Summary: Before there was an Alliance, there was a crew. Before there was a legend, there was a man. Before there was an Outlander, there was a Hero.

This is their story.

Author's Notes: Something a little different for the opening chapter. Several original characters appear, hence the use of a dramatis personae. I ask you to please bear with me.

Dramatis Personae
Captain Montori – Male Zabrak; Captain of the Drake, a transport ship in the Republic navy
Lieutenant Diru – Female Miralan; Executive Officer and helmsman aboard the Drake
Lieutenant Kachok – Male Mon Calamari; Weapons Officer aboard the Drake
Ensign Pryde – Female Human; Communications Officer aboard the Drake
Doctor Quasti – Female Selkath; Chief Medical Officer about the Drake
Private Callan Grayne – Male Human; Republic soldier
Private Fideltin Rusk – Male Chagrian; Republic soldier
Unnamed male human infant

The Legol System – outgoing vector
Outer Rim of the known galaxy
12 years before the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant

"Kachok, keep those kriffing fighters off of us!"

Captain Bail Montori of the Galactic Republic navy gripped his seat as his ship, the Drake, shuddered again under heavy weapons fire from the pursuing Imperial squadron. The Drake had been the last ship to lift off from Legol IV, a small corporate gas mining colony on the rim, and now it was all Montori and his crew could do to escape. Why the Sith Empire had decided to send an entire fleet to invade such a minor, poorly defended system had been anyone's guess, but the order for the troops to evacuate had gone out almost immediately at the sight of the vast opposition the Republic faced.

"Trying, sir. We've already lost two of our defense cannons." As usual, the Mon Calamari was cool under pressure as he directed the Drake's guns. They said his species were the best space-farers in the galaxy, and Montori wouldn't dispute that claim based on what he'd observed of the Lieutenant's performance.

"Helm! How long?" Montori called out again.

From her pilot's seat, Lieutenant Diru continued her calculations for hyperspace at the nav-computer even as she answered her commanding officer. The Miralan was not quite as collected in battle as Kachok, but she'd been an excellent X.O. to Montori nevertheless. She had done her duty and served with distinction aboard the Drake up until this point.

If she succeeded in her duty again today, perhaps they would all live to see tomorrow.

"Almost there, sir!" she promised, fingers flying across the terminal. "Just ten more seconds!"

The Drake shook again as it took another hit.

"You've got five." The Zabrak growled, slamming his hand on the ship's internal communications control. "All hands! Brace for emergency hyperspace jump!"

The Captain gripped his chair again as, a moment later, the stars beyond the canopy of the ship's bridge seemed to stretch and bend into the distinctive streaks of hyperspace.

The battle behind them faded.

They had escaped.

The Zabrak let out a sigh of relief as he stood up. "Status report."

"Heavy damage to the aft deflector shields, sir." Kachok's voice gurgled. "In addition to the two destroyed turrets, minor damage to the hull. We maintained integrity, however. No injuries reported. I recommend that we begin full repairs as soon as we reach the rendezvous point."

Montori nodded grudgingly. "It is so ordered. Anyone else?"

A brief, but not unwelcome silence fell over the bridge crew. For a moment, Montori hoped that Kachok's report was the worst of the news.

"Sir…." The soft, feminine voice came from the corner.

Captain Montori turned. From the communications terminal, Ensign Pryde stood slowly. She had been silent during most of their escape, but now the expression on her face was completely stricken.

"What is it, Ensign?" the Captain frowned.

"It's the colony, sir." Pryde nearly choked the words out. She seemed distraught. "Legol. It's gone."

Montori paused, giving a nod in apparent understanding.

"They surrendered, didn't they?" he sighed. "Its unfortunate, Ensign. But we can't blame them. We were ordered to pull out, and they were practically defenseless without us. Against an invasion force of that size…" he shook his head. "There was nothing we could have done for them. Especially not considering the whole colony was under a bio-dome in a toxic atmosphere, and they didn't even have a proper planetary shield in place. If they had fought back, the Empire could have opened fire on the whole colony. It would have been disastrous. I hate leaving civilians to the Empire as much as you do, but there's no reason to think the Imperials will be overly harsh. They'll want the miners to cooperate…."

Montori's voice trailed off as he realized his words were not soothing the young human female. Pryde's blue eyes were glistening as tears fell from her cheeks.

"Pryde, what is it?" the pit of Montori's stomach suddenly filled with dread.

