Beyond - Legends Star Wars: Legacy of Solo Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Star Wars, in all its myriad incarnations and offshoots, does not belong to me . It belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney, and since I am not associated in any way, shape, or form with Lucasfilm or Disney, i am gain no profit from the writing or posting of this story. This is done purely for personal satisfaction and enjoyment.

Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Future​

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Where . . . am I . . . ? Anakin Solo wondered. I feel . . . heavy . . . trapped.

His eyes opened, though with great strain, and he could discern his environs, a medical bay of some kind, guarded by red-clad individuals with hoods that obscured their faces. "Where . . . ?" he tried to ask.

"You're awake," one of the hooded individuals said. "You shouldn't talk. Save your strength."

"How . . . where am . . ."

"We found you off Myrkr, barely clinging to life," another hooded individual replied. "By how your lightsaber is constructed, we figured you for a Jedi."

"I . . . I am . . ."

"Yes, but you need to save your strength and focus on recovery," a third hooded individual advised. "We'll answer your questions, and then hopefully you'll answer ours later."

"Your . . . armor . . . are you with . . . ?"

"Like I said, your questions and hopefully ours will be answered when you've recovered your strength." No argument would be permitted at this moment, such was the tone of finality in the hooded individual's voice.

"Fine . . . just tell me . . . one thing . . ."

"What is it?"

"Jacen . . . Jaina . . . Tahiri . . . Lowbacca . . . did they make it out all right?"

"I'm not familiar with those names," the hooded individual directly hovering over him replied. "You kept mumbling them."

"What kind . . . of Jedi . . . are you?" Anakin asked.

The hooded individual chuckled slightly. "I'm not, actually. We're not."

"Hope . . . you're not Sith . . ."

Anakin could feel a chill as soon as he uttered the word "Sith." "No. The Sith are our enemy," answered one of the other hooded individuals, her tone cold and hard.

"Then who . . . are you?"

"We are the Imperial Knights," another hooded individual replied.

"Imperial Knights . . . I didn't know Grand Admiral Pellaeon started training Force users."

"Grand Admiral Pellaeon? Have you been in the historical archives too long?" the Imperial Knights' apparent leader wondered, sounding confused.

"Historical archives?" Anakin repeated, just as confused.

"Yes, the historical archives, because Grand Admiral Pellaeon has been deceased for decades now," the Imperial Knights' leader, who had been closest to Anakin, stated.

"Decades?" Anakin asked. "So . . . what year is this?"

"What year do you remember it being?" a third Imperial Knight asked back.

"27 ABY," Anakin replied.

That floored the Imperial Knights, who all stared at him with unblinking yet uncomprehending eyes. "But this is 137 ABY," one of them finally answered.

"137 ABY? That's more than a century since . . ." Now it was Anakin's turn to be so stunned that all he could do was stare unblinkingly and yet without comprehension. "What happened to everyone?"

"Grand Admiral Pellaeon died in 41 ABY, the price of his refusal to support Darth Caedus's rise to power," another Imperial Knight replied.

"Darth Caedus?"

"Formerly known as Jacen Solo," added another Imperial Knight.

Anakin's eyes widened in shock, surprise, horror, and dismay. What!? How is that even possible?!

"Wait . . . 27 ABY . . ." one of the other Imperial Knights said. "You must have been part of the Myrkr strike team. A little more than half of them died or were captured, though some simply went missing in action. You must have been one of the ones who went missing."

"Really . . ."

"And since you are still very much alive . . . well, much is possible through the Force, and perhaps it is the Force that saw fit to spare your life."

"The Force does work in mysterious ways," another Imperial Knight said.

"All right . . ." Anakin took a moment to center himself. "How and why did my brother become Darth Caedus?"

"You say Darth Caedus is your brother?" the Imperial Knights' leader asked curiously.

"No, Jacen Solo is," Anakin replied. "Or was. I have no idea where you got Darth Caedus from."

"Whatever the reasons or explanations for Darth Caedus's descent, they have been lost to the sands of time, I'm afraid," the Imperial Knights' leader said. "As far as most would be concerned, it was very likely the stresses and horrors of warfare and conflict that twisted his mind and drove him to the Dark Side of the Force."

"That's enough," Anakin said. "This is . . . this is . . ." He couldn't quite come up with a word, so he settled for gritting his teeth and trying once again to center himself.

"I am sorry for your distress," the Imperial Knights' leader said, a genuinely contrite tone in his voice as he and the others drew back from Anakin. "We will let you rest, and soon, when you're able, we'll tell you more of what's become of the galaxy, and why your help will likely be needed."

". . . Thanks," Anakin grunted, and lay back on the medical cot provided for him, reaching out to the Force and letting the Force reach into him while the Knights stood by to let him recover. All except the leader of this mission, who went to a different room to access a private communications link.


"He's awakened," he said.

"The Jedi you found? The disturbance in the Force we sensed on Myrkr?" the man on the other side of the link asked.

"Yes," he replied. "He claims to be a Jedi from the Yuuzhan Vong War and that the last he remembers is the mission to Myrkr back in 27 ABY."

