Legacy of the Jedi: Side A

In the long term, it's easier to kill a powerful enemy than it is an apparently weak one. If you bring down a giant, you're a hero. If you kill something weak—even if it has to die—then you endure contempt. Being willing to be despised to serve the common good…that's the mark of a true Sith.

-Darth Caedus

LotJA[ I ]LotJA

Jaina Solo knew the galaxy was in trouble, knew that life as she knew it was about to come crashing down all around her. Her breathing was rough and labored as she felt through the Force the death of so many Force sensitive beings. Her jaw was clenched, hands curled into fists, as she seethed at the betrayal, at how easy it had been for the murderers to act. A galaxy enjoying the so-called 'Peace of a Millennium' never could have expected such a bold and daring attack from a group thought long dead. But there was no mistaking what she was feeling, no missing the fact that her fellow Imperial Jedi leader Turi Altamik was no longer among the living. In fact, most of the Jedi Order Jedi and Imperial Knights were fast being snuffed out. How it happened, given what Jaina was staring at now, she had some clue.

She slowly set the datapad she had been viewing back onto her desk, her eyes tracking the over dozen individuals filling her spacious office. All were dressed in the standard Voidtrooper—black-painted stormtrooper—attire. All also had lightsabers clipped to their utility belts. Normally, the sight of lightsaber-totting Imperials wouldn't have raised an eyebrow for Jaina. After all, she was in charge of all the Imperial Knights running about the newly minted Third Imperium; Grand Moff Quille's way of rebranding the Remnant. But she had trained all of the Imperial Knights in one form or another since they were barely teenagers. Had also had a hand in training all the Voidtroopers—non-Force sensitive auxiliary units that helped out the Imperial Knights. As well as trained the Shadowtroopers—regular soldiers augmented with Force abilities thanks to specialized crystals imbued with the Force.

None of the fully-grown armored individuals before her were anyone she recognized.

Added to the fact was that she was deep in Imperium territory on a diplomatic mission to work out an alliance with several Moffs and therefore didn't bring any Imperial Knights with her.

She was also on the top floor of a pyramidal luxury hotel and had left strict instructions for others not to disturb her for a period of several hours.

Very slowly she stood, a lightsaber falling into each of her hands. She had picked up the dual style after the Killik War in order to match the more aggressive, darker slant of the Imperial Knight philosophy. "Can I help you?"

The lead Voidtrooper responded by throwing up his hand and sending a blast of Force energy at Jaina. Jaina, who had been ready for it, let the Force energy wash over her like a summer breeze.

"Performance issues?" A purple blade hissed into existence in each of her hands.

"For Cronal!" The instigator's fury spiked and he launched himself at Jaina in a silent spiraling dive, his lightsaber flaring to life at the last second.

It was a split-second too late. With one saber, Jaina batted his aside, and with the other she decapitated him in one clean stroke—all without moving from where she was.

In unison, the other twelve lightsabers filled the room with crackling hisses, blades of purple and red casting their cones of light in the pre-dawn of the office.

Jaina quickly propelled herself backwards, sending her heavy desk flying into three of her attackers and blocking attacks from another four. With a backwards slash she shattered the window behind her. A brisk wind immediately filled the office, one of the dangers of being several hundred stories up. Below her were other towering structures, mag-lev rails, and cables of all sorts. Despite the early hour, there was also a steady stream of speeder traffic whizzing by, oblivious to the attempted murder of the Commander of the Imperial Knights.

Jaina moved to the edge of the window. Three assassins fired off streams of lightning. Another five rushed her.

Jaina flipped backwards out of the window, her body suspended in air for fractions of a second before her Force-assisted leap let her land on a landing platform several dozen meters away. The crew of the platform had been prepping a cargo ship and all gaped at her in shock.

"Run," Jaina urged with the Force, eyes tracking the shadows of her attackers sailing through the air after her. The crew did as they were told, hastily scrambling back towards a turbolift as the morning light illuminated the sudden downpour of dark Jedi assassins. In the meantime, Jaina used the Force and sent several boxes of goods flying up at her descending attackers. Most were deflected or slashed into two, but one found its mark and sent an unfortunate Voidtrooper impostor flailing the several hundred stories to the ground.

The others landed and swiftly charged at her.

Jaina hurled one of her lightsabers at the fueling station nearby, and the explosion blew another three attackers off the platform. Using the smoke and momentary confusion, she leaped off the side of the platform and landed atop a passing cargo freighter. Two other Voidtrooper-imposters made the same drop, while the rest began raining down onto adjacent speeders or passing craft.

Spinning like a vibrant, violet cyclone, Jaina went on the offensive. Her blitz caught the two unlucky dark Jedi off guard. They attempted to block her sudden barrage of forceful strikes, but the split second of hesitation had cost them. A well-placed kick sent one of them toppling off the side of the vehicle. The other lasted three more blocks before one of Jaina's sabers sliced through his, and then she removed his head from his body.

Forks of lightning streaked through the chilly morning sky as the others caught up. They were fast moving shadows as they leaped from speeder to speeder, some wantonly slashing apart the vehicles as they breezed by, sending doomed drivers spiraling to their deaths.

Several more assassins vaulted over yawning gaps between the speeder traffic to engage her. Jaina responded with a jump of her own, catching one of the attackers in mid-air with both her booted feet and lightsaber slamming into his chest, and then using his impaled body like a springboard to leap to a passing walkway.

"Come on!" The cold dawn wind whipping away the sweat on Jaina's forehead was a sharp contrast to her racing pulse and fury-filled figure. "You're really going to have to do better than this!"

On cue, two gunships cut a swath through traffic. Jaina groaned, wondered if she was cursed, clipped her lightsabers to her belt, and began sprinting along the catwalk as rapid-fire laser cannons opened fire. A third gunship swooped around a building and appeared directly in front of her. Yet the Force had given Jaina enough of an advanced warning that she was already leaping into the air, lightsabers flying back into her hands. She landed on the canopy of the gunship and promptly stabbed her lightsabers through the transparent material, skewering the pilot and co-pilot. Without stopping, Jaina took off down the length of the gunship as the other two gunships tracked her slender form in the early light of the day. The gunship exploded beneath her and she once again was thrown into the air and peppered with debris.

She landed on top of a short skyscraper, then promptly bent over backwards, back touching her heels, as a red lightsaber cleaved through the air. Five of her surviving assailants landed all around her, the remaining two gunships swooping into position. Using the Force again, Jaina sprang up high into the air, her slight movement causing the gunships to open fire on instinct and blow a gaping hole in the top of the roof.

Still in mid-air, Jaina grabbed onto the bottom of a passing transport. She was whisked away for only a few meters before the gunships homed in on her and blew apart the transport with another barrage of lasers. Plummeting, Jaina managed to twist her body so that she landed on the roof of another transport.

She scrambled to her feet and sprinted down the transport's length with grim determination. Her heart was pounding and she could hear her own ragged breathing as pure adrenaline urged her on. Reaching the end of the transport, she threw herself into the air once more. She tried not to think about how ridiculous it was that she was trying to fly without a starfighter. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that the remaining Voidtrooper-imposters and gunships were in hot pursuit.

