HP: Dance of the Veela

Rexla, Mandalorian Territory…Two Weeks Later…

Gar Saxon, wearing his impressive new helmet looked in his mind at least resplendent on the makeshift throne he had ordered built. Sitting at the head of the table he grinned as his followers grew in number, Tiber his own brother sat proudly at his side while Hark one of his most trusted men led his guards. A number of the smaller clans had already come over to their side, they had been ignored or burned by Ordo or the other houses in the past and were only too eager for a chance to rise up along with him. Some had been loyalists of the now destroyed Houses Bralor and Awaud for example and one or two had been passed over to replace House Ralmiz but the only thing that mattered to Gar was that they were willing to put him on the throne of Mandalore.

An astromech drone though approached the table, Gar presumed it belonged to one of the clans present but it didn't. The R5 unit stopped and activated its holoprojector, creating the image of a man that struck fear in the hearts of everyone at that table.

Haron Ordo appeared at the foot of the table and looked around before shaking his head in dismay.

"Some of you I expected, others I didn't. But did you really think I would allow this to get as far as it has without it being what I wanted?" Haron asked them with a cold and hard expression on their faces.

"What you wanted?" Gar said with a scoffing sound. "I have the true mask…" Gar started saying but Haron just laughed in a bitter and cold way that sent a chill through them all.

"Please." Haron said with derision and the droid then quickly deployed a laser that sliced the fake mask in half in a split second although the helmet was untouched. "Real Mythosaur bone is much stronger than that. In ancient times the Taung used it as armour before beskar was discovered, it may have looked like the real thing…but it was nothing but an empty fraud. Like you." Haron mocked Gar who froze as the entire illusion collapsed.

The clan leaders, some of whom had known that the mask was fake anyway all turned to Haron and began begging for forgiveness but Haron just kept shaking his head.

"I think we have gone beyond that now. I allowed this to go on as long as I have to find out just who I couldn't trust." Haron told them with disgust at their weakness and betrayal. "I showed some of you mercy in the past and you have just spat that in my face. Neither you nor your families will know such kindness again." Haron said coldly as he put his plan into action.

- x -

In orbit of the planet a ship decloaked, simmering into existence. It was no small corvette though; it was a fully armed Aggressor-class Artillery Vessel named the Parjai after a famous Mandalorian warship of the past. It was already in position and now just needed a small moment to carry out its part of the plan.

It fired its enormous ion cannon first which sped towards the surface. The traitors and sell outs looked up and saw the entire area bathed in a blue blast of energy. They raised their arms as if to shield against it but the energy passed by without doing them any harm, but any of the technology in the camp including the droid that was projecting the image of Haron Ordo fried immediately with its great intensity. This included all their speeders, ships and jetpacks, leaving them with no means of escape from what came next.

Now the ion cannon had trapped their enemy, the crew on the Parjai fired the other half of their main weapon, a massive plasma cannon that let out an enormous blast of angry red energy which hurtled towards the surface.

The trapped traitors on the surface looked up and saw it coming, panic spread quickly and some tried in vain to start their vehicles to escape while others in complete desperation tried to run away on foot but it was futile as they could never get far enough away.

Gar and his brother looked at their approaching death with looks of terror on their faces and Gar screamed out in terror and anger as it slammed into the ground, wiping him, his brother and everyone one down there away along with the camp and just about everything within a mile radius. The enormous mushroom cloud rose into the sky while the ground burned beneath it.

- x -

In orbit Haron watched from the bridge and was satisfied of the result, sending the recording to the other house leaders and Ara so they knew just who had sided with the enemy and would need to be eliminated.

Turning he saw his nephew Tristan sitting at the navigation station, he hadn't seen his niece or nephew for awhile so he smiled and called him over.

"Tristan." Haron said warmly.

The boy froze, almost fearful which surprised Haron a little as he knew that he was family but turned and bowed respectfully to him.

"Mandalore." Tristan said before Haron took off his helmet and smiled at him reassuringly.

"Now Tristan, you know that you can call me something else." Haron told him and Tristan nodded before amending his greeting.

"Uncle, it has been a while." Tristan said quietly but Haron was confused by his continued unease. He was fully aware he had nothing to fear from him, Haron could sense that but there was something he was desperate to hide. Deciding to play along until he could find out the truth, he asked simple questions to dig up some information.

