I- The Clone Wars

Space was quiet. Even the low humming of a Venator class Republic Star Destroyer couldn’t be heard without oxygen, which was only available on the star crafts and stations. The hallways were just as quiet, especially before a battle. The bridges, training grounds, hangers, and mess halls had the most activity on it, however. Bustling officers, clone troops speaking, and the commanders deciding the strategy of the upcoming battles. And the General, well, he was usually in a practice  center, focusing all of his Jedi training and battle focus on the upcoming conflict.

    The General, a Jedi Knight named Eth’ain Jaller, was a young man. His height was around 1.77 meters. He was shorter than some of his Jedi companions, like his former master, Balska Teeno, but towered over some others. His dominating facial features were his eyes, which could shimmer between green or hazel. His hair, a dark brown, was slicked back, making sure that he looked older than he truly was.

    His robes, if you could call them that, were just a simple tunic colored black and had accents of a brown all around them. He didn’t conform to the typical Jedi Robes, as he was constantly in battle monthly. The robes, as Jaller viewed, hindered his mobility in combat, so he wore less armor and robes. His armor was grey and black overlapping plates on his shoulders and knees.

Eth’ was one of the youngest Knights ever recorded in Jedi history, becoming one at the age of 15 after he was faced with the near impossible challenge of leading an entire legion of clone troopers, the 17th Legion, out of the failed battle of Bothawui. He was given command of the legion, and promoted to Knight and General after he returned with little casualties. Being this young did make Eth’ reckless at points, causing deaths in the hundreds sometimes. Nevertheless, he was a decent general and a great leader. However, the upcoming battle did frighten him.

He was going back to his home planet, Taris. Once a bustling city planet, much like Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa, it was reduced to swamps and destruction thousands of years ago during the reign of Darth Revan’s Sith Empire. It’s been rebuilding ever since, but it won’t ever reach its potential again. Now, the Separatists have taken control of it, using it as a weapons manufacturing plant. Eth’ was proud of his home, and he would defend it to his dying breath.

After training for a bit, his commander, a clone trooper known as Trap, came in and told him that they were entering hyperspace.

“Thanks, Trap,” Jaller said, getting up and turning to face his friend. “I’ll be in the mess soon.” Trap saluted his general, and left promptly, leaving Eth’ain alone. He sat down once again, and began to meditate. He sat there, envisioning a dark future to come, but he couldn’t discern when or where it was. What he did see, though, was his own troops turning against him.

    Eth’ was startled by this, but dug even deeper. He wanted to know. Surely this was only a possible future. He wasn’t very adept with the Force and its ability to see the future, so he gave up on his search. Eth’ got up, and exited his training, now headed to the mess hall.

    The mess hall in the Venator was usually packed before a battle. Every clone on the cruiser was accustomed to it’s sleek benches and tables, the mostly colorless walls, only accented with red and orange, and the lights that lined them. Everything was a blank slate. Except for the clones. They were individuals. Eth’ appreciated this, and was great friends with many of them. The food, though, wasn’t all that great. Standard military food was typically disgusting. Even the clones didn’t like it.

    Eth’ walked into the line, behind a few of the officers and squad leaders. He recognized all of them as different people, even if they looked mostly the same. Eth’ then felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around to see a clone he didn’t recognize.

    “Excuse me, sir, but don’t Jedi have their own rations?” he asked, a bit confused. Eth’ just chuckled and explained himself.

    “I like to be around the people who I fight beside,” he said as a small group of others walked past him, waving. “We’re like family.”

    “Yes sir,” the clone said, standing at attention.

    “You don’t have to do that for me… I never got your name,” Eth’ said. The trooper looks a bit embarrassed, but goes on nonetheless.

    “My designation is CT-7271.”

    “You weren’t given a name?”

    “No, sir. I go by Seven One.”

    “Well, that’ll have to change.”

    Seven One looked at Eth’ain like he was crazy, but Eth’ just laughed. He wasn’t used to a clone like this, but he could use a few of them. Trap walked up, and began speaking.

    “General, this is Seven One. I think we can give him the name Ord,” he laughs. Eth’ looks at Trap and chuckles while getting his food. Ord looks at the two of them, a bit annoyed with Trap, but goes with it.

