HP: Dance of the Veela

Jabba's Palace, Tatooine…

The twin suns of Tatooine were high in the sky when the Canderous flew over the desert sands, the glare was strong but the viewscreen filter protected Haron and Deera as they came in to land at the foot of the palace were Jabba made his home. It might be a former monastery but it was more Jabba's Palace now that anything else.

Seeing Jawas around the palace only made them annoyed as they knew the ship was likely to be stripped for parts with them around, glad of the security system and realised this would have to be a quick visit.

Landing at the foot of the palace the two siblings got out of their chairs and went to the exit ramp, a chest they had filled with golden peggats to pay for what they needed. It would need both of them to carry it but since money was one of the few things a Hutt prized over all else it should get them what they needed fast.

Opening the ramp they each picked up one handhold each and between them walked out, being hit by the intense heat despite the cooling system in their suits. Haron pressed a button on his gauntlet and the hatch closed behind them, another and the security system activated. Turning around they already saw Jawas running towards the ship, some of them he noticed with anger even had tools already in hand to begin stripping it.

His temper already strained by recent events drew his blaster with his free hand and shot the three closest Jawas that were running towards them, the sight of their fellows being cut down on the run like that sent the little thieves running in terror. It gave him no pleasure to do that but he was in no mood for these little bastards to strip his ship the moment his back was turned. Hopefully between that and the security system they would stay clear till their business here was done.

Deera and he continued to walked forward to the large door of the palace which opened for them and the large, dank and dark area beyond. Neither Haron or Deera cared to be intimidated and walked inside, gamorrean guards were scattered around but the siblings didn't care...they were no threat.

Arriving in the so called 'throne room' the air was smoky and music filled the air as slave dancers moved around in complicated dances. Haron and Deera were no fans of slavery and the sight made them sick but they were on Jabba's home turf right now and needed him for now.

The sight of two heavily armed Mandalorians walking into the room with a heavy chest between them immediately got the attention of those within, Jabba himself who had his small son balanced on his arm turned his attention away from the dancers and called out in huttese.

"Who are you? And why are you here?" Choosing to keep their helmets on so Jabba wouldn't recognise them they asked what they needed to know.

"We seek information on a mercenary and bounty hunter that recently did a job on Coruscant, we have her picture and some details." Deera said in huttese and the air remained tense as Jabba considered their request.

"How will you pay for my information?" Jabba said grandly, making sure they knew he was not going to be cheap about this. Haron and Deera, having anticipated this already put the chest they had brought with them and opened it, revealing many gold peggats inside. A murmur went around the room at the considerable sum, Jabba himself looked at it and thought deeply before saying.

"The pictures?"

Haron walked over to the majordomo, a white skinned twi'lek and handed over a small data drive with the pictures on it. Jabba told them.

"One day. And leave the money." He told them and Haron shook his head while Deera spoke.

"The money for the information, when you have what we want...you will receive it." Deera told Jabba and closed the box before the two of them picked it up and walked out as boldly as when the came in. A gasp came over the room but Jabba just stared after them and told his majordomo to see to it.

- x -

The next day after guarding their ship from yet more Jawas who were like piranhas around a wounded animal around their ship they at last were summoned to see Jabba who claimed to have found information on the woman they were looking for.

Standing once again before Jabba they noticed there were far more guards this time but they weren't concerned, between them the chest with the peggats sat. They made sure they were not standing on the Rancor Pit trap door and Jabba's majordomo handed over a small data drive with the information.

Leaving the chest open and behind them the siblings walked out of the palace without a backwards glance, on their way to the ship Haron plugged the small data drive into a small handheld datapad and read what was there.

"Her name is Vysa Mortegsen." Haron said seeing the image matched the woman he had seen on Coruscant perfectly. "She was raised on Nar Shaddaa as her mother managed to become a housekeeper to a wealthy mercenary and bounty hunter. He trained her and when he died she took his ship and equipment and went out on her own. A few other details; she donates a portion of her earnings to a couple of orphanages."

"Good, means she has a little compassion in her...unlike our father." Deera said as they returned to the ship and strapped themselves into the pilot's chairs. Starting the engines they lifted off and headed quickly into orbit.

"At present she is on Ord Mantell, mounting a heist on the Commerce Guild, apparently they have some hidden assets there." Haron said and Deera without answering set the co-ordinates for Ord Mantell, a planet that neither of them wanted to visit given its rough reputation but if they were going to find this elusive sister of theirs then they would have to go and be quick about it or she would slip through their fingers.

Lost Jedi Praxeum, Truuine

The lost praxeum of Truuine had once been a great centre of force learning, set at one of the planet's polar regions it was located at the top of one of the many mountains there which allowed with use of carefully placed stones and cave systems to conceal a fairly large temple ideal for training students and more importantly hiding if needs be.

The cold did not bother Master Rak who as a Bothan had a fur coat to keep him warm as they worked to disguise any outward signs of the temple's existence until it resembled a normal mountain top. He saw he apprentice shivering in the cold despite her heavy clothes and smiled a little.

"We will head back inside soon Maris, fear not."

"I….HOPE...SO!" Maris said with her teeth chattering with the cold. Dear me he thought with amusement, he knew she would enjoy the Teyan Praxeum on Teya IV much more when they were finished here since it was much more temperate.

Ord Mantell, Mid Rim…

Once a major industrial world the surface of Ord Mantell was littered with vast junk-yards and had attracted pirates, smugglers, mercenaries and criminals of all kinds for generations. Local law was often as bent as the criminals they were supposed to be fighting and credits were often king. You could get almost anything here if you could pay.

