Chapter 31 – A New Order

Synopsis: A renegade Jedi has a force vision of a pair of powerful Force Sensitives and sets in motion events that will see the rise of a new order. Her actions will have a profound effect on the future of many worlds.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Star Wars and I make no profit from this work of fan fiction. I am in the debt of its true owners as they have been the creators of worlds of fiction that millions have enjoyed. All Hail to JKR and GL!

Chapter Warning – There is a brief, non-descriptive implication of a sexual assault. There is nothing graphic mentioned, but I thought a fair warning should be given.

And sorry for the delay - took a while to get my muse back on this one.

Last time:

He needed a new Apprentice. He needed new hands to do his bidding. To lead a strike force designed to target and harass his enemies, to spread terror and fear would work toward his goal of gaining the time he needed.

Until then, he would need to secure his new 'borders' and seek out the inevitable weaknesses among his enemies.

He relaxed slightly as he realised that he had time.

As for Sev'rance, if it was his former 'Apprentice' then she would need to be dealt with. Perhaps the promise of his favour would motivate his minions.

oOoOo

Chapter 31

Obi-Wan could feel the droid Lena's eyes on him as he poured himself a cup of water. "Is there something the matter Lena?"

Lena's eyes narrowed as she considered the Jedi Master, "Talia vouched for you Jedi. She's a wonderful girl, smart, powerful and trusting…too trusting sometimes. Don't prove me right Jedi."

"Duly noted," replied Obi-Wan.

Lena didn't reply, instead offering a raised eyebrow before she stalked off.

"That really is an amazing piece of engineering," said Anakin as he watched from the nearby doorway.

"Yes, I suspect she is. She is also rather suspicious of our motives. I rather suspect that if she feels we are a threat our welcome would be quickly worn out," replied Obi-Wan.

"I wonder why it dislikes Jedi so much?" Anakin mused as he poured his own water.

"She," stressed Talia as she walked in. "Has had some run-ins with the Jedi over the years. Some Jedi seem to be rather offended by a droid having Sentience programming much less evolving it further. To make things even more…interesting, most of Lena is biological in nature, just not human."

"I meant no disrespect Talia," replied Anakin. "Most droids don't really have genders beyond some programming choices. It is interesting to meet one who does."

"She's rather special," said Talia with a slight smile. "She is also a splicer of prodigious talent and I've asked her to try and find Maul."

"Even a lead would help," agreed Muln.

Before Talia could reply, the Adepts, led by a grinning Harry walked in.

"They are almost back to Haven, just a few minor injuries and they got the prisoners out," explained Harry.

Talia looked relieved, "Excellent news, now we just have to worry about a lead. If there is anything out there, Lena will find it."

oOoOo

Haven

Jedi Master Luminara Unduli did not hesitate when the injured survivors started to be unloaded. While she was not a healer, she had some experience in battlefield triage and she had learned something from her healer colleagues. Moving to help, she was checking over a young woman sitting with a very young child when she heard her name being called.

Adept Granger and the Jedi Healer Alyssa were approaching her.

"How is she?" asked Hermione.

"The little girl has a rather bad burn on her left arm," explained Unduli. "Although I have not yet finished looking her over."

Alyssa nodded and pulled out a wand from her belt, "A burn is easy enough." Alyssa pointed her wand at the burn and made a circular motion with it, "Sanas ardeatum."

To Unduli's surprise, the burn immediately began to diminish in size. In a few moments, it was simply a slightly pink area of skin.

Alyssa smiled, seemingly pleased with the result, "Good she has healed nicely but it may still itch for a few days. If she is uncomfortable or unsettled, please bring her to the medical station."

"There Kara, all better!" Looking up at Alyssa with a relieved expression she slowly stood. "Thank you so much, where should we go now?"

"You and your…?" prompted Hermione.

"My sister Kara, I'm Letti."

"Well Letti, if you and Kara make your way to the big green tent Mister Lupin will help you get settled," explained Hermione as she pointed to the tent in question.

"Thank you so much," said Letti as she carried Kara to the tent.

"You are a skilled Healer," said Unduli.

Alyssa inclined her head, "Thank you Master Unduli. I think we had best get moving, there are plenty more that will need a look over."

Unduli nodded and followed the younger women. Alyssa's force healing had been rather impressive. Not many Jedi healers could match the speed of the healing.

She helped Hermione and Alyssa as they moved through the injured new arrivals, soothing injuries and ensuring that all were treated. Soon enough they were done and moving toward the green tent. Inside, several of the new arrivals were gathered around Lupin and Black who were walking through what would happen next. Off to the side, an older man was talking quietly with the Chiss Sev'rance.

Unduli quickly hid the frown that appeared on her face as she considered the former Sith. While the Adepts had not mentioned her former adherence to the Sith, Unduli had recognised her from intelligence reports seen early in the war. She was certainly a powerful presence in the Force but not in the way Unduli had feared. Instead, she felt like many of the Adepts she had met already. A mix of light and dark, Gray Jedi.

Her training told her that Gray Jedi were Force-users who walked the line between the light and dark sides of the Force without losing themselves to the dark side. They were looked on with distrust by the Jedi High Council who deemed them renegades who existed outside of the strictures of the Jedi Code. There were however many individuals and even small groups like the Gray Paladins who managed to walk the same fine line as the Adepts. But, despite their examples, she also knew of many who fell into the dark. To see the reverse, a Sith redeemed to the point that she was Gray…well it was interesting and something the Adepts should be proud of.

While she was thinking, the wizard Ted Tonks had walked up to her, "Master Unduli, would you care to join us?"

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "For?"

Ted grinned, "My wife is cooking, and Sirius suggested that we share a meal. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you, after all, you are a Jedi and my people are helping them out. I would be rather pleased to get to know you a bit better. Anyway, there are a few of us getting together with Wend, the Force Sensitive we rescued and his family."

"I would be pleased to attend," said Unduli with a genuine smile. She had been well aware that she had not been fully trusted when she arrived on Haven. With the situation being what it was, she had tried to show her willingness to help and accept what she saw.

"Good, I'll have Remus pick you up, say seven?"

Unduli nodded and the wizard soon disappeared back into the crowd.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the newest arrivals.

oOoOo

Lena hadn't reappeared, and Talia had gone looking for her, eventually reporting back to the others that the slicer was calling in all her contacts and it might take several days. With that, the Jedi had retired to their ship and the Adepts had made their way to their beds.

It was a relief for Talia that the Jedi had not pushed the search timeframes. There was a reason that Lena was the best in her field. If Maul was hiding using the Force, then Lena became the search option most likely to bring results. Yes, the Jedi had shown some concern about the timeframe, with the newest Jedi in their group doing little to hide his suspicion. Thankfully, his attitude seemed not to be shared by Obi-Wan, Anakin or Ashoka.

Several hours later, Talia awoke as Lena slid into bed beside her. Before she could fully wake, Lena snuggled in to her. "Go back to sleep love."

"Hmm…anything?"

"Not yet, but it will take a while to get all the data. So, sleep my love, I'll keep an eye on everyone."

Talia let Lena spoon in behind her and shut her eyes.

oOoOo

A piercing scream woke Talia and had Lena rolling out of the bed. Before Talia could do anything, she felt a wave of pain and concern from Harry and Luna.

"It's Harry and Luna!"

oOoOo

Luna drifted as she slept.

Letting the flow of the Force direct her consciousness. It was entirely different to more focussed Force meditation. More ethereal, indeed mostly she just saw images and felt emotions…occasionally she sensed something that jolted her awareness enough that she would pay more attention.

…despair…anger and hate…loss…

…dozens, no hundreds of Dark siders liked they had faced on Mandalore. The Emperor's agents. Luna could sense them searching for the Emperor's enemies. Looking for the Jedi and her people…

Luna was paying attention now.

…a giant construct…an artificial crescent moon…unfinished…

What was this, the image was blurry…was this the past, the now or a possible future?

…pain!...

Luna's back arched as pure pain assaulted her. Evil, the Dark side…she was immersed in it.

…She was looking at a planet through a huge viewport. In front of her an aged, withered Palpatine stood beside a figure in black robes. At their feet, a middle-aged woman with a tear-streaked face and angry eyes glared at Palpatine.

"You are insane! You cannot do this."

Palpatine's expression was sinister as he smiled coldly. "Oh, but I can. Lord Victus, inform the Grand Moff that he may fire at will."

Luna could only watch as the hooded figure pulled the woman to her feet. "And so, your planet dies…how does it feel to know that you are powerless to stop it?"

There was a strange hum and then a beam of light struck the planet below.

"Nooooo," screamed the woman as she went limp in her captors' arms.

"And so die all traitors," hissed the figure as he let the woman fall to the floor.

"My family will avenge our world!" said the woman as she forced her shaking body to her knees.

"Perhaps…oh but wait. They are dead, so no, I don't think so," the figure gestured, and a hatch opened to reveal a dozen clone soldiers in odd white and black armour. Each was dragging a battered corpse.

"Lilah…Tran…no, Force no…" the woman's pleas were cut short as the dark figure gestured and broke her neck.

"Good work my Apprentice, now we must prepare to face the more militaristic worlds. Our next victories will not be so easy," warned Sidious.

"Thirty-Billion dead, soon we will crush the traitors and the Sith Empire will be reborn!" said the black cloaked figure as it reached up to throw back it's hood.

He was older, several decades at least but he was recognisable.

Ron Weasley.

"And Earth Master?"

"Patience Apprentice, we must first pacify our new territory. Then you will be ready to face the Potters. They have grown strong as we fought." Palpatine gestured and an image of Harry and herself appeared. A moment later they were fighting alongside an older, bearded Anakin Skywalker.

"Do not underestimate the Potters, my Apprentice. They have eluded us for decades and defeated your previous incarnations were relentless monotony," said Palpatine with a touch of scorn.

"They will not defeat me! I am the penultimate…I will be the ultimate Sith!"

Palpatine laughter was cutting, "Perhaps. Now, on to our next target. New Mandalore will make an excellent example."

