Chapter 1 - Battle Between the Stars

speech:"like this"

though:'like this'

telepathy:<like this>

comms:=like this.=

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Finally a major adventure, new Volume, things are going to get a little serious from time to time but the relaxed core of the story will remain.

I hope you all have a great day.

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///3RD POV///

-3681 BBY-

-Space Station orbiting the Sith Homeworld of Korriban-

(A/N: For those who don't know BBY stands for Before the Battle of Yavin, which was when Luke destroyed the first Death Star, in Star Wars lore is used to mark the calendar.)

It was supposed to be a day like any other, a routine so to say.

Yet, as Satele Shan was crossing the halls with her Jedi Master, the Zebrak renowned Battlemaster Kao Cen Darach, escorting the smuggler Nico Okarr, a foreboding feeling couldn't help but creep into her heart.

(Image)

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Nico:"Hey, I swear, I had no idea what was in those crates, I'm innocent."

The smuggler tried to squeeze his way out of the situation.

Darach:"You were smuggling Sith artifacts captain."

Resolutely but yet with I tired voice, as if he was done with this discussion replied the Jedi Master.

Nico:"Fine keep the artifacts, just give me back my ship."

Whined the man. As they walked down the hall of the spaceship, which had special glass to look outside to the stars, the smuggler, gets distracted by a female Twilek passing by.

Republic Soldier:"Eyes front."

*Shove*

Ordered the soldier.

Nico:"Just inspecting the troops corporal."

Suddenly Satele held her head, as the feeling the dread was ever increasing, her training did not fail her as she keep her composure, she stops for a moment taking everybody's attention.

Darach:"Satele what's wrong?"

Satele:"I sense…great darkness."

She shakes her head, such a thing wasn't uncommon for her, and her master knew it, she, being the granddaughter of the great Bastila Shan and Revan had a great sense in the Force.

It also helped that she inherited the Battle Meditation powers that Bastila was known for, even if to a lesser degree.

Darach stopped and looked at the window, becoming more alert, and started to tap into the force to try and sense something.

His efforts were for not.

Because everyone could see the Imperial fleet that was exiting hyperspace directly in front of the orbital station.

A contingency of Dreadnaughs appeared within seconds and their design was impossible to mistake.

(Image)

Darach:"The Sith Empire has returned."

Everybody could feel the severity in the Jedi master's voice.

Darach:"We must warn the republic."

Republic Soldier:"Our shuttles can't outrun those fighters."

Nico:"*Ahem* Well, guess who's got the fastest ship in the sector."

Chimmed in smugly. And without the need to say anything else, the cuff was taken from his hands and the group was already running toward the hangar.

A Jedi Master and his padawan along with two Republic soldiers and a smuggler.

The only hope to warn the Republic and the Jedi council about the return of their most fierce enemy to date, one that they didn't expect to return.

Coming close to the Hangar hall, the two soldiers tried to gain more time, shooting at the Imperial soldier running towards them as the Jedi Master and his Padawan jumped ahead to clear the way.

Nico:"Look out!!"

*BOOOM*

He tried to warn the soldiers that stayed behind but were still slowly approaching them about the Imperial troops coming at their flank but he was too late.

Seeing no other option but to fight, Nico slowly approached the soldiers and took one of his trusted blaster pistols from his hip.

His aim reigned true as it was a kill per shot. Making a 360 turn to dodge a shoot that was about to hit his chest he took out his second pistol and finished the small squad.

It just managed to open a small window of opportunity as the footsteps of other squads could be heard coming from both the way they came and the way they just finished their enemies.

Only one of the soldiers accompanying them survived, with a damaged helmet, which he took off to breathe better and soon, took back his Z-6 Rotatory Blaster Cannon and rejoined the fight.

(Image)

As Nico gave him cover, the Corporal, Jace Malcom, ran to the door of the hangar initiating its closing, and started covering Nico back, as Nico crossed the door at the last second, Jace, destroyed the door's control panel to buy them some time.

Nico:"MY SHIP."

Complaining Nico was incensed with his luck, as debris from the station was all over his ship.

Darach:"Will she fly?"

Nico:"She's not pretty but she's tough."

As the two men walked toward the ship, A modified XS Stock Light Freighter, a Sith ship boarded the hangar they were on, sensing the Force users inside the ship, Darach said to Nico.

