai Order's existence wasn't exactly common knowledge to the rest of the galaxy. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

The incognito grandmaster internally sighed. 'In for a penny, in for a pound, as they used to say.' He thought. "The Jedi Order used to find balance between the light and dark sides of the force before certain events force them to… simply turn to the light alone." Ron said with a sigh. "Biggest fucking mistake they've ever made, what with the existence of the Sith Order and all, but they didn't have a choice at the time. Find a balance between your warrior past, acknowledge it and say 'we can fight when we need to, and we can stay our blade when we need to as well', instead of being mewling children!"

"It's… it's not that simple." Satine said, shaking her head. "You've seen Coruscant burn, Mr. Alberts… imagine that same thing happening to Mandalore? The Republic did it once before, just like they did to the Sith on Korriban thousands of years ago… I refuse to let that same fate befall on our people again. "

"Hence the knowing when to draw and when not to." Ron said.

"Truer words were never said, Master Jedi!" A voice announced, as the two groaned (one internally, one audibly) when they heard the voice of Pis Vizla, leader of Death Watch who approached from behind, along with the Nite Owls.

"I am no Jedi, friend." Ron said, "What can I do for you?"

"Don't bother lying, Mr. albert." Pre said with a small smirk, "Or should that be Mr. Pinkerton? The Jedi Order's put out a few pictures of you on the holonet after your little stunt on Myrkr." Ron dropped the pretense and faced the Death Watch pretender. "What do you want?"

"You, of course," Pre said, as he activated his Darksaber (which Ron knew Jordan had already claimed 'Dibs' on). "You're a wanted criminal to the Republic, and some of the best Knights of their order couldn't even take you down… but if we Mandalorians take you down, it will prove not only that we are better than the Republic or Jedi, it will stand as a testament to what our people can accomplish without the Republic, that we can protect our homes without them."

"You want to challenge me in the Mandalorian way, then fucking say it, di'kut!" Ron shouted.

The Death Watch leader brisled at the insult. In Mandalorian, no less. "Then I challenge you, Jedi Ronald Pinkerton!"

"You've got a 7 to one advantage in arms." Ron said with a smirk, "Maybe I should give you a handicap." Vizla roared before firing at him with the wrist mounted blaster, which Ron deflected with a quickly-activated red bladed lightsaber… into a male Nite Owl's balls.

"OW! Shit.. Fuck..." The Death Watch soldier muttered, "At least… I've got… a Beskar Cap..."

"Yeah, where I'm from, that wouldn't do shit. Blasters are powerful enough to punch through Mandalorian iron. just like my lightsaber."

"Bullshit!"

"Exar Kun did it four thousand years ago, asshole." Pes had to admit that the Jedi had a point. If ONE could do it, all had the capability to do so.

"This won't be decided by a gunfight, but by our skills with a blade!"

"You still want that handicap?" The Mandalorian charged at Ron, but the Jedi simply kept parrying his strikes. "Come ON. Mandalore the Preserver could do better!"

And that broke Vizla's back. "Do not compare me to that Jedi-loving coward!" The swordfight began anew, and while the Mandalorian was duelling with all he had, Ron… was bored out of his mind.

Watching from above was Telas Ordo. She was impressed. Obi-wan Kenobi had a hard time with him, but Pinkerton was holding back and winning. Even Pre's second-in-command - Bo-Katan Kryze - was a bit impressed by the Jedi's skills.

"Yoo~ou suu~ck!"

"SHUT UP!" The Jedi continued to block Vizla's attacks while he got more and more pissed off. "That's the problem with you Jedi! You think you're superior to us!"

"We're not superior because of our abilities, dar'manda." Ron growled out. "We're superior to idiots like you because of our RESTRAINT in using them. But if you want me to cut loose, go ahead and say so!"

"I won't be mocked by a Jetii like you!" Pre shouted, as he prepared the Darksaber once more as he charged towards Ron.

The Terran sighed. "Pre Vizla. Secret Mandalore, wielder of the darksaber..." he parried another strike before kicking him in the knee and breaking the kneecap before punching him in the face and hacking off both of his forearms. "And complete fool." The Mandalorian looked at his arms, which now laid on the ground. "Kenobi could've done that during his duel with you on Concordia. Want to know why he didn't?" Vizla's expression was of fear and humiliation. "because he didn't want to. Jedi don't do that technique-Cho mok, it's called, or in this case mou kei-all that often because it's a pain in the ass for the Jedi AND for the poor bastard who just lost his arm. Me? I don't fucking CARE about you. You piss me off. you glorify the old ways of war and conquest when they will get you killed if you don't practice restraint. The Jedi could easily rule the galaxy, but we DON'T because we don't want to." Ron then turned around to leave. "Think about that, fool."

While the Death Watch moved to help their leader as Ron left, Telsa however departed from the rest of them, as she subtly began to follow Ron through the city.

Meanwhile - With Jordan

"And with this, I claim Checkmate." Jordan said smirking, as he looked at all of the data they had received from the Rhand Temple. With the base abandoned, the Admiral was free to launch the Superlaser, blasting the ugly building out of the skies as the invasion continued. "The Sorcerers of Rhand are no more. The people of the Nihil Retreat are free."

"They might be free, but the Republic's losing systems to both the CIS and death Squadron." Cariaga said, as A holographic image of Ryloth appeared, complete with five ships in orbit: an ISD, two Victories, a Tartan and a Broadside. "Vader evicted the GAR from Ryloth a few days ago."

"And knowing the Empire, the Twi'leks are rebelling." Jordan said.

"Not as much as you think." Talvon said, "They're working WITH them."

"With them?" Jordan asked, genuinely surprised for a few moments. "That doesn't make sense… unless…" he thought about it for a few moments before he realized what Vader was doing. "Clever, clever Vader… so you're taking a few tips from Thrawn doctrine…"

"And it's working." Talvon said, "A bit TOO well, if you ask me. According to an independent news agency that has people on Ryloth, several dozen twi'leks are requesting to join the military." The GAR was made up of male human clones, so a chance to prove themselves was to be expected as both a anti-humanocentric measure and an anti-sexist measure. And if Vader was approving it over the many, MANY heads of COMPNOR that were undoubtedly members of the crews in Death Squadron's many many ships, this meant trouble. It was also something they couldn't deal with at the moment.

"Right now, that's not our problem." Jordan said with a sigh, "For now we just need to stamp out any remnants of Rhand, and have the Nihil retreat absorbed into the Empire. Once we've secured our hold here, we worry about our neighbors - the Vagaari Empire and the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium."

"And what of the Chiss Ascendancy?" The Mandalorian Admiral asked, "What are your plans for them?"

"I have no intentions of going to war with them unless they strike first - which I doubt." Jordan said, "If anything, I would prefer to have the Chiss ally with us, but considering their somewhat xenophobic tendencies that may be difficult… however dealing with the Vagaari for them may go a long way into securing at least some form of alliance."

"Let's hope they don't piss off your Jedi friend." The simple mention of Outbound Flight was… unwise around most Terran Jedi. It would have meant that Earth, birthworld of humanity, would have been reunited with their local brethren MUCH sooner. The Chiss Ascendancy was STILL dealing with the political problems caused by both the Gaean Dominion AND the New Jedi Order in the future, whether or not Palpatine was ultimately responsible or not being a moot point.

"Here's hoping those Jedi are still alive," Talvon said. "Some of them might join your Sith Order."

"I hope so as well," Jordan said nodding. "But that is a mission for another time. I shall be sending the coordinates to known Rhand outposts to the fleet, and we shall begin mop-up operations to remove Rhand from the galaxy once and for all."

Mandalore

Telas Ordo continued to follow the Jedi, thinking she was good enough to hide from his senses while he was busy talking with the Duchess, who, while hating the idea of violence, was forced to acknowledge its' need due to Ron's rather impromptu speech. "So, humans aren't from this galaxy?"

"To a degree. A few hundred thousand years ago, the Celestials decided to seed worlds with intelligent life. Problem was, not many of these worlds had beings that adapted so… easily. They somehow discovered Earth, in my home galaxy, and found a race that adapted to just about ANYWHERE."

"Humans, I presume?"

"Fuck yes," Ron said. "They planted them on Coruscant, Corellia, any planet that had human life on it before the invention of the hyperdrive."

"But what about near-humans and humanoids like the Twi-lek an Zeltron?" Satine asked. "Were they also a result of these… Celestial' interference?"

Ron shrugged. "Maybe. Who knows?" he said. "In my era, the Milky Way wasn't as explored as this galaxy is. Hyperspace routes are still being mapped, systems are being checked the same shit that happened during the formation of the REALLY Old Republic."

Telas listened to every word that came out of Pinkerton's mouth. rumors of the duo (Jordan Tackett was MIA) being from the future were regarded as pure bullshit for the most part. Clearly they weren't rumors or bullshit. 'What else might he know?' She thought as she continued to follow them, sticking to the shadows, putting all of her skills at stealth to good use.

"Your planet's going to be next in line for conquest by Vader and Death Squadron if you don't smarten the fuck up," Ron said. "Organize a REAL defensive army." The Jedi paused before pulling the hidden Mandalorian out from her hiding place using the Force, placing her on the ground. "You're good. VERY good. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trained in the art of force concealment."

"Huh?"

"You never noticed," he said. "Young lady, you're Force-sensitive. But it's faint: reminds me of Meetra Surik when she came out of exile. You're repressing your own powers, consciously or subconsciously."

Telas still looked a bit confused. "Wait… you're telling me I could be a Jedi?" She asked.

"Only thing stopping you is yourself, really," Ron said. "That, and you don't have a teacher." Ron wasn't offering, and Telas knew it. She knew that he knew one factor that would make it almost impossible under normal circumstances to teach her the ways of the Force: she was a Mandalorian. Mandalorians didn't BELIEVE in the Force and they universally hated Jedi. That was a stereotype, yes, but it was a horribly accurate one.

"Now I have to get back to my ship," Ron said. "I've spent too much time on Mandalore, and while I'm sure the Duchess will welcome Master Kenobi with open arms, he'll try to capture or kill me. Farewell."