"Really? That is curious, Antares. Why would he claim such a thing?"

"I sensed no deception from him," Antares replied. "Only confusion. As if he was a total stranger to this era."

"The disturbance we sensed did feel as if time itself had been ruptured," the man admitted.

"When we found him, he was barely alive. He seems to be healing now, but he was uttering names that belonged in the history books, names like Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, and Lowbacca."

The man on the other side of the link seemed to pause from hearing that. "Very well, then. Keep a close eye on him as he recovers. I wish to see him for myself when we make contact."

"As you wish, Emperor Fel," Antares answered.

It wasn't too long before the Imperial Knights spotted their Emperor's vessel. Immediately, they opened a communications channel to it, a Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer. "This is the Imperial Knights, requesting permission to board, Emperor."

"Permission granted. Bring your guest with you."

That was when one of the Imperial Knights went to find a meditating Anakin. "We've arrived. Please come with us."

"All right," Anakin replied, rising to his feet and picking up his lightsaber with a mere exercise of will through the Force, clipping it to his belt. He followed the Imperial Knight until they reached the bridge, where he saw the Imperial vessel they were about to board. "A Star Destroyer?"

"You're about to board the Jagged Fel," Antares answered.

"Jagged Fel actually got a ship named after him . . ." Anakin murmured, a bit stunned by what he'd just heard.

"The Emperor is his descendant," Antares said. "We will introduce you to him when we board."

"Yes, I understand," Anakin said, following him as the Imperial Knights went aboard the Jagged Fel. Upon boarding, they were all greeted by a man who obviously resembled an emperor, though a tad more subdued in comparison to emperors Anakin had seen and met before.

"Emperor Fel," Antares greeted, leading the other Imperial Knights in saluting the man that stood before them.

"At ease, all of you," Emperor Roan Fel said. "It is good to see you." Then he turned to Anakin. "And you as well. Your survival was most fortunate, thank the Force."

"Emperor Fel," Anakin said, trying to be respectful. He held no animosity for the Imperial remnants of his day, though it was still a bit jarring to sense no evil or ill intent from the leader of the Galactic Empire, albeit an Empire that had been exiled and overthrown by the Sith.

"Antares has told me much about you," Roan Fel said. "At least, as much as you've been able to tell him and the rest of my Knights. Rest assured that we mean you no harm, young Jedi."

"I believe that, Emperor Fel," Anakin answered. "It's just so confusing, being in this time when the Empire has reformed itself as a force for good in the galaxy."

"As we were, and perhaps with your help, we can be again," Roan Fel said somberly. "First, could you tell me your name?"

"It's Anakin Solo."

"Anakin . . . Solo . . ." Fel seemed to practically taste the name on his tongue, contemplating deeply of what it meant. "Then I'm in the presence of family." A small smile crossed his face.

"Family?" Anakin repeated curiously.

"Jagged Fel's wife was Jaina Solo," Fel explained, "which makes you and I family, however distant across time and space. Come with me. I have much to discuss with you. Antares, stand guard with the rest of the Knights."

"Yes, my Emperor," Antares replied.

Emperor Fel led Anakin to what could be considered his official chambers, the area where he conducted the business of maintaining what was left of the Galactic Empire. Once inside, he turned to Anakin with a rather curious expression. "What is the last thing you recall before my Knights found you?" he asked.

"The light of a thermal detonator," Anakin replied.

"And yet, you are still alive . . . and here before me now." Fel pondered this for a moment. "When we sensed you, it was as a disturbance in the Force, a disturbance as though time itself had been rent asunder to bring you to this point."

"Time travel?" Anakin asked. "You're saying that instead of killing me, that detonation somehow sent me forward in time, to this era?"

"Yes. The Force does work in mysterious ways. Perhaps it sensed you would be more needed here and now than you were at the time you supposedly died."

"The Force guides us in many ways, doesn't it?"

Fel smiled slightly, pondering this. "Yes, it does. What I see before me, and I hope this is what you see as well, is opportunity. Anakin, we can learn very much from each other, and in what we learn, we can perhaps find the means to overcome the Sith Empire and restore justice to the galaxy."

"How did the Sith Empire come to power?" Anakin inquired.

"In a way, we brought this evil upon the galaxy," Fel admitted. "It started with the Ossus Project's sabotage, discrediting the alliance between the Yuuzhan Vong and the Galactic Republic and causing planets and systems to lose faith in the Republic. The Imperial Moffs believed they could exploit this crisis of confidence to reestablish the Galactic Empire, and they led us into war with the Republic."

"Wait," Anakin interrupted. "What was the Ossus Project?"

"An experiment to see if the Yuuzhan Vong's Shaping could be turned to the benefit of long-ravaged planets, cultivating life once more on those worlds," Fel explained. "Unfortunately, the Vong were still distrusted by much of the galaxy, which made it easy for saboteurs to twist the Ossus Project into a blight upon the worlds that the Vong tried to reshape. When the Republic refused to abandon its alliance with the Vong despite the clamor against them from around the galaxy, several planets and systems chose to join with my empire instead. However, it wasn't enough to overcome the Republic, thanks to the Jedi remaining loyal and bolstering the Republic's forces. The Moffs wanted me to enlist the Imperial Knights in the war, but I refused out of concern that the bitterness of war would lure the Knights toward the Dark Side. Because of my refusal, the Moffs turned to the Sith Order –"

"The Sith?!" Anakin interrupted more harshly. "You joined with the Sith!?"