Luna was still being buffeted by emotions. The echo of Billions of lives being snuffed out. She tried to will herself away from the vision, but the pain continued to build, and she began to scream…

"So pitiful little sage."

The pain stopped and as Luna opened her eyes, she found herself facing a figure in the black armour she had seen in many visions.

A Mah Vey.

"Regrettably I cannot touch you in this place Seer…else I would end you."

"What do you want?" Luna asked as she studied the Mah Vey.

"Nothing, I am simply observing. In this future, we are still fifty years away and yet we have still weakened your galaxy."

"Well then, we'll work to make sure this future does not happen."

"So passionate, a pity that you are a creature of sin and stunted abilities. I shall have to prepare a special punishment for you and Potter. You might be immortal but even immortals can die girl." He smiled but Luna was not deceived because his eyes were not smiling. They were full of malicious intent. "So arrogant…so assured of your victory," said the Mah Vey with a sneer.

"As well she should be, you soulless blight on the Force," said a figure in black and red armour as it moved to stand between Luna and the Mah Vey.

"The great General or is it the dead Emperor?" questioned the Mah Vey in a mocking tone although it retreated a step.

"General will do," replied the figure. "Return to your body Adept. He is using a trick, called Force projection to try and make you doubt. The longer he keeps you here, the better read he has of your Force presence. Sadly, his true body is too far away to actually turn the table on him, and his projection is intangible…although it transfers pain to his real body."

Luna was trying to break out of her Force vision but could not seem to free herself.

"It's too late, I have you now. You are….arghhhgh." The Mah Vey was thrown backwards as white-hot Force lightning crashed into him.

"Go Luna, I will hold him here until he is forced to retreat," said the figure as it, he realised Luna, continued to bombard the screaming Mah Vey.

"Its hold is weakening," whispered Luna. "Thank you for your help."

The figure grunted, "I am paying a debt that is long overdue…from my perspective anyway."

"Who are you?" Luna asked as she felt herself start to slip away. Then she knew who it was, who it would be before he passed into the Force. "Thank you, Maul."

'…LUNA…'

oOoOo

Luna awoke to see Harry, Talia and Lena leaning over her and Sahdra and Velath by the door.

"You were screaming before beloved," said Talia as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"A Force vision master, it was…painful. I did, however, see several things that I think I need to record." Luna shook her head as if to clear it. "We really need a pensive."

"Next time we speak I'll ask Arthur to find one for us," said Harry. "What did you see?"

Luna sighed and shook her head. "I was Force walking and I think I saw a glimpse of a possible future. At first…"

When Luna had finished, the others were looking as worried as she felt.

"So, you saw some sort of superweapon, but it was several decades from now. It might explain why Palpatine seems to be pulling back. He's consolidating and protecting his forces. He can't afford to waste ships or troops if he is planning some sort of super-station." Talia was speaking softly, her face thoughtful. "I once had a vision of a metal moon. I had thought it was something to do with the enemy. Now I wonder if it is this station."

"The resources required to build something that big are astronomical," added Lena. "I mean a space station, the size of a small moon that was mobile. Hundreds of trillions of credits. I can make some discreet enquiries, see if anyone has heard anything," offered Lena.

"Hold off just yet, we don't want anyone knowing we are looking. I don't imagine Palpatine wants anyone knowing about it. Even some of his supporters might balk at the idea of a planet killer," said Talia.

"I wonder why Maul helped," said Harry. "You are sure it was him?"

Luna shrugged, "Positive, he was older, quite calm…he reminded me a bit of Vectivus. Dark but centred."

"And why would the Mah Vey assume you were immortal, I mean we age slowly but it seems an odd thing to say," mused Harry.

"I am more concerned with other revelations. That the Sith are searching for us is no surprise but why did Luna see them in a vision that seems to be a warning" said Talia. "If it was a warning then we must decide if we still pursuing the abducted Padawans or must we identify Palpatine's superweapon? How does this impact our mission, the Adepts mission?"

"Impact our mission?" asked Harry.

Talia turned to Harry, her eyes locked on his, "To preserve and protect, do not mistake me Beloved, you and your companions have exceeded my wildest expectations. But our true test is still to come."

"The Mah Vey," answered Harry.

"The Mah Vey," Talia agreed thoughtfully. "Defeating Palpatine is important as a part of our plan to bring balance. Helping the Jedi survive, rescuing Force-sensitives, helping your people on Earth survive, all things that contribute toward surviving an extra-galactic invasion by the Mah Vey. Weakening a Dark Sider that is, by your own admission, seeking out his own path to balance…we need to consider this. His path could be helping to weaken Palpatine."

That had the others in the room thinking. Eventually, Luna cleared her throat, "I am not sure that the younglings would agree."

Talia sighed, "Beloved, I am not advocating that we abandon them to torture and death. But if we oppose them for opposition's sake, how are we different from the Jedi?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, paused and then frowned. "So, if the Jedi became too powerful, we would oppose them?"

Talia shook her head, "Philosophically? Of course, on the field of battle? I would hope not. All I am saying is that we need to pause and consider the larger picture here. We are not infallible, we can misinterpret the will of the Force. Perhaps we were shown the younglings to rescue them, perhaps so that we would find that Maul has moved on to a different path. We cannot always see the outcome at first glance."

Harry, Luna, Velath and especially Sahdra looked thoughtful, but not fully convinced.

"We should all meditate on this as Lena continues the search for Maul. The fact that the Mah Vey were present, what Luna saw and our current situation are all things we need to re-examine before we commit to a path. Let the Force show us the best path," said Talia. "Now perhaps we should seek our beds."

Lena, Velath and Sahdra left, but Talia stayed seated on the bed. After the door was closed, she turned to look at her former apprentices.

"I think I need to explain some things. Secrets that I have kept that the Force seems determined to expose," said Talia. "The cloning process I used to create your new bodies allowed me to recode parts of your genetic code. Mostly to ensure your healthy development."

Harry slowly nodded, "We had sort of assumed that Master. My previous body's growth was impacted by malnutrition and the soul anchor Riddle stuck in me."

"That is not all that I amended…" Talia trailed off as Luna frowned.

"You slowed our aging, that's what the Mah Vey was talking about," said Luna.

"Your connection to the Force already slowed your aging. I went a step further," explained Talia quietly. "I placed an encoded trigger in your DNA. In your prime, you will effectively stop aging."

Harry frowned as he absorbed her words. Luna, however, paled, "Why Master?"

"Because you will be needed when the Mah Vey come Beloved," answered Talia as she looked into Luna's eyes.

"Are you saying that you've made us near immortal and you didn't even tell us?" asked Harry, although without any rancour in his voice.

"Not immortal Harry, we can still die but we won't age…can it be reversed?" Luna asked Talia.

Talia almost flinched at the anger in Luna's voice. "No, but another clone could be created, without the modification…if either of you wished it."

"I see," replied Luna.

"Beloved, I…"

Luna cut Talia off, "No Master, I understand. I don't like that you didn't tell us, but I understand."

"But I would still like to know why you didn't tell us," said Harry. His voice and demeanour projecting his disappointment.

Talia took a moment to adjust her robe before answering, "I feared that you would not understand my choices."

"I can almost understand the need, just not the execution," replied Luna before sighing.

"I am sorry that I have upset you both," offered Talia as she stood.

Harry gestured toward the bed, "Please, stay a moment Master. I think we need to finish our discussion. I and I suspect Luna, need to understand."

Talia sat back down as Harry sat, putting his arm around Luna.

"Are there any other clones of us?" asked Harry.

Talia shook her head, "No, but I have the means to create new clones if required."

"And our friends and allies, our children, we simply accept that we will outlive them?" asked Luna with more than a touch of asperity.

"You are upset beloved, but you must understand that you are needed and will continue to be needed until the Force is in balance," explained Talia. "I have undergone the same treatment. We will have a long life in our prime but eventually, we will age. So believe me, I understand your fears"

Harry's eyes flashed, "Do you Master?"

Before Talia could reply there was a knock on the door before it swung open to reveal Lena.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just got a hit on Maul," explained Lena.

"Where?" asked Harry.

"Would you believe Terminus? He was spotted in the Spaceport and once I had a lead, I sliced into any security feeds I could find, and I got him."

"I'm not going to ask if you are sure Lena. Harry, Luna notify the Jedi," ordered Talia.

oOoOo

Talia ignored the tension in the room as she gestured to the image on the screen.

"Maul was spotted entering the Market sector on Terminus and then in the shipping centre. Lena has upped the surveillance and we should get more hit's soon."

Kenobi frowned, "How long will it take to get to Terminus?"

Lena smiled smugly, "I have a personal Hyperspace route mapped to Terminus Master Jedi. So, we can be there in sixteen hours."

"Sixteen?" questioned Anakin. "Our best transit time was thirty-six hours."

"Well I do have the route mapped and my ship, the Vortex, has drives rated at zero point four," seeing his expression Lena laughed. "It's amazing what almost unlimited credits can get you."

oOoOo

Terminus – Cargo Spacedock 3

Harry and Luna walked through the crowds in the cargo spacedocks. Lena had provided information from several more sightings. But the only one repeated more than once was a commercial cargo carrying facility run by the Boaralis Corporation. A company that apparently dealt almost exclusively with bulk cargo.

Harry made a point of studying the entrance to the Boaralis dock. He was looking for hidden guards, an ambush…anything really but the place looked almost exactly like a business. Security seemed to consist of a middle-aged human or near-human guard who was leaning against the wall watching the passing foot traffic.

Catching Luna's eye, he inclined his head toward the entrance. Luna nodded and they both made their way to the glass door. The guard nodded politely and touched a wrist controller, opening the door.

The inside of the building had a partitioned off office area. A larger door probably led to the dock area. The office itself was tidy and efficient looking with several workers working on data-pads.

"Can I help you?" asked a feminine voice with a rather exotic accent to her Galactic Basic. When they turned they saw a rather conservatively dressed Mirialan.