With that said, Ron used the force to hop away, and in a few minutes he managed to return back to where he landed. He climbed back up into the ARC, and closed the cockpit.

"Teach Me."

"GAH!" Ron whirled around to see Telas was sitting in the co-pilot seat behind him, arms crossed.

"Teach me how to use it." Telas repeated.

"The fuck, lady?!"

"My name is Telas Ordo of Clan Ordo, Jedi, and I want to be your student!"

Ron blinked as he recognized the last name. "Wait, as in Canderous Ordo's clan?" he asked. "Well, that'd make you more open minded to the Jedi way, but you don't believe the Force exists. You believe in something else."

"I believe the Force exists, Pinkerton." Telas said, "I just don't believe the bullshit the Sith or Jedi or our time would have us believe. "

"It's a point of view, not dogma," Rons aid. "Problem is, no one seems to get-" A thud was heard as something landed on the nose of the ARC. Or someone, in this case: a Death Watch commando wearing full armor and carrying a modified disruptor rifle.

"Can you give me a minute? I'm going to teach this guy a lesson in manners," Ron said as he opened the hatch, said something that caused the idiot to fire and both were thrown off the fighter. Thuds and bangs were heard before a high pitched scream pierced the air, followed by a more familiar one.

"Is he dead?"

Then she saw a helmet rise from the starboard wing. "You know, I think I know why you guys wear these things: they make you look absolutely badass." Ron said.

Telas shook her head. "Yes, but as you probably already know, there's more to it than that," she said. "So… you were saying?"

Ron, carrying what appeared to be the idiot's armor, hopped back into the cockpit and shut the hatch. "For all we know, the Force is just one of many… forces for lack of a better term in the universe," he said. "It's just the most obvious one. Personally, I don't care if there's something else out there. But if you want training, there's a few things I need you to do."

"Like?" Telas asked, wanting him to continue.

"Make that armor of yours electrically insulated and flexible enough to keep up with lightsaber forms without compromising protection, for one," Ron said. "And you're going to need to pick a color."

"For what?"

"Your lightsaber crystal."

GDS Austria-Hungary

Takeshi stood near the front of the bridge of the Austria-Hungary, gazing out into space as he pondered everything that had lead to this point.

As with most Jedi, he'd been trained from a very young age, though Terran Jedi were like Corellian Jedi in that younglings weren't separated from their family. Of course, his family wasn't entirely Terran - his paternal line originated on Corellia, and could be traced back to a Jedi Sentinel from the Second Galactic War, who shared his name, and even his physical appearance.

He'd trained to follow in his ancestor's footsteps, and the Force Ghost of his ancestor actually showed up to help his training when he was 14, which helped him fully master his abilities with a Lightsaber.

As for his powers with the Force, about the only telekinetics he had were connected to his Lightsabers, mainly the ability to throw them and guide them in the air. He couldn't do much of the other telekinetic stunts other Jedi could - but he made up for that with improved strength in the physical enhancement abilities, and sensing ability. That last bit was handy in a fight, but it also meant it was a lot easier to sense his sister when she was around.

Takeshi sighed as his thoughts changed to Sayane. Like him, Sayane was named after a Yamato from the Second Galactic War, only that naming was accidental - and only Takeshi knew about it, because his ancestor had told him all about the other Sayane - and the origins of the Yamato's Force Sensitivity.

Apparently the Old Republic Takeshi's mother was descended from a Sith Lord named Kallig, and she'd fled Sith Space to escape the family legacy, and had met that Takeshi's Father, a skilled starfighter pilot, on Corellia, and things had gone from there. When that Takeshi was born, he was given to the Jedi Order against Corellian Tradition, in the hopes that he might be able to redeem the family legacy. However, that Sayane hadn't had that - their parents had died of illness when she was three, meaning she'd grown up on the streets before her older sister figure/lover was raped and murdered before her eyes by corrupt security people, and she subconsciously tapped into the Force to avoid a similar fate. She'd then left Corellia, and ended up in the Sith, seeking to gain the power needed to no longer be helpless.

Then, on Dromund Kaas, she'd met the spirit of Lord Kallig. And she found her route to that power - recover the lost power of Tulak Hord, who had betrayed Lord Kallig in the past. She left a horrific body count in her wake, and in the end that Takeshi had been forced to strike her down.

Of course, the modern Sayane's history wasn't anywhere near that tragic: she was taught by two people, Jedi Master Helena Skywalker and her former student, Padawan Trainer Ronald Pinkerton. Skywalker, like the rest of her family, had flirtations with the dark side, but Pinkerton's accidental creation of Affinity Anchoring was her hope to prevent that from happening to anyone else. But her hopes were dashed, as Ron's training of Sayane was too effective, and she didn't have Ron's immunity to falling to the dark path. She fell during one of her last lessons, and nearly killed Master Skywalker before turning her attention to Ron, who nearly killed her in turn, simply because Ron was the better duelist. However, the One Sith helped her escape, if barely.

And now they were both in this alternate timeline - and in the most recent battle over Coruscant, he'd sensed Sayane's presence again, this time on one of Vader's Star Destroyers - meaning she was working rather closely with him.

Takeshi didn't think there was any hope of redeeming her any more. When next they met, he'd do what he must.

Now, though, he had a few things to worry about, like contacting his informal student. Ron was on board that ARC-170, and he knew it. And the Jedi Council of their time was going to need to be informed of their new situation, and because Takeshi didn't know Flow Walking, he needed the younger Jedi's help.

Takeshi reached out with the minor Force Bond he and Ron shared. 'Testing, one, two, three, testing,' he thought. 'Ron, can you hear me?'

'Master Yamato, I'm a little - WHAT THE FUCK?! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM?!'

'I came with the Gaean Dominion Fleet,' Takeshi replied 'We'd been tracking stolen Terran Weapons, and the thieves happened to be One Sith. We destroyed their capital ship, but the leader of their group escaped in a fighter, before she triggered a Force Storm, which dropped us at Byss.'

'When the shit hits the fan… Alright, what the hell do you need?'

'You know Flow Walking and I don't.'

'You want to talk to our Council? Never done this from a few thousand lightyears away, but first time for everything.'

'If you don't think you can do it from this distance, I can take my fighter and meet you somewhere…'

'No, I can do it. Hang on…' the ISD vanished, and they reappeared in the council chamber on Coruscant.

"Oh, not again."

"Greetings, Masters," Takeshi said to the Council. "Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, things have changed a fair bit since Ron last contacted you."

"We know. The Dominion's rather angry at the loss of one of their fleets."

"Masters, Death Squadron is in this timeline. Reality itself is breaking down."

"And when the Dominion Fleet and I were pulled into this timeline, so was my sister - she's currently working with Death Squadron."

"Master Pinkerton, we know what is causing this to happen. Your 'anchors' in this time are pulling things from the future to that time."

Takeshi blinked. "You mean this is Ron's fault?" he asked.

"No, but it is making things worse."

"I'll need to cut them to make things easier for us. The Dominion can't lose any more ships."

"But you'll likely then need to set new ones where we are now, to maintain the effect, right?" Takeshi asked.

"I can make more. I have to be flexible, and since we're not getting home… this will be the last time we can speak, Masters."

"We ARE working on a way to bring you all home," the Master said. "We just need some more time… but should the worst come…"

"We'll do what we have to do, Masters," Ron said. "May the Force be with us all." The connection cut out, followed by rather nasty sounding SNAPS in the force.

Jordan flinched at the disturbance. Something had happened. Something that created a disturbance in the Force.

Vader flinched as the feeling of a snap in the Force. "This will not end well. for anyone."

"Sir?" Obi-wan shook his head. "I think those two did something again. What is it with them and causing disturbances in the force?"

Ron's Commlink beeped on as he activated it "Ron?" Jordan asked, "Did you just feel that… whatever it was?"

"I didn't FEEL it. I CAUSED it," he said. "I just broke all of my anchors leading from our time." From Jordan's limited understanding of affinity anchoring, that would've been rather stupid of Ron to do, as it would have killed him.

"Ron… wouldn't doing something as STUPID as that KILL YOU?!" Jordan shouted.

"My anchors might've caused Death Squadron's appearance in this time, as well as every other time-related mishap we've had since we GOT here."

"Uh… Anchors?" Ron looked back at Telas. As did Jordan.

"Wait, who the hell is that?" Jordan asked.

"Telas Ordo," Ron said. "My new apprentice. She's Mandalorian."

"Oh… well good," Jordan said, sighing. "Well, hopefully now, without the anchors, we don't have to worry about any more time travelers."

"With our luck? I doubt it entirely."

"Uh, are you two going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Later," Ron said. "We're going to Ruusan. There, I'll start your actual training in the Force."

"Sounds good," Jordan said. "Good news Ron, we're about to finish up with the Sorcerers of Rhand here, we're just mopping up any remnants. We'll be turning our attention towards the Vagaari next, and then we can get to the Ssi-Ruuvi. Though I'm going to be making a… pit stop at a world along the outer fringes of Chiss space."

"Thrawn," Ron said, nodding. "Part of me wants to knife him, the other wants to shake his hand. I'll see you when you're done. Just make sure you don't lose my ship: the Eclipse is one of a kind at the moment."

"Don't worry, she won't get a scratch," Jordan said. "See you later - Jordan out." His image vanished from the screen.

"That's what Lando said. Look what happened to the Millenium Falcon."

The Mandalorian Padawan looked at him. "Could you-"

"On Ruusan, my padawan. I will answer every question you have there."

GDS Austria-Hungary

"Well, the galaxy's going to shit," Ahsoka muttered. "The Republic's dead, and you're barely keeping it together. All because of two Terran Purebloods."

Anakin rose an eyebrow. "Terran Purebloods?"

"It's a rather unflattering, if accurate, term for Terran Jedi born in dominion space, with purely Terran ancestors, Master," Ahsoka said. "Both Pinkerton and Tackett are Terran Purebloods, and because of that, they're more powerful than any Jedi in this galaxy could ever be. They both have midichlorian counts at least four times higher than you do."