"The Moff Council overruled me," Fel tried to explain.

"But you're the Emperor!" Anakin persisted.

"Emperors do not rule absolutely in this empire," Fel explained. "That was a necessary reform to keep from repeating the excesses and atrocities caused by Sheev Palpatine. I could be, and I was, overruled by the Moff Council, who eagerly dove into an alliance with the Sith Order because all they cared about was using the war as a steppingstone to restore the Galactic Empire. As it turned out, the Sith were the ones responsible for inciting the war by deliberately sabotaging the Ossus Project, and they were also using it to worm their way into my empire and remold it in their own image."

"Your empire sounds awfully rotten if the Sith could infest it," Anakin spat.

"So was the Old Republic . . . and the New, I'm afraid," Fel retorted somberly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anakin asked harshly.

"The historical databanks will tell you," Fel replied, his tone still somber and grim. Continuing where he left off, "By the time we realized that the war was a manipulation by the Sith, it was already over. We had 'won,' for what it was worth, trouncing the Alliance at Caamus and conquering Coruscant, but such victory was hollow, given how we had simply played into the Sith Order's hands. I pleaded with the Jedi to surrender in the hopes of averting further bloodshed, and while some of them did surrender, most refused, so I ordered that they be allowed to return to their temple on Ossus. I even called for a diplomatic mission once they had done so in hopes of later establishing an alliance against the Sith Order. Unfortunately, one of the Moffs, alongside a Sith working under the Sith Order's leader Darth Krayt, countervailed my orders and the diplomatic mission instead became the slaughter of the Jedi on Ossus, scattering the remnants of their Order across space. One of the Jedi who fell . . . was Kol Skywalker."

Regret was transparent in his voice, especially when he saw the cold rage in Anakin's eyes at the slaughter of the Jedi, particularly upon hearing that a Skywalker was one of the victims. "So once again, the Sith destroy the Jedi, and the Empire is the means for them to do it," Anakin spat out his grim assessment of this era.

"There was more betrayal in store, though, with Grand Admiral Morlish Veed and Darth Krayt plotting against me," Fel continued somberly. "I decided to strike first by having Veed arrested, and it was then that I was informed by Grand Moff Nyna Calixte that Krayt intended to assassinate me at a meeting I was going to attend. Of course, she was merely trying to save herself, as my death would render her usefulness to the Sith Empire outlived, but in this era, I couldn't be so begrudging about where help came from. I had a double take my place at the meeting, while my loyal apprentice Antares Draco, the man who led the expedition that found you, helped me escape the attempt on my life."

"And here I am," Anakin muttered bitterly.

"Yes, here you are," Fel said stoically. "And at possibly the most fortuitous time for the galaxy. I understand your sorrow and anger. I want to help you harness it into something that can help us free the galaxy of the Sith."

"And then who rules the galaxy? Your Empire?" Anakin asked skeptically.

Before Fel could answer, or come up with an answer, Antares interrupted. "My Emperor, we've arrived in Bastion space."

"Bastion space?" Anakin repeated.

"Thank you, Antares," Fel said, before turning back to Anakin. "We'll continue this discussion later. Right now, there are pressing matters for all of us, and I am still hopeful you will help us."

"I'll help," Anakin answered. "A galaxy in the grip of the Sith is good for none of us."

Fel nodded briefly, and then marched out of his official quarters with Antares and the other Imperial Knights following, and Anakin following as well. After all, there was nowhere else he could go, given he was in a strange time when so much had clearly changed from what he'd known. For the time being, it was best to stay close to the Emperor, even if he didn't exactly trust him yet.

The Imperial Knights and Anakin arrived on the planet Bastion, dominated by a sprawling militaristic megacity. However, when they arrived, they were met with some uninvited guests, namely five Sith – one Apprentice, four Acolytes, and they were all brandishing their lightsabers.

"Sith . . ." Fel hissed, vibrating with contained but evident fury.

"Roan Fel," the Apprentice sneered. "Hiding behind your Imperial Knights as usual?"

"Are you supposed to be our welcoming party?" Fel asked, sneering back.

"You will be buried here," the Apprentice taunted. "You and your Knights. The Sith will rule forevermore, and your weakness will be blotted out from the galaxy."

"If you've come to posture, I suggest retreating," Antares answered icily. "You won't take this one."

"We'll see, Imperial dog," the Apprentice retorted. "And what's this? You have a Jedi among you . . ." He smirked sadistically. "Jedi fetch a high price in this galaxy." He then turned to the four Acolytes with him. "Whichever one of you can take him will earn my favor."

