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Shadow of the Void “Fall back! Get to the hangar bay!”Green light filled the dark corridor as K’Kruhk, backed up by his clones, tried in vain to repel the boarders. Blaster fire filled the hallway as the 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps fell back towards the hangar bay, the large, hairy Whiphid who was in command of the clones looking increasingly grim and alarmed as the battle turned against them.His flagship, the Tenacious, a Venator class Star Destroyer had been returning from the newly liberated front on Phindar following their success on the planet. As they had been travelling through hyperspace, a horrific, terrifying and soul-crushing shriek had echoed throughout the vessel, and before they had known what was happening, the ship had been invaded.Starweirds. The tall, skeletal otherworldly beings that Anakin Skywalker had encountered several months before had invaded the ship, their sonic screams immobilising a large number of the clones, which the creatures then used as an excuse to massacre their way through the ship. As the clones were torn asunder by a small army of the monsters, K’Kruhk had quickly realised that there was no way they could save the ship. Dozens of crewmen had been gored and slashed open by the starweirds, and unlike Anakin’s encounter with the starweird he had fought, this time there wasn’t just one starweird. There were dozens. And what was more, these starweirds weren’t just infiltrating the ship and causing chaos like the one on the Hand of Justice had. These starweirds were swarming all over the ship, massacring anyone who got in their way…and converting those that they didn’t kill into starweirds themselves.And now, K’Kruhk and his remaining troops were close to being overrun.“General, we need to wait for the others, set up a beachhead to wait for our boys to evacuate!” his clone commander, Hawkeye, yelled over the sounds of blaster fire that was filling the ship as they were forced to retreat into the hangar bay.“Hawkeye…I’m afraid nobody else is coming.” K’Kruhk told him, not unkindly, and the Jedi felt a flicker of grief from his clone commander before he turned his attention to the starweird which had barged through the door they had just left, shooting right at it’s face.K’Kruhk could well understand his grief. He liked the clones, he enjoyed their company, and the Tenacious held around two thousand clones on board, not including the crewmen. And now, from that number he was lucky if he had about ten percent of them left as the clones started turning and hurrying towards the CR20 transports, Nu and Theta class shuttles and LAAT/i that made up their escape craft. They didn’t have a lot of time. Clones were now trickling into the hangar, breaking their lines and rushing for the shuttles. And dogging their footsteps were starweirds.Dozens of them.Now, K’Kruhk had encountered a lot during his years as a Jedi. Vicious Yinchorri killers, who had killed his first master Lillit Twoseas. Asajj Ventress, apprentice to Count Dooku. Quinlan Vos, at the time working deep undercover as a Dark Acolyte. And even the dreaded General Grievous. But all of them paled in comparison to the fear he felt as the starweirds surged into the hangar bay.Dozens of eerily floating, skeletal beings, with bared fangs, dripping saliva, bloodstained talons and wispy white hair, completed by the glowing, starlike eyes that were fixed on their would-be prey. But at the centre of the starweird formation there was a starweird that looked different from the others, and it was that one that drew K’Kruhk’s gaze.Taller than the others, it’s shining eyes weren’t the blank, mindless white that the others had. This one had glowing red eyes, like miniature supernovas. It had all the other trappings that the rest of the starweirds did, though this one was more powerful built, more muscular and less skeletal than it’s compatriots. And unlike the others, it had ethereal, wispy black hair that seemed to move on it’s own accord. And most curious of all, it seemed to have a sort of chitinous ridge on it’s head that gave it the appearance of having a three-point crown or tiara on it’s head.And whatever made this starweird different, it wanted all of the surviving members of the crew. And it wanted K’Kruhk in particular.“General, come on!” one clone bellowed from the ramp of the CR-20 transport, as numerous clones opened fire, blaster bolts and rockets hurtling towards the contingent of starweird troops.Their leader bared it’s teeth in annoyance, raising it’s hand as it gave a scream, full of incandescent rage, and the various attempts on its life stopped in mid-air.“Oh I have a bad feeling about this…” K’Kruhk mumbled to himself before flipping onto the ramp, the transport lurching into the air as the starweird leader threw the blaster bolts and missiles back at the ship, narrowly missing the transport as it surged for the open hangar bay doors.K’Kruhk hastily grabbed onto a handrail as the CR-20 surged from the hangar of the Tenacious, surrounded by three Theta class shuttles, two Nu class and four LAAT/i’s, all bound for safety, their engines pushed to the max to try and get them away from the Tenacious. However as they moved for open space, blue turbolaser fire erupted from the cannons of the Star Destroyer. One gunship was immolated in an explosion, the lives on board snuffed out in an instant. One gunship’s wing was clipped, sending it into an uncontrolled spiral, and unable to regain control, the pilot couldn’t do anything to avoid a further gunship, both of them crashing together and being swallowed by a large, fiery explosion. One Theta class was also hit by the turbolaser fire, shearing off it’s vertical wing, and the wing was blown with such force that it hurtled through space, shredding the fuselage of the remaining gunship and sucking the crew of the gunship out into space, their bodies going still as the icy blackness of space took them.“Sir, we’re ready to jump, and the damaged shuttle says it can manage a hyperspace jump!” Hawkeye barked from the cockpit, and K’Kruhk nodded.“Excellent commander, get us away from here!” he ordered, and as the stars streaked into lines outside the viewport, K’Kruhk took a last, mournful look at the Tenacious, mourning the loss of his ship and all of those who he had lost within.The starweirds. It seemed like a threat from the pages of a story book, some chilling tale to make younglings behave. Yet there was nothing imaginary about the starweirds that had driven the Tenacious out of lightspeed, swarming through the ship and slaughtering and converting all in their path. A twentieth of his forces survived on the ships they had managed to escape on.K’Kruhk frowned as lightspeed streamed past around them. Something had to be done. A report had to be made. The Council would know what to do.And if they didn’t, he mused darkly, they all had a very big problem indeed. XX The pleasant, temperate world of Ruhe was deep within Confederacy controlled territory, galactically speaking, not far from the Wheel. A world of lush green forests, the citadel of Count Dooku, otherwise known as Darth Tyranus, stood at the edge of a volcanic crater, long since gone dormant, filled with large, leafy ferns and other trees.On the balcony of his citadel, Darth Tyranus amused himself watching a native hawk-bat variant as it swooped down on it’s unsuspecting prey. How very like the Sith, he mused, sipping his morning tea. Very soon now, the Sith would swoop down on an unsuspecting galaxy, and indeed on the equally unsuspecting Jedi. It was just a matter of time.“Count? A message for you sir.” The protocol droid that he used as his footman reported from inside, and Dooku nodded, sweeping back into his well-appointed citadel, feeling the refreshing cool breeze that was pouring in through the open double doors.He briefly went through his mental checklist, trying to figure out exactly who was calling. His remaining Dark Acolytes, Sora Bulq (by far his most useful), Tol Skorr and Asajj Ventress were all out in the field, so in theory it could be any of them, calling with some update or request. General Grievous was another option, but he was headed back after breaking the Republic siege of Colla IV, which in turn had resumed the primary flow of droidekas, tri-fighters and buzz droids into the ranks of the Confederacy.Or could it perhaps be Lord Sidious?Dooku frowned. Several months ago now, Darth Sidious had implemented a dark side ritual, causing a Sith powered Force storm to ravage Coruscant, for reasons best known to himself. However, since then, his master had seemed largely…distracted, indeed, even unsettled at times during their correspondences. It was most bewildering. Throughout all their time as partners, conspiring to bring the Republic and the Jedi to their knees, his master had always seemed supremely in control, poised to achieve the final victory of the Sith. But recently…Reaching the holocomm unit, Dooku activated it and was greeted by the death’s head visage of the Supreme Commander of the droid armies, General Grievous. A brilliant tactician, brutal warrior and infamous Jedi killer, he was exactly who the Sith needed to whittle down the Republic and the Jedi, until the happy time when they could be rid of them for good.“What is it general?” he asked, as Grievous bowed.“My lord, my ship picked up on a distress signal after we left Colla IV. I diverted to respond, and found the Invulnerable adrift in space,” he reported, and Dooku kept his face impassive.The Invulnerable was one of their Providence class cruisers, however, Grievous knew better than to interrupt him with news of a lost ship, “once I boarded the vessel, it seemed as though something had ransacked it. The droids were ripped apart, and the crewmen had been slaughtered.”That, he supposed, was interesting. The Jedi (well, at least officially) wouldn’t go round slaughtering the relatively innocent crew of one of their warships, particularly when the crew, which consisted mostly of cowardly Neimoidians, would surrender as soon as they heard a clone sneeze, let alone board the ship shooting.“A Republic Star Destroyer was also present, but did nothing when we arrived. The ship was called the Dogmatic.” Grievous explained, and Dooku thought for a second.Being a former Jedi, the apprentice of Darth Sidious, and also the head of state of the Confederacy, he made a conscious effort to keep a tab of all the flagships of the most prominent Jedi; the Negotiator, for Obi-Wan Kenobi; the Impavid, for Saesee Tiin; the Guarlara for Shaak Ti etc. The Dogmatic, which only stuck out in his mind as he felt it should be Yoda’s flagship due to his less than enlightened leadership of the Jedi Order, was currently the flagship of Z’Meer Bothu, a skilled but admittedly dogmatic Jedi Master.“We boarded the ship. It seems as though the Invulnerable was attacked by something, boarded by some force. The Dogmatic arrived and investigated. I don’t know what happened on board that ship my lord, but the crew was butchered, ripped apart as though by some wild animal. And then, my lord, I discovered this…” he told him, his metallic fingers moving as he transmitted a file to his overlord.Dooku watched as the holo flickered to life. Clone troopers, torn asunder, their armour rent open by some feral attack, decorated the screen, the blood from the dead clones smeared and splattered up the floors and walls of the Star Destroyer. In the midst of the massacred clones stood Z’Meer Bothu. A pretty woman, her hair was styled into bunches on the side of her head, with a distinctive red facial marking. Her robes were torn, bloodied in several places, and she had her blue lightsaber raised in front of her face, an expression on her face that one rarely saw in a Jedi:Fear.Dooku could well see why. A hulking, skeletal starweird stood before her, and in the shadows of the holo, he could see other starweirds materialise out of the shadows, surrounding the Jedi. Z’Meer took a deep, steadying breath before trying to cut the starweird in front of her in two, lunging at it with a desperate slash. The starweird merely moved out of her way before its hand snapped out, grabbing Z’Meer by the throat and hoisting her into the air, her lightsaber clattering to the floor. The angle of the camera allowed Dooku to see Z’Meer desperately trying to bring the Force to bear, to call her saber back into her hand, but the fear, the terror on her face, it was clear she couldn’t overcome it. The starweird cocked it’s head, and Dooku watched in a sort of fascinated horror as it’s claws glowed, before plunging its talons deep into Z’Meer’s body. Despite the lack of sound, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that she had just screamed in agonising pain, her head tilting back as she screamed. And as the claws pulsed, Z’Meer’s body started to jerk, convulse. Her skin became taut, her body growing in length, her hair going white, her body receding, becoming skeletal, nightmarish. Dooku felt a touch queasy as he watched Z’Meer Bothu, previously a Jedi Master, get turned into a starweird right in front of him, the only hint of her former existence being a darkened emblem on her face as she joined the ranks of the starweirds.“I got this from the security records of the Dogmatic. What exactly does it mean Count?” Grievous asked curiously, and Dooku frowned, considering what he had seen.That was the real question, he supposed. Darth Sidious had informed him of Skywalker’s encounter with a starweird, however, he had believed at the time that it was just a one off encounter. After all, it wasn’t like it was unheard of. If he recalled correctly, Master Tyvokka had encountered a starweird when he had been an apprentice, and he was fairly sure Master Yaddle had always told the story of the time she had encountered one as a Halloween treat for the younglings. But now, now it seemed something had changed.Starweirds actively attacking warships, targeting Jedi. And if their intelligence reports were to be believed, something was attacking Republic warships too, and several of their Star Destroyers, including their Jedi commanders, were all MIA. Were all these disappearances the fault of the starweirds?He knew little about these creatures. However, if they were going from becoming an oddity into a curiosity, and from a nuisance into a hindrance, then he would have to take action.But first thing first.“Destroy both ships General,” he ordered, noting that Grievous’ eyes widened in shock, “whatever happened on that ship we would do well to contain it. If Master Z’Meer was still herself, I have no doubt you would be able to overcome her with no great difficulty, but as it seems she has now been transformed into a starweird, perhaps it’s best to err on the side of caution. Tell me General, have any more of our vessels gone missing?”Grievous’ face betrayed nothing, but he did bow his head, making Dooku frown.“Nothing that I thought particularly worth mentioning my lord, we lost a Munificent last week however I believed it to have fallen foul of the Maw, it was passing close to Kessel after all. And a Recusant is also missing, however it did report significant damage before it jumped to hyperspace, so I assumed it had been scuttled or lost in hyperspace. Do you think whatever happened on those two ships I found affected the missing ones too?”Dooku frowned. So, three missing ships (that they knew of) combined with several missing Republic Star Destroyers and Jedi. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he would be a fool to discount it.“I don’t think we can discount the possibility General. Destroy the ships, then return to base. Leave this starweird problem to me.” He ordered, and Grievous bowed before his image flickered out.Curious, Dooku mused to himself. Starweirds attacking both sides of the war effort, targeting Jedi…and perhaps this new development was something to do with why his master had been so unfocused recently. Something to consider.Especially, he mused, if the starweirds were existing outside his master’s careful constructed Grand Plan to destroy the Republic and the Jedi. Such a thing could prove crucial as the war continued to develop, as it could serve as a distraction for Darth Sidious.And if his master was distracted, well…there can only be two.A master and an apprentice.One to embody power, the other to crave it.Until death changed the equation.Yes, Dooku thought, sweeping towards his library, this should be watched with great interest. XX The toil of war was apparent across the galaxy nowadays. With the third-year anniversary of the Battle of Geonosis not far off, the populace of the galaxy was tired of the fighting. At every level, signs of the long conflict were becoming more and more apparent.Even here on Coruscant.Foreboding grey clouds trundled overhead, and distant echoes of thunder rumbled from afar. The crews that governed the delicate ecological status of the planet-wide cityscape had all been drafted for various other parts of the war effort, leaving only skeleton or droid crews behind to maintain the city’s weather.And now, as the war trundled on with no end in sight, even above the Jedi Temple the signs of the long conflict continued to show, with dirt marring the once gleaming spires, the dark clouds plunging the ancient building into shadow, and the traffic that skirted the temple no longer consisting mainly of tour buses, luxury speeders or the vehicles of Republic officials, but rather speeder bikes, gunships, starfighters and other machines of war all coming and going instead.The chamber atop one of the four spires held the Jedi High Council, and even they had been changed by the war. As time went on, meetings that had brought the entire Council together all at once had been few and far between, with the various Council members pursuing their own tasks. However, it seemed as though with the advent of the Separatist Crisis they had been forced to meet as a whole body all the more often. Now, with the war nearly three years old and the Jedi Council charged with the heavy responsibility of prosecuting the war, the Council did meet as a whole body with an almost alarming frequency as they planned strategy. However, the whole Council was rarely present in the temple on Coruscant, with some of them scattered across the galaxy directing the Outer Rim Sieges.What was more, there were also some changes.Plo Koon was currently trying to subdue the various Neimoidian purse worlds which helped to bankroll the Trade Federation, which in turn was the largest contributor to the Confederacy’s war chest. Plo was currently attending via hologram from Koru Neimoidia, from his flagship, the Triumphant.Mace Windu, the Master of the Order, was actually present on Coruscant, and was sitting with his fingers together, his mind clearly abuzz as they waited for everyone to report in, the war having darkened his soul in a way he had never imagined possible.Master Yoda was also attending via hologram. The Grand Master was still on Coruscant, though was stuck at a defence committee session, and had used the recess to swap one meeting for another.Ki-Adi-Mundi was currently orbiting Mygeeto, about to launch an invasion of the world that was one of the remaining mainstays of the Intergalactic Banking Clans financial contributors, and was commanding from the bridge of the Spirit of the Republic.Saesee Tiin had just entered the room, looking slightly worse for wear, having been working to integrate the new Eta-2 starfighters into their starfighter fleet.Shaak Ti was on Coruscant, having been given a temporary leave of absence from her job of overseeing the cloning project on Kamino (Master Ph’ton, a member of the Old Guard of heir apparent Jedi who would be in the running for the next Council seat, had replaced her to give her a break), and she was currently helping Madam Nu organise and catalogue the Archives.Even Piell was present in person, his face grimmer than it usually appeared, as his former Padawan, Jax Pavan, was currently on his first solo mission since his knighting, and he was trying to convince himself that he wasn’t worried about his former apprentice.Oppo Rancisis, the great Jedi tactician and the main guiding hand behind the Jedi’s efforts in the Clone Wars other than Yoda and Mace, was also present by hologram. The bearded and serpentine Jedi Master was en route back to Coruscant, and was currently at a layover at Anaxes, on board his flagship, the Overseer.Adi Gallia was also currently off-planet, on Lok at present, cooperating with Nym and the Lok Revenants about protecting convoys that were heading to resupply their forces in the Outer Rim Sieges due to the lack of ships available due to the scale of the undertaking.Kit Fisto, who had replaced Coleman Trebor following his death on Geonosis, had just arrived back on planet himself, however the lateness of the hour did nothing to dull his spirits, as he had entered the chamber with his usual cheery smile.Agen Kolar, the other newest addition to the Council who had replaced Eeth Koth after he was lost at Geonosis, was dressed in bounty hunter armour as he was undercover, checking a lead for Master Tholme, and was currently on the Wheel in the Mid Rim.The last member of the Council was Depa Billaba, former apprentice of Mace Windu, and she was looking calm and serene…though that was perhaps as she had managed to escape the nursery full of younglings for the meeting.Though she did muse that she may be swapping one room full of fellow Jedi who could easily devolve into a tantrum for another.Not that she would ever admit it out loud.Gone were the days of the Council making the invocation that used to precede all their sessions however, nowadays, they felt there just wasn’t enough time. However perhaps they should bring the practice back, it may sooth some tempers.“Greetings my friends. I apologise for the lateness of the hour, but we have much to discuss.” Mace began, as the Council session began dealing with their business.Three hours passed. Remarkably, everything seemed to be going fairly well, there had been no major disagreements thus far anyway, nobody had raised their voice, and nobody had strained their Jedi patience.“-should have the new starfighters all squared away by end of play tomorrow.” Saesee reported, and Yoda (who had dropped in an out of the session during breaks from the committee and was now on his way back the temple), looked thankfully at Saesee.“Well you have done, Master Tiin. Our thanks you have. Replacing all craft are we?” he asked curiously, and Saesee shook his head.“Not for the foreseeable I don’t think, Master Yoda. They have been integrated, and whichever Jedi wish to use the new fighters can do. I did wonder if we should perhaps make something of a show of one of our more prominent Generals using them, just to appease Kuat Drive Yards, but didn’t think of anyone particularly suited who’s present at the moment.” He concluded, and Adi nodded.Privately, she was relieved. She had done a considerable amount of work to ensure that the Delta-7 was adequately suited for the Jedi, and despite the policy of no attachments, she was rather fond of her fighter. And besides…the Eta-2 might be faster overall but the Delta-7 had more endurance and a shade more firepower, which was always useful in these current times, particularly in her case when her closest ally was a pirate kingpin with a penchant for attracting trouble.With the business of the fighters sorted, Ki raised the next question.“My forces are now in position to commence our assault on Mygeeto. Am I to receive any Jedi reinforcements?” he asked curiously, and Oppo stroked his beard, contemplating the issue.“Do you not feel you have enough firepower, Master Mundi?” he asked in concern, and Ki’s brow furrowed.“In terms of clones and ships, I feel I should be fine. However, Masters Eon and Rivi-Anu and I will need to manage assault forces between the three of us, and with the enemy as entrenched as they are, I do wonder if we’ll be able to apply the needed pressure on all the fronts of the planet in order to ensure it falls in a timely manner.”Oppo looked at Yoda, and Mace, their faces clouded. The largest issue at the moment was that they simply didn’t have enough Jedi, what with numerous fronts opening up all the time and losing Jedi daily, it was difficult to assign the needed Jedi. However, Mygeeto was a fairly integral planet to the Confederacy, so perhaps more Jedi should be applied.“We can look at the situation. Perhaps we can send someone else to the front to aid in your assault, perhaps even sublet the job to Master Kota?” Mace suggested, and Ki nodded.“My former apprentice, Bultar, was meant to join you on Mygeeto,” Plo chimed in, sounding amused, “however the outbreak of the Androxian flu at Kaliida Shoals necessitated her being redeployed to help with the case load there due to her healing experience, and the fact that her troops have learned a lot from her in terms of treating wounds and minor diseases. She has had to replace Master Allie.”Adi stifled a grin. She shouldn’t laugh, but her poor cousin Stass had contacted her and had told her of the outbreak, which had proceeded to infect ninety seven percent of the entire medical facility in the space of twenty-four hours. Thankfully, they were able to cope, and unless they were very unlucky, nobody would die despite the virulence of the disease, but seeing poor Stass, her nose bright red, her bright blues eyes bloodshot and streaming, tissue stuck up her nose and the entire space station in a similar state…well, there was a reason she was profoundly glad that her talents didn’t extend to healing.However, from a professional point of view, it was quite annoying that they had to send a perfectly good Jedi, with the best first-aid trained clones in the army, to Kaliida in order to alleviate the case load in order to get everybody else who was there back in the field quicker.“Master Gallia, did Nym agree to escort our convoys going out past Lok?” Agen asked, throwing a concerned look over his shoulder (it sounded as though people were fighting on the Wheel, and if tempers flared, he may have to go and intervene).Adi nodded, though did look hesitant.“Yes, he did agree…in exchange for a favour.” She admitted, and Shaak Ti quirked a quick smile, almost teasing, which faded from her face before anyone saw it…except Adi.“Another favour?” she asked, sounding perfectly professional, and Adi used the Force to ensure that she did not blush.“Yes. In addition to his normal fee, he has requested that I join him on a mission. Vana Sage has located Reti. He wants to go and liberate Reti from his captors, and has asked that I join him.”Mace looked less than impressed.“Adi, I know Nym is a valuable ally…” he began, and she nodded.“Yes, he is a valuable ally. And what’s more, Reti was the one who set up our initial contact with Nym. If it wasn’t for Reti, we might not have known in time about the extent of the threat Cavik Toth presented at Geonosis, and he could well have massacred our forces. We owe him.” She replied curtly, and Even nodded.“Indeed. Geonosis was bad enough without the possibility of having been bombarded with trihexalon weapons. And I fear we have forgotten the challenge Master Qui-Gon once set us of late; help one person. The war has left us concerned only with the big picture, and even then, events dictate that we cannot fully devote our attention to the mess this war has made of the galaxy. People are slipping through the cracks daily, and even our work with the wounded, like Masters Swan, Allie and Offee, our work with the clones like Master Ti and Master Ph’ton, our work with the younglings like Master Billaba, and even our work with the refugees like Master Rancisis, all together, we are still barely making a dent in all the hurt this war has inflicted. If we can help one person, especially a friend, and if it helps keep Nym happy, and he has proven a vital asset, we should honour his request.” The grim, battle-scarred master declared, to hearty nods of approval.“Agreed. Well said Master Piell.” Plo congratulated, inclining his head, and Even nodded thankfully.Mace did smile, though did look slightly nettled, but nodded nevertheless.“Very well Adi, approved. And besides,” he told her, his eyebrow quirked in amusement, “it’s not like you’d return before you saw him safely home anyway.”Kit grinned, and winked at Adi before leaning forward, his fingers steepled in front of his face as he brought his own question to the session.“Have we discovered any more about the loss of the Hand of Justice?” he asked, and the atmosphere in the room changed somewhat as many of the Council members suddenly looked towards Mace.Several months ago, Anakin Skywalker had been hitching a ride in one of the ship’s belonging to Master Kota’s private militia, the Hand of Justice. A Separatist warlord who had been imprisoned on the ship was being escorted into Republic custody, however, a desperate spy fuelled by their addiction had betrayed the ship, sabotaging the vessel and trapping it in hyperspace. As the ship and the situation had deteriorated, Anakin and former Jedi Ferus Olin had both been beset by a starweird, a skeletal, interdimensional being that was the stuff of story book legend. Most of the crew had been killed, and from all reports, Anakin, Ferus and the remaining survivors had barely escaped with their lives.The situation had seemed, horrific though it was, to be an open and shut case. Norex, the Ubese warlord who had been on board, was dead. The Ubese hated the Jedi as a result, however, the Ubese as a whole hated Jedi anyway, so that was hardly news. Master Kota had mourned the loss of his comrades, however Naval Command had dispatched a new Arquitens class cruiser to replace the Hand. Ferus had returned to working with Kota’s militia.It was Anakin that was the problem.Upon his return, and after reading the reports of both Anakin and Ferus, Mace had elected to confine Anakin to Coruscant. Anakin wasn’t happy about this, and had been cooped up in the temple ever since. The Council, by and large, with the exception of Yoda, who Mace had informed of his private beliefs, and Depa, who as Mace’s former apprentice was able to find out things her master wished she wouldn’t, had largely believed this was simply Anakin being given an extended period of leave due to being out in the front lines for so long, and that there was more to investigate that they were waiting to hear back about.However, that wasn’t the case.Mace Windu had a rare ability to see shatterpoints, incidences were if pressure was applied in some way, a whole situation could be made to change. Upon reading Anakin and Ferus’ report (taking particular interest in Ferus’ belief that the starweird was targeting Anakin in particular, and for reasons other than his murder in mind), Mace perceived a crucial shatterpoint, concerning Anakin, the attack of the mysterious starweird, and some other nebulous aspect, which Mace couldn’t yet quite perceive. While reluctant to ground Anakin (as even Mace had to admit, Anakin got results out on the field), upon discussing the mysterious shatterpoint surrounding Anakin and his bizarre and inexplicable encounter with the starweird, Mace reluctantly suggested that they ground Anakin, which, while arguing against, Yoda had acquiesced to.Since then, Mace had been working tirelessly to try to decipher the meaning of this shatterpoint, though he had to admit, he’d made virtually no headway.Mace looked at Yoda’s hologram, which to his surprise then flickered out of existence. However, the door then opened and the Grand Master shuffled into the room, his face inscrutable as he peered at Mace, clearly ceding the decision to him.Mace sighed, however, he had made no progress. He couldn’t help but feel that the shatterpoint he had perceived was vitally important, and he believed that it wasn’t just important for Anakin, but the war, perhaps the entire Republic, if not the whole galaxy. But he had gotten nowhere, and one of their best generals was cooped up on Coruscant.“The Hand was destroyed through a combination of sabotage, Separatist inflicted damage, and by the presence of a starweird. However…I must confess, upon receiving Anakin’s report, I perceived a shatterpoint. This shatterpoint, whatever it is, I felt it was vitally important. Not just for Anakin, or what happened, but larger, perhaps to do with the war, the whole Republic, I don’t know. But the shatterpoint I sensed, combined with Ferus Olin’s report that the starweird seemed particularly interested in Anakin, informed my decision to ground Anakin, until further notice.”The ripple went across the Council chamber, almost imperceptible, but it was there. Depa winced. Ever since the war had begun, the Council chamber had become less a place of serenity, and becoming more akin to the senate chamber. And while the Council remained friends outside of the confines of this chamber, their bonds as colleagues were becoming strained.Particularly when many on the Council were feeling increasingly sidelined and dismissed by Yoda and Mace, who for all their protestations of Palpatine assuming more and more authority, were doing something very similar with the Jedi Order. Not intentionally, and in many late night conversations (or rants, if she was being honest) it was believed it wasn’t even being done knowingly, but nonetheless it was being done, and the Council as a whole believed (with a couple of exceptions) that it was there simply to rubber stamp what the Grand Master and the Master of the Order wanted done.And to ground Anakin, the prophesised Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force, and who was one of their best generals, on the orders of Mace who hadn’t even discussed it with the rest of the Council, all it would need would be…“You grounded Master Skywalker without the approval of the rest of the Council?” Oppo asked in a soft voice.While the Thisspiasian was the image of serenity, his eyes flashed with steely anger, and Depa inwardly cursed. Oppo was a lifetime member of the Jedi Council, just like Yoda, Mace, Plo and Kit (who had replaced Coleman Trebor, who had in turn replaced Yarael Poof), and he had been present when Mace had sidestepped protocol once before, back during the Yinchorri Uprising. That little sidestep had cost them two Jedi, Naeshahn and her apprentice Ebor Taulk. While within his rights to send Jedi on missions without reference to the rest of the Council due to his role as Master of the Order, the fact that he didn’t and it cost them two Jedi had drawn ire from the Council at the time, including rather prominently Oppo’s former master, Yaddle. The revered Jedi teacher had spent a lot of time in the archives following her escape from Koba, and revealed that had she been consulted could have told Mace, Naeshahn and Ebor that Yinchorri were immune to influence from the Force, a fact that the ignorance of which had led to the death of Naeshahn and her Padawan. Yaddle had chastised Mace at the time for not going to the Council, and it seemed as though Oppo, arguably the most prominent on the council due to his role as the Order’s main strategist, was now emulating his former teacher’s example taking Mace to task.While Oppo was largely impassive, Depa could tell he was infuriated. What was more, the rest of the Council were likely forming along battle lines too. Saesee, while his face remained inscrutable, was one of Anakin’s more ardent supporters on the Council, and would speak out in his favour. Kit was also a proponent of Anakin’s, as was Agen. Plo was also usually more on Anakin’s side than not.Shaak Ti, Adi, Even and Ki were genuinely neutral. While they wouldn’t go out the way to fight for Anakin if they believed he was in the wrong, they would fight for him if he had done the right thing, and all four respected him for various reasons. Oppo was currently about to lead the charge, and while not a particular fan of Anakin at times, he needed his skill at commanding battles.And with those battle lines drawn in the sand, that would leave Depa, Mace and Yoda with the rest ganging up on them.And then…well, it would depend on how things went.Sometimes, there would be polite disagreement, and a cold atmosphere. Other times however, it looked like a microcosm of the Jedi Civil War, without the dead Jedi.So far.Mace nodded, looking grim.“Yes Master Oppo. I realise that the Council has procedures, however, when I sensed the shatterpoint linked to Anakin and the starweirds, I elected to make a decision. I’m trying to protect him.” He informed them earnestly, and Adi raised her eyebrow sceptically.“Mace, you are within your rights as Master of the Order and as a senior member of the Council to make unilateral decisions such as this, however you have essentially sealed Anakin in the temple, on top of depriving us of his skill on the battlefield, without due reference even to him or the rest of us! Had you consulted us, we could well have examined the situation better!” she scolded, and Oppo, his eyes still sharp, glanced at Mace, and to those who knew him, it was obvious that the serpentine master was irritated.“And I would have thought that you learned the last time. We work as a committee, we all talk things over before deciding them for a reason Master Windu, to gain greater insights into the problem, in order to reduce the risk of any one unilateral decision. Had you debated with us, we could well have discovered more of the truth of this shatterpoint, gained greater insight. And it was also a mistake not to tell Skywalker about your concerns.” He chided, and Mace opened his mouth, before bowing his head.“I can offer only my apologies my friends. I was acting in what I believed was Anakin’s best interests. But as you say Master Oppo, indeed as Master Yaddle also told me, had I consulted you, I may indeed have found greater insight into the problem.” He admitted, looking ever so slightly sheepish.There was a ripple across the Council chamber, as apparently satisfied, the tension started to ebb out of the room, to the relief of Depa. Shaak Ti however still looked annoyed.“So, it’s your fault Anakin has been in the Archives daily, hunting for every little morsel of information he can find about the starweirds!” she declared, and Saesee chuckled.“Isn’t that a good thing? It’s not like he spent much time in the Archives when he was a Padawan.”Shaak Ti glowered at him. In their roles as members of the Jedi Council, they were (well, before the war anyway) expected to teach several classes to the younger students, be they younglings or Padawans. Shaak Ti taught two classes, one on the use of the Makashi lightsaber form, and the other on Jedi history. Needless to say, Anakin hadn’t exactly been a model student for her history classes.“Well yes, for a change it is nice to see him researching, but he doesn’t put anything back where he finds it, it drives Madam Nu mad, and then she rants to me, which in turn drives me mad! And now I find out that it’s actually Mace’s fault he’s in the Archives so much, investigating snippets of news, old mission files from everyone from the Jedi Exile to Master Tyvokka, all the while hunting for any information on starweirds! It looks like an engine’s backfired in the Archives by the time he’s finished, and all because you didn’t tell him!” she raged, while Mace remained impassive.And then (it wasn’t obvious who started it) there was a chuckle, and very soon the entire Jedi Council was laughing, taking a break from the constant stress and tension that had plagued them the last three years since the advent of the war. At times, their arguments were almost bordering on violent, but with the serious aspect of their chiding of Mace out the way, they allowed Shaak Ti’s rant to break the tension, giving them all a much-needed laugh. And as she scowled, her eyes amused, Mace did incline his head to her in apology.“You have my sincerest apologies Master Ti, and I will also relay as much to Madam Nu. I was wrong not to inform Anakin, at least of my belief. And I admit, I may have been overzealous in confining him to the temple, not the least doing so without giving him any indication of what the reasoning was. I was trying to keep him safe, however, as you say, I may have made the situation worse by doing so.”The Council nodded, and after all, Anakin was rather impetuous, what if he had headed off into danger as he had at Geonosis? Admittedly, that was mostly the fault of Senator Amidala, but even so.Yoda, still with a smile on his face, then turned serious, looking concerned.“In regards to this, information I have. Missing are some Republic warships.” He informed them, and the various other Council members looked at the Grand Master in concern.“Missing warships?” Agen asked, before holding a finger up to forestall any discussion.There was then a blaster bolt, an incoherent yell, and the sound of feet scurrying away from his holo image before he returned looking proud of himself, a small grin on his face.“That’ll teach them. You were saying Master?” he asked as though nothing had happened.Yoda looked at him in vague alarm, before continuing on with his story.“Missing are several ships, including those commanded by Jedi. Presumed lost they are. The Dogmatic, the Liberation, the Vigilance…missing they are. What’s more, confirmed to have entered hyperspace by their escorts they were. Arrived did their escorts, just not the warships themselves. Other ships missed their check-ins they have. Fear the worst, does Republic intelligence.” He explained, and the Council exchanged alarmed looks.The loss of three warships was bad enough, especially with the delicate nature of the war of late. But the fact that each of them was commanded by a Jedi General was of even greater concern. That meant that Z’Meer Bothu, Salmara and her Padawan Dray, and the twin sisters Tiplar and Tiplee could all be lost as well. And the fact that the Venators were lost, yet the support ships such as their fighters and frigates made it to their destination…“One could be an accident. Two is a coincidence. Three is a pattern.” Kit said darkly, no longer wearing his trademark smile, and Agen nodded, looking concerned.“I’d be inclined to agree. Especially with the news I’ve been hearing while on mission. Separatist warships are also missing. One of their Providence class cruisers seems to have disappeared without a trace. Now ordinarily that would be a good thing, but in this instance…” he suggested gravely, and Ki stroked his beard thoughtfully.“Then perhaps there is more than we know going on here. Do we really think that the starweirds could be something to do with this?” he asked in concern, and Plo looked thoughtfully at his colleagues.“Master Tyvokka told me the tale of when he once encountered a starweird, just as Master Yaddle liked to tell her story,” he explained, gesturing at Oppo, who inclined his head, “and he believed they were a naturally dangerous enemy. They emerge from their home dimension simply to prey, to cull and feed, like any predator, but that’s it. However, the instances of starweird attacks over a year, they must be rather miniscule at the best of times, perhaps maybe a hundred starweird attacks annually, even accounting the ones we don’t learn about. However, this seems, if they are indeed behind the disappearance of our ships, that they are growing in frequency, and if they are targeting our warships, also intensity. If our ships are being targeting by some mysterious force, particularly if it is indeed the starweirds, then we must take action.”Yoda closed his eyes, trying to decipher the various eddies of the ever-more murky Force, to try and diving the course of action they should try and take. Mace however felt that omnipresent shatterpoint associated with Anakin, the starweirds and whatever other nebulous thread he was detecting, and still unable to make heads or tails of.Oppo was also contemplating in silence, before raising a long finger, an idea coming to mind.“Perhaps Masters, we should make use of what is available to us. We know Master Skywalker has encountered the starweirds before, giving him a more unique insight. Perhaps we should have him investigate this matter?” he suggested, and Mace looked at him in shock.“What, send him directly to look for the starweirds?” he exclaimed, Oppo’s suggestion having him caught off guard.“Well, he raises a good point master. You haven’t made any progress in deciphering the shatterpoint you sensed relating to Anakin and the starweirds. Perhaps this will help uncover the truth of the matter?” Depa suggested, and while Mace did look shocked, he did nod, the idea did have merit.“He would need to be told that we suspect they are deliberately targeting him of course.” Even added, and Agen looked hopefully at the senior masters.“And if we could send someone with him, just in case Master Windu is correct about the starweirds interest in him…” he added, however, Plo shook his head.“Master Kenobi is currently with me, trying to deal with the purse worlds.” He dismissed, and Kit shrugged.“It doesn’t have to be Obi-Wan. What about Ferus Olin, he worked well with him last time did he not?” he asked, and Adi pursed her lips.She remembered all too well that in their youth Anakin and Ferus simply didn’t get on. However, they did seem to have worked well, and found a new appreciation for one another during their misadventure on the Hand of Justice. Perhaps it would be alright.She still thought Anakin was a bad influence on Ferus though.“Hmm. A good idea this is. Tried to protect Anakin you did Master Windu. Meant well you did. But our lack of information, a hindrance it is. If with this course, reveal the truth we can, take the chance we should. Contact Master Kota, I will. Information we need. Darker, the galaxy becomes. A little more knowledge we need, to light our way.”And with that, the Council session was dismissed, the various images flickering out, as the meeting came to an end. As the other members left the room, Mace remained sitting in his chair, waving off Depa’s concerned look, and she shrugged, hastily hurrying to catch up with Adi and Shaak Ti for a gossip.The shatterpoint was still there. In fact, he felt, as he reached into the Force, that it had just become slightly clearer, more defined. Not clearer in the sense that he could decipher what it meant, or even what it involved. But clearer in the sense that when the situation did eventually shatter, the whole galaxy could well be forever changed.He hadn’t been lying. He had been trying to protect Anakin from the starweirds. Their unnatural interest in him was alarming to say the least. What would Force monsters from a different dimension want with the Chosen One? But in addition to his fears about the starweirds focus on Anakin, the boy himself remained an issue.Vastly powerful, rather undisciplined, arrogant, highly skilled, but not in control of his emotions, and all too friendly with Palpatine, who the Jedi were growing increasingly distrustful of as the war trundled on.The boy…Mace didn’t know what to do about him. But perhaps this mission would help to define the situation a bit better.Mace frowned to himself. He didn’t trust Anakin, that was the crux of the matter. But could this mission to investigate what was happening to their ships help with that?He sighed. If nothing else, unorthodox and outside of Jedi doctrine as he generally was, Anakin was highly skilled and effective, and would do well. If nothing else, he would succeed in his mission, and find their missing Jedi brothers and sisters.But as it was Anakin they were sending, he mused with a small smile, there would likely be a trail of wreckage following in his wake. XX Anakin felt his stomach flip as he piloted the BARC speeder he had taken from the temple towards the Senate Apartment Complex. He hadn’t been here since before Geonosis, when he had left with Padme, taking her to Naboo…before her tragic death on Geonosis. He hadn’t been back, he’d procrastinated it, the memories of the first person he had ever loved far too painful and vivid for him to willingly come here, especially when it was his fault that she was dead, just like it was his fault that his mother was dead, he simply wasn’t strong enough. They were dead because of him, it was his fault…Anakin shook himself as he approached the landing veranda. No, he wouldn’t dwell on those thoughts. Jedi opinions on emotions and attachments aside, it made him feel morose and useless. And he certainly didn’t want to feel morose and useless.Besides, recently he’d been too busy feeling angry, frustrated, trapped, singled out, bored and isolated to feel anything else.Ever since leaving Kashyyyk following their harrowing encounter with the starweird, he’d essentially been on lockdown. He hadn’t been given any missions, hadn’t been sent back out into the field, he hadn’t been able to do anything! He’d been going crazy, trapped in the temple with nothing to do, with no missions, no Obi-Wan, and no news! He got the news coming through the temple (despite Jedi protestations, the place was a hotbed of gossip) but he didn’t know anything about why he’d been locked up in the temple ever since he’d returned from the encounter with the starweird.However, he did begin to wonder. As he was in the temple, he’d been asked to give some lessons to the younglings and to the Padawans. Despite his protestations to Master Billaba, he admittedly had enjoyed teaching the rugrats. The older Padawans he’d shown tricks on repairing their gear out in the field as part of his lesson on starfighter maintenance (the fact that he mentioned he’d beat Saesee Tiin in a race in his starfighter had innocently slipped out), and the younglings he’d been supervising one of their early lightsaber sessions, and had enjoyed it. He’d die before he’d admit it, but he thought it was pretty cute when all these little kids in their little training helmets were looking up at him with their tiny training sabers, fighting against remotes, and learning from him how to hold their lightsaber.But as he spent more time in the temple, he did begin to hear some of the gossip. Some of the students, particularly the older ones, all seemed to think he was crazy. And not the crazy Obi-Wan asked if he was every time he came up with a hare-brained scheme (which to his credit, usually worked), but actually crazy. They seemed to think he was on lockdown because of the whole starweird incident, perhaps believing he’d imagined the whole thing, or that he’d been the one who’d done it. While rather offended, Anakin did also begin to wonder; was that the reason he’d been locked up for months? Did the Council think he’d imagined the starweird, that he was dangerous, a threat? Did they think he’d made it up?He had tried to dismiss it, after all, he had the wounds to prove he’d met the starweird, and he’d also read the reports from the surviving members of the Hand’s crew, and Ferus had also reported the whole thing, but he couldn’t help but feel that they were keeping him isolated because of what happened with the starweird.Either way, despite the fact that he had to come back to the place where Padme had lived, he was happy to be out of the temple, as he brought the bike to a stop, and grinned as he heard the hum of servometers.“Oh, Master Ani! It’s so good to see you!” C-3PO exclaimed happily as he emerged onto the veranda, the Coruscant sun bouncing off his gold plating, and Anakin, despite the pain he felt in his heart at being back here, couldn’t help but smile as he saw his old droid.“It’s good to see you too Threepio. How have you been?” he asked, chatting with his droid as Threepio led him into the apartment, the droid recounting his various adventures, and misadventures, to his creator.After Geonosis, with no use for a protocol droid at the temple, Anakin had loaned Threepio to Jar Jar. After all, with Padme’s unexpected death, Jar Jar had suddenly become the senator for Naboo, propelling him to greater responsibility, and the hapless Gungan would be struggling to play catch up. Jar Jar had been very grateful for the loan, and Threepio had been an invaluable aide to him as he grew into his role as senator for Naboo. In thanks, Jar Jar had loaned Anakin R2-D2, reasoning that with the advent of the war, he would need an astromech to help pilot his fighter, and Anakin had gratefully accepted. Anakin had actually been quite glad that before the whole starweird mess, he’d had Artoo remain behind in order to help Saesee implement some suggested tweaks and upgrades to the new Jedi starfighters, however, Artoo was now nearly free, as the project was nearly done, and hopefully that meant the two of them would be able to fly together next time Anakin was allowed off planet.The apartment had a more humid air than the last time Anakin had been here, and the blues that Padme had favoured had been changed to a more greenish shade of blue since Jar Jar had become the full senator. Threepio led Anakin to the living room, then toddled off to fetch some refreshments, which Anakin really wished he hadn’t. Padme had been here, she’d lived here, he’d seen her here, looking just as beautiful as when he had first met her all those years ago and to be here when she wasn’t, and it was his fault…“Ani? Ani!” a joyous cry erupted form behind him, startling him out of his misery as the lanky form of Jar Jar Binks, senator from Naboo, emerged into the room and wrapped Anakin into a tight hug, and Anakin couldn’t help but smile as he returned it.“Hi Jar Jar.” He replied, as the Gungan smiled at him.“Mesa so happy to be seeing yousa Ani. Yousa looking well.” He complimented, gesturing for Anakin to sit, and he did, grinning at the Gungan.Once, many years before, Obi-Wan had privately admitted to Anakin, during the early days of Anakin’s apprenticeship, that when they had first met him, Obi-Wan had dismissed Jar Jar as being an annoying distraction who was of little consequence. However, by the time the Battle of Naboo was over, Obi-Wan had admitted that he was so glad to admit that he had been wrong.After all, once the battle was over, and Qui-Gon had been put in a place of honour, while Obi-Wan was sitting mourning his master, it hadn’t been another Jedi who had come to check on Obi-Wan. It had been Jar Jar. The Gungan was an unintentional hero, a vital link between the Naboo and the Gungans, and he had taken time out of the duties that Padme and Boss Nass needed him to perform simply to come and sit with his friend on a bench, and mourn the loss of Qui-Gon together.For his part, Anakin had always been very fond of him. Having grown up in Mos Espa, he was no stranger to exotic aliens, but there was just something endearing about Jar Jar. At their first meeting, when Anakin had interceded to stop the Gungan being pulverised by Sebulba, the two had spent their journey home from the market place chatting. When they had left Tatooine, the two of them had bonded over the fact that they were both now displaced, and telling stories about their worlds. And Jar Jar had happily hugged him when he had found out that it had been him that had destroyed the Droid Control Ship, and even when Anakin began his Jedi training, every few months, Jar Jar would send a message, asking what Anakin had been up to, asking how his studies were going, and also regaling Anakin (and Obi-Wan at times) with his own tales of his life, and his misadventures caused by his clumsiness.At Padme’s funeral on Naboo, Jar Jar had been on the front row, beside her handmaidens, Captain Panaka, Captain Typho and Governor Bibble, while the other front row had been her family. As the funeral ended, and Anakin and Obi-Wan both sadly paid their respects to Padme’s family, while Anakin tried not to let his emotions overwhelm him and tell her parents that it was his fault that their daughter was dead, while her nieces cried for losing their aunt, Jar Jar was there, a true loyal friend to the last. As Anakin and Obi-Wan had moved towards the exit, Jar Jar had stopped them, Obi-Wan quietly commiserating with Jar Jar. But upon seeing Anakin, the lanky Gungan, his own face streaked with tears and marred with sadness, had stepped forward and wrapped Anakin in a hug, and whispered into his ear:‘My know yousa blame yousa self. But my know. It wasn’t yous fault Ani. And my also know Padme wouldn’t want yousa to blame yousa self either. And my sorry about yous mum. She was a bombad lady. If yousa need to talk, yousa know where mesa is. Yousa keep in touch Ani, and stay safe.’Anakin was extraordinarily proud of that moment. Not because he’d done anything, but simply because he’d managed to get back to their shuttle and say to Obi-Wan he was going to get some rest before he’d burst into tears, the Gungan’s kindness, grief and gentle support having broke the dam that had been created with Padme’s death and finally came bursting loose.With the advent of the war, Jar Jar and Anakin met regularly, usually at the Senate, or at a restaurant, just so the two could catch up, with Obi-Wan occasionally joining them too. For his part, Anakin looked forward to their meetings, they were a pleasant intermission from the war, and well, poor Jar Jar’s various misadventures were always good for lightening his mood if nothing else.“You’re looking well too Jar Jar.” He said as the two sat down, and Threepio brought them some water.“Mesa glad to see yousa okeeday. Mesa heard about the Hand of Justice.” He said, gratefully taking his water, and Anakin looked at him in surprise.“You heard about that?” he asked, and Jar Jar nodded, winking.“Well, because mesa now full senator, mesa have to be on various committees. Mostly, itsa berry boring. But, mesa got a vacancy on the space phenomenon committee. Itsa bombad. The Hand came up, and all sorts of other tings. Tings like the Ithorian spore monster from a century or two ago, deysa have all sorts. So, mesa sit on it, and mesa actually show up and pay attention. Itsa why my wanted to see yousa. Mesa have something for you.” He said, and turned to the side table to pick up a datapad.Naturally, being Jar Jar, he knocked the lamp on the table beside him, and it promptly fell from the table. Fortunately, with a rueful grin, Anakin caught it with the Force as Jar Jar sighed resignedly, shaking his head.“Tank yu. Where was yousa when my met the queen of Onderon? In my defence, wearing white to a reception is bad bombin. Especially when mesa tipsy and armed with red wine.” He lamented, and Anakin laughed.In fact, he had heard that there was a fashion disaster at the meet and greet for the queen of Onderon. Apparently, the civil service had worked overtime to keep the real cause quiet.With the lamp now safely back on the table, Anakin accepted the datapad, his heart beating slightly faster than usual. This was information on starweirds. Admittedly, none of it was recent (the most recent was the Republic version of Master Tyvokka’s encounter with a starweird a century before, and Anakin had read the unredacted Jedi one) but there was stuff that he hadn’t found so far.“Jar Jar, this is amazing, thanks!” he said, flicking through it, there was a lot more information, or at least reports on the starweirds.It might not help explain their interest in him, or even what they wanted, but it might help him decipher it if nothing else.“Mesa got a bad feeling Ani,” Jar Jar said worriedly, looking at the datapad in distaste, “after seeing yousa name mentioned in the Hand ting, my did some investigating. Dese starweirds, deysa berry creepy. The more my read about them, seeing dese reports, the more heebejeebees mesa get. Yousa need to be careful Ani.” He told him worriedly, and despite his friend’s concern, he felt a surge of affection for Jar Jar.“Don’t worry about me Jar Jar. Thank you for this though. When you sent your message, you said you needed my help too?” he asked, and Jar Jar clicked his fingers.“My nearly forgot! Well, mesa got a problem Ani. You know our ships that are used by mesa, the queen and Padme?” he asked, and frowning, Anakin nodded.The Nubian ships were the envy of the majority of the Senate. Clad in polished chromium, each ship was designed individually by Nubia Star Drives. As Jar Jar said, they were a particular favourite of the Naboo Royal House. The first spaceship Anakin had ever been on was Padme’s J-type 327 Nubian Royal Cruiser, and it was a beautiful ship. Anakin had a lot of affection for Nubians, not just because of how well built and gorgeous the ships were, but also because it was the type of ship that took him away from a life of slavery.