Chapter 15 Traps & Secrets

The Chancellor's Office, the Senate Building Coruscant…

Palpatine had private places where he allowed his guard to drop and channel the force, places shielded from the Jedi's sight that would allow him to be himself even for a short time. The day when they would no longer be necessary was always on his mind but today as he pondered, taking a quiet moment to himself he was gripped by a sudden vision in the force without even needing to be there.

Force Vision…

Anakin had his lightsaber in hand, still a hideous blue but he was in a dark chamber facing a terrifying creature. It was easily eight or nine feet tall with thick armoured skin and sharp teeth, claws and tusks. It snarled at him before charging forward, Anakin tried to stab at it with his lightsaber but the beast caught him with a swipe of its long and vicious looking claws and tore his stomach open.

He lay there, stunned, in pain and bleeding as the creature descended on him and ended his life with a single powerful swipe of its claws.

Force Vision Ends…

Palpatine was struck by what he had just seen, the vision had been so vivid and clear that it was likely to be very soon and he could sense at tremor in the force. Anakin would die soon if this event was allowed to occur.

While he didn't really care for Anakin the boy was his future apprentice, the enforcer for the future Sith Empire and it could take years to find such a promising apprentice again if he ever did. He couldn't allow this.

He knew Anakin was on Coruscant for the moment and none of his future deployments were to planets where meeting a creature like the one he had seen was likely. He frowned though as he was rarely wrong about predicting the future.

Palpatine turned to the window and wondered what could he do to make sure Anakin didn't face that beast or if he did what could he do to ensure his survival? He thought about keeping him here on Coruscant but a tremor in the dark side of the force let him know to his frustration that it wouldn't work so he pondered just what he could do. His frustration built as he looked through each course of action and discarded them.

Until he realised he was overlooking an incredibly obvious fact, Anakin had been fighting against the creature alone. So the answer was to make sure someone was there to help him or be killed so Anakin would survive.

But who Palpatine pondered with his fingers arched? The meddlesome Kenobi? The Clone? The Apprentice that he was considering having killed just to weaken Anakin all the more?

He would have to think on it.

The Jedi Temple, Coruscant…

Anakin was meditating, through his lightsaber again of course but now with his new personal code in mind.

He honestly had never felt so strong in the force as he did now, Anakin thought with awe as its energy flowed through him even stronger than ever. His own code had helped him find greater balance than he had ever dreamed and as he continued to meditate with his code and lightsaber it only grew as time passed.

Ahsoka was sadly not here with him, she had gone off on a private mission of her own which he had decided to let her after realising if she was to discover her own code someday she would need too. He missed her but could sense through the force that she was fine and needed to grow a little on her own.

He meanwhile was looking into trying some of the more esoteric abilities he had read about in Revan's writings. Force Valor was the one that he was interested the most in right now as he dearly wished to not only improve his own resolve, accuracy and speed beyond the normal augmentation granted by the force but also that of his allies around him. Ahsoka and Rex springing immediately to mind as they threw themselves into the heart of battle right there with him.

He knew that if he was to be a better master for Ahsoka and a better commander for Rex he had to become stronger.

So he was pushing himself to master force valor and then he would attempt to improve his force resistance which would allow him to better resist force based attacks. His determination burning inside him to be better than he had been before.

He was however disturbed by an incessant beeping, he stopped reluctantly and feeling annoyed looked to see just what was so important. Picking up his datapad he looked and saw a pending message marked urgent. Anakin decided to get it over with and see just who it was.

Then he was shocked as a hologram of a very familiar bothan appeared.

"Anakin. I am sorry but you are the only one I could turn too. I want to come back, to come home but my master insists we stay with Dooku. I need help Anakin and you are the only one that I can trust. I am currently excavating a Sith Temple we found on Bosthirda, its light security, I would slip away but I have no ship. Please old friend, I just want to fight alongside you again...like we always planned." The Bothan said before his message ended.

Anakin was in a state of shock, he knew this young Bothan very well and had never expected to see him again. His name was Nek Za'blik, they had been the same age and he had been one of the few to treat him as an equal and even befriend him. When the rumblings that would become the Clone Wars had started he and Nek had always dreamed of fighting against the Separatists side by side but his master Sora Bulq had defected to Dooku early in the war and Nek had gone with him.

While in a real sense he was a traitor to the Jedi and the Republic Anakin felt for his friend, maybe he was telling the truth and wanted to come home...a boyish part of him wanted to get his friend back but at the same time he knew this was strange to be contacted after so long being silent.

Still his own honour refused to let it rest and he sighed knowing he would go but he couldn't tell anyone about this as they would insist on going with him and he wasn't sure this was going to be as safe as he hoped.

- x -

Palpatine had finally come to a decision about who to send with Anakin, he knew if Anakin was going to sneak off then he would use that old freighter of his and so he had it tagged with a tracking device and went to the one man who he was reasonably sure could be trusted to bring Anakin back alive.

"Anakin appears to have gone off on an unsanctioned mission, I fear he might have been lured into some kind of trap and it wouldn't do to get Anakin into trouble with the Jedi. I know it is a great deal to ask and not part of your duties but could you follow and ensure Anakin returns safely." Palpatine said to Haron Ordo who to his surprise only nodded in agreement.

"I will leave immediately, I only require the beacon information to track him Chancellor." Haron said politely, getting to his feet and Palpatine smiled, a kind and grateful smile that was as fake as the rest of his façade.

"Thank you my friend, here is the code. I only hope you are not too late." Palpatine said with apparent fear and Ordo nodded, took the code and left the office to follow Anakin.

- x -

Bosthirda, the Sith Worlds Sector…

Haron dropped the Canderous out of hyperspace and looked at the bleak world that few people even realised was here. The Sith Worlds as they were known had once been the home worlds of the Sith Empire long ago and only a few came through this way since there was little here now beyond ruins of the Old Sith.

Haron didn't like it here, the dark side was so strong it unnerved him and the fact that Skywalker had apparently allowed himself to be lured into a trap like his wife had didn't help either. He wished he knew just what the man was thinking Haron thought with exasperation and if he didn't like the young man so much and know of his importance he would have let him face the consequences but his own conscience wouldn't let him.

So here he was he thought with annoyance, having to save another Jedi.

- x -

Anakin landed the Twilight as close as he dared to the temple and was astonished at the sight of the strange pyramid. He had never actually seen a proper Sith Temple before and was shocked at the scale of it, not to mention having to suppress the cold of the Dark Side as it seemed to hang heavily all around him. The only thing worse than this was the trip he had taken with Obi-Wan to Korriban years ago and he preferred not to think about that.

Still the sight of the excavation and all the droids around made him pause as he considered just what to do, putting up his hood he decided to sneak into the camp and find Nek and get him quickly before leaving, quick in and out.

He crept forward, using whatever cover he could find to help hide his approach seeing a mass of archaeologists and droids working to clear the earth around the but noticed they hadn't seemingly gotten inside yet. Anakin looked through all the tents that he could and saw no sign of Nek, he was starting wonder if something had happened when he saw battle droids surrounding the camp. A cold feeling settled in his stomach and he was about to leave to go back to the ship and reassess his tactics when he saw a group of B2 droids burst into the square at the centre of the camp where he was and point their blasters at him, standing in the middle of them smirking was a tall Bothan male around his age.

"Just like the fool you always were Skywalker." Nek said with a gloating superiority that honestly made Anakin grit his teeth and fume with rage as he realised just what he had walked into.

"You betrayed me Nek." Anakin said with cold fury in every syllable and shrugged off his cloak as he prepared to fight, knowing he was going have to fight his way out of this. Nek just smirked and said smugly.

"Of course Skywalker, I mean it was just so easy. You always acted like you were superior to the rest of us, now you prove just how stupid you really are." He said almost gloating.

"What?!" Anakin said with astonishment and anger raging through him. He had never looked down on any of the other Jedi! He had treated Nek like a friend and he had betrayed him.

- x -

Unknown to Anakin or Nek close by Haron watched through the telescoping attachment on his helmet. He shook his head slightly as he confirmed his worst theory that this whole thing was a trap and Anakin was now hip deep in it.

Estimating the best options in the situation getting Anakin out whole and healthy involved creating enough chaos that he had a chance to run for it. Glad he had his pack with him Haron activated his jet-pack and took to the skies, looking down at the line of B2 droids Haron activated his missile and fired.

- x -

Anakin had his saber in hand but knew from the number droids that surrounded him it was going to be near impossible to get out of this one and was trying to see an avenue he had missed when the sound of a missile filled the air and before either he or Nek could see where it was coming from it smashed into the line of B2 droids near Nek. Nek was thrown backwards by the blast while a number of droids were reduced to scrap. Anakin looked and saw to his amazement Haron Ordo appear seemingly from nowhere and with blasters in hand began to fire on the droids which soon realised the threat and started to fire back. Anakin lit his saber and charged at the remaining B2s with his saber swinging, cutting them down easily now they were confused by having two targets one of which was flying around and shooting from the air.