"How are your family? How is your sister?" Haron asked and the mention of Sabine made Tristan far more anxious so clearly it had something to do with her.

"They are fine. We are doing very well." Tristan said, too quickly as if desperate for him not to probe deeper. Haron took pity on Tristan and cut to the chase to spare the boy anymore anxiety.

"What has happened to your sister Tristan? I can tell you are nervous about something and it is to do with her. Also, I would like to remind you that I am a force user and you cannot lie to me. So, what has happened?" Haron asked pressingly as he was sure she wasn't dead as there would be no need to hide that.

Tristan wilted, he tried to stay strong but Haron's relentless gaze broke his will and he finally admitted something.

"Sabine ran away."

"Why?" Haron asked with calm and neutral expression and Tristan admitted just what she had done, what his family had been so desperate to hide to make sure she was safe.

Haron listened and was furious when his nephew finished his little story, he had expected much more of Sabine and he needed to see her face to face so he could understand just what she had been thinking of by doing that.

When alone some time later he told his aide.

"Order Mandalorian Intelligence to look for any sightings of Sabine Wren, she will likely be wearing her armour and in very elaborate colours. She is an artist first and foremost. If she puts her head up, I want to be alerted personally." Haron said to his aide who nodded confused as to why he would take such an interest in this but given she was family Haron was going to be personally watching this one. He would need to break the news to Ara and their children who he knew would not be happy…especially given what he and they would be obliged to do when she finally stuck her head up from wherever she was hiding.

Mount Tantiss, Wayland…

The cold and bitter wind stabbed into Anakin and Bao-Dur as they approached the mountain base. It was by all appearances just a normal mountain but they could both feel the force was twisted in some way here.

"Are we sure this is the place?" Devan at their side asked, finding it hard to believe.

"Confident Statement: My scanners confirm there is an extensive complex within the mountain. Quite a large complex in fact." HK-47 said, sure of his own equipment.

Bao-Dur meanwhile was feeling something that the droid had no hope of sensing, something familiar was within that mountain. Something that he had not felt in a long time but dismissed it as impossible. It simply couldn't be.

Devan with some misgivings led the hundred commandoes they'd brought with them towards a cave which contained the entrance to the facility. Anakin seeing a pair of large turbolasers leapt through the air with single jump and ignited his lightsaber, the blue blade slicing cleanly through them and before he could even land a new figure emerged. Brandishing a red bladed lightsaber, this sole Dark Jedi Guardian attacked Anakin wildly with no thought of self-preservation. This recklessness allowed him to last for a little while but Anakin was a force upon to himself and quickly beheaded the Dark Jedi, allowing them to proceed forward into the complex. The heavy security door was lined with phrik so cutting it was out of the question but thankfully Bao-Dur used his own incredible technical skills to slice into the door panel and into the security systems.

The door slowly opened and the commandos were met face to face with a squad of Death troopers, they began to exchange fire and Devan fired his customised heavy rifle at the Death Troopers cutting them down with HK-47 who used his customised slug thrower rifle with deadly accuracy. Bao-Dur and Anakin ignited their lightsabers and joined in the push, the Death Troopers called in the regular Stormtroopers to assist them but the heavy commandoes mowed them down with heavy repeaters.

So as the enemy fell back, they pressed on into the facility.

- x -

Devan and some of his men arrived into the main computer complex and saw technicians who were reaching towards panels on the far side, guessing they were going to try and wipe the database but Devan wasn't going to get away with it. He and his men shot them down and secured the Computer Core, making sure they were in control of it and more importantly in a position to shut down all the security systems and cut off communications so they could not call for help. Seeing a holographic representation of the facility he was again struck by the sheer scale of it and wondered just what the Emperor needed such a large complex for?

- x -

Bao-Dur and HK-47 were moving into another large section of the facility, according the signs on the wall this was the Cloning Centre and already they had discovered a large number of Spaarti Cloning Cylinders alongside Kaminoan cloning equipment and other stuff too. Dissected corpses lay on tables and preserved body parts floating in tanks. It was like a horror holofilm Bao-Dur thought with disgust and then the feeling of familiarity came to him again and he turned to the next section of the facility where two specific rooms were held with cloning tanks.

