Rise of the Empire: A New Era (IC Application Only)

[Iroshort]

Order 66 has been issued... as the Jedi in the galaxy flee and hide. Will you help or will you collect the bounty's on there head. Smugglers are refugee traffickers and bounty hunters are in a frenzy snatching the bounty's every chance they get. Where will that leave you?




The space before the cockpit was empty - even the stars just seemed absent. Through the Force he could feel every living organism, every person in the galaxy connected. As his consciousness left the fleshy cage he saw himself sitting in the ship next to his FA-5 pilot droid. Xi stood 5'10”, and weighed 190lbs; he seemed made for agility and speed. Built to disable opponents with quick short strikes he would make an excellent assassin. Suddenly something broke his concentration; the Force shifted and seemed to shriek with pain. The violence, the bloodshed, and the pain spread from the Jedi Temple on the planet below. As if in answer to the disturbance, he was snapped back into his body as a chime sounded indicating a hologram was waiting to be projected. The cockpit was lit by the dim red lights on the control panel and the occasional flash from his emergency alert system. Readjusting the breast plate of the armor he wore, he rose from his seat and walked to the back of the cockpit.

"Begin decent dock at the Jedi Temple. I don't want to miss all the fun..." Xi said sensing what was happening and what the message he was about to receive would undoubtedly be about.

The door slid open with a slight swoosh as it went, revealing a dark room with the glow of red conduit lines lining the floor by the wall in the small circular room. Xi approached the center of the room and kneeled. Light burst into the room as the hologram of a cloaked figure stepped forward gazing down upon the kneeling Xi.

"The time has come... Go now. Lead the others to victory. The Jedi will fall."

Xi slowly stood, his hood slipping off to let his intricately tattooed face and horned head fall into view for the first time.

"Yes, my master."

With that the light faded and Xi was left standing once again in the red glow of the conduits. His hands lifted the hood back over his head as he stepped back into the cockpit. The ship had moved quite a lot since he had entered the holoroom with the Jedi Temple now in plain view. The front had been blown open and flashes of light could be seen within. The ship jolted as the docking gear extended from the ship and Xi checked his sabers once for their working condition letting the glow of their red blades fill the cockpit. Satisfied with the setting he turned to the hatch as the landing gear hit the ground.

"Return to orbit. I’ll send for you when it’s done...." he told the pilot droid.

The hatch extended to the platform below and Xi walked slowly and confidently down the ramp towards fate.


======= A short time later =======


Smoke had risen from the Jedi Temple and the sight had brought hysteria to Coruscant. The unease was felt in the air. No one dared to go find out what was or had happened but that was about to change.

His feet hit the path with a burst of power and speed as he shot off towards the Jedi Temple. Where there was fire, there was a fight, and a fight meant pay. Sarzul’s brown cloak swirled in the wind, his blaster in hand. Soon he skidded to a stop outside the Temple. Pure carnage met his gaze. The front of the Temple seemed to have been ripped open. Solid chunks of rock 50 to 60 feet high and wide lay sprawled all over the immediate area. Screams rang out through the silence as someone within was relieved of life. Sarzul looked over the immediate area, his computerized mask scanning for life. He found a young Jedi student gasping for air, left to die a slow painful death with a hole directly through his lung. The wound was circular and precise…meant to cause pain; Sarzul gripped the hilt of his blaster and pulled the trigger stopping the child's pain.

As he reached the crumbled remains of the main door his foot slipped on a circular object. Kneeling down he lifted the two halves of a light saber severed in battle. Quickly he looked to find the owner. A Sith or what seemed to be half a Sith was laying a few feet away, blood pouring from his severed body. Several screams rang out through the distance but these were screams of war - cries of blood lust.

Leaping into the opening his blaster fired several times as a Sith lunged at him. The Sith crumpled mid leap, the saber clattering away on the floor. As the wounded Sith rose, the saber slid a few feet then flew back into the Sith’s opened hand igniting in a red flash.

"This isn't my day..." muttered Sarzul.

The Sith lunged again as Sarzul back pedaled, his blaster inches from the tip of the red blade. Instinctively, his hands flew to his electrostaff and the two weapons collided in a brilliant clash of sparks. The sheer power Sarzul possessed allowed him to control the grapple. Slamming their weapons to the side, he spun to the other side. Inches from his head, the Sith’s saber deflected the blow sending sparks flying that briefly disoriented Sarzul. Taking advantage of his stunned opponent, the Sith’s hand flew up throwing Sarzul back into the wall, his staff clattering away as he crumpled to the ground unconscious. Slowly, the Sith let his rage and power flood his system as he raised the blade for the final blow.

The Sith swung and the world seamed to freeze. His arms cleaved off, fell to each side of his body and his look of shock was shortly wiped from his face by one quick strike at his heart, a green blade protruding from his chest.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Gavriel Burndigh

Gavriel was frowning as he returned to his mentor, why would he have been sent off to fetch a water container? This didn't make sense, but then again his master have showed him that he never does anything without a reason. Before he could come into view of the command post he felt a sharp pain and the Force seemed to swell up around him and then dissipate. No! It couldn't be! He wanted to run, but something warned him to get into hiding and he knew better than to argue with insistent pushing from the Force. Finding an opening in the underbrush he hid away and watched from concealment how the troops came rushing past towards the direction he has taken, it would not be too long before they would start to look everywhere for him. He slipped out of his hiding spot and quickly ran over the outlay of the base, it he acted quickly he would be able to make it to a ship and get out of there.