Then again, she mused, if she had a starfighter, the whole thing would have been over in seconds.

The gunships kept up their barrage of laser fire, stitching the surrounding buildings and passing vehicles almost indiscriminately. Speeders honked their horns, their engines screeching as they swerved to avoid the bombardment. Explosions ruptured the early morning calm, flaming debris raining down all around Jaina as she leaped from landing to speeder to landing.

Two more lightsabers were thrown in her direction. She dodged one and snagged the other out of the air, then hurled it at an assassin who had been in mid-jump. The lightsaber impaled the assassin and sent his body tumbling to the depths of the city, but Jaina didn't bother to stick around and see if she had found her target.

While running from explosions, lasers, lightning, and all manner of lethal things trying to kill her, her comm chimed.

"Jaina here," Jaina panted, leaping off another speeder and coming to a rolling landing onto another.

"Jaina."

"Oh, hi Jagged," Jaina spun around and sent a wave of Force energy out at two pursuers who were getting too close. One was buffeted off the ledge he had landed on, but the other endured it without problem and fired off lightning at her in response. It crackled against her lightsaber until she managed to leap out of range. "Listen can I call you back, I'm kind of busy. Usual day at the office you know."

"Dodging assassins in the morning?"

"What? How'd you know?"

"Jaina, you've lead them on a chase through over twelve city-blocks. And all twelve of those blocks look like warzones from the holocams. It's all over the local HoloNet."

Jaina hazarded another glance over her shoulder. The smoking and ruinous mess left in her wake had her cringe. "Oh, sorry about that. Didn't mean to make a diplomatic mess with these moffs."

"At the next intersection make a turn to portside," Jagged instructed patiently, as if Jaina was usually involved in a high-altitude fight over a heavily populated area without her starfighter.

Jaina did as she was told, kicking off the side of another skyscraper and landing on a fast-moving vehicle.

The two gunships whipped around the corner after her.

And were promptly immolated with pinpoint orbital laser strikes.

The few Voidtrooper-impostors still in pursuit saw their support go up in flames, and quickly turned tail, disappearing just as quickly as they had come.

"Any idea what that was about?" an out-of-breath Jaina breathed, stretching out over the roof of the vehicle as her adrenaline began to recede.

"Get to the nearest spaceport and return to the Fell Defender. You need to see what's happening."

"Jedi are dying," Jaina said softly.

"Yes, again. Return to me, Jaina. Something significant is occurring and now is a very bad time to be separated."

LotJA[ II ]LotJA

There were worse planets to be marooned on while waiting for replacement parts for an aging freighter, Jacen decided. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, and the lush forest all around him sung with life. In the background, a babbling brook provided the chorus with its fast-moving melody as the crystal-clear water flowed over the shiny, smooth stones. Being forced to travel from one ecumenopolis to another for one political reason or another, it was rare that he was allowed such moments of peace and tranquility. Even during his rare visits to Hapes, no more than a few hours at a time, he was confined to the luxurious city named after his childhood friend and lover.

Also different was the feeling of serenity that suffused every aspect of the world. Bimmisaari was a pacifistic world in every sense of the word. The main goal of its people was to cultivate and maintain the natural beauty of its planet-wide jungles and forests. Meditating in such peaceful environment, it was easy to let the rest of the galaxy just slip away and enjoy the Force in its raw form.

Unfortunately for the peace-loving Bimmisaarians, their planet had been the sector capital, and the few cities they did build had all been razed to the ground during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Despite then Chief of State Cal Omas' pledge to help rebuild the world, the Killik War and subsequent politics had kept much, if any aid, from reaching the war-torn planet. Being on the very edge of the Mid Rim and away from any strategically or politically important location also downgraded Bimmisaari's chance at receiving any help. Cities that once held millions were still charred expanses of rubble with a myriad of tents and prefab shelters decorating the devastated ruins. To say the Bimmisaari were a bit miffed at being 'forgotten' was an understatement. But lacking a political voice of their own, they really had no way to remedy the situation.

Of course, this was exactly the sort of planet the Millennium Falcon had been forced to land on after having engine difficulties on the last leg of their journey. Without any starport or shop specializing in fifty-year old heavily modified freighters, however, repairs were proving much more difficult. The quick 'pit-stop' at the former capital city of Glastro had turned into an unexpected three-day vacation on a planet with minimal technological resources.

Jacen heard someone approach from behind, and he opened his eyes with a smile. "My dad get the Falcon fixed yet?"

"Almost," Ben Skywalker laughed. "It's flight-worthy in the loosest sense of the word. He's busy lecturing several Ugnaughts on the finer points of fuel quality and differences between alternating and direct currents."

"I get that the ship has sentimental value, but he's been spending so much credits on it in repairs recently that he could have brought a brand new freighter twice over already."

"Tell that to him."

"I prefer to stay among the living," Jacen smirked. "Honestly, I can't tell if he's more in love with the Falcon or my mom. What brings you out here? I thought you were using the hypercom to talk with Jedi Asari."

"Was, some communication problem either on our end or theirs. My mom said you were 'communing' with nature and told me to stop bugging her and dad about our ETA to Ossus."

"I'm sure Kani will understand," Jacen grinned as Ben took a seat next to him.

"She understands that I'm a complete idiot," Ben replied with a chuckle. "Really, she's like the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm so glad she can put up with the craziness that seems to happen to our family."

"Case in point," Jacen pointed to the trees surrounding them, their branches waving without any wind. "Those trees are called asaari trees."

"No way. You're kidding."

"Nope," Jacen patted Ben's back with mock sympathy. "It's like she's glaring at you even from all those lightyears away."

"Great," Ben groaned with a grin. He gave Jacen a playful shove. "Also wanted to let you know that your mom scrounged up some lunch. Apparently some of the old leaders remember her from when she had convinced Bimmisaari to join the New Republic."

"The Law of Elders." Jacen got to his feet as his stomach growled at the mention of food. "Bimmisaari's ruling council. Mom was more or less the deciding factor that kept the Brimmisaari from joining Thrawn."

Both Jedi left the forested glade and headed through the winding maze of tents that occupied the former capital city of the planet. As they did though, they both felt a shift in the Force. It was as if someone had just thrown a bucket of ice-water onto them and then blasted them with gale-force winds.

"Whoa!" Ben's hand reflexively reached for his lightsaber before remembering he had left it on the Falcon in deference to the Bimmisaari's ban on weapons.

"I think lunch is going to have to wait," Jacen muttered. He saw several of the locals chattering wildly and pointing in his and Ben's direction. Following their gestures was a group of twenty or so serious looking individuals, a mix of near-human Bimm, furry Bimm, and people who were definitely not from the planet. The phalanx marched through the tent-city, making a beeline for Ben and Jacen.

"They're going to arrest us," Ben predicted, looking bemused.

"You don't know that."

The leader of the group, a near-human Bimm in a uniform that neither Ben nor Jacen had seen in their three days on the planet, stopped several steps away. The fact that the Bimm had a blaster in his hand caused both Jedi's eyebrows to shoot up.

