Chapter 19 – Discontent (Part 1)

Military Command Complex, Coruscant…

Haron was still impressed by the state of the art military command headquarters that the Republic had constructed. The most advanced technology and no expense had been spared in setting up the command centre and he could far more easily keep up with the progress of the war and deal with the day to day tasks that required his attention.

He was also trying to catch up with all the events that had occurred in his absence, a lot had in deed happened he thought with a sigh of having a galaxy wide war going on. Key he thought was the emergence of another Sith faction, led by a Darth Maul who everyone had thought was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo years ago. Maul was aided by his brother Savage and honestly Haron did not expect them to last too long. Sidious was not likely to tolerate any threat to his position especially as the Sith had the rule of two and Maul was definitely in opposition to that.

Since Maul had only been out a short time and yet was still alive, Haron could only presume that Sidious hadn't managed to catch up to him yet or that he didn't consider him a true threat. Or worse Sidious had plans for him.

Haron wished dearly sometimes that the Jedi and Sith had never existed because of all the trouble each one caused.

So far the two had not stuck their heads up after a duel with Kenobi and Asajj Ventress who had broken away from Dooku. The new threat worried him as a random element could throw off even the most well thought out plans.

Right then he was forced to turn his attention to the first major campaign he had spearheaded since his return, the capture of the planet Fondor with its extensive and vital shipyards. The recent strike against CIS assets and the stalemate in the war had left it vulnerable and so Haron had dispatched Kenobi and Kit Fisto with a considerable taskforce behind them to secure it, the planet might have been sworn to the Separatists by its Techno Union masters but is people were by large unsympathetic to their cause especially as it meant back breaking work for little pay. Chances are that they would welcome the Republic taking control.

Secretly though it would also give him a chance to full study the extensive shipyards in case he had to attack them in the future. Something he was doing to a great many Republic assets. Given their size and extensive facilities the future Empire was sure to make the most of them.

Fondor, Colonies Region…

The large formation of Venator-class cruisers and their enormous fighter wings pushed forward with relentless energy. Some had already managed to dock at the main orbital stations and clone troopers poured out as fast as possible to secure the vital space stations where amongst other things the orbital defences were controlled.

Obi-Wan was leading them on the centre station from the front with Cody at his side, his blue lightsaber flashing as it sliced through the air and through droids too. The resistance was stiff but slowly they were gaining ground as they pushed through the station.

Obi-Wan disliked war and battle intensely, he far preferred to settle things with words...his best weapon and to be honest the best overall in his mind but he knew that this situation would need to be settled with his lightsaber much to his own disappointment.

The battle droids were costing them a great deal of time and effort to clear but Cody and his men were as accurate as ever, they helped clear the path to the command centre were the station was controlled from.

- x -

Outside Master Fisto was flying his personal starfighter with a wave of Z-95 and ARC-170 starfighters into battle, the many vulture droids and others that were flying around the shipyards clashing with them. He banked hard to avoid a wave of blaster fire sent at him and his flight only for three of his fighters to be felled by the attack. He gritted his teeth and violently jabbed the control stick to force his ship into tighter and harsher moves to get behind the wave of droids and with the force as his guide, pressed the trigger.

Laser fire from his two forward mounted cannons let rip into the flight droids, cutting four of them down quickly before they broke formation. This led to a far more divided dogfight between his fighters and the droids.

There was a concerned bleeping from his astromech R6-H5, Kit couldn't help but smile and reassured the droid.

"This fight will not take long, not now Master Kenobi has almost secured the control station. I can sense it." Kit told his droid. He could indeed feel through the force that the battle would soon end and that he thought would be a relief.

- x -

Obi-Wan arrived at the main doors to the command centre just in time to see the blast doors close in front of him. He frowned briefly as he came up to the doors with his clones and saw no obvious way to open them, leaving him with but one option.

"Cover me Cody, I've got some cutting to do if we're getting these doors open." Obi-Wan ordered and the Clone Commander, always the good soldier nodded.

"Understood. Men, surround and protect the general." Cody ordered especially as more droids could be seen coming up the corridor from the other direction.

As the clones took positions all around him, ready to shield him with their own bodies if necessary Obi-Wan plunged his lightsaber into the thick metal doors. He waited for the superheated blade to start breaking the metal which quickly started glowing orange and melted before slowly and with effort, Obi-Wan pushed his blade around the frame of the door while his clones fought the droids off. He could feel them, their worry and their determination and unfortunately when one of the fell, he could feel them become one with the force which only made Obi-Wan double his efforts.

The door began to give as the lightsaber weakened it, the door caving with each movement he made until finally with a concentrated force push from him the doors gave way and opened up the way into the command centre.