Bao-Dur walked into one of the rooms and saw the tank was murky as different fluids mixed inside it but he felt the force strongly from the tank and there was definitely someone inside there. He would have checked the data display to see just what they had inside that tank but Death Troopers came in and started shooting at them, Bao-Dur had his blue lightsaber already out and was deflecting their fire back at them while HK-47 shot them down but the fighting seemed to stir whatever was in the tank as movement could be seen inside it, then one of the Death Trooper's missed their shot and hit the tank instead, shattering the glass.

The fluid rushed out along with the broken glass but a graceful figure leapt free of the tank and straight at the Death Troopers, they tried to shoot her but she twisted her body to avoid it till she landed at their feet and then swept them to the ground with a sweeping kick, grabbing the nearest and snapping his neck with a single hard twist before ruthlessly moving on to the next one which swung their blaster at her but she grabbed hold of it and pulled it away from him before smashing it hard enough into his chest that it caved it in.

The remaining two struggled to their feet but already the mystery woman was on them, she broke the arm of one while wrenching the blaster from her hand to shoot the other one before shooting the still disabled trooper.

The room now secure the naked figure just stood there for a moment before dropping the blaster and removing the dark body suit and boots of the Death Troopers while discarding armour sections to clothe herself. HK-47 kept his rifle picked at her while Bao-Dur kept his lightsaber ready too.

When she finally stood up and was face to face with Bao-Dur he dropped his lightsaber in sheer shock at who he was seeing, it was impossible and yet here she was. Her soothing and commanding presence in the force something he had never thought to feel again nor actually see her in the flesh.

"General." He said almost breathlessly and Meetra Surik stood there with a small smile on her face, glad to be free of that blasted tank even if she had no idea just how she was here when she had died thousands of years ago! She even remembered being a force spirit vaguely and helping Revan and the Outlander against the Sith Emperor but now here was again, a living person once again.

"Confused Question: Master, is in normal for organics to return from the dead?" HK-47 asked, himself not understanding how she was here but she just told them both.

"I do not know how I am here, only that I am and I will help you now to the best of my ability." Meetra said with a smile, glad to have them at her side during this confusing event. She had her white blonde hair longer than she normally would and was forced to tie it back with a strip of cloth so it would not get in her face and picked up the blaster she had previously dropped. Not her normal weapon but it would do she thought at least until she could get a proper lightsaber.

"Excited Statement: Then master we should move on, there are many meatbags to terminate." HK-47 said with eagerness and Meetra smiled, seeing the vicious droid hadn't changed but there was one piece of unfinished business here.

"That we will my friends, but first I need to set free the other person being held here." Meetra told them and led them into the next room where an identical tank to the one she had been in stood. Rather than shoot it Meetra just purged the tank of fluid and used the force to open the tank, letting another female figure of athletic but also somewhat curved dimensions just like Meetra herself stand up free of the tank. She was different to Meetra with dark hair and pale skin, her grey and blue eyes opened and appeared like Meetra to be in her early twenties. She took a few steadying breathes before looking around to see just where she was. Meetra who technically hadn't met her before but knew full well who she was and offered her another of the body suits from the Death Troopers and some boots with a blaster.

"Time is wasting, work to be done." Meetra told her and the other woman with a slightly breathy voice nodded calmly, radiating wisdom and a strong will from every note.

"Indeed, we must take the fight to the enemy."

- x -

Anakin meanwhile was leading the charge into the upper areas where the Emperor himself would presumably rule while he was here. A throne room and study among other things, he could conceivably run the entire Empire from here, Anakin thought with a shake of the head. Wondering if he had other little command centres like this one elsewhere in the galaxy.

Not to mention the number of vaults he had here, who knows just what was in them Anakin thought with exasperation. What secrets had he buried here? Anakin thought and how many more he had hidden around the galaxy? The more they learned about Palpatine, he thought with disgust the less seemed to true.

He was fighting now against the red cloaked Imperial Royal Guards, there were using force pikes lined with phrik and they were he thought with gritted teeth well trained. Agile and viciously precise, his men were in a firefight with the remaining Stormtroopers so they couldn't help him, meaning he had to deal with the five Royal Guard alone.

