STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER IC

[Dentali]

STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER IC

The year is 142 ABY and Rey Skywalker is dead. Rey Skywalker the Jedi Grandmaster who restarted the Jedi Order after the final death of Darth Sidious, she led the Order for 107 years starting with her first student the former Stormtrooper Finn, now almost a thousand Jedi roam the galaxy once again fighting for peace and justice. But with Rey and Finn now both one with the force the future of the Jedi Order is in question, the Jedi gather for a conclave on Dantooine the home of the New Jedi Temple to elect their new Grandmaster who will no doubt define the direction of the order for many years to come.

Across the galaxy conflict continues, the Galactic Republic never reforming after the Battle of Exegol instead splitting off into dozens of Nation States, Imperial Warlords, Confederacies, Corporate Conglomerates and smaller Republics have divided up the galaxy, constantly shifting between peace and war and leaving many frontier worlds essentially lawless.

Elsewhere in the Galaxy the Sith have risen once again, a former Jedi crashing on the lost world of Ziost and falling to the darkside. Close to a hundred Sith have been trained in secret and have begun traveling across the Galaxy sowing the seeds of the new Sith Empire.

So where does that leave you? A Jedi, a Sith, somewhere in between? Or none of the above, one of the warlords, a smuggler, or a crime lord? The Galaxy is large, and in this new era anything is possible.

Hello and welcome to STAR WARS: NEW JEDI ORDER

Link to the OOC
https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=482339

[Dentali]

reserved

[The Hoosier Alliance]

Crucival, Tion Cluster

Marken Frey's towering fortress had been built into one of the many mountains found on Crucival. The fortress had changed hands many times over the years, so no one was truly certain who had built it. Regardless, now it was the main base for the Frey Clique as they expanded through the Tion Cluster. It was complete with landing pads, anti-aircraft weapons, some salvaged light artillery, and a garrison of hardened soldiers, most of which were veterans of Crucival's countless internal wars.

Marken Frey was currently in his war room, surrounded by his generals, either physically or through holograms. Before him was a map of the Tion Cluster. Highlighted were the planets and systems that remained out of the Clique's control.

"As we can see here," Frey began, "Lianna is a major trade hub. They have one of the busiest ports in the cluster. They are also able to produce large amounts of starships and components. They are our primary target. Jaminere is already working to produce our new fleet, but the acquisition of another major production center would speed the process along greatly."

He continued, "Caluula, Dellalt, and Desevro are all targets as well, but don't have as much to offer. Now, I want situational reports from all of you."

The general overseeing the factory and shipyard planet of Jaminere stepped up first.

"Sir, the factories and shipyards are churning out weapons and ships as we speak. Our orders for corvettes, frigates, and cruisers to replace our current fleet are in the works. Rifles are also being produced to outfit the army with a standard rifle, as requested. However, it will take some time. Being able to split our orders between Jaminere and Lianna will improve our output significantly." He stepped back.

The general protecting Cadinth went next. "Supreme Leader. The situation on Cadinth is well under control. The trade hub is docile, and in many cases appreciative of the protection we offer from pirates and other criminal elements. There have been a few cases of general unrest in some parts of the planet, but we put an end to it quickly. Money, spice, and trade goods continue to flow in, uninhibited."

Frey turned to one of his lower officers that had been sent to the Coruscant underground to spread the word of the bounty on Jedi heads.

"Sir. I have been successful in informing the criminal underground of the bounty. It is known that the Jedi are the target, not just Force users in general. Bounty hunters and mercenaries seem rather excited at the prospect of killing or capturing Jedi for payment."

A few more reports were given about activities in the Tion Cluster and abroad. When they had finished, Frey gave them all a final order.

"Prepare the fleets as we've planned. Assemble the armies. We take Lianna soon. I will be at the helm, leading the fight. Do not fail me."

[Sao Nova Europa]

The elderly Ithorian walking with the help of a wooden cane and the middle-aged human commander walked inside the medium-sized, dimly lit room. They could smell the fragrance of incense sticks burning as they made their way in. The Ithorian was known simply as 'Weyun', a name given to him by the previous ruler of Bespin, Jack. He had long since forgotten his old name and his previous life. He still retained the diplomatic capabilities of his species, but he had renounced their pacifistic ways. The human man was tall, with dark skin and dark eyes. He was handsome, slim, muscular, with an almost perfectly symmetrical face and shaved hair. Although in his forties, he looked way younger than his age. His name was Darren.

Darren and Weyun both fell on their knees, bowing before the presence of their Supreme Leader. Yang Kang was sitting cross-legged on a silk, silver round mat and had been meditating when the two men walked in.

With a simple waving of his hand, Yang signaled them to inform him why they had come in.

"We've brought the intelligence report you've asked for," Weyun said. "Our God and Supreme Leader, may I inform you of the report?"

With a slight nod, Yang gave the Ithorian permission to speak.

"Our spies have infiltrated Lutrillia as you've ordered," the Ithorian replied. "They have already began spreading rumors about Dominion strength and the might of our armies."

This was a standard practice for the Dominion. Before any action were to be taken against a world, Dominion spies would be send to infiltrate that world and spread exaggerated tales about the Dominion. It was an efficient act of psychological warfare, aiming to scare beforehand the population of the planet and to give them the impression that the Dominion was far, far more powerful than it really was. The second step would be diplomacy. With the population frightened by the rumors about the Dominion, their leadership would be far more accommodating to diplomacy. A Dominion diplomatic mission would be sent, offering their elite high offices in the Dominion administrative machinery, protection against rivals and a large degree of internal autonomy as long as they would surrender. The Dominion had every reason to cultivate the reputation of a reliable partner, hence worlds that surrendered were treated with benevolence and respect.

If such diplomatic overtures were rejected, the Dominion would escalate its conflict with that world. Dominion spies would spread fake news and disinformation, in attempts to incite political, social and racial conflicts. They would also attempt to instigate coups, revolts and rebellions. If this did not force the planet to surrender, the Dominion would make one last diplomatic effort; it would give then an ultimatum and threaten them to submission. If this failed then, and only then, the Dominion would use brute force to take over the planet. The Dominion fleet would indiscriminately bombard the planet, eradicating both military and civilian targets. Once on ground, Dominion forces would massacre without mercy the civilian population, leaving only a few survivors to flee and spread across the stars tales of Dominion brutality and strength.

With regards to Lutrillia, the Dominion was on the first stage of its operation; the spreading of tales and rumors about the Dominion. Lutrillia was a cold, tundra world. The local inhabitants, the Lutrillians, were living in wheeled platform-cities. As a species, they loved exploration and knew much about space. They were considered generally agreeable but also greedy. Yang believed that they could be worthy addition to the Dominion. Their knowledge of space could prove extremely useful for Dominion expansion. Their agreeable nature and greediness were qualities he could take advantage of to persuade them to join the Dominion peacefully.

"My God and Supreme Leader, may I speak?" Darren asked.

Yang nodded in agreement.

"I have been training hard the troops as you've asked. Our fleet is also participating in constant battle simulations and the crew have not been allowed to lapse for a single day. The Holy Order is absolute prepared for combat and we've reached peak efficiency. When you order us to do so, we shall eradicate your enemies and offer you their blood as sacrifice, my God."

Yang got up from his mat. With a soft voice, he replied. "Good. You've done a good job Commander. Weyun, I want you to prepare the diplomatic corp for the upcoming negotiations with the Lutrillians. Run as many simulations as you can. I want you to be as prepared as possible. As for you Commander, I want you to take a short break from you combat duties and to put a bounty on Jedi padawans. Alive. You are the best suited for this job due to your connections in the criminal underground."

"I will do this at once!" Darren assured his lord and so did Weyun.

Yang waved his hand, signaling to Darren and Weyun that they could get up. The two men finally got up, their knees hurting from the long bowing, and left the room in a hurry.

[Brusia]

Jedi Master Martius Shan and ARC Commander Maverick
The Liberator
Near Kril'Dor
19 BBY

Turbolaser fire from the pursuing Munificent-class frigate lit up the cockpit of the Liberator as a seemingly endless flurry of red bolts screamed past the small shuttle. As if things weren't bad enough already, a small group of Vulture droids launched from the Separatist ship and began pursuing the small vessel, adding fire from their blaster cannons into the already deadly mix.

"Karabast!" Maverick exclaimed as one of the blaster bolts impacted the shuttle's shields "We can't outrun those fighters in a shuttle!"

"Than I guess we'll have to get rid of them the old fashioned way" the Jedi replied. "Are you ready on those guns?"

"Ready when you are General."

Martius cut all power to the shuttle's engines, sending it barreling behind the pursuing fighters before kicking the power back on at just the right moment to give his XO a bead on them. Fortunately what the Nu-class lacked in speed it made up for in firepower, and Maverick quickly blasted the unshielded droid starfighters out of the sky. The Republic's finest weren't out of the woods yet however, and the shuttle soon shook violently as it was struck by a turbolaser bolt from the frigate.

"Shields are buckling and I'm registering multiple systems failures General!" Maverick reported "We can't take another hit like that!"