With his saber now free and Cody at his side Obi-Wan rushed forward, followed by their men. Seeing a group of richly robed Skakoans with their usual pressure suits. The clones quickly had blasters pointed at them and they were not fighters so they surrendered easily, too fearful to die.

With the command centre in their hands Obi-Wan gave his orders.

"Secure the prisoners, then fan out and finish off any remaining droids. Change the target priorities of the defence stations to target any remaining Separatists." Obi-Wan told the clones who all nodded and replied with a quick. "Yes General."

General, oh how he hated that term Obi-Wan thought with disdain. The fact he and other Jedi had taken such military roles felt wrong to him, they were supposed to be guardians of the peace not soldiers he thought with disgust. Some like Anakin and Ahsoka thrived in conflict which to his mind wasn't a good thing but even Obi-Wan had to admit he was impressed at how far the pair had come since the war had started.

The moment it was over, Obi-Wan thought with longing, he was going to enjoying throwing that particular title aside and living as a true Jedi once more. No more leading armies, no more combat missions and certainly no more battles.

Theed, Naboo...

The world of Naboo was beautiful, anyone could admit that. Its natural beauty was clear enough to most people but the design put into its buildings was exceptional. It did resemble classical Italy on Earth if you had known to make the comparison.

But the Naboo as a pacifistic people even with the earlier attacks on their people by Nute Gunray did not have as intense security as some other major planets. They had so little crime on their world it seemed pointless and a waste of credits. Places like the palace were more secure but they still were not as tight as they should have been.

A squad of astromech droids trundled around the city of Theed, coming from different areas. They followed the roads, went over the bridges and finally converged at the entrance to the Theed Royal Hanger. No one gave the droids a passing glance, hardly anyone ever wondered what a perfectly normal droid was doing as it moved about its business. One plugged itself into a wall socket and opened the door to the hanger before disengaging and fifteen astromechs all poured into the large open hanger.

The large silver starship belonging to the Queen of Naboo sat in the middle of the hanger while the few technicians around looked in surprise but not concerned as droids usually milled around the hanger to help with maintenance.

That changed when the droids split up and each went under an N-1 starfighter and plugged themselves into the slot just aft of the pilot's cockpit. Suddenly and without warning the starfighters started up and engines flared to life. The technicians were so caught off guard by this that they were frozen for a moment which gave the droids the time they needed to launch the ships free of their berths and out of the hangers before the technicians could lock down the hanger.

They flew outward and upward, heading straight into orbit at top speed while the technicians and flight controllers scrambled to try to understand just what was going on.

The fighters were very fast at sublight speeds and quickly reached orbit and then out into open space, they hadn't the fuel to make a hyperspace jump so for a moment the ground controllers relaxed, knowing they couldn't go far and quickly started scrambling the rest of the fighters they had to follow and recover them.

However as they left the planet's gravity well to their horror they saw a Providence-class warship drop out of hyperspace. It's landing bays opened and the fifteen fighters all landed inside before the ship quickly made the jump back into light-speed and away with all the starfighters aboard.

- x -

Savage, Providence-class warship…

In the hanger bay of her new flagship Eliza Kane smirked widely as she considered the embarrassment she had just caused the Naboo. Fifteen of their prized starfighters stolen from right under their noses. They never sold those ships to anyone and now fifteen had been blatantly stolen right from the hanger.

She ran her hand along the smooth yellow and silvery grey hull of one of the ships while technicians made sure to remove the locator beacons just in case anyone tried to find them. She had no particular plans for these ships nor did she intend to sell them. More they were a test run for future more important heists she was planning.

Looking over she saw Katele Ma'Gard sitting in one of the cockpits and looked at the displays with distaste.

"Out of date and nowhere near as powerful as they claim. These things are worthless for anything other than looking pretty. How Skywalker managed to destroy a Lucrehulk with one of these pieces of crap I will never know." Katele said with disgust at the ship before climbing out of the cockpit and back onto the flight deck.

Eliza smirked, her exasperation being fun but more so as the operation had been a success. True it had been partly to humiliate the Naboo after Amidala had stuck her nose into their business but only she needed to know that. But also it had proven she had a good team and had managed to discover some very tempting targets for their future military.

"Maybe if we have a parade we can put them to use. Still things went exactly to plan." Eliza said, glad that Katele had finally figured out she was messing with her before as it was no fun sparring with someone who was afraid of you. As funny as it was in the short term, it got old after awhile.

"And." Eliza said with a vicious smirk before activating her bracer, creating small holograms of two small ships. "I found a much better target for next time."

"The Scurrg H-6 bomber. Idiots at the Nubian Design Collective built it so they could sell it to Naboo but those snobs have no stomach for war. Hardly anyone has bought them but they keep some prototypes at their facility on Nubia but thankfully we only need the specs. It has a lot of potential and even more when our guys get their hands on it." Eliza said with a smirk, seeing much use for the fighter since their forces currently didn't have a dedicated bomber of their own.