At least until Bao-Dur and HK-47 arrived with a pair of very unexpected reinforcements.

Two women in their early twenties dressed in black bodysuits; but what surprised him more was that they both were extremely powerful in the force, perhaps equal to himself! Proven moments later when the one with dark hair and greyish blue eyes used an incredibly powerful force push to knock all five Imperial Royal Guards back along with the Stormtroopers while leaving Anakin himself and the Rebel Commandoes untouched! The precision of that sort of move astonished him and the other woman who had white blonde hair and skin just as pale as the other one leapt through the air and snatched one of the force pikes from the Royal Guard member's mid-air and kicked one hard in the mask so he crashed hard into the floor.

She moved like a skilled dancer, spinning, ducking, pivoting and moving around the royal guard and then stabbing each of them in quick succession as she hit them with Force Stasis to make them stop still.

Anakin was surprised as it was hard to hold multiple opponents still at the same time with that technique but she did it easily and with the room now secure he turned to them both and Bao-Dur who approached him along with Devan who was astonished at what he had just witnessed.

"While grateful for your assistance I would like to ask for your names. I did not see either of you in the temple when we still had it." Anakin said with caution, both of the mystery women were extremely powerful in the force and their skill with using it was so top tier they would have given most of the Jedi Council a run for their credits.

The two women just looked at him with curiosity before smiling. The dark haired one spoke first.

"So, you are Anakin Skywalker. I vaguely remember meeting your former padawan some years ago on Odessan." She said with a calm and warm voice that soothed those who heard it even Anakin and Devan who were the most suspicious of her. "As to not seeing us at the temple, we were there just not when you were. I am Satele Shan and this is my colleague, Meetra Surik."

The mention of those legendary names struck Anakin silent for a moment, not least of which because he realised now that he looked that them both he could see the resemblance from the history holos at the temple. They both were identical to the historic figures but he had no idea just how that was possible. Bao-Dur added as Devan fingered his blaster's trigger in worry.

"The Empire cloned their bodies and somehow their spirits returned with them. It is them Master Skywalker, I swear it." Bao-Dur said with an eager smile, so glad to have the General back as her presence alone made things better. She had saved the galaxy before and he was convinced she could do it again.

Anakin was concerned, maybe they were clones just programmed to think they were the originals but there was the matter of 'Satele' knowing that Ahsoka had encountered her force ghost during the Clone Wars. He frowned as he honestly wasn't sure but a simmering form appeared before him.

"Revan." Meetra said with a calm greeting, while the rest of them all went silent at the appearance of the force ghost.

"It is good to see you again my friend. And that you have managed to get a chance to live your life again after it was stolen from you." Revan said sadly, remembering how she had died before turning to Satele and addressing his descendant. "And you Satele, I know duty is your life but this is a second chance for you. You never explored your feelings for Jace Malcom or was ever really a mother to your son, do not let your life slip past again. Find time for yourself." He advised her as she had neglected so much of herself for the Republic and the Jedi, she deserved to try and have a life of her own this time.

"I…I will try." Satele said with awkwardness as she didn't really feel comfortable in dealing with personal matters. Duty had been her sole focus for many years and having such things had seemed impossible back then. She decided to change the subject as she found this too unsettling. "How are we back again? We both passed into the force." She asked Revan and Meetra nodded in agreement as she wanted to know herself. They all looked to Revan who still wore his mask even as a force ghost and told them.

"Even those such as I cannot be sure of the reasons why, perhaps because of the corruption Palpatine has created the force reacts this way to try and restore balance. His power will only grow until he is destroyed so do not underestimate him." Revan warned them. "Meetra I know he cloned you by mistake. It was me he was trying to clone but somewhere in the past our samples in the Jedi Medical Vault where confused, Satele was cloned as my closest relative so they were intent on using her DNA to try and recover an additional sample if the primary was corrupted. Either way you are both back, so make a difference." Revan told them before disappearing.

That left them all confused and unsettled by the idea that Palpatine was growing stronger and the force was doing things like this to restore balance. Anakin in particular but he then resolved that they could only do what they could, they would find a way to defeat him he thought with his confidence returning. No-one was invincible he reassured himself so they would make it happen.

"Let's make sure the place is completely secure and what else might be here." Anakin said to them all. "If he hid this place and made such an enormous complex so there must be other things here. We search it and then destroy the facility. I won't let him use this place again."