Immediately, Fel and Antares shifted into a defensive stance, as did the rest of the Imperial Knights, around Anakin, their lightsabers unclipped and pulled into their hands through the Force. Anakin let out a low sigh of bemusement at being protected by Imperials, even Force-using Imperials. At the very least, it meant that Fel was sincere when he said he needed him, Anakin mused as he Force-Pulled his own lightsaber into his hands.

The Apprentice flicked his lightsaber on, a pillar of crimson light rising from the hilt and halting at one meter, the glowing plasma blade fully active. The Acolytes flanking him did the same, nearly identical pillars of crimson light rising from the hilts of their lightsabers and stopping at one meter as well. With violent, burning whooshes through the air, the five Sith attacked, leaping and swinging with incredible speed and ferocity. The Imperial Knights turned on their lightsabers, moving just as quickly to block the Sith warriors' attacks with lightsaber blades glowing azure. Anakin was somewhat surprised, but he put it aside, seeing no time to ponder lightsaber colors as he defended himself with his own lightsaber, clashing against a Sith Acolyte's blade.

"The Jedi's time has come and passed," the Acolyte sneered. "It is the age of the Sith, now and forevermore."

"Not while there are Jedi still," Anakin retorted, pushing back against the Sith Acolyte both physically and with a pulse from the Force. The Acolyte twirled and spun in midair, landing on her feet and lashing at Anakin with a Force Push of her own. Anakin recovered quickly, twisting in midair to land on his feet and slash upwards at the Acolyte dashing in with a burst of Force Speed to finish him while he was unbalanced. She swerved out of the way of a slash that could have cost her an arm and darted to his other side, only for him to quickly parry her blade, crimson and violet clashing violently, carving the air with vibrating hums.

Dark Jedi I've fought . . . but these Sith . . . they're something else, Anakin thought. Yes, the Sith were indeed something else; never taught in the ways of the Jedi, only in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force, and more savage and deadly for it. A Jedi could fall to the Dark Side, but would always be, however slightly, tempered by the pull of the Light Side. These Sith had never had Jedi training, and so there was no Light Side to hold them back at all.

Anakin wasn't the only one fighting for his life, though. The Imperial Knights had their hands full with the other Sith Acolytes, and Fel and Antares were both dueling the Apprentice. The Imperial Knights might have been more martially minded than the Jedi, but they were still users of the Light Side of the Force, while the Sith were pure ferocity and hatred channeled through the Dark Side. Flashes of blue and red lit the air and vibrating whooshing noises reverberated from the lightsaber blades clashing against each other.

Meanwhile, Anakin was still fighting hard against the Sith Acolyte that had met him, violet clashing with scarlet, leaping and darting around the area as they slashed at each other. The Sith Acolyte lashed out at Anakin with as much power as she could draw from the Dark Side, while Anakin defended himself with all the power he could draw from the Light Side. It was an actual struggle for Anakin to draw on the Force, compared to before, feeling like treading through thick, heavy sand.

"I'm going to take your head, Jedi," the Acolyte taunted, bearing down harder on Anakin, who struggled to defend himself against her unrelenting attacks. Just as she was about to slip past his guard, a bolt of blue slashed her, giving Anakin a chance to dodge and counter with a slash of his own.

"What was that about taking my head?" he taunted back, before looking to his rescuer, Antares Draco. "What about the Emperor?"

"See for yourself," Antares replied.

Indeed, Roan Fel was gracefully, agilely darting around the Sith Apprentice's slashes and retaliating with slashes of his own. Every attack the Apprentice made was met with a parry and a counterattack, and it soon became clear that Fel was wearing the Apprentice down, despite his foe's persistence. A very few Force users were on the same level of skill in lightsaber combat as Fel, and Anakin found himself honestly impressed. Perhaps I could learn a thing or two . . . he thought.

However, he didn't have time to continue awing at Fel's prowess with a lightsaber, as he sensed the Acolyte he had fought preparing another attack, and he whirled into a counterstrike. Unfortunately, he overshot and would've left himself open for a killing strike from the Acolyte if not for Antares parrying her with his lightsaber and then impaling her. At the same time, Fel made his own killing strike upon the Apprentice, as the other Imperial Knights similarly dispatched the remaining Sith Acolytes.

"Bastion . . . is ours . . ." Fel declared. "Not yours."

"Thanks . . ." Anakin said to Antares.

"It seems you've lost your equilibrium with the Force," Antares mused.

"I think I have," Anakin admitted. "It felt so much harder to draw upon the Force than before. My lightsaber . . . felt so heavy."

"You are still disturbed in the Force," Fel explained. "You are from an earlier time in the galaxy, somehow transplanted into this current era. That will of course create imbalance and disturbance in your connection to the Force. You must rebalance yourself, if you are to help in freeing the galaxy from the Sith."

"And how do I do that?" Anakin asked.

"Perhaps . . . you find a different kind of balance," Fel suggested. "You may have been trained by the Jedi, but your training was incomplete, wasn't it?"

"Are you offering to finish my training?"

"Yes, but it will not be me who guides you in that. It will be Antares Draco. I've taught him everything he knows. I trust he'll do the same for you."

"I shall," Antares said. "What say you, Anakin?"

Anakin just stared at them both for a long time, and then he proclaimed his answer.