"That's impossible," Obi-wan said. "Anakin's count is higher than even Master Yoda! Are you saying every Terran Jedi is stronger than the master of our order?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, Master Kenobi," she said. "The lowest count for a Terran Pureblood is just under 19000. But in consequence, Purebloods are rare: for every thousand force sensitives any race in our galaxy produces, Earth and her colonies only produce 50. But the typical range for them is between 30 and 40,000. Ron and Jordan are in the higher range, plus they learned from Force spirits."

"So, men like them are rare?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, yeah. Then there's the Halfbloods like Knight Yamato. He's half-Corellian. Any children he has will be awakened to the force, but they will never be as highly in tune as a Pureblood. The phrase 'quality over quantity' fits perfectly for them."

"Either way, that's not what we should be focusing on," Obi-wan said with a sigh. "Thankfully, some members of the senate survived, Senators Amidala, Chuchi, and Mothma were off-planet at their respective homeworlds, and Senator Organa was saved as well. There are a few other survivors… but not nearly enough to maintain the Republic as it was."

"We might have to reform the Republic as something different." Ahsoka said, "In their time, the New Republic had been reformed as the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances during the Yuuzhan Vong War."

"And what the hell are those things?" Rex asked.

Ahsoka sighed before leaning on a bulkhead. "They're a humanoid race from another galaxy." She said, "They use biotechnology, and their religion was...not pretty. They nearly killed a third of the population of our galaxy before they finally gave up. They also caused the fall of your grandson, Jacen Solo, to the dark side of the Force. Took twenty years, but by that time, it was too late: he had become Darth Caedus."

"A Sith Lord?" Anakin asked. "But I thought with Palpatine's death-"

"The role of the Chosen One, Master, isn't just to destroy the Sith," Ahsoka said, shaking her head. "You were meant to destroy the Jedi as well. The chosen one was foretold to bring balance to the Force… when there's roughly thousands of Jedi using the light, and only two Sith using the dark… which side is causing the imbalance? Which side needs to get cut down a bit to bring balance?"

"Ahsoka, unless you've forgotten what the Sith have DONE-"

"That was caused because the Dark Jedi that were cast out were too angry to think about anything BUT revenge." Ahsoka growled slightly, "And that cycle kept going until three centuries from now! So, yes, most Sith were evil assholes, but the Jedi were just as stupid for not saying 'I'm sorry, maybe we should talk about this and research it properly?'!"

Both Jedi blinked. Ahsoka… had a point. "How much… do they know?"

"Everything." Ahsoka said with a short chuckle. "It's a bit funny, actually: they knew about us long before we arrived in their galaxy."

"What?" Obi-wan asked. "How can that be possible?"

Ahsoka walked toward one of the hologram emitters on the bridge, currently not being used. "Around 200 years from now, the Terran year being 1975, filming on a series began under the influence of a force-sensitive writer by the name of George Lucas. Back then, the Force didn't exactly have as much pull on Terrans, so Lucas was limited to flashes of insight from the past. The movie was titled… Star Wars. And it revolved around the events just prior to the battle of Yavin and the battle itself."

"Of course, that was just the start," Takeshi said as he walked up to the group. "Lucas did five more films - two sequels covering the Battles of Hoth and Endor, and events before and after both, and three prequels, one covering the Naboo crisis, one covering the events surrounding the Battle of Geonosis, and one set three years later, covering the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire. In addition to that, there were several books, television series, and even video games covering many different eras in the history of your galaxy."

"So, you knew who we were centuries ago."

"They didn't cover EVERYTHING," Ahsoka said. "Major events, mostly, like the creation of the Jedi Order to the Second Imperial Civil War. In a sense, they helped restore much of our history that we didn't know we lost."

"Well… that's… different." Anakin said with a sigh, "Force sensitives seeing the future… and making movies about it…"

"Everyone took it for granted until the Mara Jade arrived 70 years after Episode IV, the first movie, was released." Ahsoka said, "You can probably imagine what Earth's reaction was…"

"In short: Everyone went nuts," Takeshi said with a short chuckle. "There are still plenty recordings of what happened on their version of the Holonet…"

"If we ever find a way into your time, I think we're going to want to see that."

ISSD Executor

"Ryloth's invasion was a success, and with the suggestion of Admiral Pellaeon, the Twi'lek population has accepted our presence," Vader announced to the Admirals of Death Squadron. "Now we must turn our attention to this system." The map showed a region of space, marked by a sort-of deformed skull. "Mandalore has historically been allied with the Sith, even with the pacifist Kynze as governor, Death Watch will find us an ally."

"We must be careful, My Lord: Mandalore is allied with the Republic." Piett said.

"There is no Republic now," Malgus said confidently, crossing his arms. "The Sith Palpatine rained fire over Coruscant, and barely any senators survived. The Republic has been crippled, and is far too distracted with damage control than to worry about a single star system… a neutral star system at that."

"The Star Forge is nearly fully operational, so I will be committing the bulk of our forces to the invasion. Lady Shura, make contact with Death Watch. Whatever resistance there is must be minimized."

"Thy will be done."

Vader looked to Malgus. "Malgus, you will be dealing with any… Jedi interference, be it Tackett and Pinkerton-" Sayane scowled at the mention of the latter. "Or of this era's Order. If you discover Obi-wan Kenobi… he is mine."

"There is another Knight you should be wary of," Sayane informed the group. "He was my older brother, and named after one of our ancestors. Malgus might recognize his name: Takeshi Yamato. He is incredibly skilled with his twin lightsabers, and while his indirect combat Force Powers are rather lackluster, those powers that increase his ability in close combat more than make up for it."

"I thought I was DONE with his family," Malgus growled.

"Veers, you will lead the ground invasion. Use TIE maulers to… soften them up before pulling out the infantry and the AT-ATs."

Veers gagged at the mention of the TIE maulers, which crushed everything in their way: speeders, light armor… people… "Yes, sir."

Later - With Jordan

A single Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle entered the atmosphere of the unnamed world along the fringes of Chiss Space, as it landed in a small clearing on the planet surface. The boarding ramp lowered as Jordan disembarked along with twenty Sith Soldiers in woodland camo gear.

"Set up a perimeter around the shuttle," Jordan ordered. "Await my return… I shall begin searching for our soon to be… friend."

"Yes sir," the Sith Soldiers said, as they followed his orders as Jordan began heading deeper into the forest. He tapped into the force as he sought his target, it wasn't too difficult though - there were no other forms of sentient life on the planet, mostly just wild animals. Jordan could, however, sense one - just one - force signature that was not a simple-minded animal.

After several minutes of walking, Jordan came to a halt as he reached an area in the forrest. He could tell the presence was much closer now. "Mitth'raw'nuruodo." He said out loud. "I know you are here… I wish to speak with you."

The form of what could have been the greatest military commander of his era emerged from the trees, his red eyes studying the human before him. "You know my Chiss name," he said, nodding. "Impressive. Not many non-Chiss can say it without slurring." Many a diplomatic incident had happened because of that in Jordan's time. "For the sake of ease, you may simply call me… Thrawn. Yes, that rolls off the tongue in a smooth fashion."

"Very well, Thrawn," Jordan said nodding. "You may call me Jordan, then."

"Jordan… I must ask, then, how do you know my name?" Thrawn asked, with slightly narrowed eyes. "Do you work for… Sidious?"

Jordan chuckled slightly. "No, the man you know as Sidious died not to long ago," he said. "Died at the hands of his apprentice. I had looked through some records, and I discovered how he knew you… and how you both knew of the Far Outsiders."

"You know of them?" the Chiss asked, and Jordan nodded.

"Yes." Jordan said, "I know of them, and much much more. With Sidious dead… there are very few now who know about the Far Outsiders… the 'Yuuzhan Vong' as I have discovered they are called. They represent a threat to our galaxy unlike any other… and we must prepare for them while we still can."

Thrawn liked having a real name for their enemy. Yuuzhan Vong sounded better than Far Outsiders by a lightyear. "The Chiss Ascendancy will be ready for their arrival." He said, "For many reasons, I doubt without Palpatine the rest of the galaxy will be." Jordan suppressed a wince at Thrawn's accurate prediction. Trillions of lives lost, planets Vongformed, Chewbacca, who many considered before AND after his death the ultimate Wookie, dead…

"More than you think," Jordan said. "Sidious is dead, but the galaxy has been thrown into chaos due to the… circumstances surrounding his death. I represent an organization who hopes to restore order to the galaxy, and prepare for the Vong's inevitable invasion. Given your prior experience… you may be one of the most qualified men in the galaxy who can help me prepare for their arrival."

"So you are here to recruit me?" Thrawn asked.

"That's the plan," Jordan said with a nod. "Sometimes all it takes is one special man, or a group of men, to change the fate of the galaxy. You are the kind of man the galaxy needs if it's going to survive. "

Thrawn seemed to be considering it. Of course, he coming to a decision was going to take a while: it was the Chiss way, after all. "I will consider it," Thrawn said. "I will contact you with my choice."

"That is all I ask," Jordan said, nodding, as he presented Thrawn a Commlink. "This is keyed to my personal terminal. When you make your decision, I shall return with a shuttle."

"I wish you luck with your preparations," Thrawn said nodding as he accepted the Commlink.

Jordan smirked, knowing that he was an art lover. "Also, there's a friend of mine who might have a present for you."

"A… present?"

"I think you'll like it."

Deep space

"There is nothing here… Master."

"I only called you my padawan because you're GOING to be my padawan. I haven't done the formal shit yet." Telas sighed as Ron dropped the fighter out of hyperspace, heading for... a ring. "What the hell is that thing?"

"It's a hyperspace connector ring. I had the Geonosians build a few for me."

"What's it do?"

"Basically, creates a stable hyperspace wormhole between two targets. In this case, here to Ruusan."

Telas scoffed. "That's impossible."

"The Gaean Dominion has hundreds of these things, and their predecessor on earth created one that sent a ship between galaxies. Terrans are insanely smart."

Telas rose an eyebrow as she looked at the object with a skeptical eye. Normally she would write it off as impossible… but considering everything that's been going on lately. She sighed "Alright then, but where are we going that needs… this?"