(Image)

Darach:"Captain prep your ship, this is our fight."

With a nod, Nico went right into it and Jace went along to expedite things. Satele and Darach went on to face their enemies, much like them. Jedi Master and Padawan against Sith Lord and Dark Apprentice.

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They run to each other.

The Sith lord with his double lightsaber went to the Jedi Master and the appendices were the same.

But they were fighting close enough that one could interfere in another fight.

As they got close, the Dark Apprentice, a pale human, was about to throw the first attack but Darach jumping and twisting in the air in their direction forced the apprentice to jump above Satele to try and get her from behind.

Satele flared her double-sided lightsaber and followed the apprentice's movement, blocking his attack, the apprentice, attacked two other times, up and down, before making a reverse spin to attack the upper back of Darach to his right.

At the same time Darach was exchanging blows with the Sith Lord, different from his apprentice, he was the one on the offensive. And much like his apprentice, the Sith lord made the same turn to try and hit Satele's legs.

Darach pushed the apprentice's lightsaber away, took a step back, and jumped toward the Sith lord, spinning in the air, forcing the Sith Lord to refocus on him.

The Sith lord jumped together with him and using each side of his saber, defended the high and low attack coming from the Jedi Master. Now on the ground, the Sith Lord made a last spin to try a low attack at Darach who met in equal force.

Going for a mid sweep, Darach pushed himself with the Force, sliding into the floor, getting up briefly only to have to duck the incoming stab.

Satele and the apprentice didn't stand still either. At the moment her master forced the Sith Lord to refocus on him, she with a reverse spin and rotating her double-sided lightsaber tried to take the offensive this time.

Trying a high attack, the apprentice defended, so she tried to close it in while spinning her saber making him, retreat, finalizing with a jump and thrust.

While her master was again in the offensive, and trying a three-hit attack to destabilize his opponent. The apprentice, held the hilt of her saber as she was doing a downward attack.

Now to close for comfort, she moved the lower blade of her saber to try and attack but the apprentice blocked with his own, taking advantage of his superior strength he kneed her on the stomach.

Such was the force that she lost all the air in her lungs and dropped her saber, now briefly disorientated she could do nothing against the blade coming down on her.

Finishing his three attacks Darach pushed forward the Sith lord, taking a small distance and as quickly, throwing his lightsaber at the Sith, who ducked.

Darach's saber flew towards the descending blade of the apprentice, as they were battling close to each other, hitting the apprentice's saber, deflecting, he used the Force and his saber was back in his hand.

All of this took just the seconds that the Sith lord had ducked and got up to get back in the fight.

As his saber returned to his hand he took another spin and again, attacked the Sith.

Satele, with clarity back in her mind, jumped and kicked the chest of the apprentice, throwing him at a distance. Pulling her saber back into her hands and jumped at the Sith lord as Darach was just dodging an attack.

With a brief respite, the Sith lord pointed his hand at Satale in the air and launched lighting at her which she took unprotected, beside the Force, and fell to the floor.

Refocusing on the Jedi Master, the Sith jumped, spinning in a downward attack Darach responded in kind, he raised his hand and Force Pushed the Sith away.

Nico's ship was finally in the air, the last-minute repairs that they had to make were done and it was ready to part.

The Sith lord shoots his Force lightning at the ship's engines trying to stop it from leaving, but Jace, at the ship's ramp, shoots a concentrated blast, forcing the Sith lord to conjure a shield and protect himself.

Jace:"COME ON."

Darach regrouped with his padawan and while turning off his saber, he solemnly put his hand on her shoulder and said.

Darach:"Go Satele, you must walk a different path."

She look briefly at the distancing back of her master, saddened, before shouting.

Satele:"MASTER."

And threw her saber to him, he jumped and turned in the air, taking her saber and flaring both, started to engage Sith Lord and apprentice at the same time.

Satele ran with her Force speed she jumped through the debris using a big piece as a ramp she jumped towards the speeding ship, Jace, in the ship's exit ramp cough her hand, and brought her in.

Nico:"ON THOSE GUNS, NOW."

Wasting no time, Nico shouted at them, as they manned the turrets and Nico, bumped into the Sith's unpowered ship, damaging it.

Inside the station, showing why he had the title of Battlemaster, Darach was holding his own against his foes, even managing to strike at the Sith lord's mask wounding him lightly, but more importantly, taking it off revealing the race underneath.