    After sitting down to eat and speak among the troopers, Eth’ made his way to the bridge to get the details on the attack on Taris. He needed to make sure that his home wouldn’t endure any more destruction due to another war. That’s when they exited hyperspace to a barrage of laser fire from CIS fighters and ships. They weren’t the only cruisers there. It was a full on invasion.

Alarms blared throughout the cruisers hallways. The troopers had just gotten confirmation that the 17th Legion could deploy to the surface of Taris. One squad consisting of 24 clones, made their way to the LA/AT designated for them and another squad. Eth’ain ran to his personal starfighter, and prepared to take off.

As the hangar doors  of the venators opened, ARC 170’s could be seen engaging in CIS ships in a ballet of twisted metal. The atmosphere on Taris was breathable so the gunship doors opened up all the way, and it gave the clones a great overview of the battlefield they were about to enter. A bit earlier, the Separatists had attempted a bombing of the city to destroy the evidence of their factories, but failed because of the first wave of GAR cruisers and fighters. Eth’ made a general call out to all of his troopers, making them aware of their mission.

“Alright men, it’s time to finish off this occupation. The 45th Attack Battalion is going towards the capital and the main outpost, while we destroy the manufacturing plant. Simple plan: get in, take down the resistance, destroy the plant, and get the hell out of there,” Eth’ says as he takes down two vulture droids. The response he gets is overwhelming, as all of the troops cheer on and begin the preparations for the upcoming conflict in the streets leading up to the plant.

“General, we’re approaching the LZ. I’ll notify you when we have taken over the outpost so we can begin our main assault,” CC-1977, also known as Lukas, says. Eth'’s holographic image nodded his head and he gave them the okay to proceed with the mission.

“Captain, be careful. We don’t know what kind of forces will be in there,” Eth' said. Lukas nodded and put up the holocommunicator. The gunship finally landed and the doors opened to a hail of red bolts that hit the side of the gunship, leaving scorch marks on its hull.

    The troopers charged out, and run into the hailfire of red. The debris from the previous battles litter the streets. Each of the 14 clones take cover and fire back. Lukas fires his blaster, taking down some droids in the process. At the same time, CT-6382, better known as Hodges, leaps from his cover and charges forward.

    “Hodges, what the hell are you doing!?” Lukas screams as he covers his brother from behind. “You’ll jeopardize the mission if you don’t get back here now!!”

    “Sorry, sir, but I’m going to disobey your orders! I’m gonna plant some explosives on their barri- GAH!!”

    Hodges is shot down by a few bolts to the chest. The rest of the squads then rush forward and cover the medic as he patches up Hodges with some bacta.

    “There, all better,” Med says. Hodges hobbles up, and gives his explosives to Lukas, who then rushes forward himself. Tossing a few explosives, he shoots at one, and it tears apart the remaining B1 Battle Droids protecting the outpost.

    Eth’ swoops in, and jumps out of his starfighter. He watches as another gunship lands near their location. It was Commander Trap’s gunship.

    “Sir, the rest of the forces will meet us at the plant. We have to take out those outposts and the turrets.”

    “Well, let’s get a move on, Trap,” Eth’ says, activating his green bladed saber. The battle had just begun.

    Eth’ ran ahead of the main force, and scouted the area of the first droid outpost. He saw mainly B1’s and a few B2 supers guarding the perimeter , but nothing else. Yet the Force told him otherwise. He had the rare ability to see things or people through Force Vision. Eth’ sensed that there were multiple squads on Battle Droids on the inside of the outpost. He smirked.

    Turning away, Eth’ contacted Trap to tell him to aim for the building above the outpost with mortar launchers. His plan was to crush the droids right where they stood, while not damaging the outpost whatsoever.

    “Sir, with all due respect, that’d be suicide!” Trap responded, concerned for his general’s safety.

    “Trap, we’ve done this routine before. It’s gonna work,” Eth’ responded. Trap shook his head in disapproval, but he still went with the order to aim above the outpost. Eth’ was in place as the shells impacted the durasteel and glass building, alerting the droids of an attack. Just as he predicted, a squad of more droids came running out, which gave him the perfect opportunity to crush them. He reached out with the Force, and gripped part of the once immaculate building, ripping off framework, side panelling, and pipes to crush his foes.