"Also we need to raid some Separatist bases." She said with a sense of thrill given they would be able to steal from those greedy bastards. "We want some of these Cutlass-9 patrol fighters. Its a good solid design and could be a great asset for us. If we do it though, no witnesses." Eliza said with a calm ruthlessness.

Katele nodded before saying with a challenging smirk.

"Bet I can down more droids than you." She said teasingly. Eliza answered with a smirk of her own.

"Oh you are on." Eliza said, accepting the challenge.

Barren Planetoid, Ordo System…

On one of the barren planetoids that floated around the system Neville stood on the bridge of one of their frigates, watching as the live test began.

The U-Wing as it was known was an Incom design but Neville had to admire the quality and skill that went into designing/building their ships. Ordo's engineers had spent the last couple of months making modifications to two such fighters and now it had it was now time to put them through their paces.

Neville watched with a careful eye as the ships dived down at high speed, their large wings swinging back for better protection with their deflector shields while improving manoeuvrability not that it was necessary today. Their front laser cannons were already powerful for their size had been given some upgrades courtesy of their engineers as had the shields.

The laser cannons easily penetrated lower powered shields quickly while causing considerable damage to more heavily defended ones. Neville nodded with satisfaction at that before they moved on to the next test.

One of the U-Wings dived again on the planetoid but instead of its laser cannons it flew over the rocky and lifeless surface and opened a hatch that had been constructed on the underside. In rapid succession a payload of proton bombs were dropped down and set off a series of explosions in the target area.

Then the other ship made a similar dive only instead of dropping bombs it started firing concussion missiles from a pair of launchers that had been fitted to the ship's underside. The missiles were pin point accurate and struck home to the targets that had been set up for them.

The payload was good, Neville thought with a considering look in his eyes. They were accurate and on the second variant it would be easy to convert from missiles to proton torpedoes if needed.

It was a good and solid choice for a bomber for their forces but he frowned as he considered the rather glaring problem that most bombers had. They were larger and slower than normal starfighters and that made them far more vulnerable to enemy fighters or gun positions especially if the former got behind them.

So he pondered and made a suggestion to the design team.

"See if its possible to fit a small laser on the top of the fighter with an aft firing arc to defend against enemy fighters. Maybe the co-pilot can operate it while the other pilot flies. Otherwise, this fighter is perfect." Neville suggested and the engineers looked excited about the idea and instead of complaining they threw themselves completely into the task of seeing it done.

Neville was amused a little by this but knew Mandalorians loved nothing more than a challenge and their engineers were no exception. They lived for solving problems that genuinely tested them.

It might seem over the top but if it gave them a space and air bomber than could handle itself without really needing help from other fighters it was a move well made.

Stormfront, Edge of Mandalorian Space…Two Months Later...

Rather than meet again on Graavis it had been decided that the Stormfront would host private meetings since as a ship it was harder to spy on them and could be easily moved.

Sitting in one of the ship's meeting rooms around a long conference table the different house leaders spoke, using the holo-terminal built into the table to display what they had managed to find so far.

"This is the Cutlass-9 patrol fighters and the Scurrg H-6 bomber, both fast and powerful and could be a major asset to us." Katele Ma'Gard said, standing in for her grandfather who had stayed at home after contracting a fever. It was not serious and he was expected to recover but was confined to bed for a few weeks. "As a scout the Cutlass is excellent considering its range and since both have a hyperdrive they are far less dependant on carriers to reach their targets."

Haron frowned for a moment as he remembered the minor panic there had been on Naboo when fifteen of their prized N-1 starfighters had been stolen apparently by the Separatists only for it to die down when nothing happened. Looking at Katele Ma'Gard and the sneaky glances she shared with Eliza Kane he could guess they had been involved but dedicated not to say anything. They had been careful not to leave any trace of their involvement and netted them a pair of potential designs.

"I too have a fighter design that might be useful, especially against other fighters." Duke N'Val said, changing the images of the two starfighters to a new and more original one. It was streamlined and narrow with three fins at the back around the triple mounted engines. Two laser cannons were mounted where the port and starboard fins met the cockpit and missile hooks had been added underneath the side mounted fins. They waited patiently for N'Val to describe his ideas.

"I have named it the 'Viper' after a creature on my own world. The Viper is a space superiority fighter that is not meant for bomber missions or engaging larger warships. Its sole purpose is to engage other fighters and destroy them. For that reason it has two laser cannons and at full load six concussion missiles but its main advantages are its speed and agility." N'Val them, getting more passionate as he described the ship.