I pureblood Sith, thought to be even more extinct than the Sith lords itself.

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==

Outside the station, Nico was piloting through an asteroid field trying to lose the fighters pursuing them.

Satele, in the turret, was improving with each shot, her mind was getting calmer by the second and it was as if she could perceive the fighters' trajectory.

==

Inside the station, things were getting better but it was like the respite before a wave, being true to his battle prowess, Darach managed to fatally wound the Sith, shoving his saber through the stomach.

Which manages to anger enough the apprentice who with his unrelenting onslaught manages not only to corner but to disarm one of the Jedi master's sabers.

His attacks grew fiercer and fiercer and the Jedi master knew, this is it.

==

Outside of the station, Satele was fighting more than just the fighters, something was telling her that something bad was about to happen, when her master was being cornered and impotent, something was gripping her heart.

She tried to shake off her feeling, she tried to remember her training, she was supposed to let any feelings go, it was the teaching of the Jedi, but perhaps, she inherited not only the innate strength but also the stubbornness of her grandfather.

But, there was something else, there was the force, since the beginning of this mission, the Force has been different with her.

She was feeling like she was blessed, which is weird, the Force isn't supposed to have favorites.

She had this thing, this nagging feeling in her head, this certainty that her destiny will forever change.

That her fate would be altered in ways she could never imagine, that the Jedi, something that always held great importance to her, would become meaningless.

And above all else, she had the feeling of peace, warmth, something that she could never feel at the Jedi temple.

And it was at this moment, in an important battle in her life, where a foreboding feeling that she was trying to fight from taking hold of her heart that it happened.

==

Inside the station, the anger fueling the apprentice was about to give him victory, he managed to totally disarm and overpower his opponent, he just had to finish his incoming cross attack and the Jedi would be done for.

*BOOOOOOOOOOM*

==

Nico:"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

A fissure in space appeared in the middle of the Imperial fleet and they could see a weird ship coming out of it, the force of that ship's crossing pushed the dreadnaughts away and the small ship hit the orbital station, but weirdly enough, it was intact.

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Satele eyes shot wide open and she used her consciousness in the Force to try and probe the new ship, she felt that it had something important in it.

But she felt something prick through her very soul.

Satele:"AARRRRGGGGG."

Nico:=Hey Jedi, what is going on, are you alright?=

She shouted, that was the most painful experience that she had ever been through, an excruciating pain coursing through her body.

Satele felt her energy weaning and the amount of Force she could muster decreased by a great amount feeling weakened and she lost conscience.

==PRESENTLY IN CADMUS SOUL SPACE==

///SATELE POV///

Satele:"And that's all I remember."

Cad:"I see."

Why am I telling them all of it? Why am I so calm? This is all weird, my logical side, and my Jedi training tell me something, but the Force...

Cad:"You must want to know what is happening right now, no?"

Taking me from my thoughts, the young man, Cadmus, addresses me. I nod.

Cad:"Well, this is a soul space, more specifically, my, or better yet, our soul space."

He says pointing at the rest of the people in the area, all female, allegedly, his wives.

Cad:"And if I had to guess, you are here, because when I was trying to leave an anchor, so to speak, your soul got in the way and that forced a connection between us."

Satele:"...I see."

What do I do now? What exactly does it mean? What will they do to me and this space that they have total power over me?

Cad:"Calm down, we will do nothing to you."

Satele:"..How do you–"

Ivy:"Your feelings are leaking."

What?

Lisa:"We are connected now, as Cadmus wives we always had this soul connection with him, and now you have something similar and we are able to perceive the feeling of each other, even more so when being distraught like you."

That… is highly concerning.

Satele:"Is there a way to undo it?"

Cad:"Yes, but it will very painful for you, and I don't know that you will survive."

I remember the overwhelming pain I felt when this connection was forcibly made, and even with my training I don't want to pass through it again.

This….I don't even know how to respond to this, I don't even know how to react to something like this, it is not like the Jedi have a manual on how to deal with this kind of situation.

Cad:"Well, you will gain nothing by musing about this kind of thing, if your soul gets strong enough we can try to undo it, raising your survival chances and reducing the pain.

Right, there is hope, but why do I feel like I would lose something more important if that were to happen, why does the Force wants me to be connected to this stranger?

Cad:"For now, we have to use the advantage we were given."