    Once he had the debris in his grasp, he hovered them over to the clanking sound of footsteps approaching him. He heard some of their chatter, wondering if this was just another drill. Eth’ain smiled, and let his grip go, sending the building parts falling down to the surface, letting gravity do it’s natural work.

    When the dust settled, he stepped out from his hide away, surveying the damage he brought down upon the droids. His clone squad ran up shortly behind him, and they began scavenging for any sort of communications to the main base so they could give the all clear, and scramble enemy comms to make sure their approach was unnoticed.

The battle in the skies and space still roared above them, with shrapnel of all kinds flying down. On occasion, a CIS Vulture Droid would attempt to make a strafing run, however it would be stopped by Hodges. The droids were getting smarter.

Eth’ felt the uneasiness of his squadron, but he couldn’t do anything. He, too, was uneasy. This was him home, afterall, and he intended to keep it in Republic hands. As such, he was worried about the state of the cities on Taris.

    Eth’ looked behind him, seeing the 17th Legion all lined up, with Commander Trap and Captain Lukas in the front. He sighed, knowing full well that the only way to rid Taris of the Separatists was to eliminate every last one and hold them prisoner, until their leaders retrieved them. Unless, the war ended here, and now.

    “General,” Trap called out to him, tapping his shoulder. “We’re waiting for your orders.” Eth’ straightened up, and then got on some debris to give the order to attack.

    “Alright, gents. We’re at the back door of the plant. We need to slice into the doors, open them up, and get inside. Trax, Tait, you’re our best slicers in the legion. Marcus and Hodges, take a squad to the pipeline. You can probably guess what you need to do from there.” The clones chuckled. “Lukas, take Gev, Ord, Eighty, Braven, and the rest of your company to the other back entrance. Blow it in, and get in there. The rest of us will be here. We’ll meet up in the hanger.” An uproar of “yessirs” and clones running ended the speech. Eth’ain jumped down from his vantage point, and activated his lightsaber just as the slicers entered into the mainframe and gave them access to the droids plant.

    When the doors finally opened up, defense turrets slid out from the walls and ceiling, once again blocking their entrance. Eth’s lightsaber activated, and he began slicing through the turrets and bolts.

    Slicing down the last of the defense turrets, Eth’ain motioned for his men to enter the empty, dark, and now quiet halls of the weapons factory. The only light that was available was the glimmering green glow of Eth’s saber and the clones’ flood lights. Something wasn’t right, Eth’ and the troopers knew as such. A weapons factory shouldn’t be quiet, not even during a battle. Everyone was confused.

    “Sir?” one clone asked, confused. “Shouldn’t there be lights and- GAH!” A red blaster bolt pierced through his chest, knocking him down. Instinctively, Eth’ain went to the ground to help his soldier, but it was no use. He was dead.

    The lights flickered on, and battle droids in the hundreds activated in the factory. Everyone, including Eth’ was shocked- they walked right into a trap.

<><><><><>><><><><>

    The space above Taris was chaotic. So chaotic, in fact, that most shrapnel went planetside. Jedi Master and General Balska Teeno, a Kel Dor, sensed the pain and suffering of his own troops. Standing on the bridge of the Venator Valkyria, he saw the Separatist Dreadnought leading the Defense of Taris. He told  the admiral , a man known as Firmus Piett, of The Valkyria to engage the Dreadnought.

    “But sir, we need to support the 17th legion on the ground!” said one of the naval officers.

    “The only way we can support them, and General Jaller, is to make our way to the surface after we’ve taken out the Dreadnought,” replied Teeno, still facing front. The officer nodded his head, and then ordered all batteries to fire on the incoming CIS cruisers and frigates. Teeno reached through the Force to try and calm his men down during the chaotic battle.

    The Dreadnought kept looming closer and closer to The Valkyria starboard side.

    “All heavy gun positions, brace yourselves!” Piett bellowed into the comm system, which put those stations on high alert. Soon enough, Teeno felt the barrage of laser blasts crashing against the shields, and the Venetor fired back in return. Flashes of red and blue crashed against the two hulls of the cruisers. When the heavy shields buckled on each ship, debris came off of each ship, slamming into the blasts, hull, and smaller star fighters.