"Its three rear mounted sublight engines give it high acceleration and speed in a straight line but small thrusters mounted in different positions allow it to turn in any direction very quickly. The G-forces can be cancelled out by a mesh that my people have been developing that can be made into a flight suit as an under-layer. The Viper would work particularly well with the Mirshko and Atin class ships."

Haron leant forward, resting his head on his knuckles as he arched his arms on the table, this was a potentially really useful design. Most starfighters were designed to do multiple jobs such as bombing and fighting other starfighters at the same time which meant they often couldn't do either to the best of their ability. The Viper was purely combat driven against other fighters and could be a major asset alongside dedicated bombers.

"It is an excellent design. My only concern is range especially if the carrier is destroyed, would it be possible to fit them with a hyperdrive for emergencies?" Haron asked, all eyes turned to N'Val who frowned for a moment before saying.

"It might be possible to fit a small hyperdrive and navigational computer but it would have a limit of five jumps maximum before refuelling." N'Val said and Haron nodded.

"Good, that would be major boost of us if starfighters could jump with long range bombers for strategic missions. Excellent work Duke N'Val." Haron said with a grateful nod which was accepted gracefully before they moved on to the next point.

"Has there been much progress in designing the Basilisk variants?" Haron asked and they all turned to Duke Yal Takan who had been in charge of that particular project.

"We have a number of concepts now in work." Yal Takan said, calling up images of several larger versions of the Basilisk. "Our team thought that basing them on different creatures around the galaxy might be a good idea so they created these." He said, then pointing to each one as he introduced them.

"The Rancor, a heavy assault tank version. It travels on tracks rather than walking but has two heavy blaster cannons along with four anti-personnel light blaster turrets and four ordinance launchers that can fire a number of shells ranging from armour piercing, bunker busting and anti-personnel." Yal told them, it looked dangerous they would all admit. Seeing that coming towards you would be terrifying especially if backed by the rest of their army.

"Then we have the Nexu, a light anti-trooper tank." Yal said moving onto a smaller machine with hover motors that could move quickly over rugged terrain. "It is fast enough to move along side ground personnel with rapid fire blasters and has a cable gun to help it climb."

"Finally there is the Krayt Dragon, the artillery heavy tank." Yal said and pointed to the largest version. Easily as big if not bigger than the new HAVw A6 Juggernaut tank used by the Republic. "It has a powerful medium turbolaser battery along with anti-personnel laser cannons, six ordinance launchers, a duel barrelled concussion missile launcher, heavy armour plating and two forward mounted heavy laser cannons for use against enemy vehicles."

They all, even those who were against making the variants were impressed at the sheer power projected by these variants, as long as they were careful these would be a very powerful asset to them in the wars to come.

Haron nodded before turning to Duke Sarek who had been working with Alain Ma'Gard to find suitable ground vehicles for their army that they could use alongside the Canderous Assault Tanks, Basilisks, Sky Troopers and Kom'rk-class fight/transport. The uptight Duke swallowed nervously before giving his report.

"Our inquiries have found us two possible units for our army." Sarek said looking worried they had not found more before calling up the image of two ground vehicles.

"This is the MZ-8 Mobile Pulse Cannon, or the Plasma Tank for short." He said, indicating the image that looked the most like a traditional tank on Earth to Haron's limited knowledge of non-magical militaries. It had tracks to help it move and a large single barrelled weapon. "It is very slow but its plasma cannon has immense firepower, it has an energy shield for protection and heavy armour." He said and this was far less received by the other leaders, what use was a powerful gun if it took a century just to arrive at the target.

Seeing his option had not been well received Duke Sarek moved onto the second option.

"Then there is the F9-TZ Transport. A ground hover transport that can carry forty warriors in full gear with supplies. It has a shield but no weaponry." He added, knowing that wasn't going to be well received.

And he was right, it wasn't.

"One is too slow to be useful, the other is defenceless if enemy units catch it." Duke Ge'hark said with a dismissive voice, a sentiment that was shared by the others.

"I suppose we might be able to use the transport if it can be fitted with some basic weapons for defence." Haron said, deciding to see if they could make something of this since the Kom'rks, as fast and useful as they had been and hopefully would be in the future were vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and could only carry twenty four warriors at once. The ground transport might be useful for moving people around so they could conserve fuel for their jet-packs or moving the Sky-Troopers around. "And the heavy tank might be useful in a prolonged siege if existing weapons aren't enough."

The others did not look convinced but let the matter drop before carrying on with the meeting.