"Understood, better hold on to something!" Martius pushed hard on the controls and dove towards a nearby asteroid, rapidly maneuvering to put the celestial body between himself and his pursuer. It wouldn't take long for the frigate to maneuver to their position, but the respite bought Martius enough time to make an emergency jump to lightspeed absent enemy fire. As the view of normal space outside the cockpit was replaced by the tell-tale blue tunnel of hyperspace Martius and Maverick breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Don't think we've had that close a call since Garos IV" Maverick stated while leaning back abit in his chair. "Next time I vote we take our fighters instead of a shuttle."

"Agreed" Martius replied "So how bad were we hit?"

Maverick leaned towards the console in front of him and stated: "Hard to say General, looks like our internal sensors went down when we made the jump to lightspeed."

"Great" Martius replied "Well at least we know what we need to work on first; best get to it then..."

---

Martius Shan and Maverick
The Liberator
Orbit of Coruscant
142 ABY

It took a few hours without an astromech on board to help with repairs, but the Jedi and Clone managed to get the internal sensors up and running again shortly before arriving at their destination. The two returned to the cockpit just as the ship dropped out of lightspeed over Coruscant, and Maverick prepared a damage report as Martius again took the helm.

"So how bad is it?" the Jedi asked.

"Bad. Internal sensors are registering multiple shield malfunctions, sublight engines are nearly fried, all external sensors are offline, and communications aren't functioning. I recommend we put the ship down as soon as possible or gravity may put her down for us."

"Understood. Divert whatever emergency power we have left to the shields; I'll have to eyeball the landing. Better activate the distress beacon too, don't want ground control to think we're just ignoring them."

"That and because we're going to crash?" Maverick replied in a sarcastic tone.

"I prefer 'hazardous landing,' but yeah, probably that too."

Martius maneuvered his way past the countless vessels entering and leaving the planet and made his way into the atmosphere, gliding the barely functioning vessel down towards the Jedi Temple. "We're coming in too fast to try for the hanger; we'll have to hit the main landing pad out front of the central walkway. Hold on!"

Martius lined the shuttle up with the landing pad and extended the landing struts, clashing with the pad a few moments later with a loud metallic thud, followed by a lengthy scraping noise as the shuttle's momentum carried it beyond the landing pad and onto the walkway, finally coming to a halt just in front of the great staircase that led into the Temple. As they did, one of the landing struts burst into flame, prompting Maverick to say: "Well, you're getting better General, looks like there's only one fire this time."

Martius smirked abit and replied: "Oh come on, it's just a landing strut, that hardly counts."

"Still on fire..."

Martius rolled his eyes and hit the button to lower the boarding ramp, and the two quickly made their way out of the shuttle. Martius hit the inflamed strut with a controlled Force push to extinguish the fire and stated: "There, good as new." Looking behind the shuttle at the long line of damaged metal and concrete behind it, Martius then stated: "Oh boy, Master Yoda is not going to be happy about this..."

Maverick meanwhile was looking up at the Temple itself and stated: "Sir, I think General Yoda may have more pressing concerns at the moment..."

Martius turned around and saw a Temple that was very much unlike the one he'd last seen only a short time ago; the building showed signs of severe damage and decay, like it had been nearly destroyed in an attack. A sense of dread washed over him, as he realized he couldn't sense the usual presence of hundreds of light-side Force sensitives. "No..." he muttered "It can't be..." He quickly snapped out of it as he realized he couldn't afford to allow himself the luxury of worry if there had been some sort of Separatist attack on his home. Turning to Maverick, he stated: "Grab your gear, quickly! We need to figure out what's going on here!"

"Right away General!" Maverick replied, before quickly darting back into the shuttle to grab his rifle and other equipment. As he did, Martius activated the comm device and opened a secure Jedi frequency, stating: "This is Master Martius Shan to any Jedi currently in the Temple, are you under attack? Do you require assistance?"

A few moments passed with no response when Maverick made his way off the shuttle, now fully armed and ready for whatever awaited them. "Anything sir?" he asked as he saw Martius using his comm device.

"Nothing yet" Martius replied. "Come on, we'd better start looking around; hopefully there's some kind of answers in the Temple." The two made their way up the stairs and past the massive stone columns and Jedi sculptures that guarded the entrance, many of which were badly damaged or destroyed. "What could've happened here?" Martius asked "We had the Seppies on the run, how could they have managed an attack on Coruscant, and without us knowing about it?"

"Maybe another bombing, like the one in the hanger a few months back?" Maverick postulated.

"Perhaps" Martius replied, before approaching a damaged column as the two entered into the Great Hall "But look here, these scorch marks look like they were made by a blaster impact."

"Sir, those scorch marks look old; very old. Could they have been from, eh, what was that old war you were telling me about last week?"

"The Great Galactic War?" Martius replied "No, it couldn't be; all that damage was repaired millennia ago, and I'd have certainly noticed scorch marks before. Something very strange is going on here..." The two continued their search through the Temple while Martius called out: "Hello!? Can anyone hear me!?"

[Sao Nova Europa]

Diplomacy

After days of practice in simulations, a Dominion diplomatic mission arrived to Lutrillia, to meet with the political leadership of the Lutrillians. Leading the mission was the Ithorian Weyun; his entourage was made up of two human, one Ithorian and one Selkath diplomats and three bodyguards, one Rodian and two humans. All of the diplomats had long experience in state diplomacy and interstellar law, while the bodyguards were crack troops.

After the usual formalities, including a polite welcoming ceremony, the exchange of pleasantries and the showing around by the hosts, Weyun and his entourage were led to a conference room to discuss with the Lutrillian diplomats and politicians. Weyun spoke first. He hoped that the disinformation spread in the planet by Dominion spies with regards to the strength and wealth of the Dominion had scared the Lutrillians enough to make them susceptible to a diplomatic annexation.

"I, Weyun, come here representing the Dominion. You may have already heard of us. The Dominion is a vast and powerful union of worlds that have come together for their mutual benefit and progress. Peace, stability, order and prosperity are the benefits enjoyed by the Dominion worlds. I come here as a friend and an ally. It is our wish to open our arms and accept other peoples into our fold. We wish to bring an end to the chaos and war ravaging our Galaxy and to bring about an era of interstellar cooperation."

Weyun paused for a brief moment before continuing. He had caught the attention of the Lutrillians and this pleased him. "Our God sent me here to offer you a place in the Dominion, not as a subject but as an equal member world. Your politicians will be accepted in our High Court and shall be given high offices in the Dominion administration. Our all-powerful military force, the renowned Holy Order whose prowess you must surely have heard, will be guarding your world and protecting it from marauders and invaders. You will have complete self-rule as far as internal matters are concerned, with minimal interference by the central government; most Lutrillian matters shall be handed by your politicians. Your culture, traditions and way of life will be respected and honored. As a member of the Dominion, you will be able to trade with other Dominion worlds without any kind of tariffs and you shall enjoy unrestricted freedom of movement. The Dominion market is huge and you can understand what an economic boost it would give to your local economy. The Dominion will undertake a Five-Years Public Investment Program, investing in Lutrillian infrastructure."

Weyun signaled the Selkath diplomat to present a legal paper to the Lutrillians, restating all the above in legal terms. "If you join the Dominion, you will no longer be alone and defenseless in a chaotic Galaxy but part of a strong and rich union. Our God hopes that you will accept our offer. He has nothing but respect and love for your people. You do not have to make a choice now. You can deliberate and then give us your answer. My diplomatic team can work with yours to clarify the legal framework of our treaty, should you accept our offer, so as to state clearly the rights and benefits your people will enjoy as part of the Dominion."

Weyun was using a carrot and stick strategy. The stick were the rumors that had been spread by the Dominion spies about the prowess of the Dominion military, hopefully striking terror to the Lutrillians' heart. The carrot was the lucrative offer he had proposed. He knew that the Lutrillians had a reputation of an agreeable and greedy people and hoped that his offer of access to the Dominion market and self-rule would be enticing enough to them.

Now, he awaited their response...

[Endem]

Amnal Kehy
Coruscant

Coruscant the once prideful capital of the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire, the nations of old, the nations of legends, Coruscant being one of the few worlds which remained after those nations fell, now it acted as a capital of a small federation of star systems, many things have changed since those legendary times Amnal could only read off in dusty tomes aboard his master's personal ship.

He and his master were standing near one of the many ledges in the upper sectors of the enormous ecumenopolis, directly in front of them, perhaps only a block away was, the ruins of the Jedi Temple, "Look my young student what has become of the Jedi, the current order is but a shadow of its former self, and the old one, it was destroyed by the pride of the self-styled 'Protectors of Galaxy', consumed by their tenants which they could not follow, perverted into an abomination by wars they could not avert, this is what lies ahead of the current one".

Then they spotted a shuttle, crashing in hard through the atmosphere, crashing on a landing pad adjacent to the temple, his master turned back from the temple, his dark cloak all but obscuring his face "Come, young student, the history lesson is done" it would not seem like a lesson taken out of context, but before the shuttle, Amnal's master was talking about the history of this planet, of the mythical nations of old, and the Jedi order, why? You may ask, his master believed in the idea that to defeat an opponent is to know everything about them.

An Hour Later

Soon they have departed Coruscant, Amnal's master personal ship taken off, the glimmering silver of it stunned in the sun, and it's interior was no less stunning, a small library off old datapads and tomes made out of processed cellulose, made into a rectangular shape, where did Amnal's master got books, is perhaps only known to him, meanwhile, the sleeping quarters were rather brutish, two of them, one for his master and one for Amnal, a simple meditation mat and bed was only things there.