    The Dreadnought had fired it’s last shot into the  when a few more blasts from The Valkyria blew apart it’s port side engine, causing a chain reaction which crippled the flagship. Seeing the opportunity, Teeno ordered a small boarding party to assault the cruiser, and get into CIS comms. He used the 45th Battalion for this boarding maneuver.

    “Alright, troopers we’re going on that Seppie dreadnought. We take it, plant explosives on the weak points, and get outta there before it blows,” said Ko, a 45th Battalion clone trooper. “General Teeno will assist us in the taking of the ship, and we’ll get out of there in no time.”

    Balska Teeno was used to a rallying speech, but not today. There wasn’t time. They had a mission to complete. He just hoped that he’d complete it on time.

    The laser barrages began again as the Separatist Dreadnought came back around. The time was now or never. The 45th jumped out from a blown out section of The Valkyria and they invaded the enemy cruiser.

    “General Teeno, we’re inside the CIS ship. Meet up in the hanger nearby,” Commander Ko said into his comm as Balska sliced his way through a small squad of B1’s.

    Meeting up in the hanger, the Kel Dor general and his troops spoke briefly before entering another firefight. The droids may have outnumbered them 10 to 1, but the one thing they didn’t have on their side was brains. Teeno was a brilliant strategist, and used battle meditation to his advantage, boosting his clone troopers’ morale.

    The clones of the 45th began pushing back the onslaught of droids to the front of the capital ship. From there, the clones split up into squads of 12 and rushed to different sections of the ship. Teeno could sense that the ship was in disarray. His tactics never did fail him, after all. But when another dreadnought came their way, his meditation was cut short. The batteries open fired on the shieldless hull, and tore it apart. There wasn’t much that could be done. Teeno knew that this cruiser was falling apart, so he made a desperate action.

    “RAM THIS STAR CRUISER INTO THE HEART OF THE LUCREHULK!” he shouted as he simultaneously gave the order to evacuate any way possible. The plan had worked.

    As the last of the 45th Attack Battalion left the dreadnought to pierce the coreship, Balska Teeno realized that The Valkyria was in bad shape. It was dead in the water, so he ordered all personnel to brace for impact on the surface of Taris.  The venator would survive the crash, but it needed to be steered into something. That’s when a brilliant idea came about from both Ko and Teeno.

<><><><><>><><><><>

    Eth’ain Jaller was many things, and a coward wasn’t one of them. However, he did order his troopers to fall back once he sensed The Valkyria coming into orbit. The troopers didn’t disagree with him, but did question the sudden change in plan until they heard the very loud, but low rumblings of an engine. They evacuated the area and watched as the venator tore straight through the durasteel plating of the factory, tearing down several Separatist structures as well.

    The cruiser, when it finally stopped, was a few kilometers away from the Jedi and his troops. Eth’ walked up to one of the cruiser’s many hull breaches, and waited for his master to arrive. He knew that the ship’s crew had survived. But something was definitely wrong. Eth’ took out his lightsaber, and sliced into the hull of the ship, piercing the emerald green blade through it.

    Once he cut through, he ordered his troops to follow him through the wreckage. The space battle was still going on, yet they had crashed, what happened?

    “Sir, we’ve found something!” Lukas called out to the General, getting his attention. Eth’ walked over to his team, and saw a huge blast through the hull, indicating that it’s shields went down. But he couldn’t worry about that. Eth’ had to reach his master before it was too late.

    About an hour later, Eth’ain sensed his presence in a nearby station. He didn’t have time so he just sliced through the weakened wall, breaching it. Jedi Master Balska Teeno and Captain Ko, the commanding officer of the 45th. It appeared that they were alright.

    “Good to see you, General Jaller,” Ko said, saluting his superior. Teeno looked on his old apprentices’ face, and could tell that something was bothering him.
    “At ease, Cap,” Eth’ said and he walked over to his old master, wishing to speak with him in private. Something was definitely off about the day, and the victory.

    “You sense it, too?” Teeno asked. “The coming storm?”