"Gladius-class heavy corvette." Ceta Farr said, moving on to their space fleet. The image changing to a smaller warship with a long thin central hull with an extended drive unit at the back and antennas extending out from the front. "Two hundred and forty three metres long and despite having only medium armour it has advanced sensor suites for long range scanning and surveillance. Perfect for scouting missions and only needing a crew of fifteen to operate. Reasonable speed with a laser point defence system and two missile pods for extra fire power. While maybe not the most heavily armed ship in our fleet in can be our eyes and ears." Ceta said and they all looked on with a nod, impressed.

"Good then we will put them into production as soon as possible." Harlan said before turning to the other design. "And the Halberd-class light destroyer?"

"It has potential." Lila Kast said with vicious smirk, changing the hologram to another ship with an arrow head shaped design. "Twice the size of the Gladius it has stronger armour and a far more extensive weapon system. One medium turbolaser battery and twenty six missile pods protected by a strong shield, heavier armour and a laser point defence system. Crew, two hundred and fifty. They can be lethal in wolf packs against larger targets." She told them.

"More a missile cruiser than a destroyer." Eliza Kane said with a smirk. "I like it."

"So, we can agree to put those ships into production for at least a prototype." Ijaa said trying to get the meeting to move on. A look around the table got a nod of approval from all of them. Haron then took over.

"Has there been any progress on the droid carrier you proposed when last we met?" Haron asked Eliza who nodded with glee.

"Pretty much." She told them before explaining. "The Gondwana Project as I named it is right on schedule. Each carrier will be twelve hundred metres long and carry up to six hundred droid fighters with a crew of a thousand. Each droid fighter is cheap to build but will on mass swarm before ramming into a target with a harden metal nose before exploding. Most ships wouldn't stand a chance." She said with a vicious look in her eyes that was someone intimidating to most of them. Haron frowned before continuing the meeting.

"Then we begin immediately, if the ships and vehicles discussed prove effective then we will start on full production as soon as possible." He said, eager to get their fleet ready as soon as possible.

Iokath, Wild Space…

Deera was looking at the factories of Iokath as they starting up, the machinery loud as it began operating and hummed with energy while they began to produce the equipment she had ordered them too.

The efficiency of the machinery was something to be admired, it worked far faster than any other factory known to exist in the entire galaxy. Only the ancient Star Forge could compare or surpass it, Deera watched as the parts and equipment started to take shape. Three of their captured Lucrehulks would collect them when they were ready and ship them to other facilities around their space to speed up their production of new ships and vehicles, not to mention expand their facilities.

Worker Droids too were being assembled in large batches to be shipped out with them, the extra assistance should speed up their production and building programs.

Deera smiled as she felt the arms of her wife wrapped themselves around her, despite a long honeymoon they had still not really gotten out of that phase yet. They were just enjoying this feeling while it lasted and before real life crept in with problems and arguments and everything else that came with being married. The good and the bad.

She managed to turn her head enough to press a kiss to Zara's temple, Zara it seemed was feeling a little restless as she slipped her hand lower down. Deera felt it through the clothes she was wearing, gasping as Zara dared close to the waistband of her pants.

"Not here, wait till we get a bed first." Deera said with urgency as she fought the urge to just give in to Zara's adventurous touch. Zara however was not dissuaded and her other hand gently took hold of her breast through her shirt. Deera felt her resolve fading and turned to kiss Zara fully on the mouth.

Reijar, Ordo System…

Hannah and Mallie were both seeing the doctor at the same time, sticking together for moral support as they confirmed their pregnancies.

Sitting together in the waiting room while Frank and Galen were busy with their lessons they smiled and made conversation.

"Are you hoping for a girl this time, or another boy?" Mallie asked, not sure just what her new friend really wanted in a family.

"My child will be my child and that is all I care about." Hannah said with joy. "I will love then regardless. What about you?" She asked Mallie who looked a little tired before saying.

"I don't really mine as long as they are quieter than their elder sibling was." Mallie said with an exhausted look in her eye. Seeing a questioning look from Hannah Mallie explained. "Galen when he was born was rarely quiet and never seemed to sleep. There were more than a few sleepless nights for a long time. Not to mention the force surged around him a lot, one man who was shouting at us once was blown clear off his feet by a force wave that seemed to come from nowhere. I will love my next child but I just hope that they are quieter and easier to manage." Mallie said with a weary smile.

"Frank was such a quiet baby, never had a noise out of him the moment I put him to bed." Hannah said with surprise, now wondering if her new child was going to be like that.

- x -

Haron, on his way back to Coruscant from the secret meeting had taken a rather large detour to Reijar. His children and Din had been glad to see him and he had managed to spend the whole day with them. He was saddened to again be away for so long but it just couldn't be helped. At least he could be glad Ara and their friend circle was close at hand while he wasn't he thought sadly.

"You do an amazing job with them." Haron said as he prepared for bed with his wife, the first time in ages that they had been able too. She looked up at him with a deadpan look.