Endnotes: And here we go, the first chapter of this fic, set in the original Expanded Universe canon. I had a lot more in mind for this chapter, but i just have to save it for a later expansion, as time is very much of the essence and I'll admit to being sidetracked once too often. I'm not exactly as well-versed as I should be, so if there's any inconsistencies in this fic with what you know from the novels or from the Legacy comics, feel free to tell me and I'll do my best to correct them. Until next time, hope you all had a happy May the 4th and may the Force be with you.

 

I'm enjoying this. More please.

 

Having watched "Back to the Future" Part I, II and III recently, I did extremely enjoy myself with Anakin Solo from "27 ABY" ending up in
"137 ABY". He´s family is long gone, the galaxy has changed a big deal, but he is at least alive and hopefully can meet descendants of the Skywalker family. He also won the interest of an Emperor. Hopefully working with him/ for him ends better for him than it did for his grandfather.

 

Interesting story idea. Continue!

 

Disclaimer: Star Wars in all its myriad incarnations does not belong to me. It belongs to George Lucas, Lucasfilms Ltd., and Disney. Furthermore, I make no money nor receive other material compensation for writing this story. The only thing I get out of it is the satisfaction that someone's read and hopefully reviewed it.

Author's note: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter


"I accept your offer," Anakin started, "but I won't have anything to do with the dark side and I trust that your teachings won't steer me in its direction, either."

"Fair enough," Antares said. "Our way of harnessing the Force may not be the same as the Jedi way, but we take great care not to fall to the dark side. You will understand when we begin."

"When do we begin?" Anakin asked.

Antares just stared evenly at Anakin. "Now. Follow me."

Anakin did just that, Antares leading him into a sparse yet spacious room surrounded by hovering remotes. "These remotes will test your reflexes and skill level," Antares said.

"How many will I be facing?" Anakin asked.

"Five," Antares replied. "Together. Simultaneously."

Anakin steeled himself, his lightsaber at his side. Death had made him rusty. He would have to sharpen himself once again if he were to stand a chance against the servants of the dark side. The remotes moved into position, their lights turning on to signal their full activation. Anakin drew his lightsaber and at the exact moment the remotes began to fire, Anakin flicked on the blade and began moving in a flurry, rapidly dodging and deflecting the remotes' fire.

Antares watched the young Jedi move, darting between and around the five remotes, which were randomizing their own movements to keep Anakin on his toes. While the remotes fired in bursts, they moved haphazardly around Anakin, deliberately refusing to settle into a pattern that Anakin could predict. As such, Anakin was left dodging and deflecting their attacks by the skin of his teeth and the edge of his lightsaber. The remotes moved too fast for him to reach out and catch with the Force, so he had little choice but to keep on dodging and deflecting until he could spot a gap in their movements that he could exploit.

Making things even more difficult was that the remotes were adapting to and learning from Anakin's movements, intercepting him when he would dodge or try to deflect their fire. Quickly enough, Anakin realized that he would have to randomize his own movements as well, keep the remotes from being able to predict where he would go and how he would strike next. He cleared his mind, opened himself to the Force . . .

. . . and moved, only to cry out in pain as he was unexpectedly singed by remote fire, causing his eyes to snap open as he was barely able to dodge, let alone deflect, the rest of it. How . . . how did that happen? Anakin asked himself, utterly aghast and bewildered, but trying to center himself so he could at least stay alive. My connection to the Force, it must be even more strained than I thought.

Antares continued watching as Anakin struggled to rebalance and refocus himself amidst the oncoming fire from the remotes. To his credit, the young Jedi was quicker in mind than he was in body, but this would be a definite problem for his retraining. He could sense that Anakin's connection to the Force had been greatly imbalanced by his transit from the past, but to the point of almost literally walking into remote fire when he was trying to dodge? Yes, this would have to be dealt with and quickly, if Anakin was to survive against the Sith, Antares thought to himself.

Interrupting his observation was an Imperial Knight, Ganner Krieg, who rushed in frantically. "Sir! I've just gotten communication about the princess's location!"

"Really?" Antares asked. "Where is she?"

"On Vendaxa," Ganner replied.

"I'll inform the Emperor at once," Antares said. "He must know."

Of course, the reaction Antares got was not the one he had entirely expected. "No. Absolutely not."

"What?"

"It's me Krayt wants," Roan Fel answered pointedly. "This is a trap, and Sia is bait. There will be no rescue mission, Draco."

"But . . . Master?! This is your daughter!" Antares protested.

"I know who she is!" Fel snapped, dropping his composure. "I love my daughter, but the fate of the Empire – of the galaxy – is at stake! Not all of the troops loyal to us have made their way here yet. Krayt cannot be allowed to know we have taken Bastion – not yet!"

"You know that I would die before giving the Sith your location –" Antares pleaded, but Fel cut him off.

"No rescue! My word is final!" With that, he departed, leaving behind two loyal but frustrated Imperial Knights.

"Antares . . . I'm sorry," Ganner Krieg said. "I'm with you, but we have sworn an oath of loyalty – and the Emperor has spoken."