Using all the natural skills taught to him he slipped through the base, he could feel anger and loss prodding at him, but he forcefully pushed those feelings aside, for they led down the path of the Dark Side. Finding an empty ship he quickly slipped into the seat, R2 unit has been removed, but Gavriel knew exactly where he wanted to go, starting up the ship he closed the hatch. Shots rebounds off the side of the ship and then he shoots away, calmly steering into the blind spots of the anti aircraft guns and then up and out through the atmosphere, typing the coordinates into the navigational computer he sat back and activated the hyperdrive. For a moment it looked like all the stars came to stop and then they flash past as the hyperdrive activated.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Kevin Jinzu

Kevin looked down at the Jedi master, he couldn't believe that he got this close, the Jedi masters were the tough ones to kill for a Sith hunter.

"This is Hunter, mission complete"

There is an ominous silence, then a raspy voice comes over his link

"You have killed both Jedi?"

Kevin frowned

"Two? I only found the master here"

"There must be another one with him, find him...now!"

"Yes sir"

Kevin cursed softly as he turned to the troopers

"There was another one?"

"Yes sir"

"We must find him, he was the master's padawan"

The trooper saluted and they all filed out of the space, searching the body Kevin found the light saber and dropped it into his backpack. Not a trophy, but a sign to prove that he did kill the owner. He scanned the room and found that there was signs of a second person, why didn't they warn him? Maybe it was the young man he passed on his way here? Tried as he might he couldn't recall how the young man's face looked like. Why not? In his line of work he noticed and remembered

"We have found him!"

"Get him!"

Sounds of weapons firing comes back over the link

"Damnit, he got away in a ship"

Kevin swore again

"Do you have a trace on him?"

"No sir, it was a ship we were busy repairing, part of the system was malfunctioning"

Kevin sighed then reported to his superior who was less than happy, but eventually ordered Kevin back to the Enclave

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Eriadu was a filthy planet, its natural beauty marred by the presence of extensive dirty industry plants and waste zones. Granted, the planet wasn’t nearly as bad as Duro which had been rendered uninhabitable by a Separatist attack on its industries, but Eriadu was well on its way to being like Duro. The central spaceport of the city of Phelar was no exception as a group of a dozen human men walked across the tarmac of the busy port towards a nondescript shuttle that was waiting for them. Minutes later, the shuttle with the men on board was in orbit around planet, on course to dock with one of the orbiting habitats.

A chime sounded, followed shortly by a vidscreen on the bulkhead activating to show a man in a military-style cut white suit with a bald head, mustache and goatee, and a scar across his right eye.

“Gentlemen,” said the man on the screen. “I’d like to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come make this trip today. However, I am compelled to admit that I convinced you all to make this trip under false pretenses.”

This caused the passengers of the shuttle to look at each other confusedly, with slight murmuring amongst themselves.

“What are you talking about Mr. Galak?” asked one of the men. Moments later, the cabin was plunged into darkness as all the systems seemed to shut down on their own, the still active vidscreen providing the only light.

“What the hell?”

“Talk to the pilot, find out what’s going on.”

“There’s no pilot!”

“What!? How’d we get into orbit without a pilot?”

“Jodo! Explain yourself!”

During the commotion caused by the power going out and the subsequent discovery that there was no pilot in the cockpit, the man on the vidscreen had remained silent, a small grin on his face as he watched his prey start to panic from a distance.

“Very well, Mr. Themion,” replied Jodo Galak. “It is my job to maintain some semblance of balance in the criminal underworld of the galaxy…and no, this is not for my benefit. I leave the Hutts alone because they have their own means of maintaining balance amongst themselves, and they are smart enough to not to try to expand beyond their limits. However, the non-Hutt criminal elements, such as yourselves, are not that smart.”

“That’s where I come in, gentlemen,” continued Galak. “When a planetary criminal organization starts to get too greedy for its own good, it threatens the delicate balance of the universe and must be dealt with. In your case, your organization was bribing high level government officials and getting ready to take control of the planet. That is something that I could not allow.”

“Most governments allow their prisoners who are condemned to death one final request, usually in the form of a last meal or a drink. I’m not that generous. Enjoy the afterlife gentlemen,” finished Jodo, the screen shutting off moments before the men aboard the shuttle realized what he was talking about.

The local authorities would determine later from the wreckage that a catastrophic engine failure had lead to the shuttle exploding shortly after losing power, killing all those aboard, and the media would report it as a small side story to the front page news of the Republic Military seizing control of Jedi starfighter base at the Phelar spaceport, the reasons given by the military as actions necessary to put down a rebellion by the Jedi Order.

But the criminal underworld knew better. They knew that the infamous crime lord Jodo Galak had resurfaced after nearly three years of silence and that he was just as dangerous as ever, and that where he struck next was anyone’s guess.

 

[Wargarble]

IG-116 had been waiting for days inside the room, not moving, not speaking. Buying the extra battery back had been a good idea, even on standby he would have run out of power by this morning, now he had another day or two.

Iggy finally moved when he heard the sound of someone entering the luxury apartment safehouse, reaching down beside him to grab the blaster rifle. Getting into the politicians safe house had been easy, some people put far too much faith in lifeform scanning security systems, and now he would die.

Pilo Mertak, a greedy local advisor by all accounts. He had gone into hiding when the senate was destroyed, fearing he might be next on the list. The fool hadn't forseen that the people beneath him wanted him gone just as badly. The large community and small businesses had pooled money together to pay for this job, apparently he had been preying heavily on them for some time, taking money, issuing threats, and they weren't prepared to take it any more. This day had been a long time coming for Pilo, and it was very hard to hide when most locals knew you on sight.