That was about it for places Amnal was usually in, other rooms were known to him, but he had no matter to attend in them, neither he had anything to do in the engine room, or the kitchen all crewed by droids, neither did he have any matter to attend to in the cockpit or the innermost chamber, were only his master could go in.

Soon, Amnal felt the ship make a jump into hyperspace, he ignored it as he was meditating, and equally soon he felt the ship exit hyperspace,
the ship landed, and then his master exited the cockpit, Amnal knew how to fly a starship, but he rarely did so, as did his master, the cockpit was once again, crewed by a droid, his master only enjoyed looking at the blue light of hyperspace, for reasons unknown, then his master said to Amnal "Come, my young student, we have important matters to attend to" he followed his voice to the exit, and soon came in sight the barren tundra-like environment of Ziost...

[Brusia]

Co-written with The Hoosier Alliance

Martius Shan and Maverick
Coruscant
Jedi Temple

As Martius and Maverick continued their walk through the Temple, a group of uniformed men armed only with simple light blaster pistols approached.

“Hey, stop right there!” the leader of the men stated “The Temple is undergoing renovations and is currently closed to the public, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Martius shot the man a curious glance and replied: “Renovations from what? What happened here? Did the Separatists attack the Temple?”

“Look, I’m a guard, not a tour guide; you want to know what happened here, come back when the Temple’s open and I’m sure it’ll be on one of the displays somewhere. In the meantime, you’re going to have to go.”

The guard placed his hand on his blaster in an attempt to appear threatening, at which point Martius drew his lightsaber and Maverick approached with his rifle raised, stating: “You’re gonna want to think twice about that.”

Seeing the lightsaber, the guard stated: “Woah, hey, sorry, didn’t realize you were with the Jedi. We didn’t have anyone scheduled to work excavation today; you’ll need to check in with the manager to let him know you’re working before heading in.”

“Manager?” Martius asked the man “What are you talking about? Where’s the Council?”

As he spoke, 3 men approached from outside the Temple wearing uniforms of the Coruscant Security Force. Seeing them enter, the guard stated: “I don’t know, but we’ve got to get back to work. Maybe they can help you.” With that the guards left and Martius and Maverick approached the police officers. As they did, the lead officer stated: “That your ship out front?”

“Yes, it’s our ship; now can you please tell us what happened here? Did the Separatists attack the Temple? Is Coruscant in danger?”

The lead officer raised an eyebrow and replied “No more so than usual. History’s not really my best subject, but I think it had something to do with the Empire; to be honest, I’d have thought a Jedi would know far more about it than I do. Did you guys hit your heads in the crash or something?”

“No, no our heads are fine.” Martius replied “Look, can you get us in touch with the Council? Or at least someone who can help fill us in on what’s happening here?”

“Yeah, sure; if you’ll come with us back to the station our Captain can probably help you out. We’re going to need you to fill out some paperwork first though; we registered your distress beacon, but you didn’t have landing clearance, so protocol is we still have to do a background check on you both, and we’ll need to investigate the cause of the crash.”

Martius sighed and replied: “Far be it from me to get in the way of protocol. You can do whatever you need to, just so long as you find us someone who knows what’s going on.”

“Fair enough,” the officer replied. “Right this way.” With that the two accompanied the officers towards a police gunship waiting for them at the landing pad…



Earlier...
Calle Eldin took another swig of his drink as Deel Midosea, a Trandoshan and fellow bounty hunter, slammed another patron into a table, splintering it and sending glasses and plates flying.

The entire bar erupted in cheers and curses as credits were exchanged between winners and losers of a quick bar fight bet. Cado Hennis, a human just like Calle, took his seat next to him.

"Damn," Cado said, "I really thought that guy would put Deel down."

Calle chuckled. "No one has yet."

"I know," grumbled Cado, "I just thought...ya know...since Deel was plastered, he wouldn't stand a chance."

"Everyone knows that the more drink Deel has in him, the more likely he'll win. He can't feel shit and it makes him angry. Well, angrier."

Cado just frowned as he looked into the bottom of the drink the bartender had just placed in front of him.

"Your friend better be paying for that fucking table."

Calle assured the bartender Deel was good for it, and Cado grumbled a response about how he'd better be good for it, since he just won so many credits and free drinks.

"Hey," Vin Senesca, a Rodian, said as he approached the pair, "What was that about?"
"Some guy was talkin' shit to Deel." Calle said.

"Oh," the Rodian said, "Step out for one call, and you miss all the action."

"That's Coruscant," the two humans said at once, both chuckling.

"What was the call about?" Cado asked as Deel walked up next to him, ordering a drink.

"Did you seriously think I couldn't take him?" Deel asked, laughing as he hit Cado on the arm.

"Shut up," was the weak and defeated response.

"I might have a job," Vin said, ignoring the other two, "A, uh, big one." He whispered the last words, leaning in close to Calle. Calle finished his drink, signaled for another, and turned back to Vin, "Will we need the rest of the crew?"

Vin nodded, "All of 'em. That Duro, uh, what's his name? Tej? Yeah, him and his brother. The Twi'leks too. All three of 'em. Plus, Cado's little butt buddy," Cado flipped Vin off when he heard his remark. "I'd even invite Butt Buddy's friends as well. The ones he keeps trying to get into the crew." Calle furrowed his eyebrows. "What the hell kind of job needs that much muscle?"
Vin looked around, making sure they were the only ones in earshot, before whispering, "Jedi."


"So how did you get this tip?" Deel asked as he checked his sniper scope while they flew past residential buildings. "A buddy of mine works at that old Jedi Temple. Said he saw a fucking Jedi crash land. He called me the moment he saw the lightsaber. I figured, since we're so close, we might as well. It's just one Jedi, and some dipshit wearing, and I quote, 'some dope ass armor.'"

Calle turned his head back for a moment from the driver's seat to shout back at Vin and Deel, "You really think the twelve of us can take him?" Vin shouted back, "Yeah. With Deel giving us cover fire from the building across the way, he should be an easy mark. Biggest problem should just be getting away from the police, but we've done worse. Remember that job on Naboo?"
The group shared a collective laugh.

"That shit went sideways real quick. I thought we were gonna have to take on the entire planet's security force!" Cado said through his chuckle.

The convoy came to a slow stop at Deel's vantage point, letting him off. "Remember, aim for the Jedi and don't shoot until I tell you to, or until we start shooting the Jedi." Deel nodded. "Got it, boss."

The other eleven bounty hunters made their way to the Jedi Temple. They parked within walking distance of the landing pad, which they had grabbed a glimpse of before landing. A group of security guards tried to stop them, but a few well-placed punches knocked them out cold. The rest of the way up to the Jedi was clear, save for a few workers that kept their distance from the group of men carrying rifles.
The group began ascending the steps leading to the landing pad. When they reached the top, they spotted police officers speaking to the Jedi. Not wanting to allow them to call in reinforcements, Calle said, "Vin you take left, Cado, right. Everyone else, fan out."
As the officers turned around, they couldn't even look surprised before the trio fired their blasters, killing the officers.

"Well, hello gentlemen," Calle said, smiling, as the rest of his crew formed a semi-circle around the pair of accidental time travelers. "Fancy seeing you here today. How 'bout you drop your weapons and come with us?"


Martius ignited his blade and tried to warn the officers as he sensed a threat approaching, but was too late, and could only watch as the three men fell to the ground, killed instantly. As they fell, the gunship took off from the landing pad, presumably to summon help for the fallen officers, leaving Martius and Maverick on their own in the process. Maverick kept his rifle leveled at the group as they formed a semi-circle in front of them, and the one who was presumably their leader suggested they drop their weapons and come with them. Martius snickered at the suggestion and stated: “What, the Seps hiring thugs to do their dirty work now?”

“Could’ve at least hired a professional crew.” Maverick interjected “Got to say, I’m feeling a little insulted.”

“Look, we faced far worse than your kind on Christophsis alone, so take my advice: lay down your weapons, place your hands behind your heads, and wait for the police to arrest you. It’s been a long day already; I’d really rather avoid whatever paperwork is undoubtedly required for killing all of you.”

Calle chuckled to himself. “I don’t know what a ‘Sep’ is, but I can tell you one thing. If I had a credit for every time some fool told me he’s ‘faced worse than me’, I could retire. I’ve heard it countless times, and yet, here I stand. Since you’d rather do this the fun way, I guess we should get this show on the road before the police arrive. I don’t much feel like blasting my way out of here. Besides, they still pay for dead Jedi.”

Calle turned on his comm link. “Deel. Show these fools the error of their ways.”

Deel, who had the Jedi lined up in his sights, a clear shot from the side, smiled as he replied, “You got it, bossman.”

He pulled the trigger, sending a blaster bolt directly at the Jedi.

Martius’ Force Precognition and Speed allowed him to move to intercept the blaster bolt with exceptional agility, and in one move he deflected the bolt towards another of the bounty hunters with his lightsaber in one hand, while directing a powerful Force push along the entirety of the semicircle with the other. Maverick meanwhile recognized Martius’ reference to Christophsis, and moved immediately to grab two thermal detonators from his pack and roll them towards the sides of the semi-circle, right where the bounty hunters were expected to land, then quickly rolled off to his side towards some cover, raised his rifle, and began to fire on the bounty hunters at the semi-circle’s center.