So docking the Canderous at the most secure dock facility in Worlport, the biggest city on the planet. Full of casinos it would they hoped with guidance from the force lead them to Vysa.

The pair left their ship and rented a speeder from the spaceport and went to the nearest taverns and started asking around. Hours passed without much success but eventually they finally caught a lead.

"She and her crew tried to raid a Commerce Guild place near Old Mantell City, one of them tattled though and they all got caught. Been held there." A local information broker told them after they supplied him a few credits and at last they got back to their speeder and went off as fast as they could.

"I know she supports some orphanages but apart from that, can we be sure she is the sort of person we want in our family? I mean if she even wants to be one of us...our father's actions and all." Deera asked as they made their way to the facility, her tone was guarded not sure if she wanted this unknown woman in their lives. Haron could well understand her feelings as he himself felt the same way.

"Good point, we can't be sure if she is going to be a good member of our family or if she wants to be a member at all but either way we won't know until we find out just what kind of person she is. We open the door, whether she steps through it or not is her decision." Haron told his sister, they both fell silent as they became lost in their own feelings about this situation their horrible father had created and wished dearly that he had been a better person than the man he had been in reality. This new person who they had to call a sibling was an unwelcome distraction from all the balls they had in the air but it was something they couldn't ignore.

It didn't take them long to find the Commerce Guild building, near the ruined city of Old Mantell, a large complex with B1 battle droids on guard. Haron and Deera parked their speeder as close by as they dared and abandoned it to go the rest of the way more stealthily. Activating their jet-packs they flew to the gap on the top of the walls that surrounded the compound and over them.

Perching themselves on top of one the buildings out of sight of the patrolling droids below, Deera turned to Haron and he nodded, reaching deep into the force as they were at last close enough to her for his force tracking ability to find Vysa.

He felt the sensations of her movements, the flow in the force that pushed him towards a building at the other side of the compound. Haron without wasting time started flying towards the location followed by his sister a short way behind. Seeing the door was guarded by a pair of flimsy droids Haron and Deera flew over head and then dropped down, using the force to strengthen their legs and soften the landing. Appearing right in front of the droids the pair tore their heads clean off with their force infused muscles and opened the door to the detention block.

A security desk in front manned by three droids of the same type appeared beyond but Haron and Deera without missing a beat drew their blasters and cut them down with surgical precision until they were all scrap metal. The pair walked forward and while Deera accessed the guest list Haron kept watch for more droids and downloaded a schematic for the building in case they needed a way out fast other than the main door.

"Cell 189, her stuff is in the security locker." Deera told him when she had discovered what she needed and then charged off with Haron following behind her after grabbing the box full of Vysa's armour and weapons from the wall nearby, neither communicating more than necessary and trusting each other completely.

Finding the cell which was sealed by a ray shield they saw the one they had come for inside. She was sitting on her bench with prisoner scrubs on and looking annoyed as she banged her head softly against the wall behind her. She stopped though and looked up to see them standing at her cell door. She looked up at them with resigned anger and said bitterly.

"Well, you humiliated me on Coruscant and now you chased me half way across the galaxy to finish me off! Well don't think I am going to beg you fuckers!" She snarled at them, her anger and rage at this being where her life ended so strong it could be felt by people who didn't have the force. Haron and Deera were a bit taken aback for a moment by how she delivered her words but impressed at her fortitude and without a word Haron deactivated the cell. Deera spoke to her as Haron slid the box with her stuff in it across the floor.

"If we wanted you dead we would have let the Commerce Guild kill you, there's your stuff get moving." Deera told her firmly and Vysa looked at them with disbelief, not willing to trust them but the sight of her armour and weapons was too good to ignore and she dived for the box and threw off her scrubs, Haron averted his eyes while Deera watched her carefully to make sure she didn't try anything.

When Vysa was finally dressed she looked at them and had her two blaster pistols in hand already, Haron and Deera showed her in case she got any ideas that they had theirs out too. She annoyed got out of the cell in time to see a squad of B1 droids coming down the corridor from the entrance and all three without hesitation started shooting.

Vysa surprised them with an extra pair of blasters attached to her armour that independently swung up from behind her back and started shooting the droids with her. It was an interesting addition Haron and Deera thought, impressed at her programming and quick thinking but as more droids poured in through the hole she remarked with sarcasm.

"I see you didn't think a way out was important." She said and they could almost see her bitter smirk but Haron just turned to Deera who consulted her holomap and saw.

"Rear cargo entrance, three hundred metres that way." Deera said and with that Haron said.

"Right, I'll cover as we withdraw." Haron told them and Vysa looked visibly annoyed.

"Who put you in charge?" She yelled over all the shooting but Haron told her firmly.

"Stop being a child and get your ass moving!" Haron told her with all the sternness he had learnt from being a parent and a leader. Vysa looked very insulted but after a moment her common sense won and she along with Deera started running towards the exit while Haron followed a little way behind, still shooting at the droids that dared to follow them.

All three were very physically fit and covered the distance quickly, arriving in the cargo hold in time to see the door closing. Haron and Deera didn't hesitate and activated their packs, Vysa to their surprise too had a pack of her own and all three flew under the gap just as it became a very tight fit to get outside and flew as fast as they could away from the facility till they managed to reach Old Mantell City and hid among the ruined buildings to catch their breath.

"Not that I'm not grateful for the rescue but what do you both want? I doubt it was just for the thrill of breaking me out of jail." Vysa said as they ducked down in the wrecked building to rest. Haron and Deera both felt a great deal of apprehension about this but both took off their helmets so she could see for herself what they had before.