“Yeah, all Nubians. Queen Jamilla still has the one we were on, doesn’t she?” he asked curiously, and Jar Jar nodded.“Yes, shesa does. But see, the contract with Nubia is dissen problem. Desa contract states that the ships must be seen at least occasionally. Queen Jamilla’s ship, dat fine. Shesa was at a sector security conference two weeks ago on Chommell Minor. As for mesa, mesa need the big J-type barge.” Jar Jar explained airily, and Anakin thought for a second before the reasoning behind that decision occurred to him.“Because it has a crew, so you’re less likely to accidentally destroy it?” he teased, and Jar Jar nodded, sighing.“Mesa cursed with clumsiness. But yes, dat da reason. Captain Typho says mesa could have an accident in a vacuum.” He sighed, though did grin, and Anakin grinned too.So, the queen had the ship they had originally left Tatooine on, and Jar Jar had another version of the larger barge that had been destroyed by the bounty hunter who had been trying to kill Padme just before the outbreak of the war.But that left the smaller H-type yacht that he and Padme had taken to Geonosis.“So that’s your ship, but what about the other one?” he asked curiously, after all, the person who it had belonged to at the time aside, he was a passionate lover of ships, and the H-type was an awesome little ship.“Well, dat’s desa reason why my wanted to be seein yousa. See, the Nubians are trying to sue usen for breach of contract. Deysa say that because desa ship hasn’t been seen about as much, wesa violating the original contract as wesa not doing their advertising for them.” Jar Jar explained, and Anakin scowled.“Yeah, but that’s hardly your fault! Padme died on Geonosis, that’s why the ship isn’t being used!” he shouted angrily, and Jar Jar nodded, patting the air to calm his Jedi friend.“Mesa know. But dese Nubian contract negotiators, deysa ruthless scoundrels! So, wesa got a problem. And me and desa queen, wesa up to our ears in the poodoo if theysa decide to go ahead with dissen lawsuit, and wesa no get Nubian help, or ships, no more. Yousa see the problem?” he asked, and Anakin nodded, still nettled.It wasn’t like it was anyone’s fault, Padme had died, it wasn’t as if they had the ship and were just ignoring it, it’s owner was dead.“So, they want to take you and the Naboo Royal House to court because you’re not flying the ship around and advertising their products, so they can potentially sue you for loss of earnings as you haven’t held up your end of the contract,” he summed up, and Jar Jar looked shocked, making Anakin grin, “hey, I did my studies occasionally. Galactic law was actually quite interesting when Master Yaddle taught it. But can’t you just give it to another Naboo delegate?”Jar Jar shook his head, throwing his hands up in dismay.“Ah, but datsen part of disa problem. Wesa no have dat many dignitaries to give desa ship to. Mesa can only use desa ship with the crew, otherwise mesa have a little accidenti and likely blow mesa self up. Queen Jamilla has hersa ship. Without Padme, dersa nobody else. Big Boss Nass uses a Gungan ship, one of desa first ones wesa built after the battle. Governor Bibble, hesa getting on, and between you and mesa, a bit kwazy, hesa was found in his pyjamas in desa main fountain in Theed, hesa going gaga, so hesa no travelling as much no more. The only other high profile person wesa could maybe use, sosa not to violate the contract is desa Chancellor, and hesa got his own ships, and if hesa leave Coruscant, hesa have half the Navy with him. So, wesa stuck.”So, Nubia was essentially going to take Naboo to the cleaners, suing them for something that was well beyond anyone’s control. Eventually, it would likely be thrown out of court, but by that point, Naboo would have had to pay a fortune to Nubia.“Wait, how can I help?” he asked, and Jar Jar gave him a sly grin.“Mesa had a word with the queenie. Wesa read the contract, and all itsa says is dat desa ship must be used by someone of high profile on Naboo. Not from, on. So, itsa came to mesa. Yousa a bombad hero. Yousa blew up the Trade Federation ship when yousa was a kid! And since then, yousa become a big bombad hero Jedi. Desa Hero With No Fear. So, mesa propose that if wesa give the ship to you, wesa fulfil desa contract, get out of this nutsen poodoo and wesa all a winner!”Anakin’s mouth dropped open.“You want me to take Padme’s ship?” he exclaimed, and Jar Jar nodded emphatically.“Don’t yousa see? It’s perfect! Yousa take the ship, yousa dart around, get some coverage, wesa meet our end of the contract and den some! Yousa get a sporty new ship, mesa and queenie get out the poodoo, Nubia gets a boost in products, everybody wins!”Anakin looked at the Gungan in disbelief. The whole thing was…well, truth be told it was actually very clever. A lot of people dismissed Jar Jar as an idiot or buffoon simply because he was clumsy when he was actually far from it, he was actually quite smart, and despite his good nature, was capable of holding his own in the corridors of power on Coruscant. And well, he’d had the Twilight for a while at the start of the war, which Obi-Wan had destroyed in a crash (and he had the cheek to moan about his piloting!), and it would be nice to have another ship, and that ship, well…“You know Jedi aren’t allowed possessions right?” he asked, grinning, and Jar Jar winked.“Mesa do. That’s why mesa no giving yousa a possession, mesa giving you a loan. Totally different.”The two of them laughed, and Jar Jar reached for his datapad (knocking the whole tablet this time, which Anakin barely caught with the Force) as they got to dealing with the fine print. XX The blue lightsabers of Chiata flared to life, quickly deflecting the blaster bolt that a dying clone had shot towards her. It was a futile, last ditch attempt, and the clone had clearly been trying in vain to save his comrades by shooting at the Jedi, hoping that she would be able to deflect the blaster bolt into the skull of the starweird. However, the creature simply looked coldly at the Jedi, before continuing its inexorable advance.Fire was streaming around the prow of the Guardian as the stricken vessel was caught in the gravity well of Zeffo. As the warship was sucked into the grip of the planet, alarm klaxons blared through the ship as the space outside the vessel started to edge into atmosphere. Chiata groaned, if they were trapped in the gravity well, there was little chance of their getting out of this mess.The Guardian had been travelling through hyperspace when abruptly, a clone engineer who had been reporting to the captain of the ship had screamed, cutting off the transmission. Chiata’s Padawan, Marseph, had rushed down to the engineering section only to discover the crew all dead, their bodies torn asunder, and three skeletal, terrifying starweirds standing amidst the carnage. As the clones of the 13th Battalion marshalled to their commander, there had been a hideous screech that had echoed throughout the ship, sending many people twitching to the ground, blood leaking from their ears and eyes before they died. As bodies dropped to the floor throughout the ship, skeletal, murderous starweirds, their eerie glowing white eyes cutting through the darkness as the ship’s power flickered and died.Screams then began to fill the corridors of the Star Destroyer as starweirds materialised across the vessel, emerging in the barracks, the hangar, the medbay, and every other nerve centre of the ship. As Chiata sensed the terror of her apprentice, about to rush to his aid, a different form of starweird had shimmered into existence in the darkened bridge. More powerfully built, muscular, with a sort of chitinous crown on its head, complete with sinisterly glowing scarlet eyes, this starweird faded into existence right beside her, and only her Jedi training had allowed her to sense it’s cruel intentions in time. Somersaulting out of the way, she had barely missed death whereas everybody else at the command console had been slashed in two, their body parts dropping to the floor, blood gushing over the deck. Other starweirds had apparated into the crew pits, and were now advancing out of the pits, the numerous starweirds hulking menacingly towards the Jedi General, and the few clones who were still alive.As Chiata and the remaining clones started to battle their way down towards the hangar from the bridge, Marseph and his remaining clones were battling away from the engines, both parties beset by dozens of murderous starweirds. As Marseph and his troops tried to hurry away from the engine room, one desperate clone had thrown a thermal detonator, screaming in rage due to watching a starweird slaughter so many of his comrades. The explosive had impacted the hyperdrive, the explosion tearing into the unit and promptly ripping the Venator out of hyperspace, the whole ship shaking with the effect of its sudden drop from hyperspace.However, taken out of lightspeed so unexpectedly, and with no crew left alive on the bridge to try and control the situation, the ship had began bucking wildly, and they had dropped out of hyperspace close to the planet Zeffo.And now, the Guardian was trapped in its gravity well, smoke and flame burning from the engines and the hyperdrive at the back of the ship, and with no way to control the descent, the atmosphere was starting to burn around the prow of the vessel as it started to accelerate inexorably towards the planet surface.Chiata nodded at the clone beside her, and he opened fire, allowing her to deflect his shots up the corridor, giving her a better chance of hitting the starweird rather than risking throwing her lightsabers and leaving her defenceless. They had to get to the hangar, if they made it in time, they could get out in their fighters, their gunships, evacuate the ship and wait for rescue. And pray that the Star Destroyer didn’t detonate on impact, as if it did, it could cause untold damage to Zeffo as a whole.“General, we’re nearly there!” one clone shouted excitedly, and she allowed herself a small sigh of relief, she had thought they were close, all they had to do was hold out a little while longer…“Master!” Marseph cried in panic as he and his remaining clones, all of them performing a fighting retreat, emerged into the corridor, and Chiata, felt a brief flash of relief flooding her as she saw that her apprentice, while looking worse for wear, was still alive.Her relief instantly faded however as she saw the veritable nest of starweirds stalking towards the now reunited teams from the direction that Marseph and his clones had come from. Things had just gotten a lot worse.“Everyone, come together, covering fire, make for the gunships!” she bellowed, her blue sabers flashing in the darkness of the corridor as Marseph and his clones joined in with her own forces, giving them a considerable improvement in terms of numbers.However, the increased numbers did little to deter the starweirds. Dozens of skeletal, eerily floating beings with sunken faces and sinister, glowing white eyes were advancing towards them, giving enraged screeches as they approached. The one that had appeared in the bridge at the start of the assault, the more muscular looking one with the chitinous crown and glowing red eyes, abruptly descended through the ceiling, drawing itself up to its full height and fixed it’s scarlet eyes on its prey.It then pulled back it’s teeth, it’s decayed looking mouth opening and Chiata barely had a chance to block as a vicious sonic scream echoed out from the creature. Marseph strained and struggled, and between them they were able to protect most of their remaining clones. However, some were not so fortunate, standing in defensive positions in front of their Jedi leaders. As the scream hit, they screamed, their bodies convulsing as their hands flew to their helmets, and Chiata briefly saw blood fill the visors of their helmets before they dropped to the floor, unmoving.“General!” her commander, Bulwark, yelled as the clones emerged into the hangar bay, the hangar doors sliding open as one clone desperately hammered the console, they were close, they were nearly there, all they had to do was last a little longer…“Get to the gunships!” Chiata yelled, as the starweirds advanced through the darkened corridor.However, the hangar wasn’t as dark. Despite the chaos caused by their abrupt drop from hyperspace, the hangar was still largely intact, and the nature of the hangar doors on the Venator class Star Destroyer meant that sunlight was now streaming into the hangar deck as the doors slid open. Blue sky was above the hangars as the warship descended, and fire was flickering around the open bay doors.The starweirds began to advance into the hangar as the last of Bulwark’s men hurried onto the two gunships that were going to get them to safety. The one that was leading the assault stopped short, snarling in futile anger as it stuck to the shadows. Chiata slowed, as did Marseph, both of them watching curiously as the creatures stopped short, refusing to advance into the sunlight that was breaking through the broiling flames outside as the atmosphere burned around the dying warship.“Master?” Marseph asked curiously, and struck by a curious thought, and noticing that one starweird was a little too close to the edge of the shadows, she reached out with the Force, and jerked it into the sunlight.The chosen starweird (regrettably not the commander) stumbled into the sunlight. As it did so, and the sunlight hit it, the creature gave a different screech from before. This time it wasn’t one or rage, one designed to hurt. This time it was a shriek of pure, unadulterated pain and terror, as the sunlight seemed to ignite its body. It’s emaciated but vicious body shone brightly before bursting into flames, the creature throwing it’s arms into the air as it writhed in agony before it was consumed by light, a blackened stain on the deck and a few wisps of smoke all that had remained of the starweird.The starweirds suddenly went silent, watching silently as their comrade met his fate. The leader then slowly raised its head to focus on the two Jedi, it’s glowing red eyes fixed on them in fury as it emitted a furious scream, and Chiata knew then that they had overplayed their hand.“That’s different. Come apprentice!” she urged, taking Marseph’s wrist and jerking him towards the two gunships.“Hurry general!” Bulwark yelled, but then stopped short, standing up to his full height in apparent disbelief as the two Jedi ran towards the open door of the gunship.Several clones then started to scramble, heading for the door, trying to escape the gunship, and the two Jedi didn’t dare look behind them to find out what was going on.And as such, they missed the ARC-170 that flew over their heads, hurtling right for the gunship, crashing into it and the gunship and the fighter exploded in a massive fireball, the explosion knocking both Jedi off their feet with the blast, and the screams of the last of their clones abruptly cut off as all their clones died instantly, immolated in the explosion.The two Jedi lay on the deck, panting for a split second, the orange and blue sky outside mocking them, they were so close, but now, all the clones were gone and they had lost the gunship, they had to get off the ship…And as Marseph forced himself up, reaching for his master, he briefly caught sight of the starweird that was leading the assault on the ship. And in its hand was a strip of metal. Marseph frowned, trying to figure out what it was, and his blood went cold as he realised what it was: the lower wing of an ARC-170.The starweird leader had thrown the fighter at the gunship.How were they meant to stop something that could do that?“Come on master!” he urged, dragging her to her feet as the starweirds advanced on the two Jedi, not as constrained by the lack of shadows as they descended had been, all the while the Guardian was getting closer towards Zeffo’s surface.The two Jedi hurried across the hangar, skirting the burning wreckage of the fighter and the gunship, bound for their Rho-1 Limulus class courier. A two-man courier starfighter, Chiata used it as her ship of choice, and Marseph usually joined her, as a recent injury during the Battle of Bonadan had led to him having eye issues which had precluded him from using his normal starfighter. They rushed towards the ship, Marseph using the Force to jerk open the cockpit, Chiata panting behind him as the hordes of enraged starweirds scurried towards them in the shadows of the numerous bays. It was going to be close.“Jump Padawan!” Chiata ordered, and he spang instantly, narrowly avoiding the metal wing of the ARC-170 that the starweird leader had thrown at him.Landing deftly in the cockpit he started preparing the ship for takeoff as Chiata hurried towards him, but they were descending further through the clouds and the shadows were growing longer, and as such the starweird leader was about to rip his master in two…And it was then that Chiata corkscrewed into the air, her two blades allowing her to be a cyclone of blue energy, and the starweird leader, who seemed to want to deal with her personally, backed off just enough for Chiata to land deftly in the cockpit. Marseph breathed a sigh of relief, flaring the engine, smirking in satisfaction as a furious starweird that had been creeping up behind the ship was immolated. He then guided the ship into the air, firing the laser cannons to scatter the milling starweirds and with that, blazed for the open hangar door. Gritting his teeth, he applied as much speed as he could, bursting out of the fire encapsulating the ship, and into the relative safety of Zeffo’s skies.The Guardian was hurtling towards the ground. The whole ship was alight, fire licking at its silver and red hull as the dagger-like warship headed for the ground, smoke billowing from the engines and out of various stress fractures that had opened during the descent. The Guardian was plunging towards the dirt, aiming for a lake in amidst a mountainous area. The hull of the Star Destroyer skimmed a mountaintop, creating a violent shriek of metal on rock, hull plating falling like rain after the impact as the ship shuddered, dipping closer towards the earth. Hull plating was flying loose, smoke and fire billowing from the vessel as it slammed into the dirt, water and soil spraying up around it as the Star Destroyer skidded to a stop, it’s prow buckling as it impacted the bedrock. The ship listed to the side, one of the bridge towers cracking off as a result of the impact, and it bounced down the conning tower, coming to rest in the rocks along the side of the crippled vessel. One of the larger engines had sheared off, landing in the water of the lake with a billow of steam, and the Guardian had come to its final rest, its prow crushed, its hangar doors buckled, engines sheared off and without a conning tower, and numerous turbolasers had flown off in the descent, their wreckage dotting the landscape around the lake.Marseph blew out a sigh. The Guardian was lost, but on the plus side, he and Chiata had survived, all they had to do now was send a message to Coruscant, and count their lucky stars that the Star Destroyer hadn’t exploded on impact. And on planet, they should be safe from the starweirds.Just as that thought occurred to him, Chiata noticed that the sunny, clear skies of Zeffo had developed a sort of purple hue. The sky was streaked with dashes of orange, and in an instant, her stomach fell as realisation set in.The sun was setting.“Marseph, take us up, make for the nearest settlement!” she urged, just as the evening sun dipped behind a mountain range not far from their position.And the fighter was suddenly plunged into shadowy darkness.And a split second later, glowing red eyes appeared on the hull right above them, the starweird materialising from the shadows and standing above them, it’s face the definition of fury.“Impossible…” Chiata breathed, as the furious starweird plunged its talons through the canopy of the cockpit, showering them in transparisteel and the Jedi Master gasped as the starweird’s talons punctured her chest, blood welling in her lungs and gushing down her chest.“MASTER!” Marseph screamed, gunning the engine, and the starweird toppled out of sight as Chiata gurgled, struggling for air as her lungs filled with blood.She knew there was nothing he could do, she could feel the life slipping out of her…“Hang on master!” Marseph urged, taking the starfighter towards the fallen Star Destroyer, maybe if he got in there he could save his master…And to his horror, the ship began to descend as a grinding noise emitted from the back of the ship, and he saw some vital component tumble away from the ship, and the starweird’s talons ground into the side of the fighter.“No, no!” Marseph shouted, desperate to shake the monstrosity loose, but the fighter was growing increasingly unresponsive, and the starweird emitted an enraged shriek that made blood pool in his ears.The fighter sank towards the ground, barely skimming the top of a small peak of the mountain, and there was nothing Marseph could do. The starweird howled as it was scraped off the underside of the fighter, but the damage was already done, the starfighter couldn’t recover and it was all Marseph could do to try and keep them level. He ground his teeth as the fighter skimmed down to a flattened promontory, sparks and smoke billowing out from under the vessel as it came to a skidding stop on the plateau they had crashed on.At any other time, it would be quite a beautiful sight, on top of the promontory, the sunset illuminating the valley, and even highlighting the small village in the distance. But not now.“Master, are you?” Marseph asked weakly, turning to see his master’s pale face, marred with numerous cuts from the canopy, and with blood trickling from inside her mouth.“You must…the Council…my…apprentice…” Chiata breathed, fixing him with a proud look before she went still, her light in the Force dimming as she breathed her last.“Master!” Marseph cried, tears in his eyes, but he knew, in his heart, that she was gone.The Guardian had crashed, losing all hands. The only survivors had been him and his master, and now she too was gone. And Marseph was now trapped on a worthless fighter, on a plateau with no way down, with night falling, on a distant planet he knew nothing about.No. He was a Jedi. He couldn’t give in to despair. He had to alert the Council, warn them, and get them to send someone to pick him up. Then they could bury Master Chiata and lay her to rest.“This is Padawan Marseph,” he began, his voice cracking with emotion, but he was nonetheless relieved to find the comm still worked, “scramble code five to Coruscant, care of the old folk’s home. Masters…Master Chiata is dead. Our ship was invaded by the starweirds, and as a result, it crashed, with the loss of all hands. I’m trapped on Zeffo, and don’t know how to get down from where I crashed. We were pursued by a starweird. But masters, we discovered something,” he told them as the last rays of sun descended behind the mountain behind the distant village, “they can’t stand sunlight, they burn in it, Master Chiata killed one by exposing it to the sun. Please send aid masters,” he asked urgently, as purple, inky blackness became the dominant colour of the sky, stars starting to shimmer above the plateau, “I don’t know how long-”And then, abruptly, a large, taloned hand grabbed Marseph’s head, and the Padawan looked up in abject terror, his mouth falling open in surprise, before the crimson eyed starweird jerked its hand, Marseph’s neck cracking loudly with the sound echoing across the plateau, before the back of his head fell with a thud onto the controls of his fighter, his face now facing the sky, his head rotated to face the wrong way. The starweird looked down at the two dead Jedi, gave a satisfied snarl, then it faded away into the darkness, leaving no indication of its presence, other than the crashed Star Destroyer, the massacred corpses within it, and the two dead Jedi in their ruined fighter on a lonely plateau on a distant world, as the smoke from the crash wafted gently into the sky.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shadow of the Void Night had come to Coruscant. Being what it was, a planetwide metropolis, Coruscant never slept really. Lights from billions of beings going about their daily business even at night still illuminated the planet, however, despite the incredible light pollution that the galactic capital necessitated, many of its inhabitants still attempted to live a normal circadian lifestyle.As such, night shift in the Jedi Temple was an odd affair. The younglings were all tucked up in their rooms, and even the majority of the older apprentices, knights and masters present on the planet were sound asleep.However, in the communications room, there was at least one person still awake.With the advent of the Clone Wars, it had been deemed prudent that a member of the Council, empowered to act however they deemed fit in case of emergency, would be on night shift essentially, manning the comm to advise and direct the Jedi out in the field.Tonight, Kit Fisto was the winner of the night shift.It had been a fairly uneventful night, all told. He had had Master Siri move her forces to aid in Master Kota’s attempt to take Monhudle, as the previous commander, Master Traavis, was wounded and currently floating in a bacta tank after getting caught in the attack of a hailfire droid. He’d chatted with his former Padawan, Bant Eerin, who was on Dac investigating an incident of sabotage at the shipyards. He’d also enjoyed speaking to Aayla, who’d called to inform that Grievous had attempted to make a play for the Wheel, only to be rebuffed by accidentally coming across the fleet she commanded and she’d chased his forces off.But all told, it had been fairly restful. And soon, he would be relieved by Saesee and could get a little sleep himself.“Master Fisto, we’re receiving a call from Zeffo.” Lari Oll, the Jedi currently assigned to the communications centre, and good company really, reported.“Put it through Lari.” Kit ordered with his usual smile.And as the message played out, he felt the smile fall from his face. Horrible news, genuinely terrible.It looked as though he wouldn’t be getting any sleep any time soon. XX Anakin had always preferred being made to report to the Reconciliation Council than the entire High Council. It was usually less overbearing than reporting to the entire council, and due to it’s smaller size, you weren’t constantly spinning in circles to answer the various masters’ questions, making yourself dizzy, and also wondering exactly what the other masters were doing or thinking when you were facing the other way.Musing once again that whoever had designed the Council chamber the way they had ought to have his head examined, Anakin took a breath to centre himself. He’d been cooped up on Coruscant for so long, the fact that he was being called before the Reconciliation Council filled him with relief. If he was being called before them, it must surely mean they had a mission for him.In fact, he thought ruefully, in his eagerness to report once he’d received the call to come before them, he had dashed out of the Archives, leaving all his holobooks and notes at his back. Oh dear.Madam Nu would be most unhappy with him.The turbolift door opened, and Anakin felt a little wave of relief wash over him. There were only five members of the Reconciliation Council at any one time, usually made up of members of the High Council, but occasionally by other Jedi too. In fact, Obi-Wan had served on the Reconciliation Council a couple of times since the advent of the war, including the one time that none of the High Council had been available (resulting in the session consisting of Obi-Wan, Luminara Unduli, Tsui Choi and Coleman Kcaj).Todays session consisted of five members of the High Council. In the centre seat, and hence the most senior master, was Kit Fisto, his seniority decided by the fact that he served as one of the lifetime members of the Council. To his left was Even Piell, and to his left was Depa Billaba. On Kit’s right was Adi Gallia, and beside her was Saesee Tiin. Anakin felt rather relieved. It was always nice not having a Council meeting without the innocently intimidating presence of Master Yoda, and without the stern demeanour of Master Windu.“Ah, Master Skywalker, thank you for coming so promptly.” Kit greeted him, and Anakin couldn’t help feeling a little less on-edge than he usually would.He and the Council had a contentious relationship at times, but the current masters in front of him, none of them were particularly adversarial towards him. In fact, other than the absence of Master Plo and Master Agen, who usually took his side, this was one of the best makeups he could get, and hence, less likely to be lectured for whatever they disagreed with him doing at the time.“You sent for me master?” he asked, and Kit nodded.“Indeed. We understand that since your encounter on the Hand of Justice you have been studying the starweirds in the Archives. As such, we have a mission for you.”Anakin barely contained his relief. He was finally getting a mission, he was finally being let off Coruscant, he could sing!Even looked grimmer than usual as he leaned forward slightly in his chair.“We have received reports of numerous missing warships. They leave with their escorts, but don’t make it to their destinations. The Dogmatic, the Liberation and the Vigilance have all vanished en route to their destinations. Furthermore, Master K’Kruhk was forced to abandon the Tenacious after an invasion by starweirds.” He explained, and Anakin frowned.“He saw a starweird?” Anakin asked, and couldn’t help but feel slightly vindicated, he’d been cooped up so long he couldn’t help but feel that people thought he was crazy after his encounter with the starweird, and Saesee shook his head, looking grim.“No. He saw a small army of them. They boarded his ship while he was in hyperspace and he was forced to abandon the ship. He is at the War Ministry now, explaining what happened to Master Yoda and Windu, alongside the Military Oversight Committee, and the Space Phenomenon Committee.”Anakin’s jaw dropped. One starweird, albeit one that had transformed Norex and some of the crew into starweirds too, had caused quite enough trouble to be getting on with. If they were now invading in numbers, there was no telling what could happen.“Wait, you think the missing ships were hit by starweirds?” he asked, and Adi nodded, frowning.“We fear it’s too much of a coincidence not to be. Master Kolar also picked up on some intelligence, which we had Master Tholme confirm: several Separatist warships are also missing, including at least two Providence class cruisers. We’re concerned that the starweirds are behind the disappearances of these ships. But if so, their actions are out of the ordinary. The reports we have on starweirds amount to maybe a dozen appearances over the course of a year, and naturally, most don’t live to tell the tale. But if the missing ships have indeed been struck by starweirds, they are moving en masse, and are also a lot more virulent, even more so than the one you encountered on the Hand.”Depa nodded, her face concerned as she looked at Anakin.“If the starweirds are behind the missing ships, we need to know, so we can try to adapt our practices. If they are targeting both our warships and the Confederacy’s, the scope of the problem may be far more significant than we first believed, as we initially assumed that your encounter was a one off.”“And if we’re right and they’re behind the disappearance of at least three of our warships, and attacked K’Kruhk’s ship too, they have to be up to something.” Anakin concluded, and Kit nodded, his large black eyes sorrowful.“To make matters worse, the Guardian was also hit by the starweirds. It sounds as though Master Chiata and her Padawan have likely been killed, and their ship crashed onto Zeffo.” He explained, and Anakin scowled, more dead Jedi, and this time at the hands of a nightmare he had naively believed was a one off. The starweirds were meant to be a spacer’s story, not a real life threat, but if they were now becoming a very real threat, they needed to know, and know now, so they could act upon it.“What would you have me do masters?” he asked, and Adi looked up at him, her face clouded with worry.“We need to find out the scope of this threat. Perhaps it’s some other threat that is attacking both ours and the Confederacy’s warships, but their invasion of the Tenacious and of the Guardian would indicate otherwise. If the starweirds are becoming a sizable threat, the more knowledge we get will help mitigate the damage. If the starweirds are moving from being isolated incidents to outright war, we need to know. The Republic can scarcely avoid a war on two fronts. As such, we ask that you investigate. Your recent studies into the starweirds will hopefully provide some insight. Go to Zeffo, and investigate what happened to the Guardian.” She ordered, while Kit looked remorseful.“It would seem regardless of anything else, Master Chiata and her Padawan have both been killed by the starweirds. However, their last transmission seemed to indicate a new weakness, the starweirds cannot stand sunlight. I fear though that knowledge was purchased at too high a cost.”Anakin nodded, his thoughts distracted. Were the starweirds perhaps gearing up for an invasion? An invasion of space dwelling monsters, it was like the premise of a horror movie, one starweird had been bad enough, slaughtering its way through most of the crew of the Hand of Justice, and turning Anakin into it’s thrall, along with converting others into starweirds. A whole race invading was terrifying to think of.Though, he had to admit, the thought of them not being able to stand sunlight was rather reassuring.Depa clasped her hands, looking at Anakin anxiously.“There is more to this request Anakin. Master Windu…upon your return after your first encounter with a starweird, he sensed a shatterpoint, to do with you and the starweirds. I’m sorry Anakin, but that’s the reason he kept you on planet as long as he has. Whatever this thing with the starweirds is, it all links back to you. He was trying to protect you, though admittedly he could have done it better. I apologise on his behalf.” She told him, and Anakin felt a surge of anger course through him.He’d been kept on Coruscant for weeks, able to do nothing of any import, because Master Windu had sensed something about him and the starweirds! He’d kept him cooped up on Coruscant, thinking he was crazy at times due to what had happened and the lack of information surrounding it, and Mace had known all along and had been responsible for his isolation from the action, all because he’d had a feeling!Anakin noticed the masters looking at him, and fought down his anger. While he was angry that Mace had kept him locked up on planet, he supposed he could understand why, and from what he understood of Mace’s shatterpoint ability, he wouldn’t have done it on a mere whim. But still, the injustice rankled.“A shatterpoint?” he asked, doing a passably calm voice, and Depa, eyeing him with a sort of amused approval, nodded.“Yes. Whatever happened with the starweirds, Mace feels that they are all too concerned with you, and their interest in you, unique as it is, is dangerous for you, and potentially for others. But, as it stands you are now our authority on starweirds and with these changing circumstances, you are our best option for getting to the bottom of this threat.”Anakin couldn’t help but feel slightly vindicated. So, Mace, in an attempt to protect him, had locked him up for months. Anakin had used that time to thoroughly study the starweirds, amd was now likely the Order’s most knowledgeable expert on them, which in turn meant that despite the starweird’s interest in him, meant that he now had to be sent out to try and figure out what the starweirds were suddenly attacking en masseThe Force, it seemed, had a sense of humour.“But if the Council feels the starweirds are too interested in me-?” Anakin asked, and Even nodded.“To be on the safe side, and due to our lack of overall information about the starweirds, we have decided it would be better if another Jedi accompanied you on this mission.” He informed him, and Anakin smiled, that had to mean Obi-Wan, it would be nice to see his former master.“Is Master Obi-Wan on the way back from the Neimoidian systems?” he asked, and Saesee shook his head.“Master Kenobi is too involved in the campaign there. We have another Jedi in mind.” He told him, the briefest flicker of amusement gracing his usually taciturn face, while a hastily hidden flash of disapproval flashed across Adi’s.“Who?” Anakin asked, completely at sea.There were other options he supposed. A member of the Council who was on planet, like Kit or Saesee, that would be fun. Maybe Jax Pavan, but if he remembered right he was out in the field. Barriss Offee would be another option, but she was also out in the field if he remembered right. Nejaa Halcyon had become a good friend during the Battle of Praesitlyn, after which Anakin had been knighted, and he would enjoy working with him again.“Master Yoda has been in contact with Master Kota. With his approval, we ask that Ferus Olin join you on this mission. The two of you worked well together on the Hand of Justice, and his experience with the starweirds will help supplement your own. We ask that you travel to Monhudle, pick up Ferus, then head to Zeffo to begin your investigation.” Adi ordered, something still disapproving about her face, to which Kit was grinning, and Anakin fought down a wave of excitement.Ferus.Who he hadn’t seen in months, but had been contacting regularly.And who he’d kissed the last time they’d seen each other.Yeah, that would be fun.“As you wish Masters.” He replied, inclining his head, trying to moderate his elation.“May the Force be with you Anakin. Be careful, Master Windu’s shatterpoint’s are rarely idle worrying.” Depa advised cautiously, and he inclined his head towards her.“And Anakin?” Saesee asked, and Anakin looked at the Order’s best pilot curiously.“Yes Master Tiin?”“Kindly remove your ship from my parking space,” he growled, and Anakin grinned, while the other masters including Even, all chuckled, and he inclined his head, bid the Reconciliation Council farewell, and left the room, contacting Artoo as he did so.A mission, at long last.Hopefully, more answers about this whole starweird business.And getting to see Ferus again.This was turning out to be quite a good day. XX The Invisible Hand was lazily floating in geosynchronous orbit above Ruhe. The Providence class cruiser was the flagship of the entire Confederacy Navy, and from it’s bridge, General Grievous had commanded numerous blistering campaigns, inflicting tremendous casualties on the Republic and the Jedi Order.The Wizard’s Tower was the tall observation platform that rose from the conning tower at the aft of the ship. In this tower were quarters reserved for Count Dooku. The site was essentially a secondary bridge, outfitted with all sorts of holodisplays, tactical readouts and numerous maps. It was also linked up to the Holonet and Shadowfeed that kept both sides of the war updated on the various comings and goings of the conflict.A black chair was situated on the deck, that looked out over the vast expanse of space. In it sat Count Dooku, who had come aboard to consult with Grievous about the latest developments of the war.And one particular development in particular had attracted the interest of both the Head of State and the Supreme Commander of the Confederacy.“So we have lost how many warships?” Dooku asked as he looked at the report that Grievous had prepared for him, and the General’s yellow, reptilian eyes narrowed in anger.“Eight at last count, my lord. Two Providence, a Diamond, a Munificent, a Hardcell, two Recusant and worst of all, a Bulwark. The thing is, all of them were seen entering hyperspace with their escorts, they just didn’t make it to their destination, and we haven’t received any communication from them since. While they are crewed by droids for the most part, there are organic crews, and the distress signals they sent indicated one thing: monsters.”Dooku frowned. This starweird problem was beginning to become something some of a nuisance. Numerous missing ships, and the loss of materiel, which in turn had an effect, however small, on the overall war effort.But then, that was eight ships in the last few weeks. The starweirds, whatever seemed to have provoked them, seemed to be increasingly virulent. And what was more the silence from Darth Sidious was rather intriguing.His master was always alert for anything that had the potential to disrupt his plans. After all, he had had Dooku put down the Bando Gora as part of his plan to find the clone template for the army, and had also called for a summit just as it became apparent that that nutcase Khorda had threatened Coruscant. His master was always supremely in control, able to adapt to anything.Yet he hadn’t said anything about the starweird threat. And now, it was attacking across the galaxy, and affecting both sides of the war, yet his master remained curiously silent. Very intriguing indeed.“Hmm. Leave this with me General.” He ordered, and Grievous looked slightly surprised, but bowed nevertheless and swept from the room.This needed investigating. Reflecting on his remaining Dark Acolytes (blasted Jedi, kept killing his minions, Skywalker had killed a good few, but Master Windu and Master Ti and even Echuu Shen-Jon had all had a shot), but he supposed for this particular mission, there was one natural choice.And as such, he called Ventress.She wouldn’t fail him.It was time for some answers.And she would provide them.And if she happened to encounter a Jedi in the process, she would ensure they wouldn’t get in his way again. XX Smoke was billowing into the polluted sies of Monhudle. As storm greys tinged with the smoke of heavy industry moved towards the main encampment, threatening rain, there was a small break in the cloud, allowing a narrow ray of sunshine to illuminate the planet surface, and the Republic encampment.Monhudle was a mining world, and it’s abused surface was a source of various metals, many of which were advantageous in the building of droids, which was why the Separatists had targeted it to begin with. Keen to keep up the pressure they were applying to the Confederacy in trying to hamper their ability to build more droids for the war effort, the Republic had decreed that Monhudle must be taken. The detritus of battle, including blown out NR-N99 tank droid, wheelless hailfire droids, the legs of homing spider droids all littered the battlefield, clustered around the main mining area, and the previous location of the spaceport before it had been blown up during the battle.Separated by a chunk of no-man’s land, in which wreckage and fallen bodies of the two sides littered the brown, churned dirt, it then gave way to the remains of BARC speeders, the legs of fallen AT-TEs, a couple of fallen AT-XTs, and a few crashed tanks. Shards of white armour speckled the ground, and there was the hum of LAAT gunships from overhead as the two sides took a welcome respite from the constant conflict.Monhudle was sparsely populated, largely owned by SoroSuub. Once the Republic had headed towards the planet, the people had largely been evacuated, with the exception of the primary settlement half a continent away, which still had most of the inhabitants, with the war, despite having come to their world, still a safe distance away.The two armies had clashed at the site of the largest and most productive mine. Having been taken by the Confederacy before the Republic could bring their invasion to bear, the cave system was regretfully a warren of mining equipment, tunnels and fissures, which made evicting them very difficult. Now, the battle continued, the Confederacy was held up in the mine, likely with massive mineral deposits, and the Republic was trying to evict them from the world.An aim that became more difficult in recent days.The Battle of Monhudle was originally commanded by Traavis, a kindly, bearded Jedi. Upon his arrival, he had quickly secured the rest of the planet, trapping the Confederacy at the mine, and using his flagship, the Acclamator class cruiser Aken, as the body of the Republic camp, while training it’s turbolasers on the mine to prevent any escape into orbit from within.However, an encounter with a hailfire droid had left Traavis floating in a bacta tank and undergoing rehab.As a result, Master Kota had arrived with his militia, using his ships to supplement the Aken, ensuring that the Separatists couldn’t easily escape the mines in their starships. His flagship, the Acclamator class cruiser Founder was now the rallying point of the entire Republic operation on the planet, acting as the mobile command centre. Surrounded by defensive emplacements, shield generators and cannons, it was well protected, and was sheltering the Aken, and a Venator class Star Destroyer, the Tempestuous was descending from orbit, bringing more reinforcements to help break the siege and kick the Separatists off the planet.Within the medical ward of the Aken, which was the primary medical facility for the Republic troops in order to keep them out of the dirty conditions outside, Master Rahm Kota, master of his own militia, grizzled veteran of numerous campaigns even before the Clone Wars, had encountered an enemy that even he could not overcome: a fellow Jedi who was the most stubborn patient that he’d ever come across.“Traavis, old chum, I can’t let you out to retake command, look at the state of you!” he insisted, and Traavis scoffed.“It’s a flesh wound.” He dismissed, and Kota looked at the doctor, a stern faced Chagrian, in disbelief, and she shrugged, as if to say that was what she had been dealing with herself all morning.“You’ve had an arm and a leg blown off! That’s not a flesh wound!” he cried in exasperation, and Traavis shook his head.“Perhaps not, but I’m doing the rehab and I can still be helpful, so please take me back to the Founder so I can retake command!” he insisted, and Kota looked at the doctor, who’s professional composure finally cracked and she burst out laughing, hurriedly making good her escape from the two Jedi.“You’re medically unfit, why not take it easy?” he asked with infinite patience, and he could hear many of Yoda’s lessons on patience playing on loop in his head.Thing is, Traavis, having been trained by the enigmatic Thracia Cho Leem, knew many of the tricks to circumvent said teachings. And he was usually a fairly pleasant Jedi, but apparently not when he was meant to be in bed.“Master Kota.” A voice said from the door, and rather thankful for the interruption, he turned away to where Traavis was trying to navigate himself into a hover chair so he could make his way back to his ship and faced the newcomer.“Master Olin, you took the venting station?” Kota asked as Traavis nodded at Ferus, who pursed his lips together, trying not to smile, as it was clear that the general in charge had rather aggravated Kota.“Yes sir, minimal casualties too.” He reported, and Kota nodded in approval.“Good man.”Ferus was hoping that would be the end of it. With the venting stations now firmly under Republic control, in theory it should be fairly easy to enter the last facility and smoke out the Confederacy force so they could finish them off.“Master Traavis, how’s the injury?” Ferus asked as the other Jedi experimented with his prosthetic hand, and the Jedi grinned.“It’s a minor inconvenience that’s all.” He replied, and Ferus smirked as the vein in Kota’s forehead pulsed as the veteran struggled to remain in control of his temper.Closing his eyes and trying to apply numerous Jedi techniques to control his temper while Traavis experimented with his new leg, Kota laid an arm on Ferus’ shoulder and led him out the medical bay, closing the door behind him.“That man could drive even Yoda insane,” Kota grumbled, and Ferus sniggered, “so no problems?” he asked, walking down the corridor to get away from Traavis, and Ferus shook his head.“None. Jarox is dealing with the prisoners, and T’Ling is helping Dressen deal with the wounded.” He replied, and Kota nodded.After the incident that had led to the loss of the Hand of Justice, Ferus had returned and reported to Kota what had happened to his men. With the loss of so many of the crew, and due to their encounter with the starweird, Kota had elected to keep the survivors together, a decision that continued to work well.And with the venting stations now captured, it should now be an easy matter to finish off the battle, especially with the arrival of the reinforcements from the Tempestuous.“Good, once the reinforcements get decamped from the Tempestuous, we can begin planning with their Jedi general.” He concluded, and Ferus cocked his head.“Any idea who it is?” he asked, just as he felt a warm wave in the Force.“As well you should ask my apprentice.” A happy voice said, and Ferus’ face broke into a wide grin as Siri Tachi, his former master, left the turbolift and embraced her former Padawan.“Master!” he cried happily, and she smiled as they broke apart, before inclining her head to Kota.“Greetings, Master Kota. My commander, Pluck, is overseeing my troops rolling out of the ship. Has Master Traavis resumed command?” she asked, and Kota scowled, while Ferus sniggered.“The less said about him the better, he’s not a good patient, and is straining even Jedi patience. Let’s see what you’ve brought to the table.” He said, heading into the turbolift.As they descended through the ship towards the outside, Ferus and Siri caught up with each other, both of them delighted to be back in the other’s company. As they headed out into the trudged mud that made up most of the surface of Monhudle, Siri’s commander, Pluck, hurried over.“General, there’s an unidentified ship coming in.” he reported, and she frowned, but to her surprise, Kota waved a hand dismissively.“I know about it, it’s fine, I knew of it.” He explained brusquely, and the clone nodded before hurrying off, and Ferus grinned.“Does Master Traavis know about this?” he asked, and Kota shot him a dirty look while Siri winked at her former apprentice in amusement.“I didn’t deem it necessary to burden him with the information. Man’s driving me insane.” He grumbled to Siri, who sniggered.The three of them looked up as a ship made a sonic boom on it’s way down towards the camp. Ferus squinted up at the ship, trying to make out what it was, but as it headed closer towards them, he felt it, the radiance in the Force, and couldn’t stop the smile breaking out on his face: Anakin.They hadn’t seen each other since the incident with the starweird, however, while they hadn’t seen each other, they had sent numerous messages to each other, which at times went from teasing, bickering, flirting and outright, well, kind of dirty stuff. Not that he was complaining.The ship that Anakin was descending in was very striking. A chromium clad H-type Nubian yacht, it wasn’t a large ship but the way Anakin flew it, it was like a top of the line starfighter. He banked wide over the Republic encampment, before arcing the ship gracefully down towards the assembled Jedi, the ship landing deftly, a boarding ramp extending from the vessel as it did so.Ferus tried to get himself under control. He hadn’t seen Anakin in person since the starweird incident, and it was quite hard to settle the butterflies in his stomach, especially when his former master was standing right beside them, watching him beadily from the corner of her eye. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t talked, but well, last time they had they’d made it clear that they rather liked each other and wanted to explore one another more.The first one down the ramp however wasn’t Anakin. It was a blue and white R2 unit, who tootled at them cheerfully as he came down the ramp, and then Anakin came down the ramp. The first time Ferus had met him following their long separation he had been cooped up on a station for a few days, and they had also gotten embroiled in the various problems that had been affecting the Hand of Justice after the sabotage. But now, fresh from Coruscant, he looked damn good. Ferus smiled at him in greeting, and Anakin’s blue eyes flicked to him, a small smile on his own face before he bowed his head in greeting to Kota.“Master Kota, it’s good to finally meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you. And it’s nice to see you too Master Siri,” he greeted, shaking Kota’s hand, and clasping hands with Siri, while Artoo beeped in greeting himself, “and Artoo says he’s happy to meet you all too. Hi Ferus.” He said, grinning widely, and Ferus smiled, and was fairly sure he heard Siri mutter ‘oh brother’ as Ferus smiled.“Hi Anakin. Welcome to Monhudle.” He replied, and Kota waved his hand airily at the encampment.“As you can see, we are rather in the middle of something, but it’s nice to finally meet you Master Skywalker. Master Yoda informed me of your assignment. It’s a great pity, I’ve heard a lot about you over the years, and particularly recently,” he said, his eyes flicking to Ferus, who avoided his gaze which seemed to amuse the general, “and I think you and I could have great fun together.”Now, Siri was rather more liberal than some of the Order. However, she had been trained by a member of the Council, and she could well imagine the look of anxious terror that would appear on Adi’s face at the thought of Anakin and Kota working together. She smiled, perhaps she should mention that in her next message to her master, just to see the expression on her face.“I would like to work with you too Master Kota. But, unfortunately, I’m on another mission. The Council believes that the starweirds are behind the recent disappearances of our ships, and wants me to investigate. With Ferus too, if he’s willing.” He asked, casting a slight hopeful look in Ferus’ direction.Ferus was taken aback, the starweirds again? He’d naively thought that their last encounter had just been a one off, but if it was in fact true that there were more on the move, then that did speak to a much more significant threat.“Sorry about this lad, was meant to tell you, but then you got embroiled in my civil war with Master Traavis,” Kota grumbled, throwing a dirty look in the general direction of his counterpart, “but Yoda requested you join Anakin here to investigate the disappearances of our ships. If the starweirds, especially after what happened on the Hand, are increasing the magnitude and frequency of their attacks, it could become a very real threat.”Siri nodded.“Master Adi is worried, it’s part of the reason I was sent here to relieve you too, to free you up to help Anakin due to the two of you encountering one before. The Council acknowledges that it can’t order you around anymore, but do request that you assist Anakin in this mission, while I help Traavis and Kota mop up here.” She explained, and Ferus, slightly blindsided, though not entirely sad to be leaving this mudhole of a world, nodded.“Ok, I’ll go grab my gear. Meet you back here?” he asked Anakin, who nodded.“Look after my former Padawan Master Skywalker,” Siri warned darkly, and Anakin turned to look at her, “if not, you know what’ll happen, don’t you?”Anakin gulped. Siri could be rather…terrifying when she wanted to be. He was fairly certain that was why Obi-Wan enjoyed her company, as she helped terrorise him into obedience during his Padawan years.“Yes master. The wrath of a woman scorned amplified to the strength of a thousand suns.” He replied dutifully, and she grinned, winking at him.“Glad you remember. On a more pleasing note, congratulations on becoming a Jedi Knight. Well deserved.” She told him, bidding him farewell as she headed after Ferus.Kota came up beside Anakin, watching as Siri’s troops unloaded their heavy weaponry from their ship, ready to help with the final push.“I don’t mind telling you Skywalker, I’m worried. The loss of the Hand was bad enough, and while I mourn the loss of the good people who died on board, I thought that was the end of it. But if the starweirds are now gearing up to become a greater threat…” he tailed off, his brow furrowed, and Anakin nodded grimly.“I don’t much like it myself. Ferus and I barely survived against the one that attacked us, if they are moving to properly challenge us, we’re all in trouble.” He admitted, and Kota nodded.“I don’t doubt it. You be careful out there, both of you. Besides, that’s a very impressive e ship you rocked up in. Would be a pity if it was destroyed by starweirds.” He reasoned, and Anakin grinned.“It’s a loan from Senator Binks, to keep Nubia Star Drive off his back. But yeah, it’s a very cool ship.” He agreed.And between him and Artoo, they had tinkered with it, to give it more power in its engines and it’s shields, and he’d even had Mess Boulanger, the quartermaster he’d met on Praesitlyn get him a couple of laser cannons. Sadly he’d had to leave before they’d arrived, but once he got back to Coruscant he’d install them. He’d struggled for a bit, knowing that Padme wouldn’t have appreciated any of her ships being armed. But he also knew that she’d have done anything to make sure he and Jar Jar were both safe, so had pressed on, hoping that wherever she was, she would understand.Kota groaned as his comm beeped.“Damn, Master Traavis must have tippled that you’re here, and taking Ferus, man’s a maniac. Best of luck to you both Master Skywalker, may the Force be with you.” He told him, shaking his hand before heading back towards the Aken, where Traavis was undoubtedly trying to make the great bid for freedom and resume command.Ferus then appeared beside him, a pack on his shoulder.“The guys all say hello.” He told him by means of greeting, and Anakin looked behind him to see the survivors of the Hand fiasco waving at them. Waving back, they headed up the ramp, Artoo beeping happily.“Nice ride. Did you name her?” Ferus asked, following the other two out of the small turbolift that led up to the cockpit, and Anakin grinned.“Yeah, decided on the Silver Queen. Now…I seem to recall in your last message you were wanting to…” he purred, snaking his hand around Ferus’ waist, but to his surprise Ferus put a finger to his lips, stopping him short.“And yeah, I meant it. But, two things, one I didn’t get a chance to go and clean up before you arrived to spirit me on some secret mission,” he told him, grinning as Anakin’s face fell into a pout, “and two, Master Siri is right outside, and if I get, well, excited, she might sense it! I might have left the order, but you haven’t, and well, you do look amazing.” He whispered, enjoying it as Anakin blushed slightly, while Artoo let out a series of beeps that sounded like a chuckle.Anakin span, glowering at his little droid, who whistled innocently.“You just keep quiet you. I saw you hitting on R2-KT when she came back with Master Ti.” He told him tartly, and Artoo let out a scandalised screech, beeping incessantly, while Anakin grinned.“Yeah, well, it’s bro code Artoo, I keep quiet about your flirting and you keep quiet about mine. Deal?” he asked, and Artoo beeped happily as he began the preflight checks.By the time Ferus emerged from the fresher, the pre-flight checks were done, and Anakin waved goodbye to Kota who was standing outside (now with Traavis in a hoverchair, who was smiling smugly while Kota looked to be grinding his teeth, and Siri struggled to keep her composure beside the two of them), they raised their hands in farewell as Anakin gunned the engine and shot the ship up to orbit.Anakin watched Ferus out of the corner of his eye. Dressed in a black jumpsuit that was slightly undone at the top, his still damp longish hair slicked back lazily from his face he looked, well, hot as hell. Squirming a little, and pondering just when his life had taken this new but not unpleasant turn, he charted the course for Zeffo.“So, I have to ask, did you ask for me to be assigned to this mission?” Ferus asked curiously, turning in the chair that Anakin had occupied on the way to Geonosis, to fix his companion with a look.Anakin shrugged.