The Koorivar entered the room and grinned at Iggy as he pointed his blaster rifle at Pilo from the table. "I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you assassin, I have automated defenses keyed to activate on blaster fire" Pilo said, casually slipping off the robe concealing his identity, revealing magenta scales and a large horn atop his head. "I however, will have no such trouble" he drew a small pistol from his belt and fired.

Something small and fast punched a hole through the table as Iggy kicked it into the gun's firing path, embedding in the wall behind him. Iggy dove behind the dividing wall of the apartment, looking to the roof quickly and assessing that the defenses were real. He caught sight of something through the small window on the far side of the room.

Thick clouds of smoke rose from the Jedi temple, "master" Iggy murmured involuntarily.

Half a dozen projectiles punched through the wall beside him and Iggy moved behind the bed for protection. Pilo moved to stand in the doorway, brandishing his strange gun "you can't hide for long assassin". Iggy slowly stood, revealing himself. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Pilo asked rhetorically as he carefully aimed the firearm at 116's head "Don't worry, it'll all be over soo- AAAGH!"

"Just close enough" Iggy said to himself as his arm shot forward, telescoping across the small room to Pilo's outstretched arm, grabbing the hand holding the gun and squeezing down hard, crushing finger bones.

116 let go, retracting his arm. The pistol dropped to the floor, and Pilo dropped to his knees, clutching his mangled hand. "Did you really think I was going to kill you with this?" Iggy asked brandishing his rifle, "I was paid to make sure it doesn't look like an assassination, and it will not".

Iggy walked to Pilo pushed the rifle into his working hand. He forced the man to aim at the window, then pushed his finger down onto the trigger, firing a short burst before quickly stepping back.

"You bastard!" Pilo yelled, swivelling the blaster in Iggy's direction "I'll g-" was as far as he got before the turret defenses activated, dropped from the roof, and blew forty holes in him.

Iggy took back his rifle as the guns retreated into their roof sockets, "to think I was going to have to choke you to death and make it look like a robbery, faulty defenses works much better, and faster for me". He holstered his gun and picked up Pilo's pistol. It was a Verpine Shatter Gun. "You have been digging deep into other people's pockets haven't you?" He stated as he tucked the weapon away in his robes.

It was time to leave. Iggy turned to the shattered window and leapt out.

Only ninety-six floors up, he had limited time to grab onto something. Electromagnets in his arms and legs engaged and he came to a stop, stuck to the side of a bus. He looked through the traffic ahead towards the ruined temple. 'If my masters still live they would be at the heart of this' he thought as the vehicle accelerated. He had to go there and find them.

 

[Wargarble]

Aliph yelled at the worker slowly driving the large crate loaded onto a repulsorlif pad over towards the warehouse. "Hurry up! i don't get paid until that gets delivered!" He urged the man on.

Turning back to the dockside holoprojector, he apologised for the distraction and assured the sales rep that the mining equipment was being delivered as they spoke. The transmission ended and Aliph grinned a moment later as his personal account inflated by a few thousand credits. It had cost him most of that just to get the machinery to Coruscant, but he was making some on the side so it didn't bother him much.

Smoke was rising in the distance, and it made him nervous. There was trouble brewing here and he wanted out as soon as possible. Aliph nearly ran into someone just turning around. He stopped and looked up, "watch it" he warned the stranger, then marched back to his ship.

Aliph stood impatiently by the cargo door, waiting for his contact to arrive. His last item was a sealed tubular canister filled with some sort of illegal ore. Not caring what the stuff was, Aliph had taken the job as soon as he could determine that the stuff wouldn't explode during the trip, and they did pay handsomely.

He sighed and looked around again for his contact.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Gavriel Burndigh

Dropping out of hyperspace, Gavriel made sure that the coordinates was right and sat back as the ship closed in on Dantooine. He was sure that they will come look for him here, so he was going to make sure that nobody who knew him, knew that he was there.

After landing the ship he found a scavenger and after a short negotiation, he sold the ship to the scavenger for just a few creds more than the scavenger originally offered. An easy sell caught attention. Gavriel bought the supplies he'll need and set off into the plains. He just said that he's part of the Research Facility out on the plains and the shop owners didn't ask any further. After a day's search Gavriel finally found the cave he was looking for, it held various Adegan crystals and Gavriel was sure that if he went deep enough into the cave the force signature of the crystals would hide him from any scan that could be forthcoming.

Gavriel started sorting out a space to sleep and also made sure that there was no dangerous creatures living inside of the cave. Finally he sat down and stared into the small fire he had build, he allowed the sorrow of losing his master to come out, but in a controlled manner, he could not dare to slip up now and let emotions get the better of him. After a few hours he felt composed enough to meditate, as he started to relax and opened his mind to the Force, he felt it, it felt like something pulled at his very soul and the cry of anguish echoed through his mind. Gavriel never experienced anything like this and he came from his meditative state shaking from shock, he had a drink of water to calm his nerves and took deep breathes to calm himself. As he thought it over he realized that it had the tinges of the same feeling he had when his master was killed.

How could this be? Could the Jedi really have been killed in such great numbers? And why? Who would be capable of doing such things? Then he realized who...the Sith, they must have infiltrated the Republic and issued some sort of command or proclamation that made the Protectors of the Realm the galaxy's Most Wanted. Gavriel sat down again and started to wonder if he was the only Jedi left then? And by that he also knew that he was only saved by his master's insight of the situation.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Kevin Jinzu

The ship dropped out of hyperspeed and Kevin watched the ship's computer communicate with the port before thinking about his hit. Why would his superior send him after two Jedi? Would he maybe want Kevin dead? No, his superior wouldn't do that, he may be Sith, but he has his own kind of honor.