Antares contemplated Ganner's words for a moment before speaking. "I know, Ganner, but . . . is loyalty always the same as obedience?"

"It isn't," Anakin replied, finally speaking up. He had followed Antares after his training round had finished, and witnessed the argument between his new master and the Emperor. "An innocent life lies in the balance. We cannot simply do nothing. That is all that evil requires to win, for those who are good to do nothing, and I trust . . . that you are a good man."

Antares nodded. "Then you'll come with me, won't you, Anakin?"

"I will, Master," Anakin replied simply.

"Be on your guard," Antares warned. "I won't have you die so quickly after I began your tutelage."

Anakin nodded, as he and Antares began to prepare, along with Ganner. Emperor Fel would not be happy about what they were going to do, but Emperor Fel would have to understand. Leaving behind an innocent to suffer and die was not the way of any good person. Anakin knew this, and Antares knew this, though Anakin sensed far deeper and more personal motives behind Antares's fervor than mere righteousness. For the sake of respect, however, he would not pry . . . much. There would be time to ask questions later, or so he hoped.

It didn't take too long for them to reach Vendaxa, but Anakin had a pit of dread building in his stomach. It wasn't just nerves; he could sense danger ahead, as if a trap had been lain for them and they were about to rush into it. Not that they had any other choice, as innocent lives hung in the balance and to do nothing would be to condemn those lives to end at the merciless hands of the Sith. He turned to Antares, about to share his feelings with his new Master, when Antares held a length of cloth out toward him.

"What's this?" Anakin asked.

"Your cloak," Antares replied. "Wear it when you take to the battlefield. We don't want you being recognized just yet."

"Yes," Anakin said, about to take the cloak, and then . . . chaos broke loose.

It started with the Sith ships intercepting them as they were about to land on the surface of Vendaxa. In bursts and flurries of plasma bolts, the Imperial ships were felled and they had to perform a crash-landing, Anakin thinking all the while, It really was a trap.

Nonetheless, the two Imperial Knights and one Jedi-turned-Imperial Knight landed, springing from their downed vessels and crouching to disperse the force of their landing. They rose to their feet, facing a contingent of four Sith that mocked their willingness to fly right into their trap for the sake of Sia Fel, believing they had ensnared her father, whom they disdained as "the false Emperor." The leader of this Sith contingent was Darth Talon, a red-skinned Twi'lek woman with red-rimmed golden eyes, and black tattoos all over her body, which she had obviously honed into a weapon as deadly as it was beguiling. The male closest to her had charcoal-colored skin, his face painted mostly white like a deathly mask, and long black hair. The other two with them were not quite as distinctive, but they practically smoldered with the dark side, just like the Twi'lek woman and the death-masked male.

"And who's this?" Talon sneered, peering at Anakin as if she could see through his raised hood. Maybe she could, if her powers in the dark side of the Force were strong enough. "A new apprentice you've taken? Another knight for the false Emperor?"

Antares glared heatedly at Talon. "He's no concern of yours."

"Very well," she replied nonchalantly. "I suppose it doesn't matter. He'll die just like you will."

"The only ones who'll be dying . . . are you," Antares vowed.

That was when the white-faced Sith male spoke up. "Don't be so certain of that."

Then lightsabers flicked on, and the battle was joined, with a conflagration of red and blue flashes carving the air and illuminating the night. As they fought, Sia turned reproachfully upon Antares. "Antares, you're an idiot!" she called out furiously. "Coming here has just gotten us both killed!"

"Not by these three," Antares retorted.

"I know my father. He didn't send you on this mission."

"Actually, he forbade it," Ganner confessed.

"Wonderful," Sia grumbled. "You'd better hope these Sith kill you, Antares, so you won't have to face my father's anger. What were you thinking?"

Anakin was about to interject in his new master's defense, but Antares was perfectly capable of speaking for himself. "That the person I care about more than my vows as a Knight, than my fealty to your father, than my loyalty to the Empire, was in danger. I was thinking of you. I love you, Sia."

"I know," was Sia's calm response.

It was only Anakin's discipline that kept him from smiling. They remind me of my mother and father, he thought. Sadly, that moment of amused distraction gave one of the Sith, another red-skinned female, but with several small horns protruding from her scalp, the opportunity to graze his arm. Thankfully for him, he reacted just quickly enough to avoid losing the arm completely, and he repaid her with a slash of his own. Their lightsabers, blue and red, clashed against each other as they each sought purchase in the other's flesh, the Sith woman's eyes flashing with fury and bloodlust.

"You're no Imperial . . ." she whispered. "You fight like a Jedi."

"A Jedi? On the Imperials' side?" whispered one of the Jedi fighting alongside the Imperial Knights against the Sith. At that, Anakin was tempted to say that it was a long story, but he had no time to explain himself. To the Jedi, he would be willing to clarify things later, but as for the Sith, he owed them no such explanation or clarification, as he redoubled his efforts. However, he sensed a familiar presence, familiar in the sense that it felt like kin, like family . . . and that presence was about to be swallowed by a much darker presence creeping upon it. Realizing what was going to happen, he turned to call out a warning, seeing a man with shaggy blonde hair, beard stubble, and clad like a bounty hunter . . .