    Eth’ nodded, but didn’t reply. He felt that more droids were coming, and the survival of both clones and Jedi was necessary to win the Battle of Taris.

    “All troopers, take up defensive positions in the hangers and hallways!” Teeno ordered through a comm set when he heard a few rounds pierce the weakened hull of the vessel.

    Lights blared, blasters went off, and the droid army had already entered through many breaches. Even if The Valkyria was unable to take flight, it still was the second capital ship of the orbiting Republic Fleet, and it’s survival was crucial.

    “Master, rip down that wall!” Eth’ain said as he threw his saber into a flurry of BX Commando Droids. Teeno, waiting for the right opportunity, assumed the position to tear down the wall as soon as Jaller got through.

    “Do it, now!” Eth’ ordered as he jumped through. Behind him was all dust, durasteel, and fire.

    “We need to get to the hanger, immediately!”Teeno screamed as they ran away from the slowly falling debris.

<><><><><>><><><><>

    The clones were outgunned, but not outsmarted. Both the 17th and 45th were defending the hanger while droids poured in through the blasted hanger door. Each clone could take down 10, or even 15 droids before they themselves fell. Though droids could swarm, that made them easy targets for turrets and Republic Fighter Tanks that were positioned strategically near the entrance to the main starship itself.

    “Sir, they’re overwhelming us in secto- GAH!” one clone shouted through his comms before he was silenced by the red blaster bolts. Trap grunted and lobbed a thermal detonator into a squad of Super Battle Droids, destroying them.

    “Commander Trap,” called out Lukas, running over. “Have you been able to reach the Jedi yet?”

    “No, I haven’t. They’ll get here, I promise!”

    Ko ran forwards into two droids, quickly dismembering them with his bare hands. Trap and Lukas were astonished at Ko, which gave them the strength and valor to keep fighting.

    As the clones made their push, the Jedi arrived, and begun slicing down the opposition. This was the last of the droid armies on Taris, and their leaders had fled to an unknown planet.

    “Commander, how’re we doing?” Eth’ain said as he ran up beside Trap, who was firing his DC-17 pistol into the armor plating of a Commando Droid.

    “Never better, sir,” he said as he tossed the inorganic corpse aside. The pair began working their way over to Lukas as he was just about to be overwhelmed by the droids. Eth’ threw his saber and cut down the droids, rendering them useless.

    A few more explosions rocked the hanger from General Teeno’s side, and that was it. The CIS swarm was dealt with. But there was something else. Something more sinister.

    As Eth’ poked around his troopers, he heard Trap open up his commlink to someone’s voice he would never forget. Someone who single handedly destroyed the Jedi with one phrase- “Execute Order 66.”

II- Escaping the Empire

    “Good soldiers follow orders,” Trap said as he aimed his blaster at Eth’ain, shocked. Minutes ago, he was fighting alongside this man!

    “Trap, get ahold of yourself! I’m not your enemy!” Eth’ shouted as he activated his saber again. Then the barrage of blue blaster bolts came his way. He attempted to deflect many of them, but what saved him was his master, one last time. He used the Force to stop the blaster bolts and the troopers surrounding them, but only for a time.

    “Go! I’ll follow you once I’ve dealt with them,” Teeno said as he activated his saber. Eth’ nodded, and ran towards his Eta-2 starfighter, which had just landed. But he had to make his way through the clone troopers. He knew some of them, and others he didn’t. He didn’t want to slaughter his own men, but he didn’t have a choice.

    “Dammit, kill the Jedi!” Ord shouted as he fired at Eth’ain, who blocked the bolts back into the wall, and proceeded to cut him down. A few more clones ran for him, but were quickly gunned down, which shocked Eth’ain Jaller. He turned his head, and saw Captain Lukas, along with his squadron, beckoning him to come over with him immediately.

    “Lukas, what the hell’s going on?!” Eth’ shouted as they took cover.

    “Protocol 66, sir! It was meant to wipe out the Jedi completely, but my squad had our chips removed,” Lukas said. “Nevertheless, you can’t stay here. We’ll cover and say that you “Escaped with brute force” or some story like that.”