Entering the Temple Kevin found that his superior was waiting for him, this was rather uncommon, but not uncharacteristic. Kevin bowed down in front of him and the man that was clearly a Sith Master.

"This is Hunter?"

"Yes master"

"Rise Hunter, let me look at you"

Kevin rose, suppressing a shudder as the cold voice slid like ice down his spinal cord. The man stared intently at him and it felt like spiders were running all over his body and then suddenly the feeling disappeared. The Sith master nodded at Kevin's superior and he looked at Kevin

"Return to your quarters, we will debrief you later"

Kevin nodded and walked towards the quarters, when he was sure that nobody was watching him, he slipped behind a statue, took out a sound magnifier which he focused on the two men who was still standing at the same spot.

"He will be the perfect weapon"

"He is close to perfect already"

"That is true, but when we awaken his Force powers he will bring forth a new type of Sith Warrior. What few Jedi remain will not stand a chance and with that type of power we will be able to crush the Empire and take control of the known universe"

"Yes master this will happen"

"It is just the transition from sensitive to user that might damage him, but the reward is worth the risk"

"He will serve us well no matter what master"

"You show pride in this man"

"He is the best at what he does master, before Order 66, he have already killed over 15 Jedi himself"

"And as a Sith he will bring many more to their end"

Kevin have heard enough, he slipped into the dark passageway and put his device away. His superior was handing him over to the perversions of the Sith masters, he could even go insane from it, but his superior didn't even bat an eye at that. The Sith reveled in the more base emotions and Kevin felt a very certain base emotion at that moment: Self preservation

 

[Iroshort]

Ras growled lowly the little Brim bouncing off his midsection his muscles tensing he made a stepped towards the being as he shouted at Ras in a harsh tone. Quickly Tikco leaped off the boxes he was standing on as his cargo was unloaded landing onto Ras's shoulder he closed his eyes letting a relaxing feeling flow from his very soul. His shoulders relaxing he lowly grumbled his unappreciation of the aliens manners instead of ripping it in half as he had originally planed. Sliding from Grock's shoulder he trotted over to the Brim on all fores. His hand lightly tugged on the brims hip as he sat back.

"You really shouldn't insult a Houk.... your lucky i was with him..." With that Tikco turned to leave trotting back to his ship.

Ras was lifting heavy crates onto hover carts that kept coming to help unload. suddenly the smells around the loading docks changed as the wind changed directions pushing burnt flesh and death deep into the people nostrils from the jedi temple. A series of low grunt alerted Tikco to his partners unease he dashed to his side looking up at the black gray smoke in the distance.

"Wow, Ras what dou you think is going on.... are we under attack? i never heard shots coming...."

 

[Jedi_Khan]

“Something seems off about that ship over there,” said a Republic trooper to his squad mates, pointing towards an ILH-KK Citadel-class civilian cruiser that was docked nearby.

“Could it be the choir music pouring out of the open hatch?” replied another soldier.

“Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Who listens to that stuff anymore?” answered the first trooper.

“Alright, cut the chatter. We’ve got a job to do,” cut in the squad leader, as he moved towards the ship in question. “Keep your eyes open. We’ve all seen how dangerous the Jedi can be.”

Lounging on some crates at the bottom of the ramp to the ship was a Zabrak male who appeared to be enjoying the music, if the waving the hands in a dramatic fashion as if conducting was any clue. The man had pale skin, thin tattoo lines on his face, a scar across his right eye, and one of the horns on his bald head appeared to be chipped.

“You there, on the crates,” said the squad leader when there was no outward appearance that the man took notice of their approach. “This your ship?”

“Who wants to know?” replied the Zabrak without opening his eyes or stopping his hands.

“Sergeant Capper of the Republic Military, that’s who.”

“Republic Military, eh? This ship is properly licensed and registered, sergeant. Paid my fees just last month,” replied the man, still enjoying the music.

“We’re not here to inspect your ship, captain. We’re looking for fugitives of the Republic. We have orders to search every ship currently docked at this port.”

“Every ship? Sounds like you’ll need a Jedi’s help if you need to find the fugitives before they leave the planet.”

“The Jedi are the fugitives.”

That got the man’s attention. He put his hands on his thighs, opened his eyes, and sat up, looking at the sergeant.

“The Jedi are the fugitives? How’d that happen?”

“About a standard hour ago, the Jedi tried to assassinate the chancellor on Coruscant and overthrow the Senate. The chancellor survived, as did the Senate, and now the Jedi are fugitives across the galaxy.”

“Wow. I guess all that ‘guardians of the Republic’ stuff was just a load of poodoo,” replied the Zabrak, looking contemplative. “Makes sense now that you’d want to search every ship in this port considering that the Jedi starfighter base for this sector is here. And given the speed you guys are working, I’m guessing that you’ve already secured that base and are making sure that no Jedi escaped. Am I right?”

“Yes, sir, you are.”

“Alright, make your search sergeant,” stated the Zabrak, getting off the crate and proceeding up the ramp. “In fact, I’ll give you a tour of the ship.”

“Your cooperation is appreciated, captain,” said the sergeant, following the ship’s apparent owner up the ramp with his squad right behind him.

“Dicer! Turn down that music!” shouted the Zabrak once getting through the hatch. The music dropped down to a more manageable level in short order.

“I need to ask you a few questions while my men conduct their search, captain,” stated the sergeant, pulling out a data pad as his men spread out to search the ship. “Your name?”

“Aagh Koth.”

“Name of this vessel?”

“Iridonia’s Star.”

“How long have you had this vessel?”

“About ten standard years.”

“Occupation?”

“Self-employed investor.”

“Cargo and/or passenger lists, please.”

“Don’t have them. Don’t take cargo or passengers.”

“Crew?”

