1 Chapter 1, Path

For as long as I could remember, The Galactic Republic stood as a bastion of peace in the galaxy for thousands of generations. Several centuries ago, the greatest threat the galaxy has ever known emerged in the form of the dark Sith Empire. After a volatile war, the Republic emerged victorious and the Sith were assumed to be extinct. Nonetheless, the Jedi have maintained a constant vigil over the ancient Sith homeworld, Korriban, to protect the galaxy from the darkness that still resides in the tombs.

Their victory was short lived however.

The Sith had returned in force to reclaim their homelands.

Korriban was one of several worlds to fall in the initial onslaught, and in the years that followed, the Republic suffered many more painful defeats. Emboldened by their numerous victories, the Empire soon moved to conquer the Core Worlds, luring the Republic fleet out of position and launching a surprise attack against the noble world of Alderaan.

The courageous stand on Alderaan rallied the spirits of Republic defenders across the galaxy, but the balance of the power remained in the Empire's favor. This only fueled the surprise felt when the Imperial Dark Council extended the offer to the Republic to engage in peace negotiations. Suspecting possible treachery, Republic officials agreed to meet on Alderaan, but insisted that the Jedi Order marshal all its resources to provide comprehensive security. The Jedi complied, sending most senior members of the Order to Alderaan, and leaving only a token force in the Temple on Coruscant...

After destroying the Jedi Temple and overwhelming the Republic's defenses, Imperial forces occupied Coruscant, holding the planet hostage while negotiations restarted on Alderaan. With their capital at stake, Republic officials had little choice but to agree to the Empire's terms.

The Treaty of Coruscant was signed, forcing the Republic to cede control of several star systems and to acknowledge new boundaries of Imperial dominion. Though the treaty brought about an official end to the war, tensions between the two sides have remained high over the last several years, and now, a return to open war seems all but inevitable...

Thus began the unprecedented stalemate. The Jedi reconnecting with their roots, the Republic nursing its wounds, the Sith consolidating their power in a galaxy divided between darkness and light.

"Relax your breathing, young one." the soft voice of his mentor said, he could hear her circle around him, he may have been blindfolded but he could sense those amber eyes surveying him for flaws. "Let the force guide your body and mind, tap into it's well of power then harness it."

He did so, the dark-skinned human with short  black hair, dressed in tan robes smudged in dirt after constantly running through the tall grass on the  Jungle moon of Dxun, also known as the Demon Moon. It was known as the largest of four moons that orbited the Inner Rim world of Onderon, it was covered almost entirely by dense jungles that were populated by many species of predatory animals. 

The most infuriating being the Cannoks, that insatiable toad had a strong appetite for human flesh and the fact they made up fifty percent of the ecosystem wasn't helping matters.  He thought of them as an annoyance but his master thought of them as good practice.

The Cannok thrashed helplessly in the air as it levitated above it's intended prey, the young boy held his hands above him, using the force to keep the dangerous predator afloat.

""M-master, it's starting to get heavy!" He felt his tired arms buckle under the strain, his grip on the force waning. "I'm not sure if I can hold it..."

"Ah yes, I can see that." His master said, her voice teasing and playful. The woman's brown medium length hair fluttered in the wind as she positioned herself beside the young padwan. "It would be quite troubling if that creature fell upon you because you're easily fatigued. Force users fight the exhaustion, their willpower alone drives them pass their limits. If you can not handle a simple Cannok..."

His grasp on the Cannok slipped.

He fell on his back and covered his face with his forearm to protect himself, the Cannok's shrill screech was  his only warning of the creature's descent upon him. The creature ended up on the tip of a burning lightsaber, glowing a magnificent blue as the Cannok thrashed to get free and devour the small boy, mindless rage overcoming instinct. This was no mere Cannok, the creature had fallen to the corruptive power of the dark side, All life remaining on this planet was. Long ago, a Sith ritual took place here pouring Dark energy into the environment and animals, it was unintentional but the Sith had forever poisoned Dxun creating ravenous animals that lived to hunt anything that breathed. The Dark Side is dangerous and many proud Jedi could  be corrupted by it's maddening influence, the Empire's Sith feed off negativity to make themselves stronger and they would spread chaos across the galaxy to fuel their power, that is why the Jedi exist to prevent the darkness from terrorizing the innocent.