"Ben Skywalker, Jacen Solo, you're under arrest."

"Told you."

"What charges?" Jacen asked, ever the politician. In the background, the bystanders were all finding other things to do and quickly left the area.

"You will come peacefully or we will be forced to subdue you."

"We will come peacefully, what are the charges?" Jacen repeated patiently.

"For being Jedi." The group edged closer to the Jedi, fanning out into a circle with blasters and force-pikes held at the ready.

"When was that a crime?" Ben said in disbelief.

"As of this morning." The near-human Bimm leader carefully reached for a pair of binders while keeping his blaster trained on Ben. "Bimmisari is no longer a member of the Galactic Alliance and has pledged its loyalty to a new power. One with the strength to carry out its promises, to give us the power needed for victory and free ourselves from the chains of a corrupt government."

"Sith code?" Ben looked to Jacen.

Jacen nodded. "Yeah."

"You really have to wonder why people keep choosing those guys over Jedi," Ben bantered lightly. "We still surrendering?"

A giant fireball bloomed in the direction of where the Falcon had been parked, a fuel tank blowing up. "Doesn't look like our dads are."

"Oh, okay then," Ben gestured, and the man putting the stun-cuffs on his wrist was blown backwards. Another gesture, and one of the force-pikes pointed in his direction zipped out of the hands of its wielder and into Ben's hands.

A second explosion blossomed in the distance. This time in the direction of the prefab structure that served as the capital building.

"And there go our moms," Jacen commented, an oppressive wave of Force energy barreling out of his hands and steamrolling five of the arresting officers.

"Back up! Call for back up!" The near-human Bimm officer frantically called out over his comm.

In the meantime, Ben whirled his purloined force-pike like a staff-weapon, disarming several of the remaining officers and sending them fleeing towards the tent-city. In no time at all, the lead officer was the only one left, a shaking hand holding up a blaster towards both Force-sensitives.

"Go," Jacen gestured with his hand.

The near-human Bimm nodded his head rapidly, and then took off running after his subordinates.

"Well, that was easy."

"It's not over."

"What do you mean, we kicked their…"

"They weren't Force sensitive." Jacen picked up another force-pike

Ben reflected on that, then inclined his head. "Good point."

Several more figures rounded the dilapidated tents. All were in black version of Jedi robes, their faces covered with masks.

"Those guys are though," Ben gestured, twirling his force-pike into a ready position. "Let's hope our dads got the engines fixed. These guys don't feel like push-overs."

As if confirming Ben's statement, one of them held out his hand, and in the blink of an eye the middle of Ben's force-pike was crushed into uselessness. The weapon fizzed out, leaving Ben holding nothing but an L-shaped piece of metal. Jacen's force-pike met a similar end.

"Not good," Ben said, taking a step back.

The trio of dark Jedi all activated blood-red lightsabers.

"Ideas?" Jacen looked to Ben.

"What are you asking me for? Aren't you the wise Jedi Master?"

"A wise man knows when to ask for help," Jacen said sagely, taking another step back as the trio took a step forward.

"Oh, okay," Ben blinked. He then shouted out to no one in particular. "Help!"

His act of absurdity temporarily caused the trio of dark Jedi to stop in confusion.

Ben shrugged unapologetically at Jacen. "I was following your advice, master, and trying to be wise."

"A wise-dunderhead maybe. Run!"

Both Jacen and Ben took off like bolts of lightning, the Force augmenting their speed. The trio of dark Jedi shot off after them in hot pursuit. Ben gestured, sending the tent pegs of several tents flying back behind him. A blast of Force energy knocked them aside. Jacen one-upped the younger Jedi by sending a large chunk of burnt masonry flying. But one of the trio plowed right through it with lightsaber held at the forefront in a small explosion of blackened rock.

To avoid collateral damage, the two Jedi leaped up onto the ruined structures that dotted the landscape, running from shattered rooftop to rooftop. Ben and Jacen were staying ahead of their pursuers, but only just. Just when it seemed like the dark Jedi would corral the two, the familiar sight of the Millennium Falcon soared in with landing ramp extended. Ben leaped first, twisting his body to avoid a spinning red blade in the process. He landed hard on the ramp, his momentum carrying him inside the ship.

Jacen leaped next, and the ramp promptly began to close as the Falcon gained altitude. Breathing heavily, but smiling, Jacen let out a laugh and looked at his former apprentice. "Well that was fun wasn't it…Ben?"

Ben Skywalker's face was ashen, haunted, his gaze distant.

"Ben? What is it?" Jacen said softly. Even as he spoke, though, he suddenly knew the answer. The tidal wave of deaths cascading through the Force was unmistakable.

Whatever had just happened throughout the galaxy, it was clear that nothing was going to be the same ever again.

LotJA[ III ]LotJA

Seven year old Allana 'Call Me Ana' Solo-Djo awoke slowly, the lack of sunlight making her reluctant to wake fully. After a second, however, her gray eyes took in the view from the towering window in her room. When they focused on the scene outside, her face brightened into a smile and she shot up like a rocket. Hastily throwing on a robe over her Tauntaun and Nerf decorated pajamas—a gift from her dad—Allana eagerly ran to the window and placed her hands on the panes, feeling the cold of winter through the transparent material. The sun might not have been up yet, but evidence that winter had finally come to the glacial Royal Hapan Winter Estate was clear by the way the snow reflected the Transitory Mists outside. As if another switch had been flipped, she quickly looked over her shoulder to share her news. She sprinted out of the room, her twin red braids flying behind her, and made a sharp turn to enter the room next to hers.

"Cassa!" Allana burst through the doors of the older girl's bedroom without care. "Come on! Wake up! It's the first snow of winter!"

Thirteen year old Cassa grumbled and pulled the sheets over her head. Morning person she was not.

"Come on!" Allana tried again, bouncing on her cousin's giant bed with seven-year old enthusiasm. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

"It's too early, go back to bed," Cassa's voice was muffled by the sheets covering her.

Allana pouted. "It doesn't even have to be a snowman. We can build a snownexu instead. Or make a snow-fort!"

"Go away Ana," Cassa grouched.

Allana's face fell and she plopped off the bed. "Okay…bye."

"Okay, okay okay!" Cassa groaned, throwing off the sheets, unable to handle Allana's sad echoes in the Force; even if her young cousin was exaggerating them. "Fine, Ana. We'll go build a snowman!"

"You're the best cousin ever!" Allana brightened, leaping back onto the bed.

Cassa laughed and wrapped an arm around Allana's shoulders. "We have to keep this quiet. The adults are all still sleeping."

Allana mimed zipping her lips, and together the two young girls crept down the hallway.

"Morning."

Both girls froze. Allana smiled sheepishly and turned around. "Hi Auntie Taryn."

"The first snow?" Taryn said with a knowing smile.

Allana and Cassa nodded.

"Aren't you going to be cold in your night clothes?"

Both young girls looked at one and other, then shook their heads.

Cassa grinned impishly, her blond hair swooshing slightly as she turned back to Taryn. "Compared to space, the cold on this planet never bothered me anyways. This planet's strong in the Force so it's always been warm for me."