“No, the Council did it all by themselves apparently,” he grinned, and Ferus also grinned, “not that I’m complaining. But yeah, the starweirds are attacking our ships more frequently, and have taken a couple, and several Jedi are missing too. Since I’ve been studying them since the whole thing on the Hand, they reckon I’m now the expert.”Ferus nodded, sensing there was something else Anakin wanted to say, but didn’t want to rush him. After all, he didn’t even know what they were, not really. Rivals turned friends who had made out, with a sexual attraction to each other? They’d been messaging back and forth since their last encounter, and had essentially…well, sexted, but now that the two of them were together, what were they really?“See, Master Windu sensed a shatterpoint,” Anakin explained, as Artoo tootled that the hyperdrive was spooled up, as Anakin banked them around the wreckage of a Commerce Guild Diamond class cruiser, “about me and the starweirds. He thinks they’re very interested in me.”Ferus frowned. Well, while he didn’t want to voice his opinion to Anakin, he couldn’t help but agree with Master Windu. At first, the starweird they’d encountered had been all too happy to try and kill Anakin just like everyone else, but eventually, it had changed tack, enthralling Anakin instead, and even after that, it had seemed all too concerned with him.“And what do you think?” Ferus asked, and Anakin looked troubled.“That’s the thing. I’m not happy he kept me cooped up on Coruscant, sure, but…well, I’m kind of worried he has a point. That starweird did seem kind of fixated on me, don’t you think?” he asked, as he navigated the last of the wreckage that was in Monhudle’s low orbit, bound for the jump point.Glad to have the opportunity to voice his own concerns, Ferus nodded.“Anakin, the starweird we fought did seem interested in you. Remember, it had you dead to rights, by all rights it should have killed you, but something made it back off, and we never actually figured out what exactly that was did we?” he asked softly, wondering how Anakin would take it.Anakin, to his surprise, smiled.“Then isn’t it a good thing they asked you to come along?” he asked, as he pulled the lever and took the ship to hyperspace.“Well, I wouldn’t say that I’ll miss Monhudle, put it that way,” Ferus admitted, the place was just so muddy, but he did feel bad leaving his troops, “and the company is pretty decent. Eh Artoo?” he asked, and the droid beeped happily, while Anakin smiled, the little droid heading to the turbolift back down to the deck below to monitor the hyperdrive, just in case.“I’ve missed you. Weird though that sounds.” Anakin said softly, and Ferus smiled as they looked out at hyperspace together.“I’ve missed you too. And I have to admit, I quite liked all the messaging. And the, you know,” he admitted, blushing slightly, “pictures therein.”Anakin smirked.“Well, you were keen enough to share too. And for what it’s worth, I liked your ones too. It felt nice, having someone who cared about me, who wasn’t around, you know?” he asked, and Ferus nodded.“Ok, so, Zeffo, so Master Chiata is likely dead?” he asked grimly, and Anakin nodded.“Yeah, we think so, but Master Fisto is hoping that we might at least get some information about what happened, and about what’s happening there too. Whatever else happened, the starweirds seem to have downed the Guardian, which is bad enough, but if they’re behind the other missing ships, including the Separatist ones that have vanished too, that could be a big problem.”Ferus nodded, he couldn’t fault that logic.“So, are you officially in charge of the mission?” Ferus asked, and Anakin’s eyes twinkled with amusement.“Well, yeah, but I did have a thought about that.” He told him, turning to face him fully, and Ferus raised an eyebrow.“Oh? What thought’s that?”“Well, we share the mission as it’s just the two of us, and let’s face it, Artoo’s really in charge anyway,” he admitted as Artoo came back into the cockpit, beeping in thanks and whistling happily to himself, “or, we come to some other arrangement?” he teased cockily.Damn it, why did Ferus find him being so cocky such a turn on? So unfair!“What sort of arrangement, flyboy?” he challenged, as Artoo made a long suffering beep and headed back downstairs, apparently having checked what he needed to check.“Well, you did say you were looking forward to kissing me again,” he pointed out, looking at Ferus intensely, desire smouldering in his eyes, “and well, it’s a long way to Zeffo.”Ferus smiled and got to his feet, and hesitantly extended his hand towards Anakin’s who took it eagerly, though he had a slight surprised look on his face.“What’s up?” he asked, and Anakin shrugged.“Nothing, just, odd that you went right for the actual hand and not the prosthetic one.” He mumbled, and Ferus raised Anakin’s hand to his lips and gently kissed it.“Well, truth be told…I, well, I like the glove ok,” he admitted, getting flustered, and Anakin grinned, though was trying and failing to use his Jedi training to calm his accelerated heartrate, Ferus kissing his hand had made his heart flutter, “and besides, it doesn’t define you. Besides, I’ve got other things that I want to know if they define you.”Anakin looked at him in confusion, as Ferus took him by the hand, leading him back towards the crew bunks.“What do you mean?” he asked, totally lost, and Ferus steered him into the crew bunk he was clearly claiming for his own, sitting at an angle so he could look at Anakin’s face, and close to, Anakin looked nervous, but also kind of excited.Ferus could well understand that feeling. Once he’d gotten his head out of his ass, he’d felt that about Roan too. It was so strange, feeling those feelings again, with all the promise, hope and potential dread they brought with them. Even more so when those feelings were in relation to Anakin Skywalker of all people, who he’d spent years resenting, engaged in a bitter rivalry with. And now, every time he received a message from Anakin, his insides did a little somersault, his heart fluttered and he would get a wide grin on his face, something the other survivors from the Hand had been quick to notice. T’Ling in particular had noticed, and told him that if he didn’t want Anakin, she’d happily take him, which had led to Ferus quickly shutting down that particular message.“Well, we spent so many years fighting each other, never getting on, I guess we never really properly got to know each other. Then you stumble back into my life, looking all holo-star hero,” he grumbled, and Anakin sniggered, “and we wind each other up, then save each other’s lives while we’re being chased by an interdimensional space creature that wants to kill us all and likes to brainwash you. And then, when we escaped that nightmare, we kissed. I just want to find out if you, if we, really want this, and it wasn’t just hormones and the threat of imminent death by weird space monster.”Anakin nodded, and noticed that his organic hand was still in Ferus’, and that he was unconsciously stroking the back of his hand with his thumb.“I get it,” he mumbled huskily, “and truth be told, I don’t know if I understand it either. And let’s face it, the way the Order’s going, they’ve got bigger problems than policing anyone in a relationship. Particularly if all the gossip in the temple is true,” he admitted, and Ferus looked at him curiously, “but I actually really like it. I’ve enjoyed speaking to you, messaging you since the Hand. And yeah, fair enough, some of it might be our hormones. But I also know, I haven’t felt like this in a long time, about anyone. And I know you’ll insist I need to be a good Jedi and all, but-”Anakin then broke off, because Ferus gently snaked his hand around the back of his neck, softly but firmly grabbing his hair, and pushing him forward so he could kiss him softly. Anakin let out a little moan of pleasured surprise, kissing back eagerly and reciprocated, tenderly taking Ferus’ cheek in his hand as their lips met.“Yeah, you should be a good Jedi,” Ferus muttered softly as they broke apart, Anakin suppressing a sudden urge to make a whine of protest as they did so, “but I’m not a Jedi anymore, not really. So…I can be as bad as I want.”Anakin did let out a little groan, he had to admit. Ferus, formerly so strait laced and rigid, the perfect little Jedi…wanted to throw caution to the winds, and be in a relationship with him. Wow.“That’s. That’s hot.” Anakin admitted after clearing his throat, grinning and gently stroked his hand back over Ferus’ hair before kissing him softly again, and this time Ferus whimpered a little when he stopped.“But…we should get to know each other properly, right? Dinner? Probably just rations, but my treat?” he asked, and Anakin nodded.“Sure.”“Good. Besides,” Ferus purred, getting to his feet, “I want to find out if those tattoos you have in that pic you sent me are real.”Anakin watched Ferus as he headed back towards the galley. He had wondered at the time what Ferus had thought of the tattoos he’d got on Nelvaan. Trying to calm the fluttering in his stomach, and trying to redirect the blood away from various body parts that had gotten excited, he headed back to the cockpit to wait while Ferus got dinner ready, thoughts of that amazing kiss going through his head. XX Few things scared Asajj Ventress. Having been raised on the war-torn world of Rattatak, the child to two warlords and constantly hunted by the other faction leaders, and also the orphaned Padawan of Jedi Ky Narec, she had learned how to weaponize her fear, turning it to her advantage. Nowadays, few things did scare her: failing her master; the power of Darth Sidious, the master to Count Dooku; spiders (despite everything, she still got the shudders when she saw one of them).But this, this mission scared her.Count Dooku had entrusted her with a mission: to identify what was happening to their ships, and to explain why so many were vanishing without a trace. The whole thing was bizarre, totally inexplicable. Their ships certainly made the jump to lightspeed, they had been seen by their escorts, only for their escorts to arrive at their destination, often without the other ships they were meant to be travelling with it.Grievous had raised the alarm that had brought her here. Several other ships had vanished since Dooku had entrusted her with this mission: a DH-Omni support vessel; a Fantail class destroyer; two Lupus class missile frigates, and a Geonosian pinnace. All of them vanishing without a trace, adding to the rest of the ships that had disappeared from their ranks of late.But this last one was the biggest disappearance yet. A Lucrehulk class cruiser, the Primacy, had failed to make its destination.While there was a small saving grace that it wasn’t one of the retrofitted battleship versions, the loss of a Lucrehulk was no laughing matter. Bearing over a quarter million battle droids of various types, strengths and configurations alone, their loss was bad enough, but when you factored in the losses of the B2 super battle droids, Droidekas, tanks, MTTs, spider droids and others, it was an extortionate loss, particularly when the war with the Republic was so evenly balanced. Especially when the incessantly and increasingly whiny Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation, would have another little tantrum to himself about the loss, would threaten to withdraw funding (as if he could), and the little spine he would grow would quickly diminish at a look from Dooku, a threat from Grievous, a quiet word from Sora Bulq, or a lightsaber pointed at his throat by Ventress herself.Regardless, it was still a long, tedious process, and quite frankly, none of them could be bothered with the overgrown slug’s temper tantrums.But, unlike many of the others, the Primacy had been found, by some of their Zygerrian contractors. They had raised the alarm, and had claimed to be investigating. However, their Aurore class transport was still in the hangar bay of the Primacy, and there was no sign of the crew.There was no sign of anything really, except a rather terrifying chill in the Force.Ventress had arrived upon her flagship, the Patriot Fist, a Recusant class destroyer. Upon receiving no response from the Primacy, she had assembled a team of droids and had come over in her Ginivex class starfighter, the Last Call. She had then made her way deeper into the hangar of the abandoned Trade Federation freighter, looking for any sign of life.So far, she’d found nothing.Well, nothing except for the Tecora, the same Zygerrian contractor ship that had raised the alarm to begin with. And that, like the ship it had found, was deserted.The Primacy seemed abandoned. The battle droids were all deactivated in their sockets, however many had been torn apart, or destroyed in their charging stations. Some of the dormant B2s had gouges out of their chests that looked like claw marks. Droid parts were littered throughout the Primacy, and all through the excursion deeper into the Lucrehulk, Ventress had felt an eerie presence, like she was being watched.“Commander, we have reached the bridge.” Beetu Deetu, the commanding B2 Super Battle Droid that was leading the contingent she had brought with her, reported, and Ventress nodded, beckoning for the droids to get the door open.Ventress frowned as the droids got to work. All through the ship, not a sign of life, just an eerily abandoned ship, an army of wrecked or damaged droids, and a growing sense of foreboding. There wasn’t even any sign of the Zygerrians, so where the hell had they gone? Admittedly they could be somewhere on the ship, but it seemed unlikely that they would desert their own vessel just for salvage, especially when they had already alerted Confederacy Command.What was going on here?The super battle droids pried the door to the bridge open, and with a nod, Ventress sent Beetu through, and the squad of droids entered the dark bridge, activating their headlights.“Commander, you’ll want to see this.” He reported in his guttural voice, and morbidly curious despite herself, Ventress entered the bridge, and stepped into a scene of carnage.The Neimoidian captain’s head had been torn clean off, his lifeless corpse still sitting in the command chair, while the head was over by the sensor station. The two Neimoidian Gunnery Battalion guards had also suffered a grisly fate, both of them cleaved in two, their armour warped by whatever had killed them, the metal now essentially welded to their skin by sheer brute force. A Gossam communications officer had been split from head to groin, the two halves flanking the chair they had been sitting in. Several dismantled battle droids littered the bridge, with parts of a couple embedded deeply in the walls.What had happened here?“What is your assessment Commander?” Beetu asked curiously, and Ventress suppressed a shudder.Whatever had happened here, it had happened too quickly for anyone to respond. But the massacre of the crew, finding them all, none of it had alleviated the sense in the Force that she was being watched. And the fact that there was still no sign of the Zygerrians…The air suddenly dipped in temperature around her, and she felt a niggling in the Force. She slowly unhooked her lightsabers from her belt, slowly turning towards the open door to the bridge, and her breath hitched in her throat.A Starweird stood in the doorway. Tall and skeletal, it was hovering in the air, it’s emaciated appearance looking all the more stark in the emergency lighting of the ship. Wispy, red hair drifted ethereally around its head, while menacing glowing white eyes like stars stared out at them. It’s mouth was open, revealing menacing looking jagged teeth, and it slowly raised its arms, it’s large talons flexing hungrily. And as Ventress stared at it, she noticed that the starweird had a ridge of small horns where its eyebrows should have been, plus two larger horns protruding from its chin.Well, she supposed that at least answered the question of what happened to the Zygerrians.It then let out a horrifying, grating scream, and the two B1 battle droids that had been closest to the door crumpled, their heads crushed by this unseen sonic attack. Ventress snarled, her two red sabers brought up in a defensive position.“Open fire!” she spat angrily, as the starweird lurched into the room.Her remaining B1s and squad of B2s opened fire, their blasters pounding as the creature moved. Moving like liquid shadow, it billowed across the room, tearing the normal battle droids apart as it honed in on Ventress. Beetu was behind her, his arm cannon blasting, but the creature was just too quick for the droids to hit. She felt a slight surge of elation when one battle droid fired and the bolt headed right for the starweird, only for the bolt to freeze in midair and return towards its shooter, desytroying the droid.She was overmatched.“To the hangar!” she barked, clipping her two sabers together to form the S-shaped double bladed saber, flurrying the blade to distract the starweird, it’s gaze drawn towards her, which she exploited by unleashing a powerful Force push.The starweird barely flinched, but it was enough. Her remaining droids, led by Beetu, opened fire, surrounding the starweird in blaster fire and allowing them to make good their escape. However, the starweird gave a furious scream, and Ventress felt her breath go cold as they fled towards the turbolift. As her breath froze in front of her, she chanced a look back, to see several more starweirds materialise from the shadows, their red hair drifting lazily in the darkness, their malevolent, glowing white eyes fixed on her and her droids as they entered the turbolift, slamming the controls and sealing the door behind them.Shaking, Ventress fingered her comm hurriedly, as the screams of the starweirds echoed down the turbolift shaft.“Captain Trilm,” she snapped into her comm, “get the ship ready to leave!”“Already done Commander, the Primacy’s weapons just came online, it’s firing at us!” the captain of the Patriot Fist reported, and when she strained, Ventress could hear the pounding of heavy turbolasers.Great, she figured, that was all they needed, the Primacy severely outgunned the Patriot Fist, and if they lingered too long, none of them would be getting out of here.The turbolift reached the hangar deck, and Ventress used the Force to spring open the doors, giving them a split second in which to act. Numerous starweirds, all with little horns all over their faces, emerged from the shadows, their glowing, malevolent eyes turned towards Ventress and her droids as they made good their escape, hurrying towards the Last Call. Her super battle droids opened fire indiscriminately, shooting at the starweirds, their shots just enough to keep the monsters at bay as Ventress led the way towards her ship.And then the shadows coalesced, another starweird emerged from the shadows, this one with glowing red eyes, and a crown like ridge on its head. Ventress snarled and threw her sabers right at the creature, and it shrieked in annoyance, deftly avoiding her double sabers, but that distraction was what she needed.“Wrist rockets, now!” she barked, and Beetu led his troops in firing their rockets at it.The starweird turned, clearly anticipating to simply intercept or avoid the rockets, but with Ventress’ grasp of the Force around them, she hurtled them at it that much faster, and it screamed as the rockets exploded around it, storming in fury as fire consumed it.With the starweird leader occupied, she led her remaining droids into the ship, gunning the engines as she reached her flight chair, opening fire as the horde of starweirds that was materialising from the shadows approached her ship. She then gunned the engine, a scraping noise coming from behind her as the starweird leaders talons scraped the back of the ship, but she banked her ship out of the hangar, emerging into the developing space battle.Scarlet turbolaser blasts filled the space between the Primacy and the Patriot Fist, with her destroyer angling away from the heavy pounding of the freighter’s turbolasers. She snarled, spiralling her ship between the bolts of deadly energy, heading right for her flagship as the Starweird controlled vessel pressed it’s advantage. Teeth bared, she pressed down on the yoke, avoiding the interlocking fields of fire from the Starweird ship before gunning the engine, bound right for the hangar bay, as her destroyer slowly started to angle away, preparing for the jump to hyperspace. Ventress gunned her engine, the droids clattering around in the back as she deftly brought her ship into the hangar, just as the Fist made the jump to lightspeed.She breathed a sigh of relief, that had been too close. But her mission wasn’t unsuccessful. She had discovered that the starweirds were indeed behind the disappearance of the Primacy at the very least, which in turn, she felt at least, confirmed that the other missing ships had also been lost to the starweird threat.But that in itself was worrying enough. The Confederacy was pushed as it was, and if they now had to face a war on two fronts, it could easily turn the tide against them.Her master had to be made aware.He would know what to do.

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Shadow of the Void “This is ridiculous, how does this planet make no sense?” Anakin complained, trying (and kind of failing), to maintain control of his temper.They had arrived at Zeffo early this morning. As the ship had descended towards the world, Ferus had picked up numerous pieces of space debris, likely from the crashing Guardian, strewn throughout lower orbit. They had set the ship down at the outskirts of a small village, which according to their scanners, was fairly close to where the Guardian had crashed. Oster, a prominent member within the small village community, had told them of how they had seen the Star Destroyer crash, and how the locals had seen to the burial of many of the clone bodies, creating a monument to the fallen soldiers. He had loaned Anakin and Ferus a speeder to let them get close, while he went back to preparing a feast to honour the lost crew of the fallen. The two Jedi had left the cold village not long after, the town bustling as the community came together and got to work.That had been several hours ago now. Since then, Anakin and Ferus seemed to have circumnavigated the entirety of Zeffo, and were still no closer to getting to the wreck of the Star Destroyer, and as a result, their tempers were rather frayed. They could see where they wanted to go, there were still wisps of smoke rising from the crashed Star Destroyer, and they had seen numerous other local points of interest, such as an old turbine facility and a couple of ancient monuments that Master Eno Cordova had referenced in his journeys to the planet, but simply could not get any closer to the Guardian.At first, the two hadn’t minded. After all, despite the creeping feeling of fear that their mission presented them both with, the journey had been rather pleasant. They had filled each other in on their lives since they had first parted ways, in a way they hadn’t been able to do on the Hand. They had laughed and genuinely enjoyed each other’s company over the dinner that Ferus had prepared, in a way that both of them would have scoffed at had anyone told them in their youth that they would one way be doing. As they had told each other’s stories, things had given way to deeper conversations: Anakin’s life before becoming a Jedi, losing his mother, and Padme’s death; and on the other hand Ferus’ life after leaving the Order, how he had fallen in love with Roan and then losing Roan. They had laughed and cried together, and at the end of the night, Ferus had headed to his bunk while Anakin had headed to the bedroom on the lower deck after a deep kiss goodnight.They had arrived here in good spirits, and their predicament had been amusing for the first hour or so. However, they were now five hours in, and still hopelessly lost, and both of them were getting irritable with each other. Anakin had muttered under his breath that Zeffo would greatly benefit from a planetary bombardment numerous times.Ferus was no longer sure he was joking.Even more alarmingly, he wasn’t even sure he disagreed himself now.He suspected even Master Yoda would have lost his temper on the world by now.The world was pleasant enough he supposed, the locals had been welcoming and had made it clear that their culture honoured the dead, especially those who had lost their lives fighting for a good cause. It was cool, much akin to winter on Bellassa, and the area they were in was fairly mountainous, buffeted by strong winds, and there was plenty of dew splashing off the rocks as they travelled round in circles.They had seen a large, four legged creature with shaggy fur and long, curved horns during a navigation stop. Oster had warned them of the local phillaks, and they had quickly gotten back into the speeder before the territorial and grumpy beast charged at them. They had also seen a couple of verminous creatures called scazz emerging from cracks in the mountainside, but hadn’t engaged them.However, he was beginning to think picking a fight with a local creature would at least let them vent their frustrations instead of sniping at each other.The wind was whipping at them as Anakin tried to find yet another way to navigate towards the Guardian, and to his credit, this way at least didn’t look familiar. If nothing else, they were close to the village going this way, so if all else failed, they would hopefully be able to get some guidance on how to get to their destination.“We’re not far from the village, we can always ask if this doesn’t help us.” Ferus suggested, and Anakin glared at him.“We are not asking for directions.” He said flatly, and Ferus rolled his eyes.“Anakin, we’ve been going round in circles for hours! If it wasn’t for the map pinging with beacons, we wouldn’t even know where the damn village was, the map’s just as messed up as the rest of the planet, there’s no shame in it!” Ferus snapped, indicating the map on the dashboard of their X-34 landspeeder, and Anakin scowled.“I know that, but we’ve been at it for hours, how stupid will we look if we go back and tell them we’ve been going round in circles all day? Besides, I’ve got a good feeling about this tunnel.” He told him curtly, and Ferus looked at him sceptically as they drove past a couple of old, disable turbines that had seen better days.“You said that two hours ago, and all we did was wind up on an overlook on the opposite side of the range from the one we’re meant to be on.” He replied tartly, and Anakin shot him a dirty look.“Yeah, but it was an awesome view! This whole planet’s messed up, how Master Cordova likes coming here I’ll never know, Obi-Wan always said he was a nutcase.” He grumbled, and Ferus, determined to be frustrated with Anakin, pursed his lips, trying not to snigger.While he and Siri had never directly encountered Master Cordova, Adi however had. She had told them she revered his wisdom, admired his skill in diplomacy, and respected his skills as a Jedi: she also however, felt he was nuttier than Shillian squirrel poo.After reading Corvoda’s report on the ease with which he traversed Zeffo before they had landed, he couldn’t help but agree with her.They sat in silence as they sped along the tunnel, and Anakin wished they had just been able to take the ship to the crash site, but it would be too exposed to Zeffo’s merciless winds. Mind you, he was beginning to wonder if he was willing to risk it just to get off this hellhole of a planet, how did anyone live here when they couldn’t find anything?Now if he and Ferus had been doing this on somewhere like Naboo, that would be a much more fun use of their time…“Anakin!” Ferus exclaimed in slight panic as his daydreaming nearly resulted in them crashing into a phillak that had just appeared from nowhere.“I see it.” He replied, banking round the creature, which charged at them instinctively only to be outpaced by them, the beast braying in rage as they escaped it.“Then why did you nearly crash into it?” Ferus asked irritably, and Anakin was about to snap back when it occurred to him that he could win this little round by telling the truth.“Because I was thinking we could do this on Naboo, and have a lot more fun too.” He told him pointedly, and grinned as Ferus went pink as they finally cleared the tunnel, and Ferus suddenly grabbed Anakin’s wrist.“Anakin-” he began, and Anakin smirked.“Want me to pull over? If I knew that was all it took I’d have done it hours ago.” He teased, and while Ferus did go red, and glare at Anakin, he shook his head.“No, stop, look, you did it!” he exclaimed, and Anakin felt a wave of relief wash over him.Finally!“Damn, I am good.” He muttered, and grinned as he saw Ferus try, and fail, not to agree with him.The Guardian was laid out before them, crashed into a small rise, some of its hull submerged in a small lake. Wispy columns of steam were still rising from the hull, and there was still the smell of burning and leaked fuel filling the area. Numerous bodies littered the ground around the wreck, and the Star Destroyer was littered with damage, large holes dotting the hull. A large chunk of the ship, the wing, was slightly further away, clearly having broken off during the descent.“What a mess. How did the starweirds manage to bring down a whole Star Destroyer?” Ferus asked worriedly as Anakin drove them down to the shallow lake the ship was partially submerged in, and Anakin frowned.“You’re asking that? The starweird we encountered did a hell of a number on the Hand remember.” He pointed out, but Ferus shook his head.“Yeah, it did, but remember we also had a rogue Ubese warlord, a nest of conduit worms and a traitor on board at the time. Aren’t you worried that they brought down a Star Destroyer themselves?” Ferus asked as Anakin brought the speeder to a stop, the shadow of the crashed ship giving them good cover from the powerful winds that buffeted Zeffo.Anakin looked at Ferus, and Ferus saw a flash of the same fear that he’d seen Anakin exhibit on the Hand.“Of course I am, aren’t you? Ferus, that thing tore through us all, our powers barely fazed it, and it was fixated on me, and even stopped me properly calling on the Force, and that was even before it brainwashed me into being its puppet and nearly killing you and everyone else who managed to escape. Aren’t you scared?” he asked anxiously, and Ferus gently took Anakin’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.“Yeah. Thankfully though, we have more information this time. And we have a secret weapon.” He told him as he got out the speeder, Anakin looking at the hand that Ferus had just squeezed in wonder, before looking at his companion in confusion.“What secret weapon?” he asked, and Ferus grinned.“Artoo on standby. Come on, we better find out what happened here before it gets dark, something makes me think Zeffo won’t be any more hospitable by night than it is by day. Not to mention the possibility of starweirds.”Anakin looked at the wreckage of the Guardian, the fear and panic of the crew having imprinted strongly onto the downed vessel. Debris littered the landscape, random chunks of metal, pieces of clone armour that had been left by whatever creatures had picked off the falling corpses out of the downed vessel. The engines were lying further back, leaking fuel into the lake, and one of the command towers was close by, having been sheared off.“Look, up there.” Anakin said, and Ferus looked up to see an old Rho courier ship that was stranded on the mountain.Sharing a grim look with Anakin, the two of them made for the small mound, the two of them using the Force to jump up the rocky slope, arriving to find the grisly scene that awaited them.Chiata and Marseph were both dead. Chiata had numerous wounds, and had clearly been punctured through the chest by a starweird, her fighter seat dyed with her blood, clearly where she had breathed her last. Marseph however was looking at them, his dead eyes wide, horrified and vacant. That was bad enough, but as Anakin tried to close the young man’s eyes, he realised that his face was currently where the back of his neck should be, his neck having been snapped so violently.Feeling slightly queasy, he and Ferus both bowed their heads in recognition of their lost brethren, before Ferus, slightly worried about the nauseated look on Anakin’s face, retrieved the two dead Jedi’s lightsabers to bear them back to the temple where they could be amended.“It doesn’t feel right, leaving them here.” Anakin muttered as they descended back from the downed fighter, having paid their respects, and as they got back to the bottom, Ferus swept his hair back, nodding.“Yeah, I don’t like it much either. But, there is a recovery vessel on the way, they’ll try and attend to the bodies if nothing else. But we can’t bury a whole Star Destroyer’s worth of men just ourselves Anakin.” He reminded him softly, and Anakin nodded, not looking at him.He knew Ferus was right, but he didn’t have to like it.“Where do you think first? The command tower, or the hull?” he asked, pointing to the sheared off bridge capsule, and Ferus looked at him sceptically.“Ok, I get why the bridge, but why do you want to go into the hull?”Anakin pointed at the ruined engines at the edge of the lake as they stood on a small bank of dry land.“I want to check something, but hopefully the bridge will tell us what I’m looking for. If not, we need to go into the hull. Truth be told, I’d rather not go in, but you know, needs must and all.”With a maddening grin, he then jumped to the next sand bank, heading for the sheared off bridge tower. Ferus stood, his mind buzzing, simultaneously trying to figure out Anakin’s bizarre thought process, admire his view of Anakin’s rather nice ass, pondering how Obi-Wan hadn’t murdered him, and also musing on exactly why he was so attracted to Anakin when he drove him crazy.He jumped between the sandbanks himself, following Anakin’s path towards the downed bridge tower, and Anakin had already jumped into the ruined command tower. Sighing in annoyance, he followed suit, seeing Anakin pore over what was left of the command console.“Poodoo.” Anakin grumbled, as Ferus came up behind him.“What are you even looking for?” he asked, and Anakin frowned, looking at the hull of the fallen Star Destroyer lying outside.“Well, when we were on the Hand, it was only when the hyperdrive went nuts that the starweird actually attacked, right?” he asked, and confused as to where he was going with this, Ferus nodded.“Yeah, right…” he began, and Anakin pointed over at the hull of the Destroyer.“Well, it’s got me wondering. I want to check the hyperdrive logs, to see if there’s any inconsistencies in it, any sort of markers or tics, that could be attracting the starweirds, you know, basically lighting our ships up and saying ‘hey, look at me, come invade me’. That way, I can hopefully figure out if there’s anything in our ships that’s encouraging them, or if we’re just getting lucky. Or unlucky I suppose.”“And I take it the data you need isn’t here?” Ferus asked with a sigh, of course not, that would be too easy.“Course not. Come on.” He replied with a grin, and Ferus rolled his eyes.He didn’t want to go into the main hull of the Guardian. Firstly, venturing into the metal tomb of thousands of clones was certainly not his idea of a good time, but secondly, the ship had been here a while now, so Sith knows what sort of creatures could now be inhabiting the wreck. But, Anakin was already heading out, so he supposed he better follow him.Entering the Guardian proved harder than Anakin had anticipated. The impact of the crash had warped shut the holes caused by the engines falling out during the ship’s descent, which meant they had to find a way into the ship. Large chunks of wreckage dotted the landscape as Anakin led the way towards the wreck, casting a worried look back at the herd of phillaks that seemed to be getting closer to them as they started scrambling above the wreckage.Anakin picked his way over a large piece of the engine, walking a metallic tightrope between two pieces as he surveyed the rear of the Star Destroyer. He then jumped to another wrecked bulkhead, looking up at where he was trying to get to. The fitting emplacement for one of the once mighty engines, that would be his way in if he had his way. Briefly checking to make sure Ferus was behind him, and relieved to see he was, he considered his next move.Ferus then watched as Anakin took a running jump, managing to grab hold of a long cable that was hanging from the wreckage, the cable clearly having run a considerable length within the ship before its end. Wincing in fear, and trying not to check out Anakin’s rear as he hauled himself up the cable.“Are you alright?” he called, and Anakin turned to face him and gave him a cocky grin.“Course I am, don’t worry, there’s no current in it. Follow me!” he encouraged, and Ferus shook his head.“Um, no thanks.” He replied, and Anakin, quite at ease, grinned as the wind buffeted the cable, swaying him back and forth.“You’re not scared?” he challenged, clearly enjoying himself, and Ferus scowled.“No, I’m just not a big fan of pulling myself up a cable that could go live at any point, dangling above a lake of unknown depth, which could snap at any point due to it being part of a crashed starship! I’ll wait till you get up then I’ll join you.” He mumbled, and Anakin grinned, continuing to shimmy up the cable, and when he got to the right level, he jumped deftly onto a piece of deck that had been twisted by the crash.Damn it. He’d actually made it up the damn cable, now he was going to have to climb it.“Um, Ferus, you might want to hurry, those phillaks are getting closer.” Anakin called from above him, and teeth gnashing furiously, Ferus leapt onto the cable, and when he didn’t immediately fry, he did begin to haul himself up the cable, and noticed out the bottom of his eyes that the phillaks were now getting perilously close to where he’d been.He hated it when Anakin was right.Reaching the top of the cable, he jumped towards the deck, and landed, and a strong hand then grasped his wrist.“You ok?” Anakin asked, and Ferus nodded, though he wasn’t a fan of the wind up here.“Ok, now what?” he asked, and Anakin pointed to a caved in door.“By my thinking, we shouldn’t be far from the engine room. We should be able to get in there and work our way back towards the engine control room, then we can get the data and get off this planet.” He told him, and he led on, using the Force to pry open the door, the corridor pitch black within.“Are you sure about this Anakin?” Ferus asked dubiously, and Anakin shrugged.“We got this far, besides, we might find some information on how Chiata and Marseph were overwhelmed, and at this point, I’ll take anything that will give us any proper information on the starweirds. Ok, follo-aaah!” Anakin screamed as he stepped into the dark corridor, and immediately slid out of sight.“Anakin!” Ferus gasped, automatically going in after him, and then his foot slid as well, as he and Anakin slid down the deck, which now doubled as a slide.Sparks of leftover electricity sparked as they slid down the panel, Anakin giving a cheerful, exhilarated whoop as they slid down the slide like deck, Anakin deftly manoeuvring himself through an open bulkhead, avoiding one with electricity crackling in it. Ferus hastily angled himself to follow him down, cursing Anakin’s impetuousness, and indeed, the fact that he seemed to be enjoying it.“Whoo!” Anakin crowed, as the deck planed out and he shot off the end, grinning as he effortlessly dove into the water that had accumulated at the bottom of this section of the ship.“Oh that’s a great idea, you don’t know how deep it is!” Ferus yelled irritably as he too shot off the slide, but nonetheless effortlessly dove into the water, just as Anakin emerged from the water, grinning as a disgruntled Ferus joined him.“That was fun!” he exclaimed happily, and Ferus was about to rebuke him, just like he would have done when they were Padawans, but the look of sheer joy at their impromptu slide that was on his face, annoyingly, melted his disapproval.“You’re insane, what if this water hadn’t been that deep?” he asked, still determined to at least nag him, and Anakin grinned, pushing his wet hair back from his face.“I’d have thought of something. And at least we’re not going to be charged by those phillaks in here. Huh, this way I think.” He said, starting a steady breaststroke towards the rear of the ship, where a faint breeze was coming, likely from the shelled out engine section.“You’d think you’d never seen a slide before.” Ferus said as they both swam towards the rear of the ship, and Ferus was trying and failing not to notice several things: like how good Anakin looked with his hair pushed back like that, and also how revealing his wet robes were as they were clearly accentuating his muscles.“Well, I sort of cobbled one together out of junk in Watto’s junkyard when I was little,” he admitted, and Ferus felt a pang, he always forgot that Anakin’s life, while unconventional for a Jedi, hasn’t exactly been a bundle of laughs, “and I used that when I could, but I got too big for it pretty quickly. Watto caught me on it once, and I thought I was going to get a beating, like I would have done if we were still Gardulla’s slaves. But he just sort of rolled his eyes and told me not to make a mess.”Anakin then pushed himself out of the water, climbing onto a deck where a door that would lead them further towards the rear of the ship was blinking with low power, and he turned to help Ferus out the water.“I’m sorry Anakin,” Ferus told him softly as Anakin helped him out, “I keep forgetting you didn’t exactly have a fun life before the Jedi. Or after it, really.”Anakin opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped. He had had fun when he was younger, despite being a slave, his mother had made sure that, as much as she could, he’d had a happyish childhood. Watto, for all his flaws, wasn’t a bad master, and hadn’t beaten him or Shmi either, and had introduced him to flying, and of course to podracing. But, he did kind of have a point. As much as he loved Shmi, and flying, he hadn’t had proper fun, not really.And it wasn’t like being a Jedi gave a lot of chances for that either.“Hey, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, it’s not for me to judge,” Ferus prattled hastily, he hadn’t meant to make Anakin feel bad, “and besides, you’re kind of…adorable, about it, I suppose,” he admitted, going scarlet, and Anakin grinned.“Heh, thanks. I can have fun though, I’m good at having fun. I like being a Jedi, and some of it is fun, like driving Obi-Wan crazy. Or flustering my hot, tightly wound, killjoy companion.” He taunted, and Ferus went a deeper shade of red as they headed towards the door.“Thanks. And you look pretty hot yourself.” He admitted, and Anakin winked at him before turning to survey the door, oblivious to the butterflies he had just set off in Ferus’ stomach.Why did Anakin have such an effect on him? All those years when they drove each other crazy, he was now beginning to wonder if Anakin had only had such an effect on him then (well other than the fact that he was arrogant, insufferable and an all-round pain in the arse) because he obliviously had feelings for him then too.Stupid Jedi teachings not giving you a heads up if you fall for your archrival and don’t have the capacity to deal with it.Anakin grinned cockily as he managed to get the door open with a little bit of tinkering, and bowed Ferus through.“Such a gentleman, sending me in first so if there’s anything waiting on the other side, I get eaten first.” He teased, and Anakin shook his head hurriedly.“That’s not it! I was being a gentleman! Mind you, I could come to the rescue.” He mused as Ferus smiled and rolled his eyes, leading them back the way they’d came, back towards the ruined engine section of the Destroyer.However, there was little scope for playful banter as they headed back towards where the engines should have been. Dead clones littered the corridors, their armour torn apart in numerous places, and it was rather unnerving that most of it had been inflicted at their time of death, instead of afterwards by any of the wild animals hovering around. Blood and other body matters splattered the walls, shards of the clones armour crunched beneath their feet and blaster marks scorched the walls as they headed deeper into the bowels of the ship.“The starweirds must have shown up in the engine room, then slaughtered their way through.” Anakin muttered, his hand on his lightsaber hilt.Ferus scowled. The one on the Hand, albeit with help, had caused quite enough damage. An army of them marching through one of their warships was a rather terrifying omen.They emerged into the remains of the engine room, the air still and filled with the noise of dripping water. Stagnant water was below them, and there was the occasional spark from fried electrics. Broken pistons littered the place, warped metal and scorch marks were dotted around the place, adding to the sheer number of slaughter engineering clones. Broken cooling fans were swinging haphazardly from the ceiling, and like the corridor they had come through, blood was splattered everywhere, and there were numerous clones floating in the water.“Ok, let’s find what you need and get out of here, this is creepy.” Ferus mumbled, and Anakin nodded fervently, gently picking his way down the walkway, heading for the control panels that would hopefully hold what he was looking for.Anakin frowned as he noted the several damaged fuel lines, dyed green from the fuel, and briefly wondered if the place was just waiting for a spark to blow them all from here to the Deep Core. He hoped not.Sliding down the last meter or so due to the angle of the crashed ship, with Ferus behind him, he brought the computer online.“Got it, great, Artoo,” he said, speaking into his comm, and the droid beeped in reply, “I’m downloading some data from the Guardian’s engine logs, can you cross reference it with the stuff we had from the Hand please?” he asked, getting to work and sending Artoo the information.Ferus was relieved that he’d found what he was looking for, if nothing else it meant they could get out of here quicker. The whole place had the feel of a tomb, but there was something else, something not quite right, but when he expanded his awareness…Anakin was just finishing up when a brief alarm in the Force alerted him, and he turned in panic.“Ferus!” he cried, shoving Ferus back and out of the way.There was barely any time to react as a massive hulking creature swung down from above, swinging off one of the ceiling fans as it sprang towards them. It’s large feet caught Anakin directly in the chest, sending him flying across the room, slamming into the wall and collapsing in a heap as the beast that had tackled him hammered its fists on the floor and gave a challenging war cry, as Ferus ignited his lightsaber, it’s yellow light illuminating their attacker.It was a jotaz, one of the more unpleasant inhabitants of Zeffo. Twice the size of a human, it was built as thickly as a Hutt, but was mostly made up of muscle, with overlong arms that ended with vicious talons. It had mottled skin, and its shoulders were a contrast between deep green and sickly yellow markings. Pockmarked and grizzled and marked with scars due to numerous fights for dominance, it had long fleshy growths hanging from it’s face, surrounding its wicked sharp teeth, foam and spittle dribbling and drooling from it’s mouth. It was rabid, that was why they hadn’t sensed it until it was almost too late, and Ferus looked over at Anakin in a panic, if it hadn’t been for him, he’d likely have been crushed under the weight of the jotaz.“Anakin! Are you alright?” he called, as the jotaz barrelled towards him, distracting him from Anakin’s state as he flipped over the head of the beast.Anakin was feebly stirring, groaning in pain, damn that had hurt. Give him Dooku and his Force lightning over a jotaz ambush any day.The jotaz charged at Ferus, clearly trying to grab hold of him, its long arms flailing as it tried to seize Ferus, likely to pound his head into paste. Ferus danced out of it’s grip, lashing out with his lightsaber, and gestured, grabbing a fan with the Force and hurtling it at the jotaz. The beast roared in annoyance as it crowned it on its head, and as it reeled, it span, long arms lancing out. Ferus gritted his teeth and sprang over them, trying to survey the area.However they span it, things weren’t good. Anakin was down, possibly even out. The water also restricted their movements so they couldn’t even try to hide in there. The damaged surroundings were as likely to help as they were to hinder them, and there was the fact that the fuel lines were broken, so there was a good chance that there was litres of toxic fuel just waiting for an errant spark to blow them back to the pre-Republic era.The jotaz howled, charging right at Ferus, determined to kill him. Ferus danced out of its way, his blade scoring the thick skin of the beast, serving only to infuriate it. It slammed its fist to the ground, then swung its long arms right at Ferus, who had backed himself into a corner. He threw his saber up to defend himself, but the sheer strength of the creature was nigh unstoppable. His whole body shook as he parried its first blow, he barely kept hold of his saber for the second, and the third, he couldn’t take it any more and its claws tore into his side, incidentally the same one that the starweird had previously torn into.Ferus cried out in pain, and Anakin tried to focus through the pounding in his head, struggling to regain control of himself. It felt like every damn nerve was on fire he’d hit the wall with such force. The jotaz roared in challenge, Ferus hastily using the Force to prevent being sprayed by the beast before he lunged with his saber, the beast retreating slightly, giving him some breathing room. Anakin reached out with the Force, throwing part of a piston at the jotaz, and when it found its mark, the creature stomped its foot, turning its maddened, wicked eyes towards where Anakin was trying to pick himself out of the rubbish. Ferus took the chance, stabbing at the retreating jotaz, his blade puncturing its thick skin. With a savage growl, it turned in a split second, backhanding Ferus and sending him spiralling into the water. One of it’s opponents removed, the jotaz swung towards Anakin, who was gesturing for his saber to return to his hand. Dazed as he was however, he couldn’t properly concentrate, and before he could do anything to stop it, the jotaz was on him, yanking him up by the arm.Anakin cried out as he felt like his arm was about to be torn from his body. The jotaz brought him up to its eye level, it’s crazy, rabid eyes unfocused as it roared, and Anakin could see it’s muscles tightening, it was going to smash his head in…When a yellow lightsaber blade erupted from beneath the walkway panel they were standing on, cutting through the grille and puncturing right into the jotaz’s foot.The jotaz howled in pain, dropping Anakin as it hopped up and down, its foot smoking as Ferus cut a hole in the grille, grabbing the metal with the Force and flinging it at the jotaz, smacking it right in the face as he scrambled out of the water beneath the walkway they were standing on. As the jotaz howled, Ferus looked at Anakin worriedly, who had now reclaimed his weapon.“You alright?” he asked anxiously, but the jotaz was charging towards them, but as one, the two of them moved.Ferus performed an elegant spin, slashing upwards as he did so. The jotaz screeched as one of its overlarge arms came flying off, landing in the water beneath them with a sizzle. Anakin cut downwards, cutting right into one of it’s ankles, taking it’s undamaged foot off, and as it pirouetted, the two Jedi acted together, kebabbing the creature as they plunged their sabers into its vulnerable abdomen, and as it fell back Ferus finished it off, taking it’s head as it fell backwards, exposing its neck to his killing strike.The defeated jotaz fell in a heap, it’s head rolling into the water, leaving both boys panting tiredly. Ferus’ eyes flicked to Anakin, who was having trouble focusing.“Anakin?” he asked, pushing his wet hair out of his face as Anakin swayed, trying to focus on him.And Ferus then darted forward, barely catching him in time as Anakin collapsed into his arms, completely unconscious.“Anakin, wake up, can you hear me? Anakin!” Ferus called, trying to rouse him, but Anakin was totally out of it.This was his fault, the creatures infection had prevented him from being able to sense it, and Anakin had paid the price. He had to get them out of there, and back to civilisation.“It’s ok Anakin, you’ll be ok. I promise.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to Anakin’s temple as he wondered how the hell he was going to get them out of this mess. XX Keelyvine Reus watched in approval as her Padawan, Tyzen Xebec meditated on the lightsaber hilt in front of him. Having taken him on as an apprentice following the murder of Master Bolla Ropal, they were finally moving out of the teething stage of their new master and apprentice relationship and becoming a good team. She was currently trying to improve his focus, something that had been rather remiss of late following the Battle of Ukio, and his encounter with the Agricultural Corps member Sanya.She smiled slightly. They’d all been there at some point, and some Jedi were just better at controlling it than others.They were in the rec room of her flagship, the Venator class Star Destroyer Elegance. Beside her was Admiral Dron, whom she had worked with before and who had become a good friend since the start of the war.“How’s the lad doing?” he asked curiously, having taken an interest in Tyzen’s development, and she nodded in approval.“He’s doing well, he’s centring his mind, and hopefully he will remain doing so. It’s a Jedi technique, we use it to help settle the thoughts and feelings of those who’ve sustained a significant loss. Sadly, there’s been a lot more call for this exercise since the start of the war.” She lamented, and Dron nodded, looking grim.Many in the navy felt, rather strongly, that the Jedi Padawans had absolutely no place in this war. They understood how the Jedi worked, and knew they weren’t like most kids, but still, bringing kids into active warzones just didn’t sit right with many of them. He and his friend Gilad Pellaeon, the captain of the Acclamator class cruiser Leveler, had argued that many of the Jedi’s Padawans should be safely ensconced in the temple on Coruscant, especially the ones who wouldn’t be able to vote on their home planet, let alone anywhere else.It just wasn’t right really.“Master?” Tyzen called from the middle of the room, having done well to block out all distractions until this moment.Keelyvine frowned. Tyzen had been doing well, why had he suddenly lost focus?“Padawan?” she asked, as his eyes snapped open, and she hesitated as she saw the fearful expression on his face.“We’re not alone.” He replied eerily, just as an alarm klaxon began to blare.“What in the seven hells?” Dron demanded, and Keelyvine beckoned for her Padawan to come to her side as they hurried towards the bridge.“Ganch, what is it?” she asked as they entered the command bridge, and her clone commander, who’s armour was mostly red, pointed out of the viewport into the maelstrom of hyperspace.“We know what it is ma’am, we just don’t know how the hell it’s happening.” He replied, and she looked outside, and felt her blood run cold.Outside, hyperspace had taken on a sort of greenish hue, as crackling flashes of verdant lightning filled the tunnel of hyperspace before them. And from the shadows of hyperspace, a Lucrehulk cruiser emerged from the clouds of green energy before them, with the Elegance trapped right within the embrace of the Separatist warship, trapped between the two docking arms.This wasn’t possible. Ships weren’t able to intercept each other within hyperspace, it broke all conceivable laws of astrophysics. Simply put, that enemy warship shouldn’t be there, and it certainly shouldn’t have been able to intercept their ship!“Master?” Tyzen asked worriedly, looking to his master for orders, and she extended her awareness, trying to sense a way out of this.And then she felt the Force sort of freeze within her. It suddenly went inert, frozen, as though it had been turned into an ice cube, making it impossible to call on. She breathed in shock as her breath froze in her lungs, and Tyzen looked at her anxiously.“Master?” he asked, seeing that she had collapsed to her knees.“Tyzen…run!” she breathed, and her young Zabrak Padawan looked out of the viewport, and he felt his insides collapse in terror.There were bodies floating from the Lucrehulk. Thousands of them, casually stepping out into the vacuum of hyperspace from open airlocks, or from hangar bays, the eerie lights of the enemy cruiser illuminating the horde of towering, skeletal beings heading right for them.“By the Force…” Dron breathed in horror as the skeletal beings were getting closer to his ship.“RUN! All hands, abandon ship, it’s the starweirds!” Keelyvine screamed, forcing herself to her feet and igniting her two green lightsabers as the bridge crew started hurrying out of the crewpits, all of them pulling their blasters out while Ganch readied his rifle, Tyzen’s own blue lightsaber illuminating the dark bridge as the klaxons continued to blare.And then, the screams started. From deep within the prow of the ship, the clones who were likely carrying out maintenance of their starfighter complement screamed before their luminance in the Force was abruptly snuffed out. Tyzen looked up at his master in terror as the horde of starweirds that were emptying from the Lucrehulk begin to descend on the ship, slaughtering all within reach, death staining the Force as they invaded.This was the stuff of nightmares.“Everyone, come together, we’re getting out of here, right now!” Keelyvine barked, as hordes more starweirds started to descend through the vacuum, landing on the hull of the ship before phasing through it.The starweirds were like parasites, covering the whole prow, all of them phasing through but they still continued to pour en masse from their stolen warship. They continued to jump from the freighter, leaping from the hangars, the airlocks, from even the windows, millions of pinpricks of glowing lights from their sinister eyes as they swarmed over the vessel.“Admiral, we’ve…we’ve lost contact with over 60% of the ship, there’s no response!” one of the crewmen cried in horror, and Dron, his face ashen, stared at Keelyvine as she led them towards the turbolift at the back of the bridge.They had lost control of the ship in less time than it took to stay it.Keelyvine led them ahead, her two green sabers raised to go on the defensive. She knew their good luck, such as it was, wouldn’t last long, and that the starweirds would soon be in the command towers, but if they could just make a little progress…And then, the power died.“Master…” Tyzen whimpered, and she tightened her grip on her sabers, as the inescapable truth became inevitable.None of them were getting off this ship.And certainly not alive.The only light was now coming from her two green sabers, and Tyzen’s own blue one, and she could feel the boy quivering in fear behind her. To be fair, he wasn’t the only one. Dron was also shaking, and she was fairly sure the two guards from the bridge in their party were also quaking in fear, the only armoured clone still not overcome with terror being Ganch.“General!” one of the clones from the crewpits yelled, and Keelyvine turned to see sinister, glowing white eyes appearing in the command tower behind them, right at the viewports.Those glowing white eyes quickly became tall, gaunt and skeletal starweirds, their horrific faces pulled back in an approximation of a sinister grin as they began to stalk towards them. And it wasn’t just the two that had just materialised either.The original two started floating menacingly along the command walkway, but another two then appeared to the starboard side of the bridge, and then another two appeared on the port side as well, all six starweirds focusing on their prey, their glowing eyes signifying malice as they began to close the gap between them and their prey.“Keelyvine!” Dron whispered in horror, and she turned to see another two starweirds appear right beside them, and then another two appeared on the other side of the war room that was at the back of the command tower.They could only go forward, that was their only option…And then five more starweirds faded into existence, surrounding the entire bridge crew with ease. The one directly in front of Keelyvine, however, was different.It was tall and sketal, it’s white hair wafting with an eerie, unnatural quality. Long, evil looking talons hung from its overlong arms, and wisps of dead, emaciated skin hung from the creature. Two icy blue blowing eyes looked out of its skull, its cold, frozen eyes focusing on the cornered bridge crew. And on its face, was the once distinctive facial tattoo of Jedi Z’Meer Bothu.