"No, we didn't. We did it because we are your half siblings." Haron told her and both he and Deera looked at her. Vysa was struck dumb for a moment, especially as she saw the same green eyes looking at her that she saw in the mirror everyday, more so when she looked at Deera who was very like her in looks, build and height. The two of them were easily so alike it would be the first thing people thought about them...that they were sisters.

Vysa took a moment before spitting them in flash of anger. Haron who knew it had hit his armour just wiped it off with his sleeve.

"We are not siblings!" Vysa said with anger, her face flush with rage. "My mother had no other children and my sperm donor abandoned us like garbage!"

"We know, we only learned about your existence recently! And believe me we're far from thrilled about this either." Deera told her with anger too, hating not her but the situation. "At least he didn't have your mother killed! Like he did ours." She said waving her hand at her and Haron who fumed silently. The tension in the small space had risen so high it was almost intolerable.

"He might well have done." Vysa said with a shake in her voice as the mention of her father killing their mothers had shaken her a little. "If we hadn't been so lucky we would be dead." She said referring to the kindness of the man that had taken them in and taught her the tricks of his trade, even leaving her his ship, money and equipment so she could strike it out on her own after he had been murdered at the hands of the Commerce Guild.

"Then at least you had that." Haron said sharply. "He pretty much banished me into the galaxy when I was sixteen and left me there with nothing and his selfishness and crimes caused a civil war that me and Deera had to clear up! He also left another half sister behind that we now have to look out for. He was a selfish narcissistic sociopath that cared only about himself, none of us are responsible for this situation but we have to clear up his messes. You are our sister whether you like to admit it or not." Haron told her and Vysa looked so infuriated at the last comment that she swung a punch at him but he easily caught her fist and held it firmly. She glared at him till he let go and the two of them just glared at each other, not able to speak as strong emotion choked them all of words. Deera herself was glaring too before finally managing to say.

"None of us asked for this. We all have had to deal with our father's bad choices, nothing can change that now but where we go from here is our decision. We want to know you, but we won't force it. If you need proof from us that we are serious then we will help you complete your heist." Deera told her and that made both Haron and Vysa look at her in surprise. Committing to a heist was not what either of them had wanted nor had Vysa been expecting it but if it helped them build some kind of understanding and bridge between them then so be it.

Vysa didn't want their help but she reluctantly admitted she would need it to complete her heist, she scowled at her newly discovered older brother and sister who honestly she wished would just disappear and leave her alone but knew that she would need their help.

"Fine." Vysa said through gritted teeth. "I just hope you have a speeder, its a long way to Avilatan island."

- x -

A short while later the three of them were gunning the rented speeder to get to the island. They were all silent, ignoring each other as best they could which was hardly the start of a good relationship but none of them were willing to make the first move. Finally though Vysa had to ask a question that was spinning around her mind and would not stop bothering her till she got an answer.

"Why would you want to know me when all the three of us have in common is a man we all despise? We live completely different lives." Vysa asked them, more calmly than she would have awhile ago as she struggled to come to terms with the fact she had siblings she knew nothing about. Haron turned to Deera who sighed before explaining while Haron drove them.

"It goes a lot deeper than that." Deera said as she turned to face Vysa who tensed a little. "To us, family is everything and you were never given a chance to be a part of ours. None of us have the same mother but we are still family. You have three siblings, two nephews, a niece, two uncles and three cousins. You are part of a family by blood and by deed, we know you give most of your earnings to the orphanages around the galaxy. You are hoping to steal enough aurodium from the Commerce Guild to set up a safe zone for refugees from the Clone Wars. Our cousin has been doing the same thing with our support. Like us you are trying to be a better person than the one who sired us. You might not have been raised as one of us, but you are a Mandalorian at your core." Deera told her and smiled gently.

Vysa was shocked that they seemed to know so much about her but the mention of having a family...of not being alone any more was so alluring. She had been alone for so long now, years since mama and her adoptive father had passed...her misery had been so bad some days she had just lay in her bunk crying. She had a few friends around the galaxy but she hardly saw them since her work took her all over the place, the sound of having a family...people that actually cared whether she was alive or dead was so attractive that she almost wanted to ask more but her distrust from years of living in the harsh galaxy made her hesitate.

Haron felt her discomfort, her longing to know more but something was holding her back so he said to make sure she knew this was entirely her decision.

"Whatever you decide we will respect, if you want to know you can but we will not force it. Know that the door is always open and we will be there." Haron told her with a small smile. Still from the slight upturn of her lips he could tell she was glad of that at least.

Being this close to her let him also tell she did have a little of the force in her, however it was not as strong as theirs but from what he could sense she somehow had managed to channel what power she had into augmenting her body. Making her stronger and faster, more resilient than a normal woman. Had she not Vysa wouldn't have been able to keep up with them so easily and he wished they had gotten to her sooner so she might have developed her gifts more but it had not been that way he thought sadly.

Star Destroyer Resolute, Coruscant Dry-dock…

Anakin was glad of the privacy of his cabin aboard his flagship, he was appreciative of not having the Jedi looking over his shoulder and in some ways it was same in the Senate Building with the Chancellor. While he was glad of the old man's council he could be rather overbearing at times Anakin thought privately to himself.

He had been doing a lot thinking since the events of Maridun, aware that he had nearly crossed a line and that if he was going to continue to use his full nature then he would not always have Ahsoka or someone else there to stop him. He had dived into Revan's writings and found the section about how Revan had once experienced the same thing, his more aggressive impulses getting the better of him until he had come up with his own internal code and committed to it till it had become second nature.