"Did you expect anything else?" She asked and he merely smiled.

"With you, never. They are lucky to have you as a mother. No one could give them the assurance you can, even if I wish I could." Haron said with anger at being stuck on Coruscant so much again. He had been hoping to spend more time with his family only to once again be stuck on the other side of the galaxy.

"I know." She said with a little smugness but then softened. "They understand, why you can be here and when they get older we can explain more completely. You do this to protect them, you are a good father." Ara told him and Haron, sighed a little before coming over and putting his arms around her.

"What did I ever do that was so good to find a woman like you?" Haron said with a smile and her grin turned turned into a smirk.

"Well saving the world probably helped. Now, for tonight at least I have you home and I intend to make the most of it." She said with a glint in her eye that honestly he understood completely and kissed her passionately which she responded equally while they stripped out of their clothes and falling into bed where sleep didn't come till much, much later.

- x -

The Following Morning...

Luna meanwhile was sitting with her students, taking a big step towards formalising their order and giving it some much needed structure. Looking she saw their faces including young Lelia Ordo and Frank who sat there beaming at her. She gave them all a smile before giving her announcement.

"We have all been training hard but for an order with no name, no history and no ranks. It is time for that to change." Luna said as she addressed them all with a smile. They all looked on in surprise and exchanged glances with each other.

"Our order exists in shadow so the Jedi and the Sith will not know about us till we are ready. We are few while they are many and powerful, until we are powerful too we must stay hidden. To that end our order's name will be Ranov'la. We are the secret that will bring our enemies to their knees and show the galaxy that the Force does not belong solely to the Jedi and the Sith. Our war leaders, those who will teach and lead will be known as Akaan'alor, those who fight will be Akaan'aran the guards of our order and those who are learning will be called Hibir. Titles too will be created as our order grows and diversifies." Luna told them with a smile, glad that her people had a name and ranks although many would need to learn a bit more to be called Akaan'aran let alone Akaan'alor.

"Now." She said moving on to the lessons of the day. "While the younger of us will be practising to see with only the force, the older students will be learning to create the weapon of those that might be our enemy someday...the Jedi and the Sith." Luna said, knowing full well the Sith were going to try and destroy them so they could never become a threat and the Jedi had many times tried to intimidate or convince other force wielding orders to join them...even attacking a few. The Jedi were too rigid and completely focused on their own corrupted way to the exclusion of all else to do anything else.

They too would see them as a threat, especially being Mandalorian Luna thought grimly. They would try to make them follow their ways with violence eventually or to eliminate them so they could help themselves to the large number of force sensitives in their space.

To be honest even with the threat the Sith posed, Luna wasn't sure which was going to be the bigger enemy in the long run...the Sith and their Empire...or the Jedi.

Shaking herself out of these depressive thoughts she turned to Kento Marek who stood in front of the older students, teaching them how to build a lightsaber.

"The heart of any lightsaber is the crystal." He said, holding up a kyber crystal in his hand to the students while Luna herself turned to the younger ones and instructed them.

"Now put on the blindfolds and let the force be your eyes, for although each of our senses can fail and deceive us the force will not." She told them and they did as she instructed, putting the blindfolds on and soon were dodging or deflecting shots from training remotes with training sabers.

Lelia and Frank among them, the pair were excellent students Luna thought with a smile. So eager to learn and dedicated.

In time they would become powerful force wielders...no Akaan'aran Luna corrected herself, feeling that they had taken a big step forward in establishing an order of their own.

Guerra Sigma, the Outer Rim…

A dusty mining world on the edge of the galaxy, having a good operation going that could have made a good living for its people if they were not constantly having to deal with raiders.

They were not a part of the Republic or the Separatists and their operation was far too small to be noticed so there was no protection and no one they could turn too for help.

Kerra Holt had noticed however, following where the force led her she had come and began to teach the locals to defend themselves. She stood in front of a makeshift target range with the locals around her and said with a commanding voice.

"A target will not always stay still long enough for you to shoot it. Creature, person or droid they will move and you need to be able to anticipate when you shoot." She told them and began to use the force to levitate several targets to float and began moving them around like a puppeteer at random to throw off the locals when they practised. She nearly sighed as she could see while they were getting better it was slow going and would take a couple of more weeks before they were good enough to call themselves fighters.

After the session was over she let the would be fighters go home and saw a little girl crying in a corner. No one seemed to notice her and Kerra's heart went out to her especially when she could feel her fear.

Kerra walked over and sat down next to her, the little girl looked at her with confusion not quite believing that someone was actually paying attention to her. She looked down at the girl and gave her a smile before asking.

"What's your name?"

The girl's confusion grew as no one had bothered to even think about her name in so long that she had almost forgotten that she had one. It took a moment to process that Kerra wanted to know it and so she answered slowly.