But his Master disagreed.

He didn't know why she would, wasn't she a respected Jedi Master in the order?A dedicated servant to the Light? The Sith are a pox upon  this world that needed to be cleansed, all who worship the Darkside must be slain and made an example of, they are nothing but maggots squirming in the dirt—

No

Those Dark thoughts must be suppressed for the good of the Republic, for the good of his master, for the good of himself. This was not the first time he experienced such emotions, when children first join the order they tend to lose their temper easily because they were still developing, but when they reach the age of ten they learn to put a handle on them. He was already eleven, his Master claims that most young Jedi are rash since they lack experience, how is he suppose to become a Master at this rate if he kept  losing his temper every time the word Sith triggers him? His only wish was to protect the Galaxy from the Empire, he would go to great lengths to achieve that ideal.

"Now why don't you start up a fire for us, young Padawan."  His Master smiled letting the dead Cannok slid off her Lightsaber  and fall on the ground. "I'm quite hungry, this Cannok is enough protein for you right?  As your Master I must ensure that your body is in peak condition-"

"When will you teach me Lightsaber combat?" He sneered, he was growing tired of practicing force control, they've spent a month on the same subject and he knew the basic forms of Lightsaber combat. "What good is a Lightsaber if you don't use it? Trust me, I know what I'm getting into too—"

His Master had moved , too quick for the untrained eyes of a mere Padawan, her Lightsaber swinging dangerously close to his face. It took him a full two seconds of dodging for him to finally draw his own Lightsaber and start feebly blocking her blows, each hit driving him back an inch. Her lightsaber struck faster than lightning but the strikes always landed on his Lightsaber, because it was what his Master was aiming for, If this was a real fight he would've been chopped up several times over.

"First Form."  The Jedi Master said, continuing her unwavering assault much to his panic and confusion. "What is the first form of combat?"

"I-It's-"  He raised his Lightsaber to the side blocking a horizontal slash. "Shii-Cho!"

His Lightsaber was batted aside leaving him open for a kick to his abdomen,  he rolled across the dirt and onto his feet, just in time to  block an overhead strike that could've split him in two. He pushed against her Lightsaber, moving it away  from his face. He distanced himself before attempting to catch his breath.

"Too slow!" She lashed out again crossing the distance in an instant. He deflected the initial blow and blocked the slash. "You will only have a second to bring up your defenses, if you fail you will be cut down in an instant. What form prevents this?"

"The-" His head snapped back when the  hilt of her Lightsaber smacked him in the forehead , she followed up with a swing which he barely dodged.  "Soresu, the third form!"

"Very good, now the second?"

"Makashi!" He growled in irritation as his Master appeared in his face, hooking her foot around his ankle and pulling him off balance. He didn't get a chance to land when he was thrown back towards tree with a mighty force push. Pain exploded through his back causing spittle to fly from his mouth. He dropped to his knees as the Lightsaber rolled from his grip, the Jedi Master's Lightsaber was positioned at his chin.a

"The form I was using?" The Jedi Master raised an eyebrow.

"A-Ataru...Master." His hands clenched into a tiny fist, clutching the grass. "It was Ataru." The Jedi Master released a long sigh before withdrawing her Lightsaber and hooking it to her waist. Her Padawan did the same, rising to his feet to meet his Master's sharp gaze.

"Remember this Padawan, there is a difference between 'practicing' and the real thing. One is harmless while the other is deadly. Any slightest mistake could cause your death, what if I were one of the Sith you loathe so much? How will you fair against them?"

"I would..."  He hesitated.

"Answer!" Her eyes shifted from their wonderful emerald shade to a menacing yellow. An usual trait when his Master displayed small signs of anger.