"Daddy taught me how to keep from getting cold with the Force," Allana echoed.

"The Force, of course. Okay, fine," Taryn said with a sigh. "But if one of you even sneezes or coughs or has a runny nose, we're going back inside. You two are not catching a cold on my watch. Got me?"

"Yes Auntie Taryn," Allana nodded. "Now can we go play?"

"Go ahead," Taryn chuckled, snagging a winter coat from a hook by the door.

Allana and Cassa were all laughs and giggles as they pushed open the door to the backyard of the estate.

"I can't believe that in the first for…forever it's finally snowing!" Allana proclaimed, plopping back into a mound of white powder with a happy sigh and letting it suck in her body. "Seven months is way too long between snows."

"Tell your mom and dad to take you out here more often," Cassa said brightly. She was only visiting her cousin while her mom and dad tended to galactic affairs.

"I wish. Mommy's always so busy with the royal Hapan stuff, and daddy's never here in the first place," Allana said glumly. "You're lucky your mommy and daddy let you stay with them so often."

"At least we know they love us." Cassa pulled the younger girl into a loose hug, using the Force to comfort her. "No matter how many systems are between us, we know we're a family no matter what, and we can do anything. And you're family too, Ana."

Allana still looked sad, so Cassa decided to remedy that with a good old fashion snowball to the face. The pint-sized red-haired princess squeaked in surprise, then broke out into giggles as she scooped up a ball of snow of her own and sent it flying at her cousin. Naturally, with both being gifted in the Force, they were soon sending multiple snowballs zooming at each other.

Another hit Allana, and the red-haired princess dropped to the ground, unmoving. Cassa, eyes wide in terror, quickly ran up. But Allana opened her eyes with a mischievous smirk, and left Cassa feeling a sense of foreboding. A split second later, Cassa squealed as a pile of Force-lifted snow was dumped on her instead.

"Jayce!" Cassa yelped, shuddering as she tried to shake the snow off.

Her eight-year old brother was laughing like crazy from the doorway. "Got you!"

"Oh you," Cassa scooped up a snowball, and the fight resumed.

Eventually the trio fell to the ground, laughing and out of breath, puffs of white steam rising from their grinning mouths. Without a word exchanged, they then began to roll the snow together and make a snownexu. Allana found a pair of rocks to use as eyes, and Jayce began shaping a 'heart' out of snow.

"Nexu are better than people," Allana declared, adding decorative 'spines' in the form of sticks down the back of their snowcat. "Nexu are nice and you can cuddle with them and they make purring sounds."

"But Nexu can't read you bed-time stories," Jayce argued, setting his frozen 'heart' into a small cubby in the body. "Or hug you and rub your back. Right Cassa?"

"Forget Nexu, N'amiq are the best," Cassa declared, naming the Yuuzhan Vong avian reptile trained by their warriors to fight.

"You're crazy," Allana shook her head. "If you want big things, then nothing can beat Cuddles."

"Let's build a snow-Rancor," Jayce exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah!" Allana beamed.

"Okay." Cassa agreed, and began rolling up more snow for them to use.

As the trio played, Taryn kept watch, accepting a steaming cup of cocoa from her husband, and leaned back against him. "It's so unfair how you Jedi can run around barefoot in the snow and I need three layers to keep from freezing my butt off."

"Normally I would have a witty remark for that," Zekk kissed the top of Taryn's head. "But we're next to a bunch of Force-sensitive kids who'd hear anything I whispered."

"You can whisper it to me later then," Taryn quipped with a grin. They watched the young Solos play for a few more minutes, enjoying the serenity of the morning. Looking back over her shoulder to Zekk, Taryn lightly pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "When do you want to have a few little ones of our own, Zekk?"

"Daughters?" Zekk murmured.

"Daughters, sons, doesn't matter to me," Taryn murmured back. She glanced back at the frolicking children with a whimsical smile. "They'll be our kids, so the other nobles will just have to deal with it."

"Things have been peaceful recently," Zekk said thoughtfully. "Stable enough to start a family. I'm game if you are."

Taryn grinned broadly, setting down her drink to wrap her arms around her husband. "Always ready for whatever the galaxy throws my way."

"We'll start trying later tonight then," Zekk murmured, kissing Taryn's neck. "I've always wanted a family of my own."

Just as Taryn was about to enjoy his affections, her grin promptly fell away as her commando-trained instincts picked up on a faint movement through the frost-ivy covered gates. She placed a hand on his chest, the other hand drifting down to her blaster.

He felt her change in mood and looked the direction she was gazing in. "Taryn?"

"I…I thought I saw something," Taryn frowned. She pulled out her comlink. "Southern security team, report in."

"Team One, all clear, sir," a female voice came back over the comm.

"Team Two, no problems," another agreed.

Taryn was about to lower her comlink, but then thought better of it. "Teams One and Two, please relay your security code. Counter-sign Rainbow Gem."

At that, nothing but silence answered Taryn.

"I'm not sensing anything out of place," Zekk frowned, but he was reaching for his lightsaber nonetheless.

"Hey kids, play time's over," Taryn called out. "Come back inside."

"Awww, do we have to?" Allana whined.

"Yes," Taryn said, keeping a smile on her face despite the situation. "You…"

Two things happened at once. A red blade seemed to appear out of thin air and fly straight towards Allana's small form, and Zekk's own red saber flew out and knocked it aside.

"Get inside!" Taryn yelled.

Zekk leaped from the doorway, through the light snowfall, and landed between the children and the direction the saber had come from. A wide-eyed Cassa, Jayce, and Allana scrambled through the torso-high snowbanks towards Taryn, an inch away from panic.

"This is Captain Zel to Security Room, put the estate on lockdown! The chume'da is under attack! Security Room, come in!"

The estate remained eerily silent.

"North Security Team, report in!"

Silence answered her.

"Zekk, is Hiana still alive?" Taryn yelled out.

"I can still sense her," Zekk said, his green eyes sweeping through the white and gray surroundings to look for a threat. Whoever had thrown the lightsaber, however, was evidently well-trained in the Force.

Just then, two figures, moving like wraiths, leaped over the garden wall. They were completely covered in black cloth, wearing no armor at all and carrying no blasters. But the red lightsabers they wielded were a more reliable indicator of their abilities. Both held two, the blades shining a red glow in the snow before them.

"Auntie Taryn, behind you!" Allana screamed.

Taryn whirled around only to be tackled hard, the wind leaving her as she was driven back into a duracrete wall. She struggled to regain the initiative, but her assailant slammed her against the wall again, and this time she saw stars. Hands gripped tightly around her neck, lifting her dazed figure off the ground.

Before she lost consciousness though, her assailant hissed in pain and released his hold on her. An amphistaff was sticking out of his stomach, its venom already fast at work. Almost in disbelief he followed the amphistaff to its holder, a determined and fiercely green-eyed Cassa.

"I won't let you hurt her," Cassa growled. She then looked to her amphistaff and praised it. "Tu'q, Sa'il. Do-ro'ik Hapes pratte!"