“Master Z’Meer…” Keelyvine breathed in horror.“Open fire!” Dron bellowed, and the bridge crew opened up with blaster fire against the surrounding wall of starweirds.The blaster fire lasted mere seconds. With a single flick of her finger, Z’Meer seemed to command all of the starweirds, and they surged together, their vicious talons tearing the clones to shreds in the spate of seconds, agonised screams of terror and pain cut brutally short. Blood geysered all over Keelyvine, Tyzen and Dron as the clones, dismembered, maimed or decapitated, fell to the ground, the chunks of their bodies littering the ground of the war room, as the starweirds seemed to take pleasure in the massacre they had just committed.“No, no…” Tyzen breathed, as Dron aimed his blaster at Z’Meer.The blue eyed starweird that was once a Jedi cocked its head as he fired at it. The starweird merely phased out, becoming spectral and allowing the blaster bolts to pass through its head, before it became solid again, and faster than light, its taloned hand lashed out, and promptly tore Dron’s head from his shoulders, dropping his lifeless body to the ground as it crushed his skull in its grip.Tyzen gave a scream of terror, his whole body shaking as he sprang at the starweird that had once been Z’Meer Bothu. He swung his blue saber at her, screaming, and while Keelyvine tried to reach him and calm him with the Force, he was too frightened, and then, the blue eyed starweird moved.Striking like a serpent, it lunged, pulling Tyzen up by his cranial horns, kicking his legs in futility as it dragged him up to eye level.“Tyzen!” Keelyvine cried, springing towards him to try to rescue her Padawan.The starweird turned to look at her, it’s eerie, ice blue eyes narrowed, and with a gesture, sent her crashing to the deck. The other starweirds pressed around her, all of them trapping her within a small circle, and she slashed at them with her two blades in order to scare them off, but as she did so, she heard an inhuman sound coming from outwith the circle she had been forced into.The starweird that had once been a fellow Jedi, had Tyzen fast in its grasp, his saber having clattered to the floor. Tyzen was squirming in its grip, trying to pry himself loose, but then he made the mistake of looking right into the starweirds eyes.Tyzen abruptly froze, as the starweird opened its mouth, a wispy trickle of blue smoke wafting from its mouth. Keelyvine looked on in uncomprehending horror as the blue smoke wafted into Tyzen’s open mouth. And then, he began to spasm. He made a noise as though he was choking as the starweird inhaled, the blue air now streaming out of Tyzen, his whole body convulsing. To Keelyvine’s utter horror, she watched as Tyzen began to emaciate, his skin starting to dry out and sag, his body crumpling in on itself, his body spasming…and with a final rattle, his body burst into dust, the starweird inhaling the blue energy from within her Padawan, who was now a pile of dust on the floor.Keelyvine looked at the pile of dust that had been her Padawan. No, it wasn’t possible, she hadn’t lost him, that, it couldn’t have…And then the starweird took a step towards her, standing right in the pile of dust that had once been Tyzen, and something broke within Keelyvine.These monstrosities, whatever they really were, whatever they really wanted, they were unstoppable. But she was a Jedi, and she had lost her Padawan. While she could sense that she was the only being left alive on the whole ship, she didn’t care.She would make them pay.She sprang into the air with a screech, the blue eyed starweird gazing up at her in seeming shock. Keelyvine’s two green blades swept down right at it, forcing it to bend against itself to avoid her lethal swing, but while it spared itself, Keelyvine was like a maelstrom, her green sabers spinning around her as she pounced, slicing one starweird in two, and cutting deep into the chest of another.The creatures gave enraged screams as they were consumed by ghostly red energy, but Keelyvine was already on the move, her steps like a dancers as she avoided the dismembered pieces of the clones and of Admiral Dron as she savagely maid the starweirds pay for what they had done. She cut one in two from the shoulder to the hip, reversed her blade and plunged it through the heart of another before spiralling, taking the head off another before she abruptly stopped.The blue eyed starweird stood, its icy eyes passing over the gaps in their circle, its face inscrutable, but a dark pulse of fury surrounding it in the Force, the creature clearly incensed that the Jedi had managed to kill some of its brethren. It’s hand was raised, its face inscrutable, and all of a sudden, Keelyvine realised something that caused her utter horror: she could no longer feel the Force.It wouldn’t come. Deep within her chest, she felt something go ice cold, and her lightsabers dropped from her hand. She didn’t understand, this was unthinkable, what was it doing to her? How couldn’t she feel the Force? It didn’t make sense, it just, she didn’t understand!The Force wouldn’t come, all she felt when she tried to call upon it was a cold, gnawing sensation in her chest. The blue eyed starweird fixed her with a final gaze, and it gave a final, acknowledging nod, and Keelyvine felt true fear.And then the starweird made a final gesture, and Keelyvine Reus joined her Padawan in death as crystals of energy erupted from her chest, killing her instantly, her body displayed like some grotesque sculpture as the starweirds claimed another victory for their own. XX There was an excited beeping from somewhere beside him as Anakin slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he became aware of, other than Artoo’s excited beeping and whistling, was that his whole damn body hurt.“Anakin!” Ferus exclaimed with relief as Anakin’s eyes came back into focus.He was lying in the bed in the prestige cabin that had once been Padme’s room, and the one that Anakin had claimed for his own once he had taken over the Silver Queen. The hum of the engines indicated that they were in space, but not hyperspace, and Artoo was standing loyally beside the bed, with Ferus hovering over him, looking anxious.Trying to suppress the fantasy of Ferus hanging over him for a different reason that had just popped into mind, he shook his head to clear it.“Ok, don’t panic, I’m up.” He reassured him, propping himself up a little bit on the comfortable Naboo made pillows, and took stock of the situation.Dutiful, worried droid on hand, anxious boyfriend(?), ship in space, all of them alive. Not bad really.“You’re lucky to be, what were you thinking? The jotaz nearly flattened you.” Ferus scolded anxiously, and unable to resist, he took the chance to taunt Ferus.“Well, I don’t see why you’re complaining. After all, I notice I’m very much in a state of undress, if you wanted my clothes off, all you had to do was ask.” He teased, and enjoyed watching Ferus go scarlet.“That’s, well, I-Anakin this is serious!” he protested, while Artoo tootled in laughter.“Relax, it’s fun winding you up, that’s all. Not that I mind.” He purred, and Ferus glowered at him, which didn’t do much to detract from the fact that he was very embarrassed.“Anakin, the damn jotaz nearly crushed you! I got you out the Guardian and back to the village, they helped me patch you up, but your whole body was bruised, you were lucky nothing was broken or ruptured! Mirienna basically had to bathe you in bacta salve, and I put you in a healing meditation to help, but you could have died, what were you thinking?” he demanded, but Anakin reached up, and despite the pain it caused him to do so, gently took Ferus’ cheek and brought him close to him, pressing his lips against Ferus’.Ferus moaned in slight protest, but did melt into the kiss, while Artoo hummed to himself, his head pointing away from his master and his boyfriend. However, when they didn’t break apart, he did make a catcall, and reluctantly, they broke apart.“I was thinking that if the jotaz caught you, he actually would have flattened you, instead of just mostly flattening me. I’m sorry I worried you, and if it’s any consolation, it hurts like a bitch,” he admitted, wincing, and Ferus did smirk in a slightly self-satisfied way, “but I won’t apologise for saving you. But thanks, for getting me out of there and saving me.”Ferus shook his head in irritation, but did sit down on the bed beside Anakin, and Anakin was suddenly rather grateful that the blanket was quite thick, as the one part of him that wasn’t bruised was suddenly getting a bit excited about his proximity to Ferus, especially after kissing him.“You’re welcome. Anyway, I got you out and back to the village, they patched you up and I got us off the planet, we’re in high orbit. Artoo’s been running the data from the Guardian, and comparing it with the data from the Hand while we waiting for you to wake up.” He explained, and Artoo took that as his cue, and he teetled in explanation, and Anakin frowned as his friend reported back.“So there’s nothing that connects them?” he asked, mulling it over in his head, and Artoo beeped negatively, and Ferus looked at him curiously.“What were you hoping to find?” he asked, and Anakin winced a little as he adjusted himself, and Ferus laid his hand over his, which he had to admit, felt quite nice.Now settled, and also in dire need of a painkiller, he explained.“Well, I wanted to find out if there’s anything in common between the two. So, if there isn’t, it’s both reassuring and terrifying. Reassuring because it means the starweird that attacked us on the Hand was just there on the off chance, and it was just our bad luck it found us. Terrifying because that also means…” he began, and Artoo made a scared tootle while Ferus sighed in annoyance.“It also means that they’re now targeting our vessels regardless, with nothing extra attracting them. We’ll need to update the Council if nothing else, I’ve stored Master Chiata and Marseph’s lightsabers upstairs.” Ferus said mournfully, and Anakin nodded.“That’s true. But it also means we can’t even do much to try and stop the starweirds hitting our ships either. So what are we doing now?” he asked, and Artoo beeped Anakin goodbye as he headed upstairs, leaving Anakin and Ferus alone, and Ferus smiled as he heard the droid head up to the next deck on the small lift.“We’re in orbit, mainly because a storm was coming and I didn’t want us to get stuck on Zeffo in that wind. After Marienna helped patch you up, Ostar helped me get you back to the ship, and for the record, it was Marienna who took your robes off, I’ve washed and dried them.” He mumbled, and Anakin grinned.“Oh, so it wasn’t you wanting to find out if the tattoos are real?” he teased, and Ferus eyes flicked to Anakin’s tattooed chest.A relic of his visit to Nelvaan a few weeks before, the tattoos had been kind of an accident. The men of the Nelvaani tribe had started to disappear, and Anakin, who had arrived with his troops to check up on intelligence that General Grievous had been seen on the planet, had become involved. After overcoming the language barrier, Anakin had deduced that the locals believed that he, due to his lost arm, was a champion of the folklore called Ghost Hand who would save their world from a great evil. The village elder of the Nelvaani had proclaimed that he truly was Ghost Hand and begged him to save their missing menfolk and their village. Due to the cultural implications, Anakin had consented to taking on the tribal tattoos of their Ghost Hand legend to help them realise he was there to help. However, the near sighted elder had apparently used the wrong species of bruise-leech crawlers. When the one that had marked his scar had unexpectedly died, the elder had used a second one, however, it seemed as though this one’s blue entrail was much more potent, and as such, unlike the one above his eye, was now permanently on his body.Not that he minded really.Especially with the way Ferus was focusing on it.Well, kind of drooling slightly.“Well, are they?” Ferus asked, trying and failing not to sound curious, and Anakin took his hand and placed it on top of the blue, geometrical tribal markings that now stretched across his chest.Ferus went pink again, but the sensation of Ferus touching his bare, tattooed chest was, well, rather welcome.“Well, as far as I can tell. Master Vokara too, she says it’s something to do with the pigments of the bruise-leech that marked me, she reckons it had a genetic defect so it’s permanent now instead of temporary. Like them?” he asked innocently, as Ferus had been absent mindedly stroking his pecs, and Ferus suddenly jerked his hand away, as though burned, turning away in embarrassment.It was so fun winding him up.“Um…yeah, they’re, well they’re very…kark it, they’re hot ok?” he asked in exasperation, going scarlet as he admitted it, and Anakin grinned.“Thanks. Have you got any?” he asked in interest, then inwardly cursed, damn it, he’d let Ferus take the initiative, and Ferus smirked.“That’s for me to know and you to find out. So, what happened on Nelvaan, other than playing dress up?” he asked, and Anakin frowned as he explained what had happened there.After being anointed as Ghost Hand, Anakin had went looking for the male Nelvaani. He had eventually happened upon a cave system, in which was a secret Separatist installation that was funnelling geothermal energy from the Nelvaani and using it to power the base (which had helped attract the Republic’s attention to begin with, the geothermal readings hadn’t made any sense as it had inadvertently plunged Nelvaan into a sudden ice age). In the installation, a bunch of Skakoan engineers who worked for the Techno Union had been experimenting on the Nelvaani males, turning them into mutated monsters with the aim of making them berserkers to throw against the Republic front lines. Enraged by the fate of the innocent Nelvaani soldiers, Anakin had kind of lost it.However, while he had lost control before (Zonama Sekot, Tatooine, Aargonar), it had been like he had been receiving some sort of, he didn’t know, second wind of anger. It had been like he’d been struck with lightning, his whole body pumping with fury and anger, akin to having no control, but he’d felt strong, powerful, justified, everything he had always viewed what a Jedi should be. He had killed the scientists, freed the Nelvaani and went about his business.But the power he had tasted on Nelvaan, the anger he had felt, he had been mulling it over for a while now, wondering exactly what had happened to cause such a loss of control…and if he would ever feel such a burst of power again.However he didn’t tell Ferus about that part, he told him the rest however, about what the Separatists had done on Nelvaan and his part in freeing the Nelvaani.And all through his tale, Ferus’ eyes kept drifting to his shirtless and tattooed body, which made him grin all the more.“Alright. Ostar gave us some food when we left too, turns out that jotaz has been giving them some grief for a while now. I’ll go make us some food, you take it easy.” He ordered, and Anakin nodded, and Ferus pressed a kiss to his forehead as he headed out, wondering if he could convince Ferus to snuggle into bed with him when he came back with dinner. XX Having been a Jedi for many decades, and a member of the Jedi Council for a good many years too, Even was used to many things in his work as a member of the Council. However, despite his vast experience, wisdom, and connection to the Force, he could not figure out how in the name of the Force he had been conned into this job. He was fairly sure his lousy if esteemed colleagues on the Council were at fault…he just couldn’t figure out how they’d swindled him into this.The Space Phenomenon Committee was usually little more than an idle curiosity, a good way for the senators who comprised it to earn the extra credit points for sitting on it without having to actually do much, a way of justifying their salaries when their expenses were published each year. Indeed, many senators used the hours that they were required to sit on these committees as an excuse to catch up on other paperwork. However with the sharp increase in attacks by the starweirds, the committee had undergone a transformation.With the charge being led by Senator Binks, the former members who had basically been here to collect a paycheque or catch up on sleep had been replaced, and now, it seemed, that all five members of the committee wished to be here.Senator Jar Jar Binks of Naboo.Senator Sweitt Concorkill of Sembla.Senator Zo Howler of Gravlex Med.Senator Veedaaz Awmetth of Sarrish.And lastly, Senator Dewell Bronk of Kedorzha.All five senators now seemed to genuinely want to be there, and other than Bronk, most of them were awake. Bronk was dozing slightly, though to be fair, he’d had to take a very roundabout route back to Coruscant due to fighting, and he’d come straight to committee upon his arrival.“Thank you for your report Master Piell,” Howler said in his slow, doleful voice, “you have been most illuminating.”Even bowed his head respectfully towards the large Anx. The fact that he had been lumped with making this report aside, the news he had brought hadn’t exactly been good. More and more vessels were now missing, likely as a result of an attack by the starweirds. The Elegance had also now been lost, taking with it Master Keelyvine Reus and her apprentice, on top of the destruction of the Guardian, and the vanishing of the Dogmatic, the Liberation and the Vigilance. The missing Star Destroyers were a crisis in and of themselves, but now another Arquitens had failed to make it’s rendezvous, two Consular frigates had vanished without a trace, and even an Acclamator had also been marked as lost.It wasn’t just the ships themselves, it was the lives within. The loss of so many of their men at a time obviously didn’t do much to help the war effort, especially when they had no way of preventing it from happening. Even had informed them, in broad strokes at least, that the Jedi were now investigating, but at this point, he was starting to hope for more information on any part of this developing crisis as opposed to anything else.“You say our intelligence assets confirm that the Separatists are also experiencing such instances of missing ships?” Awmetth asked, and Even turned his eye onto the scarlet skinned Sarrishian.“Yes Senator. Clone Intelligence, Republic Intelligence and even Master Tholme’s networks have indicated that several Confederacy warships are also missing with no explanation, and it seems as though the starweirds are also targeting them as well. However, we are still no closer to deducing why the starweirds are doing this.”Bronk seemed to rouse himself, blinking blearily as he turned his beady eyes onto Even.“The Jedi are investigating, are they not?” Bronk asked dolefully, and Even nodded.“Yes, we have sent Master Skywalker to investigate, due to his previous encounter with them on the Hand of Justice. At the moment, he is investigating the crash of the Guardian, which we believe was the work of the starweirds.”Conckorill steepled his fingers together, looking grave.“Are the Jedi any closer to discovering what began these attacks?” he asked, and Even shook his head.“Regretfully, senator, your guess is as good as ours. Perhaps they perceive that we’re otherwise engaged with the Clone Wars and are seeking to exploit the chaos. Simply put, our main problem is that we just don’t know enough about the starweirds to try to deduce what they’re up to.”Howler looked at Jar Jar, who nodded, taking the lead.“Wesa have put out a broad but discreet message. Wesa have access to all sorts of files, and mesa has already passed them to Ani for his mission. Now wesa are appealing to academics, societies who might know about desa starweirds. Wesa also reached out to other galactic powers, to find out if desa Hutts, desa Corporate Sector and others are also under attack. If theysa are, itsa bad bombin for all of ussen. Wesa need to fin d out what desa starweirds are wanting, if not, wesa all being crunchin. Thank you Master Piell, could mesa have a private word?” he asked, bringing the session to a close as he dismissed the committee.Three of the other senators got to their feet, bidding Jar Jar and Even goodbye while Senator Bronk dozed peacefully. Jar Jar mused over Bronk for a second, then shrugged, deciding to leave him there to catch up on sleep as he gestured Even out of the committee room.“Thank you for your help with this matter, Senator. I’m sure young Skywalker will appreciate your help as well.” Even said as the two headed down the corridors of the senate building, and Jar Jar looked at him worriedly.“Mesa worried about him. Desa starweirds seem to be getting more aggressive, and now hesa chasing them down. Mesa no want what happened to Qui-Gon to happen to mesa pallo.” He told Even, and the aged Jedi nodded.“You are right to be worried senator. This starweird threat is unlike anything we have dealt with before. But that being said, Anakin is highly skilled, and we’ve also sent Ferus along with him. With luck, they will discover some more information on this threat.”Jar Jar nodded, waiting to cross the junction in the corridor and allowing the Abyssin senator to run past them, muttering about taxi drivers as he dashed towards whatever meeting he was meant to be in.“Mesa hope so. Mesa hear that yoursa former apprentice was victorious on Thakwaa. Yousa must be proud.” He said to Even, and he raised a finger.“Pride is a dangerous thing for a Jedi senator. But yes,” he admitted with a tight grin, “he did do me proud. Mostly however, I’m filled with relief as now he can return to Coruscant.”Jar Jar grinned, and led them down another corridor, away from the bustle and entered the Naboo senatorial office, where Threepio bowed in greeting and hurried to present them with water. Even refused, and Jar Jar picked his glass up. However it shot up and out of his hand, and only the quick, resigned action of Even prevented both he and the senator from being soaked. Jar Jar groaned and took the glass before sitting down at his desk, while Even took the seat across from him. After Threepio sealed the door and activated the privacy sensor, Jar Jar pressed on.“Mesa hope Ani can come back soon. Bein out chasen dese bombad starweirds, itsa nutsen. Mesa wanted to spake to you in private. Mesa once had a fellow Gungan in mesa employ, Kleef. Wesa had an amicable parting of desa ways, hesa wanted more money and because mesa was only da junior representative at desa time, Queen Jamilla wasn’t paying for protection for both mesa and Padme. Anyway, hesa went off into desa galaxy to make his fortune. Nowadays, hesa working for desa Confederacy, some Mandalorian boyo named Chop’aa. But hesa reached out to mesa, off desa books, that’s why mesa wanted to spake to you in private,” he told him quietly, and Even frowned, leaning in closer, “as yousa said, desa Seppies are also suffering from starweird attacks. But while deysa chasing dem tails to discover whatsa happening, lower-level operatives like Kleef’s boss, deysa noticing other things. Theysa have spotted one of our missing ships, the Liberation. It’s near Separatist space, but since it went missing, nobody’s heard from it. Hesa got out of there quicksticks, but hesa swears blind that it was one of desa missing ships. Mesa know that now he’s in da fringes, hesa not entirely to be trusted, but wesa shooting in the dark here. If he has information, maybe we should look into it?” he suggested, and Even frowned as he considered the implications.First of all, it would seem that Jar Jar was far from the buffoon a lot of people dismissed him as. Second of all, the news that he wasn’t just in contact with a mercenary, but a mercenary who was also doing jobs for the other side was all the more impressive. Thirdly, if this news was indeed accurate, it could give them an insight that they sorely needed.“How much did you trust this fellow when he was in your employ senator?” Even asked, mulling it over in his head.The Liberation, if it had been spotted, was the ship of Masters Tiplar and Tiplee. The ship had vanished, and they’d lost track of it, so they’d been forced to accept that the ship was lost, and it’s crew along with it. But if it had been seen, like Jar Jar said, it could be a significant break, one they had been waiting for.Jar Jar shrugged.“Mesa trusted him with mesa life before he left. He didn’t have to message me, but he did. Mesa get the feeling that a lot of people are starting to be getting da creepies about all of dis, and with both sides focused on desa war, a lotsa things are going unnoticed. If hesa reaching out, mesa tink its maybe genuine.”Even pondered. He did raise a good point, there was no denying. So far much of the information about the starweirds had been kept quiet, but obviously both sides were only aware of the scale of the threat because they were losing their military ships. Who was to say they weren’t losing untold numbers of private ships, and they just didn’t know about it?And as Master Yoda said, a little more light was needed on the subject.“Hmm. Do you know where this Kleef spotted the Liberation?” Even asked, and Jar Jar called up the message, frowning as he did so.“He was doing some mission for dis Chop’aa fellow, out near Hutt space. Hesa hightailing it towards Bespin now, hesa got a base round there mesa tinks. But hesa saw the ship around Sinta Glacier.”Even squinted at the galactic map, it was quite hard to make out. Jar Jar got to his feet to adjust the shades, tripped and would have fallen flat on his face had Even not caught him with the Force.“Tank you. Hang on…” he said gratefully, adjusting the light in the room, and Even could make it out a lot better now.A frozen glacier deep in space, it contained a small mining colony, but was fairly unremarkable other than the fact it was essentially a space-borne iceberg. Not far from Hutt Space or Dressel, it was one of those weird places in the galaxy that looked easy to get to, but actually quite awkward in practice to reach.“What yousa tink?”Even stroked his chin. Technically he shouldn’t approve this in and of himself, but he supposed time was of the essence. And war did make for some strange bedfellows. And if this Kleef was worried enough to reach out, well, there was likely something to it. And besides, Jar Jar meant well, and it wouldn’t do for Naboo’s senator to be arrested for trading information with the enemy, even if it was for a good cause.“We’ll need to investigate. Anakin and Ferus are on Zeffo, it shouldn’t be difficult for them to reach Sinta from there.” He concluded.“You can leave that to mesa, if yousa want.” Jar Jar offered, and Even nodded.“Very well. Yousa…damn it,” he grumbled, and Jar Jar grinned, “you contact Anakin and Ferus, and I’ll square it away with the Council. The fewer people who know of this, the better I think senator. It may also pay for Threepio to receive an upgrade, just in case of any unwanted eyes or ears.”Threepio looked over at him, looking in slight shock.“If you think that wise Master Piell,” the droid said, and Even nodded.“Better to be safe my golden friend. Come see Master Paratus, he’ll see you right. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Senator Binks. Hopefully, this will provide us some of the answers that we desperately need.” XX Ferus was lounging in the co-pilots chair with a cup of coffee in one hand when the turbolift door opened, revealing Anakin. While Artoo beeped in greeting, Ferus kind of froze a little. Anakin had entered the cockpit wearing only trousers and a loose robe, which afforded him a discreet but substantial view of his tattooed chest, bulging abs and defined pecs. And the smug smirk on his face made it perfectly clear that he knew exactly what he was doing to Ferus, the cocky, arrogant, no good…“Good morning.” Anakin said innocently, and Ferus tried to force his brain to work, why was Anakin able to affect him like this, how did he let Anakin affect him like this?“Morning. Your bruising seems to have gone down, how you feeling?” he asked, forcing his upstairs brain to take control of the situation instead of the downstairs one which was altogether far more interested in Anakin’s body.“Alright actually, the healing trance helped. Now we just have to-” Anakin began before Artoo tootled in welcome, and a hologram of Jar Jar materialised on the holocomm in front of Anakin.“Ello boyos. Oh mesa interrupting.” Jar Jar teased, as Anakin went scarlet, hurriedly closing his robe while Ferus burst out laughing in his chair, Artoo tootling in laughter as well.“Artoo! You announce a call before you put it through you stunted little trash compactor!” Anakin growled as Artoo beeped in mirth, while Jar Jar fixed him with an admonishing look.“Ani, mesa lent you desa ship to get Nubia off mesa back. Not to spend time on yousa back,” he admonished, and Anakin was so outraged he couldn’t get any words out, and while he tried to bring himself under control, Jar Jar looked at Ferus, “hello, mesa Jar Jar Binks.”Ferus’ eyes flicked to Anakin in amusement, who threw himself into the pilot chair while glowering at Artoo, who was still chuckling away to himself while also managing to whistle innocently, clearly the little droid was enjoying his master’s discomfiture.“Nice to meet you senator. I’m Ferus Olin.”“Yousa boys okeday? Clearly yousa too okeday Ani.” Jar Jar taunted, and Anakin, furiously unclenching his jaw, turned to glower at Artoo who was at the back of the cockpit.“I’m going to sell you to a bunch of blind Jawas,” he vowed darkly, while Artoo sniggered in amusement in his own language, “for what it’s worth Jar Jar, I spent the night in a healing trance, I got flattened by a jotaz.”Jar Jar looked at Anakin in concern.“But yousa okeday now?” he asked, and Anakin nodded, eyes looking gratefully towards Ferus.“Yeah. Ferus got me out and patched me up.”“Ah, yousa palo. Mesa glad. Anyway, mesa calling on behalfen of desa Council, and of mesa. Mesa have heard from an old friend, Kleef. Hesa used to be mesa security guard before desa budget cuts. And desa near lawsuit.” Jar Jar admitted, and Ferus frowned.“A lawsuit?”“Wesa parted friends! Mesa had a little bitty accidenti, huh? But hesa wound up losing some of hesa ear and one of hesa eyes. Mesa doin nuthin! Well, not intentionally.” He admitted lamely, and Ferus’ jaw dropped in horror.“Wait, you managed to make him lose an eye and an ear?” he demanded weakly, and Anakin shook his head, kneading his temples while trying not to laugh at the horrified look on Ferus’ face.“Don’t ask, it’s always worse when you ask,” he advised, and Jar Jar nodded in agreement, “you trust this Kleef?”Jar Jar shrugged.“Like mesa said, wesa parted friendly enough, despite desa whole eye ting. Hesa reached out to mesa, and Master Piell tinking itsa worth a look. Hesa spotted the Liberation while on a job. Hesa saw it out by desa Sinta Glacier.”Anakin and Ferus exchanged a look. Truth be told, it wasn’t far, technically speaking, to the glacier. And since they were still in orbit around Zeffo, it was probably easier for them to get there than anyone else.“What about Kleef, why was he around there?” Ferus asked, figuring that a disfigured Gungan would be rather conspicuous, and Jar Jar shrugged.“Well, hesa working for some Separatist commander. Mesa know what yousa tinking,” Jar Jar said as both Jedi opened their mouths in protest, “that he cant be trusted, and mesa dubious too. But, hesa didn’t have to tell us about it. Mesa tinking a lot of people are scared by all dissen. People are disappearing, and wesa don’t know enough to be stopping it. Maybe dis will give us desa clue we need.”Anakin and Ferus looked at each other, and Ferus looked worriedly at Anakin, who despite the nervousness he felt, flashed a reassuring smile at his companion. Besides, it wasn’t like they had any other leads to play on.“Ok Jar Jar, we’ll take a look. Speak to you later.”“Bye boyos. Yousa be careful okeday?” Jar Jar asked as his image flickered out.“Are you sure about this Anakin? If we’re right about the Liberation and it was hit by the starweirds, we could be up against a Star Destroyer full of them, one was bad enough and was obsessed with you as it was, if we go to Sinta and find a whole army of them…” Ferus protested worriedly, and Anakin shrugged.“We’re never going to get any answers just by hiding away babe,” he said softly, and to his great annoyance, Ferus stumbled over what he had just said.“Babe?” he asked in shock, going scarlet, and Anakin looked frightened, rather like he’d been caught in headlights.“Sorry, I didn’t mean…” he tried to brush off, avoiding looking at Ferus, until he heard a soft voice.“No, it’s ok…I kind of like it. It’s what…it’s what Roan used to call me.” He admitted in a whisper, and Anakin felt his insides twist as he looked across at Ferus, rather thankful that Artoo was mercifully silent.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Anakin whispered, and then forced himself to look at Ferus, who was giving him a soft smile.“It’s ok. I’ve missed it. And it sounds nice, coming from you. You tell anyone else that though, I’ll kill you.”Anakin laughed.“Fair enough. But we’re not going to find anything out by hiding, and at least we can try and find out what happened to Tiplar and Tiplee.”Ferus rubbed his face tiredly, looking at Anakin with a strange expression on his face, one that Anakin couldn’t quite place, yet was really quite pleased that it was directed at him.“Anakin, last time we fought a starweird, just one, you were terrified.” He said softly, and Anakin smiled cockily.“Yeah, but this time, we know more. And this time, I’ve got you with me all the way through. Look, I don’t much like it either, but we’re still Jedi. And there was this really high strung Padawan when I was a kid who used to say that the Order’s mission took precedence over our own individual desires…” he teased, and Ferus glowered.“High strung?” he growled, as Anakin got to his feet.“Yeah. Very highly strung. Cute though.” Anakin purred, and kissed Ferus’ cheek as he headed aft towards the bathroom.“Stow it Skywalker.” Ferus retorted, not at all liking the silly grin Anakin had put on his face.Why the hell did he let him affect him like this?“You got it babe. Take us to Sinta. And Artoo?” he asked in a dangerous voice, and Artoo made a fearful noise, “I’ll deal with you later.”Artoo trembled and made a noise that sounded distinctly like ‘uh-oh’ as Anakin headed aft, and Ferus turned to the astromech.“Don’t worry, we’ll stick together buddy. So, who is this R2-KT?” he asked, and Artoo blatted at him rudely, making Ferus grin as he took them to lightspeed.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shadow of the Void The Silver Queen dropped out of lightspeed, Anakin, now fully recovered and feeling a lot better after his shower, angled the ship towards the Sinta Glacier. A large core of ice that had split out of a mega-comet eons ago, hardy colonists had made their home within the massive space iceberg, eking out a living mining malsarr, a mineral used in electronics construction.“No sign of the Liberation.” Ferus reported as Anakin took them towards the iceberg, and Anakin shrugged.Truth be told, especially with the dubious way they had gotten the information, he was expecting it to be little more than a wild bantha chase. And besides, it was kind of cool seeing a massive space iceberg.Artoo however then made an alarmed noise, and Anakin frowned as they both turned to look at him.“Are you sure?” he asked in concern, and Artoo beeped a sad affirmative.“What’s he saying?” Ferus asked, and Anakin looked worriedly at the glacier.“He’s not picking up any lifesigns on the colony. At all.” He told him tightly, trying to ignore the growing feeling of dread as he looked at the glacier.The colony wasn’t particularly large, sure, but it did contain about three thousand people. If Artoo wasn’t picking up any lifesigns on the colony, it meant that something had gone wrong. Ideally, it just meant that three thousand or so people had collectively decided to leave the colony, and just not tell anyone else where they’d gone.But what were the chances of that?“Should we call it in?” Ferus asked, feeling a creeping sense of dread as he tried to use the Force to divine any lifeforms on the colony.He couldn’t sense anything. No life, no signs within the Force that usually indicated the usual hustle and bustle of an active colony, it was just…empty.“Who to? It’s owned by Outer Rim Oreworks, and they’re technically part of the Trade Federation. And considering both companies are on the Separatists’ payroll, I don’t think they’re going to come and examine a colony, especially on the say so of two Jedi. Nah, we’ll go in.” Anakin said, angling the ship towards the hangar section, and Ferus looked at him worriedly.“Sweetie, if the Liberation was here, we might be walking into a trap.” He told him earnestly, however, a second later he noticed what he’d said, especially after noticing that Anakin had gone slightly pink.“You think I’m sweet?” he asked excitedly, and Ferus grinned, shaking his head.“Well, yeah, sometimes you actually can be quite sweet, when you’re not being your usual, cocky, maddening, crazy self. Did you hear what I said?” he asked, and Anakin grinned and winked at him.“That you’re crazy about me, yeah.” He replied, and Ferus groaned in exasperation.“That is not what I said, you drive me crazy, you always did, but I’m not crazy about you!” he protested, though there was a very pleasing blush on his cheeks as Anakin and Artoo laughed.“I know. And yeah, it might be a trap. But we don’t know what happened here, and like I said, that cute but highly strung Jedi…” he teased, and Ferus glowered at him.“Oh shut up. Otherwise, you’ll be highly strung.” He grumbled, and Anakin went scarlet.“Um…is that an option?” he asked, fidgeting slightly, and Ferus smirked.Hmm, so Anakin liked the idea of being tied up, how interesting. The possibilities were many…if nothing else, gagging him would do wonders for his sanity.“Hard to see, the future is.” Ferus commented breezily, figuring that a Yoda saying would effectively cockblock Anakin for the time being.Anakin scowled, but remained red, and yeah, the thought of that was quite distracting, so decided to not go any further down that particular avenue and focus on what was happening. Gritting his teeth a little as he manouvered the ship into the hangar bay, he looked around as he set the ship down, exchanging a look with Ferus worriedly.The Silver Queen was a small ship, and that had been their saving grace. Anakin was a brilliant pilot, but even he couldn’t manage to land a ship if there wasn’t enough room to land the ship on. The hangar was full of dormant vessels. Two BFF-1 freighters, one Container-class transport, a turtle tanker, a Bellicose class transport, a Barloz class freighter and two large MB-C1 transports filled the hangar, leaving hardly enough room for the H-Type Nubian yacht.“Ok, this is creepy. Coming?” Anakin asked with a confidence he certainly didn’t feel, and Ferus nodded while Artoo also whistled an affirmative.“Let’s stick together. You have an autostarter by any chance?” Ferus asked idly, as though he wasn’t thinking they might need to make a quick getaway.Artoo beeped and tootled at him, and Anakin translated for him.“Artoo says he’s tied into the computer so he can activate it for us. He might be lying, might be just saying that so I don’t leave him here to get back at him for letting Jar Jar call when I wasn’t ready.” He growled, and Artoo sniggered to himself.They took the turbolift down to the bottom deck, and as Artoo opened the boarding ramp, Anakin headed into the cargo bay, opening a locker and pulling out thermal detonators, flash grenades and two S-5 heavy blaster pistols.“Can’t be too careful.” Anakin told Ferus, who nodded, holstering the blaster and making sure his other two weapons were nowhere near the grenade and detonator that he gave him.They headed down into the empty hangar bay, and Anakin hissed through his teeth as the cold air hit him.“What is it, desert boy? Cold?” Ferus taunted in amusement, and Anakin glowered at him as he followed him down the ramp.“It’s freezing! Not my fault I was raised on a desert!” he grumbled, and Ferus took pity on him and took his cold human hand in his own.“Ok, careful.” Ferus said softly, taking charge, and Anakin squeezed his hand a little as they surveyed the hangar.The cold blue of the hangar wasn’t doing much to offset their trepidation. Long jagged shadows caused by the glaciers formation were throwing a lot of the hangar into shade. Their air was rising in front of them when they breathed, edging deeper into the hangar. All of the ships, strangely, were open. It was as though their crews had just decided to take a break, leaving everything half done. The boarding ramps were open, there were crates needing to be loaded into the ships, gravsleds were abandoned halfway up several of the ramps. The entire hangar was deathly quiet, and the sight of everything essentially frozen in time made it all the more eerie, especially as their breath billowed out in front of them.“Where did everyone go?” Ferus asked softly, as Artoo made a fearful noise.Anakin crouched down to look at some of the malsarr that was getting loaded, and frowned. Usually, malsarr was left in the ice and thawed out at the other end, because it could lead to impurities if it was done incorrectly, and also if it took too long. The fact that the malsarr that had been getting loaded into the ships was now essentially floating in its own juices indicated that something had gone very badly wrong. The colonists certainly wouldn’t treat the malsarr as such, it would cost the, a fortune, particularly if Outer Rim Oreworks found out they’d done it because they’d impose crippling fines on their own employees for denying the company their due.“Maybe there’s something deeper inside the glacier, a bolthole or something, and we can’t sense them because of the denseness of the ice? Because they’re not here, and whatever happened, they didn’t run because all the ships are still here.”Ferus looked around, hoping he was right. But if that was the case, what sort of calamity would have forced all of the colonists that deep into the colony? If the Liberation had arrived as they thought, fair enough, it might drive some people deeper into hiding, as they wouldn’t know the ship had been taken by starweirds, colonies like this were havens for people who wanted to keep out of the way of the Republic. But for the entire colony to vanish?“Reckon we can try and find the command centre? We might find some information there that we can use to try and find out what happened here.”Anakin nodded, looking uncertainly at the abandoned ships and cargo. As they proceeded through the hangar, the other ships were all the same, abandoned mid loading or unloading, with no sign of the crews. One loading crane was abandoned, with its cargo swaying precariously as they passed by, clearly abandoned just as the rest of the hangar was. As they got closer to the customs offices that marked the official entrance into the colony, there were more signs of life, a life that had been unceremoniously abandoned: cups of coffee left untouched, a tap running somewhere off in the distance, doors left open.“Ok, this is very creepy. Where is everyone, where the hell did they go? What would make an entire colony just up and vanish?” he asked, feeling jumpy.He knew it wasn’t very Jedi like to be scared, but this was weird. The colony seemed empty, totally abandoned, and the fact that they thought starweirds were involved was making him all the more anxious.“There’s another thing,” Ferus muttered, looking discreetly back at Artoo, who was tailing them and whistling sorrowfully, “there’s no droids. Like, at all. A place like this wouldn’t have many, but they’d be using them to help with the docks if nothing else surely? So where are all the droids?”Anakin frowned. That was a good point actually. Droids were commonplace in the galaxy, yet they hadn’t seen any here. He gestured at Artoo to move closer, and the little droid beeped worriedly and scooted closer to them as they passed through the customs port, entering the colony properly.Stores stood empty, cafes had tables with half-eaten food on the tables, smoke and steam were coming out of the various restaurants as there was clearly nobody to turn anything off, and there was the sound of water running in some of them. The two Jedi exchanged loaded looks as they edged into the main atrium of the colony. All around there was the detritus of interrupted living. A few stalls were standing with their till drawers open, with credits still inside. Pools of water were emitting from several stores where the water had been left running before whatever had happened, happened. Power was still running, a far cry from how it had been on the Hand, but somehow that made it all the more eerie.Anakin hesitantly entered a café, frowning as he did so. The stove had clearly hit the automatic cutoff temperature, which had likely happened throughout the colony, otherwise the place would be filled with alarms. Wisps of smoke clung to the air, half-eaten food was left on the tablets, half-drank and now cold coffee was lying in cups, a glass of juice had spilled and was slowly dripping onto the floor. Handbags, supply packs, an empty stroller and a couple of abandoned toys lay around the café, their owners nowhere to be seen.“Ferus…the kids are missing too.” He whispered as Ferus joined him, and Artoo tootled dolefully.“Whatever happened, it happened before it even registered it was happening. But this place, it’s weird. There’s no animals either. Like womp rats or something, you’d think they’d ben skulking around the area but there’s nothing. Literally no life at all. The command centre’s on the top level, come on, we’ll go there and see if we can figure out what happened.”The three of them headed back into the atrium. The dull coloured blueish light that permeated the glacier wasn’t exactly calming as they moved to the turbolifts at the end of the atrium. The colony should have been full of bustle, of people trying to make a living but instead it was just a void. They kept looking around, hoping to see some sign of life, but there was nothing as Artoo accessed the turbolift, taking them up towards the control centre that regulated the entire colony.The turbolift came to a stop, and they stepped out, admiring the view. The command centre was set into the icy overhang that made for the roof of the main port, connected by a sturdy, angular bridge. The turbolift emptied onto a large plaza with various antennas and relays built into the fence that surrounded it. The overlook looked down onto the hangar section, the various ships lined up, and directly below the bridge leading into the command was the monorail track that led into the habitable sections of the colony. With a dubious look at the bridge that would take them into the command centre, Anakin led the way, taking in the magnificent view of the glacier, natural icy blue light highlighting them and throwing the colony into relief as they headed up the bridge.“It’s kind of pretty isn’t it?” Ferus asked, and Anakin nodded, the icy colours throwing the two of them into relief.He had to focus, the fact that Ferus looked really good in this icy light wasn’t here nor there. Thankfully, he was distracted by the fact that the door to the command centre was wide open, which certainly wouldn’t have been the policy during an emergency. He held his hand up, bringing Artoo to a stop, making the little droid rock back and forth on his feet in unison. Ferus readied his blaster as Anakin had his hand round his saber, ready to move if the situation arose for it. He peered into the command centre, and seeing no threat, proceeded in with Ferus and Artoo behind him.The situation here was the same as they’d seen in the rest of the colony. Cups of coffee, long since gone cold, sitting out. Pings from unanswered messages echoing throughout the cavernous command centre. But once again, no sign of anyone.“Nothing. Ok, Artoo, hook up to the system, let’s see if we can’t find out what happened here.” Anakin ordered, and to be safe, he closed the command centre door.Artoo beeped away to himself as he hacked into the system, as the two boys stood behind him.“See if you can bring up the approach logs, or even the security recordings, they have to have some way of making sure that the ships approaching are from ORO and not pirates or anything.” Ferus suggested, and Artoo whistled in approval, generating the images up on the screen.He began with a live feed, showing the space outside the colony as it was currently. He then tootled, rewinding the tape to show their own arrival. With his computer jack moving, Artoo then scrolled back through footage, seeing nothing until-“There, that’s a Star Destroyer.” Anakin said, pointing, and Artoo beeped an affirmative, showing the Liberation as it dropped out of lightspeed.The three of them stood, Artoo cycling through the footage, watching as the Star Destroyer edged closer to the colony. It got closer, then pulled itself to broadside, hanging parallel to the colony where it just hung there, doing nothing.Artoo used his jack, rotating it back and forth, but the Star Destroyer didn’t seem to do anything. A while later, it eventually jumped away to hyperspace, a good couple of hours before they had arrived themselves.“They didn’t do anything, at least not that we can see. Can you bring up the security footage from inside the hangar from when it arrived?” Anakin asked, and Artoo tootled musingly to himself, before giving a triumphant beep.He displayed several of the security cameras footage from the exact time the Liberation came onside. The whole colony was full of people, all of them going about their daily lives, as people worked, talked, laughed…so what happened next?Artoo made a mournful sound, focusing on the camera that was monitoring the hangar bay. A starweird materialised in the hangar bay, appearing from nowhere. Several of the people working around the hangar stopped as they noticed it, some of them shouting, some of them running, some of them pulling blasters. The starweird just stood there, its head moving back and forth as it surveyed the people of the colony. It then raised its arms as several people opened fire. Anakin and Ferus winced, they both knew that that wouldn’t end well. The blaster bolts stopped in midair, but oddly enough, the starweird didn’t send them back at them. The people who had fired just stood, dumbfounded, staring at the starweird as it arced its back, and as it did so, Anakin felt a surge of terror, grabbing and squeezing Ferus’ hand.And then the starweird exhaled.He could see people screaming in the archive footage. He could see them running. But nothing they did could prevent it.The starweird had unleashed a cloud of billowing, menacing fog from its mouth, its eyes, from every orifice it had. The cloud moved like lightning, quickly covering the entire hangar as people tried to run, the whole room covered in split seconds. The cloud thundered on inexorably throughout the customs department, quickly engulfing the entire atrium as people ran into it, trying to raise the alarm but nothing could outpace the deathcloud. The cloud billowed through the whole facility, rising to the level they were in. The security cameras watched on, just as the three investigators did, watching as the cloud sped through the entire colony in a matter of seconds. The control room, the hospital, the habitation quarters, all of them were engulfed in the billowing, insidious fog in a matter of seconds. Artoo gave a sorrowful beep as he told them how long it took: four minutes. Within four minutes, the deathcloud had spread through the entire colony, trapping everyone within the death cloud.And then, the cloud shifted. It began to dissipate, vanishing as quickly as it came. And what remained made Anakin and Ferus’ blood run cold.Starweirds.All of them, starweirds. Every single colonist, every single person, every single organism onboard the colony, they were all gone, and in their place, stood legions of starweirds. As one, the starweirds all turned, as if heeding some silent call, and all of them began to march for the hangar bay. The starweird that had unleashed the death cloud raised its hands as if in victory as legions of starweirds assembled around it, all the new starweirds looking at the thing that had done this to them. The original starweird pointed, and as one, the legions of new starweirds walked towards the atmosphere shield, and all took a step into it. And with that, the inhabitants of Sinta Glacier stepped out into the vacuum. Artoo started beeping like crazy, quickly altering the screen, and got it just in time, and adjusted the brightness of the outside camera.And now he’d done it, they could see the swarm of starweirds stepping out of Sinta and floating leisurely across to the Liberation. Within minutes, the station was empty, and then, the Liberation jumped away, the whole process lucky if it had taken half an hour.What in the name of all the Corellian hells were they dealing with here?“All of them, it turned all of them. It made them all starweirds.” Anakin muttered in shock, shaking slightly, that hadn’t been pleasant to watch.Ferus felt slightly sick, and he didn’t much care about the ins and outs of the situation at the moment, after watching that, he wanted Anakin to wrap his arms around him and tell him it had all been a nightmare.One starweird on the Hand had decimated a good chunk of the crew, held its own against two Jedi, and had also brainwashed Anakin and transformed Norex and M’Beg into starweirds like it. But that starweird had only done that in response to Ferus freeing Anakin from it’s control, and when it was growing increasingly frustrated chasing its prey. The starweird that had come here had turned an entire colony into a small army of them in four minutes.How the hell did they try to combat that?“We need to get out of here, report back to the Council, and to Jar Jar.” Anakin muttered, looking a bit grey, and Ferus nodded.“Artoo, take everything you can. They’ll need to see this to believe it.” Ferus told the droid, who whistled sadly but did as instructed.“Have a last look…see if anyone survived, see if you can see anyone at all, then we get out of here.” Anakin told him, and Artoo altered the jack again, bringing up the real time images of the colony.Nothing. Nobody. No sign life had ever even existed here. Anakin shuddered. He’d told Ferus when they first encountered the starweird that it terrified him. He missed that, when all they did was terrify him. The horrific emotions they filled him with now, they didn’t have a name. But they didn’t feel good.Artoo individually checked each camera, seeing nothing. The kitchens, the shops, the hangar, the medbay, the only room in the entire place that had life inside it was the command centre where they currently stood. However, as Artoo shut off each individual camera, he suddenly stopped. There was an odd flicker on one of the cameras, so he tried to bring it back into focus…And then the horrifying, grimacing death’s head visage of a starweird appeared on the screen, clearly standing right in front of the cameras, its glowing eye alight with malice.“Sithspit!” Ferus spat, as a furious scream echoed from below them.“Run!” Anakin ordered frantically, Artoo not needing to be told twice as he disconnected and made a siren like noise as the three of them sped from the command centre.There was a noise that was akin to construction, a banging like a hammer against metal, and Anakin knew they did not want to be anywhere near here when that banging stopped, oh no, it stopped.And with a furious scream, a starweird, clearly having climbed up the side of the building that housed the turbolift, propelled itself into the air, landing in a crouch right in front of the turbolift shaft, and then drew itself up to it’s full, terrifying height.This version seemed larger than the other ones they had encountered. Tall, gangling and emaciated, its bony, skeletal body still invoked the sheer terror that both of them felt during their last encounter with a starweird. This version had long, dark, bloodlike talons that emitted from its decayed body, and it had white, wispy ethereal hair. However, this version had a long, mitre like chitinous ridge above its head, making it look like it was wearing a bony, grey hat. It bore it’s wicked, pointed teeth in a malevolent grin as it turned its attention to the two Jedi and their droid, who was shrieking blue murder in fright and terror. And unlike the last one, this creature had glowing, icy blue eyes, as frigid as Hoth in winter, and the imprint of a rather distinctive facial tattoo.Artoo scootled behind Anakin as he and Ferus ignited their lightsabers, both of them shaking in fear as they prepared themselves to battle a starweird once again.“Ferus, the mark on it’s face, I think it used to be Master Z’Meer.” Anakin muttered, and Ferus’ blood ran cold.If this thing used to be a Jedi, that would likely make it even more dangerous than the normal one. The starweird fixed its glowing icy blue eyes on them, giving a mocking grin as dark shadows coalesced around it’s hand, and to the horror of both boys, a large hilt materialised in its hand. Considerably larger than a normal lightsaber, it had the appearance of a bident at the emitter, and the starweird gave a low growl, and a purple blade hissed into existence, growing to life between the two prongs of the weapon.“Oh not good.” Anakin commented, as the starweird raised its blade and moved, forcing the two boys onto the defensive.The starweird moved faster than they thought possible, a cyclone of purple energy snarling and shrieking through the air at them. Anakin went high, trying to lock his saber against the starweird’s weapon but as he intercepted it’s blade, he gasped in shock at the strength of the creature. His muscles strained with the effort of holding the blade at bay, but then Ferus was there, snarling angrily as his yellow blade came slashing up at the starweird. The creature span away, unlocking its saber from Anakin’s but moving against Ferus, trying to take his head. Ferus intercepted the blade and gasped as the strength of the blow sent his lightsaber spinning from his grip. The starweird gave a vicious, victorious snarl as it swung it’s blade back towards his head, trying to kill him. Anakin used the Force to send Ferus toppling backwards, removing him from immediate danger while he ran at the starweird, leaping the last of the distance and attacking with an overhanded swing, trying to cleave the starweird in two.Its chilling eyes focused on Anakin, and deftly moved, its blade flashing as it went right for him.