"I would've died a pointless death!" He roared, his voice silencing the nature around them.

He was weak...

"What good is a Lightsaber if you don't know HOW to use it, Padawan. Is what I'm trying to teach you. I apologize for my aggression, but you have to know the things I do is to prepare you for—" His Master paused, taking a moment to  organize her thoughts. "I won't always be around to protect you, Justess. It is fine to be confident, do not allow arrogance to blind you. Understand this lesson Padawan because the future is never set and stone, anything can change."

"I got it," He waved her off dismissively.

"Valoris," His Master looked him deep in the eye, those green orbs glowing. "Please."

"Yes...I understand Master Lybra."

"What would she say if she saw you now? You've fallen so far, Valorus yet you cling to the light like a raft in a ocean of darkness. Never forget your origins Jedi, for it's the only thing keeping you afloat upon a seas of darkness. "

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"Wake up, boy!" The Cane slapped the side of the wagon for the second time, continuing to be a distribution to the young man's meditation efforts. "You still have a job to do, we aren't paying you for nothing." When the elder raised his cane for a third  strike, the young man responded without moving from his position or opening his eyes.

"Elder, while I understand we're in the center of Tatooine's Dessert, you must respect my need for meditation if you desire me to stay alert." Speaking  with diplomacy could go a long way if the other party remained reasonable and open minded?

The Elder's sharp glare told him what he thought of that, it was understandable almost. Those who are not touched by the force cannot comprehend the need to stay connected with the force, of course the Elder did not know he was force sensitive just a common mercenary.

He was half right.

"What I and my people desire is protection from the sand people,  Don't let me catch you 'meditating' again or I'll throw you to the womp rats, this is neither an Inn or a resort do you understand?"

The young man's eyes finally opened, staring down the elder dressed in ragged olive  robes with a grey sash wrapped around his waist, wrinkles decorated his features signs of his age catching up with him, his grey hair was pulled back in a bun. The other refugees and mercenaries were looking their way, he sensed anticipation amongst them. Their village was already left in ruins by Invaders and the last thing they needed was a fight to break out to increase tensions.  The Elder knew that too but he wouldn't allow himself or his people to be walked all over, a respectable notion that he agreed with entirely.

The force sensitive tighten the blue sash on his grey robes, he clutched the hilt of his virboblade and slid it into the sheath. Nothing else needed to be said as he hooked the sheath to his waist then returned to his post.

"You should've slain that old fool, now they will think less of you."

A sharp pain pierced the back of his mind, he showed no visible reaction to it instead he ignored it continuing forward to his task.

"You are anchored to your code, still weak and helpless like a child."

Ignore it and it will go away.

"You need me."

Please let it go away.

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The sands of Tatooine was no place to travel during the day, Not because of the predators lurking in the sands, waiting for someone foolish enough to wander in their territory, but the brutal Sun is the number one killer in these wastelands. He could confidently say that it  surpassed any Sith when it came to torment. Their water supply was quickly running dry, fortunately however another village was not far from their current location. The Village Elder and his daughter took the lead in their quest to reach salvation, while the others preyed that dehydration wouldn't do them in. The Wanderer, dressed in grey robes, paused suddenly behind the group, there was a chill in the air that surged through his bones, the force trembled within his core like an earthquake shaking a city's foundation. The refugees were last to notice it, hearing the familiar hum of swoop bikes over the horizon.

A group of Imperial Soldiers rode up and surrounded the refugees with along with two other people, one of whom wore dark armor and had a terrifying presence to him. Two lekku swayed behind his head, revealing that he was a Twi'Lek while he companion had the vague, appearance of a human female behind her hood.

"So sorry to interrupt your travels but if you could all just lay down any weapons you have and not over a struggle while my soldiers detain you, then that would be great." As the armored one spoke, the soldiers raised their blasters at the refugees and the ringing of the safeties being turned off became very noticeable. Of course, the blasters were set for stun.