Calle was knocked back by the Jedi’s Force push. He rolled into it, quickly coming back to his feet. All he could do is watch as the Deel’s redirected blaster bolt struck one of the Duro brothers, killing him instantly. He couldn’t tell which one. He hoped it wasn’t Tej, since he never bothered to learn the other one’s name. The exploding thermal detonators killed a few of his men, one of the Twi’leks and all three of the new guys. Calle never bothered to learn their names either.

Eh.

“Blast ‘em!” Calle yelled, rolling out of the way as the rifleman opened fire on him. Everyone, now back on their feet, began to light up the duo. Most of the bounty hunters aimed for the Jedi, including Deel, but the two Twi’leks and Cado focused on the clone.

“You’re only increasing the size of our shares!” Calle yelled, a sick laugh echoing across the landing pad as he fired time and time again at the Jedi.

With the bounty hunters on either flank largely dealt with, Martius’ skill in Soresu gave him little difficulty deflecting the incoming fire away from himself and back towards the bounty hunters; compared to the incoming fire he was used to having to deflect from droid battalions, this made for a rather simple affair. Maverick meanwhile ducked down to avoid the incoming fire from the Twi’leks and Cado, focusing his own return fire on the closest of the three. Martius at first advanced slowly, at which point he heard Calle’s remark and replied: “Yeah, just think, at this rate there won’t be anyone left to collect!” Then lifted a nearby crate with the Force and sent it flying towards one of the bounty hunters, leaping forward immediately afterwards to place himself near a group of the foes such that his targets were between him and the other bounty hunters, then slashed at them rapidly with his blade, aiming to destroy their weapons or remove their arms when possible, but striking at their chests when necessary.

One of the Twi’leks firing on Maverick took a bolt to his leg, causing him to fall back. Cursing, he continued to fire from his sitting position. Cado, angry at the death of his friend at the hands of the Clone, gave an angry warcry and charged the ARC Trooper, firing wildly as he did.

The Jedi managed to slice the weapon of Tej, the other Duro brother, as well as cut the uninjured Twi’lek’s arm, causing his weapon and hand to fall to the ground, and sending him back, wailing in pain and grabbing his stump. The Duro, hatred overtaking him after his brother’s death, pulled a dagger and tried to stab the Jedi.

“You killed my brother, you fuck!”

Seeing both the Jedi and Clone were distracted, Calle got on his comms as Vin continued to fire at the Jedi, trying not to hit Tej.

“Deel. Wound that guy with the rifle. Hit his leg, bring him down.” Calle started to run towards the Clone, hoping to take him as a hostage.

Deel turned his sight on Maverick, got his knee in his sights, and fired.

As Cado wildly charged Maverick’s position, he made an easy target for the ARC Commander, who quickly fired a burst from his rifle directly at the man’s chest. After he did so however, he felt a surge of pain in his leg as a sniper bolt impacted the lateral edge of the armor protecting his left shin. Fortunately, the impact was angled enough that it didn’t penetrate his armor, but it did still impact with enough force to fracture his fibula. Looking to his side, he saw the glint of the sun reflecting off a scope, and quickly activated his helmet’s macrobinoculars to see where the shot came from.

After identifying the sniper’s location, it became clear that his current position was untenable, so he stated over his helmet comm to Martius: “Repositioning, watch your 3” then drew his left DC-17 from its holster and activated his jetpack just in time to avoid Calle’s blaster bolt. As he took off, he blasted at Calle with his sidearm in his left hand while simultaneously laying down heavy fire towards the others in front of him with his rifle in his right, aiming not so much to hit them but to keep them suppressed as he flew off rapidly towards the sniper’s position, turning both his weapons to the sniper and firing continuously as soon as the man was in range.

Martius meanwhile had little difficulty dealing with the Duro attempting to fight him with a dagger, and simply bashed the man in the head with the pommel of his lightsaber to knock him out. While the man dropped towards the ground unconscious, Martius grabbed the knife from his hand and lobbed it with a Force-enhance throw directly into the nearest bounty hunter. Walking forward with his lightsaber at the ready, Martius stated to the remaining foes: “Last chance: lay down your weapons and surrender now and you may yet live to see tomorrow!”


As Maverick flew towards Deel, the sniper continuously fired blast after blast, aiming for his chest and jetpack. Back on the platform, Cado was strewn out on the ground, dead. Only Vin and Calle stood. An injured Twi’lek sat dangerously close to the Jedi. Tej’s blade flew towards him, landing between his hand and the blaster he was going after. The Twi’lek scooted away. Deel was distracted with the Clone.

Calle turned his head to Vin. “Go get the speeder. I’ll deal with him.”

Vin began to slowly back away, until he fully turned and ran towards the stairs.

“Look,” Calle said, reaching behind him, “Let’s finish this. Man to man. No tricks. No powers. No blasters.” He brought his arm back from behind him, and presented the Jedi with a relic of his own.

A Z6 riot control baton. Capable of withstanding a lightsaber attack.

Maverick took advantage of the mobility his jetpack gave him to rapidly maneuver out of the path of the sniper’s fire, which seemed to become less controlled and more rapid the closer Maverick got to his target. Eventually a bolt from his pistol struck the sniper in his arm, causing him to fall back from his weapon and giving Maverick the chance to fly in and knock him unconscious with a jetpack-assisted kick to the head. With the sniper down, Maverick contacted Martius over comms and let him know: “Sniper’s taken care of.”

Hearing this, Martius walked over closer to Calle with his lightsaber at the ready and replied to his request: “As you wish” then gave a well-practiced flourish, akin to a salute to his opponent, before entering into the traditional Soresu stance with his blade running parallel to his head in one hand, and his other arm extended with his first two fingers pointed towards Calle. Grinning abit, he gave Calle a nod, then rotated his hand and flexed his fingers forward, motioning towards himself and stated: “After you.”

Calle returned the Jedi’s smile. He got on his comms and said, “Deel. Stay out of this one.” He waited a moment for a reply, but when he didn’t get one, he frowned.

“For his sake, I hope your little friend didn’t hurt Deel too badly. He doesn’t take kindly to such insults. Neither do I.”

With that, Calle ran forward, closing the distance in a few long strides before bringing the old First Order riot baton down on the Jedi. It was deflected, and Calle drew it back and attempted to stab it into Martius’s side. It was easily sidestepped, causing Calle to snarl, “Hurry up and die already. I don’t got all damn day.”

Martius continued parrying the next few incoming blows, evaluating his opponent’s attacks and probing for weaknesses. The bounty hunter was not an inept fighter, but it was clear from his strikes that he fought more with fury than form. After blocking an attempted overhead strike, Martius held Calle’s baton in place for a moment, and through the sound of the weapons clashing, calmly stated: “Not bad for a hired thug, but you’ve still got alot to learn about taking on Jedi.” When Calle next attempted to strike, Martius saw an opportunity to counter, and after blocking the baton with his blade, Martius flipped his grip on his hilt and plunged one of his crossguards into Calle’s arm to force him to drop his weapon, then stated: “It should be pretty clear by now that whoever hired you knew they were sending you and your men into a fight you weren’t prepared for, so it seems only fair to me that you should have the chance to get back at them. So tell me, if not the Separatists, then who is it that wants me dead?”


Calle took a few steps back, holding his arm. “You ain’t so special, Jedi. Everyone knows who put the bounty on all Jedi. Marken Frey wants your kind, dead or alive.”

His comm link started to blink green. That was the signal.

“Sorry I can’t give you more than that. I just don’t have the time.”

Suddenly, a speeder came flying over the landing platforms side. Vin, the driver, flew towards the Jedi, forcing him to jump out of the way. Vin fired a few blasts at the man, trying to keep him away as Calle jumped in the back, smiled, and shouted, “Until next time, Jedi!”

The speeder took off, flying near the shot Twi’lek, who had just gotten to his feet. He extended his arm and Calle reached out, grabbed him, and quickly pulled him onto the speeder as it flew off the platform, racing away.

After the speeder departed, Martius deactivated his lightsaber and returned its hilt to its place on his belt. Looking out in the speeder’s direction, Martius softly replied: “Until next time, indeed.” Maverick made his way back to Martius, still limping abit from his injury, dragging the unconscious Deel to put with the others. A short while later sirens could finally be heard as a half-dozen police gunships swarmed in front of the landing pad and Temple grounds, and scores of police officers and droids poured out to secure the area.

“Hands in the air!” they ordered as they approached the group “And no sudden movements!”

“Easy there, men” another voice stated while approaching Martius. “Don’t you recognize a Jedi when you see one?” The voice belonged to an older Bothan man, whose highly decorated uniform suggested he was likely of high rank and experience. When he reached Martius, he extended his hand and stated: “My apologies Master Jedi. I’m Captain Grenur of the Coruscant Security Force; seems you found yourselves abit of trouble here.”

Martius shook the man’s hand and replied: “Indeed, my apologies for the mess Captain. Seems someone put a bounty on Jedi and these individuals were hoping to collect.”

Surveying the damage and the various bodies strewn about the area, the Captain asked: “Any of them still alive?”

“Yes” Martius replied “A few of them are just injured or unconscious.”

“And my men?”

Martius looked down and shook his head, then replied: “I’m sorry, I’m afraid they were all killed in the line of duty.”