Anakin was struck by that, Revan had created a code based on his own personal feelings and the lessons he had learned during the Mandalorian Wars and despite all that had happened with him becoming a Sith Lord and then a Jedi again he had stuck to it. He had always been himself, regardless what the colour of his saber was.

However it was far harder than he had conceived to come up with a code of his own, he had tried to adopt Revan's but it just didn't feel right and when he realised that the code he would need to balance his own nature was unique to him Anakin had spent a great deal of time in meditation thinking on his past and present not to mention where he wanted to be in the future to find the code he needed.

It had been hard Anakin thought sadly, to face some rather unpleasant truths about himself. He was too rash and impulsive, to quick to anger and too distrustful of some. He had also been so gullible at times that it honestly worried him that he could be so foolish especially when he now had the lives of thousands of soldiers and Ahsoka too on his shoulders. He was her master and their general, he was responsible for all their lives and he needed to be more respectful of that.

That being said Anakin thought with a little pride, he was glad to be daring, brave to take risks and have the conviction to see things through to the end. To stand up for what he believed in and defend his friends and family.

So he had finally come up with a code of his own;

To think before I leap, but not hesitate to action.

To stand for those I love, while honouring what they stand for.

To go where the force leads me, and do what I think is right.

To remember where I came from, so I know where I am going.

Anakin thought it might be too simplistic but when he thought on it, the force seemed pleased Anakin felt with a smile coming to his face and so was he. He honestly felt far better with this person code than he ever had with the Jedi Code or even the Sith Code when he had heard it. This was something unique to him Anakin thought and the force felt more with him than ever when he meditated with this code.

Avilatan Island, Ord Mantell…

The speeder they hired was swapped for a shuttle at a nearby office of the rental company and the three of them flew towards the island were the Commerce Guild held one of their stashes of Aurodium. Vysa had investigated the facility before hand and knew a freighter held the vault for quick evacuation of the goods should it be needed. That would happen very soon when they breached the walls so this would need to be hard and fast or they would lose the prize and be surrounded.

Vysa's plan to get close to the freighter so they could board it before the alarm was raised...Jump.

Jump from high altitude and land on the hull of the freighter itself, specifically by one of the dorsal airlocks so they could gain entry to the ship. Haron and Deera exchanged a look of disbelief at the sheer risk of this plan but knowing this was perhaps the only way to get her trust and they had no time to plan anything else so they would have to do things her way. Rather than risk shooting their way inside or trying to sneak through very tight security they were gambling that they would not detect three small targets coming from directly down.

Putting the shuttle on autopilot the three of them all went to the aft hatch and secured their breathing gear. Vysa had a helmet with a rectangular visor and an air supply while they had their own. At this altitude the air pressure would blast them out the moment the hatch was opened and the descent was going to be fast and dangerous, they all braced themselves and crouched in preparation for the jump, knowing this was going to be intense.

The alarm beeped insistently as if screaming at them to reconsider this but already it was too late as the hatch was blown out and they were immediately ejected from the shuttle and sent hurtling down towards the ground at a far faster speed than they could reach with their jet-packs.

Their suits protected them from the cold and lack of air as they moved down quickly towards the ground, they looked down at the rapidly approaching ground and their HUDs told them the distance as it flew past.

Ten thousand metres...nine thousand metres...eight thousand metres...seven thousand metres.

Haron remained focused as did his two sisters, knowing that if they made a mistake than it meant certain death, they had to flip at the right moment and then activate their packs to slow themselves down so they landed on the hull of the freighter rather than splatter themselves all over it. Haron felt sweat running across his head as he maintained his focus on the task.

Then when they finally reached a thousand metres from the target a pull in the force made him flip upwards and activate his pack, his sisters did likewise so the thrusters on bottom burned fiercely and their descent slowed. It was an uncomfortable as they slowed down but thankfully just as they were about to hit the metal hull of the ship they finally slowed down enough to plant their feet on the hull. Haron and Deera took a moment to catch their breath as they considered the big risk they had just taken but Vysa just ran straight for the airlock nearby. Haron and Deera shared a shrug of resignation before following her.

She quickly broke the code on the airlock and it opened to allow the three of them entry, inside was a group of battle droids in parade formation standing before the entrance to the cargo hold. The droids all drew their weapons but the trio each threw an emp grenade at the droids, a bright blue wave erupted and all the droids shuddered before shutting down. Without waiting the three charged forward up the ramp towards the bridge and burst into the room with such force they caught the two Sullustan flight crew completely by surprise. Vysa shot them both quickly before leaping into the flight control station.

Both Haron and Deera grabbed hold of the door as the ship's engines roar into life, the ship easily lifted off the ground and the g-force was so extreme the dampeners didn't fully compensate and all of them felt a moment or two of extreme pressure as the ship lifted off into the sky at full speed.

The speed was so high it took only a moment for them to reach the upper atmosphere and into space, once there she turned and seeing no ships on the scopes turned to them with an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Thanks I..." She said, not able to find the words. Without them she would likely have never escaped the prison or managed to get the ship before it was moved. The fortune in the cargo hold which she could see on the security monitors over her shoulder was enough to save hundreds of thousands of people by setting up a safe zone. And it was only possible with their help she admitted reluctantly.

"Here." She said giving them the frequency and means to contact her again, before she changed her mind and came to her senses and told them to get lost she thought with nervousness. They looked at her with surprise taking them and then sending her a data burst.

"And here is ours. If you need us, if you want to talk...contact us. We'll be ready when you are." Haron told her gently and she looked down at her own gauntlet with surprise.

It might not be all they hoped for but at least the door was open and they were no longer strangers to each other.