“Anakin!” Ferus cried desperately, grabbing his own saber with the Force and throwing it towards Anakin.Catching it with his other hand, Anakin brought the yellow and blue blade up, using the two sabers to block the starweird’s purple one. The thing that had once been Z’Meer snarled, spinning away before lunging, trying to get under Anakin’s guard. Anakin edged away, but the creature pushed against him, its purple blade hammering away at his defence. Anakin was panting, the thing was so strong, and damn it was fast! Ventress, Dooku, they moved in slow motion compared to this thing!Ferus watched the unfolding duel as the starweird pushed it’s advantage. It’s height and it’s strength were it’s main weapons against them, but even Anakin, one of the six best swordsmen in the Order, was hard pushed to do little more than defend himself against it’s onslaught. Z’Meer, or at least what she had become, had clearly fully adapted to whatever the hell she was now, and was determined to break Anakin’s guard. Anakin was trying his hardest, but he was rapidly losing ground. Swirls of almost solid purple, blue and yellow light arced around the two fighters, but Anakin was being pushed towards the edge of the platform. Anakin was shaking against the onslaught, his muscles straining, sweat glimmering off him as the starweird, sensing victory, made to try and take his head. However, several blaster bolts then soared through the air toward it, and Z’Meer shoved Anakin away from her, spinning and deflecting the blaster bolts with her saber as Ferus fired everything he could at the starweird. The starweird let out a furious shriek as it was forced to defend itself, but the slight distraction allowed Anakin to flip over her, throwing Ferus’ weapon to him as he landed, catlike, his own blaster appearing in his hand as he opened fire on the creature.As the starweird was forced to defend itself against the two Jedi opening fire, it allowed Anakin to retreat back towards Ferus, who had caught his own blade, igniting it once more. The two men exchanged a look, and as one, they moved against the starweird.Blaster bolts flew through the air but Z’Meer intercepted each bolt, batting it harmlessly away as she pressed closer to the two Jedi. Anakin stepped forward first, his mastery of Djem So coming to the fore as he unleashed a chain of heavy handed offensive moves, and the starweird hissed in vexation as Anakin started to take more control of the battle. The starweird was still stronger and bigger than them, but Ferus was around her back now, and was attacking her from below and behind. Ferus’ own skill at Niman and Shien was shining through as he harassed her, acting like a wasp, stinging when he could, determined to find a gap in her defences. Z’Meer was growing more frustrated as Anakin was starting to press his attack, forcing her to constantly adapt herself to defend against his attacks, designed to kill. However, it left her open to Ferus’ attacks, and she found that skilled as she may have been in her previous life, she wasn’t skilled enough to stop the two of them at the same time.Ferus slipped past her defences, using Shiim moves to wound her leg, thigh and side. The starweird screamed in fury, and unleashed a mighty Force blow that sent them ragdolling across the control tower, both of them skidding to a stop just at the edge of the platform. Both of them reached for their explosives as one, throwing them at the starweird.The creature let out a spine-chilling, mocking laugh as it caught them in a Force grip, and crushed them, their explosions dissipating harmlessly in midair as she stalked towards them. Anakin and Ferus pulled themselves up, the starweird stomping towards them, clearly with murder in mind, her chilling blue eyes promising no shortage of agony as she advanced towards them.“Together?” Anakin breathed anxiously, this wasn’t how he thought he would die.Master Windu had promised, many years ago, at the funeral of Master Yarael Poof, that all Jedi would be cremated as was their custom. He had never intended to die, butchered by some monster on an iceberg in the middle of space.“Together.” Ferus affirmed, the two of them sharing a last look before they sprang at the starweird.This time, Ferus went high and Anakin went low. The starweird, caught offguard by the role reversal, was suddenly thrown onto the defensive, and it occurred to Anakin that they might just manage to survive this after all. The starweird was being pressed back, it’s strength and height no longer the advantage it had been as both Jedi changed their approach, both of them pushing the offensive but neither of them remaining high or low for too long. The starweird was growing increasingly frantic, struggling to hold them back as Anakin was piercing her defence, and Ferus then exploiting it, as numerous minute lightsaber wounds were now glowing on her body as they pushed her back, forcing her back towards the ramp that led to the command centre. Despite their ongoing success, neither of them could pierce her defence far enough to make the killing blow that they would need to carry the day, and the starweird, with her heavy handed attacks, was overwhelming their ability to keep fighting, she was too strong for them to keep this up. She arced her blade around, spinning to bat both their sabers out of position, and she exploited her move, pushing ahead with a series of pounding, punishing strikes, their whole bodies shaking as they struggled to hold her off.Anakin and Ferus then both tried to bring the Force to bear, trying to push her away with the Force, however it was like a shard of ice had appeared within them, freezing their access to the Force. Z’Meer let out a malicious dark chuckle, and as the two Jedi struggled to hold her off, she moved her blade, sending both lightsabers clattering to the ground as she hammered them out of their hands. She then used the Force to lift them up into the air, trapping them in midair, her malevolent eyes fixed on Ferus, and he knew, she was going to murder him first, but neither of them could do a damn thing about it…And then there was a trumpeting series of whistling noises as Artoo came careening down the command centre ramp, right at the back of the starweird. The astromech droid spurted oil from inside his body, spraying it up the starweird’s back, and as the starweird turned to face this new irritant, Artoo beeped in triumph, as he activated his rocket boosters in his legs.Artoo beeped happily as the fire from his rockets ignited the oil he had sprayed, and the starweird let out a screech of agony as she was consumed in flames. As Artoo rocketed over her head, the starweird, writhing in agony, had dropped the two Jedi. Both of them reached out with the Force as she flailed, shrieking in pain as she immolated by the fire, and their lightsabers sprang back into their hands, as they moved in for the kill.The starweird turned, it’s face now half burned off, one glowing blue eye now a furious red, its hair smoking and half burned away, smoke and flame spreading up its body, smoke emitting from it’s mitre like crest. However, its distraction had been the chance they had needed. Ferus swung his lightsaber in a deft arc, taking the creature’s legs out from under it, crashing it to the floor, while Anakin pirouetted, cleaving it’s weapon arm off and sending it’s saber clattering away. The starweird screeched in denial, trying to deter them, desperate to save itself, but Anakin spun his lightsaber around him before plunging his blue blade right through it’s skull, and Ferus finished it off by taking it's head from it’s shoulders.A final, agonised screech emitted from the starweird as it’s defeated form crumpled to the ground, vanishing in a scarlet haze of electrical energy, and just like that, it was no more.Anakin and Ferus stood for a second, panting. That hadn’t been fun. And if it hadn’t been for Artoo’s timely intervention…“Thanks pal.” Anakin panted, stroking his sweat slicked hair out of his face as he patted Artoo’s dome with his other hand, and Artoo beeped smugly, sounding very pleased with himself.“Yeah, you saved us, you were pretty amazing.” Ferus complimented, picking up the saber hilt she had been wielding, and Artoo beeped cheerfully, and they savoured their hard-earned victory for a second.Which was then cut short, as a furious, otherworldly scream echoed throughout Sinta.“I thought they all left?” Anakin asked weakly, and Ferus turned to look at the command centre to see several pairs of glowing, malevolent white eyes emerging from the gloom.“I think they came back, run!” he barked, and the three of them headed towards the turbolift.Artoo however shot right past it, igniting his rockets as he reached the edge of the platform and toppled out of sight, using his rockets to manoeuvre himself down the several stories, landing at the foot of the hangar control tower and speeding towards the ship, which started to bring itself online.As Anakin and Ferus reached the edge of the control tower, they looked down to see starweirds materialising out of the shadows, hundreds of pairs of glowing, sinister eyes appearing all over the colony. More and more starweirds began to form out of the shadows, and with a last look at each other, Anakin and Ferus leapt from the command tower, narrowly avoiding a starweird that had formed right beside where they had been standing.The command tower was higher than they could jump, so Anakin ignited his lightsaber, plunging it into the wall of the tower and using that to abseil down. Ferus did the same, both of them sliding down, their sabers cutting into the wall of the tower as Artoo got the Queen hovering in the air, his alarmed whistles echoing throughout the hangar.As they reached the ground, they could well see why. Hundreds of starweirds were emerging from the tunnels, from the cracks, from the shadows, they were everywhere. A swarm of them were clambering across the roof of the hangar, seemingly swarming in from outside the colony and they were dropping towards the ground, all of them fixating on the two Jedi with a sense of incandescent malice.What was more, the other ships were starting to power up as well, and from what they could see of the cockpits, malevolent, glowing white eyes were the trademark of every one of the pilots.They used the Force to augment their speed, darting across the hangar, clearing the space between the ground and the boarding ramp with a leap.“Let’s go Artoo!” Anakin yelled as they both clambered in, the ramp sliding shut behind them.Artoo didn’t have to be told twice. He ignited the engines, incinerating a couple of starweirds that had been clambering up the ships beside the Queen and reversing them out the hangar, and reversed the ship from the hangar as Anakin and Ferus left the turbolift, Anakin rushing to the pilot seat while Ferus took the co-pilots.The other ships were rising around the Queen, clearly intending to prevent their escape. Dozens of starweirds were dropping from the roof of the hangar, and the hangar floor was now filled with hundreds upon hundreds of starweirds, rushing in from every crevice they could find. Anakin gritted his teeth and swung the ship around, blazing right out of the hangar as the other ships took off in pursuit, right behind them as they fled.“Anakin…” Ferus breathed, pointing as the Liberation abruptly dropped out of hyperspace, opening fire with it’s heavy turbolasers.As turbolaser fire erupted into blossoms of deadly fire all around them, Anakin threaded the needle, letting the Force take over as he weaved through the interlocking fields of fire of the numerous starweird vessels. He grinned as he gave himself over to his piloting, using the Force to identify the safest path, and grinning all the more when the Star Destroyer’s weapons started to immolate their own vessels, unable to avoid the killing field the capital ship had laid down. As the captured colony ships erupted into red, hazy fireballs as the Star Destroyer’s cannons blew some of them apart, Anakin spiralled the Queen in a tight corkscrew, avoiding the heavy turbolaser fire of the Star Destroyer. The blue cannons bolts of the heavy cannons passed through, missing one of the MB-C1 transports that had survived the killing field and shot into the midst of the colony.Explosions then erupted from deep within the colony, the turbolaser clearly having done something irreversible. Anakin and Ferus looked out to watch as explosions erupted all throughout the colony, massive chunks of ice blowing out into space, the facility’s integrity compromised. Sinta Glacier started to blow apart, massive, jagged shards of ice filling space as Anakin sped through the amassing ice explosion, swerving through the laser field of the Star Destroyer. The Star Destroyer had stopped firing, and was clearly trying to escape what it had inadvertently unleashed. Some of the remaining ships had jumped to safety, but another transport was sheared in two by a shard of ice, the ship erupting in a fiery explosion tinged with red, electrical energy.Anakin gritted his teeth as Artoo screeched in alarm, and Ferus cried out in terror as a massive shard of ice, blown out from the exploding glacier, swirled through space, right behind them. The sounds of ice puttering against the shields filled their ears as Anakin banked the ship up, jetting between the two command towers of the Star Destroyer. A brief glimpse showed two more blue eyed starweirds in one of the towers, but the two of them blinked out of existence as a massive spear of ice punctured the viewport of the warship. Anakin pushed the ship out from the two towers, riding the wave of destructive ice as Sinta glacier blew apart, taking the Liberation with it, just as he jumped the ship to lightspeed, making good their escape. XX The Stalwart was on the way back from Thakwaa, having defeated the ill-conceived droid invasion there. The Confederacy had found the native Thakwaash rather uncooperative, and with the help of Jax Pavan and his clone forces, the enemy invasion had been kicked off the planet, the remaining droid forces fleeing in a Diamond class cruiser that had managed to evade the guns of the Star Destroyer before fleeing. After a celebratory feast with the locals and the clones, Jax was now glad to be returning to Coruscant.“General Pavan, we’re picking up a distress call.” His commander, Hammer, reported, and Jax frowned as he looked at the holoscreen.A Republic SOS signal was coming from a nearby star system. The system itself wasn’t particularly glamorous. Called Zoh, it was essentially a junkyard planet, much like Raxus Prime but with no major historic events happening there. A useful stopping point on the Inner Rim, it was useful to ships trying to circumnavigate the Core by heading trailward, and was indeed helpful to the Stalwart for the same reason. The Stalwart was currently at Lao-Mon, the Shiido homeworld, on a routine diplomatic flyby due to the isolationist nature of the Shiido themselves. Zoh wasn’t far.“Any idea who from?” Jax asked curiously, and Hammer, still wearing his armour, shook his head.“No sir. But it looks like it’s the Vigilance.” He informed him, showing him the data profile of the distress call, and Jax felt an ominous tugging in the Force.The Vigilance was the ship of Master Samara and her Padawan, Dray. What was more, it was one of the ships that had been thought lost to the starweirds. Jax frowned. By all rights, as a Republic citizen and as a Jedi, he was honour bound to investigate. However, he couldn’t help but feel that going to investigate was a very bad idea.Sadly though, as a Jedi, he had but one choice. Master Even would understand why he was back late once he told him of what was going on.“Alright Hammer, let’s head and have a look. But, send an update to the Council to let them know, and while you’re at it, see if there are any other Jedi nearby, just in case. I have a bad feeling about this.” Jax ordered grimly, looking musingly at the SOS signal that was pinging from the Vigilance as Hammer carried out his orders. XX Barriss Offee breathed a sigh of relief as her shuttle landed in the bay of the Benevolence, her command ship. Her mission to the Codian moon had been a success. A rancher on the planet had been spiking the native reeks, resulting in highly aggressive and mutated creatures being set loose, including on Republic lines by enterprising Confederacy commanders, who set the belligerent reeks loose and allowed them to carry on as their reinforced aggressive and belligerent nature intended. Barriss had found and apprehended the culprit, and now she could see what her next mission was going to be.“General Offee? We’ve received a message from the Stalwart. They are investigating an SOS signal from the Vigilance. General Pavan is asking if we can lend a hand.” Galle reported by way of greeting as she left the shuttle, and Barriss frowned.The Vigilance was one of the ships that they feared had fallen prey to the starweirds. It’s reappearance was concerning to say the least.“Is Jax sure that it’s the Vigilance?” she asked, sweeping out from under the shuttle, Galle easily falling into step beside her.“Seems to be. He’s en route now.” He replied, and Barriss nodded.“Very well. Make preparations for us to leave orbit. I’ll report to the Council, and then we can go and assist Jax.” She told him, and her clone commander nodded, running ahead to enforce her orders.Barriss was worried. A ship that was meant to have been lost to the starweirds suddenly reappearing was cause for serious concern, especially when Jax was now heading to investigate. She knew that as a Jedi, Jax was honour bound to investigate, and she would have done the same thing in his position.But that didn’t stop the situation feeling any less like a trap.She just hoped that if it was a trap, she and Jax could escape it. Otherwise, they were all in deep trouble. XX Two Council members were in the communications room, hearing the various reports from fronts across the galaxy. Mace, being who he was, couldn’t afford to break his stern demeanour. However, when Shaak Ti was standing beside him and sniggering away to herself while receiving Kota and Traavis’ report of the Battle of Monhudle, complete with the two masters bickering like an old married couple, it was rather hard to keep a straight face.“It was my idea, not yours!” Traavis insisted, and Kota raised his arms in frustration.“I executed the plan and had to adapt to the changing situations! And you are meant to be on bedrest as you got blown up!” Kota exclaimed, a vein pulsing in his forehead.Mace schooled his features to remain stoic, which was more than could be said for Shaak Ti as she was shaking with silent mirth. Ten minutes the two of them had been going at it, so much for Jedi serenity.“Thank you for your report, gentlemen. I assume you just need to tidy up on Monhudle then?” he asked, and both of them seemed to agree on that, nodding.“Yes master.” Kota replied, and Mace nodded.“Good work. We’ll be in touch regarding your next orders.” He said, disconnecting the call before the two of them could restart their bickering.Shaak Ti allowed herself to laugh out loud, and Mace did allow himself a small smile. Not that he would advocate for such things, but the occasional lack of Jedi decorum could be useful.“We should put those two together more often.” She commented in amusement, and Mace let out a small chuckle.“You forget, I’m the one who brought Rahm into the order. He was a boy soldier on his homeworld, and could build an explosive device in a minute with the most mundane of supplies. I wouldn’t want to tempt fate.” He told her, smirking a little and she chuckled.So, Monhudle was no longer a problem, Thakwaa had been dealt with, Cato Neimoidia was in the process of being subjugated, as was Mygeeto, now what other flashpoints did they have to deal with?“Masters,” Lari said from her station, “we’re receiving a call from somewhere near Pasaana. It’s Master Skywalker!”Mace nodded.“Onscreen please Lari.” He asked, and Anakin and Ferus’ holoimages flickered to life.Now, Mace wasn’t particularly close to Skywalker, and truthfully, didn’t know him all that well. But he could see that he looked terrible. Ferus looked little better admittedly.“Masters.” Anakin greeted tiredly, and Shaak Ti frowned in concern.“You boys look awful. What’s happened?” she asked.“Sinta Glacier has been destroyed. The starweirds unleashed some sort of bioweapon on it. There were no survivors.” Anakin reported, and Mace frowned, and felt a dark pulsing in the Force, a hint that there was altogether something far more unpleasant going on.“A bioweapon?” he asked in consternation, and Anakin looked behind him.There was a helpful tootle from Anakin’s droid behind him, and a file was beamed from wherever they were. Shaak Ti opened the hologram, and both she and Mace watched in abject horror as they watched the bioweapon that the starweirds unleashed on Sinta worked it’s particular brand of magic.“They destroyed the whole colony with this?” Mace asked in shock, and Ferus nodded.“Turned everyone in the colony into starweirds. When we arrived, we thought the place was empty, everything was just abandoned as though they’d all gone somewhere. Place was empty. Then we encountered another starweird. We think it was once Master Z’Meer.” He explained darkly, and Shaak Ti looked at him in shock.“She’d been turned into a starweird?” she asked, exchanging a grim look with Mace, and Anakin nodded, looking faintly sick.“Yeah. She was different than the one we fought before though. Her eyes were a different colour. Ferus and I are thinking that the colour of their eyes marks that they’re different versions of the starweird. We think the one we dealt with last time was just a normal, run of the mill starweird. Z’Meer was different. She had blue eyes, and seemed to be in charge of their experiment with that gas that transformed the station.”Mace frowned in thought. To be honest, it wasn’t a bad line of thought. The original starweird the boys had encountered likely could be just a rank and file. On top of that, Z’Meer had been turned into a blue eyed starweird, and K’Kruhk had encountered a red eyed one. But that in and of itself left other questions. If there were three ranks, that they knew of, how many more ranks were there, and what drove them?“So Master Z’Meer is dead?” he asked softly, and Anakin nodded, looking ill.“Yes Master. She was too powerful, we had to kill her to stop her, otherwise she would have killed us. It took us both, and Artoo, to bring her down. Whatever else, she was very strong. She attacked us with this.” He explained, and Ferus put a large hilt into the view of the holocomm.The two masters frowned, and Shaak Ti beckoned for him to put it closer so she could inspect it. As a historian, and as one of the six greatest swordsmen of the Order, she was probably the best one to examine the blade.“Thoughts?” Mace asked as she surveyed the hilt with professional interest, and she looked at the hilt worriedly.“Do you sense any particular malevolence to it?” she asked tightly, and Anakin and Ferus shared a look before shaking their heads.“No master. Felt it was quite malevolent when she was trying to take our heads off with it though.” Anakin commented dryly, and she had to admit, that would give the impression of malevolence.“What do you think it is?” Mace asked, and Shaak Ti chewed her lip thoughtfully.“Unless I miss my guess, I believe it to be a forcesaber, of the sort used by the ancient Rakatans.” She told him, looking vaguely disturbed by her own line of thought.“Weren’t they around thousands of years ago? Like even before the Sith showed up?” Anakin asked, and she nodded.“Around ten thousands years before the Republic itself, yes. But why a starweird would have such a weapon, I cannot say. Keep that thing away from yourselves. You might not be able to sense it now, but it could be tainted, and we don’t want to risk something like that gaining traction.”The two boys nodded, while looking at the hilt worriedly.“So Master Z’Meer commanded this atrocity?” Mace asked, and Ferus nodded.“She was the one who unleashed that smog or whatever it was. But the destruction of the colony, that was the Liberation. After we killed Z’Meer, a whole swarm of starweirds appeared and chased after us, and they started chasing us in the ships that were left in the colony as well. When we got out the glacier, the Liberation arrived, and it set something off inside the colony. The whole thing exploded. Plus side, it also took out the Liberation, and we think potentially Tiplar and Tiplee starweirds along with it.”Mace shook his head. Thousands of souls lost on the colony to some unexplained weapon, a former Jedi orchestrating it, and a further two Jedi killed all as a result. But now wasn’t the time to mourn.“Master, I’m worried that everything on Sinta might have been a test.” Anakin proclaimed, jarring Mace from his thoughts, and the Master of the Order fixed him with a sharp gaze.“A test?” he asked, a terrible gnawing feeling in his gut.Anakin pressed on.“Think about it. She came and converted an entire colony into starweirds. If we’re right and they don’t need ships to travel the way we do, especially with the swarm that attacked us when we left the colony, she didn’t need to move all those new starweirds she created onto the Liberation. I think the colony was a testing ground for that weapon they used to convert everyone, and that the Liberation destroying it was either a really happy accident for them, or was deliberate. They hide all the evidence of what happened on Sinta, and if we hadn’t been there, nobody would have been any of the wiser about what happened there at all. Fair enough, the Liberation was also destroyed, and that was likely a genuine accident, but the more I think about it, the more convenient it seems. That fog was a test. They wanted to see if it would work. And now they know it does.” Anakin explained, a dark and unsettled look on his face.And what was more, Mace couldn’t fault his logic. The problem with this whole starweird affair was that they simply didn’t know enough about starweirds to be able to decipher what was really going on. But as more things came to light, the more it seemed as though the starweirds had rather murderous intentions. And while the shatterpoints remained out of sight, he couldn’t help but feel that they were coming more into focus.And he had a horrible feeling in his gut that when the shatterpoint did come into focus, whatever the shatterpoint was, it wouldn’t be good.“You might be right. Our biggest problem now is we need information. I will inform Master Yoda of this, and we can take it from there, decide how to respond to the increasing starweird threat. For now, Jax Pavan has picked up on a distress signal from the Vigilance. It was coming from the planet Zoh, in the Inner Rim. He’s gone to investigate, we received word just before you called.” He explained, and Ferus narrowed his eyes suspiciously.“The Vigilance was one of the ships that the starweirds hit wasn’t it? And it just magically reappeared? There’s no way that isn’t a trap.” He concluded, and Shaak Ti nodded.“We think so too, as does he. He’s requested assistance and Master Offee is also heading to investigate. However, given your knowledge of the starweirds, and also after the disaster on Sinta, perhaps you could also head to lend your knowledge?” she asked, and Anakin nodded.“We will master.” He replied, and she smiled.“Good. May the Force be with you both. Sorry, you all, my apologies Artoo,” she said with a smile as Artoo blatted rudely behind Anakin and Ferus, who both grinned as they inclined their heads to the two council members before the call was ended.Mace watched the footage from Sinta again, his stomach churning. A truly horrific event, and one that nobody could have prevented. And the fact that a former Jedi had been involved in any way, shape or form made it all the worse.“We need more information. On all of this. If Skywalker is right, and this was a test of this weapon…” Mace mused aloud, and Shaak Ti nodded, her face concerned.“It could be the precursor to further starweird aggression. If they can pick off a whole colony in a matter of minutes, and what’s more, convert an entire populace into starweirds…even with the clone army, we’ll soon be overwhelmed. We can’t face a war on two fronts, especially if one of the fronts can assimilate anyone into their own forces.”And there was the crux of the matter. If it did lead to a war against the starweirds, the Republic wouldn’t be able to hold off both the Confederacy and the starweirds. He supposed the only slight saving grace was that the Confederacy, so far as they knew, was also being targeted by the starweirds.“We need to find out why the starweirds have increased the scale and aggression of their attacks. I feel that could be the crux of the matter, or at the very least, help us understand why this is happening. The why I feel is more important than the how, at least for now. Attacking our ships is bad enough, but now, bioweapons? A trap? And using ancient Rakatan weapons? It feels like we’re just missing the strands that we need to unravel this mystery.” Mace grumbled in frustration.Shaak Ti had her eyes closed, but she opened them as the door opened, admitting Master Oppo Rancisis. The serpentine, bearded Jedi inclined his head.“Welcome home Master Oppo,” Shaak Ti greeted, and Mace managed a small smile.“It is good to be home. You sensed me going past I take it?” he asked, and she nodded, a small smile on her face.“Yes. I wonder if you might relieve Mace and I. Mace needs to go and update Master Yoda on the developing starweird situation, and I need to go and study something tied to their threat.” She explained, and Mace sent her a grateful look, getting them both out of here was a good idea.“There have been developments?” Oppo asked sharply, and Mace nodded.“Yes old friend. Once I’ve spoken to Yoda, we’ll convene and discuss what has happened.” He promised, and Oppo nodded.As the two senior members of the Council, it was their prerogative. However the fact that Shaak Ti had requested he relieve them indicated that there was some urgency to these matters, so he was more willing to accommodate.“Very well. I will take over here. Ah, Master Plo is calling, I suggest you hurry.” He told them with a slight grin, and Mace nodded and left, clapping Oppo’s shoulder thankfully as he did so.Shaak Ti lingered a little, but then also left, leaving Oppo to take the call from Plo about the siege of the Neimoidian purse worlds. XX The Patriot Fist floated at the edge of the icefield. Sinta Glacier was no more, destroyed in some sort of explosion. Ragged chunks of ice and metal filled the void of space, ice particles ranging from microscopic up to gargantuan. However, while the debris of Sinta was occupying her attention, Ventress was more interested in two other things.Firstly, the wreckage of a Venator class Star Destroyer, which scans tentatively identified as the Liberation, which had had it’s command tower severed by a shard of ice, and was pitted with holes, with chunks of ice emitting from each fissure in the ruined hull.The other thing was the lingering Force signature of Anakin Skywalker. She had fought him enough times over the course of the war to recognise his Force signature.“No sign of survivors.” Captain Trilm reported, and Ventress shrugged, she didn’t think there would be.“No, but by the looks of it, the starweirds were here. That’s why Skywalker was here. He’s hunting for them too. We’re on the right track. We need to communicate with Count Dooku, he’ll know our next steps.” She decided, and Trilm nodded, indicating for the Gossam comms officer to set up the call, as Ventress headed aft for a bit more privacy.She bowed as the holoimage of her master flickered to life before her.“Report child.” Dooku ordered imperiously.“I have followed up on that intercepted transmission we picked up. Sinta Glacier has been destroyed. Likely the work of the starweirds, but no indication as to how. But there’s another thing. Skywalker was here.” She informed him, and Dooku’s face remained impassive.“And you believe he is on a similar mission?” he asked, and she nodded.“It would make sense master. After all, he knows the starweirds better than any other Jedi does, and so the fools on the Council would have sent him to investigate. Besides, the transmission we picked up on was to the Gungan senator, a friend of Skywalker’s. Makes sense he would reach out to Skywalker.” She told him, and Dooku nodded, conceding the point.“So if we are to discover the root behind the starweird attacks, we will need to find young Skywalker. Very well child. I will reach out to Lord Sidious, see if we can’t figure out where Skywalker is going. Remain on his trail, and report back to me.” Dooku ordered, and she bowed before his image flickered out.Soon, this infernal mission would be at an end. And with luck, she could take another shot at Skywalker while she did it.Two bird with one stone.And then, her master would finally see that she ought to be his Sith apprentice. XX Shaak Ti entered the Archives, heading towards the vault. The vault was the centrepiece of the Archives, thousands of generations of accumulated lore from every Force religion imaginable. Holocrons, ancient tomes, ancient lightsabers dating back to the very founding of the Jedi Order were stored within. Jedi younglings and Padawans weren’t not allowed into the vault, not without direct approval from a member of the Jedi Council of First Knowledge. Knights could access, but couldn’t access the inner sanctum of the vault, also without authorisation (though they could get theirs from the Chief Archivist (not that Madam Nu gave out many authorisations, she was very stingy)). Jedi Masters could access the vast majority of the vault, but there was one room that could only be accessed by members of the Council of First Knowledge, the Chief Archivist, the Curator of Records, or members of the High Council.And as she was a member of the High Council, a member of the Council of First Knowledge and the overseer of the Jedi Temple’s history education program, she could go in without authorisation from anyone. It did earn her a suspicious look from Jocasta however as she headed deep within the Vault, breathing deep the smell of dusty tomes and ledgers, the very smell of the history of the Order.Now, to find what she was looking for. She pushed open the ancient grille gate that led to the very oldest of artefacts, and she raised her lamp to illuminate the dark, small room. Inside there wasn’t much in the way of amenities, simply a desk and a chair, with some writing equipment on it. But all around the little cell like room were ancient scrolls, dating back many thousands of years. And she hoped she could find what she was looking for.Savouring the peaceful silence, she felt she could try lose herself in here. She had always enjoyed studying history as a student, and had been delighted when she had been asked, on Master Yaddle’s recommendation, to join the Council of First Knowledge. Since then, she had done much to preserve the history of the Order. This room, where she had delved into the histories of the Order, writing her research paper on the time of the Old Sith Wars, this was where she felt most at home within the Temple. With a deep breath, she savoured the smell of the dusty old tomes, smiling as she recalled one time she had visited the room with Yaddle, who had inadvertently knocked the shelving and had proceeded to drown her diminutive self in a cascade of ancient scrolls.Shaak Ti had helped her of course. After she finished laughing at any rate.Thankfully, she wasn’t vertically challenged like Yaddle had been. Squinting in the gloom of the small room, she looked up the appendix that directed her to the specific era she was looking for. The shelves marked with blue were the New Sith War era, far too current, no much further back, ah, that was it!Setting her lamp down, she reached to the shelves marked with green, indicating Pre-Republic era of history. Gingerly lifting the scrolls from their cubby hole, she set them down on the desk, seeking one in particular that she could recall reading in her youth. Hmm, a treatise on alchemy by Je’Daii master Quan-Jang; a philosophy on the use of healing by Calleh; thoughts on the teaching of the next generation by Ruhr: all of these scrolls combined, if sold on the black market, would fetch the sum of the GDP of an entire planetary sector. But what they represented, a link back to the ancient past, that made them priceless. These scrolls came from when the Je’Daii were in their infancy, before they had become the Jedi, before even the Republic. And as such, they should be treated with their due reverence.Especially, she mused as she caressed the one she was looking for, this one.Putting the others gently back onto their shelf, she settled herself down at the desk, gently unfurling the scroll. The writings of Master Tem Madog, the Je’Daii weaponsmith of ancient times, this was what she had been looking for, and she eagerly began to read:‘The stranger’s weapon is inexplicable to me. A weapon of great power, yet with no conceivable way of activating it; a weapon of nigh flawless construction, yet beyond my skill to replicate.
This weapon, this Forcesaber, as it is called by the stranger…it is a sign. A sign from the Force, our world, it is changing. This weapon, which some can easily activate, cut through some of my best steel as though our warriors were wielding weapons of grass, not my best tempered steel.

It is inexplicable to me. I am fascinated, yet terrified, to study this weapon. The stranger, this Force Hound, Xesh, he tells me these blades are things that require the darkness, the will of Bogan, to activate.

There is more to this tale, and more than can be garnered simply by studying these weapons. He warns of a dark threat, and says that others must be able to use the power of these crystal powered weapons. But I wonder, if we use these artefacts, do we not risk our own balance within the Force?
Only time will tell…’Shaak Ti frowned. A Forcesaber, appearing in the hands of a starweird, 25,000 years down the line, was only serving to make the starweirds more terrifying. They didn’t make sense. But perhaps if she could study these scrolls, they may yet offer a clue as to what their newest threat entailed, and with any luck, a clue of how to stop it. XX The Silver Queen was currently at Yag’Dhul. A volcanic world at the intersection of the Rimma Trade Route and the Corellian Trade Spine, it was a hub of intergalactic activity, and due to the native Givin’s analytical and mathematical nature, despite the fact that they were officially allied with the Separatists, were quite happy to allow passing ships from the Republic to traverse through, provided they weren’t military ships.And fond though he was of the ship, the little H-type yacht was no military ship. Anakin still wished he’d at least had time to install laser cannons, or even a missile launcher of some sort, onto the ship.Plus side, it meant they could traverse through without upsetting the Givin. In theory.Artoo was currently manning the command console on the upper deck. Due to the long customs line for Republic ships trying to pass through, the Queen was quite far back in the line, which meant he’d be there for a while, giving Anakin and Ferus a chance to take a small breather.Anakin was sitting on the bed in the main cabin, his brow furrowed as he read numerous reports. Some had been sent from Jar Jar, some from the Council. The one he was reading at the moment was K’Kruhk’s debrief report following the loss of his own flagship to the starweird invasion.“You keep looking at these reports, what are you looking for?” Ferus asked curiously from beside him, and Anakin shrugged.“That’s the thing, I don’t know. I think we were right about the eye thing, each eye colour showing a different rank. But we don’t have enough information to figure out the ranks.” He grumbled, and Ferus, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, looked back at him worriedly.Their flight from Sinta hadn’t been fun. Paranoid about the possibility of being tracked by the starweirds, Anakin had taken them on a series of microjumps, which the various alarms of the ship had protested to. Once nearing Pasaana, he had laid off, but once they were there, Ferus had chanced a look at him and seen how tired, drawn out and even ill Anakin looked. Taking charge, Ferus had sent Anakin to go and rest while he had plotted a succession of small but longer jumps to take them back towards civilisation. Despite allowing Ferus to take over, Anakin hadn’t gone and rested until Ferus had set them on course for Yag’Dhul, and he’d woken up just as they had arrived in the customs queue for onward passage from the planet.“Anakin, I get you’re worried…” he began softly, and Anakin rubbed his face tiredly with his hand.“I’m not worried, Ferus, I’m terrified! What the starweirds did on Sinta was horrible, and we’re still no closer to figuring out what they’re up to! It feels like we’re failing, like we’re losing, and I don’t know how to stop it.” He complained, and Ferus sighed, getting to his feet.He…he didn’t know what he should do. When Roan had gone in a mood, Ferus had kind of known how to deal with it, and what he didn’t know, at least at first, he had figured out. Anakin was an entirely different beast, and he didn’t know how to help Anakin get through his frustration, especially when he was just as frustrated with the whole situation.“Anakin, I know you take on the whole galaxy’s problems as your own. But sweetie, all you’re going to do is burn yourself out.” He told him softly, wondering if he should go and make something to calm him down.Anakin looked up at Ferus, looking uncertain and also, a little bummed out.“Where are you going?” he asked, and Ferus shrugged.“Look, Anakin, we’re too new at this, I-” he protested, and Anakin shook his head.“I know, I’m sorry I’m such a drag. I don’t mean to be taking it out on you. Stay, please?” he asked, and attempted a puppy dog look.Sadly for him, he kind of sucked at it, but it did make Ferus smile.“You suck at that. Ok, but you need to calm down a little.” He told him, sitting back down on the edge of the bed, and Anakin glowered at him.“Hey, I’m up here.” He sniped pointedly, and Ferus rolled his eyes, got up and then moved round to the top of the bed, sitting down beside Anakin and picking up one of the reports that he’d been reading.“I get the feeling we’re not going to be in a hurry to meet one of these red eyed starweirds that K’Kruhk encountered.” Ferus mused, and Anakin nodded, stroking his long hair behind his ear tiredly.“No. Z’Meer was bad enough.” He mumbled, and Ferus was forced to agree with that assessment.“Huh…ok, let’s rethink this. So, if we’re right, the white eyed one we encountered on the Hand seems to be the garden variety starweird, right?” he asked, brushing his own long gold flecked fringe out of his face as he ran his eyes over Anakin’s various reports.“Yeah. Which is kind of terrifying considering it ripped through the ship and brainwashed me into being it’s puppet.”“Yeah, true. But when we were fighting it, it was like it was listening to orders from something we couldn’t see, right? I mean, it could have killed you the first time you fought it, but it stopped before it did, like something called it off, right?” he asked, and Anakin looked at him in confusion.“Yeah…”“But Z’Meer didn’t. She was trying her hardest to kill us both, and didn’t stop at all. Then there’s this new type, the same one K’Kruhk saw, the red one. So, I’m wondering, if we’re right about the original starweirds being bottom of the food chain, we need to figure out if the blue or the red are the next ones up the chain. I mean, is whatever called the original one off still wanting you left alive for whatever reason? Did they change their mind? Or is Z’Meer capable of ignoring the orders that she may have gotten? Or was she meant to actually kill you? Or, had she met you?” he asked with a slight grin, and Anakin gave him a mock glare.“Why do you ask?” he asked, feigning indignance, and Ferus grinned.“Well, if she’d met you before this, it would explain why she wants to kill you. You kind of have that effect on people.”Anakin punched his shoulder, making Ferus laugh, but then Anakin paused.“Actually, come to think of it, we did meet. She thought I was too reckless and impatient, and proceeded on a long rant to me about my shortcomings. I’d still be there, but Master Windu took pity on me and rescued me, so you can imagine how long she actually prattled on since he rescued me.” He said waspishly, and Ferus smiled.“Wow, must have been bad if Mace came to your rescue. But like you say, we still don’t know enough about any of this. But I do know that stressing about it isn’t going to help.”Anakin sighed irritably, and after hesitating for a second, in which he looked anxiously at Ferus, he hesitantly lowered his head onto Ferus’ shoulder.Ferus was surprised, especially as he figured Anakin, if they got that far, would insist on being more dominant. But he smiled, and noticed that it was kind of nice, having Anakin’s head on his shoulder. He reached up and started gently running his fingers through Anakin’s hair, still slightly damp from his shower, and he felt Anakin lean into it, relaxing on his shoulder.“You need to relax sweetie.” Ferus whispered, and Anakin sighed.“I know. And I know it isn’t very Jedi like, but I’m terrified. The starweirds aren’t like anything we’ve fought before. They’re attacking everywhere, they’re turning people into starweirds, we don’t know what they want, and we can hardly stop them. Aren’t you scared?” Anakin asked softly, eyes closed as Ferus gently stroked his hair with his fingers.“Course I am. But we can’t let ourselves be consumed by it, otherwise we won’t be able to help anyone. But for what it’s worth, I think the masters are frightened too. The Separatists are our enemies yeah, but they’re just normal bad guys. The starweirds are different. They turned a Jedi into a monster, and she became even more monstrous as a result. Look at what she did. The thing is, we don’t know what they want. But Anakin, you can’t keep putting the blame for all of this on yourself. It isn’t up to you to save the galaxy. You just have to do what you can to help it along.” He told him softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Anakin’s head.Anakin didn’t know how to feel. He knew that Ferus was right, deep down. But he couldn’t get the image of Sinta out of his head, or forget the Hand. The starweird there had been targeting him. Had it wanted to transform him into one, just like Z’Meer, making him one of them, a monster? How did they even try to combat something like that?But, he wasn’t quite as anxious about it as he had been. It felt nice, wrapped in Ferus’ arm, with his boyfriend gently stroking his hair and calming him down. He hadn’t felt an intimacy like this since before Padme had died.“I’m glad you came with me.” Anakin muttered softly, and Ferus smiled a little, pressing a light kiss to his forehead.“I am too. I mean you still drive me crazy, but-” Ferus began as Anakin grinned, sitting up.“I was actually thinking about that. Maybe I drove you crazy before because you were insanely attracted to me?” he teased, and Ferus glared at him.“Unlike someone I could mention, I was a Jedi in full control of my emotions.” He replied with a passing semblance of dignity, and Anakin nodded mockingly.“Oh really?” he asked, grinning cockily, and before Ferus could react, Anakin twirled, straddling Ferus and pressing his lips to his, forcing Ferus back onto the bed, crashing him into the pillows as he explored his mouth hungrily.Ferus moaned in pleasure as Anakin straddled him. Damn he was a good kisser. And holy mother of the Force this was a comfy bed. How had he let this happen?“Hmm. Maybe not as fully in control of your emotions as you thought,” Anakin teased, gently stroking down Ferus jumpsuit clad body, his eyes flicking towards where Ferus was clearly getting excited, and Ferus propped himself up on his elbows.“You cheated. And besides, we’re not ready for that yet.” He scolded lightly, and Anakin blushed, and relaxed his hold a little.Which was exactly what Ferus wanted.He then bodily grabbed Anakin, shoving him onto his back and straddling him, pinning his wrists above his head, savouring the look of shocked excitement, arousal and joy on Anakin’s face as he did so.“And what, flyboy, makes you think,” Ferus purred huskily into Anakin’s ear, lightly tracing his lips down Anakin’s neck, “that you’re in charge here?”Anakin let out a little noise that Ferus had certainly never envisioned him making, a sort of squeak combined with a moan, and Anakin was looking at Ferus beseechingly, begging for more.“Um…” Anakin said, clearly having lost control of the situation, and Ferus grinned.“I also notice that you’re not in control of your emotions. Not that you ever were, but you’re still a Jedi. Terrible.” He whispered, and pressed their lips together in a kiss, reluctantly letting go of Anakin’s wrists.And to his surprise, Anakin simply wrapped one arm around Ferus’ waist, pressing him closer while one hand snaked up his back, bunching in the longish hair at the back of Ferus’ head. Ferus kissed him, feeling as though several suns were exploding it felt so…right. He allowed himself to be guided down onto the bed beside Anakin, the two of them just kissing hungrily, and to Ferus’ surprise, Anakin wasn’t pushing the advantage. In fact, he was a little hesitant, and Ferus felt another wave of pleasure ripple through him.Anakin, despite what he thought, didn’t want to be in charge.Excellent.Ferus stroked one hand up Anakin’s chest, Anakin breaking their kiss to moan a little as he slowly snaked his way up towards Anakin’s cheek, taking a firm grip on his boyfriend’s jaw as they explored each other’s mouths. Damn this felt good, and turns out, a good way to prevent Anakin from driving him crazy was to drive Anakin crazy instead. He gently caressed Anakin’s neck, down to the top of his jumpsuit, and Anakin moaned in pleasure. He looked nervously at Ferus, as though seeking his permission to do something, and Ferus smiled, if Anakin wanted to take a tentative next step he wasn’t going to stop him. He didn’t know if that was lust, hormones, pent up sexual frustration, or what, speaking, but he wasn’t going to ignore it, and Anakin reached to undo his own jumpsuit…Just as Artoo beeped over the comm, telling them that they had cleared Yag’Dhul customs and were ready to jump to Zoh.“Thanks Artoo.” Anakin called, scowling a little, and Ferus pressed a soft kiss to his cheek as the two of them got up from the bed, struggling to fix themselves and make themselves presentable.“Um…do you want to maybe revisit this later?” Anakin asked hopefully, looking earnestly at Ferus, and Ferus smiled and kissed him softly, cupping his cheek.“I’d say so. Come on flyboy.” He ordered, and Anakin grinned as he followed him towards the cockpit. XX Zoh was an isolated junkyard planet of little significance, the dumping ground more many of the Colonies and Inner Rim worlds garbage and detritus of civilisation. A pockmarked, brown hued world, it wasn’t the most pleasant backdrop.However, the Venator- class Star Destroyer Vigilance, anchored above the slightly snowy pole of the junkyard world down below, wasn’t pleasant either. Alongside it was the Stalwart, which had docked with the ship to investigate it’s unexpected reappearance.That had proved to be a mistake.“Run!” Jax yelled, trying to make sure his troops got back to the Stalwart, as hordes of starweirds rampaged through the corridors of the Vigilance, slicing through the clones as though they were made of paper.His blue saber slashed up at another starweird, actually cleaving into it’s skull. He felt a flicker of satisfaction, but admittedly, he’d only killed this one as it had been close enough to kill him. The starweird’s body collapsed to the ground, vanishing in a stormy, red haze as clones screamed around him, their armour torn asunder by the talons of the starweirds, their helmets caved in by sheer brute force. Blood decorated the walls as he and his remaining clones pushed back towards the Stalwart.“Any idea where Master Offee is with the Benevolence?” Jax cried desperately, slashing at one starweird as it grabbed for Hammer, the creature recoiling in pain as his clone commander shot it in the face.The general din of the running battle made it hard to hear, and Jax was struggling to keep going. He’d lost nearly all the clones he’d come aboard with, and he could only pray that his men back on the ship were alright. He needed to link up with Barriss, and together, they could destroy the Vigilance from afar, ending this particular brand of starweird threat. He couldn’t help but feel that he had let Master Even down.“She was en route, and Command said General Skywalker was also coming, but he’s not bringing troops with him, just another Jedi. But no ETA.” Hammer replied, and there was a cheer from one of the remaining clones, they were nearly at the airlock to the docking tube, they would soon be back to the Stalwart!The starweirds were massing, their savage screeches assaulting their ears as they fought through the dark ship. Dozens of pairs of chilling white eyes were focused on Jax and his men as they made the final push towards the airlock door.“We’re nearly there General!” one clone called excitedly, hammering on the door release.And then he was torn in two as a starweird stood, it’s talons dripping with the clone’s blood, on the other side of the airlock door.And it wasn’t the only one. Dozens more starweirds were pounding down the docking tube, and it occurred to Jax that he had failed utterly: the starweirds had obviously waited till he had led the clones over to the Vigilance, and had then swarmed through the ship, slaughtering or transforming at will. Then, they only had to lie in wait for them to return, and now, he had led his troops into a trap that they had no way of getting out of.One clone threw a grenade at a starweird, only for it to crush it in a Force grip. The starweirds streamed in, one particularly vicious one giving an ear blistering screech that dropped two clones to the ground, flesh coloured liquid trickling out from under their helmets. Another clone was torn asunder by the starweird closest to him, and Jax went back to back with Hammer, trying desperately to make this mean something, to achieve something, to make sure this wasn’t the end.They had three other clones left, the rest had all been killed by the starweirds. One starweird drove it’s talon through one of the clones’ necks before tearing the head off another one. Jax, Hammer and the last clone focused their attention on it, Jax’s saber slashing at it while Hammer and the other lit it up with blaster fire. The starweird turned it’s whole attention onto them, and Jax froze as it fixed its gaze on them.This one was different than the others. This one towered above the other, normal starweirds. While it still had an emaciated, haggard appearance with fleshy tendrils of dead skin hanging off it, it was more powerfully built, more muscular than the others. Glowing red eyes, which somehow made it all the more sinister, glowed out from it’s skull like face, it’s razor sharp teeth pulled back in a horrible approximation of a smile. To complete the more horrifying image, this one had floating, ethereal black hair which was wafting gently around a three pointed bone like crown that was emitting from it’s head.“Kill it!” Jax barked, as the three of them moved to take it down.The starweird simply raised a hand, and Jax kind of froze. An awful, frigid feeling happened within him, and it was like, he couldn’t move. He couldn’t catch his breath as the cold feeling spread, he’d never felt so cold, but bizarrely it seemed to only exist inside him, but either way, he couldn’t move.The same couldn’t be said for the last clone. He screamed, emptying his blaster at the starweird. The blaster bolts impacted against its body, and it merely turned it’s scarlet gaze onto him in annoyance, before it opened it’s vicious jaws wide and bit the clone’s head off, dropping the lifeless, twitching corpse to the ground as it swallowed the head whole.“GENERAL!” Hammer screamed, wondering why his general wasn’t doing anything.Jax flicked his eyes towards Hammer, trying to convey that he literally couldn’t move. Hammer looked desperately at his general, seeing he was frozen, and apparently realised he was alone against this bizarre starweird, while the rest all looked on.Hammer then fired at the starweird with his blaster, screaming in anger at this monster that had caused so much hurt and killed so many of his brothers. Jax made a noise of protest, as much as he could, because the starweird had bizarre shadows coalescing around its hand. Jax moaned louder, trying to get Hammer’s attention, but the clone was screaming in fury, emptying his blaster into the starweird, which seemed singularly unphased.And then, there was an ominous hissing noise as a purple blade sprang to life in it’s hand and with one deft movement, Hammer’s screams were cut short with a gurgle as he fell to the ground in six pieces.Jax watched as the last of his men died their horrid death as the starweird advanced, the glowing purple of it’s bizarre lightsaber illuminating the docking tube. It grabbed Jax’s chin, and peered into his eyes, as though considering what to do with him.And then it’s face made an even bigger grin as it decided, and Jax only wished he could scream as the crimson gaze of the starweird became his whole world.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shadow of the Void The Silver Queen dropped out of hyperspace, far enough from Zoh to be able to get a good look at the planet as they did so. Anakin frowned as he adjusted the direction, something just didn’t feel right here.Ferus ran a scan of the area, not liking how the Force felt. It felt…cold, and that was a novel experience that he was fairly sure couldn’t bode well for them.“You picking anything up Artoo?” he asked, and Artoo let out an anxious sounding whistle, clearly indicating that he was scared.“Are you?” Anakin asked softly, and Ferus shook his head.“Nothing major. Hang on, there, just around the ecliptic of the pole of the planet.” He said, as Artoo whistled excitedly, corroborating his findings.Anakin adjusted their heading, taking them to it, but as they approached what the sensors had detected, the feeling of foreboding grew. Up ahead were three Star Destroyers, the Vigilance, the Stalwart and the Benevolence. All three of them were joined together, with docking umbilicals between each ship. All three ships looked perfectly normal, undamaged, like they were just performing a routine manoeuvre, but as Anakin took them closer, he could feel his sense of apprehension growing. The Vigilance’s hangar doors were wide open, yet the other two were not. And that wasn’t what was most concerning.“Anakin…I’m not getting any life signs.” Ferus muttered worriedly, which in turn made Artoo let out a scared sounding noise.“You need to stop doing that babe.” He told him pointedly, and Ferus just gestured helplessly at his and Artoo’s station.“I’m just reporting what we’re seeing!” he protested, and Anakin grinned as he gently eased the ship towards the open hangar bay doors of the Vigilance.“So, three Star Destroyers, only one open hangar bay…chances this isn’t a trap?” Anakin asked with a lot more confidence than he felt, and Ferus looked at him in concern.“Obviously it’s a trap. And with the lack of life signs, do we have to assume there are starweirds on board and that they’ve done something to both Jax and Barriss since both their ships are here?” he asked pointedly, and Anakin looked worriedly at the other two Star Destroyers, both of which were attached to the Vigilance.The Stalwart had obviously arrived first, attaching to the Vigilance. Barriss had clearly arrived afterwards on the Benevolence and she had docked that with the Stalwart, likely hoping she could use the other Star Destroyer as a means of providing a beachhead.So what had gone wrong?“Ok, I have a plan…shut up both of you,” he grumbled, as Artoo had made a very mocking noise of surprise and Ferus had simply looked at him in teasing amusement, “we land on the Vigilance. That was the first one that went missing after all. Barriss and Jax likely tried to go there to investigate, so with any luck, we can hook up with them onboard. We find out what happened, and then we get the hell out of here. Zoh’s uninhabited except for all the junk that’s down there, and if the starweirds have taken the ship, there’s no telling exactly what they’ve done to it, and if they’ve taken the other two, and if you guys are right, they’ve got both the other ships too. So I say we go through the Vigilance, see what we can find, hook up with any other survivors, and then if we’re sure…send the three Star Destroyers crashing down to Zoh. Something makes me think we don’t want the starweirds using our own damn ships against us.”As there were no objections to his plan, he took them on in. Ferus’ eyes drifted over to Anakin as he piloted them in, smiling slightly. While Anakin was anxious, maybe even slightly terrified about what was going on within the three Star Destroyers, he just had a certain joy about him when he was piloting. It was nice to see truthfully.However the joy on Anakin’s face faded rapidly as they entered the hangar of the Vigilance. Numerous dead clones covered the deck, most of them seeming to have been killed while working on the vehicles still in the hangar. Gunships, Torrent fighters, V-Wings, all remained within the protective docking areas of the main drag, untouched by whatever disturbance had taken the ship to begin with. Trying not to focus on the grisly scene, Anakin edged the ship into a vacant bay, landing the ship gently, his eyes focused on the hangar outside, alert for any sign of trouble.