"Ruusan isn't exactly a hop, skip and hyperspace jump from Mandalore. It's half a galaxy away, and unless you want to spend a week in this thing with me-"

"Hell no."

"Knew you'd see it my way." Ron keyed the comm, activating the gate, which showed the typical tunnel of hyperspace. "Geonosian workmanship with Terran engineering. Works every time."

"So… how long will it take to travel from here to Ruusan?" She asked.

Ron said nothing, flying them through the ring. The ARC disappeared from normal space, then reappeared… over Ruusan. "About five seconds. The further you are, the longer the distance. That's why it takes a few days to cross from this galaxy to the Milky Way."

Telas blinked. "Holy shit."

"It's what we do. I'll fly us to the Valley."

"The… Valley?" Telsa asked.

"The Valley." The ARC flew over the planet before reaching an area that had a large number of statues and buildings. All representing Jedi. "The Valley of the Jedi. Over a thousand years ago, Jedi Lord Hoth and thousands of Jedi and Sith died here at the hand of darth Bane's thought bomb. The location was lost to time, until Morgan Katarn discovered its' location, and his son freed the spirits within."

"Then why haven't you released them?" Telas asked.

Ron shook his head "It's not my destiny." he said as he found a clearing for the ARC to land. "And we have other things to deal with right now."

"Like what?"

"Your training in the Jedi arts." The ARC put down, and Ron quickly got out of the fighter, unsheathing his sword. "For starters, blast deflection. In lieu of a lightsaber, this sword is perfect for saber form training. the blade is completely lightsaber-proof, so you can pretty much smack this thing with a saber all day: nothing's going to happen."

Ron tossed Telas the sword, who grabbed it as she inspected the blade. "Nice…" She said, "So, how do we start?"

"Simple. I use this little ball-" ron activated a Marksman-H training remote, letting it hover in the air. "And you have to deflect the bolts." Ron was grinning. "And YOU can't destroy it."

"Why not?"

"A, because it's the only one I've got, and if you do, that means you'll have to fight ME. B..." Ron activated his saberstaff, quickly disarming her by knocking the sword out of her hands. "You'll never learn anything because I'm the ultimate fucking swordsman. I'll keep disarming you."

Telas groaned a bit, as Ron tossed the sword back to her. "Alright, alright… don't destroy the ball..." she said.

The ball began moving and firing stinging blaster bolts at her, with the young Mandalorian intercepting the first, slowest shots. Once it began speeding up, however, it became more of a challenge. Her body could not keep up with her eyes, and thus she was hit a grand total of five times, yelping each time.

"You know, I thought that teaching you Shii-cho would be easy, seeing as you know some Force ability, subconsciously or not. Guess we're going to have to do it the hard way."

Telas did not like the sound of that. Ron placed a cloth over her eyes, effectively blinding her. "I can't see! How am I supposed to do this if I can't see?"

"Your eyes aren't entirely trustworthy. Act on instinct, and I guarantee you that you will intercept every shot."

Telas groaned a bit. "This is crazy…" she muttered, before entering a combat stance once more.

"Remember, you can feel the Force flowing through you, helping guide your hand." Telas sighed, then instinctively rose the blade to block one shot, then another, and another, and another. She began to see the remote in the Force, feeling the energy that it was putting out. "I think that's enough. See? You can do it. A bit of practice, and you can do it at will."

Telas actually looked surprised, as he actually doubted it was possible. "Huh… what do ya know…" she muttered, "So, what's next?"

"Now I begin teaching you the truly formalized version of Form I." Ron said, "The title for Shii-cho is 'the Way of the Sarlacc', as it seems just like one: slow moving, lumbering. But a master of it can create a wild, nigh-impenetrable defense, like Kit Fisto." He neglected to mention that Sidious killed Fisto less then a minute into the showdown on Coruscant, but it was his mastery of Form I that allowed him to survive that long against Sidious, who was, honestly, a better duelist. "but if you want lightsaber on lightsaber combat, we can skip to form II: Makashi."

Telas thought about it for a moment. "Best we start at the beginning," she said. "I don't want to miss anything afterall… and you know the saying: a good defense can lead to a good offense."

"Keep the sword: you're going to need it."

Near ISSD Executor

Asajj Ventress had to admit, the Executor looked VERY intimidating. The spearpoint-shaped 19 kilometer long dreadnought held her quarry: Darth Vader. If she could destroy him, Dooku would forgive all of her past mistakes and failures, proving her worth as his apprentice. hiding with Imperial recruits from the Centrality's many grateful planets on a T-4b Lambda-Class shuttle that were assigned to the flagship was her way on board, but GETTING to Vader would be the hard part.

Luckily though, Ventress wasn't an Assassin for nothing, so she simply would need to put all of her skills with the Force to remain undetected by not just Vader and the other force-sensitives onboard, but also from the hundreds of thousands of crewmen of the ship as well.

The four dozen or so NCOs grabbed what little personal effects they had as the shuttle landed in the hanger, and the loading ramp allowed them to exit. Ventress snuck out with the last of them, sticking to shadows and cover before looking at a large vent cover. Big ship meant big vents. This was too easy.

"My Lord, we're picking up a breach in the ventilation system." One of the operators announced, "Someone just opened a vent cover on Deck 78, Hanger Bay 5."

"There is an intruder on board." Vader said, before beneath his mask his eyes narrowed. "And because I can barely sense its' presence… Ventress. Admiral Piett, you are in command. I will deal with this assassin myself."

"As you wish, mylord." Piett said, as Vader proceeded out of the bridge to pursue the intruder.

Ventress was getting worried. Nothing was in the ventilation system: droids, vermin, even dust. It was better to face the enemy in the open then to wander the ducts for force knew how long. She cut open one of the sealed vent covers, landing in a seemingly deserted corridor.

'Kooh. Purr.'

At least until she heard that.

"Asajj Ventress..." Vader spoke, the Dark Lord of the Sith standing a fair distance away down the corridor. "It has been quite a while since we last met… I doubt you recognize me though."

"I'm sorry, but I don't…" She paused before feeling his presence in the Force. While she felt hate, loathing and such, it felt… familiar. That was when she figured it out. "Skywalker?!"

"THAT name…" Vader activated his red lightsaber. "No longer has any meaning to me!" Ventress drew and activated her inherited curved-hilt sabers, taking a modified Makashi jar'kai stance.

"So… this is who you become, Skywalker." She said, with a small satisfied smirk. "The hero of the Republic… now a lord of the Sith..."

"You never became a Sith in my timeline, Ventress. You failed your master once too often, and he finally decided to be rid of you. And I have had decades to improve my skills with a lightsaber. When you first fought me, I was but the learner; now I am the master." Vader extended his hand, unleashing Force lightning for the first time. no longer affected by his suit's lack of insulation thanks to his new limbs, made of tritonium, the Dark Lord unleashed the full power of the dark side upon the Dark Acolyte.

Ventress rose her Lightsabers to defend, as the blades intercepted the blades, but she was forced back a bit by the sheer force of the attack. 'He… he IS powerful...' she thought, 'Far more powerful… that Dooku!'

"You are beaten; it is useless to resist! Do not let yourself be destroyed like the Ventress I knew."

"I will never serve you, Skywalker!" Ventress learned that was a mistake as she was shoved back a full kilometer, crashing along the deck. 'Ok, NOT Skywalker. This one's angrier.' The apprentice got back onto her feet, ready to engage Vader. The dark lord had other plans, using the Force to throw objects at her from all sides.

"Oh son of a-!" She shouted as she was forced to jump out of the way, avoiding being hit by a hail of crates sent towards her by Vader. 'I can't beat him like this...' she realized, as she knew the only way she was going to survive tonight… was to get the hell out of there.

She lept into a vent, making her way down a few levels before running as fast as she could to the hangar bays, cutting down stormtroopers (not bothering to see if they were dead) along the way, heading for a shuttle with a hyperdrive, as she had learned that most TIE fighters didn't have them. Thankfully, she found what looked similar to a Turbostorm-class Gunship, a ship developed by Republic Sienar Systems, which she knew had a Hyperdrive as she quickly ran for it.

She ran for it, quickly hijacking it and making her getaway. Dooku had sent her to her death! That was the only explanation! "I'm not going back to that bastard now. He'll just send me on another suicide run." The gunboat rocked from blaster fire before she jumped into hyperspace blindly, heading anywhere and nowhere.

"She escaped," Sayane said.

"It is of no consequence, my apprentice," Vader said. "Ventress was never a match for me once I had unleashed my true potential. Now go to Mandalore: Death Watch must be on our side for the invasion and occupation to go smoothly."

"Understood, my Master," Sayane replied, before heading to the hangar containing her Bloodmark fighter.

"Inform Admiral Pellaeon that the Chimaera and six other star destroyers will be heading into Confederacy space. We have left them alone for far too long."

"Yes, Lord Vader."

NJO SSD Eclipse

"At long last… we are going home." The Mandalorian General said, as the Eclipse and its task group made its way back to Mandalore. "I can hardely believe it..."

"What is your plan?" The Admiral asked, looking at Jordan as he sat in the command chair.

"Simple: its time Mandalore had a wake-up call." He said, before he stood up. "While the Death Watch has gotten things going, we want the people to follow the ideals of the True Mandalorians, not the Death Watch pretenders. While there are notable members in the Death Watch like Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls, many in the Death Watch simply want to go back to Mandalore the Ultimate's methods of making war with the Republic and the Jedi. We need to make sure they won't try that again, and set the Mandalorians back on the correct path that Jaster Mereel began."

"I've read up on him through your databases," the general said noddng, "Very wise and honorable man… I sure as hell wish I could've met him."

"So after this, how do you plan to gain the new mandalorian's support?" The Admiral asked, and Jordan chuckled a bit.

"Oh… I've found the perfect candidate to become the new Mandalore for the people." He said, "He will be meeting us shortly after our arrival."

"That's going to be interesting, to say the least." the Eclipse shuddered for a moment, then ground out of hyperspace. "What the hell?"

"Sir, we're picking up a ship! Looks to be Imperial-Class!"