. . . and cried out in pain as he felt his own arm being severed at the elbow by the Sith woman's lightsaber. He heard Sia scream, "CADE! LOOK OUT!" He saw her fall at the hands of the fifth Sith who had been lurking in waiting. He saw the scruffy blond man, the man who had felt so familiar to him, felt so much like kin, the man apparently named Cade, pick up Sia's lightsaber after Sia shared what might have been her last words with him, determined to avenge her. He felt Antares's pain through the Force, as Antares sensed Sia's downfall, pain that quickly transmuted into rage, rage that would edge him towards the dark side if he wasn't careful.

As Anakin tried to focus on using the Force to staunch his own injury and keep himself in the fight, he could hear the exchange between Cade and the white-faced Sith, apparently named Lord Nihl. Piercing through the veil of his own pain was a very familiar name. Skywalker!? His name is Skywalker?! Anakin thought, stunned and surprised. Despite the familiarity of that name, despite the kinship he felt with Cade Skywalker, Anakin could also feel the dark side creeping into the other young man. He could feel it through Cade's anger at not just Sia's seeming death – as Anakin could feel her clinging to life, albeit on a thread – but also his determination to avenge his own father's murder by Nihl.

Speaking of vengefulness, he managed to find his new master holding Sia mournfully after forcing Darth Talon back from her. "Master Draco . . ." Anakin whispered, about to explain, when he could hear Sia's own voice, however faint.

"Antares . . ."

"She's alive!" Antares rejoiced. "The princess is still alive! We have to get her to the ship!"

"Do it," Wolf, a longhaired Jedi with small horns poking out of his hairline and one missing arm of his own, spoke. "I'll cover you."

"Anakin, with me," Antares ordered. "You're injured enough as it is. Perhaps I shouldn't have brought you in."

"You did what was needed," Anakin replied. "My connection to the Force, it's still distorted."

"Anakin?" Wolf wondered upon hearing that name, though he didn't have too long to ponder on it, as Cade lunged at Nihl with his borrowed lightsaber.

". . . I can hold him!" Cade shouted at the one-armed Jedi. "Get the princess on the Mynock!"

Must be his ship, Anakin thought.

"No!" the one-armed Jedi protested.

"This isn't Ossus, and I'm not running this time!" Cade snapped.

"The Force be with you," Wolf whispered, as he retreated to Cade's ship with Antares, Anakin, and Sia. Inside, they met others, whom Anakin presumed to be Cade's crewmates, though he could sense from the woman that she was more than just a crewmate, and much conflict from the man regarding Cade, who had apparently hidden his status as a former Jedi from them.

"Where's everybody else?" the man, dark-skinned with long dreadlocked hair, asked.

"Holding off the Sith," Wolf replied. "I'm going back . . ."

"No, Jedi!" Antares protested. "The princess must come first! She's dying! I swore an oath to her and her father to protect her at all costs!"

"I did not," Wolf retorted coldly. "Other lives are at stake as well, lives I hold dear! I'm supposed to sacrifice them for the daughter of the man who ordered the massacre at Ossus?"

"That's not how it happened," Anakin interrupted. "Roan Fel had no part in that atrocity. Neither did his daughter. Even so, vengefulness is not the Jedi way, nor is punishing others for the crimes, real or perceived, of their family."

"What do you know of the Jedi way?" Wolf rounded on him.

"More than you think."

"Enough," Antares interjected himself. "Do not give yourself away so easily, my apprentice."

Wolf relented. "I will do what I can. You do what you can, Imperial, to protect the ship. Go!" He aimed a searching gaze at Anakin, who gazed back.

"I'll do what I can, too," Anakin replied, moving to follow Antares out of the ship. To Anakin's slight surprise, the dreadlocked bounty hunter, Syn, was following them out as well.

"I may hate Jedi . . . but I'll take Jedi over Sith any day," Syn murmured to Anakin.

With that, they joined Cade and the Twi'lek Jedi Shado Vao in fighting Nihl and Darth Talon, Force-fueled acrobatics and strikes weaving a deadly interplay along with Syn's blaster bolts. Fortunately for them, Cade's crewmate (and maybe lover) Blue – named for her blue hair, though she had hot pink skin as well – was able to get the Mynock's engines going, and so they jumped on, kicking the Sith off when the Sith attempted to pursue. However, that didn't mean they were out of danger yet; for all the other Jedi's efforts, Sia was still dying, and there seemed to be nothing anyone could do.

"Set a course for Bastion!" Antares ordered.

"Bastion?!" Syn exploded in shock and horror. "We just escaped those Sith and you want to go to Bastion?!"

"Don't worry," Anakin said. "We took back Bastion."

"And it's the only secure place that has the bacta tanks and skilled healers the princess needs!" Antares added.

"Going to Bastion," Syn conceded. "But it's gonna take time."

"And we can only push the engines so hard," Blue added.

"The princess has no time!" Antares responded irately. "We'll help the Jedi. We'll do everything we can to keep her alive! You get every bit of speed this junk heap has, or I swear I'll kill you myself!"