    They began firing at him, but he just blocked each bolt into the walls or floor, then used his repulse to escape. Teeno wasn’t far behind. The Kel Dorian Jedi ran for his own starship, and the two fled before they were overwhelmed by the cloned soldiers.

<><><><><>><><><><>

    A month or two had passed since the Execution of Order 66, and Eth’ain knew that the Jedi were in hiding. But he didn’t want to hide. Not yet. He needed to somehow convince the newly formed Empire that he was dead, but he had no idea on how he would do that. Then it hit him. He could draw out one of the new Inquisitors, and make it seem like they killed him. Although he was still on Taris, he couldn’t make a big enough movement against his former comrades without drawing the attention of his own legion, the 17th. So he had to leave.

    Selling his old starfighter, he received enough credits to buy a small vessel to get off world. His own vessel. It did reek like something died in there, but he just had to get off world. He’d sell it again once he got off world, but he does have to make it seem like he died. Eth’ couldn’t reach his master, however he did know of a planet that harbored Jedi. He did hope that his master was there.

    Setting the ship to hyperspace, Eth’ain and his droid, J4-M3, or as he called the droid Jay, went into the back room of the small cargo vessel to see what smelled, and if it was alive or not. When he finally the back, he sensed an alien, which to his relief, was alive. But he didn’t know if it was dangerous. Turning the corner revealed a drunk Rodian. Eth’ chuckled, but still sensed that something was wrong. Then the drunkard woke up.

    Cursing in his native tongue, the Rodian got up, then quickly fell back down to the floor. He was too drunk to even stand, which Eth’ did note.

    “Hey, buddy,” he said, outstretching his hand towards the alien. “Why don’t we get you into a bed?”

    The Rodian looked up at Eth’ain, confused. “Why’re you onmi ship?”

    “Well, it was being sold back on Taris.”

    The Rodian began to freak out again, saying that he wasn’t even near the Taris system, and that he was last on Kessel.

    “Take mi back to Kessel, boy,” he slurred, standing up once again.

    “Sorry, sir, no can do. You must have drunkenly left the Kessel system, and sold the ship on Taris,” Eth’ said. He put his hand on the Rodian’s forehead, making him pass out.

<><><><><>><><><><>

    The blue lights faded as the vessel exited hyperspace, and Eth’ain jumped up to see the planet of Onderon, where he did plan on having his “death.”

    Passing through the Imperial Blockade, the vessel flew down to the surface and began landing when the Rodian awoke from his drunken nap. He came out of the captain’s quarters, and saw that Eth’ain was piloting his ship. He took out his blaster, and aimed it at the boy.

    “Get outta my seat, boy,” he stated, pressing the steel barrel against the back of Eth’s head. He stood up and raised his hands, knowing that if he didn’t comply, his chances of survival where severely diminished.

    “I know what you are, Jedi,” the Rodian stated as he pushed Eth’ain down to the ground, taking his lightsaber. “The Empire’s gonna make me rich for taking down a Jedi!”

    “Is that so?” Eth’ said as he looked at the Rodian, his face contorting with confusion. “Do you really think they’ll pay you, a drunkard, for taking down a Jedi as powerful as me?”

    The Rodian snarled, “Best watch it, boy. Or they’ll halfta settle for a dead Jedi instead of a live one.”

    Eth’ looked up at his captor, knowing that he either had to use the Force, or just use brute force to escape, and possibly kill. Opting for the latter, he got up, and swept the alien off his feet, taking the blaster and his lightsaber from the now pinned Rodian.

    “Listen, I didn’t mean to do this but-” the Rodian was cut off by Eth’ain firing a single bolt into the chest of the being, injuring him.

    “You know that I’m alive. And that I’m dangerous. Which makes you even more dangerous. This isn’t personal,” Eth’ain said before aiming the blaster again, and fired more bolts into the Rodian, killing him.

    Eth’ looked at the body of the Rodian, knowing full well what he had done. But now, he had to do what was needed for survival.

    Once he had landed, he disposed of the body, and rigged the vessel to explode. Jay followed close behind him, but Eth’ didn’t want his droid to see what was about to happen.