- x -

Reijar, Ordo System…

Luna was enjoying guiding her students through their exercises when she suddenly felt a sensation through the force, something had changed she thought with careful optimism, hoping that maybe things were getting better.

- x -

Secret Shipyard and Factory, Wild Space…

Neville and Hannah were both taking some time to themselves while they toured the new droid, vehicles and ship factories, while the both loved their son dearly he was being rather hard to handle at the moment and they had really needed a few days break.

The sheer size of the complex was incredible and they were very impressed, if it weren't for droid labour though the place would probably only a fraction of the size if it was built at all.

Neville smirked a little along with his wife as the factory was now cranking out ARC-170 Heavy Starfighters and Fang-class light interceptors for the growing fleet, something that still after years of being in the galaxy and travelling over much of it still seemed strange to him having memories of a much more primitive world in his mind.

Still the parts the factories were producing had already been essential in refitting the Dreadnaughts, the old warships were starting to come into service with almost twenty percent of the Katana Fleet now finally fit for service. Forty of the bulky heavy cruisers were now being put into the new expanding fleet, naturally Ordo didn't have the manpower to crew them all and the other allied houses were now sending crew of their own.

It was Neville thought, a risk to allow them to know about the ships since no one in the wider galaxy knew they had the fleet and if the Republic or the Separatists got suspicious about where the ships were coming from then they were going to be regarded as a bigger threat.

But they had agreed to keep the ships out of the known systems for now, training the crews to run them and slowly adding them to the fleet publicly. When the time came they would have professional naval personnel to fly those ships.

All they now needed were capital ships of their own.

- x -

Reijar, the Ordo System…

Ara sat in the main office of the compound and studied the two designs that Haron had managed to recover from Sluis Van, thanks to their experience with the dreadnaughts and the three designs had much in common it hadn't taken so long to get the alternate heavy cruiser and the capital ship variant prepared.

The alternate heavy cruiser was now called the Mirshko-class Heavy Cruiser, it was roughly the same size as the Dreadnaught-class with similar other dimensions albeit with a single flight pod along either side. Each pod had six launch tubes with an open flight deck on either end for quick recovery after or during a battle to help flight operations although large doors could be closed for security if needed. Four large sublight engines drove it forward at a fair speed for its size and it had a crew of eight hundred including flight crew for the twenty four starfighters they carried. So against the dreadnaught it already had significant advantages.

In terms of firepower it was not lacking either with; twelve medium turbolaser batteries, twenty Quad-laser cannons, a rapid fire laser point defence system and six concussion missile launchers. Combined with its powerful shield and armour it was a beast of ship Ara thought with pride.

But the capital ship design took it even further she thought turning her attention to the larger vessel, called the Atin-class it was a battleship/carrier hybrid. At just over fourteen hundred feet long it was built along similar lines as the Mirshko-class with a single flight pod on either side just like her smaller counterpart but the greater size meant her air-wing was much larger with roughly a hundred or so starfighters depending on the classes in question. It had almost three times the number of launch tubes for rapid deployment with a similar open flight deck for quick retrieval and heavy doors for security.

Six large sublight engine units propelled the ship with a crew of sixteen hundred so even it was better than the Dreadnaught-class Ara thought with amusement, it also had heavy armour and a powerful shield grid but it had the firepower to equal nearly any similar ship of its size or even bigger. Twenty four heavy turbolaser batteries, twelve concussion missile tubes, twelve medium Ion Cannons, eighteen medium turbolaser batteries and a strong rapid fire laser point defence system just like the Mirshko-class.

They were formidable Ara thought and just what they needed to fight a war if it comes, the secret shipyard would begin construction on a prototype for each immediately and when completed they would see if they were suitable for not only be a part of their fleet, but potentially to lead it.

Dawn Temple, Spintir…A Month Later...

The high mountain of Mount Tellec was nearly lifeless and very remote, yet it hid one of the Jedi Order's lost temples among its snowy landscape.

Known as the Dawn Temple it had been created as a spiritual retreat for Jedi who were falling too close to the Dark Side or simply needed isolation and time to reconnect to the Light Side of the Force. Hence its isolation and it had been abandoned by the Jedi for many centuries now since so few had need of it.

Still its remoteness and with mentions of it removed from all records it was a perfect hide away for the Jedi now. Having just finished with the Teyan Praxeum they had decided to attend to this temple next.

While the masters carefully worked to restore the damage caused by lack of maintenance the padawans Zule and Maris were exploring the rest of the temple, creeping through the library the two were very excited to see actual holocrons in a special display cabinet and excited spoke to each other.

"I can't believe the Jedi would have just left them here." Zule said, looking reverently at the cube shaped objects knowing their deep knowledge of the force struggling to think just why the Jedi would leave them here to gather dust rather than in the temple on Coruscant to be learned from.

"Do you think the masters will let us study them?" Maris said, eager as she had never actually seen a holocron first hand having spent most of her time travelling the Outer Rim with her master.

"Only if true to the Jedi way you are." A calm and wise voice said from behind them and the pair turned around quickly to see Master Yaddle, the most experienced of all of them at six hundred years old well since none of them knew exactly how old Master Fay was. The female version of Master Yoda looked imperiously at the two padawans who instantly wilted under her intense eyes. "When examined them I have, then maybe study them you can." She told the two and her presence was so strong the two replied quickly at the same time.

"Yes Master Yaddle." The two girls said and fled the room as fast as they could, into another strange room. It was supposed to be shut but the door was ajar and the two girls were so eager to get away from Master Yaddle they didn't even think as they ducked inside.

The girls breathed a sigh of relief as they got away without another censuring only to turn around and nearly jump out of their skins.