The Captain shook his head and replied: “That’s a shame, they were good men. Not looking forward to having to tell their families… At any rate, for now, I suppose you should head back to the station; my men and I will arrest the survivors and see to the scene. Figure you’ve earned yourself some rest.”

“Thank you Captain, and if there’s another officer there I can talk to, I still have a few questions about the situation here.”

“Of course” the Captain replied “I’ll inform one of my Lieutenants to answer any questions you have; he’ll need to get a formal statement from you on what happened here as well.”

Martius sighed, looked to Maverick and replied: “Knew there was no way we’d get out of paperwork for this one. Oh well, appreciate your help Captain.” With that, the two made their way to one of the nearby gunships, which flew them back towards the nearest station…

[The Hoosier Alliance]

Space station orbiting Dellalt

Marken Frey stood before a group of representatives from the Tion Merchant Alliance, a coalition formed, in part, to oppose Frey's domination of the cluster. He had called this meeting on the neutral station orbiting the neutral planet of Dellalt. Even while his fleets and armies mustered, Frey hoped to annex the planets without any need to damage their important ports, factories, and shipyards.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Frey began. He briefly made eye contact with each of the representatives, ignoring the many guards they brought with them, as allowed by his offer to parley. His own guards took up positions behind him.

"We all know why I am here. Neither of our sides wants a war between us. It would do no one any good. That, my friends, is why I have called this meeting. I would like to try and convince you all to see the error of your ways and join the Frey Clique. It is really an easy choice. To oppose me, you have all hired grand mercenary armies and navies. I can offer you more extensive protection, and any taxation I would levy against you all would be but a fraction of the cost it takes to maintain so many mercenaries. Not only that, but my worlds can offer so much in economic benefit. Trade will go on unhindered with no tariffs. Not only that, but the need for firearms and new starships is high and would undoubtedly bring in a massive amount of work, and therefore economic growth. Not only that but as the Clique expands, so too does your available markets. Every planet added is another planet to freely and easily trade with. If we were to go to war, no matter what, your planets lose. The war would, without a doubt, drag on for an extended period of time. It would require more mercenaries than you currently have, driving up the price a terrible amount. A war on a trade hub world would drive away far too much business, as merchants would not want to be caught in the crossfire. Even if you were to defeat my forces, your planets would be crippled by the cost of the war, and wouldn't have the trade income to pay your mercs. What would they do if they weren't paid? They would sack your defenseless planets. My army, and therefore your army, should you join, would do no such thing. They are professional soldiers. You would all, of course, retain a level of autonomy. Not much will change, other than new markets, a much cheaper and extensive defensive force, and an enormous work order that would keep you people employed, factories and shipyards producing, and wallets nice and fat."

Marken Frey stopped, looking at each of the representatives, waiting for their responses or questions.

[Sao Nova Europa]

The fragrance of incense sticks burning filled the dimly lit room. Yang Kang was sitting cross-legged on his round, silk silver mat and meditating. His mind was at ease, his muscles relaxed, his breathing slow and his heart was beating slower than usual. He had put behind him all thoughts and external distractions. He was one with the Force. He could feel it touching him as a light breeze, caressing him as a warm hand.

Beep!

Yang opened his eyes.

Beep!

He sighed as he got up and walked slowly towards the holographic projector

Beep!

He activated the machine and a hologram of Weyun appeared before him. The Ithorian at once bowed before his God.

With a slight nod, Yang gave his diplomat the permission to speak.

"My God," Weyun said, "I have succeeded. The Lutrillians have accepted our proposal, with the addition of one standard year's exemption from taxation, and have signed the treaty. Lutrillia is now a part of the Dominion."

"You've done a good job," Yang replied in his soft, calm voice. "High-ranking Lutrillian politicians should be invited here in Bespin and be granted posts in our military, intelligence and diplomatic agencies. Their extensive knowledge of space will be of great use of us and we need to take advantage of it to further our goals."

"I shall do so immediately, my God."

Yang nodded affirmatively and then terminated the device. He had been slightly irritated that his meditation had been interrupted but the news of the Lutrillians joining the Dominion more than made up for this slight annoyance. Yang decided to return back to practicing, this time with his lightsaber. As he did not see much combat, leaving the actual command and conduct of battles to Commander Darren and other military officers, he trained hard every day with his lightsaber so as to not get rusty.

He activated his saber and its bright green glow emanated the room. He slashed upwards and downwards, making broad and powerful aggressive movements before switching to a more cautious, slow and defensive style of lightsaber combat. All this time, Yang was at ease, with his emotions under strict control and not allowing them to overtake him in the heat of the combat training. He believed that emotions could cloud the judgement of a warrior in combat; only strict logical assessment of the situation could help a warrior win in a lightsaber duel.

-----------------------

Darren was in Yang's room, bowing before his ruler. So was the holographic projection of Weyun. Strict protocol of personal conduct before the ruler was a highly useful tool for Yang, allowing him to maintain a distance from other, 'mortal' beings and showcasing his superiority. Yang and his underlings were discussing the next steps of the Dominion.

"My God," Darren spoke, "I have successfully put up a bounty on live, captured Jedi Padawans. In fact, our reward is as high as that of that Frey's bounty. I have also been continuing the strict drilling of our military forces and the battle simulations of our starships. When needed to, the Holy Order will be ready for battle. Our warriors shall not disappoint you!"

"As you've instructed me, my God," Weyun said, "I have send Dominion spies and propagandists to Jiroch - they should be already spreading tales about Dominion strength. Jiroch is home to the Tunroth, a primitive species of hunters. I believe we will be able to easily deal with them, thanks to their backwardness when it comes to technology. They should not be underestimated, though, because reports I've got from Lutrillians who know of the planet speak of them as fierce warriors. As you've correctly pointed out, with your Divine wisdom, the world on itself is not all that import but it will allow us to gain a first foothold on the Yushan Sector, finally making an entrance in the Mid-Rim. It will also allow us to gain access to the Corellian Trade Spine, an important trade route that should have beneficial effects to our economy."

"Good," Yang replied after a short moment of silence. "Weyun, aside from dealing with Jiroch, I want you to make full PR use of the peaceful annexation of Lutrillia. Make sure to spread widely news of our agreement and the benefits the Lutrillians will enjoy. I want everyone to know that the Dominion is a reliable, trustworthy and benevolent power; that allying with us brings benefits. It will motivate other worlds to join us and curb resistance to our expansion. As for you Darren, aside from continuing with the drilling of our military force to keep them battle-ready, I want you to bring me results on the Jedi bounty front. You have permission to increase substantially the reward if needed. I need Padawans brought to me, to form a new Order."

[Endem]

Amnal Kehy

So, he was to bring a scientist for the Lady of the Sith, the master over his master, and he would abide by this order, if anything, for that fact only, he had been supplied with a ship and a droid for it, anything else he had with himself is what he brought with himself, so, not much, his two lightsabers, his dark robe of apprentice, and standard clothing, if he needed to hide.

His ship was looking like a standard civilian ship, to blend in, but the interior was repurposed for the usage by a force user, a training room, and meditation room were perhaps the most notable of the alterations, his droid was, a perhaps bit old model of an astromech droid, equipped with all the things such a droid would have, stock standard all things considered.

"Set course for the moon Gall in the Shar System" Amnal commanded, and the droid beeped his response, a acknowledgment and nothing more, Amnal meanwhile prepared his plan, the easiest would be hiring a bounty hunter, but that would be too easy for his master, and the Darth's tastes, he could also frontally assault the factory, but that would be stupid risk, and would probably get him killed.

He eventually concluded a plan, and made a simple yet believable fake account of one "Kolac's We" life, the ship itself meanwhile dropped into the system and set course for a landing approach to the moon of Gall, in a few minutes the droid brought the ship down on the ground and announced its arrival to Amnal, "stay behind on the ship, and watch over it" Amnal commanded to the droid which once again, simply acknowledged the task at hand.

Amnal directed himself to the nearest law enforcement station on this planet, once he entered the decrepit building he saw a desk, behind which a very bored law enforcer sat, "I would want to report a crime of one Pon Kru, a Kaminoan who stole the identity of my dear friend Kolac We and presumably murdered him, Kolac previously worked in Rothian Heavy Engineering and is presumably there right now" Amnal said to the officer.

[The Hoosier Alliance]

Tion Cluster, Clique fleet rendezvous site
Marken Frey stood at the helm of his battleship, the flagship of the Clique fleet, and studied a hologram of the planet Lianna. His negotiations with the Tion Merchant Alliance fell through. However, he would not, could not, allow that to stop him. If anything, this victory for the Merchant Alliance would prove his dominance over the entire Tion Cluster. Everyone else would soon fall in line.

As Frey went over the battle plan with his admirals and generals, he was interrupted.

"My Lord."

Frey turned to see an officer standing at attention.

"What is it? I'm in the middle of something if you couldn't tell."

"I'm sorry, sir, but you have an urgent message. He said it couldn't wait and was vital to defeat the Merchant Alliance."

"Who is it?"

"I've no idea, my Lord."

"Patch him through."

The officer nodded, approached the console, and brought up the hologram of the man who claimed to have something important to say about the Alliance. Frey recognized him right away. The man had been at the negotiations. He was a representative of the Merchant Alliance.

"Hello," he began. "Marken Frey, isn't it? I'm glad you took my call. I'd like to extend an offer to you."