He saw Nek running, the traitor was fleeing into the large open set of doors of the temple followed by a number of droids and without thinking Anakin ran after him.

- x -

Seeing Anakin run after the other Jedi made Haron frown as Anakin again acted without thinking and now he had to deal with it. Haron knowing he would have to go after him flew as fast as he could down into the dark shadows of the temple entrance.

- x -

Inside the temple was strange, the dark and oppressive atmosphere was unsettling but the sheer cold feeling seemed to intensify. Haron had never seen anything like it and activated the torches on his helmet so he could see and frowned as he saw Anakin just ahead of him as he landed. Anakin turned and looked shocked at his appearance.

"What are doing here?" Anakin demanded with anger and Haron feeling annoyed at his lack of gratitude snapped back at him.

"Watching your back. But we can argue about the rest later, right now we need to get out of...here." Haron said trailing off as he turned round only to see a wall where the exit had been only a moment ago. Both of them stared in confusion before turning around to face each other.

"What the hell?!" Haron exclaimed and Anakin walked over and touched the wall which was solid and not some kind of illusion.

"This isn't the sort of temple Sith used to train or practice." Anakin said as a cold weight settled in his stomach. "This is a trap."

"One we're stuck in." Haron said now feeling very worried before a sudden sound made both of them turn with weapons already in hand to see a group of very fragile looking droids coming up one of the corridors towards them. A group of droids with four spindly legs around a core cylinder was crawling towards them, only the pair had not seen any droids like it but then the droids deployed small blasters and started shooting, Anakin began deflecting their shots while Haron had his blasters in hand and started shooting back.

The droids were he noticed with concern not as flimsy as he thought, they took multiple shots to take down and only if the shot hit the core part. Haron and Anakin worked in tandem with Haron on offence while Anakin handled defence, the droids eventually were downed and sharing a look they walked over to examine what was left.

"These droids have to be ancient, but they still work." Haron said with awe, wondering just how good the engineering had to be to make something so enduring. Anakin stared at them, knowing he had seen images of droids like this before and it took him a moment to remember just where.

"These are Rakatan droids. They have to at least twenty thousand years probably more." Anakin said with awe, not sure exactly how long it was but it was probably a lot older than that.

"No way." Haron said, knowing the legends of the Rakata and the Infinite Empire only sparingly as so little of them remained. "How the hell did they get into a Sith Temple?"

"I don't know, but we need to get moving as I have no doubt there will be more than this." Anakin said and reluctantly the two went deeper into the maze.

Reijar, Ordo System…

Deera Ordo was taking some time to herself after spending a lot of time on Iokath and in the lab was hoping to unlock the secrets to their technology and turn it into something they could use, with some success she thought with pride having finally figured out the drone guidance system and now they could focus on reproducing them for use in the future wars to come. She was wondering if she could see Zara for some 'private time' blushing as she remembered what they got up to in private when she received a message on a priority frequency. Looking at it she was surprised to see that it was Vysa that was contacting her.

They had not expected to hear from her and she was still wary of her new half-sister but knowing this might be a big step in forming some kind of relationship with her she accepted the contact and a hologram of Vysa appeared.

"Hey." Vysa said looking a bit uncomfortable, something that was mirrored in Deera herself.

"Hey." Deera replied. "I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon."

"I hadn't expected to contact you so soon either." Vysa admitted with discomfort on her face. "But I found something that might interest you."

"Go on." Deera asked, now curious at what Vysa could have found that would interest them.

"Well, I heard that a team of scavengers had discovered the wreck of the Aurora Hebrian." Vysa said. "Its an old starliner from the Old Republic, it disappeared over three thousand years ago and it was recently discovered floating in space in good condition. They boarded to see what valuables might still be there when they were attacked by a droid that was apparently guarding the ship." Vysa explained.

Deera stilled confused as to how this would interest them asked. "And how does this involve us?"

"Because this is the droid guarding the ship." Vysa said and shared some images that the scavengers had apparently sent before their deaths. It was a four legged droid covered with damaged armour and bristling with weapons. It had no discernable face but what looked almost like a saddle seat on its back.

Deera's mouth went dry as she saw the droid and knew immediately what it was. She could hardly believe it, that after so long searching they had finally found one and only because of Vysa who she suspected wanted to salvage the ship herself. But Deera didn't care, as far as she was concerned Vysa could have anything that remained valuable on that ship...it was the droid that she wanted.

A Basilisk War Droid, she thought with awe. If they could take it intact or even in good enough condition to study it would allow them to examine and recreate it, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"I suppose you want our help to disable it?" Deera asked, already putting a list of all the equipment and personnel she would need for this mission. Vysa smirked knowing she had gotten what she wanted.

"Yes, I would give you a cut of the salvage obviously." Vysa said and Deera raised an eyebrow before saying.

"We'll see. Now my team and I will meet you on Commenor." Deera said, knowing that this was going to be a tough mission but certainly worth it.

Sith Temple, Bosthirda…

Anakin and Haron continued to walk through the dark corridors of the Sith Temple but were becoming increasingly frustrated at no sign of any progress, however they were disturbed from their thoughts by the sound deep growling ahead. The pair immediately raised their weapons and just as they did a pack of vicious looking hound like creatures came running out of the darkness ahead.

Haron immediately opened fire and managed to cut down one of them while Anakin managed to cut another in half with his lightsaber but the hounds moved so fast that they leapt with snarling jaws straight at them and both had to pivot hard to avoid being caught by the vicious creatures. Their mouths foaming as they skidded across the floor behind them. Haron continued shooting but one of the creatures managed to get close enough to bite hard on his leg and the sheer strength of the creatures nearly pulled him over but he managed to stab it in the head with his gauntlet's wrist blade.

Anakin meanwhile was slicing and dicing the other beasts that came close to him but they were remarkably agile, able to avoid his blade but Anakin tapped deeper in the force and managed to increase his speed enough to kill the three creatures snapping at him before impaling one that was now charging straight at Haron.

Both of them breathed deeply as they tried to slow their racing hearts, Anakin offered a hand to Haron who took it gratefully and said so.

"Thanks, what else has this place got in store I wonder?" Haron said almost dreading the answer and Anakin frowned as he was thinking the same thing himself when they saw just what was in the direction the hounds had come from.

A pile of broken and shattered Separatist droids, torn to pieces in what looked like a complete frenzy.

"They did this...to droids." Anakin said in astonishment and realised just how lucky he and Haron had been not to mention the lack of dead hounds around the droids meaning they hadn't managed to kill a single one.

Haron himself was staring in astonishment when suddenly he saw a tactical droid who had presumably been leading the party, more to the point its head was intact. That gave him an idea and he quickly picked it up to examine it for damage and glad to see the damage was contained to the neck where it had been bitten off. Taking out his slicer kit he hooked up to the external dataport on the back of its head and started hacking into its core programming.

"What are doing?" Anakin asked with confusion about what use a droid's head could be to them right now before Haron smirked under his helmet and said.

"The tactical droid has a few sensors extra and a better storage capacity than other droids. Now we have this we can set it to activate scan so as we wander it is recording information and allow us to build a map. That way we find our way out." Haron said glad he had bothered to familiarise himself with CIS droid models.

Anakin was surprised and then frowned wondering why he hadn't thought of that but glad one of them had otherwise this was going to take forever.

"Good thinking, well best get started." Anakin said and with the droid head hooked to his belt Haron and Anakin continued wandering, wondering just what other surprises this place had in store.

- x -

Nek was really beginning to wish he had not ran into the temple to flee Skywalker and his Mandalorian cohort. He had him! He thought with incredible frustration, smacking his hand into the dark and cold stone walls, he had finally had Skywalker beaten and at his mercy! The bastard had always been looking down at him, all their lives he had stood in Skywalker's shadow always second best! He used to think of him as a friend but Master Bulq had finally made him realise that not only had the Jedi been holding him back but so had Skywalker. They had humiliated them all for so long and they needed to show the galaxy and Master Dooku that they were better than them.

So Master Bulq had hatched this little plot, playing on the fool's very stupid grasp of friendship to lure him here so they could end Skywalker and present his dead body to Master Dooku. To make him realise they were better and deserved more respect, that the galaxy would show them more respect!

He snarled at being stuck in this temple! Its location had been given to them by Master Dooku to excavate in hopes it would give them some advantage over the Jedi but now he was trapped inside the thing and hopelessly lost. The force was not giving him any help in here and he was starting to get more and more frustrated with each moment this went on.

He walked forward with his patrol of pathetic battle droids behind him, not noticing the strange holes in the walls that started emitting a faint hissing noise as they passed. Nor did they see the long snakes that reached almost ten feet long slide almost silently out of the holes in the wall behind them. The vicious looking snakes with yellow and red slitted eyes silently followed their prey, only stopping for a moment before they leapt forward to bite.

The droids at the rear of the small group cried out as the thick and jagged fangs tore into their thin plating but the real damage came from when the snakes wrapped themselves tightly around the frail bodies and tightened so much that they were crushed in moments.