At the other end of the dark room was a single solitary stasis chamber with a human male trapped inside. Zule and Maris were both immediately curious once their initial shock wore off and crept forward, not knowing just what was going on here but now wanted to know.

Going over to the poorly lit console nearby Zule activated it and called up the information.

"According to this he is Rav Naaran, he came here to reconnect with the light side of the force only to fall deeper into the dark. He was to be held here until the Council ruled on his fate but the temple was abandoned before the council ruled and he was forgotten." Zule said as she read the display, meaning he must have been here for centuries or more.

"What do we do?" Maris asked, knowing they shouldn't release him if he was following the dark side but whatever answer Zule might have given was stopped from ever being revealed when power to the section they were in was suddenly cut off. The pair paled as they remembered that Master Rak was doing so much needed repairs to the power distribution grid and it necessitated shutting down the power for a time.

The stasis unit powered down quickly and the pair backed away from it slowly, hoping somehow that it would still contain the Dark Jedi in front of them but instead his eyes opened, their unnatural yellow colour frightening to those who saw it and burning with rage as a blast of dark side energy ripped the chamber open and threw the two girls back against the wall.

They got to their feet as quickly as they could and to their horror saw that Rav was free and worse he pulled his lightsaber from a display nearby where it was rather carelessly stored. Igniting it he scowled at the pair of padawans who nervous drew their own sabers.

Rav's single blood red blade sprang into life while Zule ignited her single green blade and Maris her twin blue bladed guard shotos. Holding them in the reverse grip she stood terrified against the Dark Jedi.

Rav charged and swung hard at the two girls who avoided it and Zule swung back with her lightsaber but he easily parried it and went to counter-attack but Maris managed to use her shotos to intercept the blow and Zule tried to blast him back with the force but only managed to push him back a few feet. The two girls with sweat running down their foreheads and stood ready when suddenly a telekinetic wave struck Rav and forced him back. The padawans turned to see that Master Fay was standing at the door although when she had arrived neither had noticed and Rav struggled hard to repel the wave but he was forced back by the sheer power of it. Flying at great speed he was impaled on the jagged metal of the broken stasis unit.

The padawans watched with horror as the man bled to death right in front of them, they were almost held prisoner by the sight until Master Fay put a gentle but firm hand on each of their shoulders and guided them out of the room.

"Death is never an easy thing to face but he is one with the force now, take some comfort in that." She whispered gently to them as she guided them back to their masters.

The Senate Building, Coruscant…

His sneaking off for his own private little side mission and a small trip home hadn't gone unnoticed by those who kept watch but none of them knew the reason and to be honest Haron was happy to keep it that way.

Still there was a distraction when he learned of what had occurred on Malastare in his absence.

"This thing hibernated underground for thousands of years and woke up when the Electro-Proton Bomb was deployed?" Haron asked Colonel Gascon who had been briefing him on all he had missed in the short week he had been away, glad that he had already sent the plans to his family in case it proved useful. The small military officer nodded and told him.

"It's scales are nearly invulnerable, either to blasters or even a lightsaber! They call it the Zillo Beast, its currently on its way to Coruscant so it can be studied, hopefully we can find a way to copy its impressive scaled armour." Gascon said, sounding intrigued at having armour that strong for their forces.

Haron however was horrified at the idea, especially when he saw just how difficult the damned thing was to take down the first time.

"Are you crazy!?" Haron said suddenly with disbelief. "Do you have any idea just how much damage that thing could cause if it gets free? On Coruscant?" Haron pressed, a creature of that durability and size could inflict tremendous damage to the buildings here not to mention potentially millions of casualties. Why not send it to a research centre on another world with a smaller population or better still no population at all? Why did they have to bring it here?

"Security will be very tight I am sure." Gascon told him but the mention of damage being caused and around them no less had him spooked a little.

Haron meanwhile left the room to go and make a very important call. The danger of Palpatine's future Empire having armour as effective as that, able to resist blasters and lightsabers was something he could not ignore Haron thought with worry, his people had the best blasters in the galaxy but even they wouldn't be able to penetrate those scales!

So he would have to make sure they didn't get that chance.

Arriving at his ship and making sure it was safe he sent a coded data burst to Reijar, giving a quick description of the situation and what he needed to resolve it. A short moment later he received a response which told him that his message was received and understood, resources were being allocated to the task immediately.

- x -

When the Zillo Beast did finally arrive on Coruscant Haron was taken aback at the great beast when he first saw it. Standing with Palpatine as the creature was moved off the ship he was glad Duchess Lila Kast wasn't here as the old huntress would not have rested till she had hunted this creature and killed it given how fearsome it was. Mind you Haron thought the woman had problems of her own as her great-niece Rook Kast had just defected to Pre Vizlsa. It had shamed her greatly but the girl had made her choice and was now excommunicated for it, at least though he could take comfort in the fact that Rook was not the heir and never would be as Lila had a granddaughter who would one day inherit her seat.

He was only wishing that they hadn't gotten the creature here so soon, he and his people had hoped to deal with it before it ever got to Coruscant and now they would have to be more creative Haron thought with annoyance. That was only added too when Mace Windu came over with Anakin.

"Your Excellency, Duke Ordo." Anakin greeted and Haron returned it with a nod as they all turned to look at the great beast as it was being unloaded.

"Such size! Such Power!" The Chancellor said and in that moment Haron could almost hear the Sith Lord coming out from behind the kindly statesman mask Palpatine always wore. He was careful not to react to it though as Mace Windu spoke, voicing many of the same concerns that Haron himself held.