Luna stepped forward, "Hello, we are looking for your manager."

The Mirialan's friendly smile didn't change at all, "That would be me, Ania Sterak. Is this about the Protear shipment?"

Luna shook her head, "No, we are looking for an individual who may have been in here."

The smile faded, "Hold on we are very serious about our customer's privacy. I'm not sure that I can help."

Harry cleared his throat, "Madam Sterak, this individual was a Zabrak who we believe can help us find some abducted children. We just want to know if he was here."

Ania frowned, considering before nodding, "Come with me."

She led them out the other door to the docks and further along to another door. Which turned out to be another, smaller office.

"This is my private office," explained Ania. "This Zabrak, he got facial markings and a bad attitude?"

Harry nodded and the Mirialan cursed apparently in her native tongue. "Thought he might have been shifty, but he didn't come across as a slave trader."

Harry and Luna exchanged a quick look. "He has been here then," prompted Harry.

"Yes, but you have missed him and his weird offsider. They bought up a lot of supplies and equipment. Took most of it a few hours ago," explained Ania.

"Most of it?" asked Harry.

Ania nodded as she bit her lip, clearly thinking about something. "Come on, I'll show you what they left. They paid to store some cargo here until they needed it."

She led them out on to the docks and to an area where crates, cartons and equipment were neatly piled.

"It's just here…hang on, what is this?" she walked over to a large metal container. "This was not part of the shipment for storage." She scanned the container with the scanner she wore on her wrist. "It's showing as part of their inventory, but it wasn't here before. They must have left it when they were transferring the other cargo on to their ship."

Harry studied the container curiously, there was something…he extended his senses and felt two life sources, within the container. "There are life signs in the container," he warned Ania as he began looking for how to open it.

"Life signs? Hold on you don't mean people, do you?" Ania demanded, her expression shocked.

The dock manager quickly got the container open to reveal a padded interior, some machinery and two unconscious young people.

"Frak…I'm sorry but how did you know, are you a Jedi?" asked Ania.

Harry nodded, "Something like that, here let me help you get them out."

Ania held a hand up to stop him, "Hang on we've got a medic on staff. I'll get her to bring her kit."

She spoke quickly into her wrist pad and a moment later a tan-furred Bothan female appeared carrying a medkit. "Ania...whats happening here?"

"I'll explain later Koyla, can you check the children out please."

The Bothan nodded, "Of course." The medic moved quickly to check the two children over.

Luna turned away from the medic to Ania. "What sort of ship did he use?"

Ania frowned, "A cargo hauler, an old Y series. He had a ship in orbit a big transport."

"Ania, these two have been sedated. Nothing else I can see, want me to wake them up?" asked the Medic.

Ania looked to Harry and Luna and after a moment Luna shook her head. "We had better wait until some familiar faces are around."

"I'll call Kenobi," said Harry as he walked a few paces away and pulled out a comm unit.

"Did you get a make on the ship in orbit?" Luna asked Ania.

Ania shook her head, "I know it had at least an eighty-tonne capacity, well based on their orders anyway. Look, I don't mind helping you find the children, but this," she pointed to where her medic was working. "I should be notifying the authorities. Smuggling sentients is illegal and it is a major offence, as is not reporting it."

For a moment Harry considered wiping the two the memories of the two women. But given how helpful they had been and the fact that Lena could wipe their 'electronic' footprints there really wasn't a pressing need. "Then you should report it."

oOoOo

The Jedi arrived right before the local law enforcement officers. Kenobi confirmed that these were indeed some of the missing children. Statements were taken, and the children were checked by the Terminus governments medics before being released.

Once they were safely back on the Vortex the two were revealed to be a youngling named Uli and a Twi'lek Padawan named K'lenna.

"What happened Padawan?" asked Kenobi.

"When we awoke, we were on a ship. The Sith, Maul and his apprentice Ena were…well, they were treating our injuries. Once we were all awake, treated and fed he spoke to us," explained K'lenna.

Kenobi shared a troubled look with Anakin and Muln before returning his attention to K'lenna. "And what did he have to say K'lenna?"

K'lenna winced slightly but replied, "That the Sith and the Jedi were both blind to the true threat every living thing faced. A great enemy that was coming…an enemy he wanted us to train to fight."

"He said it was like the Adepts claimed, there needed to be balance. And that needed those willing to protect it," added Uli with a slight hitch in his voice.

"Did he hurt you?" asked Muln as he squatted down to look Uli in the eye.

Uli shook his head, his expression solemn. "No, he was…very intense but he never touched us."

"How did you end up in that crate?" asked Kenobi.

K'lenna stood a bit taller, "Maul, he asked if any of us wanted to be safe from the wars…if we wanted to learn how to defend ourselves and others. Uli and I said no, he told his apprentice to prepare us to be returned to the order."

"Did they say where they were taking the others?" asked Skywalker.

K'lenna shook her head, "Not that I heard."

Kenobi gave them both a slight smile, "Thank you, Ashoka will show you where you can get something to eat, clean up and rest. You both did well."

Ashoka gestured toward a hatch, "Come on, it's this way."

Once they had gone, Skywalker shook his head, "There are so many things that don't make sense about that story that I am not sure where to begin."

Kenobi looked thoughtful as he stroked his beard. "I agree Anakin, Maul's actions don't make sense…If it were anyone else these actions would imply that they do not want to hurt the children."

"But it's Maul," pointed out Skywalker. "Even if he really has deserted Palpatine, he is still a Darksider."

Talia's eyes glinted as she stepped in to the conversation. "And thus condemned? You know that we Adepts count among us those that have powers you consider dark, are we to be so condemned?"

"You know that is not what we meant," injected Kenobi calmly. "But Anakin has a point. We have yet to see any evidence that he has changed his beliefs."

Luna looked at Talia, who shook her head.

The growing awkward silence was broken by the arrival of Lena.

"He's gone, I tracked down his ship a long-range Freighter, a hundred tonnes cargo capacity that was bought here from a shipping consortium. It left a few hours before we arrived," reported Lena.

Skywalker looked less than happy, "Sithspit, do we have a destination?"

Lena looked frustrated as she shook her head, "Oh we do, but it's less than useless unless he's heading in the wrong direction. As far as I can determine his real heading is into uncharted space."

"Then we need to get after him," suggested Skywalker.

"And how precisely do we do that Jedi?" asked Lena. "Within twelve hours he could be in any of two hundred systems and six hundred plus planets. No, he's gone until we get another hit on him. No hyperspace routes or markers out on that heading."

oOoOo

K'lenna finished washing her lekku in the rather indulgent water shower and stepped out to dry off. Her last few weeks had been rather trying and it was a huge relief to pass the burden on to Master Kenobi and Skywalker. Dry and rather relaxed she hung up her towel and picked up her new clothes. Ashoka had given her a rather odd set of underwear and the clothes the Adepts had supplied. Odd, but they looked like they would fit, and they were clean. Once she had dressed, she picked up her dirty clothes and was about to walk out when she spotted a data crystal.

"Where did you come from?" She asked herself as she picked it up. It could have been in her clothes, but she was sure that she had never seen it before. She would tell Master Muln, he might know something about it.

oOoOo

Lena inserted the Data crystal into a reader and scanned it before turning back to the others. "It's a holographic message. There is no, malicious code or anything."

"I think we should watch it," suggested Kenobi.

"A good idea," replied Harry. "I suspect that we are about to get a message from Maul."

Once the message was playing, Harry was proved correct. It was indeed Maul.

"Did you appreciate my gift?" asked Maul's image.

The Sith was seated, wrapped in a black cloak. Beside him stood a teenaged Dathomiri. Who bore a similar demeanour to Velath, stern and watchful.

"Ena had foreseen your arrival. So rather than simply dumping your two younglings, she arranged for you to find them." Maul smiled, seemingly amused. "It is rather interesting working with a Force Seer, wouldn't you agree Harry?"

"Shit," muttered Harry. "That's a complication."

"As for the rest of the younglings, well they show a great deal of potential. Ena assures me that they shall make fine soldiers, healers and leaders," Maul paused for a moment as his expression became serious. "I know that you won't take my word for it, but I mean them no harm. The Jedi and the Sith nearly doomed us all. Our pointless war for supremacy…well, I am done with it all. You adepts know what I speak of. The Enemy is coming, and I will fight, just as you adepts will fight. Regardless of what the Jedi believe, you know that the Mah Vey are a danger to the Force and we must be ready. I plan to use the time left building the best fighting force I can." Maul stood and let his cloak fall. Beneath it, he wore armour, Sith style armour not seen for centuries. "I have my own allies and despite your distrust, I will fight when the Mah Vey come."

The image flickered and disappeared for a moment before reappearing. "Oh, and Harry…you might want to watch out for Palpatine's Sith Assassins and his newest Apprentice. Your slicer hasn't been nearly careful enough."

oOoOo

"What now?" asked Muln.

"I know her, the apprentice. Ena, she was a nightsister initiate," announced Velath.

"And a seer," mused Kenobi. "If she is truly a seer, it will be a difficult chase if she is able to warn Maul of our approach."

Harry and Luna exchanged a look. "I think we need to consider our path here," said Harry.

"What? It's clear isn't it, we go after Maul!" exclaimed Skywalker as he turned to glare at Harry.

"Not to me it isn't," replied Harry. "We have only a vague heading, no other leads or even a guess as to where they might be headed. If the Ena is a seer, then the odds are that they'll stay at least one bloody step ahead of us. So, no Jedi, the path my people should take is not clear." Harry's voice was cold by the time he finished.

Skywalker was about to retort when Kenobi laid a hand on his shoulder. Calming his former Padawan. "I can understand your concern. Perhaps Lena could see what she can find? That might give us some more intelligence. Until then, we should rest. I don't doubt that the new day will bring fresh challenges."

oOoOo

Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head, "What were you thinking Anakin?"

Anakin was frowning as he turned to his friend, "I could ask you the same thing Obi-Wan. They are clearly looking to call off the search."