"They destroyed it, sir." Pryde let out a sob. "We picked up the transmissions just before we jumped. Orbital bombardment. The whole colony…. all those people. They're all gone."

The Captain's jaw dropped. Around the bridge, the rest of the crew reacted with shock as well. Kachok's massive eyes blinked in alarm while Diru visibly gasped.

"Pryde… that doesn't make sense. Kachok reported the Imps were already landing their own transports before we made it out. If the capital ships opened fire, they would have been destroying their own ground forces. Force, that biodome and the people beneath it were the only things of value on the whole planet. It would cost the Empire billions to setup a new mining operation. It… what you said… it just doesn't make any sense." Montoria wrestled with the very thought.

"I heard their pleas for mercy." The tears continued to fall from Pryde's cheeks. "The colonists were surrendering. They were begging to be spared. The Imperials on the planet were screaming for the dreadnaughts to cease fire. They didn't… they didn't stop." Pryde reached out behind her and gripped the wall for support. Diru stepped away from her station and embraced the younger woman in support. Pryde wrapped her arms around the executive officer's neck, burying her face in Diru's shoulder.

"There were almost three thousand civilians still under that dome." Kachok gurgled.

"How could they have done this? Even Imperials…." The anger filled Diru's voice as she continued to hold onto Pryde, clenching her fists in impotent fury.

Captain Montori's face hardened with a look that could have cut through durasteel.

"Sith." He almost spat the word. "That's the only explanation. No Imperial commander, no matter how bloodthirsty, would have ordered his ships to open fire on his own men for no reason. Those people were murdered to make an example of them. Only a Sith could have ordered it. Only a Sith would have ordered it." Montori was almost seething in rage.

The bridge went silent for a moment. None of the three crewmembers present challenged the Captain's logic.

The silence was finally interrupted by a beeping noise. Kachok reached over and pressed a button on the internal communications terminal, then regarded the text message appearing on the display.

"Captain, Doctor Quasti requests your presence in the medical bay. Apparently, it involves the evacuees."

After the last of the Republic troops had boarded the Drake, they had taken on as many civilian refugees as their cargo hold could contain before lifting off.

Those hundred or so people packed into my ship are likely the last survivors of the Legol colony. Montori reflected bitterly.

"Of course." The Captain nodded abruptly, clearing his head. He decided he needed a distraction from all of this. "Diru, you have the bridge. Pryde, you're relieved. Go get some rest. Take a sedative if you need it. Just… go and get some rest, and know we did all we could."

With that, he exited the bridge.

Captain Montori massaged the temples of his head where his horns met his skull one more time. The rage he had felt minutes earlier was replaced with frustration. It had been a very long day, and it wasn't getting any easier.

"Alright, gentlemen." He regarded the two Republic soldiers in front of him. "Please explain to me one more time how there is an unattended human infant in my Med Bay?"

Privates Callan Grayne and Fideltin Rusk stood at attention. The Human and the Chagrian had been part of the security forces assigned to the Drake, and Montori understood they had effectively been supervising the evacuation. They had been the last two on the ground before the loading ramp had closed and the ship had lifted off.

Acts like that usually warranted a medal.

"Yes, sir." Both men answered simultaneously.

Rusk spoke alone this time. "Sir. When the order came down that the ship couldn't support any more people and that we should board, Private Grayne and I began turning them away. Several of the civilians protested and we were forced to level our weapons in their direction, just so they would step away from the platform. Private Grayne boarded first, and I was about to join him when a human woman ran forward with the infant in her arms. She pleaded with me to let her and the child board. I told her we had no room left." The Chagrian paused. "She kissed the infant – who I must assume was her own child – goodbye, then shoved it into my arms. Then she turned and ran away before I could protest."

"Properly, based on my orders, I should have left the infant there on the platform. Instead, I boarded with it, and brought it directly to sick bay." Rusk's hard face reset itself. "I am prepared to accept discipline for my failure to fully carry out the orders that were handed down to me."

Montori let out a slow breath. "Alright, at ease, both of you."

Both soldiers relaxed their posture, though Rusk continued to be wound tight.

Men like him belong in commando units or special forces. Montori observed privately.

"Private, there is not a court in the Republic that would convict you for your actions this day." Montori said. "Yes, the hold was full. Yes, orders came down to allow no more refugees aboard. But our job is to protect the people of the Republic. Under those circumstances, it would have dereliction not to have taken the child.