Her assailant wasn't so easily beaten, however. With a snarl he gestured and an invisible, sledgehammer-like force slammed into Cassa and sent her small form flying through the air. He yanked the amphistaff from his body and threw it to the side, quickly spinning back to Taryn as she fired off several shots from her blaster. At point-blank range, it was hard to miss. Even when an invisible force snapped the bones in her wrist, Taryn ignored the blinding pain and continued to pump the assailant with blaster-bolts. Just when it looked as if the man wouldn't go down, a flash of light from the top-most part of the estate turned his head into a liquefied mess.

"Thanks, Hiana," Taryn panted, cradling her injured hand. The sound of lightsabers clashing, however, quickly drew her attention elsewhere.

Zekk was in the middle of a fierce fight against two very nimble opponents, his Jedi robes billowing in the arctic breeze. One attacker would engage with lightsabers, and the other would fire lightning at Zekk's opposite side, but he was holding his own. The snow flurried around them, looking like molten lava in the glow of their red blades.

Then the two switched up strategies, and Zekk was forced to battle against four different lightsaber blades. He was pushed onto the defensive, his motions becoming rigid as they began to restrict his options. Hiana's sniper rifle flashed again, but this time the targeted assassin dodged it. The assassin then proceeded to rake Hiana's perch with a long-distance blast of purple lightning. The wooden roof burst into flame after a second of contact, turning the top of the estate into a roaring blaze another moment later.

Zekk took that opportunity, however, to halve his odds. Using a blast of Force energy to send one of the assailants flying into a nearby tree, he whirled about and plunged his lightsaber into the distracted Force-lightning user from behind. The first attacker sprung back into battle a second too late. Zekk parried the flurry of attacks, then elbowed his attacker in the chin before delivering the finishing blow to his stunned opponent. Even with the attacker falling to the ground, however, Zekk didn't deactivate his lightsaber. His gaze was instead directed outward, the Force no longer shrouding the surroundings.

Kneeling beside an unconscious Cassa, it was only then that Taryn realized how much trouble they were in. The trio of Force-using assassins were just the advanced guard. The weather chose that moment to clear a bit, the morning fog lifting ever so slightly. Just outside the wall, she could see several squads of black-clad individuals lining up shots down the barrel of blaster-rifles. Quickly pulling Allana and Jayce behind her, Taryn dropped to the ground as low as she could.

A deafening volley of blaster fire cut through the crystalline fence that ringed the garden. Dozens of red lasers burning holes into the estate's exterior. A second and third volley followed, the estate wall crumpling under the continuous barrage.

Zekk and his lightsaber made easy targets, and he sprinted away from Taryn's prone form to draw some of the fire off of her position. Not that it mattered with the dozens of other attackers still bombarding the area with everything they had.

A frag grenade landed next to Taryn, who quickly picked it up and lobbed it back in the direction it had come. She pulled the unconscious Cassa behind a snowbank, taking with her the two other terrified children in the process.

Jacye and Allana were clinging to Taryn in abject fear as the evil intentions of their attackers became clear to their Force-sensitive minds.

"Stay down, stay here," Taryn whispered gently, switching her blaster to her other hand. "I'll keep you safe, promise."

Another red-lightsaber burst through the snowbank, but Taryn rolled to the side at the last moment, and the red blade narrowly missed her. Before it could return to its sender, Taryn targeted the only unarmed person in the line of attackers and drilled him with two precision shots between his eyes. The red-lightsaber, which had been on a return trip, fell to the snowy ground next to Taryn with a sedate plop. She quickly grabbed the saber and attached it to her utility belt. Though she might not be able to fight with one, she had learned at a young age that a lightsaber was a very handy can, door, and vehicle opener.

The blaster-fire picked up again, and Taryn pressed herself back to the ground. The odds were not looking good.

Then a bellowing roar sounded across the snow-covered landscape. It was a roar few in Hapes would recognize, so few would worry about. Given that the attackers didn't seem too concerned, Taryn almost felt sorry for them.

The ground shook and the startled screams of the attackers momentarily trumped the blasterfire. With a weak smile, Taryn hazarded a glance back over the snowbank.

"Mommy!" Allana called out.

The Queen Mother of Hapes, in full Dathomiri battle-armor, had evidently dropped from an airship and into battle…whilst sitting atop her pet, fully-grown Rancor. The few dozen infantry attacking the Royal Family's Winter Estate were then given a first-hand experience of what happened to those that tried to hurt Allana.

The Rancor scooped up a trio of blaster-wielding assassins and promptly ate them. His rider had dismounted amid a flurry of blaster bolts, her viridian-hued saber slicing through another trio of attackers as she landed. As more and more of the assassins began to target her, they evidently forgot that the Queen Mother was being protected by some of the most elite soldiers of the Hapan Consortium.

On a silvery-glider that danced with the falling snow, Lieutenant Chiri Aros swooped in, repeater-cannon in her hands, and strafed the tightly clustered group with a rapid-fire barrage.

Also on a glider, Colonel Trista Zel made an attack run, the mounted anti-personnel missiles attached to the undersides of the wings being released with lethal accuracy.

Other members of Tenel Ka's protection detail arrived on jetpacks, blasters obliterating the mysterious assassins from every possible angle.

Within seconds of their arrival, the entire group of assassins was either dead or wishing they were.

"Mommy!" Allana called out again, sounding like a Tauntaun fawn bleating for her mother.

Tenel Ka was at Allana's side in seconds, her expression one of sheer relief as she swept up her daughter in a crushing hug. "You are unharmed?"

"Cassa's hurt! And so is Auntie Taryn," Allana pointed to the injured parties involved.

Tenel Ka looked to both.

Taryn, holding her broken wrist to her chest, shook her head. "Check on Cassa first, Zekk can fix me up later."

Tenel Ka nodded once and knelt next to the unconscious blond girl, Allana clinging to her like a barnacle. She reached out her hand and gently touched Cassa's forehead.

"Will she be okay?" Jayce sniffled, hugging himself.

"She will," Tenel Ka said tenderly. A medic hurried to the Queen Mother's side, and Tenel Ka took a moment to relay a set of instructions before looking back to a visibly shaken Jayce. "She is strong, like your parents. Meala here is the best doctor in Hapes and will look after you and your sister."

More security forces rushed in, having taken the more traditional route of landing shuttles and all-terrain walkers. In the background, the winter estate continued to burn, black smoke rising into the cloudy sky.

Zekk took that moment to reappear, limping and holding his side.

"Zekk," Taryn breathed, forcing herself to stand.

"Just another two lightsaber-wielding kids who thought they were dark Jedi caught me off guard," Zekk waved her off. He nodded to Tenel Ka. "Chume."

"My friend," Tenel Ka's unspoken gratefulness in every aspect of her voice.

Zekk inclined is head in acknowledgment, then gently brushed Allana's cheek. "You okay, Chume'da Allana?"

"Uh huh," Allana nodded, before burrowing back against her mother.

"You said kids?" Taryn asked, when Zekk knelt down to check on her injuries.