"Agreed, but first Meetra and I will need to visit the workshops. It seems he had all the parts and pieces required to build and make lightsabers for his own use and we would rather replace ours sooner rather than later." Satele said, knowing that whatever dangers may lay buried here it would be best not to face them without being prepared.

"Then we will search the upper levels while you do that. Then you join us for the lower levels." Devan said, not liking it as these two were an unknown element but even he could not deny their usefulness.

- x -

One Week Later…

Anakin was staggered as he watched all the things they had found being carted out of the facility; it honestly was insane the number of things that had been stored in there. The storage vaults on the top of the facility had only been the beginning as Meetra and Satele had discovered an entire level below the complex known as the Labyrinth where even more things had been stored.

Apart from several thousand Spaarti cloning cylinders that had supposedly been destroyed during the Clone Wars there were schematics for a cloning device and lists of hidden credit accounts Palpatine had put aside.

And that was just to start with! Anakin thought as they had needed to call in a medium sized transport ship to carry all of the stuff they had decided to remove away.

Pieces of priceless art, Old Republic relics, expensive objects, Sith and Jedi artifacts, Sith holocrons, ancient energy weapons, religious objects, Master Yaddle's lightsaber, the weightless lightsaber of Darth Bane, a huge collection of crystals including Kyber crystals and much more. Satele and Meetra had both managed to find crystals for them to build new lightsabers with and still have many to spare.

Gruesome discoveries had been found deeper down in tombs located in the Labyrinth, mummified bodies were discovered there with no idea of just who they were, Anakin could only presume them to be victims of Palpatine that he had preserved for his own amusement.

Going through the extensive library too had given them much to analyse. Apart from records of his experiments with Sith Alchemy and records of the different frame ups that he had created to ruin the Jedi there were many important texts like a copy of the Caamas Document along with Jedi and Sith tomes and scrolls long thought lost.

Crucially though there had also been Palpatine's personal copy of the Book of the Sith, Anakin held it in his hand and stared at it. He knew there was a great deal to learn about the Sith from it but he personally just wanted to burn it! The credit accounts too as who knows how he obtained that money but with it Liber8 and the Rebel Alliance could do some real good in the galaxy.

The Hidden Path would take and hide most of the relics and relevant texts for a more stable time in the future. As for the cloaking device and some of the other pieces of technology he had given them to Bao-Dur who promised he and Kazdan would look into seeing if they could be made workable. Anakin hoped so as the cloaking device alone would be immensely useful to the rebellion.

But the cloning cylinders and much of the rest of the stuff would never leave the mountain Anakin thought and turned to Devan who nodded with some eagerness.

While most of them had been clearing the place out, Devan and his demolition team had been setting explosives all over the complex and at last with them all clear, they were ready to detonate them.

They all watched from the nearby hillside, eager to see just what would happen as Devan pressed the detonator. There was a brief moment of silence before a rumble travelled through the earth beneath their feet and their all stumbled a little as it hit them and nearly missed the massive cracks that formed in the mountain as the internal structure inside collapsed in on itself. And then right before their eyes the mountain started to break apart and fall into a massive heap.

The sight was incredible and they all took a deep breath before smiling as they had hurt the Emperor today, personally not just bashing his Empire but had struck a blow at him. Something they really hadn't done before.

Anakin turned to Meetra and Satele.

"What will you do now?" He asked them, and they told him with a smile.

"See where the force takes us." Satele answered, Anakin was about to invite them back to Liber8 before Meetra told him.

"We will meet again Master Skywalker, for now though we must go our separate ways."

"Stay in touch General." Bao-Dur asked, sad they would not be travelling the galaxy together again but all the same he was so happy she was back as it gave him hope that somehow, they would turn this situation around.

Ord Vaxal, Callia Sector, Inner Rim…

A prison planet Ord Vaxal was also the main base for Imperial rule in the sector, Moff Adria Reyn who had used murder, political manipulation and other such tools to rise to her current position despite her lack of military experience was meeting with the Hutt slave lord Sassallo who had been blackmailing her for some time. She was already planning to eliminate the Hutt the first moment that she could but for the moment he had her over a barrel so she complied with his requests.