“Ok Artoo, seal the ship after Ferus and I leave. Don’t open the ramp unless you hear directly from either of us ok?” he ordered, and the little droid beeped a positive if fearful affirmative while Anakin patted his head before he headed for the turbolift. Ferus patted Artoo goodbye as well before following his boyfriend down the lift, to find him rummaging in the cargo bay. He emerged, handing Ferus his blaster, and what remaining explosives they had.“You sure about this? Everyone else might already be dead.” Ferus pointed out grimly, and Anakin shuddered.“Yeah, I know. But we need to be sure don’t we?” he asked softly, and Ferus squeezed his hand before they took a last look at each other, and opened the ramp of the ship.Once outside, Artoo tootled a worried goodbye before he made good on his orders and sealed the ship behind them. They edged out into the dark hangar of the Star Destroyer. Anakin had always liked how the hangar bay of the Venator class worked, he liked it opening to space, you could see so much from in here.“There’s still atmosphere which is a plus.” Ferus said in a low voice, passing through the bay’s protective shield into the main landing strip, surveying the situation.Dozens of dead clones littered the floor, all of them looking as though they had been struck down while going about their regular tasks. Ferus frowned, something struck him as odd. He bent down, investigating one of the dead clones, and then, for some reason, shuddered.“What is it?” Anakin asked worriedly, and Ferus indicated the dead clones.“No blood. They weren’t torn apart. They were just killed by brute force, their necks are all snapped. Does that seem odd to you?” he asked, getting back to his feet and keeping a hand on his saber, and, despite himself, pressed a little closer to Anakin than he would normally.Anakin mulled it over as he and Ferus progressed up the hangar strip. His boyfriend raised a good point. After all, the starweirds they had encountered thus far certainly weren’t shy about killing anyone that crossed their paths, and a lot of the time, they weren’t exactly gentle about it. Between their screeches, their talons, their ability to make people into their thralls, and their Force powers, they weren’t lacking for ways with which to kill people. So why kill all the clones in such a physical manner? Surely it would be easier for them just to use their myriad powers to slaughter their victims?“Ok, I admit it’s odd.” Anakin muttered as they progressed up the hangar.It was very creepy, moving through the hangar bay while the faded blue lights remained perfectly active, illuminating the corpses of the poor clones. Perhaps he and Ferus were just judging because of the Hand, which obviously was riddled with sabotage and other problems, but the fact that the Star Destroyer seemed essentially fully functional, just with a dead crew, made it all the more ominous.They made it to the end of the hangar without accident. Entering the rear of the ship, they each covered the door with their blasters as it slid open, wincing at the noise it made as they entered the command structure. When they weren’t immediately beset by starweirds, they hesitantly moved into the rear of the ship.“Head for the bridges do you reckon?” Ferus asked in a low tone, and Anakin nodded.The journey through the deck wasn’t any less creepy. The clones had simply died where they had been, but, as Ferus had noted, they had all been killed by blunt force trauma, their necks snapped in the midst of what they were doing. It was like nothing they had seen before.“They didn’t get a chance to defend themselves. Every other time, they’ve put up a fight, except on Sinta obviously. But here, nobody seems to have tried to defend themselves. Why?” Anakin asked softly as they headed down another corridor, heading towards where the turbolift shafts were that would take them to the upper levels, and with luck, the bridges.“I don’t know. But I’m getting a really bad feeling about this.” Ferus replied bitterly, and Anakin agreed.What made this attack different? Why hadn’t they fought? Had the starweirds done something? Was it a different breed of starweird? And what was more, why had the starweirds left the Vigilance here, for anybody to find?And while they were at it, what had happened to the other two Jedi who had found it, and their clones besides?They were getting closer to the turbolift bank towards the end of the ship, but Anakin couldn’t shake the fact that the Vigilance being as intact as it was, was actually more creepy than if it had been invaded like every other ship had been. It was more similar to Sinta than the Hand, and that just made it all the more eerie that the ship seemed to be in perfect functioning order, if you discounted the corpses of clones littered throughout the ship.Anakin then suddenly stopped. A dark chill trickled down his spine, and his breath suddenly seemed to freeze in front of him. Ferus looked at him in concern, but Anakin’s heart was now pounding in his chest, something was coming, and whatever it was, he sure as hell didn’t want for him and Ferus to meet it. He could feel something approaching, and he looked around urgently, trying to find somewhere to hide. Ferus’ face was the picture of concern, and he reached for Anakin, but he shook his head urgently, then noticed a small maintenance hatch that led to a monitoring station for the power lines that led to the engines.Anakin pressed a finger to his lip, then hurried over to the hatch, hoping the hiss it made as it opened wouldn’t attract attention. He then dragged Ferus into the hatch, slamming it shut behind them, praying that whatever the hell he sensed didn’t know they were here, because if it did, they were very dead.Ferus looked at Anakin as though he was crazy, and Anakin shook his head, clamping his hand over Ferus’ mouth and turning his boyfriend around, pressing his front to Ferus’ back while keeping him quiet. Ferus looked as though he was about to struggle when a horrible noise came from outside.It was something drawing a rattling breath. Ferus went still in Anakin’s grasp, both of their hearts pounding as they remained coiled around each other in the corridor, as the rattling breath got closer. Anakin froze as he saw the door hadn’t entirely slid shut properly, his body now shaking in terror, but figuring if they were about to be caught, they should do it properly, he slightly adjusted his head, allowing him to squint out of the minute crack in the door.Outside was another starweird. This one seemed different than the others. This one was still scraggly, bony, and emaciated, but it seemed more lithe, more supple somehow. This version had ebony black skin, with smaller talons than the rest of them. Strips of dead flesh still hung off of it, and it was still floating with the sinister, ethereal quality that every other member of its species had too. But this one was also markedly different. A chitinous mask had grown across its lower face, giving the starweird a passing resemblance to ancient Sith Lords, Darth Malak and Darth Malgus. Only the very tops of its razor sharp teeth in its mouth could be seen, with the mask covering the rest. What was more, this starweird was bald. No hair of any sort marked it’s head, and its chitin mask was covering its mouth. The only thing that stood out from the starweird’s death’s head visage was it’s eyes. Black eyes stared out from it’s skull, eyes which had a sort of afterglow around them, like an event horizon of a black hole. The starweird looked around a little, both boy’s hearts pounding in their chest, figuring they’d been caught. It’s insidious black eyes scanned the corridor, but it seemed to have satisfied it’s curiosity before it headed further down the corridor and out of sight.“What the hell was that?” Ferus squeaked, his whole body shaking as Anakin finally released his mouth, letting Ferus breath in deeply.Ferus then noticed that while he was terrified, Anakin had gone white and was even more so. He was shaking all over, and once again, Ferus mused on exactly why the starweirds terrified him as much as they did. Figuring they were safe for the moment, Ferus wrapped Anakin in a hug, letting Anakin try to get himself back under control, and to his relief, it started to work, Anakin stopped shaking as much and his heart rate started to slow.“I think-” Anakin breathed, fairly confident the other starweird wasn’t still here, “I think that type of starweird killed everyone on board. I can’t explain it, but I can’t help but feel from it’s appearance, it’s build, that it’s an…”“Assassin? Its smaller, more muscular, it could more easily blend in…I think you might be right.” Ferus whispered, and Anakin shuddered, imagining it in his mind’s eye.Hordes of black eyed starweirds, surging through the ship, killing their prey before their prey could even react to its presence…yeah that was a fun new development.“Ok, I think it’s gone. Let’s get the hell out of here, get to the bridge and send the three ships hurtling straight to hell, and the starweirds along with them.” Anakin decided, and Ferus pecked his cheek as they slowly slid the door open manually, so as not to risk making any noise, in case the assassin starweird was still skulking about.“Thanks, for getting us out of that. Don’t much fancy being ambushed by a starweird assassin.” Ferus told him, and Anakin managed a slight smile as he led them to the turbolift.Opening the lift quietly, they got in and sent it to the top floor, where the path bifurcated into the two command towers. From there, they would head to the command bridge, and then send the Vigilance screaming down towards Zoh, and take the Stalwart and the Benevolence along with it. As there was no screech of rage from down below, they breathed a slight sigh of relief as the turbolift ascended up the superstructure. As the lift came to a stop, both boys withdrew their blasters, and slowly slid the door open. Seeing nothing, they stepped out into the last level of superstructure before the path broke into two to accommodate the two bridges.“Command bridge, that way.” Anakin said softly, pointing, and Ferus was about to head that way until he heard a noise.He grabbed Anakin’s wrist, shaking his head as Anakin turned to ask him what he was doing, and Anakin narrowed his blue eyes, hand going for his lightsaber. Something was coming…but it was something that was making a noise, which in theory, the starweirds shouldn’t do. Ferus reached for his own blade, the two of them edging along the corridor, ready to pounce as their assailants turned the corner, they were getting closer, it was the sound of footsteps…and Anakin and Ferus ignited their lightsabers, just as a squad of clones came around the corner, with a very haggard and exhausted looking Barriss Offee in the centre.“Anakin!” she exclaimed in relief, and the clones parted, allowing her to throw her arms around Anakin in a tight hug.“Wow, good to see you Barriss. You look awful. Fact that you just hugged me makes me think it’s worse than you actually look, and damn do you look terrible.” Anakin grinned by way of greeting, as the clones saluted, and Ferus allowed himself to relax a little, as they were among friends.“Thank you for saying so Anakin, I knew you’d cheer me up,” she told him tartly, and Ferus smirked, “regardless though, it is good to see you.”Ferus looked nervously around them. He wasn’t entirely keen on standing still, not when there was at least one starweird of unknown, possibly assassin, classification, stalking the corridors, but he supposed stopping and having a pleasant chat about ways and means during times of extreme danger was a Jedi thing.“What happened, have you seen Jax?” Anakin asked her, and close to, Ferus was forced to agree with his boyfriend’s assessment, she did look awful.Her clothes were ripped in multiple places, she had several nasty looking scratches across her body, her hair was a mess and she was covered in grime, with blood spattered over the tattoos on her face. Now that he could get a better look at her clones’ armour, he was forced to give them the same treatment, they had numerous holes in their armour, numerous slashes, and various specs of bodily fluids had sprayed up their white armour.“We arrived to answer Jax’s call for help. But when we got here, we couldn’t raise the Stalwart at all. There was no sign of anyone, no trace at all. I took a squad of clones from the Benevolence to come and investigate. As soon as we extended the docking umbilical, the starweirds attacked. They slaughtered the way through the ship, and everyone who could made their way to us. We thought if we could sever the umbilical we could maybe try to retake the ship, but there were just too many of them. We lost the Benevolence to them, so I thought if we could perhaps try to hook up with Jax and join with him we could stand more of a chance. But we couldn’t find him, just the bodies of his clones. And what’s more, at least one clone was killed by a lightsaber.” She explained, and Ferus and Anakin exchanged dark looks.So, that meant at least two Star Destroyers were totally lost, and also, there was no sign of Jax, or any indication of what happened to him. And it seemed as though another starweird with a forcesaber was on the loose.“That’s possibly the starweirds. We fought one on Sinta Glacier, it used some ancient lightsaber. We showed it to Master Ti, she reckons it’s a Rakatan forcesaber.” Ferus explained, and Barriss’ eyes went round with shock.“Oh wonderful. Anyway, when I couldn’t find Jax on the Stalwart, I figured, probably like you, that the best bet is to crash the three ships onto Zoh below us, wipe all of them out in one go. So I took what troops I had left, sealed the Benevolence behind me and made my way here, as we’d need to crash the Vigilance. The starweirds have been chasing us since. We only barely got away a little while ago when I fractured the coolant system, shrouded us in fog so we could escape, used a few flash grenades too. Galle’s squad…they’re all that’s left of my troops.” She reported sadly, and Galle shook his head.“Not your fault general. We’re up against something we don’t know how to fight. And all we’ve found, other than the enemy, is dead bodies. We were lucky you got us away from the last ambush ma’am.” He told her diligently, and Barriss offered him a thankful smile, while Anakin nodded.“Ok. He is right you know. They’re pretty unstoppable. But we can get us out of here. We get to the command bridge, we steer the ship towards the planet, then we take our ship and get the hell out of here, ok?” he asked, and Barriss nodded.“Can I come?” an exhausted voice asked, and everyone turned in shock, three lightsabers hissing to life as the clones levelled their blasters at the newcomer.Out of a maintenance hatch came a very tired looking Jax Pavan. His robes were torn, he had a large gash down his chest, and he looked as though he was struggling to stay on his feet, and his blue saber was held in a loose Makashi stance.“Jax!” Anakin exclaimed in relief, hugging his friend, who eagerly hugged him back.As he did so, Ferus felt something…odd. Something he didn’t quite know how to identify. But he also noticed Barriss watching the three boys out of the corner of her eye, and she had a slight smirk on her face, which he elected to ignore.“What the hell happened to you?” Anakin asked in concern, helping him out of the hatch, and Jax shuddered.“We arrived to investigate the Vigilance. I took a team on board, and then the starweirds swept through my ship, slaughtering everyone they came across. They came at us from our own rear. Then we hit the starweird beachhead too. They crushed us between the two flanks, they wiped out nearly all my troops. A few got away, but we got separated. I’ve been trying to find them, then figured, if nothing else, I can try and crash the ship, just like you guys. So I started coming up here, hoping I can find Commander Hammer, he took some of my remaining troops towards the starfighter control bridge, seeing if he could remotely get some of them up here to evacuate us from the command towers. I got caught in the maintenance tunnels, took me ages to find my way up here, the lower decks are swarming with starweirds.” He reported with a shudder, and Anakin squeezed his arm reassuringly.“Well we’re all here now. Ok, since we’ve got Barriss’ troops, why don’t we split up? I can go with Jax to hook up with his troops, and Ferus can take Barriss and see to crashing the ships, we send the Vigilance down and if nothing else, then we can call Artoo up here and get us the hell out of here.” Anakin said, and Ferus felt that strange feeling he had intensify.Why wouldn’t he want to go with Ferus? And yeah, sure, Jax was pretty cute, but currently he looked as though he’d been dragged through backwards through a sarlacc. And hadn’t the two of them been at this, fighting the starweirds, the longest?Not to mention, he had a really bad feeling that splitting up could be the worst decision they could make.“Anakin, all that we have left is a squad of clones, and the ship, if Jax is right, is crawling with starweirds, and they’re already hunting for both Jax and Barriss, if they figure out we’re here, we’ll have an army of them coming for us. Splitting up is a bad idea.” Ferus told him, and Anakin fixed him with a helpless look.“I know Ferus, but at least this way, we can try and make sure we finish this. The starweirds have slaughtered the crews of two ships, least we can do is try to make sure we get justice for them. We need to crash the ships, and if we can send them out of orbit, we can get Artoo to pull us out. And we can’t leave Jax’s remaining clones here. They deserve better…everyone who’s fought the starweirds does.” He said softly, and Ferus sighed.“I don’t know, I have a bad feeling about this. But ok, I’ll follow your lead. I’ll take Barriss and half the clones to one tower while you hook up with the clones on the other. I take it communications are out?” Ferus asked, already knowing the answer, and Barriss offered him a grim smile.“How did you guess? You on board Galle?” she asked, and the clone quickly scanned his troops, received nods, then saluted and nodded himself.“Yes general. We’re ready when you are. Inc can take command of the other squad.” He replied, indicating another clone who nodded sombrely.“Ok, let’s go. Come on Jax, let’s hope we don’t meet any starweirds on the way to Hammer.” Anakin said, locking eyes with Ferus as they headed down one corridor.“Anakin?” Ferus called softly, and he turned to look at him.“Yeah?”“Be careful.”Anakin smiled, and looked as though he was considering kissing Ferus but thought better of it before bidding them goodbye, as he and Jax hurried along the corridor, heading for the starfighter command bridge, Inc’s small squad trailing behind them.“Let’s go. After you.” Barriss said helpfully, and Ferus grinned at her.“Gee thanks. Let’s hope we didn’t just get ourselves killed. Come on, the sooner we get to the bridge, the better, then we can escape this nightmare.” XX The whole thing was just maddeningly unhelpful. Shaak Ti had scoured the entire vault, along with whatever else she could find in the rest of the Archives about the Rakatans, but despite the fact that the Jedi had learned the lesson four thousand years ago about not knowing about them, there was shockingly little available on them. Frustrated, she figured she might as well take a break anyway. So far, she’d only found a few scant references to Forcesabers, and couldn’t figure out where else she could look. Perhaps a cup of tea would do her good.She did resent returning to the Archives proper, as she sealed up the vault. The vault was silent, and, even though strictly speaking she wasn’t meant to do it, she had meditated within the vault a couple of times. Returning to the bustle of the temple proper likely wouldn’t help with her discovering the information she was seeking.Why would the starweirds use Rakatan weapons? Had they encountered the Rakatans, stealing their weapons, as they were now attacking and stealing Republic warships? Or were the Rakatans and the starweirds more intrinsically linked? She highly doubted she would find anything else within here, it was one of the best libraries in the galaxy, but there were others elsewhere that might also hold vital information to her search. Perhaps she should reach out to Senator Binks, as he seemed fairly gung-ho about discovering the truth of the starweird threat, see if he could help by reaching out to other academics.She left the vault, only to discover Madam Nu making a beeline right for her, an irritated expression on her face. Shaak Ti suppressed a groan, as she had a distinct suspicion that Jocasta’s irritation was about to become hers.“Madam Nu.” She said in way of greeting, and the irascible librarian bowed her head in acknowledgement, and adopted an annoyed expression.“Master Ti. I would like to register a complaint. More and more Jedi are abandoning their research, leaving the Archives not at all how they found them.” She sniped, and Shaak Ti nodded, though was inwardly praying to the Force for patience.Yes, she got that Jocasta was very proud of the Archives. She got that she liked them to be tidy, clean and able to be used for anyone at any time. However, since the start of this war, it seemed like she had become even more inflexible than before (which Obi-Wan, had uncharitably attributed to her finding out that Kamino had been deleted from the Archives, which she took as a personal insult), and hence was more obtuse about it than before.“I appreciate that Jocasta, however, many Jedi are needed out in the field at a moment’s notice, I’m sure they’re not doing it deliberately.” She replied, doing a remarkable job of not allowing her annoyance to show.Jocasta pointed out at least three vacant desks, with various papers or books still lying on them.“Indeed? Master Tapal, Master Auset and Master Unduli have all left things behind, and show no sign of coming back. I assume their arrival is imminent?” she asked waspishly, and Shaak Ti sighed.Well, no. While she had been in the vault, she also knew that Luminara had been deployed to New Bornalex, and had likely already gone as Grievous had caught them offguard and invaded the place, so that needed addressed. Master Auset had been summoned by Coruscant police to testify at a criminal’s trial, so he was also gone and could well be for a while. And Master Tapal, if she recalled correctly, was away to Bomis Koori.Though to be fair, the Council was also kind of to blame, as they were the ones sending them places.“Well, probably not. But Jocasta, there is a war on.” She replied with as much politeness as she could muster, and Jocasta arced an eyebrow.“So we should just abandon normal working practices? Leave the Archives looking like Raxus Prime just so they can go off fighting on the front?” she asked sniffily, and Shaak Ti sighed.“Jocasta, if you are so bothered about the mess that is being left, get some of the Archive droids to clean up the mess.” She ordered tightly, heading towards the door, she needed that cup of tea now more than ever.Perhaps with two sugars.“The Archive droids are here to assist with research, not clean up the mess left by Jedi who should know better. Skywalker’s research is still lying here!” she exclaimed, and Shaak Ti felt her patience slipping.Her master would have been disappointed in her.Actually, she wouldn’t have. Her master had never liked Jocasta. She was now starting to see what the tough old Toydarian meant.“That is because the Council sent Master Skywalker to go and investigate the starweirds, which, if your Archive had more information on them, we wouldn’t have had to do,” she snapped, losing all semblance of patience, and Jocasta recoiled as though she was physically burned, “but, as it is important to you, I will clear up Anakin’s mess myself! It will delay me in finding out anything more about the starweirds, who are currently attacking our forces across the galaxy, after who knows what, but at least the Archives will be clean!”She then swept away from Jocasta, trying to bring her temper back under control. Jocasta, still looking offended at Shaak Ti’s dig at her Archives, swept off, though did look slightly satisfied. Shaak Ti scowled. She shouldn’t have let Jocasta get so far under her skin, and in fairness, if she wasn’t frustrated, stressed, and overworked, she wouldn’t have snapped. But then again, the fact that Jocasta was making such a song and dance about a few pieces of paper really did beggar belief, especially when there was a war on, with a sideline in interdimensional beings on a murder spree.Perhaps when she saw the rest of the Council, she should ask them where the most violent front was at the moment. Jocasta could use a break from her Archives, she mused darkly.She began tidying Anakin’s research up, musing at it curiously. She had to admit, she was impressed. He had never been one to take to research, but clearly, the starweirds had provoked his inner scholar. She ran her eye over his drawings of the starweird (admittedly, he was rather a good artist), and also smiled as she saw his drawing of his Delta-7, and of a Star Destroyer shooting at a Lucrehulk. Setting them aside, figuring he would want his drawings for his quarters, she looked more closely at his research. Harried notes on the starweirds and their capabilities; a list of places they had struck; historical accounts of the encounters and who had had them; and a timeline of the starweird encounters, up until his departure from Coruscant.She ran her eye over it, but then, an errant comment that he had written in the corner of the page caught her eye. He had written Sith storm in the top corner. A few months ago, a Sith storm had rocked Coruscant. The power of the dark side had crackled across Coruscant, terrifying the younglings, unsettling the Jedi Council, and the dark side ritual was felt across the galaxy. It had been particularly frustrating, because they knew the Sith Lord, the elusive one they were hunting for, was behind it and they were still no closer to finding him. Every Jedi had mentioned feeling the power of the storm in all their reports, and the Council had been unable to do anything about it.But Anakin had been different. He had reported that he had felt a surge of power searching for him, amplifying his already considerable abilities. Many of them had been unsettled by this, why would the Sith storm have an effect like that on Anakin? Yoda had concluded, as they had before, that the Sith was interested in Anakin, which she suspected may have informed Mace’s decision to ground him after the loss of the Hand.But wait, the Sith storm…it had happened while Anakin was still on Nelvaan. And after Nelvaan, he had…Shaak Ti felt her blood run cold as she scrutinised his notes. The Sith storm happened when Anakin was on Nelvaan. Anakin had travelled there in his fighter, and had left the same way, as the clones that had joined him on the patrol had gone there on a CR20, and had all been killed by a local large beastie anyway. Anakin had proceeded alone, freeing the Nelvaani, and while doing so, had had his powers amplified by the Sith storm, which, if the Council was right, was directed at him by the Sith Lord, who was interested in him for sinister purposes unknown.Her heart was pounding very fast, as realisation dawned on her. She needed to confirm her theories, she needed, ah, she’d do!“Jin-Lo!” she called, and Jocasta’s studious Padawan smiled as she headed over towards the Council member, who received a glower from Madam Nu, who was sorting out a large pile of old research papers.“Yes master?” she asked, clearly glad from the break from her master, and Shaak Ti looked at her intently.“Do you recall when the Sith storm was? The exact date?” she asked, she’d been on Kamino at the time, and hence was harder to keep track of.Jin-Lo frowned, pondering as she opened her journal.“Um, yes actually! I made a note, because Master Jocasta made me get out of bed to seal the Archives,” she grumbled sullenly, and Shaak Ti resolved to mention to the Council that perhaps the librarian needed a break, for heaven sake, why would she seal a room in the centre of the temple to protect against what was essentially violent weather far outside?“When, exactly?” she asked, and Jin-Lo helpfully showed her the date.Explosions went off in Shaak Ti’s head. She was right. The Sith storm had hit when Anakin was on Nelvaan. He had then left Nelvaan in his starfighter, only to be accidentally intercepted on his way to join Obi-Wan by mercenaries, who had gotten lucky and damaged Anakin’s fighter, and then he’d…She activated the galactic map on the terminal Anakin had been working at, heart pounding, and the Padawan looked at Shaak Ti anxiously. She plotted Nelvaan, and then charted a line from there to Inner Space Seven, where Anakin had wound up after his fight with the mercs. And then, Ferus had picked him up on the Hand, where they had then been targeted by the original starweird.The Sith storm, which amplified Anakin, clearly focusing on him in some unknown way. Anakin had then been travelling, but in his starfighter, which so far as they knew, escaped starweird notice. However, it had then attacked on the Hand, changing approach when it discovered Anakin aboard, yet remaining perfectly content to try and murder Ferus, the other Jedi aboard. And ever since then…By the Force, what had they done?“Master?” Jin-Lo asked worriedly, and Shaak Ti looked at the girl in alarm.“We’ve made a terrible mistake, I think I know what they’re after. I need to go. Um…how long has Madam Nu been stacking those papers?” she asked innocently, figuring if nothing else, it would help settle her nerves.Jin-Lo grinned.“Most of the day.”Shaak Ti weighed the pros and cons. She was in a hurry. What she had just realised was vital information. And Jocasta had annoyed her, and she was on the way out of the Archives.“Pity. Now Padawan, I hope you know what I am about to do, is frowned upon by the Council. One should not idly use the Force, but I have just made a horrific realisation that must be acted upon urgently. So,” she said, collecting Anakin’s actual research, while pressing the pile of drawings into Jin-Lo’s hand, “please deliver these to Anakin’s quarters. And also, watch this.” She finished with a wink, and with Anakin’s research in hand, applied a burst of Force speed, blazing out of the archives like a whirlwind.Which just happened to send all of Jocasta’s files flying everywhere, the Archivist’s screeching and cursing filling the library, while a sniggering Jin-Lo made good her escape XX “Ah, Obi-Wan, Siri, welcome home.” Mace greeted as he, Depa, Even, Saesee and Adi were heading to the Reconciliation Council chamber for a session, and the other two smiled in greeting.“It’s good to be home. Hello master.” Siri said happily, greeting Adi, the two of them clasping hands.“It’s so good to see you Siri. And you Obi-Wan, I trust all is well on Cato Neimodia?” she asked, and Obi-Wan nodded.“Yes master. Master Koon is making good progress. I’d still be there but my troops took a lot of damage from their heavy artillery, so I’m here for a refit before I head back. Anakin’s off-planet isn’t he?” he asked, sounding slightly put out, and Saesee nodded.“He’s investigating the starweird attacks, hopefully he’ll find some information that we-” he told him, before being cut off by a call from behind them.“MACE!” Shaak Ti yelled, hurrying along the corridor towards them, and Mace sighed.Shaak Ti wasn’t one prone to blind panic, but she certainly seemed panicked. And she was running along the corridor, papers in hand, looking frantic. There was no way this was good.“I really don’t like the tone of her voice.” He lamented, and Depa grinned a little as her master resigned himself to whatever fresh hell this was.“We have a problem.” Shaak Ti told him by way of greeting, passing him pages of notes.“Just once, I’d like to get through the day without hearing that…alright, what is it?” Mace asked, and Obi-Wan frowned as he looked at the papers she had given him.“It looks like Anakin’s writing.”“It is. I think he accidentally discovered the reason why the starweirds are attacking, but we called him away before he could connect the dots himself. Look at the timeline.” She instructed, and Mace frowned.The Sith storm that rocked Coruscant, mocking the Council as they couldn’t figure out who or where the damn Sith Lord was. Anakin had reported feeling stronger as a result, which had unsettled many of the Council, as they didn’t understand why Anakin wasn’t recoiling from it the same as the rest of the Order. Yoda had cautioned that it may be because the Sith Lord was directing the storm at Anakin, confirming their belief once again that the Dark Lord was all too interested in the boy. That had happened when he was on Nelvaan…a week or so before the first encounter with the starweird. Wait, could it be-?“Mace?” Even asked grimly, not at all liking whatever was making Mace look as worried as he did.Mace looked at the research, growing increasingly alarmed. It fit. It fit too well not to be true, and just out of his perception, he was realising another shatterpoint, proving their theory correct.“The Sith storm, it lit Skywalker up like a supernova.” He concluded, and an ashen faced Shaak Ti nodded.“Yep. I think that storm, whatever the hell the damn Sith did, provoked the starweirds. That storm must have provoked them somehow. But because it was also being used by the Sith to target Anakin…”Obi-Wan went grey as he realised multiple implications at once.“As we think the Sith is targeting Anakin, the Sith’s attention drew the starweird’s attention. But when he left Nelvaan, he was in his fighter, so they couldn’t act. But when Anakin joined the Hand-”“The starweirds found him.” Siri concluded for him, exchanging an alarmed look with him.“But the starweird didn’t target him at the start, but if you think they’re hunting him…” Even objected, but Saesee, looking increasingly alarmed himself, shook his head.“But the Hand’s hyperdrive was damaged. And when the starweird first properly appeared, he was helping to try and fix the hyperdrive. So, the damage likely acted like a jammer, hiding Anakin’s presence from them, until it became apparent to them that he actually was on board.”“Wait,” Depa said, trying to catch up, “what are we saying?”“The Sith storm provoked the starweirds. But because the Sith was targeting Anakin, it lit him up, making him a lightning rod for the starweirds. Depa, that’s why they’ve been doing everything they’ve been doing. They’re hunting for him!” Mace exclaimed, furious with himself.“We’ve sent him and Ferus into a trap. They’re hunting for Anakin, and we’ve sent them right to them! We’re fools.” Adi hissed, and Mace nodded, while Obi-Wan sighed.“Anakin’s in trouble again. Must be Tuesday.” He lamented with a grim smile, and Siri grinned, while a brief flicker of amusement passed over Mace’s face while he took over the situation.“We know where Anakin is, he and Ferus are at Zoh, walking into what we already suspected was a trap. But as the starweirds are looking for him, he and Ferus will be walking blind into a trap, and even with Jax and Barriss there, it will likely be disastrous. We need to act quickly.” He decided, sweeping towards the hangar, everyone else falling into step with him, clearly deciding they were joining him.“But master, how can we reach Zoh quickly enough to help?” Depa asked worriedly, and Mace allowed himself a small smile.“Zoh is on the other side of the galaxy. We can use the secret routes, through the Deep Core, that should get us there in time.” He decided, and they looked at him in surprise, but Obi-Wan and Siri in particular were grateful for him deciding to use the secret routes to go to the aid of their former apprentices.“But how can we guarantee the starweirds wont target our ship? Especially when we’re already stretched thin.” Shaak Ti pointed out, and Adi allowed herself a quiet smile.“Nym is on planet. He’s trying to convince Procurement to get him a planetary ion cannon. I could ask him if we could take the Tritus. He’s fond of Anakin, since he helped save the day at Naboo all those years ago.” She volunteered, and Mace nodded.“Thank you Adi, make it so.” He said, as Adi commed her pirate friend.“And as Anakin and Ferus are likely stumbling into a trap, that means Jax also likely is.” Even grumbled, and Depa patted her friend’s shoulder.“That’s why we’re going my friend. We’ve sent them into this trap, we need to get them out of it. But I reckon the lot of us stand rather a good shot.” She told him confidently, and Obi-Wan nodded, before looking at Mace in concern.“Should we take some clones?”Mace was about to respond, when Adi shook her head.“Nym doesn’t trust them. He has agreed to take us to Zoh on the Tritus however. Saesee, would you be willing to fly us through the Deep Core? Juno is a bit anxious about it.”“Of course. I suspect we might need our fighters Master Gallia, I’ll take the Sharp Spiral and meet you there.” He said with a grin, and Adi smiled, and with a nod from Mace, the two masters hurried ahead towards the hangar.“Other soldiers can be procured. Actually,” Mace said, an idea forming as he reached for his comm, “Nick, can you hear me?”Nick Rostu had been recruited by Mace during the Battle of Haruun Kal, where Mace had gone to train the natives to fight the Separatists, and since then, had followed Mace loyally.“Sure General, what’s up?”“Can you assemble a commando team, and meet us at the Mere Cruiser called the Tritus? Time is of the essence.”“So you need me to slip your jiffies off the roaster?” the voice at the other end of the comm asked in delight, and Mace let out a small sigh, though there was the barest hint of a smile too.“Yes. Several pairs of jiffies, as it happens.”“See you there.”Mace nodded as they hurried towards the hangar, and they could already see Adi and Saesee shooting off. Truth be told, he was actually…enjoying this. While he was horrified that he and the rest had inadvertently sent four fellow Jedi into a trap orchestrated by interdimensional beings, it felt more akin to what they had used to do, more like a Jedi than a general.Now, he only had to hope they were in time to save Anakin and the others from the decision that they had made.The shatterpoint was there, just out of reach, but more tangible than ever. They had but to act, as a Jedi, without hesitation, to save innocent lives.But as he tried to focus on the shatterpoint, to try and perceive how this might play out, it was like there was something more, something crystallising like broken glass behind it, just out of reach. There was no way that was good, but that was a problem for the future.In the now, the problem was that the starweirds were looking for Anakin, and they had sent him right to them. And that was a mistake he intended to correct.Agen Kolar, clad in beat-up armour, strolled out of the hangar, cheerful to be back on Coruscant, and then stopped short as he saw Mace, Depa, Even, Shaak Ti, Obi-Wan and Siri all heading towards him with a sense of immense purpose.“Master Kolar, welcome home. The starweirds are actively hunting for Master Skywalker, and we’ve sent him and his companions into a trap. We’re heading to reinforce them. If you’d be so kind as to inform Master Yoda where we’ve gone, he’s in a meeting with the Chancellor. Master Rancisis is also in the temple, directing troop movements, and Master Fisto is inspecting an incident of sabotage up on Centax. If you could catch them up as well please.” Mace asked, and Agen, a little taken aback, nonetheless nodded.“Of course, Master Windu. May the Force be with you all.” He told them, as with a last nod, they headed past him for a gunship on standby that the other two had clearly organised for them, heading to save the targets of the starweird threat. XX Ferus frowned as they neared the command bridge. Their progress had been slow, and they had spotted at least three starweirds, all with those sinister black eyes, patrolling the corridors. The presence of this new type of starweird was more unsettling than anything else, he thought darkly. Why just these starweirds? Had the original attack on the Vigilance been a test as well? He couldn’t help but think that both Sinta and the Vigilance were nothing but a test bed of some sort. Was the black eyed variety some new type? Had they been created for just this sort of purpose, for seizing a ship without their usual blood, gore and associated terror?But if that was true, it also begged the question: who exactly had designed said black eyed starweird, and for what purpose?“Bridge is just around there.” Barriss whispered as they edged along the corridor, and Ferus nodded, Galle and his other four troops raising their weapons, ready to fight if need be.Ideally, he’d like to get into the bridge without raising the alarm, as if they gave themselves away now, they’d have to fight through an army of starweirds to reach Anakin on the other bridge.He still wasn’t happy about the fact that they had split up. He couldn’t help but feel that it was a disaster waiting to happen. And there was something about Jax that he just couldn’t put his finger on either.“Looks clear General.” Galle reported, having scoped around the corner, and the two Jedi exchanged a nod, hesitantly advancing around the corner, the bridge in sight.They moved hurriedly, closing the distance to the bridge door while being alert for any sign of the starweirds having twigged that they were here. Ferus was growing more and more unsettled. There was something about all this that just wasn’t adding up.The door to the command bridge slid open, and they hurriedly closed the door behind them, and Ferus allowed himself to breathe for a second.“Ok, let’s see if we can send the three ships down to Zoh. The sooner we’re off these ships, the better.” Ferus ordered, and Barriss nodded eagerly.“Very true. Let’s secure the room, Galle, and make sure they don’t figure out we’re here before we’re done. Chances are, once we’ve sabotaged the ship, we’re going to have a lot of company.” Barriss advised darkly, and her commander nodded, his troops spreading through the bridge.“General?” one clone called, sounding like he was fighting the urge to throw up, and Barriss looked ahead to where he was standing, in the middle of the command walkway, and she felt her blood run cold.Two bodies were in the middle of the walkway. They were posed in such a way that it looked like they had fallen backwards, only to get stuck midfall. Ferus shuddered as he and Barriss approached.It was Salmara, the Jedi commander of the Vigilance, and her Padawan, Dray. Salmara had been a kind woman, with darker skin and an enigmatic smile. She was clad in violet robes, a mark of how much she’d like to stand out from the crowd. Her Padawan, Dray, was a handsome young man, with his hair cut in a similar way to his beloved master’s. But the two of them were long dead, their skin having paled and gone grey. But most worrying of all were the thousands of jagged crystals that seemed to have impaled them both, causing their death.There was no blood, just jagged, thin spikes that had skewered all through both their bodies, in their chests, hands, legs, head, eyes…it was horrific.“What a horrible way to die.” Barriss murmured, looking at their two fallen brethren in shock, and gently picking their sabers from their belts, passing Dray’s to Ferus for safekeeping.Ferus couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dead Jedi. The crystals had skewered all across their bodies, though Dray had suffered less of it than poor Salmara. But the crystals, there was something about them, that just didn’t make sense.“Why’s there no blood?” he asked softly, and Barriss shook her head.“I don’t know to be honest. I can’t even imagine what the hell they used to kill them.”Ferus frowned, trying to figure out what was missing. What were these weird crystals? What had they come from, how had the starweirds that killed them able to weaponize them against two Jedi?“Ma’am, whatever this stuff is, it isn’t…organic. I’ve no idea what it is.” One clone reported as he scanned the dead bodies, then cocked his head.“Trooper?” Galle asked, and the clone ran another scan.“It looks like…it looks like they erupted from the inside out.” The clone said, and Ferus and Barriss exchanged a horrified look.From the inside out? But what on earth could the starweirds have used to kill a Jedi from the inside out?Unbidden, Ferus suddenly remembered what Anakin had said about their initial encounter with the starweird, that he’d felt so cold inside…“Holy mother of the Sith…” Ferus realised, going white as realisation dawned on him, and Barriss looked at him, her eyes round and fearful.“What?”“It’s the Force. That’s what the crystals are. It’s the Force that was inside them…” he breathed in horror, and Barriss went white.“The Force? You mean they somehow, freeze it and weaponize it against us?” she demanded, and Ferus nodded.“Anakin said he felt cold inside, when we fought the original starweird. It must have been trying to freeze the Force inside him.” He whispered, shivering as he thought of Anakin, splayed out like a centrepiece on a table, and felt the sudden urge to hunt Anakin down, grab him and run as far as they could together.“Ferus if this is what they’re capable of, we need to inform the Council, if they can do this to a Jedi then what the hell else can they do?” Barriss demanded weakly, and Ferus nodded, dragging his gaze away from Salmara and Dray’s dead bodies with some difficulty.It was horrible, and the sooner they got off this ship, the sooner they could get back to relative safety.“Ok, let’s set the ship on a collision course, we need to finish this. Sooner we do it, the sooner we get out of here.” He told them, and the clones headed down into the crewpits, where they found several more dead clones, all killed with blunt force trauma.Ferus shuddered as the clones got to work, trying to figure out how best to crash the ship, preferably without alerting a whole army of starweirds. Barriss appeared beside him, squeezing his arm.“We can inform the Council. They’ll know what to do.” She said reassuringly, and Ferus raised an eyebrow.“You reckon? I reckon they’re just as clueless as we are. What’s more, I think they’re just as scared.”Barriss turned and looked at the grisly scene that was the bridge. Numerous dead clones slumped in their chairs in the crewpits. Other dead bodies dotted around the command walkway, clones of various sorts, including Salmara’s clone commander. And of course, the gruesome display that had once been Salmara and Dray in the centre of the walkway.“Truth be told, after seeing this, I wouldn’t blame them. I have to admit, when I first heard that Anakin was talking about fighting a starweird, I thought he was crazy. Now, I wish he was.” She lamented, and Ferus smiled fondly.“Don’t worry, he’s still crazy. Just not the crazy you’re thinking.”She chuckled.“Not the only crazy I suspect is going on…you have feelings for him, don’t you?” she asked bluntly, and he froze.While he had left the Order, and hence was perfectly at liberty to do whatever the hell he liked romance wise (not that he was particularly good at it), Anakin was still part of the Order, and if Barriss said anything…“Why would I have feelings for Anakin? He’s a Jedi.” He replied brusquely, not looking at her, and she sighed.“Yeah. A lot of people seem to think that being a Jedi means we can’t be in love. The Council in particular. But I reckon they’re wrong.” She told him flatly, and he turned and looked at her in surprise.“Really?”“Well, yeah. You mean to tell me if I happened to kiss a very cute and sweet doctor from Tatooine, just hypothetically of course!” she insisted suddenly, blushing furiously, which complimented her facial tattoos nicely, “I’ll become the next Sith? Hardly.”Ferus smiled.“So, who is this doctor from Tatooine?” he teased, and she scowled, which made him grin all the wider.“None of your business, besides, I asked you first. You like Anakin, don’t you? That’s why you didn’t like him going off with Jax.”Ferus felt that weird feeling inside him again, not that he could identify it.“Why would I care if he goes off with Jax?”“Well, because it’s well known that Anakin and Jax are quite good friends, and Jax is also very cute, when he hasn’t been chased all over a starweird infested Star Destroyer at any rate. You’re jealous.”Ferus’ jaw dropped open in fury. There was no way he was jealous of Jax, why would he be? Jax was only close to Anakin, hadn’t abandoned the order,  was cute….no way!“I am not jealous!” he protested, and she sent him a knowing look.“Oh yeah, sure you’re not. For what it’s worth, Anakin does seem more at peace with himself than he did when we were on Ansion together. And I get it, trust me. I’ll admit I had a little crush on him myself for a while. He’s so…”“Obnoxious? Cocky? Irritating?” Ferus asked, listing them all off, as he’d done when they were all younger, and Barriss smiled.“Well yes. But, he’s also brave, smart, loyal, resourceful, passionate…and got to say, he’s quite handsome. But I’m sure you haven’t noticed.” She told him playfully, and her elbowed her slightly in annoyance.“Shut up. I just…I get it, but I don’t get it. Does he like Jax? I thought him being bi was new to him when we started having all these stupid feelings for each other, but then he rushed off to be with Jax, does he like him? Does he even like me?” Ferus asked, frustrated with the whole thing.Barriss shrugged.“I wish I could tell you Ferus. But I’m not that close to Anakin. For what it’s worth, I saw the way he looked at you when he went off with Jax. He likes you. A lot.” She reassured him sweetly, and Ferus smiled a little, wondering exactly what Anakin and Jax were doing at the moment.Jax…“Wait a minute,” he said, a sudden, horrible thought going through his head, “how did Jax survive?”Barriss looked at him, eyebrow raised.“He is a Jedi Ferus. He may only have been recently knighted, but he’s still a Jedi, and he was trained by one of the Council.” She pointed out, but Ferus, whose heart was now beating very fast, looked at her, his face ashen.“Yeah, and I have a lot of respect for Master Piell. But when we encountered Jax, he came from nowhere, and had his saber in a Makashi grip. How would any Makashi user survive a swarm of starweirds?” he asked urgently, and Barriss looked as though she wanted to argue, but now that he mentioned it, he did have a point.Makashi was a powerful and elegant form, to be sure. But it was used more for fencing, for duelling. In fact, against a swarm of starweirds, Makashi would be likely to get anyone killed, with the arguable exception of the two most renowned masters of it, which were obviously Count Dooku himself, and Shaak Ti.“And if he was caught in a pincer by the starweirds, how did he manage to escape? And…oh no.” she breathed, and Ferus looked at her, heart pounding, the very bad feeling he had getting exponentially worse.“What?”“The clone that we saw that had been killed by a lightsaber…he had commander markings on his armour.” Barriss whispered in dread, and Ferus felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.Salmara’s clone commander was dead in the crewpit behind them. Barriss still had her clone commander with her, Galle was looking up at them from the crewpit. Which meant that the only other clone commander that could possibly be on board would be Jax’s commander, Hammer.Hammer, who Anakin and Jax were meant to be meeting up with.“Sithspit! He must have been thralled, just like Anakin was! But whatever starweird did it made it less obvious, the starweirds are controlling Jax!” Ferus exclaimed, and Barriss turned to Galle.“Commander, let’s go. Master Pavan is compromised, through no fault of his own. We need to get to him before he does anything to Master Skywalker!” she ordered, and Galle and his troops hurried out of the crewpit.“Not like we can do anything anyway ma’am. The controls are all disabled, look.” He told her grimly, and she looked down to see the consoles that they needed to action their plan had all been damaged…by a lightsaber.“Sithspawn!” she swore, and Ferus looked out the viewport towards the starfighter commander bridge, where Anakin was walking unknowingly into a trap.He’d told Anakin they shouldn’t have split up, and if they managed to survive this, he had every intention of telling him that he’d told him so!“Let’s go, quickly and quietly. We need to rescue Anakin, then I can kill him myself!” XX Anakin held up a hand, forcing Jax, Inc and their small squad of clones to come to a stop. He frowned as he watched another starweird head onto the bridge, the door closing behind it as it entered the starfighter command bridge.“What is it?” Jax whispered, and Anakin shook his head.“I don’t know. But that’s the fourth starweird we’ve seen head into the fighter command bridge. What are they even doing in there? And why aren’t they coming back out again? It’s not like they’ve got any of the fighters deployed, so what are they doing in there?” Anakin asked curiously, wondering about their next move.The reckless, terrified part of him wanted to just barge in and try and find out what the hell they were doing. But the logical part of him, the part of him that made him such a good general, and also the part that seemed to speak with Obi-Wan (and occasionally Ferus) voices, wanted to wait, hook up with Ferus and Barriss and get the hell off this ship.“Sorry to say sir but I think Commander Hammer is probably dead.” Inc admitted darkly, and Jax shook his head stubbornly.“No, he can’t be.”“Jax, sorry buddy but the place is crawling with starweirds. Kind of have to agree that your commander’s probably dead. But, that aside, part of me does want to find out what the hell they’re doing in there.” He muttered, mostly to himself.He went quiet as another starweird materialised out of the shadows, up ahead. It paid them no mind as it headed into the starfighter bridge, once again the door slamming shut behind it. Anakin couldn’t fathom it. What were they doing in there, why were so many of them congregating in the place?He briefly entertained the thought that they were laying in wait, waiting for them to try and enter, but he was fairly certain he could dismiss that. After all, the starweirds didn’t seem particularly bothered about hunting down either Jax or Barriss. Which he had to admit, was odd in and of itself, but it wasn’t like when the starweirds were chasing him and Ferus through the Hand, that one had been consciously trying to hunt them down, but these ones, these black eyed ones, didn’t seem nearly as bloodthirsty. Mind you, he didn’t know if that was necessarily a good thing or not.“General?” Inc asked in concern, and Anakin was jerked out of his reverie.Obviously, they couldn’t stay here, it was just asking for a starweird to come across them and raise the alarm, proceeding to unleash all sorts of hell. But, the more Anakin thought about it, the more he was concerned with what the starweirds were doing inside the starfighter bridge, it just didn’t sit right with him.“Ok…here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go and investigate why so many starweirds are in there. But, we’re going to hack into the security cameras and look at it from out here, no sense getting ourselves murdered. Let’s go, everyone stay alert.” He commanded, his hand on his saber hilt just in case.They hurried around the corner that they had been spying on the door from, and Inc hurriedly pulled out an access panel that linked into the security cameras. The other clones took guard positions, while Jax and Anakin stood behind Inc as he used his datapad to access the cameras inside. Anakin wished Artoo was here. The little droid would be able to do this without exposing them for too long. Inc was good, and most clones were trained in general slicing for situations such as this, but it was still more time consuming than he would prefer.Inc made a happy noise as he was finally able to access it.“Got it general, let’s have a look.”After throwing a cautionary glance around them, Anakin and Jax both leaned forward to observe the image that Inc had brought up on his datapad. To both their surprise, the bridge seemed completely empty.“What the, where did they go?” Jax asked in surprise, and Anakin felt a sort of shiver within the Force.He didn’t know, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they really didn’t want to find out.“Don’t know, don’t care, let’s get out of here.” Anakin said, feeling unsettled, there was something off about this…“Hammer!” Jax exclaimed, and hurried toward the bridge door, hammering it open.“Jax!” Anakin hissed in annoyance, he got it, he really did, the starweirds had taken a lot from them already, and it was also Jax’s first mission as a knight, but really?“General?” Inc asked, hurriedly unplugging his datapad, and Anakin sighed.“We better go after him, just in case a starweird reappears and he manages to get himself killed.”He led the clones into the bridge, and the door slid shut behind them, and he was suddenly struck by a very bad feeling. The bridge was totally empty. No bodies, no sign of the starweirds, nothing. It was eerily silent and still, aside from Jax, who was standing on the command walkway, staring at something.“Jax, like we said, Hammer isn’t here, we need to get out of here, we can head and meet with Ferus and…what the kriff is that?” Anakin demanded, aghast, stopping short as he saw what Jax was staring at.In front of them was what could only be described as a jagged crack, floating in midair. The crack looked as though something had shattered the very air itself, and now the crack in space-time stood before them. The jagged hole was about the size of an average human, the edges of said crack were glowing a sinister, deep red colour that made it look as though the portal was burning, as though whatever had burned this hole in reality was too hot to contain, like a meteor had plunged through it, igniting it on the way through. Wisps of unknown, blood-red smoke were wafting through the crack, and the centre of the portal was an undulating cascade of reds and blacks, moving like the top of a bubble.“It’s amazing whatever it is.” Jax breathed, fixing his gaze on the crack and raising his hand to try and touch it, only for Anakin to shove it down.“Bad idea, we don’t know what could be in there! Or even what the hell it is, but it’s all the more reason to be away from here. Hammer isn’t here dude, sorry, let’s get out of here.” He ordered, throwing a distrustful glance at the crack in reality.He didn’t know what the hell it was, or even how it had occurred, but he could feel it in his gut, it was something to do with the starweirds. And as they’d seen plenty of starweirds come in here, and there were none physically present in the room, he could only assume that they had gone through this bizarre crack, for reasons unknown.“Orders general?” Inc asked, looking at the crack distrustfully, as Anakin scrutinised it.A crack in reality, was this how the starweirds kept coming through? Were there more cracks like this throughout the galaxy? Is this the cause for all the chaos they’d caused?“Reckon this is how the starweirds are entering?” Jax asked in an odd voice, and Anakin nodded slowly.“I’d say so. Come on, we need to report this to the Council, if they’re entering our world through cracks in reality, we need to figure out how the hell we can close them.” He told them, and Jax nodded a little.“Yeah, sure.” He replied dutifully, and Anakin turned to leave the bridge.And then he felt something stab into his neck. Anakin gasped as it happened, his hand rising up to where the thing that had hurt his neck was. As he did so, he was dimly aware of Inc and the others being blown across the bridge, slamming into the bridge door and dropping to the floor in a heap.Anakin gave a rattling breath, mind sluggish as he turned to see Jax, his hand raised, having just blasted the clones with a Force push. He tried to speak, to do anything, but he found he couldn’t move any more. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. All he could do was look at Jax with a look of uncomprehending betrayal as Jax removed the hypo-injector from his neck.