"Were they Master?" Ahsoka asked quietly. "I didn't sense that they were giving up, just that they were not sure of their next step."

"What is our next step?" asked Muln in a carefully neutral voice.

Obi-Wan considered for a moment, seemingly weighing his options. "You are the closest thing we have to a true slicer Anakin. Could you do what Lena's doing to track Maul?"

"With our equipment, no way. With what I suspect she has…maybe," admitted Anakin.

"The revelation that the apprentice is a seer is worrisome if it's true," added Muln.

"But it also explains how they found the younglings and how they have avoided us," suggested Ahsoka.

"And if she really is a seer then we are probably going to need more resources. If these Adepts decide to call off their search, or we can't find a lead, then we are going to need to notify the Council," pointed out Muln.

"Indeed, the council must be notified, I am sure Lena will have the communication equipment we need," replied Obi-Wan.

oOoOo

Wayland – Hidden Cloning Facility

Opax Calor was prepared for another failure. So, when he had his first breakthrough, he nearly missed it. In fact, he was already on to the next cloning chamber when he realised that the computers on the previous one had indicated a viable, apparently stable Clone that had survived the flash memory transfer. Refusing to celebrate prematurely, he carefully checked his projections against the results. The readings looked good…no, better than good. They were nearly perfect.

Taking a deep, calming breath he walked quickly to his office. Once there he sat and called up all the records on clone 176. He then meticulously checked Clones 177 through to 180. All four seemed to be viable and the programming and downloading of the memories from the crystals supplied by the Emperor had been successful. He had done it! He had taken an altered genome and used cells from a Force Sensitive subject as the donor cells. Then by altering the nutrients and catalyst solutions he had quadrupled the maturation rates of the resulting clones. Something thought to be impossible. He had grown a fully formed clone in two weeks. Yes, forced growth acceleration did occasionally result in an undesirable level of mental instability but he had mostly beaten that hurdle as well.

The last problem had been the biological programming. He had taken the memory crystals and used a unique flash-learning pattern from the crystal…and it had worked!

It was no longer theoretically possible, he had done it. He could grow an adult Clone in weeks and 'program' it with flash learning in days.

He methodically checked his work, twice more, before turning to the communications system.

The Emperor would want this news immediately.

oOoOo

Coruscant – Imperial Senate Building

Darth Sidious studied the latest military intelligence with narrowed eyes. He had been so close to complete victory. Unfortunately, he now had to face a new reality. He had the military power to secure perhaps a third of the territory that had made up the Republic. Half the Core and Inner Core Worlds, perhaps a third of the Mid Rim planets.

The only positive was that the sectors he did control included those that had the infrastructure and population to allow him to fuel his future plans. His intelligence network was feeding him information, just not the information he needed to end his most troublesome enemies.

On that list were the accursed Corellians and their fleet. He should have executed Garm Bel Iblis and every Senator he didn't personally control before declaring himself, Emperor. Then there were the Jedi and the so-called Adepts. Both had managed to hamper his grand, decades-long plan and both had disappeared from sight. Seemingly only re-appearing to disrupt his plans.

His Battlestation was still at least a decade from completion and the rebuilding of his military, particularly the fleet, was nearly the same.

His lack of a competent apprentice was another problem, one that had further delayed his plans. Opax Calor was optimistic that his new batch of cloned Sith had actually produced a viable clone. He would wait to judge that himself if it was true. Calor was a single-minded and completely amoral man. A useful man, useful enough to keep despite his previous failures.

A single chime sounded, announcing the arrival of his Minister of Infrastructure, Yred Flack. The man was a toady of the highest order, but he was another useful man. He knew how to get things built.

As he considered his plans his personal channel indicated an incoming, highly encoded call. He quickly hit the indicator that would have his Imperial guard hold Flack at the outer door.

The image of Opax Calor appeared head bowed.

"Speak," ordered Sidious.

"Your Majesty, the new process appears to have been successful."

"They are ready?"

"I have completed the process on one of the earlier batches…"

"Good, I will send you further instructions, you have done well Opax."

It was time to test this new Clone. His eyes shone with malicious pleasure as he sat back in his command throne. An endless supply of Apprentices, with adjustable genetics…what a gift from the Force.

oOoOo

Praxis

Yoda resisted the urge to gnaw on his glimmer stick in frustration while the Holo-Image of Obi-Wan Kenobi waited patiently. He was aware of the whispers and concerns being discussed regarding the Adepts. Even Master Unduli's positive reports had not silenced the Jedi who still felt that the Adepts were at risk of crossing a line to the Dark Side. Despite the aid, the Adepts had given the Order they were viewed with some distrust much like the Corellian Green Jedi or many other Force-wielding sects.

"Concerning this is, Master Kenobi. But remind you I must that answer to the Council the Adepts do not. Solution I might have…contacted one of our agents was. Jedi Master Rahm Kota and several squads of Antarian Rangers survived Order Sixty-Six. Stolen a Republic cruiser they have."

Kenobi looked intrigued, "Master Kota, that is good news. Although I have not worked with the Rangers, I understand that they were rather proficient soldiers."

"Skilled they are," explained Yoda. "Code I will give you, contact him you will. Help hunt for the younglings he can. Return you will to deliver Master Muln and his two wards. Then return to help Garm Bel Iblis you must. Assist them we will, even if our full strength we cannot risk."

"I understand Master, I will ask the Adepts for a lift back to our transport."

"Good, good," Yoda peered at Kenobi's image. "More to say have you?"

"Just curious Master, Talia has a friend here, a very old droid of a make that I am unfamiliar with. It is so human-like in appearance and mannerisms that I needed the Force to determine she wasn't biological."

Yoda nodded, "Interesting that is, a new development is it?"

Kenobi shook his head, "I suspect that it is very old and may be sentient."

"Ah, concerning you this is?" Yoda asked, his voice neutral.

Kenobi shook his head, "Not in that way Master. I am more concerned that it…she, Lena, has a very negative view of the Order. I would normally search the Archives, but well…"

Yoda sighed, his expression regretful, "Suspect I do, that fallen foul of old laws she may have. Droid designers fear true sentience, banned most research was. Look into the records I will. An ally of the Adepts this Droid is?"

Kenobi's expression showed that he didn't want to speculate on the specifics of Lena and Thalia's relationship despite what he may have deduced. "She is, and apparently a galaxy class slicer as well."

"A valuable ally then, hmmm?"

"Indeed Master, I'll contact you when we are on our way."

Yoda sat thinking after the call had finished. His latest report from Master Unduli was very positive. Praising the work undertaken by the Adepts. Helping where they could, rescuing those fleeing the Sith and offering a safe sanctuary. Laudable goals…but also ones that worried some senior Masters. They espoused balance and believed, as he did, that there was danger brewing and an enemy looking to take advantage of a galaxy weakened by the war between the Jedi and the Sith. Their order seemed determined to preserve knowledge as much as people and this philosophy was working. Their stronghold was home to a vast array of different peoples and beliefs and yet Unduli reported that it functioned. It was a community and an inclusive one at that. Wizards and Witches, Mandalorians, Dathomiri, Jedi and Grey Jedi, Followers of Palawa and a reformed Sith…it was truly an amazing achievement.

This diverse group had thwarted Palpatine and saved the Jedi. They had helped save the leadership of the Mandalorians and no doubt many others.

So why the doubt?

His old friend and fellow Master Tera Sinube had been collating information on the Adepts, Magic and current events that seemed linked together. Sinube was a skilled investigator and researcher and had been keeping Yoda informed.

He had asked why they were measuring and judging the Adepts against Jedi standards when it was clear that the Adept 'movement' was closer in nature to the ancient Je'daii. The precursors of both the Jedi and the Sith. An order that understood balance and harmony.

It was a good question but sadly one that would create further tensions among the more conservative Jedi.

"Master Yoda, are you free?"

Yoda turned to see Cin Drallig standing in the doorway alongside Padawan Bene.

"Of course, welcome you are," replied Yoda as he gestured to seats that would suit their larger frames.

Cin nodded toward the wizard, "Master Weasley and his sister have been working with Bene on understanding the connection between magic and the Force. She is rather excited about some of their experiments. Miss Weasley has even been good enough to lend Bene some written material. Apparently, the Wizard's have adapted a…charm, wasn't it Bene?"

"Yes Master, a translation charm that allows us to read the material as if it was in basic," explained Bene as she offered Yoda one of the translated texts.

"Fascinating," said Yoda as he studied the book. To his senses, there was a faint Force signature.

"Indeed, and very helpful," agreed Cin. "Miss Weasley included some historical texts. I was reading through them when I came across some references that I thought you should see."

Cin pulled out a much larger, thicker book. "This is a history of the wizarding worlds last great conflicts. The rise of two Dark Lords, Grindelwald and Voldemort." He opened the book and passed it to Yoda.

Yoda frowned at the mention of Dark Lords and glanced down at the cover. 'The Revised Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' he then opened the book to the page Cin had indicated.

'Chapter Twelve, Harry Potter – The-Boy-Who-Lived to defeat Lord Voldemort and the downfall of Albus Dumbledore.'

oOoOo

Harry and Luna were happy to see the back of the Jedi. Oh, their guests had been polite and friendly but there was an obvious undercurrent of ongoing discontent regarding their decision to give up their search for Maul. Kenobi made it clear that he understood but the others were not so understanding.

The minute that the Jedi had reached their own ship they began powering it up to leave. Twenty minutes later they were gone.

"They would not have understood Beloved," said Talia as Harry brought the Ravenclaw online and began the pre-flight checklist. She was sitting next to him as he prepped the ship for the short flight into the landing bay of Lena's old Traveller Class science ship, the Ascent. The Ascent had a big enough landing bay to accommodate the Vortex and the Ravenclaw. They had decided that Lena would be joining them on their trip to Haven. Lena would then be living on Haven. Which would no doubt improve their intelligence operations.

"No, probably not," admitted Harry as he continued to concentrate on the readouts.