“Just me and my droids,” replied Aagh, just as an R2 series astromech droid rolled up the corridor to where Aagh as standing.

“What other droids do you have?”

“A protocol droid with some unusual characteristics, so when your men happen to come across him, have them ignore him.”

“Unusual characteristics?”

“Yeah, I bought him second hand from some nutty dealer. Has a rather sinister look to him and a personality to match. Calls everything that isn’t a droid ‘meat bag’ and has a tendency to ask if he can kill something. Perfectly harmless though.”

“Uh…that is interesting. What is the purpose for your visit to Eriadu? And how long do you intend to stay?”

“Came for business. Probably gonna leave in a few standard hours seeing as how my business is now complete. Successfully, by the way.”

“Well, that’s it. Everything looks good,” said the sergeant as his men started filing out of the ship. “Be sure to let us know if you see any Jedi. And be smart, don’t try to stop them. They are extremely dangerous.”

“So I’ve heard, sergeant. Have a nice day,” said Aagh, giving a short wave as the trooper walked down the ramp and on towards the next ship to be searched.

 

[Wargarble]

Aliph began to panic as troopers appeared at the far end of the dock and began searching ships. He appraoched the man he had bumped into, he and his partner were staring off into the distance towards the smoke.

"Ah, hey, sorry about that" he said to both of them, "a lot of people don't seem to care if they step on a little guy so I take it kind of personal sometimes when people stand too close".

Aliph wrung his hands together in nervousness, eying the troopers slowly proceeding down the docks, ship by ship. "I don't suppose you're here for a pickup?" He asked hopefully.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Kevin Jinzu

Kevin watched as the stars flashed by in a blur, he couldn't believe that it could be THAT easy to escape from the Sith temple, but then again they didn't expect him to escape and that is what made it so much easier. The guards at the docking bay was used to him leaving without clearance that they didn't really react. Kevin was sure that the Sith Master would be rather upset with them, but then again Kevin had forged legal papers that gave him the right to leave the planet anyway. He had the whole plan worked out, first stop will be Taris where he will secure another ship, then off to Belthu where he will steal a ship and if he is lucky he can find a ship on Dantooine. He did think about going to Dxun, but he didn't feel like making a living off killing predator animals just yet, if the Sith kept coming after him he probably wouldn't have much of a choice anyway. He settled in for the rest of the trip and wondered if he could stay out of the Sith's clutches, they knew him, have trained him since he was but a small boy.

"Don't worry Kev, you can beat them"

 

[DeathsKnight]

Gavriel Burndigh

Gavriel spent the entire night, meditating and trying to find an inner peace, when at last he felt relaxed and fresh he got up, donning his brown robe he headed outside, planning on exploring his surroundings and finding out more about the lay of the land.

Gavriel found that there was farmers out here on the plains there were farmers who actually herded the Bol and milked them, there were nerf ranches and some even farmed various spices. Gavriel spent days inspecting and talking to the farmers, always making sure that his face was hidden inside of his hood. During one of his more peaceful wanderings Gavriel noticed that there was something wrong at one of the farms, he walked closer, not wanting to use the Force as it might be traced outside the cave. He found a group of men beleaguering and taunting the farmer, his wife and daughter. Gavriel had a choice, to either mind his own business and walk away or help the farmer and maybe stand the chance of having his identity revealed. The wrong of the situation screamed at Gavriel and he knew that walking away from people in need would be the biggest step he could make towards the Dark Side. Gavriel stepped out of hiding and walked up to the group

"I really don't think you want to do that"

There was some surprised outcries and the group turned towards him, the man who was busy taunting the farmer's daughter pushed through their ranks to confront Gavriel, he was tall and powerfully built yet he carried a good amount of extra weight.

"An why should we listen to ya huh"

Tapping into the man's mind Gavriel replied in an even voice

"You really don't want to do this"

The man narrowed his eyes at Gavriel

"Ya don answer me, then we make you answer"

With ominous chuckles the rest of the group started to move around Gavriel. Gavriel was surprised that the mind trick didn't work, he sighed and looked back at the man.

"I would advise you to not use force as it is not necessary, we can come to a peaceful resolution of this misunderstanding"

The whole group laughed at him and the big man prodded him on the chest with a blunt finger

"Ya think ye're a Jedi? Talken ta us that way"

The man moved to prod Gavriel again, but he calmly moved aside and the man prodded the empty air. He grew angry and tried to grab Gavriel, but a slight shift made him grab air.

"I would ask you to stop before somebody gets hurt"

The man bellowed and opened his arms to grapple Gavriel, Gavriel focused the Force and extended his hand palm outwards towards the man, sending him flying several feet backwards. The group trained their blasters on Gavriel, not wanting to use his lightsaber Gavriel held out both hands towards the majority of the group. There was another shout of surprise as their weapons got ripped out of their hands and clattered onto the ground close to Gavriel. If that didn't show them that they were facing somebody a bit more powerful than them, Gavriel didn't see much of a choice but to use his lightsaber. Gavriel stood there waiting patiently in the sudden hush, he felt like an idiot for having had to reveal himself, but he also couldn't just leave the farmer to suffer at the hands of these men.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Hyperspace had a strange effect on the sentient mind; some find it unsettling while others seem to find a sense of calm in watching the lights flash by. Aagh Koth was one of those people who found calm in staring at the lights of hyperspace. The key to not going stir crazy was to not actually look at the lights, but let the eyes lose focus. This was something Aagh had found out a long time ago.