“Sorry Anakin,” Jax said, his voice sounding as though it was coming across a great distance, and also sounding totally unlike himself, like a zombie, “they want you. I dosed you with lecepanine. Don’t worry, you won’t be out for long. Nighty night Anakin.”Anakin couldn’t get anything to work. All he could do was stand, paralysed, looking at Jax, unable to fathom his betrayal, unable to even utter the word ‘why?’And then Jax raised a finger, touching Anakin’s forehead, and shoved him with his finger. Anakin, totally paralysed, fell backwards, his eyes rolling back in his head, as his frozen body slammed to the ground and everything went black. XX Ventress was unhappy. She had been forced by the very pedantic Givin on Yag’Dhul to wait to clear the customs queue above the planet, despite the fact that the Givin were nominally on the side of the Separatists, and despite the fact that she was in command of a powerful warship that could easily slaughter the Givin space command, but she figured that wouldn’t please the Count or anyone else in the Confederacy, so despite her annoyance, she had to endure it.However she had finally cleared Yag’Dhul, and now that her ship had passed the hyperspace intersection, she had received word from the Count: Skywalker was headed to Zoh.A dirty, lifeless scrapyard world, and not at all far from their current position. With luck, she could finally get the Count the results he needed from her, and bring an end to the starweird threat.And if she got another chance to kill Skywalker in the process, so much the better. Smiling, she gave the order to Captain Trilm to set a course for the Zoh system.She would not fail the Count.And this time, Skywalker would die. XX It felt like he was trying to crawl out of black hole on his hands and knees as he slowly came to. His head was pounding, his body felt sore from where he had hit the deck, and his mind was sluggish as he tried to take stock of whatever the hell had happened to him.He remembered seeing a crack in reality, a burning hole in the fabric of the universe. He remembered an unfathomable betrayal. Jax…Why had Jax done this to him, drugged him, knocked him out? It didn’t make sense, but his head was too heavy for him to even try to get his thoughts in order. The Force had delayed the drug a little, but as he’d been caught off-guard, he’d been unable to prevent it from taking hold, and now, his head was pounding, he felt like he was drenched in tar, he couldn’t move…He should have listened to Ferus.Anakin forced himself to open his eyes, and he groaned a little as he tried to get his body to cooperate with him again. He needed to get rid of the drugs in his system, needed to focus, so he could get out of this, before…And then, his heart sank as he saw what was standing above him.Jax was down on one knee, his head bent. And above him was towering a starweird. This one was very different from the first one they had encountered. This version was considerably taller than the previous iterations, but while taller, it was also far bulkier, it’s emaciated skin showing bulging and powerful muscles to go along with the shreds of loose skin that were hanging off of it. A chitinous three pronged crown marked it’s head, framing it’s wispy black hair in contrast to the garden variety’s white hair. Crimson eyes matched with a hideous, bone-chilling grin completed the visage of the nightmare towering above him.And it was petting Jax’s head affectionately. Damn it, this red eyed starweird must have made Jax a thrall, just like the original one had made Anakin a thrall! But this one seemed more dangerous, more powerful, and hence much more subtle at taking control of a Jedi puppet, make it more of a brainwashing as opposed to turning a brain off and remaking it.Oh crap.The starweird froze as it petted Jax’s head, turning it’s crimson gaze onto Anakin. Anakin started to shake, no, he wasn’t going to be their thrall again, never again! He opened himself to the Force, willing it to purge him of the drug still in his system as he struggled to his feet. Jax turned to face him, his eyes now with a slight, glowing red sheen, and he went for his lightsaber, but the starweird simply raised a hand, and Jax, apparently just a mindless automaton for this creature, stood down.Anakin tried to stop the room spinning around him, whatever Jax had hit him with, it was good stuff. He chanced a glance over to the remaining clones, and was relieved to see that while out cold, they were at the very least still alive, but that didn’t help him much at the moment. He fumbled for his lightsaber, struggling to hold it properly as he couldn’t properly feel either set of fingers, real or artificial. The starweird then let out a guttural, mocking chuckle as Anakin managed to activate his saber, raising his blue blade to defend himself.It then moved faster than he could have thought possible. Whether his slowness was due to the drugs in his system, or just how fast the starweird was, regardless, it cleared the distance between the two with a step, casually batting Anakin’s saber out of his hand, his saber clattering to the floor as he looked up, his whole body trembling.No, no this wasn’t happening, he wouldn’t go back to being a slave, a mindless slave, he wouldn’t go back, no way!He backed away, but he was still tired, sluggish and weak, and the starweird knew it. It bared it’s teeth in a menacing chuckle, and Anakin became aware that it was no longer just them, as the chuckle resonated around the bridge. Starweirds, normal rank and file ones, black eyed ones, even blue eyed ones, all were filing out of the crack in reality, and all of them were making that horrible, chilling laugh, the sound of it like fingers down a blackboard. There were dozens of them, ringing around the bridge, watching the red eyed starweird as it stalked towards Anakin, who was far too weak to even attempt to fight it off. Jax stood loyally behind it, totally under it’s thrall, the glowing red of his eyes becoming all the more pronounced.“Jax,” Anakin called desperately, trying to break his friend out of it, but last time, Ferus had caused pain to snap him out of the thrall he was under, and he was in no position to hurt Jax, “please, I need help!”The red eyed starweird laughed again, raising it’s hand and pointing towards the crack that they all kept coming through. It’s meaning was perfectly clear.“No, no way. Go to hell!” Anakin spat, sounding more terrified than angry, trying to call his lightsaber to his hand, but it only wobbled a little on the deck, he couldn’t properly focus on it with his abilities still clouded by the drug that Jax had spiked him with.The starweird growled in annoyance, and the other starweirds seemed to be silently communicating, as though encouraging the red eyed one. The red eyed one raised it’s hands, as though seeking their cheers, and the other starweirds let out a horrible, animalistic shriek, a blood-curdling screech that set Anakin’s teeth on edge.No, he wasn’t going with them, he wouldn’t, he couldn’t, he’d fight, to the death if he had to!He unleashed a Force push against the red eyed one, seemingly interrupting it as it sought the cheers of its companions, while Jax stood blankly by it’s side. The starweird looked at Anakin contemptuously, the Force push barely a breeze to it, and it allowed itself a sinister grin as it clearly made up its mind.The starweirds cheered again, and Anakin became aware of exactly how much he was quivering in fear. His whole body was shaking, his heart was pounding, and even when he tried to call on the Force to summon his lightsaber, between the terror he felt, and the drug in his system, he couldn’t grasp it. Sweat was starting to trickle down his back, and everything seemed tight as his body tried to counteract the terror it felt, and Anakin, shaking in fear, fervently wished Ferus would come to the rescue, preferably with the entire clone army to shoot these vile monsters.In fact…he wished he could see Ferus one last time.The starweird moved, quicker than the blink of an eye, and Anakin let out a cry of terrified desperation, unleashing as powerful a Force push as he could muster. This time it did seem to have a slight effect, sending the starweird ever so slightly off course, and Anakin gestured for his lightsaber, the hilt clattering along the deck as it slid towards him. The starweird, merely mildly inconvenienced, turned and slid it’s tongue out from between it’s teeth, licking them in anticipation as Anakin strained for his saber…And then the starweird lashed out, it’s talons glinting in the light of the bridge. Anakin gasped as they just barely nicked his skin, a sound of fabric tearing and dropping his tunic to the ground, exposing his chest as his lightsaber went spinning out of reach. The slight cut on his stomach was like fire on his skin, and Anakin gasped in pain as he backed away, praying for rescue. The burning wound was small, barely a raised scratch, but it was so painful, Anakin couldn’t concentrate. And the starweird knew that, and hence, exploited it.It lunged forward, and before Anakin could even hope to react, the towering starweird seized Anakin by the throat, hoisting him up into the air, it’s talons digging into Anakin’s neck, Anakin kicking his feet helplessly as it raised him up to it’s eye level, Anakin gurgling, desperate for air.Anakin could feel his entire body locking up with terror, he could feel the coldness of the Force within him, the coldness of the air on his bare chest, the burning of the cut the starweird had given him, he could hear the blood pounding in his head, see spots floating in his eyes, his tongue thick in his mouth as he knew the starweird was going to kill him…“Please, no!” he begged desperately, and the starweird responded with a terrifying smirk.And then, Anakin shaking his head frantically, no, please, no…and then the pressure was gone. The starweird released him, and Anakin was standing back on the deck as though it hadn’t been about to kill him.And then he looked up at the dreadful sight of the red-eyed starweird and saw it’s eyes begin to change colour.“No, please, don’t, I’ll do anything, please-!” he cried frantically, as the starweirds eyes flashed green.And that was the last conscious thought of Anakin Skywalker. His entire body suddenly went completely rigid, unable to move. His legs went still within a second, then his hands, raised as if to ward off the starweird, went rigid too. His body went totally still, his mouth open in a silent protest of terror, his eyes rolled back in his head as he was lost.And Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, was turned to stone.The red eyed starweird bowed theatrically as its audience applauded and cheered, as it admired its prize. Anakin was now a statue, frozen in time, his shirtless body now like a piece of marble, his hands frozen to ward off his fate, his mouth open in an unheard scream, his eyes rolled back in his head, a lifeless statue.And ready for transportation.The red eyed starweird clicked its fingers, and various starweirds hurried forwards, lifting Anakin’s frozen body gingerly, treating it with a delicacy that belied their intentions. And then the starweirds marched through the crack, bearing Anakin’s statuesque body through with them. The responsible starweird smiled in satisfaction, then pointed, sending the other starweirds piling through the breach. And then, it beckoned imperiously to an obedient Jax, and they too went through the breach.Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, had an appointment to keep.And the interested party would not be kept waiting any longer.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shadow of the Void Somehow, they made it to the other bridge without incident. Ferus felt that he should have been relieved by that, but rather, the fact that they crossed the breadth of the ship without seeing a starweird was unsettling more than anything else. Where the hell had they all gone?“It’s like they upped and left.” Galle mused as they moved closer to the door to the starfighter bridge, and Barriss frowned.“Yeah, but where did they go? Are they really gone, or is that what they want us to think?” she mused, mostly to herself, but Ferus had to admit, the same thing was going through his head.The starweirds wouldn’t just up and leave. But he had to wonder, was their disappearance to do with the fact that Jax had been thralled by the damn things, or was their absence the symptom of something far more sinister?“Are we still planning on crashing the ships general?” one clone asked, and Barriss nodded.“Yes, but first we need to rescue Anakin and Jax. Though with the controls slagged we would need to make our way to the secondary bridge to make sure they crash.” She told him, and Ferus, too distracted by his thoughts, failed to reply.He’d known splitting up was a bad idea. He should have realised that Jax’s story didn’t make sense. And now Anakin had walked right into a trap, in a situation that was already fairly obviously a trap. But the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became. Jax had been thralled, fair enough, from what they had gathered that was fairly standard starweird practice. But he’d been left alive to lure them into a trap as opposed to being transformed or killed, so that begged the question: had the starweirds known they were coming? And if they had, was Anakin their actual target, and everything else just collateral damage?Ferus skidded to a stop as the thought occurred to him, his mind whirling as he tried to figure out the implications. The original starweird that had hunted them had stopped when it could have killed Anakin, obviously being called off by some unseen, sinister presence. They had figured that the starweirds had an unhealthy fixation on Anakin as it was, with only the starweird that had once been Z’Meer able to overcome that (perhaps because she’d known him, he mused with slight amusement, as he’d said, Anakin tended to have that effect on people). Could it be possible that the starweirds were actually hunting Anakin?Barriss hesitantly opened the door to the starfighter command bridge, ready to use her lightsaber should the need arise, but the room seemed empty. Well, other than the unconscious clones on the floor.“Inc!” Galle cried in horror, rushing to his clone brother, who groaned as the unconscious clones started to be roused by their compatriots.“Sorry sir, he got the drop on us. General Pavan attacked us!” Inc reported indignantly, and Galle turned his helmeted head towards Barriss and Ferus.“Why would a Jedi attack us?” he demanded angrily, and Ferus shook his head.“A Jedi wouldn’t. But if we’re right, Jax has been thralled by the starweirds, he’s essentially their puppet, he has no control. I think he worked to split us off so he could get Anakin alone. And like an idiot, Anakin let him.” He snarked, and Barriss looked across the bridge, her hand outstretched, summoning something to her.“Ferus, this is Anakin’s.” she whispered in shock, the discarded lightsaber flying into her hand, and she passed it to him to inspect.He was forced to agree. It was Anakin’s lightsaber alright, but where the hell was Anakin?“General, what in the seven Corellian hells is that?” Galle asked, pointing, and both Ferus and Barriss looked at what had drawn his attention.And had to admit, they were forced to share his sentiments.A crack in the fabric of reality was hovering in front of them, with burning edges, ominous scarlet smoke wafting out of it, and jagged rocks seemed to be encroaching through the portal now as well.“The hell is that?” Inc demanded, and Ferus advanced slowly, not wanting to get too close.“I think…it’s a door. Well, maybe not an intentional one, but I reckon it’s a door.” He theorised in wonder, getting closer, while Barriss looked at him worriedly.“A door to where?”“Whatever hellscape the starweirds come from.”The clones and Barriss looked at him, shocked into silence. Inc was the first to find his voice.“Their homeworld?” he croaked, and Ferus nodded, looking suspiciously at the crack.“Well, it makes sense doesn’t it? The starweirds have all vanished, this certainly didn’t occur naturally, if anything could do this with force it likely would have ripped apart the bridge if nothing else. We know they come from another dimension, so who’s to say they don’t need a door? And…as Anakin and Jax are both missing, I’m willing to bet the starweirds took them through the portal. Which,” he sighed, “means we have to go through it too.”“You want to go willingly into the spooky, burning hole in reality?” Barriss repeated in disbelief, and he shrugged.“Want to? Hell no, look at it, there’s no way going through there is going to be good for anyone. But…Anakin’s ligthsaber is here, and so are his robes,” he explained, pointing at the ruined clothes on the floor, “so chances are, he’s been captured and has been taken through there. They’ve also got Jax, so if we want to save them, yeah, we need to go through the spooky portal in the fabric of space.”Barriss looked at her clones, who nodded encouragingly, and she sighed a little before looking at Ferus, a slight smile on her face.“You’ve been round Anakin far too long Ferus, I always thought you were the more sensible one of the two of you. That’s exactly what he would say. The annoying thing is, I’m kind of forced to agree. Anakin has obviously been captured, and we need to get him and Jax out of there. And if nothing else, we might get some information on the starweirds if we see them in their home dimension. Alright, Galle, what do you think?” she asked, and he looked at his men musingly.“There’s only ten of us left general, with just our blaster rifles and a few explosives, maybe another couple of weapons. Going into their home dimension is a tactical error, even with two Jedi. But if that’s the way you want to play it ma’am, we’ll see it done.” He assured her, and she smiled softly, squeezing his wrist.“Thank you Galle. Alright, let’s raid the lockers in here, see if we can’t shore up our weaponry a little.” She suggested, and the clones hurried to the back of the bridge, where anti-boarding gear was kept, which, due to the swiftness of the starweird invasion of the ship, was untouched.“Not a bad haul general, some more blaster pistols, more power packs, med packs, couple more grenades, a couple of jumpsuits, not that they’ll be much use.” Inc reported, and Ferus cast his eyes over Anakin’s torn tunic.He knew Anakin was still alive, he wasn’t worried about that. He would have felt it if he had died. But wherever he was, he was in danger, and a hell of a lot of it.“Bring one please Inc.” he asked, and the clone nodded, adding it to the equipment pack they were taking, while the other clones distributed everything else they had acquired among themselves.“Are you sure about this?” Barriss asked dubiously, and Ferus nodded.“Yeah. It’s not like we can send for reinforcements anyway, and even if we do, there’s no way to guarantee they wouldn’t stumble into the trap too. Are we ready?” he asked, with a great deal more confidence than he actually felt.“Ready to go sir.” Inc replied eagerly, and Galle shook his head.“You’re far too keen to go into some weird hell dimension.” He commented idly, while Inc shrugged.Ferus shrugged at Barriss, who nodded and beckoned to her troops, leading them hesitantly towards the crack. Galle gingerly stuck his rifle into the crack, and withdrew it a second later. Nothing happened to it while it was in there, so nervously stuck his hand into the rift. When he pulled it out, unharmed, the group took a tentative step into the rift, and left their galaxy as they knew it behind.For something as easy as stepping outside, things changed drastically. The air was a lot more close, more humid on this side of the rift. Wisps of red smoke wafted lazily through the air, as they walked a sort of bizarre bridge that connected the realities. Jagged, spiny and glistening rocks decorated the path, and vicious, overhanging vines were coiled around this bizarre bridge that stretched off into the darkness. The sky above them was a turbulent, blood red, and the light was limited, with all of them progressing slowly in case they lost their footing. It was like a world of darkened dusk, and the wind sounding like a tortured howl did not help their situation.“What do we think?” Barriss whispered, saber in hand but unlit, looking around anxiously, fearing they would be discovered at any moment.“Ma’am, this seems too small to be their actual world, this must be like a sort of bridge between the two. Hell of a creepy though.” Galle reported, and she couldn’t disagree with that assessment.“Look.” Inc said, pointing as a shimmering field that was several feet in front of them, and getting closer with every step.“Reckon that’s the way in?” Barriss asked, and Ferus nodded, having his lightsaber to hand in case they were attacked as soon as they passed through the shimmering field at the end of this bizarre bridge.One clone gave the shimmering field a dubious look before reluctantly putting his blaster rifle into it. When no harm befell them, they took a last look at each other, and stepped into the world of the starweirds.The humid air, coupled with the smell of rot, hit them first. The near darkness of the realm was the next. While the bridge had been darker, it wasn’t nearly as dark as this. Dark wisps of blood red vapour swirled around them, and light seemed to be coming from the black sun high above them, with a glowing ring of burning orange streaming from behind it, all of which was in a deep purple sky complete with twinkling green stars. They were standing atop a sheer cliff face, with gnarled black vines hanging off of it, topped with wicked looking, crimson thorns. Jagged, thorny stalactites, chunks of glittering obsidian rock covered the landscape and the bluff they were standing on. Gnarled, barren trees appeared sporadically, and the few puddles of water they could see consisted of thick, tarlike water. A narrow path led down from their current position, and the group followed the path down with their eyes, and then felt their hearts freeze as they saw what was at the foot of the narrow path.The path led down to a large valley, pockmarked with puddles, stalactites, dead trees and vines. Large, calcified thorns, the size of small buildings, were dotted sporadically across the landscape. There were ancient buildings, long since abandoned, dotted at the cliff at the top of the valley, like ancient watchtowers that had been neglected by their owners. And at the far end of the valley…Starweirds.Thousands upon thousands of starweirds. There were rank upon rank of them, swarming around like insects at this distance. Shaking in fear, Ferus took the pair of electrobinoculars that Galle offered him, and surveyed the situation.There were so many starweirds. The majority of them seemed to be of the generic white eyed variety, which he felt vindicated his and Anakin’s theory that they were the foot soldiers of the starweird species. But there were others. He spotted several starweirds stalking about with glowing, ice blue eyes, just like Z’Meer had been turned into, and they seemed to be prowling, as though spying on their own ranks. There were many of the ones they had seen on the ships, the starweirds with glowing black eyes, which he felt were assassins. There were other starweirds, one type, which he noticed to his horror, had green eyes and large, fleshy wings. Other types that they hadn’t seen before also populated the area. A massive, muscular tank like starweird, this one with glowing orange eyes could be seen, along with a shiny, black skinned starweird with glowing grey eyes. There also seemed to be spider like creatures with only one eye, also with skeletal, emaciated forms, but also appeared to be part of the ranks. A different type of starweird, this one with glowing pink eyes, seemed to be directing the rank and file starweirds, of which there were a few that seemed to be built different from the other starweirds, marked with sinisterly glowing yellow eyes. One type of starweird seemed to walk on all fours, making it even more horrific than usual, and these ones had long, bifurcated tongues hanging out of their hideous mouths, glowing brown eyes peering out from their shaggy hair that, unlike the others, fell about their faces. Ferus shook in fear, all these different types of starweirds…these weren’t just random mutations of a species. No, they had been bred, or possibly created that way.“Ferus, please tell me I’m not the only one seeing that.” Barriss whispered, her voice tight with suppressed terror, and Ferus looked up to see what she was looking at, and promptly felt his stomach collapse in on itself.He pulled the binoculars away from his eyes, hoping he wasn’t about to confirm what he thought he was, but he was. There were scores of ships in low orbit. Everything from freighters to cargo haulers to ore barges, all the way up in size. He could pinpoint numerous warships from various galactic time periods, some of them gargantuan, all in low orbit, and seeming to reach up into whatever passed for space in this bizarre world. How long had they been stealing ships? Millennia? And now, if the ships they could see were but a tiny fraction of what the starweirds actually had, that would indicate that the sheer size of their armada would be enough to overwhelm both sides of the war effort with relative ease.“General.” Inc muttered, pointing at where there some form of commotion amidst the starweird ranks.Ferus quickly turned the binoculars down to what his clone companion had spotted. A raised dais was at the far end of the canyon, which is where the activity was coming from. He could make out two, hulking red eyed starweirds on the dais, the type that K’Kruhk had encountered when the starweirds had attacked the Tenacious, and one seemed to be…congratulating the other.Behind them was another starweird, this one massive in size, bigger even than the two red eyed ones before it. This one however, didn’t look emaciated. This one was a rippling mass of muscle, hardly gaunt or skeletal at all. While it still had skin hanging off of it, it was more akin to having been ripped off as opposed to hanging off. It had talons as long as a lightsaber, it’s teeth were like vibroblades, and it seemed to radiate menace, it’s glowing gold eyes narrowed as it surveyed the massed throngs of troops before it. In it’s hand was a long staff, made with coiled bone, and topped with a nest of smaller bones, with a vaguely glowing crystal within the nest. The starweird had no ethereal hair, instead, it had a large, chitinous crest upon it’s head, which was tipped into two large appendages that gave it the appearance of horns.“That things massive!” Galle hissed, not fancying anyone’s chances if it was to encounter that thing on a dark night.“Wait, what else is there?” Barriss asked sharply, focusing on her binoculars, and they all followed her gaze.To the side of the large, horned starweird was something altogether much worse. A large throne stood beside it, a massive, black stone edifice, glinting in the light, and it seemed to be radiating with a sinister, ethereal light. It was adorned with vines and bone, forming an intricate headrest at the top of the chair, and the light from the dark eclipse above them seemed to be shining directly onto the throne.And within the throne, sat the doom of the galaxy.This creature was even taller than the massive hulking brute beside it, which they could tell despite the fact that it was sitting down. Unlike the floating, wispy feet that the majority of it’s species possessed, this one had feet the size of an astromech droid, with five lethal looking obsidian talons on each one. The legs were far from emaciated, fully formed muscular trunks that made their way up to its torso. While it’s skeleton could be seen within the muscle and skin that formed it’s  well-built body, it was clear that this particular starweird had a much healthier look than the majority of its compatriots. It’s hands were coiled over the armrests of the throne, with long, crimson talons that were even longer than the hulking brute beside it’s tapping idly on the chair. Two chitinous spikes emitted from it’s shoulders, with a deep purple and red cloak hanging down it’s back, using the spikes to anchor it’s cloak. And it’s face was worst of all. While it too had a skull like head, it was much fuller than the other starweirds, though that seemed to make it all the more terrifying. Alabaster teeth gleamed within it’s mouth, it’s forked tongue tasting the air, set between thick lips. Set into its skull were two menacing, glowing, violet eyes that seemed to radiate power. There was no hair on this starweird. Rather, there was a large, intricate mass on it’s head, an intricate chitinous headdress. Two bevelled horns emitted from it’s head, heading off to the side while a crown emitted from the top of it’s head, each of the five points forming a large further crest that fanned out from top of the crown, giving it a massive crown that formed what could only be described as a fan, with two undulating horns at the far end of the crest. And beside it was a massive, evil looking bident.Ferus felt a chill run right down his back, as he, Barriss and the clones all shuddered in fear.That creature was the one behind everything that had transpired with the starweirds. That thing was the thing pulling their strings.That thing was the starweird queen.The queen got to her feet, hand coiling around her bident as she approached the edge of the dais. She then thudded the bident onto the ground, and the throng of starweirds went silent instantly, looking at their regent. She raised a hand, reaching towards the ships in low orbit, and then made a fist, which prompted the starweirds to unleash a horrific, bone rending screech that was actually a cheer. She then turned, and gestured to what was on the dais, beside her throne.The rescue team, such as they were, started in shock as they saw what she had beside her throne. Jax was there, on his knees, looking up at the queen with adoration, his eyes glowing red, and there were bony growths, similar to what the queen hung her cloak from, starting to grow from his head. And beside him…“By the Force…” Barriss gasped in horror, as Ferus, caught by surprise at the sight, threw up as he saw what had become of Anakin.He had been turned to stone, his boyfriend now an unknowing statue and a source of amusement to the starweird queen. The queen indicated Anakin, and there was another horrible cheer as her long talons caressed Anakin’s stone form, making a horrible scraping noise as she did so. And then she raised her bident into the air, and the starweirds cheered again, all of them throwing their hands into the air, cheering, the awful sound making their ears bleed as the queen turned to look at Anakin and Jax, her glowing purple eyes fixed on them hungrily.She had been the one who wanted Anakin.And now, she had him.So, how the hell did they stop her from doing whatever the hell she had planned for him, and how did they get out of here alive?“General…we should go back. We can’t risk exposing ourselves, not now we have this intel. General Skywalker is a necessary loss.” Galle told Barriss, and Ferus looked at him, aghast.“You want to leave him here?” he demanded in a hiss, “are you crazy? She’s been wanting him since this started, and now she has him! There’s no way her having Anakin can be good, we can’t just leave him here!”Galle exchanged a quick look with all his fellow clones, then turned his helmet back to Ferus.“And we realise that sir. It could invite further tactical errors further down the line. But sir, we don’t have a choice. Look at everything around here, all these starweirds, all the different types, and all the ships in low orbit. Sir, this is a staging ground. This is an invasion army. And it’s our galaxy they’re going to invade.” XX The Tritus had made good time. Using the secret Jedi routes, they had saved considerable time by cutting through the Deep Core, especially with Saesee at the controls, and now they were approaching Zoh.“Got to say, you Jedi are quite handy to have around. You sure I’ll get the planetary ion cannon?” Nym asked insistently.Nym was a tall, hulking Feeorin, who had proved a valuable ally over the course of the Clone Wars, and was also a close personal friend to Adi. Numerous other members of the Lok Revenants were killing time in the lounge of their flagship: Jinkins, Nym’s Bith right hand man was playing sabaac with his Chadra-Fan left hand man Kole; Jannik the White, the Rodian clan leader who had agreed to supplement Nick’s commando team with his own troops when they got to Zoh was talking weapons with Nick Rostu, Mace’s aide and commando leader; Sol Sixxa, the Mere pirate was arm wrestling Rydel, the Revenant’s battlemaster; and Reti, the hapless Toydarian who had been rescued from his enslavement to Gargonn the Hutt by Adi and the Revenants, was regaling Rhys Dallows, who had left the Naboo Security Forces following the exposure of Queen Jamilla’s Separatist sympathies, with tales of his misadventures. The rest of Nick’s commandos were also making the most of the time in the lounge, while Adi and the other Jedi had also been speaking with the Revenants, thanking them for their assistance in their mission.“Yes Nym. I’ve even thrown in a planetary LNR-II turret. Thank you for doing this though, you’ve been a great help.” Mace told him, as he tried to discern the shatterpoint around all this.Nym waved a hand.“Hey, the price was right. And besides, never got the chance to make it even with the kid after he saved us all on Naboo. Beginning to think the wrong Jedi came to us though,” he said with a sly smile, looking at Adi, “seeing Tiin fly us through the Deep Core like that, clearly he’s the better pilot.”Adi tried, and slightly failed, not to look unbothered by his comment, while Saesee gave Nym a wicked grin.“It has been said my friend.” Saesee said, eyes twinkling, while Adi glowered at him and her pirate friend.“You will pay for that rashly chosen statement once this mission is over Nym. Vana and I so enjoyed our last sabaac game.” She told him sweetly, and the Feeorin went slightly pale as Vana, his long time friend, entered the lounge, grinning.“Too right we did. Think he’s getting a bit too big for his boots, don’t you Adi? Anyway, we’re coming up on Zoh.” She reported, and the Jedi nodded, all of them excusing themselves and heading towards the bridge.“Alright Revenants, we don’t know what we’re getting into here, so man your fighters, let’s be ready. Jannik, you and Nick get to the transports, but wait for the Jedi. We don’t know what we’re walking into here.” Nym ordered, and the albino Rodian nodded eagerly.“Come on Nick, we’ll race you to the drop zone.” Jannik said, and Nick chuckled.“Wish I still had your enthusiasm. Mind you, it is fun when I have to save Windu.” He admitted as he and his commandos followed Jannik from the lounge.Sol looked at them, his face clouded.“Wish I were going with them.” He grumbled, and Nym barked a laugh.“Something makes me think we’ll have enough issues, rather have you in your fighter. Come on, let’s go.”Obi-Wan frowned, trying to sense Anakin through the Force as they got closer to Zoh, but his sense of him was, odd, for want of a better word. It felt like Anakin was underwater was how he could best describe it, but that didn’t make sense.“Do you sense Ferus, Siri?” he asked his blonde companion softly, and she shook her head, looking worried.“Not properly at any rate, it feels like, I don’t know.”“Like he’s underwater? Jax also feels strange to me, but I’ve never felt a sensation like this before. The Force doesn’t differentiate such things, so why is their Force sense like this?” Even asked grimly as Saesee inclined his head to Juno, the Mere captain of the Tritus, who had indicated that Saesee take the controls.Obi-Wan felt a slight twisting in his gut. What the hell had Anakin gotten himself involved in? What had the Council inadvertently gotten him involved in? Were they already too late to save his former Padawan, his brother? To save Even’s former Padawan? To save Ferus, who despite having left the Order was still very important to Siri?“Calm yourselves my friends. We’ll find them. It’s what else we may find that worries me.” Shaak Ti said softly, squeezing Obi-Wan’s wrist and Even’s shoulder reassuringly, before also patting Siri’s as Saesee pulled the lever.The Tritus dropped out of hyperspace, the lines receding into normal stars as the Mere Cruiser angled towards Zoh. The brown world far below them was unremarkable in and of itself, but it was the three abandoned Venator-class Star Destroyers in orbit around the planet, all linked by docking umbilicals, that drew their attention.“There’s no lifesigns on any of the ships.” Vana reported darkly, and Adi frowned, her eyes flicking to her former Padawan.“Siri? Even? Obi-Wan?” she asked gently, but Obi-Wan shook his head.“Anakin isn’t dead, if he was, I’d know. He’s there, somewhere. But it doesn’t feel like it should, it’s like he’s-”“Behind a veil for want of a better term. I’ve never felt a sensation like it.” Even admitted, just as an alarm started to blare.“Now what?” Nym asked, and Jinkins’ eyes widened in alarm.“Separatist warship dropping out of hyperspace, nearly right on top of us!” he cried, just as a Recusant class destroyer dropped out of lightspeed only a klick away from them.“All Revenants, emergency, code nova! Separatist destroyer, right on top of us!” Adi barked into the comm as the Tritus’ alarms started to blare.“Let’s hustle people! To the ships!” Nym yelled as Jinkins, Kole, and Sol ran from the bridge.“Care to join us, Master Tiin?” Adi asked playfully, and Saesee flashed her a wicked grin.“I thought you’d never ask Master Gallia. Juno, do you have it from here?” he asked, and the Mere captain nodded.“Yes Jedi, thanks. Take us out of their weapons range, we don’t have the firepower to kill that cruiser, we can use the Star Destroyers for protection. They’re launching fighters!” Juno exclaimed as hordes of droid fighters started to spill out of the Separatist warship’s hangar.“We’ll hold them while you get to the Star Destroyers and find Anakin and the others. May the Force be with you all.” Adi bid them, Saesee nodding in agreement as they rushed to the hangar.“And you Adi. What is it Obi-Wan?” Mace asked, noticing the preoccupied look on his friend’s face.“I sense Ventress. She’s here.” He sighed, and Mace shared his sentiments, her showing up was the last thing they needed.The ship rocked as the Separatist ship opened fire, as Juno took the ship on evasive manoeuvres.“We’re not going to achieve anything standing here discussing ways and means. Let’s go!” Depa insisted, and they hurried through the cruiser’s corridors, heading for the hangar.The Tritus didn’t have much in the way of hangar space. With all of the Revenants main fighters stored in the hangar, there was hardly any room for anything else, but there were two small RZ-52 Dekard tansports. Jannik had loaded his Rodian troops onto one transport, while Nick had taken his commando battalion onto the other. Mace hurried towards Nick’s ship, as the hangar was filled with the roar of the Revenants fighters heading out to fight the Separatist fighters as the cruiser was rocked by turbolaser fire from the enemy warship.“Nick, get us to the Star Destroyers!” Mace yelled, and Nick nodded, already gunning the transports engines.“Yeah, yeah, give us a second.” He mumbled, smirking slightly as he felt Mace send him a dirty look.“Ventress?” Depa asked worriedly, and Obi-Wan frowned, his Force sense of her most accurate due to his numerous encounters with her over the course of the war.“She’s out there, but funnily enough I don’t think she’s here for us.”Mace smiled grimly.“Pity. It would be interesting to encounter her on our terms.” He mused, and the other Jedi smiled as the two transports sped out of the hangar, bound for the Vigilance, which remained the only Star Destroyer with an open hangar bay.Adi felt a very un-Jedi like rush of exhilaration as she fell into line with the rest of the Revenant ships. It was good to be with them, it always was, and now that they had Reti back, it felt like it had just before Geonosis.“Reti, I’m your wing.” She informed him, and the Toydarian replied excitedly.“It’s great to fly with you again Adi! Let’s do it!” he said excitedly.“Vana, I have your wing.” Saesee informed the Alderaanian pilot, and she grinned.“Glad to have you aboard Master Tiin.”“Alright Revenants, the Tritus can’t survive a slugging match with that cruiser, so let’s start stripping it’s fighters. Jinkins, you’re with me, Sol, you and Kole back me up. Adi, you, Vana and Rhys keep the fighters off us. Let’s hustle people!” Nym ordered, as the starfighters swarmed towards the four fighter squadrons of the Patriot Fist.As vulture droids, Scarab fighters, tri-fighters and Belbullab bombers swarmed at the Revenants, the various fighters of the Lok Revenants slammed into them, the space between the two fighter groups filled with laser fire as they clashed. Nym, deftly piloting the Havoc, led the way through the gauntlet, Jinkins right behind him in the Freefall. Sol Sixxa trailed him, with Kole on his tail, their four fighters blasting through several vulture droids, bound right for the Recusant which was still trying to catch up with the Tritus.Adi flew her fighter in a tight arc, her lasers ripping apart one of the tri-fighters, Reti right behind her, the Zoomer opening fire on a Scarab that was trying to blow his wingmate up. Saesee easily dusted off a Belbullab that was trying to pass through them, the bombers trying to make their way towards the Tritus, which had now edged behind the Vigilance, putting the three Star Destroyers between it and the Patriot Fist.“Rhys, want to back me and Saesee up dealing with the bombers?” Vana asked, wincing as a tri-fighter scored a lucky shot against the shields of her Guardian Mantis.“Lead on Vana,” Rhys replied, angling his N1 starfighter in a spiral, blasting apart two vulture droids as he chased after her.“Reti, we’ll command here. Remaining Revenants, form up on me and Reti, we’re going to go hard and fast and take down those fighters!” Adi ordered, and received a flurry of responses.The Patriot Fist was trying to chase after the Tritus, however now that the Havoc and it’s escorts had closed the gap, they were hammering away at it’s shields. Captain Trilm was not impressed. The damn bomber was causing more damage to her shields than she was happy with, and her anti-starfighter turrets weren’t quite doing the job, the Revenant pilots were too good.“Recall some of the fighters to keep those ships off us! And can someone get me some proper air support, where are our escorts?” she demanded as blue energy pulsed against the shields, the ship rocking slightly as a result of the Havoc’s bombing run.Saesee blew apart another bomber, smiling in satisfaction. Despite the fact that the Revenants were outnumbered about three to one, their superior skill was a joy to be around. They worked well together, and he was rather enjoying giving the Sharp Spiral a decent run. He smiled in satisfaction as Adi, still in her Delta-7, led numerous Revenants into another brawl with a host of Scarabs, Reti crying in joy as he blew apart several of them, and he could feel Adi’s joy in the Force at being reunited with her friend.However, as he gunned the Spiral’s engine, blazing past a bomber and pivoting his fighter back on itself, blowing apart a bomber that was trying to get past him, Vana, Rhys and his wingmate, he felt a dark star within the Force, and looked to see the Last Call, Ventress’ Ginivex class fighter, shriek out of the hangar of the Patriot Fist, bound for the Vigilance.“Master Windu, be advised, it looks like Ventress wants to crash your party.” He advised, as Vana dusted another bomber.“Rude of her. Thank you for the alert Master Tiin. Good hunting.” Mace replied, and Rhys blasted apart one of the last few bombers.“Reckon me and Mako can finish the last three Vana, if you and Saesee want to go help Nym.” Rhys suggested, and Saesee grinned.“A quick race could be rather enjoyable Vana.” He taunted, and he could feel Vana’s excitement.“You’re on Jedi…better beat you, Adi beat me on a race round Khons.” She grumbled, as the two headed back to the main fight.The two Dekard transports were little more than flying boxes with a couple of docking claws, but they were more than adequate for their purposes. Nick guided their transport into the open hangar bay of the Vigilance, Jannik doing the same with his transport, Nick setting them down beside the Silver Queen, while Jannik landed his opposite.“That’s Anakin’s ship alright.” Obi-Wan said, noticing the Nubian yacht, and Siri appraised the ship.“Cute little ship. Senator Amidala’s?” she asked softly, knowing that both Obi-Wan and Anakin still mourned her loss, and he nodded dolefully.“Yes. A loan from Jar Jar to get the Naboo court out of trouble with the Nubians.” He remarked, and Mace scowled.“Nubians…they’re ruthless scoundrels. Come on, let’s see if we can’t find them.” He said, and Even looked curiously up at Depa, who was trying and failing not to smirk.“A past encounter with the Nubians that we don’t know about?” he asked, and she nodded.“Let’s just say, he didn’t think they’d be quite so determined to hold him to his promises.” She sniggered.“Alright Nick, you know what we’re heading into. Take point with the Rodians please.” Mace ordered, and Nick looked at him in slight disbelief.“So you want us to help you go and fight scary monsters from another dimension, that are so big and scary, even the mighty Jedi are wetting their undies?” he asked irreverently, and Mace closed his eyes, as though praying for patience.“That is about the long and short of it, yes.”“Cool, just checking. Let’s go boys!” he shouted to his commandos, who leapt out of the small transport, while Mace shook his head, and, as was his wont when encountering Nick, wondering just exactly when he had lost control of his life.As the Jedi also left the transport, the Rodian commandos that Nym had sent with them rushed over to join them. The Jedi were about to fall in with them when there was an urgent cacophony of beeping and whistling, and Anakin’s R2 unit wheeled out of the Nubian yacht, whistling urgently and happily.“Artoo, it’s good to see you. Where is Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked, and the droid answered in a flurry of beeps and whistles.Obi-Wan could pick up on some of what he said (he really had spent far too long around Anakin and Artoo, Anakin could understand the little droid better than he understood Obi-Wan…well, he at least paid more attention to Artoo than he did to Obi-Wan at any rate) but he couldn’t get the majority of it. Shaak Ti smiled and placed her hand on Artoo’s dome, listening intently.“So, he and Ferus went to go and investigate the ship, but you haven’t heard from either of them since, and now you’re worried the starweirds have got them. Well, so are we. But for what it’s worth, we can sense them. We just don’t know where they are.” She reassured him, and Artoo beeped in satisfaction, before he abruptly started squealing and wheeled himself back onto the ship.“What’s wrong with him now?” Even asked, and Siri pointed out of the open hangar doors.“Her probably!”Ventress’ starfighter descended in a sharp turn into a vacant bay, her ships lasers pointed at the Jedi and the commandos. If she opened fire, they would be hard pressed to stop her from killing them all in a blaze of laser fire. However, the lasers powered down, as a small battalion of B2 Super Battle Droids came out of her ship, their wrist cannons pointed at the commandos. The commandos levelled their weapons at the droids, each side just waiting for an excuse. Ventress, clad in a grey jumpsuit with a long flowing skirt, walked between her super battle droids, her two curved hilt sabers erupting into their crimson existence as she glowered at the Jedi, who ignited their own lightsabers.“It’s been a while my sweet,” Obi-Wan taunted as she surveyed the group, clearly measuring her chances.“It has my dear Obi-Wan. I missed you. So many Jedi to kill in one place, Grievous will be very jealous.” Ventress replied with a sadistic purr, and Siri leaned close to Shaak Ti.“Um, what the Sith is going on here?” she asked, perplexed, and the Togruta shrugged.“I have absolutely no idea. I gather they do this a lot.” She answered helpfully, carefully noting the furious scowl on Siri’s face.“What are you doing here, assassin?” Even demanded, and Ventress arced an eyebrow.“Like I’ll answer that.”Depa sighed, bored with the entire exchange.“Clearly, you’re looking for the starweirds too. That’s why you’re here, I assume you twigged Anakin was investigating them and followed him. Meaning Dooku is also interested in them, but I’m assuming he’s just as in the dark as we are, yes?” she asked, and Ventress’ lack of reply confirmed her suspicions.Ventress shrugged.“So what if I have been following Skywalker?” she asked, and Shaak Ti rolled her eyes.“Ventress, stop being so evasive, we haven’t time for it. You’re outgunned, and you know it. And as the starweirds are currently targeting both sides in this war, wouldn’t you rather take information back to your master? As such, we propose a truce.” She said, taking command of the situation, and Depa looked sceptically at Mace.“We do?” she asked in an undertone, and Mace shrugged, wondering where she was going with this, while Ventress raised a pencilled eyebrow.“What are you proposing Jedi?” she asked, and Obi-Wan, catching on, followed on.“We know now that the starweirds are targeting Anakin. That storm the Sith Lord unleashed on Coruscant seems to have provoked them somehow, but due to the Sith interest in Anakin, the starweirds are looking for him. And now Anakin has walked into their trap. We’re here to rescue Anakin, which I know you have no interest in. However, Anakin has been investigating the starweird threat, so we propose that if you help us, we’ll give you what information we know. Sound reasonable?” he asked, and Ventress thought about it.He was correct in one aspect, she had absolutely no interest in saving Skywalker, if the starweirds killed him, so much the better for the Confederacy in her opinion. But, the Togruta did raise a good point. Their issue was lack of information on the starweirds, and it would please the Count to learn more information about them. Particularly, she thought to herself and schooling her features to make sure she didn’t smile, when the starweirds had been provoked by the Sith storm that Darth Sidious had unleashed. Yes, it would rather make the Count’s day to inform his master of that blunder.“Alright, deal. I’m assuming that they’re somewhere within the ship?” she asked, and Mace nodded.“We believe so, there’s no life signs on either of the other vessels, put it that way. We’ll head to the bridge, that seems most logical. You head to one, us to the other. And in the interests of our temporary truce, you’ll call off your ship?” he asked pointedly, and after giving him a dirty look, Ventress raised her comm.“Captain, stand down. We’re entering a temporary truce with the Republic. Cease fire. But if those pirate scum so much as twitch, blow them out of space.” She ordered with malicious pleasure, earning her a glare from the Jedi.“Acknowledged commander.” Came the reply, and Ventress looked expectantly at Mace, who called Adi.“Master Gallia, we have entered a temporary truce with Commander Ventress. Stand down, and have Nym do the same.” He ordered, and they could feel Adi’s surprise radiating in the Force, also, slight annoyance.“I see. Very well, I’ll try. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to call off a trigger-happy Feeorin? Especially when he just brought down the shields on the enemy cruiser? I’ll do what I can.” She sighed, and Mace pursed his lips slightly to keep from smirking as he imagined Adi arguing with Nym.“Done and done. You’ll understand that we want you to leave first.” He said, indicating the door, and Ventress hissed through her teeth.“You’ll understand I’m not keen on that plan Jedi.” She replied, and Even rolled his eye.“For goodness’ sake! We all go together then!” he grumbled, striding off, and reluctantly, the Jedi and commando team followed in his wake, while Ventress did the same.“Are you crazy? Working with that harpy? What you been smoking?” Nick asked Mace in an undertone, and Mace offered him a grim smile.“Master Ti was correct, standing talking about it for hours was going to achieve nothing. And Ventress’ loyalty to Dooku means she will put aside her hatred for us temporarily, as it means she may gain greater respect from the Count in the long run. But…keep an eye, just in case.” He muttered, and Nick grinned.“Course.”Jannik looked anxiously at the super battle droids trailing in Ventress wake as he and his soldiers fell into step with them all. Shaak Ti patted his shoulder reassuringly as the two teams headed through the hangar, surrounded by the dead clones.“Strange. There’s no sign of a fight.” Even muttered, mostly to himself, and despite herself, Ventress through a concerned look at the short Jedi.“But how would the starweirds manage to get on board without raising the alarm? And why kill everyone by breaking their neck?” she asked, and he fixed her with a worried gaze.“That is the question. And I fear that your job title may hold the answer…assassin.” He told her significantly, and Ventress frowned as she considered the implications.Starweird assassins were certainly a threat that they could do without. But, she mused as the group made its way out of the hangar amongst the dead clones, did that perhaps mean that there were different types of starweird? Just how many were there? And there was of course the issue that they still didn’t know what they wanted either.Mace was deep in thought, peering through the Force to try and decipher the shatterpoints, to try and divine anything that might help them in this situation. He couldn’t help but feel several things were about to resolve themselves, but at the same time, couldn’t shake the feeling that that was exactly the last thing that they wanted to happen.“I’ll head this way, head for the bridge. I’ve boarded enough of your ships to know where to find them now.” Ventress taunted, and Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.“From what I hear, you regretted doing that my sweet.” He goaded innocently, and a blush marked her pale cheeks as her droids looked at her curiously.She should have known he would have heard about that. She had boarded a Star Destroyer heading back from the Outer Rim, and upon sensing the Jedi, had went hunting. To her horror however, the Jedi she’d inadvertently decided to assassinate was the Dark Woman, who had proceeded to roundly humiliate her, while also making sure her clones got to safety, and that Republic help was on the way. The Dark Woman had humbled her considerably, and the arrival of A’Sharad Hett, the Dark Woman’s former Padawan, had ensured the turning of the tide. Ventress, overwhelmed by the Dark Woman’s saber skills and enigmatic powers, had had no choice but to flee.Siri scowled at the two of them as they left the hangar, Ventress taking her super battle droids towards the bridge, while the Jedi and their commandos headed through the derelict ship.“Perhaps not the best idea you’ve ever had my friend.” Depa cautioned as they progressed through the deserted corridors, the only sign of other life being the dead clones that had all been murdered where they stood.Shaak Ti shrugged.“What’s she going to do? The ship’s lost anyway, and besides, it also proves Dooku is just as concerned about the starweirds as we are. And if we’re right about the threat the starweirds pose, we might be needing their help before long anyway.”Obi-Wan had to admit, she had a point. He frowned as he saw that Siri was glowering at him, wondering exactly what her issue was as they progressed through the dark ship, bound for the starfighter control bridge.“Master?” Depa asked as Mace seemed to stop, frowning.“We’re getting closer. Hurry my friends.” He urged, as they all hurried towards the starfighter bridge, to the waiting tear in reality, and the entrance into the starweird realm. XX Within the starweird realm, the rescue team, such as it was, had edged themselves closer towards the starweird staging ground. As they had advanced, dozens upon dozens of ships had been rumbling overhead, joining the scores of vessels in the penumbra of the starweird realm. Ferus led the rescue team steadily along the canyon, all of them hugging the walls as they advanced. The starweirds seemed to be having some sort of rally, and the queen was prowling around, rallying her people while watching as Jax steadily transformed into a more starweird like being, and also caressing Anakin’s unknowing body with her talons. Whatever the hell she wanted Anakin for, she could take her creepy claws off him…well, that wasn’t a very Jedi like thought, but screw it, Ferus wasn’t a proper Jedi anyway.He had to figure out a way to save Anakin, not just from the starweirds, but also from being a statue. What the hell did the starweird queen want with Anakin to begin with, and why had he been turned to stone? His insides twisted as he considered it, and couldn’t help but feel they were missing some vital aspect of the information.But either way, there was no denying that Galle was correct. There were thousands of ships in orbit, and it was apparent that they could easily overwhelm both sides of the war simply by sheer numbers. This group here, he had a feeling that they were but a small fraction of the forces that the starweird queen had at her command. He exchanged a dark look with Barriss, and she met his gaze with a round-eyed glance of her own. This world didn’t make sense, but there was no way that this was all that comprised the starweird realm. Which meant there could be millions, billions, even trillions of starweirds preparing to launch an invasion of the galaxy. They had to raise the alarm, they had to let both sides know what was happening in this bizarre realm.But Ferus couldn’t leave Anakin. Galle was right, it likely was an acceptable loss, at least in general terms. But not to him. First of all, the queen had been after him and had gone to considerable lengths to get her hands on the Chosen One. Her having him could be in no way good. But that aside, Ferus couldn’t leave him. In the time since they had reunited, Anakin had gotten past Ferus’ walls in a way that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Anakin would always remain the brash, arrogant, argumentative and stubborn Padawan who he had grown up with.But since their reunion, Anakin had shown how much he had changed. He was humbler than before, while still cocky and arrogant, not detrimentally so. Maddeningly so, but he suspected that was just Anakin’s personality. And despite being cocky, and able to push all of Ferus’ buttons, he was so much more, well, grown up he supposed, less arrogant teenager and more confident young man. He was brave, charismatic, resourceful, funny, cheeky, and strong. He enjoyed being in the thick of it, and was in many ways, much more of a Jedi than he had been too. He was flirty, and he knew exactly how to get past Ferus’ defences. And Ferus was happy to let him to. He made Ferus feel excited about things again, made Ferus feel happy, and despite the hellish encounters with the starweirds, he had enjoyed being with Anakin on this mission. He was also a very good kisser, and on top of that, he had to admit, he was very handsome.And that horrid starweird queen had her claws all over him.“This is a mistake sir, we need to get back to our world and raise the alarm.” Galle insisted in an undertone as they crept along the canyon, the clones carrying out the orders from, Ferus and Barriss’ hastily assembled rescue plan as they did so.“I know Galle, but Anakin and Jax are in her clutches. And I really don’t think we want her having them, it just screams bad news.” He replied quietly, and Inc nodded.“If nothing else sir, General Skywalker and Pavan know things about the Republic’s defences. If we’re right and they’re preparing for an invasion, we don’t want her getting that information.” He reasoned, and Galle grunted, forced to agree with the other clone.“The real question though, is how the hell we stop Anakin being a statue?” Barriss asked pointedly, and Ferus had to admit, that was a very good question.