Talia sighed, "You are still angry Harry. I can understand that, but I hope that we can move past it. I refer to you both as beloved, that is truly how I feel. I…I would not have this poison our relationship."

"I don't hate you Master but yes, I'm still upset and the more I think of the consequences, the more frustrated I am. If I stay as I am, what of my friends? What if Luna and I have children?"

"It is not impossible that they too might undertake the process one day," suggested Talia.

Harry nodded, finally turning to look at his former Master, "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"I feared that you would not understand and, at that moment, turn from the path," admitted Talia as she looked into Harry's eyes.

Harry studied her silently for a long moment before nodding. "I forgive you, but I won't speak for Luna."

"Thank you," whispered Talia.

Harry smiled, "Now, let's get the Ravenclaw aboard the Ascent. Luna's visions have me thinking that we need to warn the others. Particularly if he has plans to Clone another twisted version of Ron. Palpatine may lack the ability to control all the Galaxy but he still has more than enough minions and power to be a danger to us. I refuse to underestimate him."

oOoOo

Coruscant

Armand Isard was a calm man, a logical and methodical man and he demanded that his subordinates show the same methodical, relentless traits. Imperial intelligence collected vast amounts of information be it surveillance information, signals data, biological intelligence and tactical data. The difficulty was in finding the right bit of information. His innovation had been assigning more analysts rather than droids. And it had paid off. Two known Adepts and three very well-known Jedi on Terminus. The Irony was that it was an unknown slicer running a wide-ranging facial recognition program that had drawn his own people's attention. More importantly, it had also drawn the 'curiosity' of a freelance slicer known as Calex that occasionally sent information to an agent for financial consideration and to settle scores with slicers that had crossed him.

Calex had supplied a series of co-ordinates that apparently showed the course the original slicers ship was on. Every time the Slicer was live, a new data-point was created.

The course was very interesting indeed.

He was well aware that he was unpopular with some of the fleet officers and that the Emperor was unforgiving of what he perceived as incompetence. His failure to find the Emperor's enemies was perilously close to just such incompetence.

Still, this should please the Emperor.

oOoOo

Darth Sidious ended the call with Isard and smiled coldly. His trust in Isard's competence, despite his detractors, had paid off.

He had still considering the best way to test Opax Calor's claims that he had produced a stable, Force-wielding Clone. If he was correct, the Clone would be the perfect Apprentice. Should he die, a replacement would be ready in days. Calor had even managed to include information that the original had not known…ingenious and exploitable. Calor would have to be rewarded and watched closely of course.

Men of genius needed to be watched carefully.

This was a pair of unexpected boons. A lead and a potential Apprentice. In fact, was this an opportunity? A perfect chance to test his 'new' Apprentice.

He entered a code into his comm unit and waited patiently for the reply that came almost instantly. Intelligence Director Armand Isard's face appeared before he offered a respectful nod.

"Your Imperial Highness, how might I assist you?"

Darth Sidious frowned, "It would appear that Opax Calor's research has borne fruit Director. I want extra agents assigned to watch over his research facility immediately."

Isard nodded, "I will do so. Will extra security be needed?"

Sidious had to admit it was a good question, "Yes, that would be sensible. Deploy sufficient troops to defend the base but do so subtly Director. I want no spying eyes drawn to it. And bring the Devastation Squadron to full alert. I will be assigning them a mission shortly."

Sidious sat back as Isard's image disappeared. His Master's many lessons had, along with his own ambition, shaped him as a Sith. However, he had seemingly forgotten one of the first. Change was a constant force for good or ill. He had beaten the Jedi because he changed the Sith while the Jedi wallowed in tradition and orthodoxy. He would remember, no, better to say that he would win. He was destined to win but that did not mean that there would not be setbacks. No doubt the leadership of the rebellious planets thought they had him contained, trapped. Well, it was time to remind them of why he should be feared.

oOoOo

The Ascent

Lena studied the data on her screen with an incredulous expression before shutting down her data link and purging her system. While she was capable of being shocked, she did recover quickly. Rising she all but ran to the bridge.

On the bridge, Harry was carrying out the routine checks that any good pilot did while the ship was in Hyperspace.

"Harry, we are kriffing made…change course get us out of here!"

"What happened?"

Lena slid into the co-pilots seat and began flipping switches with almost inhuman speed. "A slicer, an Imperial stooge called Calex sold me out. He slapped a data tag on my search algorithm." Seeing Harry's lack of comprehension, she paused. "Every time we drop out of Hyperspace the search parameters, I set up automatically do a sweep of the hyperweb…they are using it to track us."

Harry grimaced and began the process to disengage the Hyperdrive. "Alert the others, we need to know what they know before we go back to Haven. I'll find a nice quiet system to hide in while we work out our next step."

The others were quickly briefed and so it was a solemn group that was waiting for Lena's full report.

"As soon as I realised my search had been tagged, I purged my search algorithms and any records of what I was looking for. What they did get were some of the security systems I used to search for Maul. They didn't get Maul, but they may have images of us, courtesy of the Spaceport security systems. But the worst of it is that one of the slicers out there put a data tag on my search. With that, they've got a track on us. Every time I connected to the hyper-web, they received a notification. I got rid of the tag, but they will have some of our course information."

"Is it enough to determine our location?" Luna asked as she considered Lena's explanation.

"At least a bearing," admitted Lena.

Harry cursed quietly, "Damn…okay, can you transfer that search on to our systems on the Ravenclaw, tag and all?"

Lena nodded, "Are you going to create a false trail?"

Harry shook his head, "No, we are going to lead them away from Haven. The best way to do that is to show ourselves. Luna and I will take the Ravenclaw and make a run on a different Hyperspace route. Once we have their attention, we'll get clear, stop transmitting and rendezvous back at Haven."

"We could do that on the Ascent," argued Talia.

"The Ravenclaw is better for this job Master. We don't need to drag the rest of you on what could be a dangerous, long run. Back on Haven, we'll need a slicer because we need information on this supposed Battlestation and Lena's going to be in great demand," replied Luna.

"Mistress, I should go with you," stated Velath.

Luna studied her young friend for a moment before nodding, "Of course."

"And me?" asked Sahdra her expressive face adopting a pleading look.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes, and you Sahdra. But that's it!"

Sahdra's smile was wide and rather infectious as she bounded out of her seat to hug Harry and kiss him rather passionately on the lips and then attempting to deepen the kiss for a moment before pulling back. "Thank you…thank you."

Harry was looking around helplessly as Luna raised an eyebrow at him.

Luna was clearly trying hard not to smile. "While Harry is sorting himself out, I'll look at our route."

oOoOo

The Ravenclaw

"We really have to have a talk with Sahdra and Velath…well mainly Sahdra," muttered Harry.

Luna grinned as she brought the navigational systems online. "I'm sure she's had a version of the talk love."

"You know what I mean," complained Harry.

"She's a good fighter and rather level headed. She has also been a good influence on Velath." Luna turned in her chair to look at Harry. "I know you've got the control to ignore her pheromones and despite her people's ditzy reputation she's neither gullible nor unable to control herself."

Harry raised his hands in defeat. "I know, and yes I agree she's a good crewmate. It's just…well, look at last week. She was walking around naked, you can't be okay with teenagers walking around naked!"

Luna looked amused as she made a show of looking him up and down, "I know someone I'd like to see naked far more often."

"Ha ha," replied Harry with an aggrieved look.

"Alright, I'll speak to them. But remember, a lot of her behaviour is her cultural norm. She's actually being rather well behaved as far as teenage Zeltrons go. I think her and Velath have really hit it off." Luna sniffed as she turned back to the navigation console. "Velath confided to me that some days she can barely walk straight."

Harry groaned as rested his head on the pilot's console.

Luna stifled her laughter for a few moments before succumbing to the giggles. "Well, I think I have a course that looks like a natural extension of our current course. We'll peel off the Corellian Trade Spine and onto the Hydian Way."

The next twelve hours passed slowly as the Ravenclaw made its way through Hyperspace. As they approached the end of the current leg, they began preparing for real space reversion.

"We need to be ready for anything," warned Luna as she frowned at the controls. "We'll be ready to turn on Lena's systems as soon as we revert so that they get a fix on us. I've got the next leg already programmed in."

"Luna?" prompted Harry as he turned to look at her.

Luna shook her head, " Nothing specific…just a feeling."

Harry slowly nodded, "Very well, everyone buckle in…just in case."

Velath and Sahdra didn't hesitate, they trusted Luna.

As the Ravenclaw dropped out of Hyperspace Harry summed up the situation.

"Shit!"

oOoOo

Immobilizer 418 cruiser– Sword of Palpatine

Captain Hilator Pel glared at his second in command.

"What was that Commander?"

Commander Quall straightened, "Sir, they could have chosen any of a number of routes. We've only committed ourselves to two routes."

Pel resisted the urge to snap at the young idiot. How the fool had made it to his current rank was a mystery. "Because Commander, this hyperspace junction is one of only two in this sector that has more than three connections. And our Intelligence is that these people have consistently eluded detection and that their course was in this direction. Logically this would be the place to change their course to throw off any tracking. And with Devastation Squadron down to one Cruiser and a Star Destroyer we need to be judicial in our placement,"

"But Sir, this is a commercial route…there will be extensive commercial traffic and we have no idea what ship they will be using. We barely have anything on their ships at all."

"Which is why we have set up a blockade with an interdiction field." The Captain's tone made it clear to everyone except the 2nd Officer that he was done explaining himself. "Navigation?"

"Assuming they haven't exited hyperspace elsewhere, the arrival window has started," announced the Navigation officer.

"Communications alert the pilots. Any ship exiting Hyperspace is to be disabled," ordered the Captain. The Interdiction field would stop a Hyperspace escape and he had sufficient fighters and escorts to stop any sub-light attempts.

Ten minutes passed as the Captain watched his crew working with their usual proficiency.