"The Captain's right, Rusk." Grayne added. The man's voice was gravelly but clear. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Montori nodded as Doctor Quasti approached, carrying the child in her arms, wrapped in a fresh blanket and quite asleep.

"Well, Doctor? How's your patient?"

"He's perfectly healthy, Captain." The Selkath answered. As usual, it took Montori a moment to understand her speech. He found the Doctor thoroughly capable otherwise, and he was somewhat embarrassed by his inability to communicate with her as smoothly as he would like. "The patient is a human male infant, approximately two months old. No defects, marking or ailments. He's asleep for now. He must be exhausted."

Rusk regarded the child. "He was crying when his mother gave him to me. But he fell asleep a few minutes later. It happened rather suddenly."

A few minutes later. It was likely this baby had slept through the destruction of his home. Montori silently reflected.

"Any luck tracking down his identity? Any next of kin?"

The lobes hanging from the doctor's face seemed to dip. "None, I'm afraid. I ran his DNA against the Galactic database and it failed to find a match. Remember Legol was a corporate colony, and the child was almost certainly born there. Corporate colonies are exempt from the normal census laws."

"Meaning we can't even cross-reference him against the colonists' names." Montori frowned and turned to the privates. "What about our refugees? Could any of them help?"

Grayne shook his head sadly. "Sorry, sir. I already asked them. None of them could account for an infant. Not enough to identify one, anyway. Legol was a small colony, but not that small. Plenty of people were having babies."

"That's a damn shame." The Captain sighed. "If he's lucky, he'll be sent to a Republic orphanage. If not, he'll likely head to a refugee camp. That's a tough life for any child, much less a baby."

"Yeah. And with most of the refugees just looking after their own, it will be hard to find anyone willing to take him in." Grayne lamented.

Doctor Quasti seemed poised to make a suggestion when the datapad attached to her belt started beeping.

"Ah. I need to get that. Private, would you…" Without any further warning warning, she handed the infant over to a somewhat startled Private Rusk, who barely had time to take the child in his arms. Quasti turned away from the trio, consulting her device.

Captain Montori debated excusing himself but decided it would be in bad form to abandon Rusk in that state. Grayne, naturally, was looking somewhat amused.

"It can't be that bad, Private." Montori tried not to sound amused.

"Yes, sir." The Chagrian replied automatically.

The infant stirred unexpectedly, suddenly opening its eyes. They seemed to dart around the room, taking everything in. As the brilliant light blue eyes looked focused up at Rusk, the child smiled, making a giggling sound. Rusk, for his own part, simply regarded the child, as if uncertain what he was supposed to do.

Private Grayne gave a slight chuckle. "Look, Rusk. He likes you." He teased her squad mate.

Fortunately for Rusk, Doctor Quasti stepped forward again, still regarding her pad.

"This is interesting. Captain, this child's genetic coding has tested positive for a high concentration of midi-chlorians."

The Captain took a long moment to comprehend what she was saying. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I'm not up to speed on that term."

"That means our little guy here is a future Jedi." Grayne grinned down at the infant in Rusk's arms.

"That means he has the potential, Private." Quasti corrected, putting her datapad away. "Regulations are that we inform the Jedi Order, so they can take him in."

Montori nodded slowly. "Not an easy life, Jedi. But a better one than he'd find in most orphanages."

"I can get started on his paperwork." Doctor Quasti seemed pleased, pulling out her datapad again. "What name should I put?"

The four Republic military personnel all looked at each other than back to the infant, realizing that they lacked even a name to apply to their report.

"We need to choose an alias." Montori said.

"How about Rusk?" Grayne offered. "He saved him, after all."

"No." Rusk replied brusquely, giving Grayne a look.

"Legol was a Corellian colony, yes?" Quasti ventured. "Perhaps a Corellian name would best suit him?"

"Maybe." Montori chewed that over. "'Corellan' is a common enough forename among Corellians. One of my instructors at the academy carried that name."

"It's a good name, Captain." Grayne smiled. "Just needs a finish. Lot of old Corellian family names to choose from. Sull, Antilles, Falcone, Halcyon…"

Rusk, looking down at infant, finally spoke again.

"Corellan Halcyon." Were the only words to escape his lips.

Montori, Grayne and Quasti looked at each other in consideration.

"It'll do." Captain Montori finally nodded, turning to Quasti. "You have your name, Doctor."