One of the snakes managed to sink its fangs into Nek who ignited his lightsaber and cut through its thick muscled body before wrenching the dead snake off him. Turning towards the remaining creatures he snarled with rage as black lines began to appear on his skin and his eyes turning a sickly yellow with red around the iris. He slashed at the snakes with the ferocity of an enraged wild animal, his yellow blade slashing into the snakes with frantic and wild strikes. Even when all the snakes were dead he kept slashing into their bodies.

When finally he stopped, almost foaming at the mouth he turned and ran looking for something else to kill, the venom of these corrupted snakes driving him not only firmly into the grip of the dark side but deeply into madness.

- x -

Haron and Anakin, carefully making their way forward had come to a platform, below was a large number of vicious looking spikes and the ledge was too large to jump. Anakin was about to cross when Haron put his hand up to stop him and took a much closer look at the stone. Seeing the faint lines between them he said.

"Its held together by friction alone, any additional weight on it and the stone crumbles, sending us down onto the spikes." Haron said and Anakin looked ready to have fit.

"This entire place is the death trap! Why in all worlds of the Outer Rim would anyone build something like this!?" Anakin shouted in anger, Haron could only sigh and say.

"The answers I expect are on the opposite side of the bridge, according to the droid's scans that is where the centre of the pyramid is and likely the control centre." Haron said and checked his pack's fuel reserves. Frowning he saw he had enough fuel to get across the bridge but not with having to carry Anakin all the way too. Seeing the entrance of the other side he was about to suggest using his cable gun to get most of the way when behind them they saw a few nasty looking creatures lumbering up the corridor behind them, they looked like someone had mixed crabs with spiders. Vicious looking mandibles snapped at them and they had yellow liquid oozing from its mouth, drops of it hit the floor and smoked as it burned into the ground letting them know it was acidic.

With no way back they both ran forward, drawing as deeply on the force as they could to move as fast as they could to not only gain some distance between them and the nasty looking beasts behind them but in the hope they might actually be able to get to the other side before it collapsed.

The moment their feet touched the stone they could feel it giving way beneath their feet but they couldn't think about it, they just had to keep running forward as fast as possible drawing on the force to move faster than normal.

As fast as they could, neither had any time to look back only to get further along the bridge before it collapsed under them.

Despite having much more weight than Anakin due to his armour Haron was able to keep up by drawing more on the force than ever and finally after what seemed like an eternity the pair managed to reach the other side just as the last stone fell below them. Both fell forward onto their knees, grasping for breath as they felt so depleted. Turning their heads they saw in the distance they saw the creatures standing powerless at the other side of the vast space that now separated them.

Zaprid's Caravan, Outer Rim…

Zaprid's Caravan as it was known was a convoy of freighters and yachts that travelled around the Outer Rim to avoid being caught by the Republic and Separatists as they traded. Largely to avoid taxes but also to trade things that were not exactly legal. If you needed to find something and were desperate enough to try the black market this was the place to go.

Neville knew Zaprid, the person who had founded the caravan from his days wandering the Outer Rim as a Warden of the Sky and as such knew how to find things here. He and Hannah had come to find a rare objects that Luna wanted to acquire and traced to a seller than operated as part of the caravan.

The ship they had boarded was noisy and filled with many different aliens which would overwhelm anyone who wasn't used to it, Neville and Hannah though were far too experienced now with the wider galaxy and little surprised them any more, not to mention few bothered them and they were both wearing their full Mandalorian Armour and gear so many just avoided them. Instead they focused on the one they had come here to find, an old Rodian who looked excited to see them.

"Ah welcome, welcome. Come, come." He said eagerly in huttese and ushered them into the back room.

"You have what we are after?" Hannah asked, proud of herself for managing to sound so professional. The Rodian nodded and produced a lock-box, he opened it and inside was exactly what they had been looking for.

A Sith Translation Talisman and an ancient book, titled Broodica's grimoire.

The Grimoire was a book created by an ancient Sith Lord named Broodica and was rumoured to contain many secrets of the ancient Sith. That was potentially valuable enough but the talisman could allow the user to interpret languages more easily and would hopefully allow them to translate the many ancient scrolls and tablets they had collected from Revan's vault or that Luna had collected on her different trips around the galaxy. The Talisman was more neutral in the force than expected and it would probably work for them. So Neville handed over a case with the payment and the Rodian gratefully took it and handed the lock-box's contents over. Once they had secured it properly the two prepared to depart when they felt a tremor in the force that made them look up the street outside the shop.

A couple of humans were being harassed by a bunch of bounty hunters, nothing unusual there the pair thought with jaded minds but what did catch their eyes was that one of them, a woman was wielding a green lightsaber! And the man was carrying a baby!

Neville and Hannah were not as noble as they had once been but even they couldn't let this go on and drew their weapons and with Neville still carrying the lock-box under one arm leapt into the fight.

The bounty hunters were not expecting their attack and the blaster fire the pair put out sent them running. The pair of humans looked up in surprise and with the hunters not gone turned their suspicious eyes towards them. Neville and Hannah landed and took off their helmets so they could at least look the pair in the eye.

"I hope you are all okay? We have some medical supplies if you need them." Hannah said with a gentle smile that honestly seemed to surprise the two humans more. The man spoke with a slow but careful voice.

"No we are fine. My wife and I just need to find the parts we need and then we are leaving." He told them and looking at his waist Neville and Hannah saw a damaged lightsaber hanging on his belt, two Jedi they realised...but married! And with a child they thought with surprise and realised these two were like not normal Jedi at all.

"Then let us stick around until you do, strength in numbers. I'm Hannah and this is my husband Neville." Hannah said warmly to try and reassure them before looking at the child, a boy she saw. "We have a son a bit older than this. What's his name?" She asked trying to make easy conversation. The two Jedi looked uneasy but did respond.

"Galen, I'm Mallie and this my husband Kento. We are just here to find lightsaber parts to repair his after it was damaged a while back." The now named woman told them. Neville nodded and said.

"Then you're in luck, that man over there should have everything you need." He told them, pointing to a Weequay nearby. The Mareks looked suspicious of them but nodded in gratitude before wandering over. As they haggled for the parts they needed Hannah and Neville kept watch and saw to their annoyance that the bounty hunters were back. Hannah fed up with this noticed one in particular was taking a sniping position on a cargo container nearby, without wasting a moment she drew her blaster again and in perhaps the best shot she had ever made, aided by the force she fired and killed him at a distance of fifty feet!

Neville quickly shot the other three that were coming up the street, causing the crowd to scatter in panic but what really scared people was one of the bounty hunters managed to fire a rocket straight at them! Hannah without thinking reached out with the force and stopped the rocket mid air. The Mareks looked at her with astonishment while Neville, worried that their secret had to be kept shot the final bounty hunters and thankfully the chaos of the shoot out had stopped anyone else seeing anything...except the Mareks he thought with gritted teeth.

"Take the parts and come on! We need to get off this ship!" Neville said and the Mareks to their credit took his advice and grabbed the bits they needed off the counter before running with them towards the landing bay. Galen they all noticed had no made a sound and was just looking around in curiosity at all that was going on around him. Neville and Hannah could both feel the enormous presence the boy had in the force, it was almost blinding how much potential he had and they could feel his importance.

Knowing this boy could be a great enemy if he ended up in the wrong hands especially those of the Sith when they made it to the hanger bay they stopped and decided to talk things through with the Mareks who looked at them in surprise.

"Since when can Mandalorians use the force?" Kento asked wishing his saber was working properly as it would really make him feel better if he could protect his family better. Hannah sighed before telling him.

"When they didn't start out as Mandalorians. I was Matukai and Neville was a Warden of the Sky. We met some others and joined House Ordo to found an order of our own. You should come with us." Hannah said shocking them all at the surprise invitation. "You'd be safe from the bounty hunters and have a place to raise your son in peace. A place you won't have the Jedi trying to take him and won't be judged for having a family." Hannah said dearly hoping they would accept, she could feel the force tightening as if this decision was going to affect many lives in the future and maybe the course of the galaxy.

The Mareks could feel that too and they were very reluctant to trust these two Mandalorians they had only just met but they had helped save their lives and were offering them a safe haven that they really did need. The bounty hunters were nipping at their heels and they were growing more exhausted with all the moving around they had to do. The only place left they had to go was Kashyyyk and hope the Wookiees who Mallie had once helped long ago would take them in. But Kashyyyk was a long way off and the Wookiees did not take kindly to outworlders on their planet.

Not to mention they could feel the force pushing them towards accepting, almost desperately like there was some kind of danger if they went another way.

Sharing a look they both knew they had little options in this situation and said with anxiety.

"Very well."

Aurora Hebrian, Unknown Location…

The star liner Aurora Hebrian was still a sight to behold after millennia in space, her hull was scarred with micrometeorite impacts and she was only saved by being too far from any planets or other gravity sources which was the reason she had not been found until now.

As the Ordo's Revenge came closer Deera was instantly struck by how similar she was to Mon Calamari star cruisers, looking almost like a huge aquatic animal with streamlined organic looking lines. She admired how well the ship had stood up after all this time.