Jordan groaned. "Vader," he muttered. "Well, he's picked off the wrong ship this time… on screen."

The front screen showed the image of a single star Destroyer. However upon seeing it, Jordan immediately knew it wasn't Vader. It was an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer sure, however unlike any other Imperial II, she was colored jet black, giving it a more intimidating look. But most importantly, Jordan saw the IFF of the vessel.

The Anakin Solo. And from the dark presence he felt onboard… it didn't take a genius to know who was at the helm.

"So… it's Darth Caedus, eh?" Jordan asked with a small frown. "I thought we didn't have to deal with more time travel… Ron won't like this."

"Who the hell is Darth Caedus?" The General asked.

"A fallen Jedi and a wannabe Sith Lord," Jordan said with a low growl. "Doesn't even deserve the title." If there was anything the Jedi AND the Sith agreed on, it was that Lumiya's Sith Order barely qualified for a Dark Jedi cult, let alone the title of Sith. They were an insult whose only real legacy was the destruction of Centerpoint Station. 'Something we're going to need to avoid: we're not ready to deal with Abeloth.'

"Sir, the Anakin Solo is turning: hard astarboard, flank speed."

"Well, looks like he was expecting something smaller," Jordan said with a smirk. "Target her with our Turbolasers and Ion Batteries, disable her if you can, but don't hesitate to sink her if we don't have a choice."

His orders were followed, as the Eclipse unleashed a hail of green and blue Turbolaser and Ion cannon fire towards the Imperial II. To the vessel's credit, it was able to maintain its shields surprisingly well against the onslaught for a solid minute, before they finally began to falter as their shots began hitting the hull, causing moderate damage.

However, it wasn't enough to take out its engines, as a short while later the Anakin Solo made the jump to lightspeed. "Ah, damn. He got away."

"Should we pursue?" The Admiral asked, but Jordan shook his head.

"No, not today," he said. "It's only one ship, even if its an Imperial II, and he's damaged now, and will take time to repair. Even if he joins Vader, we can deal with him then. For now, we have more important things to do - resume course to Mandalore."

"Hyperdrive got knocked out by whatever got that ship here, boss," One of the operators said. "We can fix it, but we're stuck at sublight for a while."

Jordan groaned, but nodded "Alright, get the hyperdrive repaired," he said. "I want us at Mandalore ASAP."

"Roger, roger."

Mandalore orbit

16 Venator-class Star Destroyers and 27 Acclamator-Class Assault Ships orbited the planet, under the watchful eyes of Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano, who was quickly becoming more and more likely for promotion due to her newly acquired skill set. "So, we can confirm Ron WAS here. Problem is, the Duchess isn't saying a thing about where he went."

Anakin smirked, and Obi-wan inwardly groaned. "Maybe Obi-wan here can charm the good Duchess into getting us the answers we need." He said.

"For the love of the Force, Anakin, I'm not teasing YOU about Senator Amidala!"

"At least I'm not denying I'm married anymore!"

Ahsoka shook her head as Obi-wan drew closer and closer to tearing his hair out. Or throttling Anakin. Probably both.

"Commander, Generals, we're picking something up on scanners." One of the operators said.

The two Generals were too busy yelling at one another to notice, so Ahsoka was the only one to take a look. "What is it?"

"Ship in hyperspace, coming in awfully fast."

Seconds later, a ship dropped out of hyperspace: an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, IFF code reading as the Stalker. "That ship's with Death Sqaud - Uh-oh."

(BGM: Ori Fleet from Stargate The Ark of Truth, :50 to 1:40)

More ships began dropping out of hyperspace, making up a grand total of 56 warships… led by the Executor. "MASTERS!"

"WHAT?!" They both shouted, before they looked out the window and saw the incoming fleet. "SON OF A BITCH!"

"Launch everything we've got!"

"To hell with that; we need to get out of here!"

Ahsoka directed Yularen's gaze to a familiar looking warship. It was an Immobilizer-418. "Interdictor, Admiral. We're not going anywhere until that thing's been taken out."

"Just do it then!" Yularen shouted, "Form the fleet in defensive possitions, and launch every fighter and bomber we've got against that thing!"

It was a colossal mismatch, akin to the legendary Battle of Layte Gulf on Earth over a century from that time. "How many artillery walkers do we have?"

"You're not thinking of using those against that fleet!"

"It'll give us more firepower against those ISD2s and the Executor, which is what we need!"

The heavy arty walkers DID had more powerful cannons then the turbolasers mounted to their ships, but it was going to take time getting them into position.

"Masters, I think we should join the battle and give the clone pilots a hand."

Anakin nodded. "I agree," he said, as he headed for the turbo lift. "Come on, Snips!"

The clone pilots had learned to respect and to a lesser degree fear the TIE series of starfighters. They might've been lightly armed with only two cannons, but the LN models weapons outgunned them by a factor of four. That wasn't including the more agile and faster TIE Interceptor, which had six cannons, or the rare TIE Defender, which had shields. "This is insane!" Anakin shouted "Why is Vader invading Mandalore: it's practically worthless!"

"The planet might be, but the iron isn't!" Ahsoka shouted, as a pair of ARCs were shot down by a LN, which was brought down just as fast by her Eta-2 starfighter.

"She's right!" Wedge shouted, as Rogue Squadron sped through the battlezone, their X-wings tearing apart the TIE's. "Mandalorian Iron is one of the few metals that can defend against lightsabers of all thngs! We can't let Vader get Mandalore!"

"Well, tritonium's better-" Ahsoka's Eta-2 rocked from an impact, causing her to lazily look back at her attacker, which was a TIE Interceptor.

"You know, I think the authors like destroying my fighters. This is the second time in the entire fic!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Long story, don't think I have time to explain!" The left wing exploded, and Ahsoka bailed out.

The TIE pilot was smug, smirking to himself before the hatch opened and he was catapulted into the vacuum. Ahsoka quickly strapped herself into the TIE before closing the hatch shut. "Alright, now… who to shoot first?"

Three TIE/LNs were on Anakin's tail, and despite his skill, the Eta-2 wasn't as agile. She quickly got in front of the enemy TIEs before pulling what was commonly referred to as the Wedge Maneuver, gunning the LNs down from 12 o'clock.

"Thanks Snips!" Anakin said as her captured TIE flew alongside his Eta-2. "Though seriously, how do you keep doing that so easily?"

'"Myrkr."

"Pinkerton's transfer essense? Wait, he knows how to fly one of those things?!"

"His parents are Dominion engineers!"

Dozens of TIE/LNs flew past the blockade, heading for the Negotiator, one of the Venators in the fleet before ramming into her, causing massive hull breaches and loss of control. "What the hell?!"

"The fighters are unmanned: Vader's using them as suicide craft!" Ahsoka shouted.

"Not surprising - TIE's can be bought and built a dime a dozen," Wedge said, as they shot down several Kamikaze TIE's. "And TIE/LN's are moreso like that. They can sacrifice LN's without much concern, but Interceptors are another story, as you can tell."

"Yeah, they're better in every way!" Several LAAT/i gunships shot past Ahsoka's new TIE Interceptor (she had already claimed dibs on it) heading for the Executor. "Where are those idiots going?!"

"Master Koth and four others decided to try and end this: they're going after Vader personally."

"Are you INSANE?!" Ahsoka shouted. "Vader has killed Hundreds of Jedi that are even stronger than he is! You think they stand a ghost of a chance against him on his Dreadnought?!"

"Master Koth thinks they stand a chance! Ahsoka, I need you to cover their approach!"

"I'm not going in with them: I might be better now, but I'm not suicidal!"

"Just make sure they land safely!"

On the LAAT/i

"Master, you know I never question the Council's wisdom… but this is a suicide mission if I've ever seen one."

Luminara sighed, however she couldn't help but agree with her apprentice as she, Bariss, Tsui Choi and Saesee Tiin along with a detachment of ARC Troopers stood in the Larty, making their way towards the Executor. She had seen what Death Squadron could do, and Vader was well above their league. Combine that and the fact he had multiple highly skilled Sith probably onboard, it made their success all the more unlikely.

"While you may have a point, Padawan Offee, we have good reason to believe we have higher chances of success. Padawan Tano has revealed several of Vader's secrets and weaknesses to the Jedi Council, and using that knowledge, we will succeed."

Bariss gave Eeth Koth a mild pointed look. "Master Koth, Ahsoka should not even have any knowledge of this Dark Lord," she said. "She's a Padawan like me, how could she know anything about Vader?"

"While I don't wish to share this, Padawan Tano was… given this information from one of the rogue Jedi that killed Palpatine using a power known as transfer essence," she said. "She has all of his knowledge, both historical and in the art of the Force."

To say Barris was surprised was an understatement as she gave her master an incredulous look. "W-what?" She asked, "How… why would they do that?" She then shook her head "Nevermind. Even if Ahsoka got that info, then wouldn't she be telling us to stay AWAY from that ship?! If those guys really are from the future like I've heard, they KNOW how dangerous Vader is!"

"This mission was authorized by the Jedi council, Padawan." Koth said. "If you believe I wish to engage this Sith willingly, you would be wrong. But we MUST remove him from play, else we will pay with the death of more Jedi. I hope to capture him alive, and force the commander of the Executor to stand down."

Koth's dislike of the mission was clear enough to Bariss, but so was his willingness to see it done, and so was the fact that he was right: if they had Vader hostage, they would be able to force his Empire to stand down. That didn't mean Bariss liked it, seeing it as an affront to the teachings of the Order.

"This is still suicide…" Barris muttered. "If we want to take Vader down, we should wait for a moment when we actually have the advantage, not while he's practically holding all the cards here!"

The LAAT/i rocked from a near-grazing from a TIE/LN, which was shot down by a TIE Interceptor seconds later. "Master Koth, this is Padawan Tano, your escort for your suicide mission. Bit of advice: if he starts kicking your asses, run to the nearest exit. I don't care if it says walk, you RUN."

Every Jedi in the transport had no idea how to respond to that. The clones just started laughing their asses off. "I'd say good luck, but you're going up against the greatest Jedi killer of all fucking time, so…" The Interceptor broke off as they neared the Executor, engaging more TIEs.