Frey raised his eyebrow. "Why now?" he asked.

"My colleagues refused to listen to me. I said we should just join you. They voted me down. So, I pretended to go along with it. However, I have no intention of being arrested or executed by your men when you take this planet and destroy the Merchant Alliance. So, as I said, I'd like to make you an offer."

"Let's hear it."

The man smiled. "I have a number of mercenaries on my direct payroll. I'm in charge of the third wealthiest company here on Lianna. You promise to make me the governor of the worlds currently in the Merchant Alliance, and I'll betray the Alliance when your fleet arrives. My ground forces will join in on the betrayal as well, of course."

Frey smiled. "That seems to be a satisfactory deal to me. I reward those who help me. Put me in contact with the one heading your portion of the fleet, as well as the one leading the ground forces under your control."

"Of course. At once...my Lord," the man said, before terminating the call.




Space near Lianna, capital of the Merchant Alliance
Countless Frey Clique warships came out of hyperspace. Frigates, a few battleships, and a number of assault ships made a steady pace towards the mercenary fleet protecting the planet. Frey's ships neared and, once they were in range, opened fire. As they did so, the traitorous mercenaries, positioned at the rear of the protective fleet, opened fire on their former comrades. All shields on the mercenary ships were directed to the frontal shields, meaning the thrusters of the ships were easy prey for the cannons of the turncoat ships. Fighters launched from the Clique fleet engaged mercenary fighters, but many of the hired ships were redirected to attack the traitors and protect the fleet.

The splitting of the fighters gave the Clique and turncoats the opportunity to launch their bombers, which worked together to finish off the damaged ships that sat, dead in space with their engines blown or badly damaged. The battle didn't last long, and every merc ship was either destroyed or surrendered and allowed Clique forces to land and commandeer the ship.

On the ground, mercenary forces loyal to the traitor representative executed their portion of the plan. In the capital city of Lianna, they seized control of many of the landing platforms to make way for Clique ground forces. The mercenaries also disabled or destroyed many of the turrets tasked with shooting down incoming troop transports.

With this done, Clique transports touched down, landing many soldiers, equipment, and vehicles. Unprepared for such a swift victory for the Clique in space, and stunned by the thousands of traitors within their ranks, as well as the rapid, planned landing of soldiers, the mercenary army was reeling backward. They attempted to concentrate their forces in key sections of the city, but they were merely contained by the Clique and mercenary troops. Instead, the Clique was more focused on taking control of the Capitol building, where the heads of the Merchant Alliance were holed up.

Fighting through the streets toward the building was rough. Clique soldiers were getting bogged down by heavy mercenary resistance. Bombers and fighters were too busy attempting to take out the remaining AA guns that were operational. Even though many were disabled before Clique forces landed, many were still firing. It would be a while before they could assist ground forces on their slog to the Capitol.

After hours of bloody combat, troop landings, and, finally, bombings of mercenary positions, Clique troops surrounded the Capitol building. Inside, all the heads of the Merchant Alliance hid. Including the traitor who helped Frey take the planet by storm. As he revealed himself as the traitor by ordering his men to kill the other guards inside the main chamber and seal it up, Frey's men made their move. They blew open the front doors and stormed inside as the guarding mercenaries were distracted by the blaster fire coming from inside the main chamber. They fought through before finally opening the doors to the Merchant Alliance's council room.

Inside, they found the leaders of the Alliance arrested and the mercenaries that remained loyal to them dead. They were trotted outside and their execution was broadcasted on the entire planets hijacked signals. Seeing their money source dried up, most of the mercenaries gave up and laid down their arms. Those that didn't were swiftly put down.

The main planet of the Merchant Alliance was subdued, after a brutal ground battle that cost countless lives. However, the Clique Army and Navy proved themselves to be a formidable fighting force.

With the planet under control, the other members of the Merchant Alliance were split in half. The turncoat representative was given control of Lianna, to serve as a governor for Marken Frey. Eventually, the other members of the Merchant Alliance would be under his rule as well. As punishment for their failure to play ball with the Clique, the wages of workers were temporarily cut, martial law was declared, and many of the business people that support the Alliance were either jailed or put under house arrest, depending on how important they were to the production of arms and ships on the planet.

Orders began flooding the factories and shipyards after things settled down and life returned to normal. Damages caused by the invasion were being repaired, and people began to more or less accept their new overlords. Not too much would be changed, and the things that did would return to normal once the people proved their loyalty to their new master.

Now that Lianna was subdued, Frey turned his attention to the other planets.

[Dentali]

Darth Veneris
Lab Omega, Rhen Var



Veneris stood on the platform overlooking the facility. She had visited the place too few times since its inception, but going too often would cause suspicion as to her whereabouts, only a handful of her own Sith Order knew of its existence and the facility itself was inhabited mostly by droids with only a few scientists present, all of which were effectively isolated from the outside world through many overlapping security measures.

Rhen Var was a mostly abandoned world filled with ruins and some artifacts of battles from the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War. It also contained ruins far older than that, of Jedi and Sith origin. This lab lay several hundred meters below what was once some ancient city, long since plundered of its riches. Converting its catacombs into the lab was a painstaking process taking years and a small fortune, it also involved the assassination of many contractors involved it building it to ensure secrecy... but it was all worth it.

"Soon the final key to the project will be in place" she said lightly stroking a box that seemed like a casket, dozens of wires tubes and readouts on it all kids of data, "And you will be the beginning of the new dawn of the Sith Empire"

[Sao Nova Europa]

The Dominion shuttle landed on Jiroch. Weyun and his entourage of diplomats and bodyguards were greeted by the Tunroth chieftains and their warriors. After the exchange of typical pleasantries, as diplomatic protocol demanded, Weyun and his team to diplomats met with the representatives of the Tunroth chieftains to come to some sort of accommodation.

"I am here representing the Dominion, the rising power in this sector of space. The Dominion is a union of worlds that have come together to cooperate in a chaotic and disorderly Galaxy. Our worlds strive for order, peace, prosperity and stability. Where there is chaos, we bring order. Where there is war, we bring peace. Where there is poverty, we bring prosperity. Where there is discord, we bring stability. We wish to bring an end to the disunity plaguing our Galaxy and to bring about a new era of interstellar cooperation."

Weyun paused for a brief moment. "Our God sent me here to offer you a place in the Dominion, not as subjects but as equal partners. Our actions speak louder than our words. The Lutrillians are known to you; they joined the Dominion and now they enjoy a series of benefits, from Lutrillian politicians occupying high offices in the Dominion to autonomy, tax breaks, investment and free trade. Those are all known facts! We offer you the same deal we offered the Lutrillians. You will have full internal autonomy and we shall fully respect and promote your culture and traditions. Your political leaders will be granted high offices in the Dominion administration. The Dominion shall invest into your infrastructure and you shall be exempt from taxation for a full standard year. You will be able to enjoy the benefits of free trade and free movement of peoples. Imagine having access to the vast, profitable market of the Dominion. But, most importantly of all, the Dominion shall defend your home world from foreign invaders and marauders. The Holy Order, our mighty and renowned military force whose deeds you must surely have heard of, will be the shield of Jiroch!"

Weyun had one of his diplomats present a legal document to the Tunroth. "If you join the Dominion, you will no longer be alone. You will no longer be a people divided and vulnerable to outside interventions. You will be part of a powerful and expanding power. You can be at the forefront of this expansion. Your proud warriors, who crave for glory in the battlefield, will be at the forefront of the Dominion quest to enforce order and peace across the Galaxy and our spoils will be your spoils. Together, we can make history! I implore you to consider carefully our offer. I implore you to look at the Lutrillians and see that we mean what we say. You do not have to answer now. You can examine in detail our proposal and then inform us of your decision."

[Brusia]

Martius Shan and Maverick
Coruscant
Police Station

After spending a few hours giving statements and filling out paperwork about the cause of their shuttle crash and the clash with the bounty hunters, Martius and Maverick were seated in the office of one Lieutenant Rivo of the Coruscant Security Force.

"And that should do it" the Lieutenant stated. "Thank you for your cooperation gentlemen. Now than, I understand you wished to contact the Jedi Council; I attempted to reach them for you, but it seems they are currently unavailable. I did reach one of the Temple Guards however, and I managed to get you the proper clearance to go to Dantooine so that you could speak with them in person as soon as they're able."

"Dantooine?" Martius asked with a puzzled look "What is the Council doing on Dantooine?"

"I suppose that's a question for them" Rivo replied. "I apologize I couldn't be of more help, though I do have some good news: Captain Grenur arranged for your shuttle to be repaired; he said it was the least we could do for helping to get justice for our fallen officers. If there's nothing else, you're free to go."

"Thank you Lieutenant" Martius replied "And please thank your Captain for us."

With that, Martius and Maverick made their way out of the station and to their newly repaired shuttle. After running a complete systems diagnostic to ensure everything was back in working order, the two made their way to the cockpit, fired up the engines, and set course for Dantooine...