Vysa who was standing at her side on the bridge whistled in admiration, if the pilots thought anything odd about the two of them looking so alike they never said anything. Too disciplined and focused on their duty to ask questions as since their relationship with Vysa was still new they hadn't announced anything publicly yet. All their closest friends and family knew but no one else yet.

"Bring us to the docking bay and prepare the boarding party." Deera ordered and donned her helmet. Vysa did likewise and followed her to the airlock, the air was still tense between them so Vysa despite all the awkwardness spoke.

"Thank you for this...It means a lot." She said honestly, with her voice quiet and uncertain, which was unusual for her. Deera sighed quietly before saying.

"I hope this means that you realise we do actually want a relationship with you but we are not going to be just a resource that you call on when you need help with a scheme, got it?" Deera said sternly and Vysa nodded before putting her own helmet on. Feeling her sincerity Deera accepted that much and joined the party at the airlock.

"We have a hard seal Countess." One of her men, Derrt told her and she nodded.

"Then let's get too it. Now understand when we find the droid leave it to me. I have something that should deal with it, we don't it damaged too badly." She said sternly and her men nodded before she was certain enough they understood her order, Vysa was amused at her authority but was respectful enough not to question it or diminish her in front of them. Stepping into the airlock they sealed one closed the door and waited while it depressurised while switching over to their own internal supply.

Deera and Vysa stood back while they cut through the stuck airlock of the Aurora Hebrian to gain entry. The door was thick and solid but a few moments with a cutting torch it gave way and allowed them aboard the ageing star liner.

The corridor was dark and they had to switch on their helmet lights to see except Vysa who had to rely on a handheld torch much to her irritation. Deera turned to her party and said to the man carrying the scanner.

"Check, where is it?"

"Not on this deck Countess, its heat signature is three decks above near the garden area." The warrior told her and said.

"Right, keep an eye on its location. Its sure to move once it detects us."

Deera with that done led her men and Vysa through the darkened corridors. They were still beautiful with art work tiles lining them and preserved by the vacuum of space. Space creatures and spectacular nebulas stretched across the area around them but they paid them no mind.

Finally though they reached the deck which contained the garden area, they heard nothing and wondered if the droid had shut down permanently but not taking that chance they checked their supply of ion grenades and the three Ion blasters they had brought with them. They all checked with each other to make sure they were ready before Gree, another of the warriors pulled the manual release and opened the door.

The area was open to space, its large dome having been breached long before any of them had been born. Stars could easily be seen through the large gaping holes but what drew their attention was at the centre of the large chamber where a large crouched form lay prone. They approached it carefully and it seemed to be inactive but only until one of them knocked over a table accidentally. Although sound didn't travel in space the vibration it created did, running through the floor and although none of them could hear the electronic roar it created they certainly felt the repulsor wave it created as it activated the sticks on its body.

It threw them all back to the other side of the room as the huge droid thrashed around and three of her guards started firing their ion blasters at the enormous creature but the thick plating protected it since they hadn't the power to penetrate it.

It was so strange, they were fighting but apart from some vague rumblings they couldn't actually hear anything. It was a fight in near complete silence.

The Basilisk fired its high powered cannons were struck the men firing and threw them back with the lack of gravity. Others including Vysa tried to throw the Ion grenades but the droid showed again why it was so deadly and seemed to calculate what they were doing and let out another repulsor wave which sent the grenades flying in all directions and the party flying back again.

Deera with her back aching from being thrown into a wall regained her senses in time to see the droid charging towards them, half her people couldn't stand or were nursing wounds. She gritted her teeth and knew they had one last chance to stop this thing and so she drew on the force deeper than she had ever done before and thrust out her hands hands and with all the will she could muster channelled the force.

Lightning ripped out from her gloves hands using the kyber crystals as a foci, unlike normal blue force lightning though it was pure and dazzling white. An ancient form of the force lightning that the Jedi had once used but fear of its more well known variant had caused them to abandon its use, foolish Deera thought as she continued to pour out the white lightning out of her hands, considering it was completely neutral in the force and only affected droids and other technology.

The raging white lightning hit the droid which unknown to them let out an electronic scream of sorts as she kept on pouring energy into it. It struggled but it seemed to be losing the fight which was true of Deera as well as she was struggling to keep the lightning going but finally with one last judder the droid fell to the floor...finally dead.

Deera sagged as she finally stopped using Ionize as it was known, the sheer amount of energy she had to use to stop it was enough to leave her feeling like she had been carrying a starfighter on her back all day. But at least she had managed to disable it before it killed them all and as she walked over to make sure it was completely deactivated by removing key components she admired its sturdy yet efficient design.

Vysa having now recovered herself came over and looked at it, she said through the comms.

"Remind me to never piss you off." She told her with awe and Deera smirked a little.

"Damn straight." Deera told her.

Sith Temple, Bosthirda...

Haron and Anakin were hopeful as they checked their captured droid head, its eyes projecting a hologram of the temple that they had managed to assemble.

"According to sensors there is a set of central chambers with a passage straight out of the temple." Haron said, indicating two larger chambers at the centre but one of them connected to a long underground passage which they guessed was how the Sith who built the place got in and out unopposed. That Haron was hoping was their way out, otherwise they would have to not only find a way back across the chasm but dodge all the droids and creatures again, dearly hoping they didn't have to try that.

"Well, let's see just what they have left to challenge us." Anakin said with a determined smirk, Haron felt a cold feeling settling in his gut.

"There are some sentences that you need to stay away from...that is one of them." Haron said checking his equipment before the two of them walked along the last corridor to the main chamber, the stone door opened with a little help from Anakin via the force but the chamber beyond was lit by rocks that began to glow the moment the door opened. However as Anakin and Haron entered the chamber the growing light revealed something crouched over at the far side of the room. The moment they entered they felt the temperature drop instantly, like they had walked straight into a freezer.

The heavy stone door slammed shut behind them, leaving them trapped with whatever it was. It seemed to sense them and started rising up, standing well over ten feet tall with sharp looking tusks and fangs, its curved and razor sharp claws elongated and it roared a loud rumbling sound that shook them to the core.

Its skin was thick, almost like armour coloured brown but it walked on two feet unlike most. With another roar it charged, Anakin with a look of fear on his face which Haron knew was mirrored on his own leapt out of the way while he did the same in the opposite direction, as he did so Haron with his blasters in hand shot at the beast but its thick skin seemed highly resistant to blaster fire and even his enhanced blasters didn't seem to penetrate its harden skin.

It swiped towards Anakin who avoided it and slashed at it with his lightsaber, it unlike the blasters was able to cut through the things claws, severing a part of its enormous claws but as it howled in pain it managed to smack Anakin with its blunted claw as he went in for a second attack, sending his lightsaber clean out of his hands.

Seeing Anakin was now defenceless as the creature closed in Haron activated his flamethrower and aimed it squarely at the creature's spine covered back. It screamed out in pain as Haron burned it with all the heat it could produce and the beast staggered away, trying to avoid it but then suddenly lunged at Haron with its undamaged arm. Although Haron saw the attack coming and tried to get out of the way it did strike him but thankfully his pure beskar armour took the full impact and kept him from getting injured but it did throw him back, his spear came loose from its sheath and rolled along the floor.

Anakin who couldn't see his lightsaber anywhere but as the spear rolled along the floor, the creature advanced on Haron who discovered his flamethrower was out of fuel and repulsor blasts did nothing to stop it.

Without thinking, Anakin grabbed the spear and leapt forward, using the force to guide his path and his timing as he stabbed the spear straight into the creature's head. The sharpened beskar, augmented by Anakin's force enhanced muscles struck straight through its thick skin and skull and into its brain.

The creature howled in pain and struggled for a moment but Anakin twisted the spear around as it thrashed, Haron noticed that Anakin's lightsaber was laying a few feet away and while Anakin was distracted by fighting the beast he summoned it to his hand and ignited it, jumping to his feet and slashing at the creature's exposed chest. The blue blade tearing into its skin and the beast crying out before falling to the ground, finally defeated.

Anakin pulled the spear free of its head and Haron stood there with the lightsaber in hand, still humming, apart from their breathing the only sound in the room. Eventually Haron switched it off and turned to Anakin who was like him breathing rapidly, silently they gave each other back their own weapons and Haron had to ask with disgust at the nasty creature laying in front of them.

"Just...what...the...hell...is that?!" Haron asked having never seen anything like it, it was so gruesome that he had never in all his travels seen anything like it. Anakin took a look at it and remembered a single history lesson from his youth in the temple and compared it to the creature they had just fought.

"I think its a terentatek." Anakin said with horror, he had believed as did most of the Jedi that these creatures were extinct. "They were created by the Sith to hunt and kill force users and are incredibly resistant to not only normal attacks but the force too. The Jedi hunted them across the galaxy and we thought the last one was killed on Kashyyyk years ago by Master Yoda and Count Dooku when he was his padawan." Anakin told him, still in disbelief that these horrid things could still exist.