'Ahsoka certainly has changed...' Barriss thought before she sighed. "Greatest Jedi-Killer of all time…" she muttered, "Last chance if anyone wants to abort mission and get out of here."

Luminara shared her apprentice's dislike of the mission, and it only got worse once Ahsoka's warning had been heard. But they were too close to abort. "As much as I wish we could, my Padawan… we are past the point of no return." The LAAT/i entered the hangar, and the side hatches opened. Stormtroopers began firing at the LAAT, and the Jedi jumped out, activating their lightsabers to deflect blaster fire back at the troopers. Neither Mirialan was… happy about doing it, but they were indoctrinated, unwilling to even surrender to the Jedi. "Blast them until they're dead!"

"For the Republic!" The ARC Troopers shouted as they descended from the LAAT/i, firing their DC-15A's and S's at the Stormtroopers. It was easy to tell that the ARC's had an advantage training-wise, they were bred as soldiers the day they could walk, and the poor accuracy of the Stormtroopers due to the E-11's recoil didn't help the Troopers either, though the few hits they did score took out an ARC or two with one hit.

That was the main being of the E-11. The weapon was designed to defeat armor of all kinds, and trooper armor (clone and storm) were resistant to blaster bolts to the degree that the wearer of the armor could survive up to five hits and live. The E-11 was made to punch through and kill in one. This worked against the stormtroopers, as the Jedi reflected bolts back at their shooters, burning holes in their armor and killing them. "Hangar's secure, General. damned if those blasters aren't nasty, though."

"What they lack in accuracy, they seem to make up for in brute firepower. It is like they were designed more for executions than actual combat." The half dozen or so clones on the deck, either dead or dying, could attest to that.

"We're gonna need to upgrade from the DC's sooner or later…" another ARC Trooper said, picking up one of the E-11's. "Something as good as these… without the damn kick."

Thuds were heard as something approached. Roughly three meters tall, armed with a massive cannon mounted to its' left arm and looking, vaguely, like a stormtrooper. "Dark Trooper!" The ARCs had been briefed on the super-droids, and thus they knew which model it was: a Phase II. It began to fire at them, killing two ARCs in one shot before focusing on the Jedi.

"FOR THE EMPIRE." The Phase II Dark Trooper shouted out in its mechanical voice, unleashing a stream of blaster fire towards the Jedi. Three of the four Jedi managed to jump out of the way… but Master Tsui Choi wasn't so lucky as he was cut to shreds almost immediately.

The Dark Trooper was designed to be almost impossible to destroy, but it was still made of durasteel, so when Koth and Luminara managed to get close and hack off both of its' arms before decapitating it, it fell over after killing the Jedi master. "So, did Ahsoka say anything about those things having blaster cannons powerful enough to kill a living being in a single hit?" Barris growled out.

"She did, ma'am, but we didn't believe her." One of the ARC Troopers said.

"And she also said this was a suicide mission!" Barriss muttered. "And we're not believing that either?" (You are not in chat, Jorn, and next)

"Starting to get that, ma'am, but we're ARC troopers: every mission's a suicide mission for us."

"Your confidence is praiseworthy, but if we're going up against a Sith Lord that killed more Jedi than any before or since..."

'Koo-purr'

The breathing sound sent shivers down the others spines, as the all turned to see the Dark Lord himself enter the room, his lightsaber ignited and at the ready. "You had best to listen to her," Vader said. "Your council have sent you all to your doom."

Lightsabers were all pointed in Vader's direction, and the ARCs opened fire on the Sith Lord, who deflected the bolts with seemingly bored ease. "You will die if you do not give in. Submit, and I will spare your lives."

"We will never serve you, Sith!" Koth shouted, as he charged towards Vader with his Lightsaber raised…

…only for Vader to literally bitchslap him before slicing his head off without breaking a sweat.

"As my apprentice once said former Padawan Tackett stated once, 'bitch, please'." THAT stunned them speechless, but silence was all they needed as they began their attack on Vader. Saesee was killed seconds later, leaving the Mirialans.

"Suicide at best, Master Unduli." Vader said, as he clashed swords with the Jedi Master. "DId you truly believe you could defeat me, on my terms? While I possess over a decade's more experience than you or anyone in the old order?"

"The darkness may be patient, but it always loses, Vader. You will fall eventually."

"Perhaps, but not by your hands!" The duo were forced to fall back, deeper into the first of the Super Star Destroyers, watched, to a degree, by stormtroopers and other Imperials. "You are beaten! It is useless to resist any further! Do not let yourselves be destroyed as Obi-wan did!"

The mentioning of Kenobi, who was probably the best Jedi of the current generation (Mace might have created Vaapad, but Obi-wan mastered Ataru and other styles of lightsaber combat, and Yoda's age made him a non-factor, seeing as he was centuries older) dying at Vader's hands was enough to make them fear the Dark Lord.

Luminara wasn't disillusioned enough to believe the really could defeat Vader… not yet, but she would be damned before she will allow Barriss to be killed. "Barriss… go. Now." She hissed out, "I'll hold him off as long as I can, but you need to get out of here!"

Her apprentice eyed one of the few remaining TIE fighters (a model that looked like an Interceptor, but with more square wings) before making a run for it. Luminara pushed Vader back with the force, giving her more time to escape, but angering the Sith Lord. Barriss made her way to the TIE Advanced, which was a replacement for Vader's stolen x1, watching Luminara duel Vader to the death.

The Jedi Council had sent them to their deaths in a vain attempt to stop Death Squadron by taking out its' leader. Luminara had voiced her objections, but still went along with it. She guessed even Master Obi-wan knew better than to even try. The Jedi Order was arrogant and corrupt in the extreme: not like the Sith, but they were anything but the pure warrior-monks they claimed to be.

'Master...' Barriss thought as she entered the TIE, tears in her eyes as she was forced to abandon her master. 'I… I know this isn't the Jedi way… but I will avenge this day… this will never happen again. '

The TIE escaped, leaving Luminara behind just as she was knocked to the deck, her lightsaber destroyed. "Finish it, fallen one. That's the Sith way, is it not?"

"I have… other uses for you, my foolish Jedi 'friend'." The Force left the bay, and Luminara vaguely noticed a ysalamiri out of the corner of her eye. "My apprentice has informed me of a device that is most brutal, if not extremely efficient at breaking the wills of those it is used on. Take her to the new chamber… and the Embrace of Pain."

NJO SSD Eclipse

"This is a general warning to all craft within 10 parsecs of the Mandalore sector: Mandalore has been taken by Darth Vader's Death Squadron. Do not enter the system; it is certain death!"

The message began repeating, and the Mandalorians all looked to Jordan. "Well? Now what?"

"Nothing. We can't fight Death Squadron in our state."

"Come ON! We've got the Eclipse!"

"The Eclipse's superlaser is offline, and if you haven't noticed, weapons and shield control are jury-rigged on the same network now: we can't use them both at the same time. Then there's the biggest problem: we're too bulky." The Eclipse, for all of being two whole kilometers shorter than the Executor, was three times more massive, and that reduced the ship's turn rate. The Executor was lighter and thus more agile, and could outturn them, not to mention was fully operational, compared to the need-to-drydock-right-fucking-now Eclipse.

"Damnit!" The General shouted, slamming his fist against one of the consoles. "We were so close! We were finally going to return home! And this Chakaar took it away from us!"

"We'll retake Mandalore, General - I promise you," Jordan reassured. "But for now… the best we can do is Covert SAR operations for survivors of the battle."

"Well, NOW where do we go?!"

"We can link up with Ron at Ruusan: this IS his ship." The Eclipse shuddered out of hyperspace once more, and Jordan groaned in annoyance. The ship had held together quite well, but constant action with almost no resupply and repair was finally taking its' toll. "Supreme Commander, we're picking up a ship dropping out of hyperspace directly ahead: a TIE fighter, X1-class, one lifeform, no cybernetics." It wasn't Vader: there were no cybernetic signatures, and they'd sense his overpowering presence.

Jordan closed his eyes, and he could tell whoever was in there was a force-user, and judging from the light he sensed, it was a Jedi. 'Must have escaped somehow...' he thought. "Activate tractor beams, bring it onboard."

"You sure, sir?" "She's friendly. At least as far as Old Order Jedi go."

Barriss had blacked out after activating the hyperdrive on her stolen x1, and was currently slipping on a BAD slope. The feelings of regret, hate and a desire for revenge were stirring in her soul, tearing down her fortress of control. To be blunt, her encounter with Vader had caused her to begin to fall to the dark side. She had visions of a Sith Lord simply sitting before her, reading a book. "So, you've noticed my presence, young one. Good."

"Who… who are you?" Barriss asked, looking at the figure with a raised eyebrow.

"I am Darth Vectivus." Barriss sensed the dark side within him, but doubted his claim. "I have never heard of you."

"I'm not surprised: I kept to myself during my life." Vectivus said, standing up. "Never plotted to take over the galaxy, destroy the Jedi: just live my life and study the dark side. The young Jordan Tackett appears to have taken up both my mantle as well as Darth Revan's. I must say, I am proud to call him a Sith Lord, knowing how to restrain himself."

"You mean one of the people who killed Palpatine?" Barriss asked. "He's a Sith?!"

"Yes, but as I told you… he is taking the Sith in a totally new direction," Vectivus said. "Dark times are coming, Padawan Offee… Death Squadron is but the tip of the iceberg of things to come. The Jedi and Sith are going to need to put aside their differences to combat the trials ahead… don't believe me, you will soon be meeting Jordan himself momentarily."

"Wait!" The mists faded, followed by Barriss opening her eyes in the medical bay of some star destroyer. On one of the walls was a duel crest, one being the emblem of the Jedi Order of her time, the other… she couldn't recognize it. Beside it was the old emblem of the Sith Empire, only surrounded by a circle rather than a hexagon. "Supreme commander! She's awake!"