'Detained? Were they trespassing near Empire territory, were they based around here?' His eyes swapped back and forth between the woman and the Twe'lek, he could sense the cold hearted malice radiating from the woman, she was beautiful but the darkside mutations were displayed clearly on her features, glowing yellow eyes and hints of black veins growing along her eyes. The Twe'lek despite his peaceful words, carried a threat behind them. The threat of pain and death if these lowly peons didn't comply. The village elder, likely not comprehending the man's words step up, his demeanor calm and well mannered, bowed his head.

"Pardon me my lord, but why have you stop us? We are only simple village folk, if you've come to...'secure' our supplies, Im sorry to disappoint you but we are running low."

"Oh, I perfectly understand what you mean. Both the blistering heat of the Sun and raiders, your supplies must be stretched thin. But don't worry, if you but allow yourselves to be detained than I know a place where you never have to worry of such things again. But I won't repeat myself." As the armored man spoke, his soldiers aimed their blasters at the other villagers, some of them motioning for the poor folk to drop what they were carrying and step away from it. But one old man refused.

The villagers reluctantly obliged, mothers stepped in front of their children instinctively while fathers made sure to keep themselves positioned as the first line of defense, just in case they became violent. Merchants greedily tried to keep their possessions out of sight. Mercenaries hired by the caravan laid down their weapons but kept them in grabbing range. The wanderer didn't like how the Sith phrased that, not one bit. He was about to do the same until he noticed the woman looking inquisitively among the refugees. The woman casually tapped the Twe'lek shoulder.

"What is it? If it's about the one in gray, I noticed." The Twi'Lek muttered under his breath while leaning close to the woman. Right as the two were about to begin a conversation, an old man held tightly onto a small amulet he had in his hands despite what he was told. One of the soldiers, tried to get him to drop it only for the only man to refuse and spit in the soldiers face. 

"It's a memento of my son. You're not-" before he could finish, a blaster bolt from the soldier he spat hit him square in the chest, killing him.

There were a few screams and curses among the villagers, they dropped their heads lower in submission, eyes wide and terrified. The Elder winced as he stepped alittle closer to his teenage daughter. 

 'Why are you allowing this? Stop them.'

 'With what, A vibroblade? Against One fully trained Sith and a Lord, I can see two endings to that, one involves us being beheaded and the other is immediate capture, which again, will lead to our execution. Leave now, the refugees will cover our escape.'

'You know what happens when you play hero,'

"Hold on now! Let's not get too hasty. Perhaps we can still arrange for this to be forgiven and forgotten." The Twi'Lek said as he looked at the Elder. "My offer only stands for one more chance, control your people and we'll take you to a new home for you all. Refuse and what happened to that poor fool, will happen again. Maybe your daughter could be next.." the man said as he reached for one the rod hanging on his belt and a black blade emerged with a loud noise and hum, revealing it was a lightsaber.

"We should just kill him now, I'm positive that their  morale will shift then." Jasea offered in a sweet tone.

The Elder's daughter didn't appreciate her father being made an example, her eyes narrowed dangerously as she reached for the hilt of her dagger strapped to her hip.    "Keep your filthy hands to yourself, Sith or I'll remove them—" 

 "Enough!" The Elder howled silencing all conversation from both sides. The Elder's glare was fierce for an old man,  he turned to his people with  empathic eyes. "Please my people, do as they command, do not make any sudden moves."  

 "Is this all really necessary?" A man adorning a roguish appearance spoke up, being sure to stay kneeling. "I mean you're obviously going to sell us off as slaves so why shouldn't we be  on edge?" The word 'slave' leaving the rouge's mouth, put everyone around him in dismay,  whispers and murmurs broke out amongst the crowd.

The Twi'Lek let out a small chuckle as he looked over at the man who spoke up and put away his saber. "The Hutts are going to have fun breaking you into shape." With his intentions now exposed, the Sith Lord snapped his fingers and his soldiers immediately started to pull the refugees apart and placed chains on them, a few of them having to use the stun setting to immobilize the ones who fought back.