"Molly." The girl said slowly and quietly.

"That's a pretty name." Kerra said as she kept smiling at the girl who was starting to feel more comfortable around her. "Why are you out here on your own? Where is your family?" She asked and the girl instantly froze and then deflated.

"They're dead." Molly said with a grief twisted face. "Daddy was a miner and momma took care of me and the house but when the raiders came and wanted anything nice. Daddy tried to fight them and they..." Molly stopped speaking as tears ran down her face as she remembered the death of her parents.

Kerra knew full well how that felt, given all the things she had lost in her life and just reached out and put an arm around the little girl. The girl flinched away from it at first but then desperately in need of comfort leaned in to Kerra who just rubbed her back as she let it all out. They sat like that for a long time as Molly let out what seemed like weeks if not months of grief.

Kerra could feel how thin the girl was and worried deeply that no-one seemed to be caring for the girl. Vowing privately to find her somewhere safer to live after all this. Molly managed a small smile before saying.

"You're not like the Jedi I heard about."

Kerra was a little confused at what she meant and asked her.

"What do you mean Molly?"

"You actually care." Molly said with a smile and a small tremor in her body. "You're nice."

Kerra although she kept smiling to reassure Molly was scowling inside. She knew the Jedi could not right every wrong in the galaxy but the fact they had become so close minded and callous that they did nothing while worlds like this suffered infuriated her more than she could put into words.

So it looked like it was up to her to rehabilitate their image around the galaxy she thought as she continued to comfort Molly and made plans to find her somewhere safe when it was time to move on.

Lettow, Core Worlds…

The site of one of the darkest chapters in Jedi history, Lettow had been the place of the First Great Schism where a Jedi named Xendor had built an academy solely for the purpose of experimenting with the dark side and other aspects of the force the Jedi deemed unacceptable or too dangerous to touch. The early Jedi had come and wiped out the Legions of Lettow across the galaxy before retreating back to Ossus.

It would not be the last time that the Jedi carried out such a massacre and often it was not even mentioned in their history. Since as Yoda's Secret Team of Jedi landed on its surface they honestly felt a chill in the force, an echo of what had once taken place here.

They walked over to where the ancient Legionnaire Academy had once stood. The ages had not been kind to it and it virtually nothing by now, only a few very faded stones. The dark side aura of the place was near depleted after all this time and they did not want to build so out in the open in any case.

Yaddle, being one of the best with her force senses walked forward into the ruined enclave followed by the others and held out her hand before shaking her head in disappointment.

"Build here, we cannot. Too well known it is perhaps." She said, the force seemed to be urging to her not too and the others nodded. It was not strong enough in the force to hide their presence and the geography of the planet was not favourable to build a hidden base here. Not to mention it was likely the Sith would know about this planet given what had happened here.

Still Fay, the oldest and wisest of all of them looked around and frowned for a moment before saying.

"Maybe there is something here though." She said and started walked over to a rock formation nearby, the other Jedi followed her with curious looks at what she might be looking for. She closed her eyes and stretched out her hand. Nothing happened for a moment until one of the large stones that had fallen over started to move, it was well stuck into the ground but with effort it came loose and floated into the air, revealing a small passage beneath it.

The Jedi were intrigued immediately and Fay, taking charge of the group said.

"Myself, Master Yaddle and Master Glaive will explore the passage. Do not follow unless we call for it, traps might still exist that are as deadly as the day they were made." Fay warned them. Xendor, the founder of the Legions of Lettow had been no fool and who knows what might lay down there.

The other Jedi did not seem pleased with her decision but respected it. So she, Yaddle and Glaive walked forward, using their lightsabers to light the way. The passage was not natural she noticed, its structural supports were metal and she honestly did not understand just why they hadn't rusted away to nothing after twenty four thousand years? She put a hand against the smooth metal and felt the force within it.

"The force was used to reinforce the metal, probably the only reason the tunnel still stands." Fay said to her fellow masters who both looked at the supports with awe.

"That art has been lost for centuries." Glaive said impressed, he might have resented coming on this expedition at first but he could not deny that he and his apprentice had experienced adventures and learned secrets they could never have learned any other way. Now he was reaching into the Order's ancient past and it was humbling he thought with awe.

"Perhaps lost no longer." Yaddle said as she walked down the long tunnel till they arrived at what looked like an ancient forge. Tools and equipment not made of the same material had rotted to almost nothing after all this time but some tablets made of the same metal, force and crystal enhanced high carbon steel as the tunnel supports lay on a nearby stone base.

Fay walked over and gently wiped away the dust to see the contents, reading each one carefully with her best understanding of the old writing she managed to convey their contents to her fellows.