Barriss looked to the side, as she saw a figure clad in black and red robes and armor, his face covered by the signature mask that everyone knew as Revan's. "Good to see you still amongst the living," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"To use a term from Corellia… pissed off. I was sent on a suicide mission to kill Darth Vader, and I'm the only one that survived! Even my master's dead: I can't even feel her in the Force!"

A sharp pain and a scream of agony that clearly belonged to Luminara Unduli was heard through the force, countering her statement.

"How the fuck did Vader get his hands on an Embrace of Pain?! That's Vong tech: those assholes aren't even in this galaxy yet!"

Barriss looked at the Revanite. "Embrace of Pain?"

Jordan sighed. "It's… a long story," he said, "But in short, the embrace of pain is a tool for torture that is especially useful against force users."

Another scream and feeling of agony was felt, and Barriss couldn't help but feel angry. The council had sent them to their deaths, only for her to escape and her master to end up as someone being tortured by a Sith Lord. She wanted nothing more than to kill Vader, but she knew she was doomed, as he was better in almost every way.

Jordan could already sense her emotions, as he knew what she was likely going through. "Vader is strong… but he is not invincible." He said, "He can be defeated… but there is no way you can do so now... but if you wish it, I can train you in the arts your previous master never could… both of the light and the dark."

"I can't just...even if I could, the dark side would corrupt me, turning me to its' will!"

"Darth Vectivus wasn't. And neither am I, and neither is Ron." He didn't mention Ron's anchors, which was a way of cheating, but considering his mind wasn't exactly whole due to over a decade of being assaulted by the ghosts of Sith Lords, Dark Jedi and Jedi who wished to use him for some purpose or another, that evened it out. "Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the Force."

Jordan smiled a bit as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You can only be corrupted if you let it corrupt you," she said. "And I've trained under one of the most famous 'grey' sith in history, Revan. Together… we can save the galaxy not just from Death Squadron, but from anyone else who may threaten it."

Barriss had two choices: return to the Jedi, and probably be sent to her death in some way, shape or fashion, or join him and learn all of the Force. Not much of a choice. "I pledge myself… to your teachings, my Lord."

"Bah, don't worry about the formal crap." Jordan said, patting her on the shoulder. "Welcome to the New Sith Order Barriss."

ISSD Executor - Mandalore orbit

"Normally I do not use torture, but I must admit, this device is effective." Vader mused as Luminara screamed at everyone and thing as she tried to escape the Vong meditative device. As with many things, his new apprentice provided the means to obtain it.

"Lord Vader!" The Dark Lord turned to see a twi'lek wearing an Army officer's uniform. "Death Watch's leader, Pre Vizla, wishes to see you. Something about Lady Shura's first Jedi trainer."

Vader paused for a moment, "We shall continue this… later." Vader said, as he left the embrace on to do what it does best, as he left to meet with the death watch leader.

Aforementioned Mandalorian asshole was currently on the bridge, flexing his fingers. Despite having his arms hacked off, they were surgically reattached as Ron didn't use his lightsaber at full power, only using it at a setting akin to a laser scalpel.

"Pre Vizla."

The leader of Death Watch faced Darth Vader, and was mildly intimidated by his voice and armor. "Lord Vader," he said, "In times past, Mandalore and the Sith were allies against the Jedi and the Republic. Perhaps we can be again."

"Your own organization has mixed feelings about the Jedi." Vader said, "Your Nite Owls, for example, only use you as a means to a more honorable end."

"I will deal with them, Darth. You wanted Mandalore's baskar, so I'll give it to you."

"You are correct in assuming I wanted your iron." his apprentice entered the bridge, and Vizla wondered if this was a mistake. "But I only need a small amount."

This somewhat surprised Pre, raising an eyebrow at that. Why would he conquer Mandalore if he only needed a small amount of beskar? On that note, why just have a small amount when they could easily mine scores more beskar in a short time.

"Your thoughts betray you, Secret Mandalore." Vader said, "This system is the only natural source of Mandalorian iron in the universe. But I have a source that creates it." Sayane activated a holoemitter, showing the form of the Star Forge. "The fool who most likely cut off your arms created a Star Forge, which uses a star to create warships, weapons and droids from the star it orbits. With the sample, every ship built by the Forge will be built of Mandalorian iron."

Vizla tried to imagine it. Thousands of ships, built everywhere in the galaxy, made of beskar. The Republic's durasteel navy would stand no chance. "I wished to take Mandalore to prevent anyone but the Empire from gaining access to the metal under the crust of your planet. The rest is yours, and you may mine with impunity."

This was an offer Pre would be a fool to disagree with. They simply needed to give them a sample of Beskar, and the rest of the Iron would remain under Mandalorian control.

"Only a fool would ignore this offer."

"And a fool you are not. Prepare your warriors: Death Watch is now the Mandalorian government, and a new face of the Imperial military." 'At least until I find a way to get rid of you and put someone like Boba Fett in charge: he is a true Mandalorian.'

"And before I forget…" Vader tossed Pre a cyndrillical device that he was all too familiar with. "Since Pinkerton had stolen your Darksaber, I believe a replacement until you can reclaim it is in order."

Pre ignited the saber, which gave off a dark green unstable glow causing Pre to smirk slightly. "Thank you, Lord Vader," he said.

The Mandalorian bowed and left, and once he was out of earshot, Sayane approached her master. "Master, with respect, he cannot be trusted."

"To use an adage, he is filling in until either he dies or I find someone better, my apprentice. We will need to consolidate our forces before pushing forward. I will send you to Geonosis. Gain the support of Poggle the Lesser. Or replace him with someone more willing."

"Thy will be done, my Master," Sayane said as she walked out of the command deck, leaving Vader behind.

Ruusan

Telas was more than slightly infuriated by Ron's teaching method. Although it was effective, and she was fairly good with form I now thanks to it, getting smacked by a lightwhip was EXTREMELY painful, training mode or not. Now she had moved on to form II, Makashi, or the Way of the Ysalamiri. In the process, Ron had switched to his curved hilt lightsaber, using nothing but Makashi to fight his apprentice in the form.

She was getting better, that much Ron knew for certain. However this was just the beginning of her training obviously.

'I HATE those curved Sabers SO MUCH.' She thought with a growl as she defended against a flurry of strikes from Ron.

"Calm yourself, Padawan: Makashi was DESIGNED for swordfighting!" The red blade made contact with the tritonium sword once more, and forced Telas back a few meters.

"I can't beat you."

"Neither can I beat you. I am TRAINING you, not sparring with you," Ron said. "And if I had the time, I'd teach you the proper katas, but we don't HAVE time." At that moment though, his commlink beeped as he activated it as he continued his duel. "Pinkerton."

"Ron, we have a problem." Jordan spoke on the comm. "Vader just made his next move - he's taken over Mandalore."

"Called it. I hate it when the Force tells me this shit."

"Vader took over my home planet! We've got to do something!"

"Most of my power is tied up in my affinity anchors right now, Padawan: I can't face Vader and hope to win. We also don't have enough ships or men to take the fight to…" Ron sighed. "Jordan, I have an idea you're probably not going to like."

"That depends: what's the plan?" Jordan asked.

"We talk to the Old Order and work with them: we don't have the manpower, Mandalorian army or not," Ron said with a sigh. "Plus the Eclipse is probably breaking down-"

"That's not my fault!"

"It's happening. Just get that thing back to the Star Forge," Ron said. "I'll go… deal with Skywalker and Kenobi. God knows we need the help."

"They won't like this one bit… heading back to the forge now," Jordan said. "I sure hope you know what your doing Ron."

"I know the old order better than you do. And I might have an ally. I'll call you with the news."

RSD Resolute

"So, which of the grand poobah of IDIOCY that is the Jedi Council authorized that mission?!"

The remaining members of the Jedi Council were ill prepared for an irate Ahsoka Tano, whose master and HIS master had decided to back the hell away from this. Even though the images of the Council were simply holograms, they flinched at Ahsoka's demand, which was more forceful then they came to expect from her. "Well?!" Adi Gallia and Mace Windu raised their hands. This was followed by Ki-Adi Mundi and, most surprisingly, Plo Koon of all people.

"What the actual FUCK is wrong with you people?!" Ahsoka shouted, "I TOLD YOU What these guys could accomplish! I told you what Vader himself has done - he personally slaughtered countless Jedi! And you thought sending in just FOUR would yield ANYTHING DIFFERENT?!"

"We thought that they could take Vader or at least his apprentice out of the picture, Padawan Tano. Perhaps if you think you are up for the challenge-"

"Does it LOOK like I'm suicidal?!" She shouted. Anakin and Obi-wan shared a knowing look, the words 'you're calling the council on their bullshit; it sure LOOKS that way' being unsaid. The council's image warped for a few moments before an unwelcome image appeared. "Is this thing on? Oh, good, it is."

Mace narrowed his eyes at the intruder in their conference. "Ronald Pinkerton." He said with a slight growl. "What do you want?"

"To talk, Master Windu," Ron said. "Nothing more."

"You have to have a lot of nerve to contact us after everything you and your friend had caused." Adi said.

"Think of it like this. We just saved your lives being here, Gallia. You were supposed to die three weeks ago at the hands of Savage Opress. Hett, I show no remorse for. He was a Sith Lord of the old way. Good fucking riddance."

"Amen to that." The Torguta muttered, as the two humans facepalmed. Ahsoka was siding with Pinkerton. "Still, that DOES worry me. Maul was supposed to pop up round the same time."

"Maul?" Obi-wan asked, "As in DARTH Maul?"

"Oh, yes. He's alive. A little on the insane side, but alive."

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?!" Anakin asked.

"Never had the chance," Ahsoka said. "We've been running around either fighting Death Squadron or chasing after Pinkerton and Tackett."

Every Jedi facepalmed at this. The Padawan was right. "What do you want, Pinkerton?"

"You need someone willing to fight Vader on even terms. We need the men to fight his army. We both need ships. I can provide the first and last."

"An ALLIANCE? With two sith Lords?!"

"I am NOT a Sith. I am a Jedi of the New Order, one willing to embrace Jordan's Sith Order as brothers, not hack down as enemies."