After finishing setting the bones in her wrist, Zekk walked over to the one who had hurled lightning at Hiana's position and undid the black mask. A face of someone barely old enough to shave was revealed. With a shake of his head, Zekk repeated. "Kids."

"Who sends kids on assassination missions?" Taryn scowled.

Tenel Ka, Allana, and Zekk suddenly turned their heads to the sky.

Zekk's eyes widened at what he was sensing. "We have to get clear of this place."

"It's too late," Tenel Ka shook her head. "Meala, keep Cassa and Jayce Solo with you at all times."

"Yes, Chume," the medic responded, picking Cassa up off the ground with one arm and pulling Jayce up against her with her other.

Tenel Ka grimaced and spoke half-heartedly to her daughter, hugging her at the same time. "I was the real target after all, it seems."

"Good plan," Zekk said grimly. "An attack on her was sure to draw you out."

"What, what's wrong?" Taryn hissed.

Taryn's answer came in the form of a turbolaser cutting through the cloudy sky and obliterating a part of the garden only a few meters from them. The flash of light was nearly blinding in nature, as was the heat of the blast.

"That was Force-targeted!" Zekk yelled, gripping Taryn to him as another blast narrowly missed them.

And then additional turbolasers began to pour down, destroying dropships and annihilating the gathered Hapan troopers. "Of course, those kids were fodder."

"Go, go, go!"

"Where's the Royal Navy?"

"Look out!"

Screams continued to erupt all around, the grounds of the winter retreat being utterly decimated.

Several turbolasers in quick succession came down on the burning winter estate and promptly blew it to pieces. Shrapnel as big as a person flew outwards, mowing down even more of the panicked Hapans.

Tenel Ka leaped up onto Cuddles, pausing only long enough to see that Taryn and Trista had commandeered several of the All-Terrain walkers and were forming up with her, before urging the giant Rancor forward.

The convoy raced across the frozen tundra, being herded along the rim of a steep drop by the turbolasers that continued to rain from the sky. They saw a distant forest of snow-covered evergreens and desperately tried to reach it, but the fire was becoming more accurate. One hover-tank following them disappeared in a blinding fireball. Another walker had the ground beneath it blasted apart and it fell over the edge of the cliff.

"We're like sitting womprats here!" Zekk yelled, one of the walkers behind his succumbing to another orbital strike.

"Not to worry, my friend," Tenel Ka said darkly, the bombardment slowing. "I think the leader of this attack wants the honor of finishing me off personally."

He turned in the direction she was looking towards and saw a lone figure standing in the path before them. Her white and red painted face framed red eyes that seemed to glow in the morning light. Stunted Zabrak horns indicated that this Force-user was not native to the Hapan system. Tall, slender, and wielding a giant vibro-axe, she was a picture of evil lethality. But that wasn't all. Behind her were three of the biggest Wampas Zekk had ever seen. They were even bigger than Cuddles, their eyes hungrily staring at the Rancor as if he were an appetizer.

"Kyrisa," Tenel Ka said evenly.

"Oh," the lone figure's laughter was tinged with madness. "The Queen of Hapes knows my name. How wonderful!"

"Kyrisa?" Zekk murmured.

"All Dathomiri know her name. She is a Nightsister so insane the others exiled her from Dathomir," Tenel Ka answered in a low voice. "She was thought long dead though."

"Oh, I assure you, Queen Mother, I am very much alive," Kyrisa's red eyes flashed and she slammed the butt of her vibroaxe into the ground. A pulse of Force energy splintered the icy surface and a giant fissure immediately spread out from the point of impact. "Alive and hungry for revenge."

"The Royal Fleet will be here any second," Tenel Ka said calmly. "Whatever forces you have in orbit will not survive an engagement."

"Dearest queen, you really have no idea the power I have." Kyrisa held her arms out to either side of her, and as if a blanket had been pulled away, more Dathomiri dark-siders began to appear. Five, fifteen, twenty, until nearly thirty stood in the frozen forest around her. "I have spent years planning my revenge. My desire to show Dathomir just how wrong they were for fearing me because of my power. So I will topple the Dathomiri Jedi Queen and rule in her stead. With the forces of Hapes, I shall return home and sterilize Dathomir of all those unworthy of life."

"The throne is not yet yours," Tenel Ka said evenly, her calmness a counter to Kyrisa's madness.

"No," Kyrisa smiled tightly. She held up her hand and the forest was filled with red lightsaber blades. The dark side of the Force pulsated and swirled all around, all manner of lethal attacks forming "Not yet. First, you have to die."

At the last moment, Zekk leaped off of his vehicle and slammed into the ground with a massive Force pulse of his own. The icy surface already weakened by Kyrisa's display of power splintered, cracked, and then crumpled.

"Kill them!" Kyrisa screeched when she realized what was happening.

In a violent roar, the entire glacial cliff-side that was supporting the Hapan forces gave way completely. Streams of lightning and other Force attacks blazed through empty air, gravity yanking away the targets faster than even the Force-using assassins could register. The Hapans tumbled into the dark and icy water below, and were soon followed by another barrage of turbolasers as Kyrisa tried to ensure their demise.

After several long minutes, the bombardment ended.

Kyrisa peered over the edge of the cliff and saw nothing but dark water below.

"My lady," a voice said from behind her. "What should we do about the other Hapans we captured back at the estate?"

"You have to ask?" Kyrisa said coolly. "If they swear allegiance, give them to our initiates for training. If they don't…keep them alive for now, I have something special planned for them."

"As you command."

"And get me Hapan Admiral Gheer and Ducha Inola. It is time their families be rewarded for sending the Royal Navy away."

"Yes, my lady."

"Don't look so glum," Kyrisa cackled as the Hapan sunlight broke through the sky. "A new day is dawning on Hapes. And with it a new Queen Mother. Me."

LotJA[ IV ]LotJA

"Welcome one and all to the official reopening of the Senate Building of Coruscant," the HoloNet blared loudly as the security team at one of the Senate Building landing pads listened to the announcement start off the ceremonies.

"We have to have the worst luck in the galaxy to be stationed here while all the big-shots are down there," grumbled Corporal Matat Besura to his desk partner. "Even the slumrats were invited to the big todo."

Corporal Shinde Raksho, a stout man from Eriadu, griped in sympathetic agreement. "Not like anyone's going to try anything. That new Chief of State did keep his promise in cleaning up the galaxy."

The control panel on their desk began beeping. Corporal Besura cleared his throat and hit the comm. "This is Senate Landing Bay Five, we have you on an approach vector, identify."

"Senator Padnel Orvin is aboard, transmitting code clearance now."

"The senator's a bit late, isn't he?" Besura said wryly.

"You know senators, Control, they like to make an entrance."

The diplomatic shuttle coasted down onto the landing pad moments later. With most of the security team far below guarding the main event, both Besura and Raksho took it upon themselves to be the senator's welcoming committee. Stepping out from behind their desk, they stood at attention as the ramp to the shuttle lowered.

"Welcome to Coruscant, Senator," Corporal Besura said proudly as the bottom half of the lead figure came into view. "Glad you could make it on this momentous day."