"These contain some of the key tenets and teachings of the Lettow Academy." She said with curiosity. "They detail the method for creating the force enhanced metal that holds up this building and...oh my." Fay suddenly said with excitement. The other Jedi were confused at just what she had discovered.

"Master Fay, what is it?" Glaive asked with impatience after awhile and Fay managed to recover her faculties enough to explain.

"Well, this tablet." She said holding up one of the metal slabs. "Has the method to produce the metal; how to shape the high-carbon steel in the furnaces, how to meld the metal's molecular structure with that of a crystal so they are one in the same and the force can run through it. But these tablets." She said, putting the first one down and picking up a number of others. "Contain the teachings of the Kashi Mer Mystics...the Guardians of the Breath." She said with excitement.

"Their techniques of using the force to help plants and animals grow faster, not mention heal the sick are legendary." Glaive said with surprise and sudden interest in the tablets himself. The Guardians of the Breath had not been seen in over nine hundred years, the last encounter with the Jedi being only ten years after the last battle at Ruusan. Many including the Jedi believed them to be extinct and yet here in this dark and gloomy place, something of them survived.

"Take them, we will. Copy and preserve this we must so not lost will the last words of the Guardians of the Breath...not lost to time will they be." Yaddle said with pride. It was an incredible pair of finds, guessing the last of the Legions of Lettow must have sealed this place to stop the Jedi from looting it. Ironic she thought but at least something positive had been achieved this time the Jedi had come to Lettow.

The Jedi Temple, Coruscant…

Yoda was sitting in one of the meditation chambers of the Temple, meditating on the current galaxy and the report he had just received from his secret group not to mention the Ossus Expedition.

A smile came to his face as he considered all they had already achieved. The recovery of such lost teachings and relics was a great gift to the Order as was the discovery that Ossus was recovering slowly but more so that the hidden temples were coming along well. Not only were Jedi teachings being preserved and rediscovered but they would be safe should the worst come to pass and the Jedi would have places to hide should it be needed.

But he thought, more would need to be done so he waited for his next two recruits to join them.

A chime at the door announced their arrival and Yoda opened his eyes and opened the doors with a wave his hand.

Two Jedi who had been waiting outside took this as their cue to enter. They were both very different from each other; one was young Twi'lek female with purple skin that had just passed her trials for knighthood wearing the tan robes of a Jedi archaeologist and a black headdress.

Her companion was a human male, dark skin and hair, a little older and had passed his own trial just a year before the start of the Clone Wars and until recently had led a joint taskforce of the Judicial Forces and the Senate Bureau of Investigation. But more crucially, at least to Yoda was that he was a former padawan of his.

"Knights Rachi Sitra, Qu Rahn." Yoda said. "Please, be seated." He said gesturing towards a pair of unoccupied chairs and both younger Jedi nervously took their seats, not sure just what the legendary Grand Master would want to speak to them privately about.

"Tasks I have for you, important they are and not to spoken of to other Jedi." Yoda said with a passive look on his face, they both looked astonished at him coming to them like this and leaned forward with excitement.

"Rachi Sitra, an excellent student of the past you have been. A skilled archaeologist and work awaits you...on Ossus." He said and the young woman gasped in surprise which made Yoda smile as did her excitement at where he was sending her. "A group of Jedi already there they are and aid them you will in uncovering our lost past, also take a hidden cache of holocrons and relics along with a copy of the Jedi Archive there you will for safekeeping."

Rachi looked awestruck at the chance to explore their order's ancient home, so much could be waiting there, so much that they thought lost. She was almost buzzing with excitement and ready to grab a starfighter and fly all the way there right now.

"Knight Rahn." Yoda said, turning to his former student who was now envying his younger colleague over her incredible opportunity before turning back to his former master and listening attentively like fresh padawan again. "In earlier years, intrigued you were over the lost Valley of the Jedi. Seek it out you will but as a knight no longer, but a master." Yoda told him with a certain pride in his former student.

Now the envy Qu Rahn was feeling evaporated as he felt excited himself, it was a long held dream of his to find the lost Valley and its monuments to the Jedi who had fallen there. He dearly wanted to see it for himself and Yoda floated a pad over to him and another to Rachi.

"Master Rahn, a journal left by Master Johun Othone who built the temple at the valley. Help you find it the journal will." Yoda said with a smile before telling Rachi. "Path to Ossus and location of the Jedi Camp there. Master Morne leads the team there."

"We will not fail you master." Qu Rahn said with earnestness. Yoda smiled at his enthusiasm and at Rachi's too.

"Fail me, you cannot. Only yourselves." Yoda said, knowing the tasks he had given they were not easy and there would be challenges that none of them could anticipate and he could only hope their training was enough to get them through the challenges ahead.