The wanderer felt the metal restraints clamp down on his wrist, a shiver surged through his spine. He barley noticed when the roguish man was dragged near him by the guards. With a sudden burst of speed the rogue rammed his shoulder into the Wanderer's chest knocking him off balance. "You were suppose to protect us you piece of Mudhorn crap, I hope they break you first before sending ya' to work."

"What are you doing?!" One of the Imperial soldiers demanded while keeping his gun trained on them both. The Twi'Lek looked back before sighing, "get them loaded onto the transport carriers, then we make for the nearest Hutt city."

"My bad officer, needed to blow off some steam before I start dancing for the slugs...think they'll put me in something skimpy?" The rogue allowed himself to be pulled away along with the one he had the altercation with. The hooded wanderer felt something in his sleeve, a rod but not the familiar rod of a lightsaber. Was this... The Wanderer looked over at the two Sith, they weren't looking at him directly but they used the force to keep track of him, trying to sniff out any emotion. They knew he was a force sensitive but that didn't imply he was trained, they likely thought him unaware of his own abilities. He wasn't but why inform slavers that he was dangerous? He continued inside the carrier.

"Do you wish for me to be on that carrier my lord?" Jasea questioned.

"Tail it and if either of them try anything, then remove a finger or two." The Twi'Lek said he activated his bike and rode ahead starting the bow slave caravan to the nearest city that the Hutt's controlled. Even though the refugees were now moving at a faster pace, the  Sun didn't improve their situation and their chains were beginning to hurt their wrists, it didn't help than anyone who complained got an electric jolt from the chains.

"So...you abduct people often?" The rouge said. while the carrier containing the prisoners was speeding across the scorching sands, Jasea's swoop bike was right next to it and the rogue decided to start a "pleasant" conversation with the Sith. That was a bad testament to his intelligence.

"No, I usually behead them if they prove themselves vexing, you're working your way up to that." She partially lifted her head up to show the sly smile under her hood.

His slavemates couldn't  agree more since they were continuously glaring at him as if trying  to pass telepathic message to shut his mouth, unfortunately the talkative Merc wasn't gifted in the force like the Wanderer, who was  currently in the process of banging the back of his head against the bars. The Sith beauty dismissed it as a way of distracting himself from reality, she would too if she was on her way to serve those vile slugs. "So you know those slugs personally Or do you know their money better? Does your master make a little extra on the side when he rents you out?"

"You're playing a dangerous game, slave." One of the imperial guards, driving the carrier responded. Not out of care for his safety, the guards knew if the Sith made a mess of this fool they would be the ones to clean it up.

The guard had his point proven when the loud sound of a lightsaber ignition going off and the radiating heat of the red blade mere inches from his neck. The woman's lightsaber was close to stabbing his neck. "You have an unnecessarily sharp tongue on you..maybe I should take all the fun away from the Hutts and break you myself. Have you ever been through a Sith interrogation before? They know all the right spots to poke and prod to earn the most agonizing screams. " She threatened and inched the blade closer.

"I-If you do that now-how else can I show you what  my tongue is capable of." The rogue began to sweat from the excessive heat of the lightsaber. 

"Ohh?" Jasea interest piqued, her glowing yellow eyes never leaving his brown ones. "Please, tell me what it's capable of, I might accept your offer."

"Well it kept you from hearing the plasma torch."

Jasea heard metal being snapped within the cage. 

The Wanderer launched the plasma torch through the bars which struck the fuel tank, the burning plasma from the torch and the flammable liquid from the fuel tank, mixed together to  trigger a fiery explosion that sent the vehicle into a violent spasm. The driver lets out a barrage of curses before fire exploded in his face. His body was flung from the vehicle and landed on a boulder with an audible crack.

Jasea hit the brakes hard and was stuck back as the carrier swerved hard enough  to tip over on it's side, a gust of sand blew outward surrounding the area in a dust cloud. The slaves coughed and covered their mouths.