With the calming effect of hyperspace, Aagh was able to think clearly on the recent galactic events: most importantly, the so-called Jedi rebellion. Aagh saw through the lies spread by the newly formed Empire. He knew that the Jedi had not actually rebelled. Aagh knew that the Sith Lord that he had been searching for had been hiding in plain sight all this time and now controlled the galaxy. It was the new Emperor who was the Dark Lord of the Sith. It was he who had the Jedi executed all across the galaxy.

The Emperor may have done a marvelous job in concealing his true identity from the Jedi, but the Jedi had a secret as well, one that they had kept since the infancy of the Order. That secret was that the Jedi had their own version of a Jedi hunter, but instead of Jedi, it was the Sith that he hunted. That secret had been so well kept by the Jedi Order and the hunter himself that not even the Sith knew of his existence. In fact, most of the Jedi Order didn’t know either; only the elder members of the Jedi Council knew.

The console to Aagh’s left blinked, bringing him out of his reverie. He had arrived at his destination and was about to drop out of hyperspace. Moments later, the lights outside the ship revolved and coalesced into pinpoints of light in the distance, and a green and brown planet near at hand. The remote world of Dantooine floated lazily in space as Aagh brought his ship down into the atmosphere for a landing. Dantooine was an agrarian world with the primary export being foodstuffs and the import being technology.

The presence of the massive agricultural corporations of worlds closer to the Core was notably absent, a fact that was appreciated by the locals and those who sought solitude. There had been a reason why the Jedi Order had established an enclave on the world thousands of years ago, though now the enclave sat in ruins, destroyed by a war and lost to time, and that reason had been that not only was the world peaceful and calming, there was a cave somewhere on the plains that was filled with crystals imbued with the Force. This cave was Aagh’s destination. With the Empire killing off Jedi, it would be only a matter of time before they came to Dantooine to secure the cave for the Sith.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Gavriel Burndigh

Gavriel calmly waited and just as he thought he would have to start doing something, the group started to back off towards their vehicles. Gavriel turned to face their leader who was slowly getting to his feet, he blinked rapidly as he looked at Gavriel and without even a pretense of dignity he ran after his group.

Gavriel watched him go and then looked at the pile of weapons in front of him, then picked up one and fired a shot after them, the round hitting the ground close to them. They all turned and fled, Gavriel turned to the farmer, who came walking to him with wide-eyed wonder

"You're a Jedi"

Gavriel felt a sadness pass over him

"I can just use the force, I am not a Jedi my friend"

The farmer nodded his understanding and together they picked up the remaining blaster. They placed it inside of the farmer's home and Gavriel politely refused the offer to have a meal with them. He had to get to get back to his cave, if those thugs went and blurted out that they ran into a Jedi it would reach the Sith's ears very fast and Gavriel did not want to leave, so shortly after having grown accustomed to his surroundings, but if he had to leave he would.

 

[Wargarble]

IG-166 flung free of the vehicle as it rounded a corner. Pushing off several cars on the way down he hit the ground running.

He ran flat out to the temple and came to a stop at the gaping hole. He detected no movement, but it was hard to tell with the smoke pouring out past the wreckage.

Clambering over the debris, Iggy made his way across the large chamber to the bodies on the ground by a far wall.

A cloaked figure lay with both his forearms severed and a pit carved right though his chest. Only a lightsaber could do this. Iggy couldn't recall if he knew the man's face or not but as he shifted around the body something made a resounding CLANK against his foot. Reaching down, IG-166 brought the object level with his eyes.

The lighsaber sprung to life and a red two foot long blade of energy arced forth from the hilt. Something twitched inside Iggy, two points of logic connected and he recalled something. His masters had used the red, that much he now remembered.

The whole situation screamed of carefully plotted attack. His masters had openly waged war on enemy territory and not so much as a local security officer had arrived to investigate.

It was time to leave. This one had fallen and no other force user bodies were present in the room. They had likely escaped and his masters would be in pursuit.

Iggy tucked the now deactivated saber hilt away within his robes and turned back towards the shattered temple wall, scrambling out of the ruin.

He would retrieve what few belongings he had from his barely used apartment and then make for the the port. The Jedi would try and slip out by extraordinary means no doubt, and when they booked passage with a smuggler so would he.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Aagh never could understand the rationale behind the decision of a restaurant to use mostly synthetic processed foods in their menu when said restaurant is on a world with an economy based on fresh food stuffs. He figured it was meant to appeal to the spacers who are used to eating the food they get out of the synthesizers on their ships. However, on a planet as remote as Dantooine, off-world visitors were uncommon enough to make one wonder how a business that catered to them could survive. Somehow such a business does survive, and Aagh had found the only one on the whole planet shortly after landing.

Inside the little café were the few spacers who were waiting for the goods they transported to either be loaded or unloaded from their ships, whatever the case may be. There were a few locals in the establishment, listening with rapt attention to the tales the spacers had to tell. However, it was apparent that none of them had seen the HoloNews in the past few days, lost as they were in the bubble that was Dantooine.

Time to burst that bubble, thought Aagh to himself as one of the locals caught sight of him and realized he was a newcomer.

“Hey! Welcome mister! Let me buy you a drink while you tell us about the latest news of the Republic,” said the human man, motioning to the bartender to bring out a drink. “How goes the war?”

“War’s over,” replied Aagh, taking the offered drink. A small cheer went up among the people present, especially the spacers who thought that the spacelanes might be safer now.

“But the Republic is dead,” continued Aagh, cutting the cheering off. “The chancellor has declared himself the Emperor and is cracking down on all aspects of life within his ‘Empire.’”