[Endem]

Amnal Kehy
Gall

The policeman, Ithorian, unusual for one of such species to take such a work, was surprised, to say the least hearing the accusations that Amnal made towards Pon Kru, the Ithorian responded, trying to keep calm "S-sir, those are some heavy accusations, a-are you sure about this?" He said, to which Amnal only dropped a small pouch of credits "I am very sure good sir, I am as well sure and you will lead me to Pon Kru"

The Ithorian, seeing credits seemingly wrestled with his morality, but the greed will surely win sooner or later, on the industrial hell holes that Gall was a member planet, the policeman were usually underpaid, and usually corrupted to the brim by various mega-corporations wrestling for the power on such a planet, "Yes sir, unfortunately I don't know where Kol- I mean Pon Kru works" Amnal smiled "Rothian Heavy Engineering, lead the way, I will follow"

The pair walked through the bustling streets of Gall, polluted, rotting, it reminded Amnal of his home planet in a way, off the mining areas to be exact, eventually they came to one of the many buildings Rothian Heavy Engineering made their own, after a bit of talking with the manager they walked into the giant hall of the building, sparks flying in all directions as all kinds of machinery was constructed, the manager lead them to Pon Kru, who working on one such machine.

Things happened quickly from then, the paranoid Kaminoan, seeing a policeman approach him, suddenly turned around and smacked the Ithorian in the head with a wrench, then started running, Amnal meanwhile shouted "that should be enough of your help" and started running behind Pon Kru.

The chase after running through the entirety of the hall and jumping over the fence has entered the streets, Pon Kru trying to disappear into the crowd, nearly succeeded, if it was not for his head sticking out like a lighthouse in a stormy night Amnal would surely loose him, but Pon Kru was becoming more and more irrational as the chase dragged on, he tried making blockades to slow down Amnal, over which Amnal effortlessly jumped over.

Eventually, the chase jumped onto rooftops, and there, was where Pon Kru made his last mistake, the lack of general public made Amnal sure that using his powers was safe now, thus he choked Pon Kru, but released him soon after, the Kaminoan fallen to his knees, which allowed Amnal to close distance, the Kaminoan tried to get up, but before he could Amnal knocked him out.

Amnal then called unto the droid assigned and told him to pilot the ship to his position, sooner rather than later Amnal heard the buzz of engines, and soon the airlock opened, Amnal floated with force the unconscious Pon Kru onto the ship and hoped on it, the droid then had the ship come into orbit, while Amnal restrained Pon Kru, who managed to regain consciousness soon after, Amnal told the droid to set course for Rhen Var.

[Dentali]

Amnal Kehy
Gall

The policeman, Ithorian, unusual for one of such species to take such a work, was surprised, to say the least hearing the accusations that Amnal made towards Pon Kru, the Ithorian responded, trying to keep calm "S-sir, those are some heavy accusations, a-are you sure about this?" He said, to which Amnal only dropped a small pouch of credits "I am very sure good sir, I am as well sure and you will lead me to Pon Kru"

The Ithorian, seeing credits seemingly wrestled with his morality, but the greed will surely win sooner or later, on the industrial hell holes that Gall was a member planet, the policeman were usually underpaid, and usually corrupted to the brim by various mega-corporations wrestling for the power on such a planet, "Yes sir, unfortunately I don't know where Kol- I mean Pon Kru works" Amnal smiled "Rothian Heavy Engineering, lead the way, I will follow"

The pair walked through the bustling streets of Gall, polluted, rotting, it reminded Amnal of his home planet in a way, off the mining areas to be exact, eventually they came to one of the many buildings Rothian Heavy Engineering made their own, after a bit of talking with the manager they walked into the giant hall of the building, sparks flying in all directions as all kinds of machinery was constructed, the manager lead them to Pon Kru, who working on one such machine.

Things happened quickly from then, the paranoid Kaminoan, seeing a policeman approach him, suddenly turned around and smacked the Ithorian in the head with a wrench, then started running, Amnal meanwhile shouted "that should be enough of your help" and started running behind Pon Kru.

The chase after running through the entirety of the hall and jumping over the fence has entered the streets, Pon Kru trying to disappear into the crowd, nearly succeeded, if it was not for his head sticking out like a lighthouse in a stormy night Amnal would surely loose him, but Pon Kru was becoming more and more irrational as the chase dragged on, he tried making blockades to slow down Amnal, over which Amnal effortlessly jumped over.

Eventually, the chase jumped onto rooftops, and there, was where Pon Kru made his last mistake, the lack of general public made Amnal sure that using his powers was safe now, thus he choked Pon Kru, but released him soon after, the Kaminoan fallen to his knees, which allowed Amnal to close distance, the Kaminoan tried to get up, but before he could Amnal knocked him out.

Amnal then called unto the droid assigned and told him to pilot the ship to his position, sooner rather than later Amnal heard the buzz of engines, and soon the airlock opened, Amnal floated with force the unconscious Pon Kru onto the ship and hoped on it, the droid then had the ship come into orbit, while Amnal restrained Pon Kru, who managed to regain consciousness soon after, Amnal told the droid to set course for Rhen Var.

Upon arriving Amnal's ship was guided to one of the many sets of ruins on the surface and directed into an icy cavern which upon closer inspection was a carefully concealed landing pad. Dozens of droids swarmed the ship immediately attending to its maintenance and to the loading bay. Darth Veneris stood on the platform awaiting Amnal to emerge with his quarry

[Sao Nova Europa]

The Church of the Dominion

Hooded monks dressed in brown robes walked through the streets of the Cloud City of Bespin. They headed to the 'Shrine of the Holy One'. Walking inside the facility, a simple white round building on the exterior, they stepped onto the glass floor. The walls and ceiling too were made out of glass. The room was extraordinarily bright, the lights making the walk almost unbearable. The monks walked with their head laying low, looking at the floor and trying to avoid the light, until they reached the center of the room.

They fell on their knees and began reciting a prayer. "His glory is our glory. His will is our will. His wisdom is our wisdom. He is Holy and Pure. He is above our dirty mortal existence. He is the Light in this dark galaxy. He is One and he is the Truth. His will cannot be defied. His wisdom cannot be doubted. We bow before Him. We pray for His blessing. We pray for Him to bring Order and Peace in our chaotic universe. He is the Master of the Universe. He is Everything and Everything is Him. We are His slaves. He is the Galaxy. Amen!"

[Endem]

Amnal Kehy
Gall

The policeman, Ithorian, unusual for one of such species to take such a work, was surprised, to say the least hearing the accusations that Amnal made towards Pon Kru, the Ithorian responded, trying to keep calm "S-sir, those are some heavy accusations, a-are you sure about this?" He said, to which Amnal only dropped a small pouch of credits "I am very sure good sir, I am as well sure and you will lead me to Pon Kru"

The Ithorian, seeing credits seemingly wrestled with his morality, but the greed will surely win sooner or later, on the industrial hell holes that Gall was a member planet, the policeman were usually underpaid, and usually corrupted to the brim by various mega-corporations wrestling for the power on such a planet, "Yes sir, unfortunately I don't know where Kol- I mean Pon Kru works" Amnal smiled "Rothian Heavy Engineering, lead the way, I will follow"

The pair walked through the bustling streets of Gall, polluted, rotting, it reminded Amnal of his home planet in a way, off the mining areas to be exact, eventually they came to one of the many buildings Rothian Heavy Engineering made their own, after a bit of talking with the manager they walked into the giant hall of the building, sparks flying in all directions as all kinds of machinery was constructed, the manager lead them to Pon Kru, who working on one such machine.

Things happened quickly from then, the paranoid Kaminoan, seeing a policeman approach him, suddenly turned around and smacked the Ithorian in the head with a wrench, then started running, Amnal meanwhile shouted "that should be enough of your help" and started running behind Pon Kru.

The chase after running through the entirety of the hall and jumping over the fence has entered the streets, Pon Kru trying to disappear into the crowd, nearly succeeded, if it was not for his head sticking out like a lighthouse in a stormy night Amnal would surely loose him, but Pon Kru was becoming more and more irrational as the chase dragged on, he tried making blockades to slow down Amnal, over which Amnal effortlessly jumped over.

Eventually, the chase jumped onto rooftops, and there, was where Pon Kru made his last mistake, the lack of general public made Amnal sure that using his powers was safe now, thus he choked Pon Kru, but released him soon after, the Kaminoan fallen to his knees, which allowed Amnal to close distance, the Kaminoan tried to get up, but before he could Amnal knocked him out.

Amnal then called unto the droid assigned and told him to pilot the ship to his position, sooner rather than later Amnal heard the buzz of engines, and soon the airlock opened, Amnal floated with force the unconscious Pon Kru onto the ship and hoped on it, the droid then had the ship come into orbit, while Amnal restrained Pon Kru, who managed to regain consciousness soon after, Amnal told the droid to set course for Rhen Var.

Upon arriving Amnal's ship was guided to one of the many sets of ruins on the surface and directed into an icy cavern which upon closer inspection was a carefully concealed landing pad. Dozens of droids swarmed the ship immediately attending to its maintenance and to the loading bay. Darth Vixus stood on the platform awaiting Amnal to emerge with his quarry

Pressuirsed air hissed and soon the clamp opened, Amnal walked out, this time in a proper acolyte robe, his face shrouded with w dark hood, behind him the constrained Pon Kru, with only his legs unboad, reluctantly followed, however, even if he attempted too he could not escape, for the vigilant astromech droid was following him shortly after, instructed to administer a electric shock to Pon Kru to knock him out if he tried escaping.