    “Jay, go to these coordinates. Once I’m done with my business, I’ll meet you there. May the Force be with you, my friend,” he said as he patted the head of the astromech. What followed was a few sad beeps, and Eth’ replied by saying that he’ll be fine.

    Once J4-M3 was gone, Eth’ain ran into the alleyway nearest to his position, and then detonated the ship, alerting the Empire to a threat on Onderon. This was his chance. All he had to do was wait.

<><><><><>><><><><>

    “Whoever caused that explosion, find them!” a clone commander shouted. Eth’s head perked up, and he began to ready himself for the coming fight. But he sensed someone. An old friend he hadn’t felt since his days at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

    A figure clad in black armor, along with a mask, covering their face, walked amongst the ruins of the hanger area. Eth’ couldn’t tell if they were Sith or not, but he had an uneasy feeling about them.

    “This is the act of a Jedi, troopers,” came a distorted female voice. Eth’ couldn’t recognize her voice, but he swore he heard that accent before.

    “But 4th Sister, how certain are you that it’s a Jedi?” the commander asked, looking around for signs of one.

    “I can sense his presence nearby. Fan out, find him, and I’ll deal with the Jedi myself.”

    “You don’t need to find me, I’m right here,”Eth’ain said, stepping out from his hiding spot. His plan was in motion. The clones aimed their guns at him, and began to fire. He deflected each bolt with ease, killing them when he was close enough. The 4th Sister looked at Eth’ain through her visor, and she ordered the clones to retreat back to base.

    “So, you’re one of the fabled Imperial Inquisitors, huh?” Eth’ain asked, taking up a defensive position. “Not really much of a ‘inquisitorial’ type, though.”

    “Yes, I am, Eth’ain Jaller. Jedi Knight and War Criminal,” she said, removing her cloak. She then took out a hilt black as her armor, and activated two crimson blades. Eth’ain was shocked to say the least. He knew that this wasn’t going to be easy in faking his death anymore.

    The Inquisitor leaped at him, causing Eth’ain to dodge her attacks. He ran towards her, and blocked her second slash, which was aimed for his head.  The Inquisitor then backed pettled as Eth’ain started a barrage of attacks against her.

    “I don’t know who you are, but I’m not going to be killed by some Sith pretender,” Eth’ said as he attacked her. The crimson blades began to spin in a circular pattern, and his shock was momentarily paralyzing as he stood there off guard. This gave the Inquisitor an opening, which she blindly took.

    “Oh , I don’t think so,” Eth’ said as he realized her attack flaw. He seized his opportunity, and he spun around in a green flurry of blocks and attacks. Her reaction wasn’t fast enough, and he landed a few hits on her shoulder and helmet, exposing part of her face, and red hair.

    “You’ll pay for that!” screamed the Inquisitor as she used the rage built up to renew her attacks on the boy. They were evenly matched, but Eth’ain knew he had to make his “death” convincing enough. So, he loosened up, letting her wear him down. But, as he felt the heat of the blade slicing his armor, severing the piece attached to his chest, he knew there was a possibility of real death here. His plan had to be changed.

    “Today, you die, Jedi scum,” came the girl's voice as Eth’ain looked up. He absent-mindedly turned around and let her slice his back. Eth’ain let out an agonizing scream, and laid down in defeat. He would let her win, but he wouldn’t die. Not like this. In his mind, he gave up.

    “Go ahead, finish it. It’s your mission, right?” he asked, sitting up. She looked taken aback, but complied to his wishes. She plunged her saber into his chest. His world went dark, as if he had died. Even she believed it. Eth’ain Jaller died to the galaxy.

    In reality, he saw one of the few outcomes. Eth’ain pulled his lightsaber to his hand and blocked her next strike, which was coincidentally aimed for his chest. He rose up, and used a darker energy to fight back against the 4th Sister. He wasn’t going to die like he did in his vision.

    “Hey, pretender!” he shouted after deactivating his lightsaber. “You take my arm, I take yours!” With that, he threw a chunk of metal that was once apart of the now destroyed cruiser. He saw it strike the girl, shattering her helmet and slicing her left arm and leg up to where they were practically unusable. When Eth’ain got a good look at her, he stood there in shock. It was his old friend from the Jedi Temple. Her red hair almost mixed in with the blood that was drawn from his strike against her head.