"With respect Chancellor, I feel having the creature here poses any number of dangers. Bringing it to Coruscant was a mistake." He said and the irritation was visible on Palpatine's face at that and for once Haron was in complete agreement with the senior Jedi Master.

"Oh I can assure you that I did not make this decision lightly master Jedi. The sooner we can unlock this creature's secrets, the sooner we can end this terrible war." Palpatine said to reassure them and Windu with the same sense of foreboding as Haron himself said back.

"I hope you are right Chancellor."

The group turned to see a Bivall scientist named Doctor Sionver Boll approach them.

"I am turning the Zillo Beast over to you Doctor, I trust it will be given good care." Mace Windu said and the Doctor was quick to reassure him of that.

"The Beast is a priceless resource Master Windu, it will be well treated I assure you." She said with seemingly genuine compassion for it.

Haron meanwhile was caught with sympathy for the creature, it had not asked for this nor to be awakened but here it was and yet here it was. He was forced to stifle that though as he could afford to allow his compassion to influence his decision. There was far too much at stake for that.

Haron quietly inspected the facility and personally did not feel the security measures were strong enough to contain the beast, he kept silent about that though as it was not yet time to make his move.

- x -

At dusk that evening Haron was working it his office, or at least giving that impression as he pondered over just what he was going to do about the Zillo Beast when a security alert arrived on his screen.

The Zillo Beast had escaped!

He immediately grabbed his helmet and shoved it on as he quickly checked the security feeds and was stunned to see how easily and how quickly the strange almost tentacled creature moved through the planet wide city, easily scaling buildings while smashing pathways and bridges and more into rubble while conventional security forces were powerless to stop it. Looking at its course it was clearly on a direct path to the Senate Building Haron realised and wondered just why it was coming here? It could have gone in any direction but instead of fleeing from them it had instead pressed to their very heart.

He ran out of his office, followed by his warriors as they rushed to the Chancellor's Office, arriving just in time to see the enormous beast's strange luminous green eye staring hatefully at the Chancellor. Haron knew animals did have the ability to recognise a threat but the way it singled out Palpatine and glared at him with such unyielding hatred made Haron wonder if the Zillo Beast far more intelligent than they ever gave it credit for.

The sudden and almost deafening roar the beast then gave shook all of them and they all ran for the door. Running as fast as they could down the corridor until they reached a shuttle to escape in as at least the creature couldn't fly.

Haron and his warriors however was cut off as just as they were getting to the shuttles, the beast found them and smashed its enormous clawed tentacle down and separated them from the others. Seeing this made all of them stop and look on as surprising the creature went straight after the shuttle and ignored them completely.

"Take to the skies, strafe it but watch those limbs." Haron ordered and with the rest of his warriors activated their packs and leapt into the air. Once there they started shooting their blasters at the creature which they quickly realised didn't even tickle the creature, it honestly didn't feel them which honestly worried them more than they could say. However the creature did turn its head and see them, swiping hard with one of its long limbs and Drex, one of his people wasn't fast enough to get out of the way. Seeing one of his men splattered on the roof of the Senate Building infuriated Haron who saw the body of his warrior slip downwards.

"Retrieve him." He ordered Moria who nodded and flew down after Drex's body while the rest of them fired their missiles on the creature only for it to shrug them off too and send another swipe at them. Haron cursed under his breath, wondering if he might have to try and use the force on it but realised doing so with the Jedi so close not to mention Palpatine would surely mean detection.

So he made the one call he didn't ever want to make.

"Stay clear this thing is invulnerable." He told his warriors who all looked at him astonished but did as they were told and turned to fly away. Looking down though Haron saw that somehow Anakin, Padmé and their two droids were now on the roof of the Senate Building and Haron ducked down with his warriors, scooping up the small party along with Palpatine and a single Senate Guard who had survived, carrying them away.

Haron wished his man hadn't grabbed Palpatine, recognising this might have been the one chance to kill him but he gritted his teeth knowing they could do nothing now and flew the party away as the Zillo Beast was distracted by gunships and a pair of very brave or very stupid Jedi running up and down its scaled back. Haron and his warriors landed near Windu in the square nearby where an arsenal of vehicles had assembled.

"Thank you my friend. Your rescue was most timely." Palpatine told him and feeling very much like a fool for not taking the opportunity to end him Haron managed to act graciously.

"Any time. But can someone please tell me how in the hell we are going to deal with that?!" Haron asked pointing to the Zillo Beast which was thankfully now distracted by the gunships.

"I have had Doctor Boll adjust the liquid fuel from Malastare into a gas which can be launched in missiles. As soon as they arrive, they will deal with it." Palpatine said looking a little unsettled by the creature as it thrashed around, smashing some of the gunships that got too close.

They all watched silently as the gunships arrived with the gas, surrounding the beast with green gas, the roar the creature made as the gas overcame and finally killed it was strangely sad and all of them felt a little sorry for the creature although Haron kept his emotions hidden, glad though that its rampage was finally over.

Listening to Palpatine after a gunship finally picked them all up however made a dark expression cross his face. He overheard Palpatine give the order to Doctor Boll to clone the Zillo Beast and as he looked at the broken body of one his best warriors as it lay there with Moria he swore that this was never going to happen again.

- x -

Transport Ship, Unknown Location…

Doctor Boll was standing on the bridge of the transport that was taking her and the body of the Zillo Beast to a more secure location so they could clone the creature, her anxiety about this especially given her sympathy for the poor beast was hard to bare but what else could she do she reassured herself. The Chancellor had been so clear in his orders, it was her duty to obey them.