"He has a point," Ahsoka said with a sigh, "If we're gonna stand a chance against Vader, we'll need the resources those two can provide… unless you guys happen to know anyone else who has a dreadnought that can kill capital ships in a single shot?"

The Council did not like Ahsoka's retort. "If you want to talk to me, send the Resolute to Ruusan."

"Why there?" Anakin asked.

Ron's smile was slightly taunting. "Ahsoka knows why."

The Tortuga sighed. "The Valley of the Jedi."

"The Valley is a myth!" Mace shouted.

"I'm STANDING in the Valley right now." Ron retorted, "Myth THAT, Windu."

"He's telling the truth - the Valley does exist." Ahsoka said, "Well, we can go ahead and head over there now."

"Send anyone but the Resolute, and I'll know. I trust Kenobi and his students. The rest of you, not so much." Ron's image faded away.

"Send for Takeshi Yamato and the rogue Force-users on the Austria-Hungary."

"They're called Imperial Knights, Master: basically Grey Jedi loyal to the Fel Empire."

That was the last straw for Mace. "Padawan Tano, while you have done excellent service to the Jedi Order and the Republic, your attitude is something we can do without."

Ahsoka smiled tightly. "Kiss my ass, Master Windu." She ended the transmission.

"That… that was-"

"Pinkerton holds him in high esteem only for his dueling abilities. Everything else… well, he's not a well-liked historical figure for the New Jedi Order." She said.

Obi-wan sighed. "Admiral, set a course for Ruusan following Ahsoka's directions," he said. "Let's get this over with…"

NJO SSD Eclipse

The Eclipse dropped out of hyperspace just short of Lehon, and not on purpose. "Well, that's it: the hyperdrive's out of commission."

"This ship is falling apart! Why the hell is it doing this NOW, and not earlier?!"

"Uh, because we used everything from chewing gum and bailing wire to the kitchen sink to keep this thing from completely falling apart?" A B1 Droid said.

The Mandalorians glared at the B1s, then focused their attention outside, where a massive shipyard complex was waiting for them. "Uh, was that THERE before?"

Jordan shook his head. "No. It wasn't," he said, as he decided to look through the datapad Ron left with the Forge. The most important part was telling them what it was when they found it. He activated it as soon as he found it, finding a subfile and seeing five text files. 'SF1-SY: This one I left on the Eclipse. It will construct a shipyard as well as making warships and fighters by the bucketload. Doesn't matter if you have the fucking things if you can't maintain them.'

He looked through the rest, seeing the second letter grouping telling him what it did. 2-GG, which was on Ruusan, would eventually build the Galaxy Gun. 3-SC, again on Ruusan, the infamous Suncrusher. 4 and 5DSOBS confused him for a second. Until he opened 4DSOBS. 'This one I left with the Geonosians on Hypori for safekeeping. This one builds the Death Star. Technically, the Death Star II, with the improved superlaser and everything.'

Jordan blinked before he groaned. "Oh son of a bitch…" he muttered. "Ron, why leave the Death Star II specs with the bloody Geonosians and not me! Who has better security measures here!"

"What are you talking about?" The General asked, and Jordan sighed.

"I'll explain later," he said. "For the time being though, we need to use the Star Forge to start repairs on the Eclipse… force knows we're gonna need her back in action ASAP."

The Eclipse approached the shipyard, secured by massive docking clamps once it entered its' berth. She wouldn't be leaving for a LONG time.

Imperial space

The ISD Chimaera continued to follow one of the shuttle shipments that routinely left the Star Forge, which was now capable of building capital ships akin to the 10 kilometer Titan-Class. Reports of the shuttles had started a month prior, once the Forge was large enough to make ISDs. Hundreds of the damn things flew in and out in ten minute intervals. Vader had had enough of the mystery, and sent the Chimaera to find out WHY.

"Admiral, we're picking something up," One of the operators said. "Large, metallic."

"A ship?" Pellaeon asked.

The operator shook his head. "No, sir. Larger than a station," he said. "We might be able to see it."

"On screen," Pellaeon said, and a few moments later an image appeared on the front screen… and the eyes of everyone on the bridge widened at what was orbiting the planet. A large skeletal framework of a sphere-shaped battlestation that anyone from their time could recognize. "By the Force… it's a Death Star."

This Death Star was only 20% complete, but the dish and framework were complete, reminding them of more of the prototype held at the Maw then the Death Stars I and II. That did not mean it wasn't operational: the dish was fully skinned, and what appeared to be a grand total of SIX hypermatter cores were nested in the center of the station. If it so desired, the station could blow them out of the sky.

"Begin docking procedures." The Admiral said, "I want to make sure that thing's not operating under an AI like the LAST one. And inform Lord Vader of our discovery."

"Sir, we are receiving a link from the Executor." One of the operators said, "Lord Vader wishes to speak with you."

"Patch him through." Pallaeon said, and a few moments later the holographic image of Darth Vader appeared before him.

"Admiral Pellaeon, have you discovered the destination of the shuttles?" Vader asked.

"We have sir… though this may be difficult to believe." The Admiral said, "We… have discovered what appears to be a Death Star still in construction. At first glance, it appears the superlaser is already complete, and it is larger than the original model the rebels destroyed at Yavin IV."

Vader actually recoiled in surprise for a brief moment. "That is not possible." he said, "We neither have the plans for the Death Star, nor have I ordered its' construction."

The image of his apprentice appeared a moment later. "My Master, I believe I know how this came to be." She said, "Pinkerton has the blueprints for the second Death Star, and it is likely that the Star Forge I acquired was pre-programmed to construct the device. In any event, I believe it will be useful in the future."

Vader cupped his chin in thought for a moment "This is a… fortunate development." he said, "Admiral, I shall send additional ships and engineering crews to continue its construction. Ensure the system is locked down to any non-imperial personnel."

"It will be done, Lord Vader." The link cut out, and he turned his gaze to the Death Star. He had seen some of the reports Lady Shura supplied about the future, in particular about the Yuuzhan Vong War, and while he hated the idea of the superweapon sitting before him, two or more of the damn things would have come in handy for blowing those worldships out of the sky. Perhaps Pinkerton knew this when he built the Forges.

"Launch every fighter, bomber and gunboat squadron we've got!" He ordered. "I want nothing that isn't Imperial entering this system alive!"

"Aye, Admiral!"

Ruusan - shuttle en route to surface

"I don't get why the two of you decided to come along. Rex and Cody, I understand: they're clone troopers. You two, on the other hand-"

"Master Skywalker, Senator Amidala and I will be handling the more fine details of this alliance with the… New Jedi and Sith Orders."

Anakin sighed. Satine Kyrze was a pain in the ass, and more so now that she was no longer keeping Mandalore from degenerating into chaos. Acting Chancellor Organa had recommended Padme and Satine for diplomatic reasons, not to mention that Satine had literally nothing left to do thanks to Vader.

"But why you? Anyone could've done the job."

"Don't bother, Master. I'm just looking forward to the fireworks when Pinkerton sees her." Ahsoka said. "Too bad we don't have any popcorn: that would make the show SO much more entertaining."

Anakin sighed as the shuttle touched down on the ground. "Well… let's go meet our new allies…" he muttered. "I don't like this…"

The entrance to the Valley was flanked by several statues, representing Jedi with active lightsabers. "Impressive. I didn't know this place even existed."

"It's a bit of a taboo and something the Order wants to forget." Ahsoka said, "Over a thousand years ago, the Brotherhood of Darkness used a thought bomb to kill the Army of Light, destroying both sides and unintentionally helping Bane create his Sith Order. To the best of my knowledge, the spirits of all the Jedi and Sith killed here are still trapped."

"You would be correct, young one." Four lightsabers activated, and three blasters were pointed behind them at an old woman with gray hair and what appeared to be a Jedi master's robe. "My young student knows that releasing them from their prison is not his destiny."

"Really? Then whose destiny is it?" Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A man by the name of Kyle Katarn, Chosen One." The woman said.

"And who, exactly, are you?" Obi-wan asked, "And how do you know all of this?"

"When one is one with the Force, the mysteries of the universe become less mysterious." She said. "And you know of my greatest student, Revan, Master Jedi. My name should not elude you."

"Darth Traya…" Obi-Wan muttered. "Lord of Betrayal, formerly known as Kreia..."

The old woman scoffed. "So close-minded." She said, "Just as there are two sides to the Force, there are two sides to every user of the Force itself. Traya is simply my dark counterpart. I am Kreia."

"But Revan was whole when we met him."

"His spirit was split in two in life. Only reunification would save him from total oblivion." Kreia said, "Now, I suggest you follow me: the Valley is quite dangerous for those without the Force to guide their steps."

Though they were very skeptical about Kreia, upon seeing Ahsoka follow her the others soon followed suit as they made their way through the Valley to search for Ron.

"You taught him?" Anakin asked.

"I was one of the few Force spirits that didn't try to take him over," Kreia said. "If I were allowed, I would have protected him, like Revan and Tackett, but I could not."

The ghost led them through the Valley, straight to the Force nexus, where Ron and a woman wearing Mandalorian armor were sparring, using Form IV. "He took an apprentice?" Obi-Wan asked. "A Mandalorian, at that?"

"Better to teach her then to let her fall into Vader's hands," Ahsoka commented.

"I know you're there, Tano!" Ron shouted out, as he finished up with Telas's training for now. "Come closer, we've got things to discuss."

"That, we do," Ahsoka said, as she approached Ron. "I don't know if I should thank you or hit you for those anchors you gave me…"

"Didn't do it on purpose."

"Doesn't matter. I assume you know what we're here for?"

"Our alliance against Vader and whoever the hell shows up next. Telas, you're dismissed for now. I'll contact Jordan. Might as well get us all on the same page."

Ron the True Fan: and now we're taking the fight back to Vader and company.

Takeshi Yamato: Prepare for epic butt-kicking! :D

117Jorn: To quote Anakin in episode III… this is where the fun begins :D

Ron the True Fan: To make yourselves familiar with some of the ships and equipment that we will be featuring, I recommend playing the Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption mod Absolute Corruption. I LIKE those.

Ja Ne!