Aagh pulled out a holo-commlink from his pocket and laid it on the counter. He pressed a button and the latest report from the HoloNews came to life, floating above the counter for all to see and hear. It was currently showing snippets of the Emperor’s speech before the Senate as he took control. Among those snippets, there was a brief reminder from the commentator that the Jedi had rebelled and are now wanted fugitives across the galaxy; citizens were reminded to avoid all contact with the Jedi and were to report any sightings to their nearest Imperial outpost.

“Any of you spacers heading towards the Core had best be prepared,” said Aagh, turning down the volume on the news report. “I was stopped by Imperial warships to have my ship searched on three separate occasions, and I was just passing through, coming down the Hydian Way from the other side of the galaxy.”

Aagh sat in silence for a moment to let the news sink in, then drained his glass. As the HoloNews continued to unfold above the counter, Aagh ordered up a stronger drink for himself. He had every intention of making it look like things were about to get tougher for all those present because of the new order.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Braagh was drinking heavily, he didn't want to be reminded about their failed raid on that farmer. If only that bloody Jedi didn't show up, his ears pricked up when he heard the word Jedi.

"Jedi? Theresh a Jedi here on Dantooine"

Braagh realized that he was slurring, but he didn't really care

"Me and shome friendsh wash vishiting a friend of oursh and out of nowhere this Jedi just attacked ush, we barely eshcaped"

Braagh hickuped and the bartender took away his empty glass

"OK that is enough for you Braagh, I won't let you talk that type of talk here and start some sort of man hunt just because you are drunk"

Braagh straightened up

"I'm not that drunk, in fact I'm ash shober as a shenator"

"That is enough out of you Braagh"

Braagh hickuped

"OK OK throw out your paying cushtomers"

Braagh got to his feet and stumbled outside, heading for the house that the gang used

"Bloody Jedi (hic) I kill him next time I shee him"

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Aagh made an excuse of having to go run a couple of errands, picked up his comlink from the counter, left a credchip to pay for his drink, then walked out the door of the bar. He took a few steps, and then got his bearings with a quick look around. Off on his right a few blocks down was the principal spaceport for this region of Dantooine. To Aagh’s left spread out the city of Khoonda, a town large enough to be called a city on this world while being small enough to allow farmers to do business without being overwhelmed.

Aagh spotted the man who had spoken inside the bar staggering away towards the outskirts of town and turned to follow at a discreet distance. Of course, as drunk as the guy was, it was unlikely that he would notice that he was being followed, but as a force of habit, Aagh kept a low profile, varying the distance between him and the drunk and occasionally wandering into a shop or an alley to make it look like he was just going about his own business.

Despite the man’s drunken state, Aagh knew he was telling the truth about being confronted by a Jedi, or at least what the man believed to be a Jedi. What he wasn’t telling the truth about were the circumstances of the encounter. It was the comment about the Jedi that really got Aagh’s attention, which is why he was following the drunk now. With any luck, he would lead Aagh right to his “friends” and then Aagh could start to get some answers.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the man wandered over to a two-story building on the outskirts that just screamed “gang hide-out,” especially with a couple of guys sitting on the front steps drinking, graffiti on the walls, and a few speeder bikes and land speeders sitting in the yard.

Time to work, thought Aagh as he settled into the shadows of the nearest building to the hide-out, nearly a hundred meters away, to watch the comings and goings of the gang.

Aagh made sure that despite the fact that he stood in full view of the hide-out and that it was obvious he was watching them, no one would notice him, let alone see him. It was all thanks to a little trick he had picked up during his travels across the galaxy which allowed him to disguise himself as any known humanoid or as just another section of the wall he was leaning against. It was a trick that he had a unique talent for and one that he used often in his line of work.

And so, unseen by anyone on that world, Aagh stood and observed the gang from the shadows until dusk fell.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Kevin Jinzu

Kevin came out of the ship and looked around, this was probably the last place anybody would look for him. Dantooine. He also made certain that he landed away from any signs of civilization, he didn't want anybody to trace the unmarked ship back to him. It has been a wild chase through the known sectors, he could not turn to old acquaintances as they would call in the Sith and he was on the run again. Finally he got hold of the ship and he could skip out from under their noses and he ran here, to Dantooine, place of an old battle and now a place largely ignored, unless you want food. Kevin went back inside and got his kit, then started working on hiding the ship. When he was satisfied that the ship was adequately hidden he started his trek towards the town that showed up on his map. Hopefully he could just blend in and through laying low escape his pursuers

 

[LeoHawk35]

Leo Darkstalker

The double suns of Tatooine blazed over the desert. Leo was standing just inside the mouth of a cave, staying out of the harsh sunlight. It did not, however, save him from the heat, which still pressed in on him. Leo listened over the communicator built into his mask. He was on an encrypted channel directly to his employer. The man, who didn't give his name, which was perfectly alright, as Leo hadn't given his either, was informing him of the bounty that he was to collect. There was a particular band of Tusken Raiders that were causing trouble around the spaceport. Causing fires, sabotaging ships, and all other things of the like.

Odd that they would attack there, though. The Sand People, as they were so named by the inhabitants of this planet, usually kept to themselves and avoided major civilization such as this. At any rate, Leo was being paid to "take care of" the problem. And by take care of, the man meant to eliminate them. Collection of their Gaffi would be proof of the deed.

"Rodger." Leo said, and ended the call.

He glanced around to make sure no one was around before pulling the tarp off of a speeder nearby. He climbed on it and took off towards the encampment of the Tuskens. It was only a short ride to get there, and he arrived within ten minutes. He stopped the speeder around the corner from the camp so he could scout it out. Find out patrol patterns, defenses, etc. As it happened, there were no patrols or real defenses. There were a couple of the Tuskens leaning against a rock, rifles in hand, looking out toward the desert, but those rifles prooved to be rather inaccurate. Regardless, he would be able to deflect them easily.