"Then let us hope that this is in fact the last." Haron said, wondering now himself just whether these creatures could still live in other places cut off from the galaxy. He really hoped not but then saw a gruesome sight just by the door to the other chamber. Anakin followed his gaze and saw what he had.

Nek lay there with his body mauled severely as if the terentatek had feasted on him for all the blood it could drain from his body. Anakin frowned before walking over followed by Haron. Anakin picked up his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt.

"May you find some peace in the force Nek." Anakin said with bitterness at his betrayal. Haron seeing this put a hand on his shoulder and told him.

"Hey, don't let what he did get to you. He allowed himself to feel jealous and that poisoned him. He isn't worth your thoughts, you are a better man than he could be and he resented that. Stay true to who you are." Haron told him and Anakin smiled a bit at that before telling him.

"Thanks, now let's get the hell out of here. I don't know about you but I have had my fill of Sith Temples for today. What else could go wrong?" He said with humour and opened the last door, revealing a chamber with eleven strange black coloured containers lining the wall with an ancient looking console in the middle which had a holocron suspended above it.

"You know what I said before...about some sentences you need to stay away from." Haron said with a tired voice, wondering just what the fresh hell the Sith Lord who built this place had been up to in here.

- x -

Walking to the last chamber they looked around and saw a console with strange symbols that Haron couldn't even begin to guess at, above the console the pyramid shaped holocron hovered. Neither touched it however, knowing full well how dangerous those things could be. Turning their attention to the console they tried to read what it said but of course to Haron it was complete gibberish.

"You know what any of this means?" Haron asked Anakin hoping he did because otherwise they were unlikely to get out of here. Anakin's face screwed up in concentration for a moment before saying.

"I think so, its the old tongue and Obi-Wan insisted I learn it. The dialect is much older but I think I can read some it." Anakin said and began to carefully scroll through the information on screen and stared at it intensely as he tried to recall lessons that he had hardly been paying attention to at the time.

"This temple was built by a Lord Ravenous, a Sith Lord from just before the Great Hyperspace War over five thousand years ago. He built it as a trap for the Jedi and Sith who were his enemies. They would try to learn the secrets of the temple and either be killed by its defences and their lightsabers taken as trophies by the salvaged Rakatan droids who maintain this place or if they were strong enough and reached a certain point traps would incapacitate them and place them in these Sith...I can't quite make that last word out but I think they are some kind of Sith force based stasis chamber. He would collect them and then turn them into his servants. I can only presume that he must have died before he could collect any of them though because no one was ever released and according this over the last four thousand years eleven people have been placed in the chambers." Anakin said casting his eyes around and saw to his horror that at least fifty lightsabers could be seen on the nearby wall. Not counting the eleven people who were being held in stasis that meant over thirty nine previous victims had fallen in this place not counting Nek.

Haron himself grimaced under his helmet as he considered just how bad this was, a temple built solely as a trap and running on automatic for thousands of years, either collecting or killing those that dared enter. It was bad enough for the dead but for the eleven in the chambers he thought with sympathy it was even worse.

Waking up to find that you are thousands of years out of your own time...that everything and everyone you knew is gone.

He could well understand the grief that they would feel if they ever got out, he had felt the same when he had realised that Earth was gone, true he had managed to accept his new world and family but the devastation of losing your whole world was something that you could hardly put into words. He had been so relieved when he and the others had found each other and had that to cling to but the fact that all they knew was gone haunted them even now.

Anakin meanwhile had realised the difficult conversation they would need to have with the people in the chambers, a part of him just wanted to spare them the pain of having deal with the fact all they knew was gone, just leave them in the chambers and let them sleep. But at the same time he couldn't bring himself to do that, no he thought these people had had their lives stolen by the temple and the plans of a man long dead.

They deserved a chance to live whatever kind of life they had left, to see the galaxy and maybe they could teach them more of the distant past. Either way...his mind was made up.

So he pressed the release key before Haron could stop him.

The eleven Sith Chambers opened almost silently, it was creepy to see them move so quietly and left eleven individuals standing there almost like statues till the field that had held them was released and they stumbled forward. A few fell to their knees as their legs could hardly support them and the few that did manage to stay standing were visibly struggling.

Haron gave Anakin a frown, wishing he had opened them one at a time so they could have dealt with this more carefully but then he noticed something about three of the freshly released prisoners.

Two of them were not from a species he had seen before and he had seen many in his travels around the galaxy with red skin and bony spurs coming from different places on their bodies, the only time he had ever seen anything like them was in historic holos specifically the ones that dated back to the Great Galactic War and the Cold War that followed it. There he had seen beings just like them leading the Sith Empire in its war with the Republic. They were Sith Purebloods Haron thought with his blood running cold and realised that it wasn't just Jedi that the Temple had captured but Sith as well.

But worse for him was a third figure whose species was not clear but they were certainly humanoid in shape, what was clear however was that from head to foot he was wearing beskar armour but it had been twisted, reforged into a distinctly none Mandalorian style except for the helmet which he noticed with shock had a golden mask with concentric lines running over it, the helmet itself was beskar but it had a face mask on the front that was not.

Mythosaur bone Haron thought with awe as he realised just what he was looking at, the Mask of the Mandalore and his armour! The lost symbol of leadership that his people had been looking for over a thousand years!

And whoever was wearing it was not Mandalorian! Haron thought with anger as he felt the dark side radiating off him in strong waves, from the Purebloods too.

"Sith!" Haron hissed and he drew his spear from his back while Anakin ignited his lightsaber now seeing the threat himself but the Sith who seemed to feed on the dark side aura that clung to the temple managed to regain some of their strength and reached out with the force to rip what they could only presume were their lightsabers from the wall nearby. Three hilts flew through the air and into their hands igniting red blades, the Sith Purebloods used single bladed hilts that looked more like museum pieces but clearly still worked. The one wearing Mandalorian Armour however wielded a saberstaff as it was called with a blade coming from each end.

Before either Anakin or Haron could stop them the three Sith moved like lightning and slashed three of the prone and still recovering Jedi dead.

"NO!" Anakin yelled and leapt forward, now drawing Nek's lightsaber too and blocked the Purebloods from striking anyone else while the Jedi either tried to stand or backed away. Haron meanwhile back to back with Anakin had his spear in hand and was holding the other Sith at bay.

They stood like that for a moment before launching into the fight.

- x -

Haron was glad of all the practice he had as this Sith laughed, slashing almost wildly at him with the chaotic but effect Form 7 moves that was perhaps the hardest to predict but thanks to all the practice he had with Anakin and the previous fights he had engaged in he was able to hold the Sith at bay.

"So, you're Mandalorian." The Sith said in a nasally voice which sounded far too happy, almost sinister and you could just see the smirk underneath the helmet. "I hope you like the armour! I stole it from your people you know, after the Blue Shadow Virus devastated them! There was so much beskar around it seemed such a shame to let it go to waste." The Sith said, taunting him with the massive death toll that disease had wreaked on Haron's people during the New Sith Wars. Haron gritted his teeth under his own helmet.

"I like to take new things!" The Sith said as he swung his lightsaber so wildly and yet with so much fury and unpredictability which Haron managed to block with effort since he was not used to fighting people with saberstaffs. "I took this lightsaber from a Jedi Temple we burned to the ground used to belong to Darth Bandon you know, I stole so much that day! Kept it in my ship!"

"You talk too much." Haron said with frustration and he started swinging his spear in a weaving pattern to force the saberstaff away from from him but the Sith then while Haron was trying to do this let go with one hand and used his clawed gloves which unfortunately for Haron were also made of beskar to slash straight at Haron's helmet.

The sound of the metal scratching and bending was as horrible as it was quick but Haron was blinded as the mass of metal ruined his HUD and even his ability to see. He was forced to fall back into the force to guide his hands as the Sith continually attacked him and used what senses he had left to fight as best he could.

Falling deeper into the force he felt as if time was slowing down and although he couldn't 'see' the Sith he was fighting he could feel where he was...where he was attacking from...when it would come.

Haron was in awe, wondering why he didn't use this more often but had no time to ponder that question as he kept up his defence, the Sith...he could feel his frustration and even what Haron suspected as a case of kleptomania bubbling below the surface. He could feel the flexing of his muscles and his anger at Haron not dying easily like was supposed too.

Haron felt a push in the force, telling him how and when to strike so he made like he was going to punch after angling the saberstaff away from him and before the Sith knew what was happening he planted his vibro wrist blade straight through the unprotected section of neck that was exposed.

The blade was short, but sharp and long enough to penetrate deep into his neck, Haron felt the Sith's sudden shock and pain but as he wretched the blade out he tore out what remained of the Sith's throat.

The Sith gagged, trying to breathe through his ruined throat and grasped hard at his throat but Haron did not let up and with all his strength, slashed at what remained of his throat with the sharp end of his spear severing what was left and sending the head rolling across the floor with a loud clang as the metal hit the floor.

- x -

Anakin meanwhile was facing perhaps the hardest fight of his life so far.