A red-bladed lightsaber flew out from the depths of the shuttle and promptly decapitated both security guards.

"Thank you, corporals," a mechanical voice answered, the saber flying back into his hand. One robotic leg and one boot-encased human leg thumped against the durasteel plating of the landing pad as he strode past both bodies. Behind him, more booted figures followed, black robes shrouding their identities from view. He clipped his lightsaber back to his belt. "A momentous day this will certainly be."

Many stories below, a beaming Chief of State Kenth Hamner spread out his hands as if to embrace the massive crowd before him. Bedecked in Jedi robes with billowing sleeves, he seemed to have mastered the balance between Jedi and a politician. Certainly the cheers rising up from the crowd at his appearance was a testament to his popularity

"Welcome! Welcome!" His voice was amplified across the plaza, giant holoscreens spread out making sure that everyone could see him. "Welcome all to the first day of this week-long joyous event, the rebirth of Coruscant! It is thanks to all your efforts, your patience, that Coruscant is now officially reopened for settlement. It has been a long road, a trying road, but fourteen years later, together, we have made it possible to rise from the ashes anew. To show our support, the seat of the Galactic Alliance government is also moving, reclaiming its old home in this here Senate Building. I have received assurances from the Jedi Order that they are reopening the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant. This is the dawning of a new era of peace and prosperity."

Inside the Senate Building, the dark Jedi continued their massacre, cutting down security forces, unfortunate clerks and cleaning crew, and senators rushing out of their offices to join the crowd outside. The dark-side kept the deaths unnoticed by the throng of Jedi participating in the event, shrouding not only the group moving through the Senate Building, but other individuals moving through the crowd as well.

Kenth Hamner swept a hand to the bleacher section set up to his right. "Though Grandmaster Skywalker has been delayed by technical difficulties, he will be here to close out the ceremonies and address the galaxy on how far we have come since the dark times of the Yuuzhan Vong and Killik Wars. With me today, however, are nearly a hundred-and-fifty Jedi from across the galaxy, the finest Knights and Masters of their order. Including former head of the Galactic Alliance Guard, Jedi Master Anakin Solo, and his wife Jedi Master Tahiri Solo."

All around, the dark side shrouding their movements, figures in cloaks began joining the crowd of onlookers. There were hundreds of thousands of onlookers present, so the few hundred individuals went unnoticed.

A security scanner beeped, and the guard that went to check on the person passing through had a lightsaber shoved through his chest. He fell without a sound, the Force making the incident invisible to those around them. A team of sharpshooters on a nearby building, laying prone and scanning the crowd, suddenly had blades of red punching through the roof and through their hearts. A team of two pilots standing atop their All-Terrain walker and watching the festivities had their necks soundlessly snapped, their bodies disappearing back into the cockpit of their walker followed by their killer. Invisible forces yanked unsuspecting guards into alleyways, off walkways, into a myriad of fatal situations. Through it all, Kenth Hamner's voice continued to iterate the list of successes the Galactic Alliance had had during his tenure as head of the largest galactic government.

"Crime has decreased in nearly all sectors by fifteen percent, some have even seen drops of twice that, and it is all thanks to our united efforts to make this galaxy a better place," Kenth said with a proud smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Trade routes have been stabilized and the rampant piracy that plagued the previous administration is nearly no more. The economies on most industrialized worlds have rebounded magnificently, and within the past five years over two dozen planets have been restored and made habitable. I wish to shake all your hands and thank you for doing your part in sending the darkness that once held this galaxy in its grasp into the hell it belongs."

One of the defensive turbolasers mounted on the Senate building slowly rotated downwards and towards the amassed crowd. A second mimicked the first, their movements not sensed by most the Jedi below because of the droids that now controlled both towers.

"A part of the stability is thanks to the efforts of the Galactic Alliance Guard and its first commander Anakin So…" Kenth Hamner turned around to gesture Anakin onto the stage, but frowned when he saw both Anakin and Tahiri's chair empty. The Chief of State recovered with a chuckle. "Well, he must have stepped out for a bit, but he'll be back to help me welcome in the new head of the Galactic Alliance Guard in short time. Until then, I'd like to welcome the next Supreme Commander of the Galactic Alliance Navy, Admiral Cha Niathal. Another member of this new dawn we are ushering in. Supreme Commander if you could please say a few words."

The Mon Calamari admiral stepped forward, a hand raised in greeting to the cheering masses. It was a happy, joyous occasion, one that promised a future of stability and peace.

All at once everything changed.

The giant screens which had allowed the masses to see Kenth Hamner's fatherly smile and Cha Niathal's proud approach, suddenly flickered off. After a second, the screens flickered back on, but rather than display Cha Niathal's waving figure, they displayed someone new altogether. Gaunt, face covered in black markings, this new figure opened both eyes with exaggerated slowness. One eye appeared to be some sort of Yuuzhan Vong creature, the other as orange as a Tatooine sunset. With sandy brown hair cropped close in military fashion, the emaciated-faced man radiated strength and determination without a single word spoken.

"Thank you, Chief of State, this is indeed the dawn of a new era," he began, raspy voice booming across the shocked crowd.

The crowd in front of the front steps of the Senate Building parted to the sides as if told there was a bomb or deadly disease at the epicenter. Only one figure was left in the void, standing tall and proud, head tilted back to look up in amusement at the top of the stairs. It was the same figure who appeared on the giant screens all across Coruscant.

"And…who might you be?" Kenth Hamner gestured with his hand for security forces to surround the interloper as he stared at the gaunt figure nonplussed.

When no one came, however, he frowned and looked left and right.

"I am the One Sith. You may call me Darth Krayt."

"Well, Darth Krayt of the One Sith." Kenth Hamner rolled up his sleeves and gazed down on the man with a superior smirk. With a gesture, Jedi Masters Kyle Katarn, Octa Ramis, Kam Solusar, Barratk'l, and Tresina Lobi all moved down from the bleachers to flank the Chief of State. "You are rather foolish to come here today. There are over a hundred Jedi here."

"So I see, thank you for gathering them all into one convenient location," Darth Krayt said conversationally. "Well, not all, there are a bunch of others in their little academies."

A round of murmuring broke out as the many screens changed to show the Corellian, Yavin, Ossus, and Dathomiri Praxeums.

"These are live streams by the way," Darth Krayt continued on. "You'd be surprised as to how many people would jump at the chance to kill Jedi if given the chance."

"Surrender," Cha Niathal demanded, at the same time trying to signal the fighter squadrons covering the ceremony.

A beam of red light traversed through the air faster than mortal reflexes could fathom. For a moment no one realized what had just occurred. Then Cha Niathal collapsed to the ground, a neat circle burned straight through her chest. The Jedi in their bleachers all rose, eyes tracking the origin of the sniper shot amid the startled and horrified gasps in the crowd.

"Ooops," Darth Krayt deadpanned.

"You are going to regret that," Kenth Hamner growled, pulling out his own lightsaber.

"Am I now?"

The turbolaser batteries meant to protect the Senate building, were now all facing downwards towards the ceremonies. Without so much as a warning, the plethora of batteries opened fire in computer-synchronized unison. With only droid minds controlling the automated activation, there was no ill-will for the Jedi to sense and thus nothing in the Force to alert them to what was about to happen.