But another Hutt vessel had arrived the same time, under the pretext of buying slaves from Sassallo, slavery was his main trade after all but hidden in its cargo bay was nasty little surprise for both the hutt and the moff.

"No, I can't open the gap any wider or longer Sassallo." Adria said with anger at being told by this slug what to do, her arms crossed and her foot tapping the floor with impatience.

"You will do as I tell you, or our little arrangement will become public knowledge." Sassallo threatened her but before she could argue with him a distinctive snap hiss sounded in the room and a squad of heavily armed Mandalorians jumped down, both Sassallo and Adria were caught off guard while the Mandalorians, one of which was armed with a lightsaber leapt into action. The warriors gutting down all the Stormtroopers while the Akaan among them cut down the Hutt's guards with ruthless efficiency and then used the force to make one of the Stormtroopers shoot Sassallo.

Adria meanwhile found herself with a sleeping dart in the neck, feeling immediately dizzy before slumping to the floor, caught by the Mandalorians before she hit the floor and was restrained.

"Right pack it up. We have five minutes." Trilla told her warriors, a Special Operations team named Pterosaur Squad. They all nodded and obeyed her orders, taking the uncomfortable Moff with them before returning to their borrowed ship and leaving the planet through the same gap in the scanner net that the Moff ironically had opened for Sassallo.

Making the jump to hyperspace Trilla sighed before making the call she needed to make, not liking having to deal with these people but it was the best way to get into such places.

She activated the holonet transceiver and saw the image of a large hutt and a protocol droid appear before her, she gave a small bow and told him what he wanted to hear.

"Great Jabba, I can report the death of the rival Sassallo and thank you for your graceful lending of this vessel to carry us to our target." She said and was glad she was wearing her helmet as it hid her discomfort at dealing with the Hutts.

Jabba spoke in huttese and while Trilla did understand the language the droid still translated anyway.

"The Mighty Jabba is most pleased to hear of the death of the pretender Sassallo and is grateful for your assistance. Upon the return of the vessel our business will be concluded." The droid told them and she nodded before the transmission was cut.

Jabba's clan was a rival to the one Sassallo had belonged too and had wanted to remove him but could not be seen to be doing it himself. So, he had instead helped the Mandalorians gain entry to the world so they could kidnap the Moff and eliminate his rival at the same time. It was a dirty business but a necessary evil as the Hutts had connections they could only dream about and working with them opened certain doors that would otherwise remain firmly closed.

Trilla took off her helmet in private and sighed in distaste at having to make sure deals but they were a people at war and sometimes that meant making deals with people that otherwise you would never even talk to if given the choice.

She decided to interrogate their prisoner a little to see what they could pull out of her with determination, she was fully trained in extracting information and it didn't make any sense to wait as who knows what might happen before they got home and if any intel might be lost.

A short time later Trilla was standing in front of the restrained Adria and holding her hand out as she used the force to pull the information from her. Adria resisted but she was no match for Trilla's will. She had some useful details already, political blackmail material the corrupt Moff had might be helpful in making some new assets inside the Empire but Adria then let slip something while trying to insult Trilla.

"Project Stardust will destroy you all!" She said with a laugh that was almost hysterical and Trilla frowned as she could sense the other woman was completely certain of it and decided to probe deeper.

"What is Project Stardust?" She demanded with the force pressing harder on Adria who immediately stopped laughing and started screaming with frustration and pain but Trilla eventually stopped as while she knew the name…that was all Adria knew about it.

Apart from the belief among the higher-level Imperials that it would end all rebellion against the Empire and make all the other powers surrender.

Trilla felt a chill run down her spine as she could feel in the force that this was important and now that they had the name hoped they might be able to uncover more but for the moment it was still a massive mystery and one that was concerning many senior figures in the Rift Alliance as they had no idea just what the Empire was planning. They had a bunch of confusing pieces but could not solve the puzzle.

She just hoped they could before too long.

Spirit of Vengeance, Mandalorian Raiding Force, Nevarro Orbit…

On the bridge of his Keldabe-class flagship the Spirit of Vengeance, Neville had a small smirk as he saw his forces level the Imperial Base there. It had been a thorn in their side for awhile now and after trying to install a puppet on the throne of Mandalore it had been decided to launch a series of raids in retaliation. The Mass Driver Cannon was levelling the facility below with brutal accuracy and it would not be the only place to feel their anger.