"Man's a motivator, ain't he?" Syn cracked.

However, Antares's rage could only do so much against Sia's impending death, and Anakin could sense it, even with her words about uniting the Jedi and the Imperials. If they lost her now, it would mean losing Antares to the dark side, just like his namesake. Anakin was determined not to let that happen, advancing on Antares just as Antares was about to rather violently reject Cade's offer to help.

"If you know a way, then do it," he said.

"Anakin –!" Antares protested. "This filth is the reason she's dying right now!"

"And you are losing yourself to the dark side, my master," Anakin countered. "Giving in to your anger, your fear, and your hate – those will only make you lose what you hold dear, and I don't want to see that happen to you. Please . . . let him help."

"You speak madness, young Imperial," Wolf said. "Even if he can, he will be touching the dark side to do so, and that will lead nowhere good. We all must serve the will of the Force, not bend the Force to serve our own will."

"And how do you know this isn't the will of the Force, Wolf?" Cade protested. "How do you know it's not the Force's will that she lives? She's the one you've been looking for, not me. She's the one who can unite everyone to work together against the Sith. Who do you think they're more likely to follow, someone like her, or like me?"

"Cade . . ." Shado started to say, only for Cade to cut him off.

"Do you think I'm a monster?" he asked heatedly. "Is that it? Are you going to strike me down for saving her life? If so, go ahead, because I'm doing this!"

"I will not stop you, Cade," Wolf conceded somberly. "I cannot. Perhaps this is what you were meant to do, but doing it simply because you can is not reason enough."

"Then maybe it's because she saved my life," Cade retorted, focusing on Sia and channeling the Force through himself and into her. "No one dies for me! Never again!"

After several tense moments, Sia's eyes opened. "Antares?" she whispered as Antares held her close, while Cade staggered away. "I dreamed I was dead . . ."

Anakin found himself smiling softly, with relief. He'd still have to do something about his severed arm, but that could wait. He had to offer his gratitude to Cade, and perhaps talk to him as well about a certain lingering vision. In the process, he was interrupted by Wolf. "You should let him recover first," the one-armed Jedi advised him.

"Yes. I see," Anakin replied, understanding what he meant.

"Also, I have some questions about you," Wolf said. "You fight and speak like a Jedi, but you wear the vestments of an Imperial. How can you –?"

"It's a long story," Anakin said. "One I'll hopefully be able to explain after we get some breathing room."

Then he heard a familiar growl, albeit tempered by age. He turned around and saw . . . "Lowbacca? Is that you?"

The aged Wookiee growled in confirmation, and Anakin pulled down his hood to reveal his face. Lowbacca immediately swept him into a tight, strong hug, growling happily. "Missed you, too . . . how? Like I said, it's a long story."

"He was helping us with the engine," Blue commented. "He's actually quite good at that sort of thing."

Anakin smiled at that. "That's Lowie." Lowbacca merely growled contentedly at him. "At least I'm not completely alone here," he murmured to himself. That earned him another growl from Lowbacca, and Anakin nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Master Lowbacca, how do you know this young man?" Shado asked, and Lowbacca growled his response, which made Shado's eyes widen in shock and surprise. "How is that even possible? Anakin Solo died a century ago. How is it that he walks among us now?"

"Like I said to Lowbacca, it's a long story," Anakin replied.

Shado's sister, Imperial Missionary Astraal Vao, looked at him. "What kind of power could bring you to this time?"

"I wish I knew," Anakin answered. "Antares Draco found me, so I'm grateful to him for that, and I believe, as Sia does, that Imperials and Jedi can and must come together to defeat the Sith."

"Thank you . . . Anakin . . ." Sia responded. Antares looked soberly at him, knowing that he had been in danger of losing himself to the dark side if not for the time-tossed Jedi's words cutting through the fog of his anger and grief. He had a lot to thank the younger man for as well, he realized, and as it was, Fel would not be all that pleased with their actions, even if the results had ultimately been good.

The Emperor said as much over the broadcast welcoming the crew of the Mynock to Bastion, with Antares, Ganner, and Anakin called out specifically. Upon landing on Bastion, Anakin was immediately taken to the medical bay to be fitted for a prosthetic arm that would replace the one he'd lost, something else that put him in common with his namesake. After that, he was not looking forward to Fel's reaction to finding that he, along with Antares and Ganner, had disobeyed his express orders, even if it had been for a good cause.

He sighed to himself as he flexed his new prosthetic arm. "This will take some getting used to," he mumbled. Then he looked up, and saw something he never expected to see. "Uncle Luke?"

The Force ghost of Luke Skywalker stared deeply, searchingly at him, but said nothing. Anakin knew he wasn't going insane, this was a manifestation of the Force, but why? Was Luke trying to warn him that joining the Imperials, even in this strange time, was a bad idea? That it would lead him to the dark side as surely as joining the Sith?

"Uncle Luke?" he repeated. Luke's specter still stared, and still said nothing. "Am I doing the right thing?"

There was still no answer.


Endnotes: Sorry for taking so long, again, with this chapter