A deafening roar of nearly three dozen Yavin-tree-sized bolts of energy bombarded the stands where the over hundred Jedi were seated. It was a blinding flash of light as the center of the blast was atomized, Jedi, bleachers, and all. Melted shards of metal and wood were hurled up into the air, anyone and anything within several meters of the bleachers ripped apart by the shrapnel.

A stunned Kenth Hamner and half of the Jedi High Council staggered backwards, their eyes wide at the sight of where a hundred-plus Jedi used to be.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," Darth Krayt said, half to himself. "I guess it just proves that what I'm doing is the best for this galaxy."

"You can't possibly hope to win!" Kenth's incredulous voice was barely heard over the screaming crowd.

Darth Krayt made a hand gesture and Kenth was suddenly lifted into the air and yanked towards the Sith Lord. A yorik coral saber appeared in Darth Krayt's hand, lightsaber blade activating. Helpless to stop his momentum, Kenth let out a gasp as he was impaled by the glowing magenta blade. "Chief of State, you seem to be under the mistaken impression that One Sith means only one of us."

Darth Krayt rotated the impaled leader to face the fleeing crowd. As if on cue, red and purple blades by the dozens ignited directly in the path of the bulk of the fleeing crowd. What followed next was one of the greatest mass slaughters by dark Jedi in several decades. The screams of terror from hundreds of thousands of voices rang out, a stampede surging forward to the nearest possible safe route, only to find a dark Jedi standing in the middle and slicing down those at the front of the crowd.

"What's wrong, Masters?" Darth Krayt cackled up at the shell-shocked Kyle, Barratk'l, Tresina, Octa, and Kam. He gestured with one hand and sent Kenth Hamner's body slamming into the marble steps, leaving a small crater from the force of the impact. "Aren't you going to save them?"

As one the five Jedi Masters leaped off the top of the stairs and surrounded the Sith Lord.

"By the way," Darth Krayt said levelly. "I hope none of you have anyone too important left at those schools of yours."

The Jedi Masters hazarded a glance up at the screens, paling at what they saw. Ossus was crumbling under a barrage from Mandalorian warships. Several Imperial Star Destroyers were turning the Yavin Praxeum into an inferno with Base Delta Zero tactics. Dark Jedi and members of the Corellian Defense Force were sweeping through the Corellian Praxeum and laying low any resistance with brutal force. The Dathomiri Praxeum was hit with all sorts of artillery and ordinance, the cliff-face it was carved into crumbling into the roaring sea below.

Kam Solusar let out a strangled gasp, falling to one knee and clutching his chest as undeniable agony filled the bond he had with his wife. Before the Jedi could recover, Darth Krayt seized that opportunity to lessen the odds arrayed against him. Just as Kam began to look back up, eyes full of murderous hate, Krayt's saber flashed through the air and beheaded the Ossus instructor.

"Kam!" Kyle yelled, lunging at the Sith Lord. He was stopped mid-way by another Force-presence and was suddenly yanked into the air. Unlike Hamner, however, Kyle had much experience fighting dark Jedi. He released a pulse of Force energy to free himself and landed in front of an older-looking Sith whose face was ravaged by the Dark Side. Kyle kept his guard high, sensing an immense amount of strength from the seemingly senile old man before him. "And who are you?"

"Once called Danaan Kerr, now Lord of Ternaax, at your service!" The old man crowed. "Here to dice and slice and mince and fry all you stupid Jedi!"

Kyle was staggered a few steps when a powerful surge of Sith Lightning leapt from the Sith Lord's fingers and slammed into his lightsaber. His saber crackled and hissed in protest, the hilt growing warm from the amount of energy being channeled into it. Out of the corner of his eyes Kyle saw several equally insane-looking individuals flank him. He focused his energy and redirected the lightning towards one of his flankers, only to see the purple bolts get caught and sent right back at him. He was then blasted from three directions with the life-draining energy, his defenses holding for a fraction of a second before collapsing under the powerful onslaught. Kyle collapsed to the ground , howling in agony and twitching uncontrollably.

"Power!" Danaan crowd madly, continuing his approach towards the downed Jedi. Before he could get much further, however, a green lightsaber blade emerged from his chest. Choking he looked over his shoulder at the furry features of Barratk'l. "No fair."

The Yuuzem Jedi decapitated the Sith Lord and thrust her hand out at the three minions, sending them flying backwards and off the side of the walkway.

"Forget about me," Kyle said hoarsely. "Tresina, Octa."

Bent over Kyle and using the Force to reverse some of the lightning damage, Barratk'l gestured to where both women were squaring off against Krayt. "Don't have enough numbers for you to rejoin the Force just yet, Master Katarn."

No sooner had Barrak'l said this than two lightsabers shot out like bullets and punched through the shoulders of the large Jedi Master. A gesture by the sabers' thrower and the blades of light jerked outwards, removing both of Barratk'l arms, much to the Yuzzem's shock.

"So, Lord Ternaax was as disappointing as I thought he'd be," a cybernetic voice said with mock sorrow. A man who was literally half organic and half cybernetic dropped down from the upper balcony of the Senate Building and caught both his sabers at the same time. "And you Jedi even more so. I expected a fight."

With a whirl of motion, both Kyle and Barratk'l were decapitated. At the same time, Darth Krayt sent Tresina flying off the side of the walkway and dispatched Octa with a saber through her chest. The bodies of the Jedi Masters all collapsed, the silent thuds missed in the continuing chaos.

The screams went on unabated, death echoing through the Force over and over again with every flash of lightsaber. The security forces on hand never stood a chance against so many Force-sensitive attackers and were cut down just as easily as the rest of the crowd. Framed by the explosions and chaos that consumed the plaza, Darth Krayt calmly ascended the steps to the front of the Senate Building. Bodies dropped to the ground almost right in front of him and he carefully stepped over them.

Step by step, the leader of the Sith climbed, until he was soon standing where Kenth Hamner had once been. The holocams, deliberately left unscathed by the marauding Sith, all focused on his desert-worn face. A cold smile appeared as he surveyed the on-going destruction, one yellow eye and one Yuuzhan Vong biotic eye looked directly into the nearest camera. His face was projected on the many screens and on holo-sets throughout the Galactic Alliance.

"Citizens of the galaxy, the esteemed Kenth Hamner was right about one thing. This is a new era. The era of power, of strength, of a time where we will rise up and seize control of our destinies and not let another decide for us. A time where the weak are swept aside to make room for progress. For peace and prosperity in my new Empire. Remember my face, my voice, for I am now your next head of state, Darth Krayt. Those who do not fall in line will be swept aside. Citizens of the galaxy, I now usher in a new era. The era of the One Sith and the New Sith Empire."

LotJA[Chapter End ]LotJA

A\N: So begins the next monster story in this insane endeavor of mine…Next chapter of Side A will be next month. Fortunately, Side B's first chapter will be up on Saturday, so feel free to head on over for more Fish-universe Star Wars!