The two Sith he was facing might not be armoured with a near unbreakable metal but there were two of them and they were not unskilled with a lightsaber as he was now discovering.

Their swordplay was ruthless and precise, one would wait to strike after the first one had and then come at him from behind. He was glad of the moving meditation he had been doing as it had allowed him to exercise more readily and was just able to intercept the second attack with his borrowed second lightsaber. He drew as deeply on the force as he could, moving at a furious speed to counter the two Sith. The dark side energy of the temple actually strengthening him too he realised, while it would have weighed down a normal Jedi he was actual able to use it to empower himself! He then began to counter-attack with a rapid series of feints and jabs with both his lightsabers on the male but the female when she went to strike him was thrown back against the wall of the room. Anakin saw that the Jedi who were still recovering from their confinement had combined their powers to hold one of the Sith Lords back.

Anakin was very grateful for that, while the female one struggled to break free of their telekinetic hold he was able to concentrate his full attention on the male. The Male was now struggling as he had Anakin's full attention and seemed to be trying to concentrate on something else, Anakin realised he was trying to use the force on him when he started hearing the voice of his mother in his mind.

'Ani! HELP ME!' It called out in pain. 'PLEASE HELP ME!'

Anakin was struck and unable to comprehend what was happening, he was barely able to block the Sith lord's strikes as the voice of his mother repeated, screaming for help in his mind. He was so confused and struck with remorse and guilt over not being able to help her...so strong he was barely able to defend himself from the Sith. He thought he was going mad when suddenly another voice broke in, one he didn't know but was so powerful and wise that he couldn't help but listen.

'The Sith is playing with your mind preying on your own guilt, don't listen. What's past is past, you can't change it and your mother wouldn't want you to either blame yourself for what happened or allow yourself to be killed on her behalf. Honour her by living, by doing the right thing.' The wise voice said and Anakin felt his mind clear, the voice of his mother disappearing like it had never been there and Anakin with a fury and focus that was almost new to him he renewed his attack. The Sith was surprised and quickly found himself on the back foot and Anakin unleashed a ferocious barrage of heavy cleaves and powerful strikes from seemingly all sides, the Sith was not very physically strong and the pressure soon began to tell as his temporary boost from the temple started to fail.

Anakin kicked the Sith hard in the gut and before he could recover, slashed straight across his chest with both lightsabers, eviscerating him. Breathing hard Anakin turned to see the other Sith Pureblood who was now finally free of the other Jedi's hold but as she charged, Anakin simply knocked her clumsy strike aside before stabbing her right through the chest. She stopped still and stared at him in shock but Anakin didn't care...after everything that had happened today, he was beyond caring.

She slumped to the ground and saw Haron finish off the other Sith but grimaced at how torn his helmet was around the visor. Haron pulled it off and looked at it himself and looked almost forlorn at the damage.

"Is it fixable?" Anakin asked and Haron looked at him before saying sadly.

"Not here, I'll have to take it to Reijar and get it reforged and replace all the tech." Haron told him looking mournfully at the damaged helmet.

"I thought beskar was invulnerable." Anakin said, shocked at how damaged the helmet was. Haron gave him a sad smile before explaining.

"Not when its the same metal sharpened to a vicious point and in the hands of a force wielder."

Haron picked up the severed helmet of the Sith and let his head drop out before looking at the golden coloured mask with awe. Anakin admitted it was a nice looking mask but it looked ancient and Haron was strangely drawn to it.

"What's with the mask?" He asked Haron but it was one of the prisoners that answered.

"Its the Mask of the Mandalore, a Mythosaur bone mask worn by the ruler of the Mandalorian people." An Zabrak said, his voice gentle and smooth as he got to his feet. He wore a mechanic's overalls rather than Jedi robes and had a strange cybernetic arm that was radically different to Anakin's own. He looked at the mask with familiarity but also with disdain which puzzled Anakin and Haron.

"And how do you know that?" Haron asked him, not sure of what they were supposed to do now and was on guard with all the nasty surprises that had come their way so far. The Zabrak looked at him with distrust before naming himself.

"I am Bao-Dur and I saw that mask frequently on the Ebon Hawk, worn by the leader of the Mandalorians. Mandalore the Preserver I believe your people call him." Bao Dur said with a lack of care. Haron suddenly realised just who the man was having heard of him during the tales of his ancestor handed down through the generations.

"He was my ancestor, Canderous Ordo. You must be one of Meetra Surik's Jedi." Haron said with awe, but knew this man was nearly four thousand years out of his own time. Knowing that they should get the worst of it out the way as soon as possible he then cut to the chase and told them the unpleasant truth. "I am sorry to say but this temple trapped you all in stasis."

All the Jedi looked at him with disbelief before a Miraluka, who a silken bandage across her eyes asked in a gentle and smooth voice that was oddly husky.

"For how long?"

Anakin knowing this was going to be hard asked.

"What was the last big event you saw? I know that you Bao-Dur have been frozen for nearly four thousand years." Anakin said with sympathy.

Bao Dur seemed shocked and for a moment lost for words but the other Jedi were not as they all put it together as best they could.

"Meetra Surik was nearly two thousand years ago!" A rather stunning looking Rutian Twi'lek female like Master Secura said with denial in her voice. "There is no way it has been two thousand years! You are lying!" She said with a distrust.

"No they are not." A wise and low voice said, all of them turning to see a Neti male Jedi Master standing up, Anakin realised that this was the Jedi that had helped him during his fight with the Sith lords. He just radiated calm and looked almost regal in how he stood and projected himself. "I sense the truth and so do you. Ignoring what we don't want to hear is giving in to ignorance and no Jedi should deny knowledge however awful we find it." He told them before turning to Anakin. "Since I known nothing of this 'Meetra Surik' I assume I must come from an earlier point in time. I was chasing Bo Vanda and Tritos Nal during the counter invasion after the battle at Empress Teta. When was this to you?" He asked Anakin but he did not look down at him imperiously, rather with patience and humility. Anakin despite all that had happened was reassured by his presence and told him with regret.

"That was almost five thousand years ago...Master?" He said, asking just who he was talking too and if the Jedi Master was upset about being five millenniums out of his own time the Neti Jedi didn't show it and said instead.

"My name is Tuwan Fulr, young man and in case it offends you me calling that bare in mind that I am over a thousand years old so everyone is young to me." He said without much care and told the others. "Since it appears we are all refugees in this new era perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I was captured by the temple while chasing those two Sith. Yourselves?" He asked and the younger Jedi looked confused a little by him.

"As I mentioned before, I am Bao-Dur, I came to the temple hoping to find some people who had gone missing and was trapped within it." Bao-Dur told them looking unsettled but resolute. Turning to the others it was the Rutian Twi'lek who was looking very unhappy but not willing to lose her composure again introduced herself as calmly as she could.

"I am Minisa Anari, I was a Battlemaster for the Jedi Order and I came to this planet when I had a vision of people in chains at the beginning of the New Sith Wars. I didn't expect to be made one." She said with sadness and the mention of her being a battlemaster was very intriguing but they turned to the remaining two who both looked devastated.

"I am Kerra Holt, I was trying turn two Sith Lords against each other. I lured Lord Daiman and Lord Skel, that one there." Kerra, a female human who looked only around Anakin's age said pointing to the Sith Lord Haron had beheaded. "It worked and Skel killed Daiman but he then came after me, I lured him into the temple to keep him distracted while my allies rescued millions of slaves being held in camps while they were away. I hope they made it." Kerra said, grieving as she knew all those friends she had made were long dead but Anakin upon hearing her name was suddenly excited.

"You're Kerra Holt?! The Knight Errant!?" Anakin said with a smile on his face. "I read all about your exploits at the Temple! You helped millions of people during the New Sith Wars, there is a statue of you at the Temple!" He said excited to meet a hero of his, daring to ignore the council and stay behind enemy lines with the sole purpose of helping others and defeating the Sith was so brave he had honestly dreamt of finding out what had happened to her and if there was one Jedi he could learn from and fight alongside it would be her.

Kerra and the rest looked at him with surprise while Haron smiled a little, seeing the hero worship on Anakin's face. However they turned to the last of the now freed Jedi, the Miraluka who was gently looking at one of the human Jedi that the Sith had killed.

"I am Sabla-Mandibu, I was a member of the Jedi Council after the New Sith Wars ended at the 7th Battle of Ruusan. Ten years later I came here with Morrit my good friend to see if we could find answers to all the mysterious disappearances here." She said looking down again at the dead Jedi who they all now knew had been her good friend.

"Well. There is nothing to be gained from sitting here in the dark." Tuwan said gently to them all. "We should leave this place and return to the wider galaxy, whenever we are, we are still Jedi and we have a job to do. We should also take the bodies of our fallen and give them proper rites." He added and Anakin nodded before saying.

"We will, but we will be taking the lightsabers with us. Professor Huyang should be able to identify the owners. Then at least their fates can be recorded." Anakin said and they all nodded before Sabla went over to the centre and pulled the Sith Holocron from its resting place.