Leo finally came up with a course of action. He moved swiftly, dodging from rock to rock, getting ever closer to the camp. There were roughly ten to fifteen raiders in the camp. He would do well not to take them all on at once. He reached a rock not ten meters from the two raiders unnoticed. He drew his two blasters. They were made for assassins, and so were quieter than a normal blaster. More accurate, as well. Leo stood, bringing both pistols up and firing a shot from each. They hit home in each of the tuskens' heads. Easy. He went swiftly to the bodies and collected their gaffi. A tusken had snuck up behind him and was aiming a strike to kill Leo instantly, but a quick left elbow to the creatures gut, followed by a right hammer uppercut proved to be too much for him to handle. He fell and was dispatched easily.

So it happened that there were twelve raiders in the camp, including the ones now dead. The other nine were in the center of the camp. He devised a quick way to take care of them. He stepped around the rock, firing off a series of six shots. They each rammed into their targets, and six of the raiders fell instantly. The final three turned and brandished their gaffi, charging at Leo with a battle cry. He holstered his handguns quickly and his lightsabers, with a little help from the force, dropped into his hands. They each flickered on to a black blade with a dull red core. His left was held reverse style, with his right the traditional way. A block with the left, cross slash with the right. One down. Reverse kick with the right foot, behind the back block, roundhouse, dual cross slash. Two. Left parry, right hand flourish, right spin slash. The final raider's head hit the ground just before his body.

Leo deactivated his lightsabers and placed them back inside his sleeves in the specially designed holsters hidden there. He collected the gaffi from the ground and piled them into a sack, then piled the bodies in a corner of the camp. He returned to his speeder, got on it, and sped back toward Mos Eisley, where he would be collecting his pay. He stopped just outside town, covered the speeder, and walked through the gates. A little persuasion helped get him past inspection, and he entered the city. A short walk to the cantina and he met his contact. The bag and credits exchanged hands and Leo left without a word. He stood in the streets of Mos Eisley, deciding on a way to go.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

After leaving one of his droids a standard hour ago to continue observing the house the local gang used nearly, Aagh now stood outside the entrance to the famous Crystal Cave on Dantooine. Aagh figured that if the Jedi was in the area, he’d either be hiding in the cave to mask his presence in the Force or would otherwise visit on occasion. Such a place as the Crystal Cave would be a rather popular spot with Jedi, not just for the lightsaber crystals that could be found inside, but also for the strong Force presence the cave possessed.

Whatever the case may be, Aagh wasn’t about to enter the cave without first getting a feel for the local Jedi. It wasn’t that Aagh needed permission from the Jedi to enter, it was just a potentially courteous thing to do.

Aagh stood outside the cave for a while, making sure to leave enough of a “footprint” of sorts that when the Jedi came by, he would know that someone had been here and wanted to talk. Once he was sure that the calling card was sufficient, Aagh went back to his speeder and heading towards town.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Gavriel Burndigh

Gavriel felt a presence approaching the cave, he slowly pulled his conscious mind back into his body, waking up from his meditation. He reached out with his senses and followed the approach towards the cave, he got to his feet and waited, if it was a hunter he had to prepare himself. He pulled the hood over his head and gripped the hilt of his light saber in one hand. The being stood silently for a while, Gavriel could sense that it left an imprint of it's essence, then it moved away.

"How curious"

Gavriel cautiously moved to the mouth of the cave, he knew that some beings could shield themselves from the Force, so he stayed as alert as possible. At the entrance he crouched and studied the imprint that the being left, clearly the gang have been talking, but this did not seem like a scouting mission as he had made sure not to leave any trace of his passing. Getting up and melting back into the shadows Gavriel wondered if he should find another hiding place as the rend in the Force had made it quite obvious that so many Jedi was killed that it seemed that Gavriel was the last one left. He sighed deeply and turned to gather his gear, he will have to move, but first he will need to get transport that is heading to one of the more backwater planets.

 

[LeoHawk35]

Leo Darkstalker

Leo heard a commotion inside the cantina behind him. He stepped back inside warily, quietly. The news on the comms channel on the bar was describing the new "Order 66." Apparently the Emperor was seizing control and ordered the execution of all Jedi. Two security personnel aimed their blaster at a figure at the bar who had an oblivious lightsaber at his belt. He drew it quickly and cut down both troopers before they fired off a shot. A nearby bounty hunter shot the man and he dropped to the ground. Leo stepped outside quickly. He had to get away.

He moved towards the spaceport, eyes alert for any figure that seemed to be searching. He turned on the scanner in his mask and listened in to the open comms links.

"What the hell? My men just turned on me-"a blaster shot cut the man off.

"Jedi in the cantina, move, move!"called a security officer.

"Time to move, boys. We have hunting to do."a bounty hunter.

A soldier stepped around the corner and aimed a blaster point blank at Leo.

"Come with me, Jedi." he said through his helmet.

Leo moved quickly. He snapped his left hand up to knock the blaster away and brought his right in to strike the man in the chest. He turned and brought his left foot crashing into the man's stomach. He doubled over, and Leo brought a closed right fist down over the back of the helmet in front of him. The form crumpled to the ground. I'm a Fallen Jedi. he corrected the man mentally. Leo moved into the spaceport without further incident. He snuck onto a nearby ship that was just recently cleared for liftoff. He stopped in the cargo hold and took a seat on some crates marked "Gizka". He clicked on the ships comms channel.

"We are away. Now on route to Dantooine. All crew prepare for warp."

He could feel the rift in the force and could hear the dying screams of thousands of Jedi. He leaned his head back against the wall. The ship slipped into warp space.