"Sir, a ship, a small freighter, has just dropped out of hyperspace. It's maneuvering rapidly," reported the Scanner Officer.

"Open a channel and issue the order to stand down," ordered the Captain. "ID that ship."

"DeepWater-class light freighter…it's transponder is not broadcasting Sir," reported the Scanner Officer.

"A smuggler," said the 2nd Officer with a snort of disgust.

The Captain scowled at the idiot, "Communications?"

"No response to our hail Sir."

"Then I want it disabled, send the signal," ordered the Captain.

Suddenly the freighter spun on its axis and turned toward the cruiser. Rapidly closing the distance as the Imperial Fighters chased the fleeing ship.

"What the…disable it now!" thundered the Captain.

oOoOo

Harry grimaced as he spun the Ravenclaw into a spiralling series of turns. "Luna, we need to get out of here, now."

"We can't…there's an artificial gravity well," reported Luna. "It's coming from the Cruiser."

"We have fighters trying to englobe us," warned Sahdra from where she was watching the tactical screen.

"Well…" Harry turned the Ravenclaw toward the Cruiser. "We'll have to shut that gravity well."

The Ravenclaw was buffeted by a glancing blow to its rear shields. "They're trying to take out our sublight engines," warned Sahdra.

Harry was flying the Ravenclaw directly at the Cruiser now. "Well, can't have that…we need those. Luna, I need you to disillusion the ship when I tell you."

Luna nodded and laid a hand on the hull of the Ravenclaw.

The huge bulk of the Imperial ship was ahead as the Ravenclaw shuddered and bucked, taking fire from the pursuing fighters.

"Now Luna!"

oOoOo

Bridge of the Cruiser

"They disappeared off our sensors Sir," reported the Scanner officer.

"What, is it an equipment failure?" Demanded the Captain as he looked down at his personal tactical screen.

The Scanner officer shook his head, "I don't think so Sir, I would need to run a diagnostic cycle to be sure, but it looked like it cloaked."

"You incompetent fool, merchant ships don't have cloaks. I'll see you broken for this…" bellowed the 2nd Officer before he was hit by a blaster set on stun.

"Thank you," said the Captain as he handed the armoured guard his blaster back. "Please lock the idiot up, I'll deal with him later. Leuitenant Krav, you are acting Second Officer. I want the fighters on alert, constant sensor sweeps. Our quarry appears to have cloaked and is likely trying to either sneak out of our gravity well or is lying low, hoping we'll leave. Find that ship."

"Yes Sir," replied Krav.

oOoOo

"Exactly how foolproof is this?" asked Velath as she looked out of the bridge windows, up at the underside of the Cruiser.

Luna shrugged, with a slight smile. "Not that foolproof. They could still find us, or at least detect a sensor anomaly or something. We'll need to move quickly to disable the Gravity well."

"Our weapons won't make much of a dent in that armour much less their shields," warned Sahdra.

"But their bridge has observation windows and that will allow us to apparate," said Harry. "Go and get ready. Luna and I are going to board her. Shut the gravity well down and portkey back. You two are going to have the Ravenclaw ready to go the moment we get back."

Velath was open-mouthed as if to comment but Sahdra beat her to it, "Nice simple plan Master Harry…and all the armed troopers on the bridge will just stand and watch?"

"Oh, they'll be busy. Last time we tried this it worked but I spent time working out what I should have done. This time we'll really stick it to them."

oOoOo

Bridge of the Cruiser

The Captain resisted the urge to look over the shoulders of his men. Instead, he studied his tactical screen. His men were well trained and knew their duties. Micro-managing them would not make their work go smoother or quicker.

"Sir, we have…"

The lights flickered for a moment.

"Engineering, what was that?" demanded the Captain with a frown. Power fluctuations were never a good thing on a starship. But when you had four artificial gravity wells drawing huge amounts of power you didn't ignore any sign of a malfunction.

"VENTUS."

Without warning the bridge crew were blown, by the sudden hurricane force winds into the bulkheads. The few exceptions, mostly crewmen in the operations area, were strapped into the seats. They responded as they had been trained to. Mistaking the sudden wind with the most feared of space travel hazards. Explosive decompression.

One, an ensign slammed his hand down on the emergency seal control as he fought against the effects of the disorientating howling wind.

Harry and Luna let the wind spell end but didn't let the crew regain their senses, sending a barrage of stunners at the crew still at their posts and then anything moving.

A red flashing light and various alarms were now audible.

Luna rushed over to the controls, "One of them activated the emergency environmental shields. Must have thought the hull was breached."

"That might give us an extra minute or two so let's get working," said Harry as destroyed the door control and then began looking for the engineering console.

"Got it, I think," said Luna as she studied a console. "Wow, they really do label everything. How dumb is that?"

"Can you shut it down?" asked Harry in a slightly worried tone.

Luna turned to see the doors that were shuddering. She quickly went back to work.

Harry kept a close watch on the downed crew, having to stun several as they recovered their senses.

"Okay they're shut down…we are good," announced Luna.

"I…" Harry paused as the lighting dimmed.

"I shut down main power, It will take them a while to reboot everything," said Luna smugly.

Harry looked around the bridge. They could probably do some real damage, but Harry dismissed the idea immediately. It was a little too close to murder and while pragmatism had its time and place it wasn't now.

The door shuddered again. It sounded like they had some heavy equipment, probably droids, trying to force it.

"Time to go," said Harry. He waited until Luna had a good grip of the portkey before activating it.

oOoOo

"Go," ordered Luna loudly as they spun into existence in the mess. She had landed rather neatly but Harry continued his poor luck with portkeys and ended up on the floor.

The Ravenclaw shuddered and leapt into Hyperspace leaving the blockade behind.

oOoOo

Outer Rim

The Vahla Fleet was far from any Imperial presence as it made it's way deeper into the Outer Rim. Far from space not controlled by the Empire. The largest ship in the fleet, an old corvette operated as the command ship for the fleet.

The elder was rather pleased with recent events. Her people had come together and even some of their less law-abiding representatives had joined and were apparently behaving. A flashing blue light indicated that she was being contacted by the bridge. Turning away from her view of the stars, she activated her comm-link. "Go ahead."

"Elder, Neredra has alerted us…one of the seers," the younger woman trailed off.

The Elder felt a shiver of apprehension, "What is it?"

"A vision of the leaders of the Adepts, they are in mortal peril and may well perish."

The Elder didn't hesitate, "Do we have a location?"

"Ostor."

oOoOo

Talia screamed as Harry was run through by his opponent. Unable to assist her beloved Apprentices or their companions she stood helpless as Harry killed the Sith and slumped to the floor.

Then she woke up.

Lena was immediately 'awake' although her standby mode was not truly sleeping. "Talia, what's wrong?"

"Palpatine's new apprentice…he was with the blockade fleet. He nearly killed all four of them!" Talia was up now, throwing on a robe. "We need to turn the ship around, now."

"Talia, what happened, how did he beat them?"

Talia paused, mastering her fear and panic. "In my vision, he and his troops were able to hide in the Force."

Lena looked concerned as she took Talia's hand, "Love, you lost your visions when you came back. Are you sure it wasn't a nightmare?"

Talia paused, thinking over what she had seen. Letting her logical mind process the information. "It was a true vision. The Sith Clone had been enhanced and was a master at hiding its presence in the Force. They were outclassed…and they paid for it."

"Then we go back for them, now," said Lena as she stood.

oOoOo

Star Destroyer - Chimaera

Commander Gilad Pellaeon hadn't minded that his commanding officer had left the ship in his hands. Captain Hobis was a political appointee and not a fleet officer and had judged that he needed to direct the operation from a planetside command post. It was a ludicrous idea…but it had left the ship in his hands. Well, his hands until an intelligence operative had arrived with new orders that had passed command to a hooded figure who had yet to reappear on the bridge. All orders since then had come from the Intelligence operative, one Khallis Nord.

The dropship they had arrived on came with a squad of non-standard infantry, although they hadn't been seen since Nord ordered that food be delivered to the men. Something about Nord rubbed him the wrong way. It wasn't just that Nord was as unmilitary as they came, clearly a civilian in his mannerisms and language, but rather that he radiated a smug deceptiveness. He didn't care if you knew he lied. To a career military officer, it was a frustration. With a half-hidden sigh, he watched Nord walk out of the lift.

"Commander, you are to hold position and prepare the ships for a combat mission. There will be a single ship, a merchant ship, that will exit hyperspace within the hour. It must be destroyed, do not hesitate…I hope that you understand just how important that is. The Emperor wills it Commander," pronounced Nord in his usual smug manner before turning and leaving the bridge.

Pellaeon resisted the urge to curse. Instead, he turned to the Watch Officer. "Lieutenant, bring us to Battlestations and alert the other Captains."

"Sir," replied the Lieutenant and turned to begin issuing orders.

Pellaeon waited calmly as the Star Destroyer and its escorts prepared. His Fighter screen had launched and was holding position and the gun crews were on alert.

Fifty-two minutes later a ship emerged from Hyperspace and Pellaeon gave the order to engage.

oOoOo

Harry felt on edge…there was something, a sense of approaching danger.

"You feel it too?" said a subdued sounding Luna as she sat in the co-Pilots seat.

"Yes, I feel we've got something nasty waiting for us," replied Harry.

Luna nodded absently as she stared at the stars streaking by. "I tried meditating, but I couldn't sense anything specific. Just a malignancy."

Harry frowned considering what he sensed and had to agree with Luna. It wasn't anything good. "Should we risk dropping out of Hyperspace early?"

Luna bit her bottom lip, "I don't know. But I think I'll start calculating our next jump. In case we have to make a quick exit."

"We've got just on an hour," reported Harry. "Get the others up here. I think getting kitted up is a fair precaution. Once we are spotted, we'll jump to hyperspace."

Forty-five minutes later the four of them were strapped in on the bridge. Harry preparing himself and the ship for what might await them. Luna was putting the last of her small toolkit away, having made some slight adjustments to her artificial hand. It required tweaking occasionally and she had confided to Harry that she was going to check with one of the healers when she next had the opportunity. Hopefully, there was a magical option that would suit her.