Satele:"What do you mean?"

Cad:"Well, we are not from this area, so we will need information, on pretty much everything, and in return, you can make use of my strength to help you from time to time."

Satele:"And how do I know I can trust you?"

Medaka:"Are you serious?"

One of his wives asks me incredulously, and a feel a little ashamed, right, we are soul bound.

Cad:"*chuckle* No, that's a good question as there a people that can manipulate other people's souls."

That is concerning, but funnily enough, even after he said that I still don't feel any danger from them.

Cad:"You are familiar with meditation, right?"

*Nod*

Cad:"Then close your eyes, and focus."

I do what he says and start to meditate.

Cad:"You will be able to easily feel our connection, like a thread from you to me."

I do so, like many other times, tapping into my connection in the Force I am able to feel myself, and from there I can see our connection, following that I see that he, is like a server, connecting to his other wives.

And I see, that even if not fully, they let themselves open to me, I know how they feel, for each other, for Cadmus, and for me.

They are worried about me. Why?

Taking a moment to investigate my connection I can see each place where they physically are, except for two but it seems like Cadmus and his other wives are not bothered by it.

Well if the other wives aren't bothered I also will not…..Wait I am not his wife am I?

Satele:"...Since we are connected, does that mean that I am your wife too?"

Cad:"No."

That....That was rude, you didn't have to deny it so quickly.

The wives:"*giggle*"

Cad:"Alright, you don't have to be upset, it is not because I am not attracted to you and you do check a lot of the same boxes that any of my wives do, but we don't know each other enough and there's no feeling."

Good....why am I glad?

Why am I feeling all of these different emotions I have long learned to suppress them for they are what leads to the Darkside.

Wait, emotions.

Looking around at the people in here and seeing their amused faces at my dilemma I don't even want to know what are they feeling.

Satele:"Y-you have spoken about advantages, could you explain more about it?"

I try to move the conversation forward in an attempt to hide my embarrassment, by the Force, please stop giving me those smiles.

Cad:"Well, aside from my strength being at your service at almost no cost, to a reasonable degree, of course, you will get stronger as a thanks."

Satele:"Thanks?"

Cad:"You felt yourself get weaker, right?"

*Nods*

Cad:"So, as you saw, I act like a beacon of sorts, I get strengthened by all those in the connection, and in return, I boost their strength, normally, what happened to you shouldn't happen, but in simple terms, I am not a force user but you are so….".

I see.

Satale:"You cannot boost something that you do not have."

Cad:"Precisely, the connection took your strength to enable me to use the force, and in exchange, your force powers as well as your 'battery tank' will be severely improved, once you get out of here you will fill empty in the Force, but it just your body trying to catch up to your new tank."

That's….that is good, I do not know what the Force has in store for me and why it wants me to be a part of his life, but I can't argue with the benefits that I am getting.

But why do I feel like I am a gift wrapped with I nice bow?

At least he is very good-looking, gah, again, why are my emotions so out of control, I thought that I long had mastery over them.

His warm smile every time I get distraught about my lack of discipline over my feeling just makes everything worst.

Let's end this already…..wait.

Satele:"You said that I could use your strength right?"

I do not know why but I can feel it, he is strong, stronger the anyone that I have ever seen, it's like an innate feeling as if he was above any other creature, not much different from a natural predator but one that lives in harmony with its surroundings.

Like a calm Rancor, if there ever existed one.

Cad:"I also said that it was an exchange, I will not betray you, and neither will you betray me, but we still don't have enough trust to simply be there for one another."

Satele:"I…."

Why does hearing him say something like this bothers me so much? Master, I'm sorry.

Cad:"But I guess I do have to give a little sample after all, it is not like I can simply run from such a large scale conflict….Well, I can, but that would be no fun."

The Wives:*Giggle*

He says amusedly as his wives giggle as if the fact that a large-scale galactic war was something to laugh about.

Strangely enough, I am not bothered by it, something tells me that this kind of thing will become the norm in my life, and even though I will do my best to help everyone I can, it's not like I can help everyone.

Cadmus gets up, as do his wives he says his goodbye to them and turns to me.

Cad:"Have Nico return the ship, I will deliver your master to your ship and we will escape.

And with that, the very first soul space conference came to an end and I got back to the real world, where barely a minute had passed when my consciousness returned to my body.

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