 "The hell were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking of saving our lives, now get moving!" The Rouge sputtered, The Wanderer kicked down the wall of the cage the force enhancing his strength. The slaves  began crawling out in  a frenzy, The rogue was the first on his feet and run to the Guard's smoking body, he snagged the keys and unlocked his bonds then unholstered a blaster from the Guard's hip. Far in the distance he spotted one of the carriers approaching to investigate, the rogue took aim and with perfect accuracy fit for an Imperial Sniper he fired a bolt at the Driver's neck, killing him instantly.Unfortunately the biker spun out and flipped over, tossing the carrier that was chained to it. 

"Idiot our people are still on there!" One of the slaves grimaced Before more arguing could ensue, a stun bolt hit the slave in the back, toppling him over. The Imperial soldiers were quickly enclosing on the fallen carrier, their blaster rifles spewing bolts sporadically. 

"Damn it!" The rogue dove behind the remnants of the carriers, "Hey, go over there and get those hostages free! We'll handle them from here!" He glanced behind him to see the Mercs were grabbing weapons from the fallen Imperial guards.

 'Is he mad? This our chance to escape in the carnage.'

 'That woman will pursue us, a slave is worth a credit a dozen but a force sensitive? It's better to have allies fighting alongside us.' 

The Wanderer broke into a full on charge towards one of the fallen Carriers, his head dipped low. When the Imperial guards realized their  stun bolts  wielded no effect against the slaves they eventually switched to kill in order to eliminate the ones that were fighting back. While this fight went on, the Twi'Lek Sith Lord sat back and simply observed the fight, moving aside from any blaster bolts that came toward him. Jasea rebounded bolts back at the slaves during her berserk charge, with grace fitting of a Sith Warrior she cut down any Merc standing in her way appearing as a black blur to everyone around her. 

An Imperial Officer crawling his way out the wreckage, registered the Wandered sprinting to his position, he immediately drew his blaster. Only for the weapon to fly out of his grasp with a wave of the Wanderer's hand followed by a  boot crashing into his helmet, strong enough to shatter his visor. The Officer's head slammed against the carrier knocking him out cold. The Wanderer  approached the cage and thrusted his hands towards it, guiding the force to push the bars inward, he then pulled snapping  the bars in two. The prisoners moved quickly, the younger men assisting the Elderly out of the cage.

An Imperial guard suited in full body assault armor approached the Rouge's hiding spot firing  searing hot bolts, when the soldier turned the corner the Rogue was no where to be seen. The Imperial soldier never had the chance to turn around before a vibroknife was plunged deep into his exposed throat, the rogue appeared in full view once again like a ghost,  holding the hilt of the knife and twisting it sharply to the right. 

 "Should've taken my belt too, had some camouflage tech built into it a while back." The rogue pushed the man off his blade , watching him collapse to the sand. 

The Sith Lord decided he had enough of watching the carnage, his offerings to Hutts were escaping and his Soldiers were being culled too easily to his liking. He got off his bike and balled his hands into fists then crossed them in front of him. Viable force energy gathered around him as he was lifted off the ground before unleashing the energy into a blast that knocked the slaves, the rouge and the wanderer off their feet, sparks surged through their bodies electrocuting them enough to the point of  paralysis. The remaining imperial soldiers  recovered from the sudden shift in power, they  went to collect the stunned slaves and placed them in the  carriers. The Sith Lord  looked down on Wanderer and Rouge, he crouched down to meet the Wanderer eye to eye. 

"You've  shown yourselves to be more entertaining than a mere slave, you're better suited for combat than serving a glorified slug." The Sith Lord called over Jasea and gestured to the young force user, who can only move his eyes between them. "Tell the guards to be ease on this one, he would need his strength for the Arena."

"As you wish, Lord Xerdakhor." Jasea bowed as the Sith Lord turned his back on them his cape flying in the wind. The inspiring Sith apprentice glared spitefully at the Wanderer. "I'll make sure he behaves." Her foot elevates above the Wanderer's face and slammed down.

The world went dark.

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Welcome to one of my newest projects based in the Star Wars The Old Republic Universe. This chapter is more of a preview, to see how readers will react to it and if they wish to see more.