"Better in our hands than buried here to cause trouble later. I know a few things about holocrons so I should be able to get some things from it." They all looked on in apprehension of the holocron even Haron, even he knew how dangerous those things could be.

Still Haron thought with a smile, the trip had not been a total bust he thought looking down at the stolen beskar. It was first of the three missing suits they had found since the first seven and more importantly it was the Mandalore's, including the mask he thought with awe.

A symbol of authority, the symbol of their leader and now he had it.

The thought came into his head and quickly disappeared as he wondered just how this could affect their future plans, while he would potentially be able to use it to unite many of his people it would only make them more enemies inside and out. But one thing for certain he was not leaving it here Haron thought.

- x -

Finding the passage out was not that difficult and soon they emerged into the light of the moon. They each carried bundles made out of clothes of the dead Sith lords except for Master Tulr and Mandibu who levitated the bodies of the dead. Seeing the stars again was a real comfort after the dark and depressing corridors of the Temple.

While Anakin returned to his ship to call for a Jedi Cruiser to come, the rest of them contented themselves with building the funeral pyres for the fallen Jedi. Trees provided the kindling and soon all three were blazing while all of the Jedi and Haron watched in respectful silence. When the flames had finally done their work they all rested to try and regain more of their strength while Haron secured the armour he had salvaged in his own ship not to mention the lightsaber he had taken from the Sith. It seemed only fitting, he had been a theif so he was stealing something from him Haron thought with amusement.

Anakin meanwhile turned to speak to Kerra Holt who was staring up at the sky with a conflicted expression and told her.

"I called a Republic Cruiser, it should be here by tomorrow morning. Then we'll get back to the Temple and you can see all the Jedi are doing to help in this war." Anakin told her, eager to show off their achievements in battle but Kerra was not smiling at that.

"If the galaxy is suffering due to war then my duty is not at the temple or leading soldiers into battle." She told him having realised from what she had been told so far.

Anakin was immediately put off by her statement and looked unsettled at her declaration.

"But you're a Jedi." He said confused and she smiled as she lay there on the ground before explaining herself.

"The people of the galaxy are hurting, the Jedi don't do enough to help them I can tell. They are too bound by the Republic and its corruption, not to mention being distracted by this war. The people need someone to help them...a Knight Errant." She said with a smirk at the title, amused as it stuck to her in a new century. "I think you understand that." She said with a knowing smirk, knowing a fellow maverick when she saw one.

Anakin was put off by her not sticking around but he could fully understand what she was saying and fully agreed with her feelings, many times he had dreamt of doing the sort of things she had...freeing slaves, helping the people of the galaxy who needed protection. There was so much more the Jedi Order could do if it were not so restrained by the rules he thought with annoyance but nodded as she was right and he knew it. If anything he envied her freedom decided to help her quest.

"Then I insist you take my ship." Anakin said with a smirk as he could take a little amusement from surprising her. "Its old and a bit dodgy at times but it will get you around. It's called the Twilight."

"You're sure?" Kerra asked unsure if she should take it but Anakin just kept on smiling and soon she was smiling too.

"Maybe you and I aren't so different after all. Stay true to who you are Skywalker, don't you go get all stuffy on me." Kerra told him and the pair just fell into silence as the stared up at the night's sky and counted the stars.

- x -

The following morning having slept out under the stars the sight of the Resolute was a welcome one to Anakin and even Haron as it hovered over the land. All of them packed into the Canderous and flew up to join it.

The Jedi they had rescued looked at the ship with worried anticipation, no doubt wondering just how much the order had changed since their time and the sight of the large Venator-class Star Destroyer didn't ease their minds. The Canderous landed on the large open flight deck of the Resolute and Anakin smiled as he saw Ahsoka, Rex and Pellaeon standing there to greet him.

Once the ship was down its ramp lowered and Anakin was the first to disembark, followed by the other Jedi who looked around with unease. Ahsoka, Rex and Pellaeon all looked at the group with confusion.

"Master, who are they?" Ahsoka asked, not recognising any of them from the temple. Anakin then explained.

"These are Jedi who were held in stasis inside that Temple. Captain Pellaeon, have the gunners open fire and smash that temple to dust. I won't have anyone caught inside that trap again." Anakin ordered and Pellaeon was quick to do as he was told, leaving to see it done while Rex and Ahsoka stayed to be introduced.

"This Captain Rex and this is my padawan learner Ahsoka Tano." Anakin introduced proudly before completing the other side. "These are Masters Tuwan Fulr, Bao-Dur, Minisa Anari and Sabla-Mandibu. They may need some questions answered so if they do I expect you to help out." He told Ahsoka in particular who looked confused at the whole situation. Seeing her confusion Anakin smiled and told her. "I'll explain later."

- x -

A short while later on the bridge of the Resolute the Jedi watched as the temple was reduced to a pile of rock and debris by the ship's turbolasers. It was a strangely rewarding sight to Anakin and the Jedi who had been held by it for thousands of years, knowing this place would never trap or hurt anyone else ever again.

"Must be glad to see the back of that place." Captain Pellaeon said with a sideways look at Minisa who looked depressed at how much had changed since she had that blasted vision.

"You are most astute Captain." She told him without much emotion, Pellaeon looked at her with a small smirk and said.

"I heard the Jedi of your era were more open to relationships...is that true?" He asked with a certain glint in his eye and she suddenly found a small smile appearing on her face.

"Some things never change I see." She said knowing she was going to be receiving quite a few looks on this ship, it was in some way reassuring that behaviour hadn't changed at all.

"I don't know what you mean Master Anari." Pellaeon said with almost exasperation but saw the small turning up of his lips and the humour in his eyes. He wasn't going to push but there was no harm in a little flirting.

"Well Captain you have made me smile for the first time in nearly two thousand years. Thank you." She said and left the bridge with some eyes on her ass which was covered in black leather not unlike another Twi'lek in the Jedi Order. Pellaeon at least restrained himself and shrugged when he saw Anakin shaking his head with Ahsoka.

"No harm in trying." He said off-hand and while Master Sabla-Mandibu looked offended the other Jedi and clones all smirked a little but then Pellaeon then in an instant became a professional officer again.

"Right take us out of the atmosphere and back into space, then set a course for Coruscant." The clones did not hesitate to follow his orders, his face becoming stern and emotionless. Anakin and the other Jedi left the bridge to let him get on with the duties at hand, to prepare themselves for their arrival on Coruscant.

Reijar, the Ordo System…

Haron and the Canderous arrived at Reijar with the best possible speed, given the cargo he was carrying he felt it important to get home as soon as possible.

Touching down he saw the Ordo's Revenge sitting there and the large droid being removed from it, the shape of it was made him almost crash in surprise and was glad to see Ara waiting for him on the landing pad.

Once he disembarked he walked up to his wife who was tired from all the work she had to do and he hated himself again for having to be away so long helping the Republic and Jedi of all things. He decided then and there to stay home for a couple of weeks so she could have some respite and he could have some time with their children. He walked up to her and kissed her gently while wrapping his arm around her slim waist. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I see things have been happening in my absence." He said as they rested their foreheads together. She sighed before letting him know what had happened.

"That half-sister of yours contacted Deera and asked her for help in salvaging some old wreck, there was a Basilisk left onboard from the Mandalorian raiders. It's in very good condition and if our scientists are as good as they were on the Skytrooper project we should have a good design for a modern one within a month. She also brought back around ten suits of Neo-Crusader Armour so at least there's that." Ara said with weariness. Haron put one of his hand to her face and stroked her chin gently.

"I made a few discoveries of my own, I found the mask of the Mandalore and his armour." He told her simply, she froze at his words and blinked after a moment like she didn't believe him and then grinned as she realised he was completely serious.

"The real one. The genuine article?" She asked with a calculating grin. He nodded with a smile and she told him.

"Wear it, once we have the optics and all that updated. People already see you as the strongest Mandalorian in our territory, this makes your claim to the leadership even stronger. Satine Kryse won't be ruling us much longer." Ara said as the mask might get more of the houses and clans to follow them and at last give them the excuse to overthrow the annoying and idiotic duchess and get their people not only properly united but prepared for the future.

Haron held her face and smiled, his wife was so much better at this sort of thing than he was. He had been a fool not to appreciate her more during their first life but she was only human he saw with the big bags under her eyes and told her.

"I'll stay for a couple of weeks, give you a chance to have some much deserved rest. Not to mention it will give me some time with the children." Haron said and she smiled slightly.

"Oh that will be glorious." She said with relief, knowing she would just be able to relax for awhile as she had in the last couple of weeks had no help in dealing with everything.

Unfortunately the moment was broken by the arrival of Din, Lelia, Markus, Astoria and Corridan in the arms of his nurse. Haron reluctantly let go of his wife and knelt down with a smile on his face to greet the younger members of the family.

The Jedi Temple, Coruscant…

The gunship carrying Anakin and his party to the Jedi Temple was silent as the now freed Jedi considered just what they were about to face there. The only one truly at ease was Master Tulr who was gently smiling as he enjoyed the ride.