"Coming up to ten minutes," warned Harry. "As soon as we revert get our deflectors up and disillusion us. I'll start evading, just in case."

The moment they reverted they came under immediate heavy fire.

Sahdra cursed in her native tongue, "Deflector shields are…taking a hammering. That's Turbo Cannon fire."

"It's the Star Destroyer," reported Velath as the ship repeatedly shuddered from consecutive hits. "We need to get…clear quickly or we're…in trouble!"

"We've got fighters coming in," added Sahdra. "I'm targeting them but there are dozens."

"Luna, disillusion us!" ordered Harry.

The view spun crazily as Harry corkscrewed the ship and attempted to break free of the englobement. Unfortunately, these Imperials were far more methodical than the previous ones. No matter what course he tried, the ship was almost instantly, once again taking fire. It was only Harry's skill as a pilot and the guidance of the Force that was keeping them in one piece. Another heavy strike against the shields shook the ship. Alarms and warning lights were now starting to appear as systems took damage or overloaded. Even with the best magical and technical modifications, the Ravenclaw was still a small freighter and the shield generators were struggling to refresh the shields.

"I got one," exclaimed Sahdra as the Ravenclaws weapons blew apart a Tie-Fighter.

"Luna, how long?" asked Harry before the bulkheads shimmered slightly. An indication that the disillusionment charm had been momentarily disrupted. "What was that?"

"We are still out of the gravity well so we can jump, and it had better be soon. We'll have to drop out of Hyperspace soon enough to repair the ship," said Luna with a frown. "Half the systems are fluctuating."

"Let's go," said Harry as Luna activated the Hyperdrive.

Once they were in Hyperspace, Harry turned to check the others. "We all okay?"

"A bit bounced around," replied Sahdra with a relieved smile.

Velath shrugged, "I'm okay, a few bruises."

Harry smiled, showing his own relief. "Right, repair time. Let's fix what we can. Luna, start a list of what we need to fix first. And shut down Lena's equipment for now."

The damage was extensive, but everything was repairable (either with spares or with magic). Except for the Hyperdrive of course. That required the unit to be shut down. Even with magic, the Hyperdrive was sensitive enough that they really didn't want to risk it.

"We've got maybe another two hours before the safeties kick in," was Luna's estimate on the state of the Hyperdrive. They all knew that once the safeties kicked in, they would drop out of Hyperspace. "And base on my calculations we should be in a the Ostor system, unpopulated and nowhere near Imperial space."

"Then we need to get started," said Harry with a reassuring smile.

oOoOo

Darth Victus was meditating when he felt the presence of his quarry. Almost immediately their Force Presences blurred but he didn't lose them. Their Force cloaking was impressive, but he could still sense them.

"Nord, order the Commander to fire all point defence weapons. The ship is cloaked."

"Yes, My Lord," replied Nord as he opened a channel to the bridge.

Victus felt the connection fade as his quarry no doubt jumped to Hyperspace. It angered him but he had known that they were resourceful. He let that anger flow through him, empowering him.

He had their scent now and they'd not escape him.

oOoOo

Star Destroyer - Chimaera

Commander Pellaeon stood at attention as his mysterious passenger appeared on the bridge.

"Report Commander."

"Sir, it appears that they took significant damage but still managed to jump to Hyperspace," reported Pellaeon. He took a deep breath and quickly added what he hoped was the good news. "However, we must have damaged their Hyperdrive. They are leaking Hypermatter."

"Is it enough to track them?" The figure demanded.

"Doubtful Sir, but it will have impacted their maximum range and on the Hyperspace route there are only two systems they could make it to with a faulty Hyperdrive."

The figure's fists slowly unclenched and Pellaeon relaxed, slightly.

"What are the systems?"

"Abridon and Ostor Sir," answered Pellaeon.

The figure was still, head raised like a predator searching for an elusive scent.

"Send the fleet to Abridon, I will lead my squad to Ostor," commanded the hooded figure. "We have them now."

oOoOo

Victus strode onto the dropship as the door shut and the ship lifted off. His men were Sith trained troopers. Nowhere near his ability of course but skilled enough to assist him. Most importantly each had mastered masking their presence in the Force. Even he could not always sense their presence or actions. His Master had trained his assassins well.

The Adepts would see what he wanted them to see. And then when they were mauled and broken he would see that they no longer plagued the newly born Sith Empire.

oOoOo

The Ostor System

The Ravenclaw reverted to Real Space, immediately shimmered and disappeared before making its way, unseen into a geosynchronous orbit of the sole terrestrial planet with a breathable atmosphere.

"Well, we're in a stable orbit. I'll do a quick scan to make sure we're alone," said Luna as she set to it.

"Once we're clear, we need to get cracking on the repairs," said Harry with a wry smile. "Not that I need to tell you what to do."

Velath raised an eyebrow and Sahdra giggled as she reached out to take Velath's hand. "Come on, we'll make a start in engineering."

Harry didn't bother hiding his smile as the two young women disappeared aft. Although it quickly faded as he turned to Luna.

"Well, there is nothing showing on our scanners. So, we should be good to shut down the Hyperdrive and repair what we need to," said Luna as she turned in her chair to look at Harry.

Harry looked relieved, "There were a few…worrying moments back there."

"We made it through and now we know that they were looking for us. So we achieved our mission to redirect their attention," pointed out Luna. "We need to keep perspective in these things."

"I'd love to know what it was we sensed. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the ships ambushing us," said Harry.

Luna's expression was grim as she replied, "No, I don't think it was. I've been turning it over in my head and I think it might have been a clone of Ron, like before, but even darker…I don't know what Palpatine's done but he felt corrupt, just like the one in my vision."

Harry swore under his breath.

"Language Harry," said Luna in a fair imitation of Hermione's voice.

Harry sighed and looked out the cockpit window. "Your vision was pretty clear that he would be a problem. The one we faced was bad enough, I'm not sure I want to face the upgraded version of evil Ron."

Luna nodded, her expression sombre. "As soon as we can, we need to warn the others. Just in case Talia hasn't."

oOoOo

Thankfully, magic was a panacea for repairs. Well at least if the magical's had the knowledge and power to conduct the repairs. Within three hours everything had been repaired or replaced. Their sole remaining problem was hypermatter. Hypermatter was tachyonic matter that was a major part of powering the main and backup Hyperdrives and it couldn't safely be created magically. The dual fuel cells were interconnected, and they control unit and the cells themselves had been damaged.

"We need to refuel and then reboot the systems," was Harry's explanation of the situation.

"That might be hard in a system with no refuelling stations," replied Velath.

"Fortunately, we aren't far from a major hyperspace lane. There are options," said Luna.

"Except they'll be looking for us now," finished Sahdra.

"Exactly," agreed Harry, with a nod to the younger woman. "Anyone got any suggestions?"

Luna brought up a Holo-image of the sector. "There a number of places we could reach at sublight in a reasonable period of time. Although…" she trailed off as an alarm sounded. "Oh…bugger, we have multiple contacts."

Harry winced, "Have they spotted us?"

Luna hesitated, "No, I don't think so. We were sheltered by the bulk of the planet."

"Power us up, I'm taking us down. Luna find me a cave, a deep ocean anything," ordered Harry.

"On it," replied Luna as Sahdra and Velath began powering up the ship.

Ten minutes later, Harry was maneuvering the Ravenclaw into a deep cave, at the bottom of a huge mountain range.

"Did we do it?" asked Sahdra.

Luna studied the readouts, "I…oh no, Harry."

Harry grimaced, but before he could say anything Sahdra and Velath paled.

They could all now sense the darkness approaching. It wasn't bothering to hide anymore, and it felt like standing near a blast furnace of evil. Malign, vindictive and focused on them.

And it was coming closer.

"He's coming," whispered Velath.

oOoOo

"We need to finish this quickly," said Harry. "Ranged spells to deal with any soldiers and then we'll close."

The others nodded, as they watched the enemy ships descend. They'd disillusioned themselves for now. Hopefully, it would deter the dropships from firing on them, even if their enemy could sense their presence, they would need accuracy to have any hope of taking them out. They'd have to drop it once the fighting started, as it would increase the risk of friendly fire incidents.

A fighter peeled off and began firing, trying to force their hand and reveal themselves.

"I suppose I had better oblige then," said Harry as he used the Force to launch hundreds of small rocks, and much larger boulders hurtling from all sides toward the Imperial fighter. Somehow the pilot avoided the deadly rocks, but Harry's point had been made. The fighter peeled off and headed skyward.

The Dropship landed at the far end of the ravine and the doors opened.

A figure identifiable as the clone of Ron Weasley exited. Behind him were six figures in the same black cortosis armour they had seen before and twenty troopers in black and white clone armour.

"I can't sense him or the ones in black in the Force," warned Luna. "They are Force Cloaking."

Harry grimaced and nodded in acknowledgement, "Then we attack now."

All four cast their first spells and then dropped their disillusionment. It was too risky to stay disillusioned when in a chaotic battle.

Sand and other debris were thrown into the air as the enemy troops scattered. The clone, however, kept advancing, stepping aside or dodging as their spells approached.

It appeared that they were learning.

Harry kept up a steady stream of offensive Magic's but the enemy, save the Clone had sought cover. Harry cast a shield as several shots peppered his position.

"We need a new plan," Luna suggested as she sent a fire spell toward the Clone, forcing him to dodge the spell and momentarily halting his advance. "We should…"

A blaster bolt, from the rocks to the right struck Luna in the abdomen blasting her backwards. As one from the left struck Harry's shield.

For a moment Harry was shocked…he'd felt nothing, not the slightest warning through the Force. Then his training kicked in and he was moving. He cast the strongest shield he could and knelt beside Luna. He quickly checked her as he maintained the shield. She was alive but badly injured.

"Mistress!" Velath skidded to a stop beside Harry.