Once Amnal stood before Darth Vixus, he knelt and simply said "I have brought you your prize" the droid then lightly zapped Pon Kru to make the Kaminoan walk forward, the Kaminoan obeyed the droid's will and reluctantly walked forward, before Darth Vixus, "Am I to go hunting once again?" Amnal asked, still kneeling, though he hoped the answer would be no, and he would be allowed to return to his master.

[Dentali]

Upon arriving Amnal's ship was guided to one of the many sets of ruins on the surface and directed into an icy cavern which upon closer inspection was a carefully concealed landing pad. Dozens of droids swarmed the ship immediately attending to its maintenance and to the loading bay. Darth Vixus stood on the platform awaiting Amnal to emerge with his quarry

Pressuirsed air hissed and soon the clamp opened, Amnal walked out, this time in a proper acolyte robe, his face shrouded with w dark hood, behind him the constrained Pon Kru, with only his legs unboad, reluctantly followed, however, even if he attempted too he could not escape, for the vigilant astromech droid was following him shortly after, instructed to administer a electric shock to Pon Kru to knock him out if he tried escaping.

Once Amnal stood before Darth Vixus, he knelt and simply said "I have brought you your prize" the droid then lightly zapped Pon Kru to make the Kaminoan walk forward, the Kaminoan obeyed the droid's will and reluctantly walked forward, before Darth Vixus, "Am I to go hunting once again?" Amnal asked, still kneeling, though he hoped the answer would be no, and he would be allowed to return to his master.

A droid stuck a large needle attached to a compad into the captive, after a few moments the compad turned green and Veneris smiled, something that was rare indeed. "Take him to his chambers" she finally said to the droids before turning back to Amnal, "Your service is much appreciate... keep the droid. consider it a bonus. You may return to your master, and know you have done a great service for the future of our Order."

[Endem]

Pressuirsed air hissed and soon the clamp opened, Amnal walked out, this time in a proper acolyte robe, his face shrouded with w dark hood, behind him the constrained Pon Kru, with only his legs unboad, reluctantly followed, however, even if he attempted too he could not escape, for the vigilant astromech droid was following him shortly after, instructed to administer a electric shock to Pon Kru to knock him out if he tried escaping.

Once Amnal stood before Darth Vixus, he knelt and simply said "I have brought you your prize" the droid then lightly zapped Pon Kru to make the Kaminoan walk forward, the Kaminoan obeyed the droid's will and reluctantly walked forward, before Darth Vixus, "Am I to go hunting once again?" Amnal asked, still kneeling, though he hoped the answer would be no, and he would be allowed to return to his master.

A droid stuck a large needle attached to a compad into the captive, after a few moments the compad turned green and Vixus smiled, something that was rare indeed. "Take him to his chambers" she finally said to the droids before turning back to Amnal, "Your service is much appreciate... keep the droid. consider it a bonus. You may return to your master, and know you have done a great service for the future of our Order."

"It has been an honor" Amnal replied and got up, he then passed Vixus and directed himself to another launchpad, on which stood the gallant ship of his master, to which many other faded in comparison, he passed through many corridors ignoring everything until he reached the ship of his master, a few seconds later and he was aboard.

"Finally my student, by the fact you survived I assume you behaved yourself, just as I taught you, very well, let us continue onward and resume your schooling" his master ignored the droid Amnal acquired, the master went into the cockpit and soon soft vibration has started coursing through the whole vessel, a sign of engines firing, and soon the vessel took off.

[Dentali]

Darth Veneris
Rhen Var

Veneris broke the scientist easily enough, though truly brilliant the Kaminoan was weak willed. His fear was intoxicating to Veneris and she fed on it, though such a small amount could not satisfy her hunger.

She spent 3 more days at the facility as her new acquisition began his work. The roadblocks that had stumped her current staff for months had finally been bypassed, they were ahead of schedule now and it would take only a few weeks to become operational.

Before she finally left Omega Lab she took one last walk through, admiring unit after unit of the project though she had no time to admire the immense number of them. Boarding her shuttle her droid pilot plotted the course for Felucia, her plan would greatly increase their ability to project power across the galaxy but they could not do it alone.

[The Hoosier Alliance]

Felucia, Thanium Sector, R-6



Despite the many attempts to colonize the planet and its many valuable resources, Felucia was mostly abandoned in recent years- at least by civilization. An unknown number of tribal Felucians inhabited the planet and several small farms and mines populated by off world colonists and prospectors were still running, though they were heavily outnumbered by the number of now empty settlements.

One such recently abandoned farm was now where a fateful meeting would occur between the Dark Lady of the Sith and the Supreme Leader of the Frey Clique.

Frey didn’t know who he was meeting and Veneris had taken strong measures to make sure of it. His contact who facilitated the meeting had been partially mind wiped and manipulated to make it happen without the specific knowledge of who the meeting would be with, only that it had immense potential to be lucrative for the Clique.

Marken Frey stepped off the Clique landing ship, leading a small band of soldiers that walked, single file, on either side of him. He, and his entourage, were well armed. The lack of knowledge of whom he was meeting was not very encouraging, but Frey couldn’t afford to look weak or afraid in the face of uncertainty.

So, he traveled to Felucia to meet with this mysterious contact. A Clique frigate orbited the planet, with an additional company of hardened soldiers, just in case it was a Jedi or rival warlord trap.

As Frey gazed out into the thick jungle, he said, without turning to face his men, “Remain here. Guard the ship.”

“Sir?”

“Remain here. That’s an order. I’ll send you a signal if I need support. I’ll move to the provided coordinates and meet with this stranger.”

With that, Frey took the small, short path towards the abandoned village. He was armed with his duel DC-17 blaster pistols and his prized lightsaber pike. The weapon was taken from the corpse of the last warlord to inhabit his current fortress headquarters on his now capital planet. Thus far, it had served him well.

As Frey neared the coordinates location, he paused and looked around, his right hand falling to rest on his pike, while his left hand rested on one of his DC-17s.

“Hello? Show yourself. You called this meeting, so let’s be done with it. You shouldn’t keep such a powerful man waiting.”


“Oh please forgive me” a voice from behind Frey said, a woman in a hood black cloak emerged from a grouping of shadows. In the failing light she was still somewhat obscured and with her hood down only a sliver of her face was noticeable. She stayed roughly 10 meters away from Frey feeling no need to get closer “Thank you for coming, I felt you and I could have a… fruitful partnership.”

Her voice permeated the place, feeling like a chilled wind sliding through the area, and Frey only now became aware of just how quiet the village was for a jungle with any noises of coming from local fauna seemingly quite far off. Perhaps the village had some sort of repelling fence that was left intact.

Frey furrowed his eyebrows. “Who are you? Why have you called this meeting?” Frey had, at this point, grown rather uncomfortable. Something was not right about this woman. He could almost feel an...aura coming off of her. A dark aura.

“Call me Veneris” the lady said , almost slithering as she moved closer to him “I represent a group of powerful individuals that could aid you greatly in your ambitions. We know a great many things, see a great many things, and can reach a great many places… But my organization is small and we feel an alliance with your group would yield a great many benefits”


Frey stood his ground as the woman moved slightly closer. “Who exactly would I be making an alliance with? What would you get from such an arrangement? In fact, what would I gain from it? It sounds as if you need me more than I would need you.”

“Just Veneris for now… that’s who you would be allying with. Your war is getting close to some of my organization’s facilities, and I would get you not stumbling on anything as well as someone I could call on should I need a fleet or someone to act in a more overt way than my organization typically does.”

“You would get several dozen of the finest spies and assassins in the galaxy, who have contacts and agents in quite a few organizations and governments, including the Merchant Alliance. In fact to seal the deal of the alliance we are prepared to assassinate the leader of the mercenary group “Dogs of Voth”, which has a number of ships currently serving in the Merchant Alliance’s fleet. We expect that his death would cause a power struggle in the group more or less knocking them out of the conflict.”

Frey was now very interested in what Veneris had to offer. “If you can accomplish this,” he began, “I would be more than happy to form an alliance with your organization. Without their army and navy of mercenaries, this Merchant Alliance that dares oppose me will have no legs to stand on and will be forced to sue for peace. I will, of course, be happy to return the favor. I always repay my debts.”

“We can do more than that if you wish. We ask that if you move to the Galactic West of Felucia you inform us, we may steer you away from certain worlds.”

“What do you have on those ‘certain worlds’? If we’re to be allies, I believe it’d be beneficial to be honest.”

“That will never be part of our deal” for the first time her tone changed, only slightly, with a hint of venom before returning to her normal tone “At any rate aside from steering clear of certain worlds we would ask that you share knowledge of us with no one, no one on your staff and not your most trusted friends.” She gestured to a datapad on a nearby table, “the information on how to contact me is there.”

Frey took the tablet, studying it for a few moments. “Alright then, Veneris,” he said, slowly,” You’ve got a deal. You uphold your end of the bargain, and I’ll uphold mine. I’ll be in touch. If there’s nothing further for us to discuss, I think it’s time I took my leave.”

“Then it's a deal. I look forward to hearing from you… Frey.” With that she melted back into the shadows as if she never existed to begin with.

With the meeting over, Frey returned to the dropship. He ordered his men to take off and return to the frigate. Once back on the larger ship, Frey hailed the main Clique fleet, ordering them to make preparations to split in two and blockade the remaining two members of the Merchant Alliance. Once Veneris held her end of the bargain, Frey would make short work of the two planets that dared defy him.