“What’s she doing now?” Inc asked worriedly, peering round the outcropping they were hiding behind, and Ferus and Barriss joined him, looking at where the queen was holding court on her dais.The queen raised her arms into the air, her long talons splayed. The assembled ranks of starweirds let out a screeching cheer that pierced right through the rescue team, making them wince and whimper in pain as the noise assaulted their ears. The starweirds cheered, rocking the entire canyon, the sound echoing across the expanse of the canyon as the queen stalked to the edge of her dais. She then raised a single hand, bringing an end to the cheering.She then gestured towards the massive armada high above them, the starweirds raising their hands, exulting in their victory. She then turned towards Jax and Anakin, Jax on his knees before the queen, while Anakin stood, still entombed in stone.Jax looked up at the queen in awe, and the queen put her hand on his head, tilting his head up to face her. He looked up at her adoringly, his mouth hanging open as he gazed up at her as though she was his whole world.“What the hell has she done to him?” Barriss asked in an undertone, and Ferus narrowed his eyes.“Made him her puppet, which is how she got Anakin. I just hope we can break her hold over Jax.” He muttered, and Galle looked at him questioningly.“Yeah, but how are we going to rescue them?” he demanded, and Ferus chewed his lip, that was the real question, and even if they did manage to get through a small army of starweirds and rescue both Anakin and Jax, there was still the issue of how to destarweird Jax, and how to destone Anakin.The queen let out a low, guttural chuckle, as Jax got to his feet and hurried to Anakin’s statuesque form.“You sought him my queen,” Jax told her in a monotonous, lifeless voice, his eyes rolled back in his head as he turned his head towards the queen who had enslaved him, “and I have delivered to you the one you sought. The Stormbringer.”“Stormbringer? Cool name!” Inc complimented, and both Ferus and Barriss shot him a dirty look, but well, they had to admit, he wasn’t entirely wrong.But what exactly did it mean? Had Anakin somehow met the queen before? Had he done something to provoke her ire? After all, as Ferus had said, that usually did the trick for making people want to kill Anakin, but this, he couldn’t quite place it, it was like they were missing a piece of the puzzle.The queen stalked towards both Jax and Anakin’s statue form. The rest of the starweirds were focused on their queen, all of them virtually brimming with excitement as they stared at her. The queen raised a hand, and the starweirds let out their horrid cheer again before she gestured with her large hand.Cracks erupted all over Anakin’s stone body, with glowing light coming from within the statue himself. Ferus looked on in panic, but Barriss quickly took his hand, her brow furrowed in worry as they watched the scene unfold before them. The minute cracks spread over Anakin’s stone form like a spiderweb before a resounding crack as the stone cocoon dropped off Anakin.Anakin gave a deep, shuddering gasp as he collapsed to his knees, the world swaying violently around him. His whole body was shaking, his eyes struggling to adjust to whatever the hell had just happened to him. The last thing he could remember was staring into the glowing scarlet eyes of the starweird that had thralled Jax. He tried to clear his eyes, tried to focus, but he felt weak, feverish, his head was pounding, like he was severely dehydrated, he felt unwell…And then, he felt the scaly, freezing touch of something standing over him, that ensnared long, vicious talons in his hair and then yanked his head back, forcing him to look upwards. And Anakin, his eyes focusing again, gasped in terror as he beheld the visage of the creature that had orchestrated his capture.His whole body went rigid, not with some otherworldly power that he didn’t understand, but simply with panic as he was forced to look up at the creature that had been after him. It was horrifying, something sinister from the depths of the galaxy’s darkest imagination. It towered above him, even larger than the one that had turned him to stone to begin with. Large, splayed feet were right beside Anakin’s kneeling form, each one easily dwarfing his entire leg, topped with nasty looking black talons that clacked against the stone dais they were standing on. One colossal hand, crowned with blood-red talons was raised above it’s shoulder, the other was wrapped in his hair, sending violent, chilling shivers down his back, the crimson talons scraping the skin at the back of his neck and drawing blood. Unlike the rest of it’s kin, this starweird had actual legs, looking well-built, sturdy and rippling with muscle, much the same as its arms, no skin was hanging off of this monstrous creature. It’s body wasn’t skeletal at all, but was instead a glittering bodice of muscle, chitin, and skin, glinting in the penumbral light of wherever the hell they were. Two curved horns arose from it’s shoulders, with a deep, royal purple and crimson cloak hanging from them. It had a death’s head face, just like the other starweird, but was all the more terrifying due to its differences. A double row of jagged, alabaster teeth filled it’s mouth, a forked tongue slipping through them, the tongue fluttering like that of a serpent as it licked it’s full lips. An ornate headdress crafted from chitin, bone, or whatever seemed to frame its head, with two large horns emitting from the side of it’s head, both with a slight bevel to them. The horns then had a barely perceptible gap between them before the rest of it’s fanning crest that seemed to grow from its head, reinforcing the natural crown of bone or cartilage that was at the bottom of the crest, a crown of five spikes right above it’s head like a horrible facsimile of a sovereign’s crown. At the two corners of the large, artistocratic crest that this creature had were two more curved horns, completing the nightmarish image. But worst of all were the glowing, malevolent purple eyes that bored into Anakin’s very being from the depths of its skull, its eyes promising an unfathomable fury, power and promising horrors beyond which the likes of a mortal man could imagine.Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, the Stormbringer, was in the clutches of the Starweird Queen, the Doom of All Things.And she intended to start with him.“No, please!” Anakin cried, as the creature let out a mocking, chilling laugh that made his entire body freeze, he could feel his heart hammering in terror, it was beating so fast, he could feel the Force frozen within him, this creature was going to…And then, all hell broke loose.Blaster bolts erupted from a considerable distance away, and the queen was distracted, her head snapping towards the source of the disturbance in fury at being interrupted just as she was about to claim her victory. The starweirds let out a screech that resounded through the canyon like a sonic boom as several explosions seemed to rock the massed ranks of the starweird legion, and the queen screamed, incandescent with rage, letting go of Anakin’s head as a vicious looking bident slammed into her open palm with a gesture as the starweirds moved as one, determined to kill their intruders, while her guards and her vizier sprang down from the dais, rushing towards the source of the commotion.“My queen!” Jax cried in terror, not wanting to be deprived of her favour, and as Anakin backed away, shuffling away on his rear, determined to do anything to put distance between him and the queen.And then he spotted the yellow blade of Ferus as his boyfriend, pulling himself through the air on an ascension cable he had fired into the wall, let go of the cable and span down to the queen’s raised dais. He unleashed a mighty Force push as he fell towards the dais, aiming for the queen, who snarled in fury, raising her bident to block his attack, but it gave him the time he needed as Anakin clocked his own lightsaber hanging from Ferus’ belt. He gestured, finding the Force still cold to the touch, but at least still usable, and his lightsaber shot from Ferus’ belt into his hand. His own lightsaber hissed to life as Anakin got back to his feet, aiming a vicious slash at the queen. The queen stormed in fury, pirouetting away from his attempted attack just as Ferus slammed to the ground of the dais.“NO!” Jax screamed, his own lightsaber igniting as he rushed towards Anakin, who growled and span around him, hammering his hilt none too gently into Jax’s temple, dropping him to the ground in a heap.“Not entirely sorry about that Jax!” Anakin spat angrily as he picked up Jax’s lightsaber, igniting it as Ferus rushed to his side.“You ok?” he demanded, noticing Anakin was still terrified, his eyes wide and round, and Anakin nodded.“I will be if we can get out of here!” he replied, as the starweird queen, her violet eyes radiating indescribable fury, advanced on them, her bident primed for battle, screaming in challenge, the sonic assault nearly overwhelming the two Jedi, and Ferus and Anakin both felt some blood trickle out of their ears and even the corners of their eyes as the queen moved towards them, and her guards were hurrying back towards their queen.“Together!” Ferus yelled, and they raised their lightsabers, and then, Anakin clocked a thermal detonator beeping in Ferus’ offhand.And then, he threw the detonator through the air, the bomb exploding between them and the queen, the fiery explosion separating them from her, along with her oncoming reinforcements. As the queen screeched, Ferus fired his ascension gun over her head, the hook plunging into the wall of the canyon. Anakin grinned, and centring himself in the Force, took a chance and wrenched Jax with the Force, hurtling his friends’ unconscious body high over the ranks of starweirds to where the sounds of battle were coming from. With Jax away to relative safety, and the smoke clearing, Ferus looked urgently at Anakin who wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, and with a deft movement, the two of them went speeding through the air, clearing through the residual fire and smoke, shooting over the crest of the furious queen. As they shot over the ranks of enraged starweirds, Anakin briefly kissed Ferus’ cheek, making him grin as they landed atop the canyon wall, out of imminent danger for a second.“Thank you.” Anakin breathed in relief, and Ferus passed him a bundled jumpsuit as the starweirds seemed to regain their coordination, with hundreds of them turning to look at the two Jedi now standing atop the canyon wall, all of them staring at them with murder in mind.Anakin hurriedly pulled on the jumpsuit, using the Force to throw chunks of rubble at the starweirds that swarmed away from the battle and towards the escaping two Jedi, giving the clones that were standing fighting with Barriss a reprieve. She looked up at them, beckoning them to join her as she too started throwing chunks of rock at the starweirds.The queen let out a ground-shaking scream as the starweirds milled about, avoiding chunks of rock, and with their queen taking command of the situation, the starweirds all fell back into line, and split into two factions, one swarm heading towards Barriss and her clones while the rest started to scale the canyon walls, heading right for Anakin and Ferus.“Run!” Ferus urged, and the two of them sprinted along the top of the canyon as numerous ships in low orbit began angling themselves towards the commotion going on below.Dozens of green eyed starweirds shot up into the air, their fleshy wings beating as they sped towards Anakin and Ferus while the rest of the starweird army scaled the walls or thundered down the canyon towards Barris and her clones.“Now Galle!” Barriss ordered, and her clone commander detonated some jury-rigged detonators with the press of a button.The pack of brown eyed dog-like starweirds let out pitiful whines as the bombs went off, consuming some of them in flame and crushing others in a deluge of dislodged rubble as the canyon entrance collapsed in on itself. Anakin and Ferus leapt deftly down the cascade of rocks, landing beside Barriss and her clones as the flying starweirds shot towards them from on high.“The fliers, shoot the fliers!” Galle yelled, as he and his troops opened fire as the three Jedi reunited.Blaster fire filled the air, forcing the diving starweirds to break off their descent, but now, ships were starting to descend from the air, and one clone was lifted up by a low gliding flier, which threw him from a great height, the clone screaming before he crashed to the ground, bent in unnatural angles.“RUN!” Anakin yelled, as the clones broke ranks and made a run for it, two of them supporting an unconscious Jax between them, the Jedi right behind them.The dislodged rubble was then shattered as several, hulking orange eyed starweirds, all of them mountains of muscle, barged through the rockfall, opening the canyon up again, as the assembled ranks of the starweird army surged through the breach. Anakin chanced a look backwards and saw a plethora of different coloured eyes, all of them alight with malice, all of them fixed on getting a hold of the Jedi and their clones.Swarms of the single eyed starweird creatures rushed through the breach and there was an awful, bone-chilling howl as the starweird dogs chased after their prey. The two clones in the lead with Jax between them opened fire as several of the ordinary white eyed starweirds materialised in the shadows of the canyon, their lethal claws slashing at the fleeing troops. Barriss hurried towards them, only for a black eyed starweird to leap at her out of the shadows. Forced on the defensive, she put herself in a Soresu stance, dancing nimbly around the creature, reversing her blade and plunging it through the back of the starweird. Blaster fire continued to surround them as more rank and file starweirds materialised in the shadows of the breach as they made their way to the tenuous path they had used to enter the canyon. Anakin slashed viciously at a flier as it swooped down, grinning in savage satisfaction as his blade tore its wing asunder, throwing the creature into a spiral and ending with a crunch against the canyon wall. Ferus jumped onto the back of one of their dog like creatures, the creature bucking furiously, and Ferus used the chance to slit its throat with his saber. One clone was torn apart with a wet squelch by a furious yellow eyed starweird which then charged right for the fleeing party. Anakin and Ferus both unleashed a powerful Force push, but the creature didn’t even flinch, continuing to pound towards them. Blaster bolts from Inc didn’t faze it either, it was like a juggernaut, unstoppable. Barriss was up ahead, protecting Galle and his two clones who had the unconscious Jax in their grip but more and more starweirds were emerging from the shadows, charging right towards them, they were trapped.“Quick! Up the canyon!” Barriss ordered frantically, barely managing to decapitate a dog in time before it took her head from her shoulders.Ferus flipped backwards to avoid the juggernaut, but the creature kept on coming. Anakin then propelled himself through the air, both lightsabers coming down and plunging through it’s head. The starweird gave a surprised scream as with a deft movement, Anakin severed its head into little pieces, skidding to a stop as the body collapsed beneath him. There was no time to breathe a sigh of relief however, as the starweirds were all around them, their glowing eyes illuminating the canyon as they pressed against the ranks of the escape party. The clones with Jax hurried up the narrow path, narrowly avoiding the arrival of a blue eyed starweird that ignited a Forcesaber in its hand, but another clone was cut in two by its unexpected appearance. Barriss backed away in alarm, but Anakin and Ferus both leapt to her aid, Anakin using his and Jax’s lightsabers to intercept the oncoming blow of the Forcesaber. With the creature distracted, Ferus slid under it’s guard, pirouetting upwards and slicing the creature’s head from it’s shoulders. The starweird’s head dropped to the rocky floor as Galle evacuated with two more clones. The last two clones hurried for the narrow path that led back towards the portal, only for a pink eyed starweird to leap down at them from high in the shadows, crushing one beneath it, and tearing the head off of the other.“Hurry!” Barriss cried as she darted further up the path, and despite the blood pounding fury coursing through him, Anakin followed her, right behind Ferus as the starweirds milled around the narrow path.Other starweirds began to scale the canyon wall, intent on cutting them off, and the fliers careened back around, all of them heading for the narrow path which the Jedi led team were taking to try to escape from this nightmare.Anakin could see it was no good. The starweirds climbing the walls would reach the top of the canyon before they would, trapping them in a pincer as more starweirds would come up from below. What was more, the numerous starweird ships in low orbit could attack any time, and the fliers were swopping down, getting ever closer to the beleaguered group.They were done for.And he could feel the Force going cold within him, and he chanced a look along the canyon to see the furious queen, incandescent with rage, flanked by her red eyed praetorian guards and with her golden eyed vizier right behind her, storming towards them, intent on getting her hands on her victims.On him.“You guys need to go.” Anakin whispered, and Ferus and Barriss both snapped their heads towards him in disbelief.“Anakin, are you crazy? We just risked everything to save you!” Ferus stormed angrily, he had lost Roan, like hell was he losing Anakin too!“He’s right, my men have died trying to get you to safety Anakin, if you stay that undermines it all!” Barriss insisted, noticing as several starweirds were getting near to the top of the canyon, they were going to be cut off…“With respect general, it’s obviously you they want. But giving yourself up will be an even bigger tactical error, especially when we already lost good men saving you.” Galle told him, ducking as a flier swooped down low enough to be neutralised with a blaster bolt to the stomach that crashed it to the ground below them.“We’re going to be trapped, if nothing else, we need to get Jax out of here so we can figure out if we can reverse whatever the hell she’s done to him!” Anakin insisted, slashing down at a white eyed starweird as it clambered up the narrow promontory they were standing on, sending the creature hurtling back to the ground below.He could feel the queen’s all-consuming, furious gaze on him, and they were trapped, they were all going to die regardless…“Doesn’t matter anyway sir, we’re totally flanked.” Inc reported grimly.He was right. Unable to proceed quickly up the narrow path, the two clones carrying Jax were now cornered by a Forcesaber wielding blue eyed starweird that was blocking the path, and more white eyed ones were clambering up to reinforce it. A pink eyed starweird was repeating the process at the bottom of the path, stalking upwards towards the cornered group, as single eyed starweirds, the dog starweirds and white eyed starweirds skulked towards them. And more white eyed starweirds were climbing up the promontory to their position, while flying starweirds swooped further down, their claws glinting as they got closer.“We’re done for.” Galle concluded grimly, as they all raised their weapons, preparing to fight to the death.“Then perhaps we may be of assistance.”They all snapped their heads up at the unexpected sound, and elation rushed through the entire group: they were saved!Mace Windu leapt on to the promontory, purple blade glowing, ready to do battle. Shaak Ti appeared at the top of the path, her blue blade opening in a Makashi stance. Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared on the other side of the canyon, his blade angled over his head. Siri Taichi, her blade in a reverse Shien grip, was on another rocky outcropping. Even Piell leapt down, his blue blade glowing as he blocked the starweird advance, and the group was finished by Depa Billaba, her green blade pointed behind her back, also at the top of the path.“Master!” Anakin gasped in relief, as numerous commandos, some of them from Mace’s army detachment and others made up of a clan of Rodian warriors also arrived at the top of the canyon path.“It would seem we have greatly underestimated the scale of the starweird threat, Master Windu!” Even grumbled, as the surprised starweirds reacted to their sudden appearance in their mdist.“Couldn’t agree more friend Even!” Mace agreed, slashing at a starweird that seemed to have recovered quicker than the others.“Steer them this way! We’ll make quick work of them!” Depa ordered, unleashing a heavy overhead swing that cut the blue eyed starweird at the top of the path in two before it could react.“Open fire!” Nick ordered, as heavy blaster fire, explosives and missile launchers exploded from the ranks of the troops, sending the massed ranks of the starweirds into disarray.Behind them, the queen let out a blood curdling scream, as the assembled rescue party threw chaos into her ranks.“Get Jax out of here!” Anakin spat, and the clones hurried up the now clear path, as Shaak Ti cut apart three milling starweirds with a single swing.The clones didn’t need telling twice, hurrying up with Jax’s unconscious form in their midst. Inc and Galle followed them up, firing up at the swooping starweirds that had recovered their composure. The last clones then hurried up, with Barriss right behind them.Obi-Wan and Siri were using the Force to slam the fliers from the air, Mace had blocked the path, cutting down numerous advancing starweirds. Even stuck his saber into the rock beneath their feet, cutting a section of the promontory from beneath them, sending the climbing starweirds toppling back with a scream. At the top of the path, the commandos were laying down covering fire, setting numerous starweirds aflame and puncturing others with blaster bolts while the two Council members worked their expert swordsmanship, cleaving starweirds asunder. A blue eyed starweird sprang at Mace, but Anakin was there, locking his two sabers against the creature’s forcesaber. He then hammered the blade aside with Jax’s saber, before puncturing it’s heart with his own.“Thanks Skywalker. We can’t win, it’s a stand off. Let’s go!” Mace ordered, and Even flipped up to join Depa and Shaak Ti.“Make for the portal!” Shaak Ti ordered to the clones, and she nodded at Barriss, who took point and led her remaining clones back towards their escape route.Obi-Wan and Siri cleared the canyon in a leap just as the last defenders cleared the narrow path. A vicious flier that they had missed swooped down at Siri as she landed, and she gasped, she wouldn’t be able to intercept it in time…only for it to be cut in two as Ferus leapt through the air at it, slicing it apart.“I’m so glad to see you master!” he breathed, and she grinned and winked, the two of them going back to back as a host of starweirds crawled out of the canyon towards them.There was a deafening scream as an orange eyed starweird propelled itself out of the canyon, landing right in front of the three Jedi. Obi-Wan rushed to engage it, while Siri and Ferus defended against the rank and file, but as he got closer, he saw he had underestimated the size and ferocity of this starweird, and it knew it. It thundered towards him, only for two blue blades to appear from nowhere, cutting it’s legs out from under it. As the starweird slid to the ground, Anakin sprang onto it’s back, using his two blades to pull back it’s neck, and Obi-Wan deftly lunged with his blade, severing it’s neck from it’s head.“It’s great to see you master.” Anakin admitted, and Obi-Wan smiled.“It would be nice Anakin if one of these days you weren’t in mortal peril when I have to make an appearance.” He chided, and Anakin grinned, as the rescue party headed for the portal, Anakin and Obi-Wan back to back, covering the retreat.However, the starweirds weren’t going to let them go that easy. Several yellow and pink eyed starweirds seemed to appear out of thin air, leading groups of starweirds to flank the retreating groups. Mace hurried to Depa’s side, the two of them in perfect lockstep as they defended their right flank, protecting the Rodian commandos who opened fire on the newly arrived starweirds. Even hurried to the left flank, joining Shaak Ti as Nick’s troops laid down covering fire, the starweirds screaming in fury and vexation.“MASTERS!” Barriss cried from up ahead, they had been about to walk onto the bridge when a group of starweirds, spittle flying from their furious, screaming mouths, clambered out of the canyon, led by a blue eyed starweird.Anakin chanced a look, if the starweirds kept control of the bridge, they’d all die here…and that wasn’t all! The red eyed praetorians had just sprung out of the canyon, and the queen’s rallying scream could be heard, she must be right behind them, she wasn’t going to let them escape.He looked anxiously at Obi-Wan, who paled as the two praetorians stampeded towards them, and even Mace and Even were grimmer than usual, surprise had gotten them this far, but the starweirds were simply too many, they couldn’t fight an entire species!And then, something bizarre happened.The portal at the end of the long bridge shimmered again, divulging more arrivals to the battle.Asajj Ventress, Dooku’s assassin, commander of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, emerged from the bizarre portal. She had seen it from the command bridge, and had shattered the viewport to allow her and her droid escorts to fly across to the starfighter bridge, hurrying through the portal as she figured that was where the Jedi had gone.And now she looked upon a horrifying sight.Dozens of starweirds were massing around the Jedi team. Half of the biggest thorns in the side of the Confederacy were here, trapped on all sides by the swarming starweird masses. High above them, there were dozens, if not hundreds of starships.Ventress scanned the situation. Skywalker, Kenobi, Windu, Ti…it would be great coup for the Confederacy if she just left them to die.But, even she could see the truth, especially as a violet eyed and massive starweird just leapt into view.If she didn’t save them here, the starweirds would win. They wanted Skywalker, and she felt in her gut that if they got him, it would be disastrous for the galaxy.Which, to her ever lasting annoyance, left her with one choice.She had to save the Jedi.How annoying.“Shoot the starweirds!” she ordered, and her super battle droids opened fire, their blasters and wrist rockets flying towards the starweirds that had trapped the Jedi before they got to the bridge.“Ventress?” Anakin exclaimed in disbelief, as the starweirds, caught off guard by the sudden intervention were blown off the cliff face by the super battle droids wrist rockets.“Hey, she’s helping, don’t knock it!” Ferus told him as Barriss and the clones pushed ahead, crossing the bridge.With the super battle droid battalion using their blasters and rockets, the starweirds were knocked flying, many of them screeching in pain as their burning bodies toppled into the chasm beneath the bridge. Barriss hurried through with the clones, giving Ventress a thankful nod as she did so. The commandos were laying down covering fire as they filed along the bridge, with Anakin, Obi-Wan, Siri, Ferus, Mace and Depa holding the entrance to the bridge. Shaak Ti had hurried ahead, superivisng the evacuation of the commandos while Even hurried through after his apprentice, who had been evacuated by the clones.“Hurry masters!” Obi-Wan urged, slashing at a white eyed starweird, and Mace gave him a brisk nod, hurrying up the bridge, only for their place in the line to be replaced by Ventress, with her two crimson lightsabers.“Move Skywalker, it’s you they want!” she spat, taking the heads off two starweirds.Anakin looked at her, and then felt his blood freeze. The queen was up ahead, her violet eyes boring right into him, and the two praetorians seemed to be holding off for some reason…and then she charged, her bident swung back, as she stampeded right for them.“Friend of yours I take it?” Obi-Wan asked, and Anakin shook his head in terror.“No, it’s the queen, she wants me!” he gasped, and Ferus gently took his wrist.“She’s not getting you, go, run!” he urged, and Anakin looked as though he was going to argue, but Siri looked at him in exasperation.“He’s right! We all need to run, come on, even you Ventress!” she screamed, as they all turned tail and ran up the bridge.“Beetu, shoot that starweird!” Ventress barked as they rushed along the bridge, and the super battle droids directed their attacks at the queen.The queen however merely screamed in rage, the sonic wave obliterating their missiles and their blaster bolts as she was getting closer to the bridge, she was going to catch them-!Hang on!“Help me!” Anakin shouted at a very confused Ventress, pointing his two sabers down, and she grinned.“Clever idea Skywalker.” She complimented, as they plunged the four lightsabers into the bridge.Sparks flew from the bridge as they cut down through it, and then the two of them exerted themselves, pushing the blades apart.And with that, the bridge severed. The bridge swayed a little, just as the starweird queen’s large foot took a step onto it. As she ran towards them, there was a great crunching noise, and the bridge gave way, splintering away from the canyon with a resounding crack of rock, and the queen screeched as she toppled down the chasm and out of sight.“Thank the Force.” Anakin breathed, as they hurried through the portal, back into the starfighter bridge itself.Inside the bridge, everyone was panting, but they were all alive at least. The commandos looked ashen, many of the poor Rodian ones were shaking in fear, while Nick seemed to be lambasting Mace, who looked as though he was regretting his life choices.“Are you crazy? A whole realm of pissed off space monsters, and you want to just waltz in there and bust your buddies out?” he raged, while a relieved Depa looked at the late arrivals, which included Ventress’ droids.“What happened?” she asked, and Anakin, his eyes running over a heavily breathing Ferus, sighed in relief.“Ventress and I cut the bridge out. They can’t get through.”“Thank you for the assist Ventress.” Mace said, extending a hand to her, and she looked surprised, before hesitantly shaking it.“You’re welcome.”Even was looking worriedly at Jax, who, starweird affectations (and a big bruise on his temple) aside, seemed undisturbed by their escape.“We’d best wait till we get him back to Coruscant to examine him properly master.” Barriss assured him, and he nodded glumly as he surveyed his unconscious apprentice.“So, are they stuck there?” Siri asked, throwing a distrustful look at the portal.“Well, hopefully. The bridge is gone, and the queen fell down the chasm, so-” Anakin began.Only for a horrific, abyssal screech to echo throughout the entire ship. The transparisteel viewports all splintered, cracking, and the entire group stumbled under the sonic assault. Blood started to come from their eyes, from their ears, and Anakin felt a cold, dead terror clutch his heart.They hadn’t killed the queen.They’d only pissed her off.And she was coming.“RUN!” he screamed, as the darkness of the ship, of space itself, seemed to coalesce around them.And then, numerous, white eyed starweirds, their vicious, skull like faces giving sinister smiles, faded into existence from the shadows, and Anakin could feel the queen’s violet gaze boring through the portal, she was coming for him, coming for them all.The entire group took to their heels, consisting of clones, commandos, Rodians, super battle droids, a Dark Jedi, four Council members, three Jedi Knights of whom one of which was unconscious and a former Jedi all fled through the bridge, all of them united by one desire: to get the hell out of here.The queen screamed again, and all three Star Destroyers rocked and swayed under her sonic assault as they fled through the ships corridors. Hundreds of starweirds were materialising in the darkness of each ship, and what was more, cannon fire was now erupting from all three Star Destroyers, forcing the Tritus and the Patriot Fist to go evasive, while the remaining fighters swarmed away from the blue turbolaser bolts. The starweirds, now being reinforced by numerous other types, were hot on their heels as they fled through the ship. The queen’s screeches echoed through each vessel, as the pilots outside reacted to the change in circumstances. Swarms of starweirds were flooding through each vessel, the Star Destroyers now solely under the control of the starweirds.“Down the shaft!” Mace ordered, wrenching open the turbolift doors with the Force, and the clones swung into the shaft, Jax held by two of them, using their ascension cables to descend.The super battle droids rocketed down, while the Jedi jumped down, bouncing off the walls as they made good their escape. The commandos also abseiled down, all of them screaming in terror as dozens of starweirds started to materialise in the shaft, their eerie white gazes fixed on their escaping prey.“Can someone answer, what the kriff is going on in there?” Nym demanded, banking away from the turbolaser fire of the Benevolence.“Mace? What’s happening?” Adi asked, spiralling her ship away from a round from the Stalwart.They couldn’t answer, they were too busy running for their lives as starweirds swarmed through the ship. They had reached the bottom of the turbolift shaft, and were now running flat out towards the hangar.“Run, we’re nearly there!” Siri urged, as doors opened throughout the corridor, revealing more sinisterly grinning starweirds.“Wait, is it me or are they trying not to kill us?” Ventress asked suspiciously, and Depa looked at her in disbelief.“That’s your concern?” she demanded incredulously as the hangar doors came into sight.As did Artoo.The little droid seemed to have hesitantly been trying to follow them, and started beeping in excitement when he saw Anakin, which then turned into a peal of terror when he saw the massed ranks of starweirds right behind the fleeing party. He hurriedly turned to face the hangar door, which he must have shut to try to protect the ship while he tried to determine what happened to his master.“Artoo, hurry!” Anakin yelled as they were getting closer to the doors, and Artoo tootled, concentrating on the door, the hordes of starweirds right at their backs.“Will he get the door open Skywalker?” Mace asked in concern, as the queen let out another terrible scream.“Course he will!” Anakin spat, hoping his droid friend actually wouldn’t let him down as hundreds of starweirds pursued them down the corridor.And the hangar doors slid open.“I never doubted you for a second. Wonderful!” Obi-Wan cried in relief as Artoo sped into the hangar, bound for the Silver Queen.“Tell your droid I owe him one!” Ventress shouted as she and her droids made for the Last Call, while Nick led the commandos, clones and Jax’s unconscious body towards the shuttle.“Let’s go, everyone on the ship!” Anakin yelled, but he was now admitting, Ventress had a point, the starweirds were just chasing them, they weren’t trying to catch or kill them, so what…“What the hell is that thing?” Saesee asked in disbelief over the comms from his fighter.Anakin skidded to a stop, he could feel it, he could feel her, she was what Saesee had seen…And then, the starweird queen thudded down through the open hangar bay doors, landing right in front of the group as they hurried towards the yacht.She drew herself to her full height, bident held aloft, her purple eyes fixed on Anakin in rage. Anakin froze, she was here for him. She let out a sonic screech that blew them all of their feet, slamming them to the ground, and she advanced towards them, coming for Anakin, and would kill everyone else as well for good measure.And then laser fire erupted from Ventress’ ship, stopping the queen’s advance. The queen span towards Ventress’ ship as the shuttle blazed out of the hangar, shooting above the queen’s head and making good it’s escape.“That’s another you owe me Skywalker!” Ventress shouted in annoyance as she gunned the engine, forcing the queen to sidestep to avoid having her head taken off. Ventress blazed out of the hangar, and furious queen turned her attention back towards her prey, only to find they had gone.Inside the Silver Queen, Anakin blazed out of the turbolift, taking the pilot seat while Artoo stood at his terminal to the side of it, beeping madly. Ferus sank into the copilot chair as Anakin brought the ship into the air, pointing it right at the queen, who turned her gaze onto him, raising her bident in fury, clearly preparing to throw it.“Damn, I really wish I’d put guns in this thing.” Anakin grumbled, igniting the engines and blazing right towards the queen.“Are you sure that’s wise Anakin?” Mace demanded in shock from his seat behind Anakin’s, manning the navigator station, and Anakin grinned.“Don’t worry master, this, I can do.” He promised cockily, and Mace turned to look at Obi-Wan in the comm station beside him, in slight alarm, to which Obi-Wan merely chuckled in response to.And steeling himself, Anakin gunned the engine, shooting the ship right at the queen. The queen screamed, this time in terror, throwing herself out of the way as hundreds of starweirds poured into the hangar, watching as the queen’s prey shot out of the open hangar doors.Anakin brought the ship hurtling out of the Vigilance, with several shrieks coming from the back of the ship as Even, Barriss, Depa and Shaak Ti all stumbled about the ship as he took them into the maelstrom of blue turbolaser fire.The three Star Destroyers were now separate, each of them crawling with starweirds as they turned their attention to their escaping prey. The Tritus was using the bottom hull of the Vigilance for cover, while the Patriot Fist was trying to make good it’s escape, but it was currently under heavy attack from the Vigilanceand the Stalwart.Anakin weaved the ship out of various interlocking fields of fire, Artoo screeching in terror, their passengers in the back letting out some very un-Jedi like curses, Mace was gripping his seat in terror while Obi-Wan, used to Anakin’s flying antics, merely looked as though he was enjoying a pleasant cruise. The ship shuddered as a turbolaser blast skimmed them, as Artoo hurriedly performed calculations.“I take it you have a plan Anakin?” Siri asked hopefully from her seat opposite Obi-Wan, and Anakin nodded, banking to avoid a laser blast.“Getting there. Artoo, plot us a series of micro jumps that will take us back to Coruscant!” he ordered, and Artoo blatted rudely.“Yeah, well, they ambush us in hyperspace, and as we just escaped from right under the queen’s nose, I can’t imagine them letting it go, do it!” Ferus shouted in annoyance, and Artoo made a rather unpleasant suggestion of what Ferus should do to himself, but did carry out the calculations.Anakin pulled the ship into a corkscrew, flattening out in the midst of a turbolaser storm, with the Havoc beside them.“Get me Nym!” Anakin barked, and Obi-Wan happily obliged.“What the hell’s going on?” Nym barked, and Anakin gritted his teeth as he weaved them through another field of turbolaser fire.“Nym, it’s Anakin Skywalker!” he shouted, and Nym chuckled.“Great to hear from you kid, it’s been a minute. Glad they rescued you, you got any ideas? Juno’s too close to the Vigilance, and they only just got the shuttle back on board, but we can’t take on three Star Destroyers, even if the droids help us!”Anakin breathed a sigh of relief, that meant the commandos were safe, so now all they had to do was escape.“Have your men, and Juno, slave your navicomputers to mine! Artoo’s plotted us a series of microjumps that will take us back to Coruscant, but we need to get out of here now!” he insisted.“Couldn’t agree more Master Skywalker,” Saesee interjected as the Sharp Spiral banked around the command tower of the Vigilance, wincing as the Patriot Fist sustained another turbolaser blow, “if we stay here much longer, they’re eventually going to get lucky.”“Nym, trust him!” Adi insisted as she weaved away from a fresh barrage of cannon fire from the Stalwart.“You better be right about this kid…alright Revenants, listen up, everyone, slave your navicomputer to the Silver Queen! You too Juno!”“Done and done!” Jinkins replied, as the various Revenant pilots all did the same thing.“The Force be with you Anakin. And all of us.” Adi added, as she joined the slave circuit too.“We’re ready to jump, shuttle safely aboard, ready when you are!” Juno reported as Anakin blazed the ship down in a weaving, undulating corkscrew that he levelled out beneath the Vigilance, which was turning to try and catch them all.The rest of the Revenants followed suit, all of them forming up on the little yacht.“Ventress, it’s Skywalker. Plot a series of micro jumps, they can’t track you that way!” Anakin called into the comm, after all, she had saved their necks.“Appreciated Skywalker. Till next time.” Ventress replied, having just docked on the Patriot Fist, and with a last flicker, the Recusant cruiser made good it’s escape to hyperspace.But that left all three Star Destroyers with only the Revenants to pick on.“Artoo?” Anakin asked, and the droid beeped proudly, and Ferus grinned.“Great work Artoo, we can jump!”“Everyone, prepare to jump to hyperspace on my mark, stand by!” Anakin ordered, and as the other two Star Destroyers crept into view, he gunned the hyperdrive, and with that, the Lok Revenants, the Tritus and their Jedi allies lurched into hyperspace, leaving the starweird trap far behind…and they knew they’d done it when a furious scream echoed across the stars. XX Master Ph’Ton had assumed command of the Kamino oversight in recent weeks, allowing Jedi Council member Shaak Ti a chance to return to Coruscant, and to take a break from her duties here. However, he mused happily as he watched the clones train beneath him, he couldn’t deny that she was very effective at what she did, bringing out the best in the up and coming clone troopers, often getting them to succeed where the Cuy’val Dar and the other trainers would have given up on them.The Bith Jedi Master looked down on the current training squad, Chequer Squad. He knew that Nala Se wished to terminate these clones, as there was something not quite right in their genetic makeup, but he was curious as to how it presented. He didn’t believe that these young men deserved to die simply for being different.However, as he watched the training session unfold, a rising, inexplicable and altogether…alien sense of menace seemed to start to grow with alarming speed. Something was greatly amiss, and was getting worse by the second.“Master Ph’Ton, I thought you wished to view this training session, as you, like Master Ti, are determined to meddle in the workings of our cloning program,” Nala Se commented snootily, it was quite impressive how someone could have such a soft voice yet be such a…well, Shaak Ti had called her a bitch in her handover.“Yes madam, however, I sense something greatly amiss.” He told her curtly, and she looked at him derisively, before turning her attention back to the training clones beneath him.What was he sensing? Where was it coming from? What was it? And why did he have such a horrible feeling about it? XX The Laudable, flagship of Phuii Jedi Master Ares Nune, drifted lazily above Svivren in the Outer Rim. A recent convert to the Ancient Order of the Pessimists in the senate had managed to wrangle a good will visit to the monastery on Maryx Minor, and Ares was procrastinating it, he had to admit.“Sir?” his clone commander, Kite, prompted, and Ares sighed.“I know commander, it just seems a waste of time that’s all. Never mind, we take what is given. Set us a course for Maryx Minor.”Ares didn’t understand why so many senators got to appropriate military vessels for these silly damned good will visits, that’s what sensor buoys were for. It was taking important resources away from the front lines every time they had to do one of these infernal check up missions.The Laudable jumped, quickly making the short jump to the volcanic planet of Maryx Minor, far below them. As they arrived, however, Ares felt a sudden, rising, immediate and alien sense of menace.Perhaps this wasn’t going to be a waste of time after all. XX The assembled ships dropped out hyperspace, and Anakin finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had escaped, and what was more, everyone had survived the micro jump and made it here in one piece.“Well done Anakin.” Obi-Wan congratulated tiredly, as the various other Jedi, all of them looking a tad worse for wear following their errant escape, entered the cockpit.“Very impressive flying Anakin. You did well. Though you’ll forgive me if I opt to hire a taxi should I need a lift anywhere.” Depa quirked, and Anakin grinned.“If you’ll excuse me.” Mace said, looking very pale, and headed back to the refresher.Everyone watched where he had disappeared intently, until a very disgusting sound made it’s way back to them. Chuckling, Anakin looked at the rescue team gratefully.“Thank you for coming after me, all of you.” He said with relief, and Ferus nodded.“Yeah, we walked right into their trap.” He lamented, and Barriss shook her head.“We knew it was a trap, we just didn’t know how big of a trap it was. We had no way of knowing the starweirds had a queen, nor that she was hunting Anakin.”Artoo tootled a question, and Shaak Ti patted his dome affectionately.“Actually, it was Anakin who let us know he was in trouble, however unintentionally.” She told him, and Anakin looked at her in confusion, as a very pale and shaky looking Mace returned to the cockpit, sinking into his chair, which caused Obi-Wan to exchange an amused look with Siri, who was determinedly trying to keep a straight face, despite the fact she was trying not to laugh.“Huh?”“Your research. You left it behind in the Archives, and I was cleaning it up to shut up Madam Nu,” Shaak Ti explained waspishly, and Ferus grinned, “and your notes made for interesting reading. Reconciliation Council must have summoned you just as you wrote that, and you dashed off, so didn’t make the connection. I think you’re right, we all do. That Sith storm, in which the Sith Lord was targeting you, for whatever purpose, had another impact: the storm, whatever the Sith did with it, has somehow antagonised the starweirds. The storm seems to have provoked them, and as you were part of it, and they likely deduced you were part of it…”“The storm lit you up like a supernova. That’s why they called you Stormbringer. The starweirds think you’re something to do with the storm, and are after you in retaliation, when it’s actually the Sith they should be hunting.”“But I didn’t do anything!” Anakin protested in annoyance.After all, it was one thing to be blamed when he actually had done something, but he was an innocent party in this, not his fault the damn Sith was interested in him!“I suspect they don’t much care. But for better or worse, the starweirds think you are their Stormbringer. And I doubt that that’s a good thing.” Mace said darkly, seeming to have recovered slightly.Ferus exchanged a worried glance with Anakin, not at all liking the implications of that.“Hopefully, once we fix young Jax, it might lead us to an explanation of what has provoked the starweirds into their attack. He might have gained some insight as the queen’s thrall. I assume that that is the reason for the large bruise on his head, he was under her control?” Even asked sternly, looking disapprovingly at Anakin, who went a little red.“My apologies master, but in my defence, he drugged me, helped me get kidnapped, and turned to stone, I was a bit annoyed!” he protested, and Even nodded, he had to admit, he was entitled to be a bit miffed.“Turned to stone?” Depa asked in disbelief, and Anakin nodded, looking quite vulnerable.“Yeah, it wasn’t fun. The starweirds, there’s so many different types, and their abilities, we don’t have a clue of everything they’re capable of.” He admitted, and she nodded, looking concerned.“I was more worried by the size of the armada we saw. If they invade, they could easily overwhelm both sides of the war.” Barriss cautioned, and Mace nodded, looking preoccupied.“I’m forced to agree. We believed the increase in starweird attacks to be isolated, but if we’re correct, the increase in attacks, the attack on Sinta, could well be a prelude to an invasion.” He admitted darkly, and exchanged a worried look with the other Council members.That armada had been massive, but the canyon they had fought in couldn’t be all the troops the starweirds had under their command. What if that armada was replicated elsewhere in the starweird realm? What if they had massive staging grounds throughout the realm? Barriss wasn’t wrong. They had grossly underestimated the scale of the starweird threat, and judging by what they had seen, they had the firepower to outmatch both sides of this war.He only hoped Ventress relayed the same information to Count Dooku.“The hyperdrives have cooled enough Anakin, are we ready for the next jump?” Adi asked, and Anakin turned back to prepare the next jump.And then stopped, his hand hovering over the lever.Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.A current of ancient, indescribable, furious alien malice had just filled the Force. He’d never felt anything like it, nor the speed in which he became aware of it. He looked at Ferus, who went pale as he looked back. And then Anakin heard it. The bitter, furious, nerve rending screech, and a pair of violet eyes flashed into his mind’s eye.The starweirds.They were coming. XX Sly Moore brought her T-6 shuttle out of her homeworld’s atmosphere. She was eager to head back to Coruscant, she’d been away too long, she had so much to do when she got home. And she hoped the Chancellor would be in better spirits…As she prepared the calculations for the jump to lightspeed, she took a last look down at her dark world of Umbara. Wait, what was that?She angled the ship to point it at a glowing spark, for want of a better term. If it wasn’t so close, she’d have assumed it was a star, but it couldn’t be, if she was outside, she could reach out and touch it.Then the spark grew, forming a massive, glowing crack in the very fabric of space. Sly gunned the engine, determined to get away from whatever the hell this was, she had to report to Palpatine, had to let him know…But she didn’t get that far, as ancient turbolaser fire tore through her shuttle, Sly screaming as she was consumed in flame, and as the dark skies of Umbara grew darker still. XX “Full reverse! Full reverse!” Ares yelled in panic, his clones running around frantically around him.The Laudable however didn’t respond in time, and was consumed in turbolaser fire as an ancient warship emerged from the fracture in space, bound for Maryx Minor. XX A hideous screech filled Ph’Ton’s ears, and Nala Se craned her neck to look at him in shock.“What was that?” she demanded, as Ph’Ton felt the deaths of people in the Force.And not just one or two. Thousands, millions of people, they were all dying, across the galaxy. And what was more, the cause of it, they were here.“We must evacuate! Hurry!” he yelled in panic, as glowing white eyes started to materialise in the clone training facility.Kamino had fallen. And the Republic hadn’t even fired a shot to defend it.He had failed.And now, the galaxy would fall. XX On Serenno, Darth Tyranus, Count Dooku, opened his eyes, a feeling of impending doom blossoming inside him as he felt the new, alien current to the Force.On the Patriot Fist, hurrying back to her master, Ventress went pale as the worst happened.On Saluecami, Sora Bulq stopped speaking in his meeting with Ratth Kelko and looked anxiously towards the skies.On the Invisible Hand, General Grievous looked at the displays, unable to comprehend or believe what he was seeing.Ki Adi Mundi led the charge on Mygeeto, and then faltered, stumbling as the Force changed, Bacarra yelling to find out if he’d been hit.Plo Koon, on Cato Neimodia, standing in front of a game changing discovery, paused, looking fearfully towards the heavens.In the deep night of Coruscant, Oppo Rancisis commanded Lari Oll to go and rouse Master Yoda.In his quarter’s, Yoda’s eyes snapped open.Across the city, Darth Sidious sneered as he looked angrily towards the skies, fury coursing through him.Warships poured through cracks in the fabric of space, and everything standing in their way were blown out of existence. Republic, Confederacy and private starships were blown apart without warning as hundreds upon hundreds of starships streamed from the starweird realm into this one.Umbarans, Kaminoans, Miraluka, the Ancient Order of Pessimists and others turned around in the dark on their homeworlds, to see countless pairs of malevolent, glowing white eyes staring at them from out of the gloom, proving to be the last thing many a sentient ever saw.And in the skies above Umbara, the colossal, gothic and towering form of the Flame of Sinthara emerged from the rift, and in the highest room of the cathedral, sat the Starweird Queen upon her throne, bident in hand, purple eyes glowing as she unleashed her extradimensional invasion, as the billions of starweirds at her beck and call flooded into the galaxy, with domination on their mind. XX It was strange, looking out and seeing Coruscant’s skies so empty. As the news of the starweird assault had broke, a planet wide ban on all but the most important traffic had been imposed. The Senate was in an emergency session, debating the sudden and devastating invasion of the starweirds, and all that entailed: the loss of so many ships in the invasion as the starweird armada tore through anything in its way; the theft of many more ships as the invasion continued; the death of Sly Moore in the initial attack; the loss of a slew of worlds as the starweirds took any planet that took their fancy; and worst of all, the loss of Kamino.The Council was also in emergency session, trying to respond to the loss of the cloning facilities. Master Ph’Ton had managed to lead a running defence, and had evacuated what he could on the ships that were docked on Kamino at the time, but now, the main supply of troops to the Grand Army of the Republic was lost, throwing the entire war effort into chaos. They were trying to figure out a way to respond to the starweird invasion, were now considering what to do with the masses of refugees who had just lost their homeworlds, and were also trying to figure out what they were going to advise Palpatine once he got out the senate chamber. The problem with that was they didn’t know themselves.Jar Jar had contacted Anakin once they had returned, asking what he could tell him while he hurried to the senate building. With Jar Jar as informed as he could get, and the immediate response to the invasion being dealing with the aftermath of said initial invasion, Anakin wasn’t needed by either the senate or the Council.Which was why he was now parked on the Naboo delegation’s landing pad (the J-type barge that Jar Jar used was parked at the Republic Executive Building), standing at the bottom of the boarding ramp, looking out at Coruscant’s brightly lit but quiet skies.“Anakin?” Ferus asked softly, coming up beside him, and Anakin sighed.“This is my fault Ferus. If I’d realised sooner, we might have…” he began, but Ferus shook his head.“No honey. You can’t do that to yourself. Yeah, sure, the queen is after you. But she’s also after the Sith Lord. He’s the one who did this, who provoked them into attacking. Besides, you saw the size of that armada she had. There was no way she wasn’t going to use it. Don’t blame yourself.”Anakin smiled slightly, looking out at the twilit skies of Coruscant. He figured that the Council would eventually summon them, but at the moment, they were too preoccupied, meaning they had some time off before everything really kicked off.The ship had been so full as they had run from the starweirds. But once they had split ways with the Revenants, who the Jedi had thanked for their help, with Nym telling him to look him up if he was near Lok (Adi reckoned he fancied himself as the commander of a Jedi squadron, not that he’d ever admit it), Anakin had dropped the rest of the Jedi off at the temple, and then dropped Artoo off at Jar Jar’s apartment before landing the ship here.“Are you alright?” Ferus asked softly, and Anakin nodded.“Yeah, came off better this time, ironically. Though getting turned to stone…not fun. Interesting, I suppose, but not fun.” He grumbled, and Ferus grinned, sliding his hand up Anakin’s back and beginning to gently play with his boyfriend’s hair.“Have you heard about Jax?” Ferus asked, his voice tight, and Anakin shook his head.“Not since Master Vokara took him in anyway. Why you so concerned?” he asked teasingly, and Ferus shrugged, not meeting Anakin’s eyes.“He’s a Jedi, that’s all.” He replied, and Anakin grinned.“Oh, so it’s nothing to do with the fact that you’re jealous? Yeah, Barriss snitched.” He explained cheerfully, as Ferus had just drilled him with an irate look.“I am not jealous! But, say I was, just say,” he insisted, ignoring the gleeful look on Anakin’s face, “would I have reason to be?”Anakin briefly considered making him suffer a little. But no, that would be mean. Especially when Ferus had come to rescue him. Again.“No. Jax and I are just friends, always have been. Always will be, provided he doesn’t betray me to a psycho starweird queen again. There’s only one guy I like, don’t worry.” He told him, and hesitantly laid his head on Ferus’ shoulder, looking up at the smile he had put on Ferus’ face.“Good. I do quite like you, you know. Despite everything. Forcing me to rescue you from interdimensional beings who either brainwash you or turn you to stone. That’s twice now.” Ferus pointed out, resting his cheek against the top of Anakin’s head.“Yeah, that’s getting to be a pattern. Thank you, for coming to my rescue. You were pretty wizard.” He told him, and Ferus smiled, blushing a little.“Any time. It’s so quiet.” He commented, and Anakin nodded.“Yeah. Weird right? Coruscant’s never been like this, but everyone’s terrified. The people. The senate. The Council. Even me….especially me.” He admitted, shuddering, and Ferus wrapped his arm around him, and Anakin moaned a little in pleasure.It felt nice, the two of them standing together like this. Despite the fact that the galaxy was now under attack by the very creatures that had plagued his nightmares for months, and the fact that he was on their most wanted list, he felt safe standing with Ferus.“We’ll figure something out sweetie.” Ferus promised, pressing a kiss to Anakin’s forehead.“I hope so.”Ferus looked at Anakin out of the corner of his eye. It was nice, standing here, like this, with his boyfriend (he figured he couldn’t deny the fact that he was his boyfriend now). And seeing Anakin this open, and vulnerable, he had to admit, he kind of liked it.Hell, he actually just really liked Anakin. In a way he hadn’t thought was possible to feel again when he had lost Roan.He made Ferus feel good. And Ferus wanted to help Anakin feel good.“Hey, come on.” Ferus ordered, taking Anakin’s hand in his, and Anakin stood up straight, looking at him curiously.“Where?” he asked, and Ferus pulled him up the boarding ramp, shutting it behind them.And then he looked at where he intended to take Anakin, and Anakin smiled, while also going a little red.“Really? Are you sure?” he asked nervously, and Ferus then shoved him against the wall, Anakin moaning in protest as Ferus pressed his lips against his, one hand snaking up Anakin’s back and into his long hair, while the other stroked down his chest.“Yeah, if you are.”Anakin nodded eagerly, then stopped.“Um, you know how I called you highly strung…” he mumbled, and Ferus grinned.“If you want that on the table, I’m open to it. Now, you coming?” he asked playfully, and Anakin grinned.“Yes sir.” He replied, and Ferus grinned, taking him by the hand and leading him into the bedroom, the door soon sliding shut behind them.And hours later, unheeding of the starweird invasion, or the fact that the entire galaxy was in turmoil, the two of them were sound asleep in the bed, with Anakin’s head resting on Ferus’ shoulder, Ferus arm wrapped around Anakin’s body as he was coiled around his boyfriend, the two of them contentedly sleeping together as the galaxy grew darker around them.