"Get her back to the ship," ordered Harry, his voice cold. "I'll deal with this lot."

"Master Harry, I…" began Sandra before he cut her off.

"Go both of you, I've got this."

The two young women pick Luna up as Harry covered them with his shield. As he stood, he looked for the Clone, but he had disappeared.

Almost immediately two blaster shots struck his shield. Coming from the rocks to the left and right. It appears that these bastards were smart enough to put snipers in the rocks that were skilled enough to hide their presence in the Force.

He held his shield until his companions were out of sight, entering the shadows of the cave mouth. Once they were gone, he cast the most powerful blasting spell he could master at the ground between him and his attackers. Covered by the explosion he used the Force to leap high into the air, landing in the rocks on the right. A figure in black armour was drawing a weapon as Harry's lightsabre took his hand and then his head. Then he was moving again, this time apparating across the ravine.

Even as the dust from the explosion billowed around him, he appeared just to the side of the second sniper. This one was smarter than the first, dropping his blaster and throwing himself backward to avoid Harry's first attack.

Harry charged forward, almost fast enough to blur. However, the sniper matched his speed drawing a vibrio-blade and tossing something at Harry that he belatedly realised was a concussion grenade. He gestured sending the grenade into the ravine the move gave the sniper the chance to attack, his blade slashing at Harry.

Harry somehow twisted his torso away from the blade, but it still lanced across his left arm, cutting deeply. Continuing his twisting movement, he spun, lightsaber decapitating the sniper.

He was then forced to move as blaster fire peppered the rock around him from below.

He ducked down and considered his options. He was about to unleash a barrage of spellfire when the dead sniper's comm activated.

"You had better hurry Potter, otherwise I'll get bored and take my time with your whores," the clone announced taunting Harry.

Harry risked a look and saw four men dressed as the sniper, in black armour, standing in the entrance.

Harry fought to control his anger as he used the Force to drop down safely from the rocks. As he fell, he let loose a burst of blueish white Force lightning toward the remaining Clone troopers, blasting them off their feet. While they lay there, he gestured toward the rocks sending a blasting curse and then using the Force to send the dislodged rock crashing into the Clone troopers.

As he landed, he turned his attention to the four figures in black blocking the cave entrance. All four were holding cortosis blades and were spaced far enough apart to make targeting them all at once difficult.

He didn't bother speaking as he charged forward.

The first fell as Harry's inhumanly fast strike sliced through his throat. Then the battle was three versus one. Harry, with his injured arm, was having to work hard to keep all three at bay.

These opponents had not only been trained but trained to work together. Spinning he struck at the Vibro-blade of his opponent only for his lightsaber to splutter and then deactivate. Without missing a beat, Harry punched the Sith in the throat as he somehow avoided the follow-up strikes from the two others. With a grunt, he pushed with the Force with as much power as he could, sending two of them smashing into the rocks with lethal force. The move cost him though, twisting and leaping backwards he barely managed to avoid being skewered, instead suffering a cut across his back.

His opponent charged forward, leading with his vibro-blade. Harry grabbed his opponents' weapons hand around the wrist and attempted to pull him off balance, but his opponent countered by slamming his fist into Harry's injured arm. As Harry let go, the Sith trained warrior spun and slashed cutting another bloody furrow across Harry's back.

That strike allowed Harry to retaliate with a nearly point-blank wandless blasting curse. There was a wet explosion that destroyed the Sith's torso and painted the rocks red.

Ignoring his injuries for the moment, Harry concentrated on Luna's Force signature and extended his senses, searching for her…and found nothing. Whatever the bastard was doing…He clamped down on his fear and calmed himself with three quick breaths, just as Talia had taught him.

A pair of quick healing spell closed his injuries enough to ignore, for now. Then he checked his lightsaber. It ignited as normal and he quickly attached it to his utility belt. Then he jogged into the darkness of the caves, extending his senses searching for his allies and his opponent.

The Ravenclaw was where they had left it, powered down. With the hatch still open. He paused and then made his way to the ramp and then up into the ship. All was as they had left it. Harry paused and went to the weapons locked and pulled out a Mandalorian DE-10 Blaster Pistol and quick draw holster, attaching it to his utility belt. Making his way to the cockpit, he adjusted some controls and grabbed a remote then quickly exited the ship and moved deeper into the semi-darkness.

Then there were shadowy shapes on the ground.

He quickly knelt and found Sahdra and Velath. The Dathomiri had been stabbed through the shoulder by a lightsaber and had an open cut on her forehead. A painful disabling injury, but not immediately life-threatening. Sahdra, worryingly, had been run through the stomach and her breathing was shallow, her skin clammy and a very pale, unhealthy pink.

He cast two healing spells on each girl, hopefully stabilizing them sufficiently to keep them alive. Standing, he moved toward the rear of the cave. Careful to keep his back to the Ravenclaw. It was growing darker now, almost impossible to see. Any shadow among the rocks could be his enemy.

"That's close enough Potter," said the Clone from the darkness.

"Where is she?" demanded Harry.

"Close by, she might even still be alive…she grunted a bit when I sampled her. A bit disappointing to be honest. But that's what you get with second-hand goods," the clone's voice was taunting now. "I'll make time to see to her properly after I've dealt with you."

Harry controlled his breathing letting the Force flow through him. "Face me like a real man Clone, or are your skills more attuned to attacking the injured?"

A shadowy figure moved among the rocks and Harry followed the faint movement before he lost it amid the darkness.

"How's that night vision Potter?" As he said, Potter, the Clone struck.

Harry saw a flash of red and felt a burning pain in his leg then darkness and after images as he collapsed to his knees

"I bet that hurt," was followed by another blur of red that Harry managed to duck as the thrown lightsaber scythed past him.

"Nicely done, Harry…ah, how rude I didn't introduce myself." The red blade stabbed out at him and he ignited his own blade knocking it aside as he forced himself up, ignoring the pain as the Clone advanced on him.

Harry closed his eyes and reached into his pocket and activated the controller, turning on the Ravenclaws landing lights.

Harry opened his eyes and saw the Clone, a few steps away stumbling backwards, hands going to his eyes in the sudden white light. Harry, with his back to the Ravenclaw, threw out his hand holding his lightsaber and cast a blasting curse catching the Clone in the chest sending him tumbling backwards to smash against the cavern wall.

Looking around, he spotted a shape laying among the rocks. Drawing his blaster, he limped over, ignoring the pain in his leg.

It was Luna.

She was barely breathing; her face was battered, and her clothes torn and blood-soaked but she was alive. He raised his hand to cast a healing spell when he felt an abrupt warning from the Force.

He spun to see the bloodied figure of the Clone, broadcasting anger in to the Force, staggering toward him with an inarticulate scream.

Harry swept the wild lightsaber strike aside and then blocked the next overhead blow, locking blades with the Clone.

With a bloody-toothed smile, the Clone laughed, "You can't beat me, I'm Darth Victus" with a brutal shove, he stabbed Harry in the stomach with a second Lightsaber. The Clone's bloody smile grew wider as he twisted the lightsaber. "I'm a Dark Lord of the Sith, even if I die. I come back stronger and better than…"

Harry let his lightsaber fall, and then with a last surge of strength summoned his pistol from its holster and rammed the end underneath the chin of the Clone. For a moment the Sith's eyes widened and he started to pull away as Harry pulled the trigger.

As the Sith fell backward, Harry groaned as he fell to his knees, the pain was incredible as he turned to look at Luna.

He didn't make it before everything faded to black.

oOoOo

It was a risky operation, but they pulled it off. Her fastest ships had swept in and destroyed the Imperial ships on the ground. In orbit, her second ship was blocking any transmissions, so the Imperials had no reason to be looking for her people's fleet.

The great powers often dismissed the Vahla as any sort of military threat. But in doing so they forgot that the Vahla lived in space. They were intimately familiar with their ships and what they could do. More importantly, they were all Force Sensitive. An advantage that allowed the Vahla fighter-craft and their ground-based troops to coordinate their attacks at a level approaching the Jedi. The remaining troops on the ground were ruthlessly dispatched.

Once the area was safe, the Elder had her Seer-Priestess led them to the fallen Adepts. Thanks be to Vahl, They had made it in time, but only just.

Within minutes, the Vahla forces were lifting off and disappearing into Hyperspace.

The Elder nodded to the Vahla warrior who guarded the medbay and stepped inside. The four Adepts were suspended in Bacta tanks being treated by a pair of Medical droids and several of the same Healers that had helped save them. Healers who looked exhausted but pleased with their work.

The oldest of them bowed politely, as was proper and then smiled tiredly, "Elder, they will live."

"Good, you have done well Orthea. They were in a bad way when we found them. An hour more…and even your prodigious talent may not have saved them," she offered up the deserved praise. The medical team had earned it. "Will there be…consequences?"

Healer Orthea's expression hardened. "Their physical injuries will heal. The blonde was badly beaten, quite viciously but spared any other brutality," She gave more details, in a dry clinical voice that the Elder did not mistake as anything but anger. "Physically we can treat the injuries to their bodies. Hopefully, they can get through the emotional and mental ordeal." The healer paused for a moment. "The one who did this is dead?"

The Elder nodded, "Aye, the male I would assume saw to that before he succumbed to his injuries. They did well, their attacker was able to hide himself in the Force more thoroughly than I have seen outside the Fallanassi. It would bode ill if any of them had given up their secrets to the Sith."

Neither woman needed to be told how bad it would be if the Sith could cloak themselves as well as the near-legendary Fallanassi.

"Indeed," said Orthea, her expression grim. "Have we contacted their people?"

"Not yet," admitted the Elder. "Sister Enetil is contacting one of our people who is close to the Adepts. We are hoping to avoid any Imperial interference." She did not admit aloud that she was waiting to see that all of the Adepts survived. They were friends of Mother and as such their welfare was of prime importance.

"Thank you Orthea. I will leave you to your work. Please let me know if you need any resources."

"I will Elder, may Vahl walk with you."

oOoOo