She looked at the clones who were piloting the ship, she wondered if they felt the same about fighting in the war? Did they regret all the things they had likely done? She dared not ask them though as she was afraid of what they might say.

Just as they had stopped to change their course though to throw off any pursuers the hyperdrive suddenly went dead as an explosion rocked the ship. The clones and the doctor were shocked as they were thrown around the cockpit but had no time to recover as Mandalorian warriors quickly opened the door and without any mercy shot all three of them down.

The Mandalorians now had complete control of the ship having attached the cloaked Ordo's Revenge to her before she even left Coruscant and waited till the ship was alone before striking. They took a few samples of Zillo Beast DNA so it could be studied but right now they were going to follow their orders to dispose of the creature and all evidence of their involvement. Breaking the data recorder they set the autopilot for the nearby sun and set the computer on a timed delay so they could evacuate.

Returning the to the corvette through the hole they had cut in the hull they detached and watched as the ship's computer steered the ship straight into the sun. Even the creature's impressive scales wouldn't survive that.

Duke Ordo would normally have led this mission himself but he was taking the body of their fallen warrior back home for burial, he like them had no interest in studying the creature, trying to use it to benefit themselves.

Let the beast end, let it rest in peace and make sure that their potential enemies never gain something that could be used against them.

The Senate Building, Coruscant...A Couple of Weeks Later…

Haron had returned with his warriors after a quick visit home to see to Drex's funeral and choose a new member of the security detail. It was sombre and hard time for him and his people as thanks to the Republic or rather Palpatine they had lost one of their own. But they had to carry on, what was at stake was too great to just walk away.

So they stayed on and continued to expand their spy and information networks while observing the Republic, while he had seen nothing Haron himself had heard the Chancellor was infuriated to hear the ship carrying the Zillo Beast had disappeared without trace. Haron managed not to smirk but he was just glad to have prevented a repeat of what had happened only a few short weeks ago and to have avoiding Palpatine obtaining such a powerful asset.

Still the political world didn't stay still for long and the Chancellor used clever double back talk and the on going war to distract everyone and soon enough the public had all but forgotten it. It never failed to amaze him how quickly people can forget, disturbed him too.

But right now he was watching as the 2nd Battle of Geonosis began, frowning at how quickly the Separatists had apparently retaken the planet and the sheer scale of resistance from the natives as the Jedi led taskforce led the attack. Anakin was doing better than most Haron noticed with far less casualties than Kenobi or Mundi, however he grimaced at the scale of the losses they were taking and wondered if he should have been more involved in the invasion but he wasn't here when it was being planned.

Haron decided not to interfere since the invasion had already begun and was proceeding well enough, if he saw it going wrong he would perhaps offer his skills but for now he would leave it to the Jedi. So instead he turned his attention to other campaigns elsewhere around the galaxy.

Arkania, Colonies Region…

The harsh tundras of Arkania drew many for its vast mineral deposits and diamonds which could be found here but a more secret treasure was concealed deep within the wilderness.

One of their greatest masters, the legendary teacher, watchman, a champion of his own people and many others...Master Arca Jeth. The legendary Jedi master whose accolades were as lengthy as any of the great Jedi heroes of the past had established a Jedi Academy here to past on his wisdom to his students many of whom would become legends in their own right; Tott Doneeta, Ulic Qel-Droma, Cay Qel-Droma and even Nomi Sunrider herself. And they were just some of the more famous examples.

As the two younglings dressed in their cold weather gear stood in the ancient structure they could almost feel the history that had happened in this place and the wisdom that had once filled it. It was a simple and small two story building, far less grand then most Jedi Temples they had seen so far but its remoteness and the forest that they were surrounding it with would ensure its protection and secrecy from the wider galaxy. The limited art was still vaguely visible on some of the exterior walls but it would be near impossible to repair due to lack of care and exposure to the elements.

Zule and Maris were still trying to come to terms with what had happened at the Dawn Temple, they had fought and seen a Dark Jedi killed right in front of them and it troubled them deeply. Master Fay had spent many hours trying to help them and it had been easing their unsettled minds as their masters had little time for them at the moment. However since the incident they were now not allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone. Today they were helping Master Kuro, shifting through the ruined buildings just in case something might be hidden here.

"Now, we found these scrolls and a pair of previous unknown holocrons made by Master Jeth prior to his death in a sealed and secure vault." Master Kuro told them sternly and indicated the pieces in question. "What is this?" She said pointing to a fairly large white crystal that had been with them.

"It's a meditation crystal, used to heighten your connection to the force." Zule said quietly, intimidated by the rather infamous master. Master Kuro nodded and told them both staying stern.

"Indeed, it is a priceless find and will be kept here safe in case it is ever needed. But since our work uses nature to disguise temples from prying eyes you will be learning plant control...from me." She told them sternly and the two of them were at first excited to learn the rare and incredible ability to manipulate plants through the force. Only a handful of Jedi had ever managed to do it and it was awesome that they might soon be among them but the fact that they were going to learn from Master Kuro who was known as the Dark Woman for a very good reason scared them both.

Sweating they followed her outside and nervously stood there in the cold as some of the few plants they had around were placed in front of them.

"Right plant control is a skill that relies on connection to other beings and so don't bother with normal Jedi mantra, it simply holds you back here. You have to be able to feel the force within the plant to be able to connect with it and when you manage that you can control it this will also help you master animal control as the principles of the two abilities are the same. Now begin, you will not leave until you have completed this task and for every hour you fail you lose a piece of clothing." Master Kuro told them and with the sheer cold around them neither wanted to even lose a coat let alone anything else in this place, so they did exactly as she said.