Quasti bowed her head solemnly and began typing the information into her datapad. Grayne laid a hand on Rusk's shoulder, as he looked down at the infant. "Someday that kid might do more damage to the Empire than all of us combined."

"That's a pleasant thought." Montori said, regarding the baby. "After a day like today, we need something to hang onto. Something to make it all make sense."

The Dark Temple of Drommund Kaas
24 years later

Sergeant Fideltin Rusk put down the last Imperial droid with a round that went right through its head, destroying the control circuits within. The machine fell to the temple floor, never to rise again. Surrounding it were other defeated droids, as well as a pair of dead Imperial Guardsmen.

The Republic soldier checked his repeating blaster cannon and, noting his ammunition count was nearly empty, re-loaded the weapon. It was his last clip.

Rusk had chosen to make his stand in this auxiliary tunnel of the Dark Temple. He knew very well that there would be more Imperial forces coming shortly. Eventually, they would overwhelm and kill him.

That didn't matter. All that mattered was that he drew enough of those enemies to him. That he and the other crewmembers bought Jedi Knight Halcyon enough time to complete his mission of slaying the Emperor.

These last two years had been enlightening for Rusk. From his meeting with Corellan Halcyon on Hoth to their imprisonment aboard the Emperor's Fortress to their rapid campaign to neutralize their enemy's plan to destroy the galaxy. Looking back on what had happened in the Legol system decades earlier, he was now highly suspicious of why the Imperial fleet had been ordered to obliterate the entire colony. Like most Republic soldiers, Rusk had always heard that the Force could grant Jedi and Sith visions of the future. He hadn't really believed it until he had joined Corellan's crew and seen first-hand what two Jedi and single Sith Lord on board could do.

If the Emperor had envisioned a threat, destroying it in its infancy – literally – made sound strategic sense, regardless of the collateral damage.

Rusk was determined that the Emperor of the Sith would pay for his failure to destroy the 'threat' all those years before. And he would pay for all the Republic lives that had been taken since the Sith Empire had revealed itself at the start of the first war.

As he prepared to make his final stand, Rusk felt the whole Temple tremble around him, shaking to its very foundation. He thought for a moment that the beleaguered Republic fleet in orbit might have opened fire on the Temple in a desperate to ensure the Emperor's death before his holo-communicator beeped.

"Mission successful, everyone." The form of Jedi Knight Corellan Halcyon stood tall in the holo-display. "Get back to the shuttle now. This whole temple is coming down."

As the holo vanished, Rusk rose to his feet and smiled grimly. He had never told Corellan about their previous encounter, and he probably never would. But as he hurried to the nearest exit, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at the sort of man – the sort of Hero – that infant he had helped save years before had grown into.

He hoped that somewhere, somehow, the woman who had entrusted the infant to his care felt the same.

END

Author's Notes: Yeah, I came up with this little plot twist a while back. Only after I drew up an outline did I realize how very influenced it must seem by Harry Potter, Superman, and other famous tales. This made me reluctant to write the piece out. But my primary motivator has always been to tell the stories that were bouncing around in my head, to put them on paper (or digital screen) because that was the only thing that seemed to give me relief, so I decided it was worth taking a risk.

For those of you who missed it, Callan Grayne was a bit of an Easter egg as another character taken from the actual game. He and Rusk were soldiers in the same squad early in their careers. Grayne later made officer and even reached the rank of General. You encounter him during the Jedi Knight-class mission to Hoth, where he ultimately orders Rusk to join your crew for the duration of the war. (Which is kind of a WTF moment, but there it is.) He isn't the most memorable supporting character in the game, but even so, he and Rusk have a history.

Also – and I bring this up because its something that none of the characters will ever discover otherwise – When Rusk mentions baby Corellan falling asleep very suddenly after they lifted off, it was Corellan feeling his mother's death through the Force. The overwhelming shock of it knocked him unconscious for several minutes.

Yeah…. Sometimes, I can be dark and tragic.

I did my research on Wookiepedia. The series of events of this story isn't a perfect fit for the Legends timeline, but its surprisingly close. Rusk is bit older than he looks.

Also, for those wondering, the name Halcyon is Corellian. I chose it for my character ages ago as an homage to Corran Horn from the Star Wars: Legends stories. Halcyon was the real name of Horn's Jedi bloodline before they changed it to avoid the Galactic Empire's purges.

Regardless, I hope you liked the story. This series will all feature pre-KOTFE material. Feel free to leave a review if you have time. Thanks again for reading, and may the Force be with you.