For which he had been assigned control, Neville thought with pride at having been entrusted with such a campaign. Hannah stood at his side while their two boys watched their father launch his own series of attacks against the Empire.

Kidnapping or assassination of Imperial officials, bombings, raids and more had been deployed and it would pave the way for greater territorial expansion which was planned. While he wasn't completely comfortable with taking over worlds for themselves it would make sure they kept their people safe and strong.

He had been promised by Harry as he still thought his old friend that he and his family would be given a holding of their own with the next expansion. He had not asked for it but it would be something for him and his family to call their own.

Neville and Hannah both smiled as they held each other, glad to have not just each other but their boys and all their friends. Grateful for all that they had been given in this life.

Liber8 Base, Classified Location…

"Now when making a souffle the important thing to remember is consistency. You must not over or under whip." Devan told both his own son Jal and the Skywalker children as they watched him prepare dinner. He handed the whisk over to Luke and let him have a go at mixing and the boy was painfully awkward in doing it but Devan smiled and told him. "You are doing well, just make sure you have a steady hand and rotate on a three count."

Luke nodded and followed his advice to the letter which Devan gave an approving nod before turning to Leia who was now eager to help.

"Now I need you to take care of the rice and carefully add the spice. Be careful not to add too much. Some people don't like it too hot." He warned her and she nodded before going to prepare the rice as he had taught her and gently adding the spice so it had enough punch to it without being overdone.

"Jal, I need you to chop and prepare the meat while Mace you do the vegetables." Devan told the final two who eagerly got to work as he had showed them, the smells teasing their nose and making their mouths water as they cooked their meal.

Anakin and Padme when they came in a while later were impressed at how good Devan was with their children, they listened to him and respected him completely not to mention he was a great cook they thought with their stomachs growing hungry at the great smells being created. He was teaching all the children to cook as well since despite his prowess in battle he was also a master chef who never failed to make incredible food.

They smiled as the food Devan had prepared with the help of the children was put on the table and they all sat down to enjoy it. Anakin and Padme both loving it from the first bite and as they meal progressed, he and Devan couldn't help to share the details of their most recent adventure.

"So, when we cleared out the mountain fortress, we put bombs all over the inside and then blew it up…the whole mountain." Devan told the children who were wide eyed at the picture they had painted and Anakin added more while Padme rolled her eyes at their enthusiasm with a small smile.

"It collapsed into a massive hole in the ground and buried the place forever." Anakin said with almost childish eagerness and the children just looked on in awe.

"Don't get any ideas!" Padme warned them, half joking and half serious. "I don't want any of you blowing up mountains till you are at least grown up."

The adults all laughed at the expressions on the children's faces before they went back to eating and sharing details about their day with each other. Laughing and just enjoying the peace and warmth of the moment. The Skywalker children already were fond of Devan, he was like a fun but wise uncle they could learn new and interesting things from while he gave them advice and he and Jal found comfort in being with the Skywalkers who were a warm and welcoming family.

- x -

Later that evening when they had all cleaned up and the children had gone to sleep, Anakin and Padme were still up to enjoy some private time to themselves. Sitting on their large seat together and enjoying just being with each other they kissed and were about to get intimate with each other when a holocall came in at just the wrong moment.

They both wanted to ignore it but the persistent beeping finally got to them both and they reluctantly stopped what they were doing, straightened themselves out and opened the channel. A hologram of Bail Organa appeared and while the man was a great ally and a dear friend but they both couldn't help be irritated by the interruption.

"It is good to see you both again, I am sorry for calling so late but I have a situation that requires your…assistance." Bail said and wondering with exasperation just what was wrong this time Padme asked.

"What do you need? We're always happy to help." She said fixing a smile on her face and Anakin was always impressed with how good she was at masking her true feelings, making it hard for even him to feel them at times.

"I need to sent two younglings to you." Bail said which surprised them as this wasn't the sort of request that he was known for but the reason soon became clear.