Seeing the temple finally come into view as they came in to land did bring a smile to Master Sabla-Mandibu, a familiar sight as the temple had not changed that much from her time. As they disembarked they saw a welcoming committee had come out to greet them; Master Yoda and Master Windu stood with Obi-Wan and a group of Temple Guard.

"Anakin, are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked the moment they were close enough to talk which annoyed Master Windu visibly but Anakin just smirked and said.

"Fine, Master Kenobi. Allow me to introduce you. This is Master Tuwan Tulr of the Great Hyperspace War, Master Bao-Dur of the Dark Wars and aftermath, Master Minisa Anari and Master Sabla-Mandibu of the New Sith Wars." Anakin said his hand moving to indicate each master as he introduced them. Obi-Wan being more familiar with the finer details and long history of the Jedi recognised some of those names.

"Masters, welcome. I am sure you have much to teach us all and we will do our best to ease your transition into this new era." Obi-Wan eager to talk them privately and see what wisdom they might have to offer. However Master Windu with suspicious eyes over these people claiming to be legends from eras past interrupted.

"That remains to be seen Master Kenobi, there is still much to discuss as to whether these Jedi are truly a part of our order." He said sternly but while Anakin and a couple of affronted returned Jedi gave the senior master looks the older Neti spoke up.

"I see the legacy my old friend of Odan-Urr still endures...or is it that you merely have a stick up your backside as he did?" Master Tuwan said with a slight smile. Master Windu was completely caught off guard as were the Jedi around as no one ever spoke to Master Windu that way. Tuwan used the moment of astonishment to turn to Master Yoda and smiled at the much smaller Jedi.

"Greetings, I take it you are the Grand Master Yoda I was told so much about. I am Tuwan Tulr, out of my time but still a Jedi. I think there will be much to discuss."

"Indeed, much to talk about we have." Yoda said feeling a little amusement at how his colleague had been shut down and feeling the gentle and strong aura of the Neti Jedi Master made him feel more reassured, besides he had heard the name Tuwan Tulr in the ancient stories of the Jedi Order. "Greetings Master Tulr, your reputation endures it does. A powerful master who stopped many Sith during the war and was a master craftsman and artisan I believe."

"Really?" Tuwan said with a raised eyebrow. "I had not expected to make the history books but the latter is more true as there is nothing more I enjoy than making rather than destroying, I hope to speak to you more at length as it will be nice to speak to someone who seen more life than the others I have met." Tuwan told him and Yoda nodded, feeling that this was an opportunity he would enjoy.

However as he and the rest of the Jedi Council were briefed on what had happened in the Sith Temple and Skywalker threw down a piece of the terentatek tusk the room gasped a furious muttering started, Yoda felt his heart drop as he remembered just how terrible the creature he had faced on Kashyyyk had been. The fact they might still exist worried him deeply, the creatures that fed on the blood of force sensitives and could hibernate for thousands of years. He was now starting to worry he was going to have to order another Great Hunt! He held off though as was intrigued by these 'Sith Oubliettes' that could hold people in suspension for centuries or even thousands of years. His own master had told him a story of one such thing before, a young Jedi called Zayne Carrick who had been forced to confine another Jedi in one...Celeste Morne he recalled due to a Sith Talisman that had become attached to her.

Yoda had not thought of that legend in years especially as it was supposed to have been destroyed in the bombardment of Jebble not long after but as he did that he felt a sharp pain in the force and a flurry of images came into his mind.

A group of ice miners were deep into the ice and the large black box being hauled up from the depths.

His blood ran cold as he realised that Celeste Morne might soon be free and under the influence of the Muur Talisman, he knew he would have to move fast as the last thing the galaxy and the Jedi needed was another Sith disturbing the already fragile balance of the force. He knew how to render the talisman safe now or at least purge it from her mind but he would still need to get close enough to do it.

Still he was glad to see some of their most capable members returned to them though he thought with a shred of comfort, they would have much to teach them but the sight of Skywalker presenting a Sith Holocron to the Council made him pause.

"And you did not look into it?!" Master Tiin demanded and Skywalker's irritation spiked.

"No I did not Master Tiin." He said and they could all feel he was telling the truth. Yoda nodded before speaking up for him.

"Done well Skywalker has. To venture into a Sith Temple and bring home lost Jedi and a Sith holocron along with many lightsabers of fallen Jedi so they can at last be formally laid to rest...exceptional this is. Master Qui-Gon, right about you he was and proud am I to have you as a member of our order." Yoda told Anakin who instantly looked surprised at the compliment as did many of the Council given the worries they had surrounding him, Master Kenobi in particular was looking proud of his former apprentice and gave him a smile which Skywalker returned.

- x -

Kazdan Paratus was a busy Jedi who made up for his lack of martial skills with the construction of battle droids or other such devices to assist him and even a robotic set of legs to help him get around faster and easier.

Technology was his passion, he preferred it as machines did not make him feel awkward as other people did and while he knew that worried the masters but he had never failed them yet and he was not intending too now. He might not have been judged fit for field duty by that awful Mandalorian but he was determined to change that he thought stubbornly.

"That is an impressive design, I would have gone for a more sturdy one myself but it will be faster than what I might have built." A soft voice spoke from the door. Kazdan stopped and whipped around to see a Zabrak with a strange mechanical arm standing at the doorway. Kazdan was immediately distrustful of this intruder but the man seemed completely at ease despite this and continued to talk.

"I wish technology had moved on more since I was frozen but I was told them you are the best engineer in the temple and was hoping you might work with me to upgrade its defences." The Zabrak said with a smile and then seemed to remember to introduce himself and produced a small datapad with a hologram of the temple projected above it. "I am Bao-Dur and was thinking of putting in some ray shields here and some hidden turrets too."

"Really." Kazdan said with interest especially knowing he was one of the returned, the nickname being given to the Jedi Skywalker had found trapped in the Sith Temple. Even in the temple gossip passed quickly and he was instantly attracted to creating some hidden defences for the temple to protect the Jedi should someone come to do them harm.

Bao-Dur then went into further detail and before he knew it Kazdan was talking excitedly with him in how they could not only improve the temple's defences but also the Jedi's gear in general. Kazdan was so consumed by this he forgot to be anxious of talking to someone and in fact became so into the conversation that he actually enjoyed himself.

Dagobah, the Outer Rim…

The swampy and some would even say spooky world of Dagobah was not a place anyone would want to visit but it was far from most worlds and had a strong force aura to help those that did not wish to be found.

So at the suggestion of Master Yoda who was possibly the only one to know about this planet they had come here to build a Jedi Sanctuary. And it was proving a complete nightmare.

First the local wildlife wasn't exactly friendly and the environment was so awkward and swampy that finding any firm ground large enough to build a temple was just impossible. So instead they had used the enormous trees to create a series of tree-houses and small huts on the ground from local materials that took a great deal of effort to create. It wouldn't be the most comfortable of places to live but at least it would be a safe-haven that would be nearly impossible to find.

Reijar, Ordo System…

Luna sat in her own private grove meditating as she tried to gain some understanding of where they were and how well they were prepared for the future but was frustrated as it remained as elusive as ever. All they could do was follow the will of the Force Luna thought with resignation and hope that they were able to make the most of the opportunities they found along the way.

Feeling Neville and Hannah's familiar presence in the force approach she smiled as her friends came closer and then she was surprised to feel another three others were with them, all strong in the force. Luna was surprised but felt none of them were hostile and so got to her feet in time to greet them. She saw a human male and female with lightsabers on their belts in their late twenties or early thirties and a child being carried by the mother. She could feel immediately the enormous amount of raw power the little boy had and she smiled, now realising just why they were here.

"Welcome to Reijar, I am Luna and I am very happy to meet you." She said with her voice airy and light as she stepped forward. The two strangers were a bit surprised at the early acceptance but introduced themselves regardless.

"I am Kento Marek and this is my wife Mallie and our son Galen. Your friends offered us sanctuary since bounty hunters were chasing us and we had few options."

"Yes the galaxy is an unfriendly place isn't it." Luna told them with a smile that seemed a little vacant but she told them. "Worry not, you and your family will be safe here. You can even help in the training of our other students, I really could use someone to help them learn to use and defend themselves against lightsabers." She said and with a gentle but firm hand on their shoulders steering them towards their new dwelling with Neville and Hannah following.

A shift in the force resonated within them all and they could only hope that this was a good thing.

Concordia, the Mandalore System…

Pre Vizsla was feeling confident, at long last he had secured an ally that would help his ascension to power and the restoration of the Mandalorians to the rightful warrior ways that were their past and their destiny. More importantly to him at least to help him get his revenge on those that had insulted him and his family.

"My people are ready, we await only the word." Pre said to the hologram in front of him.

"Proceed as planned Duke Vizsla, when this is over not only with Satine Kryse be removed from power but Haron Ordo and his family will lie broken at your feet." Count Dooku said with a sinister grin, not knowing if Vizsla the fool that he was would succeed or not but the fact remained it would turn the Mandalorians against the Republic and further the goals of the Sith.