    “Sykris? Is that you?” Eth’ain questioned, shocked. The last time he had seen her was at the temple right before the Battle of Taris.

    “Yes, EJ,” she said, standing up. “I was sent to kill you.”

    “But you can’t, can you?”

    Silence came between the old friends. The silence was broken by the red blade activating and her screaming. Her anger resonated with him. The Palliduvan glared at her opponent as their blades clashed. The green and red filled the darkening alleyway as the clashes got louder and louder. Eth’ain spun around, jumping off of the wall. He flips over his old friend, and as he does, kicks her in the face.

    “You’ll have to kill me another time, Kris,” Eth’ain says as he jumps over a small fence, but is stopped by a crate. It slammed him down into the ground. He looked up and saw Sykris had leapt over him, ready to slam her red blade down. He rolled to his left, but not in time. The blade had severed his right forearm. The Inquisitor blade then started spinning as Eth’ain groaned in pain, ready to kill his former friend. But he realized that he didn’t need to. His plan had worked!

    “Well, oh mighty Inquisitor, it was nice seeing you,” he said as he pulled his saber to his remaining hand. “But I have to go, and I’ve prolonged this fight long enough.”

    “You either die here or sometime later, Eth’ain!” Sykris shouted as he slammed the ground and shattered the surrounding area, making it seem like he had just killed himself.

    The buildings collapsed around them, and when they fell into the sewer system a few meters below, he landed perfectly to where he wasn’t injured anymore due to the stunt he had pulled. Eth’ looked over at Sykris, and knew what he had to do.

    “I’m sorry, Kris,” he said as he began blocking her memories of their encounter, making it seem like she had killed him. “But this is the only way to survive.”

<><><><><>><><><><>

    Making his way to the rendezvous point he set up with Jay, he limped through the murky waters of the sewers. He was now a ghost to the Empire, which meant that he had a few options on what he could do for the rest of his life. One was become a hermit and hide, which didn’t suit his style. Another was becoming a smuggler or bounty hunter, but he couldn’t risk being found out. But to get credits and live, that was his best option to become a hired gun, and earn his life. All he needed to do was change his name, and replace his arm. But, first, the arm was more important.

    As he found his droid, the two went to a trusted ally of theirs- Maxus Neowarn. He would help him heal up for a time and get him new credentials.

    “Jay, contact Maxus Neowarn. Tell him my personal authorization code, and let him know that the situation was urgent. Afterall, Eth’ain Jaller was dead to the galaxy now.

<><><><><>><><><><>

    “Now what the hell happened to you?” Maxus said as he walked into the small medical center he owned.

    “Well, I was faking my death,” Eth’ain said as he looked at his friend. Maxus was once a Jedi, but left shortly before the outbreak of the Clone Wars. That didn’t mean he completely abandoned his teachings, though he rarely ever got out.

    “Uh-huh,” he said as he looked through the medpacs for liquid bacta to heal his back injury as the medical droids tended to his burnt stub of a forearm. “By completely destroying an entire block? Brilliant, Jaller. Absolutely brilliant.”

    “Are you going to get me a new arm or what?” the boy asked impatiently as Maxus laughed and ordered one of the droids to fetch the ark.

    “Hope you don’t mind the color because it’s gold.” Eth’ shook his head and took off his shirt, albeit very hard. Doing things with one limb is hard.

    “As long as it functions, I’m fine. The next thing I need is to change my name. D’ya think you could help me with that?”

    Maxus looked at Eth’ain like he was insane. “Really? You’re dead, man! Dead. Do you really think that the Empire would look at the credentials of a dead man?”

    Eth’ quietly thought about it, then realized he was right. Maxus did have a fair point when it came to his name.

    “Though, I can suggest the pseudonym of Gav Antilles for when you’re going through Imperial blockades and such. Oh, and here’s your arm.”

    Eth’ laid back as the droids began their delicate attachment of the robot limb. Each nerve had to be placed where the biotic nodes were, and had to test the movement later on. The process did take a few hours.

    When Eth’ woke back up, he saw that his right arm was now partially back. It was a dirty gold, black, and silver limb that gave him new purpose to survive during these dark times.