"Their names are Tash and Zak Arranda. Brother and sister but they have been discovered as force sensitive and worse caught reading about the Jedi. I've got them in a safe house for now but the Inquisitors are looking for them. They need a place to stay and someone to teach them. Can you help?" Bail asked, the two young Alderaanians were to his mind perfect candidates for the Jedi but they were currently in danger and Padme and her husband were the only two he had contact with that he could send them too.

Anakin was immediately against the idea at least at first, after all he had three children to teach already even if it was with Kagame's help and what Bail was effectively asking them to do was to adopt two more children, younger than Luke and Leia and be responsible for them for who knows how many years.

Padme on the other hand was all for it, her natural compassion bleeding for the two endangered children and it was the right thing to do in her mind. They needed help and she and her family could provide it.

"We'll take them. You can rely on us." Padme said and Anakin blinked before reluctant about it he knew that when his wife was focused on something she wasn't going to let it go for anything. Regardless of what he said they were going to end up with two more children to care for.

Well, Anakin thought with resigned acceptance, he just hoped they were the right kind of students for him.

Leviathan, Mandalorian Lucrehulk…Classified Location…

The Rift Alliance Council had gathered for their secret meeting but crucially, after they had made sure that the room was secure of any surveillance equipment and that everyone present could be trusted before beginning their meeting. Representatives from all the members were there and even the Rebel Alliance, Liber8 and Underworld Alliance had someone present.

Admiral Ackbar (Mon Calamari/Quarran), Tarffel (Wookiees), President Foylkk (The Salient Federation), Whorm Loathsom (The Separatist Alliance), Garm Bel-Iblis (Corellia/Rebel Alliance), Duncan Idaho (Pasdisahah Imperium), General Sky Falls in Thunder (Than Hegemony), Admiral Etahn A'baht (Dornea), Minister Kyburn (Namzor), Sweitt Concorkill (Semba), Kagame (Liber8) and Talon Karrde (Underworld Alliance).

Haron made the key speech.

"We have been preparing for a long time, building up our forces and positioning ourselves. Now we are ready, defeating the Empire and making our way to the Core Worlds is out of our reach for now but after this we will shake it to its very core. A massive co-ordinated strike, inside and outside. To cause the most damage and the most chaos possible. Those that cannot join the fighting can support and there will be benefits to us all. We know our targets, what we must do." Haron said as they all nodded in agreement, it was time for a big push. Some preparations had to be made yet but soon they would be making a major strike against the Empire.

The Imperial Palace, Coruscant…

The Emperor had been in a dark mood for days, no one with any hope of living would dare approach him.

The reason was very simple, one of his most important facilities on both a strategic but also a personal level had been raided and destroyed by the Rebels. His cloning operations might continue on Byss but all of the Jedi samples had been on Wayland.

His fury upon discovering that the Rebels had dared attack one of his personal facilities had killed major members of his palace staff and even two or three of his closest advisors. Palpatine had truly been ready to explode the entire planet but as if a miracle, one last piece of information had arrived from his clone scientists that had stopped his massacre if not improved his mood.

They had taken blood samples from Satele Shan who he had cloned to exploit her powerful blood and maybe create a secondary source of Revan's DNA if needed but they had from her blood finally discovered a cure for his degradation!

While he would still wither as the dark side took its toll on his body the wasting sickness he had suffered from since that harpy Talzin had attacked him. But it could also be used to stabilize the Vader clones and make a more powerful version. They had even become applying it to his 'sons' or clones of himself in the hopes of learning something and perhaps let them breed in the hopes of creating a powerful force sensitive that might finally be a useful apprentice to him.

But all the same he was in dark mood, it felt like the force was fighting back against him, strengthening the light whatever he did as if to spite him and this enraged him all over again. He was the master of the force! It did as he commanded and yet it was slipping through his fingers more and more every day.

He would need to increase his efforts, Palpatine thought with hate filled determination and to suppress any hint of rebellion. One of his generals Rom Mohc had proposed a very intriguing project he called 'Dark Trooper' which he claimed would allow the Imperial Army to destroy any opposition.

He would give the project his blessing, like the Jedi before him his insight into the future was diminished too almost nothing, he would not tolerate this! Palpatine thought with fury as the dark side raged inside him, a storm forming above the palace in response to his mood but as the people headed for cover the Emperor let loose his anger, creating a fierce and unexpected storm that baffled the local weather control stations as to how it was possible.