Chapter 1.2: New Era

(Present)

(Aboard the Phantom)

"Urgh." A small groan escaped Mace's lips as he roused himself. His eyes fluttered slowly as he picked himself up. Shaking his head for a second he looked around the room he was in. He was still inside the ship, and the unconscious form of Vaylin was right next to him.

She was also just waking up as he reached out in the force on instinct. That was when he realized that something was wrong. The force felt…different like something was wrong. His eyes cleared instantly as he tried to feel what was different.

But before he could truly start a pained voice spoke in the back of his head. 'Conceal your presence, now, something is wrong.' 'Alira?' Giving it a few seconds of thought he quickly sat back down and began to focus in on himself.

Feeling the force around him and the ship, he started to utilize a technique to hide their presence. While he was doing that he also tried to figure out what was going on. Something was different with the galaxy.

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(Coruscant)

(Jedi Temple)

*Groan* "What the hell was that?" Yoda regained his senses as he looked around the council chamber he was sitting in. Around him the figures of the council were also pulling themselves together. They had been in the middle of a discussion about the recent happenings at the planet of Naboo, and the escort they sent, consisting of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

There was a disturbance in the force coming from their direction, something that only the most powerful of the council could feel. Just as they had been discussing what the disturbance could mean, the force had quaked and an explosion rocketed outwards.

Everyone on the council and nearly everyone in the temple had felt the sudden shock wave in the force. It was so intense it had physically incapacitated them for a few minutes. The voice that had just talked came from the ever stoic Mace Windu.

Yoda was about to respond himself when he felt it. A shudder went down his spine as his head snapped into the sky. It hadn't been there before but, now that he sensed the force, he could feel an all encompassing darkness, like a beast that could swallow the galaxy if it wanted to.

This presence in the force... it was so dark and vicious that it seemed to constricted around his chest. His breathing stopped for a second as he felt this new force and tried to locate where it originated from. Tracing it back as fast as he could, he could feel it coming from the distant planet of Naboo.

The feeling was starting to overwhelm even him before it slowly started to disappear, as If it never existed in the first place. Feeling the overwhelming presence disappear, Yoda let out a breath of air as he sat back in his chair, starting to calm his mind.

'What could have affected the force so grandly, what could produce such darkness... could it be?' Sending a glance around the council room, Yoda noticed the pale and worried expressions of the other masters.

As the grand master of the order Yoda quickly took charge. Turning towards Saesee Tiin, another member of the council, he spoke. "Master Jinn, contact you must. Disturbance in the force, dark it is. Jeopardy they are in."

The Iktotch male nodded gravely before standing up and quickly leaving the room. Turning towards the rest he spoke again. "Alleviate the worries of the knights, padawans and younglings, we must. Convene again at a later time." Shaking his head with far off look in his eyes he finally finished. "Meditate on this, I must."

The rest of the council rose as they gave small bows, before leaving. They all had thoughts about what just happened. But it was the dark feeling that they felt that left worries in all their minds. But at the moment they had to reassure the rest of the temple, it was sure that many would have felt this new dark presence.

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(Coruscant)

(Senate Building)

"Who was it!?" The malicious voice of Palpatine raged as he slowly got back to his feet. His eyes scanned the room around him to make sure that no one had seen what had just happened. It may have been his private chambers, but one could never be too careful.

If it were to be known that he had fainted for a short amount of time, at the same time as most likely half the Jedi in the Galaxy, it would ruin everything he had been planning for, blowing his cover. And his ambitions were so close to fruition, or the first part was.

He was going to become the supreme chancellor soon, and then he would kill his master. He couldn't have anything go wrong at such a critical time! The frown on his face only got worse as he sensed the dark presence that peeked its head at a different part of the galaxy, right near Naboo no less!

Having steeped himself in dark side techniques and alchemy for so many years, the presence he felt actually created a small sense of fear inside him. The darkness that he felt was something he had only found at some of the ancient dark temples he had visited.

'What the hell was going on? I might have to speak with Plagueis.' He wasn't happy about the thought of consulting his master, but every piece of knowledge that he could come across would help him in his future plans.

Fixing up the robe that he was currently wearing, he called for some aids as he prepared to leave, he had a meeting to attend and he was going to be late at this rate. 'I might have to cancel my plans after the meeting, something is very wrong.'

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(Orbit of Naboo)

(Radiant VII)

Obi-Wan Kenobi groaned as he pulled himself up. He had been leaning on the wall, when that presence in the force had assaulted him. It had originated so close that it had knocked both him and his master out. It was only after half an hour that they had roused themselves.

"Master…Master, what was that." His voice was a little horse as he spoke to Qui-Gon Jinn. Jinn didn't reply as he stretched his thoughts out through the force, that disturbance that had just occurred was so close. He was sure that if he sensed for it, he should be able to find it.

But even after a few minutes of searching he couldn't find anything, all he could feel was a slight presence of darkness that was close, but he couldn't be sure how close. Calming himself down after feeling such a huge shock wave in the force, he kept his guard up as he turned to his Padawan.

"I don't know Obi-Wan, but I fear that our mission will be fraught with danger." Obi-Wan gave a slow nod as he also started to feel the dark presence that was close by. It made him want to grab his Lightsaber and defend himself, but there was nothing in sight.

They were both about to board the federation flagship; they couldn't be distracted when they started their negotiations. With that thought in mind Jinn and Obi-Wan got ready to depart. But the small feeling of unease following them, continued undaunted.

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(Aboard the Phantom)

Mace's eyes opened slowly as he finished hiding their presence. As he was doing that he had sent his presence outward, trying to sense the galaxy around him, and something was definitely wrong. He had felt the galaxy so many times, he had felt what the war had brought, what the destruction and mayhem had brought, but now it was gone.

Sure there were a few small pockets that he could feel that still had scars of war, but everything was so…peaceful. Something was defiantly wrong. Other than that fact, he had also sensed out, looking for the dark side and he could barely feel it!

He could sense it, but it had changed. Compared to the beast that raged against the light, what he was used to, it had now become a kitten that cowered before the light side. Not that it had diminished, it was still as strong as before, if not even stronger, but… it wasn't being drawn on. It wasn't being used.

As he pondered on this new revelation Alira's voice once again spoke in the back of his head. 'Someone has been utilizing a sith alchemy technique. They are obstructing the flow of the force, blinding the light side, covering it.'

Her voice stopped for a few seconds as if pondering. When it returned it wasn't as sure as before. 'Why the Jedi have not broken such an obvious technique is bewildering. While we can use the dark side to sense the galaxy, their vision will be clouded.'

Mace could almost see the frown that appeared on her face even if she wasn't right there. He gave a small smile as she started to think about the possibilities. He left her to her thoughts as he stood up. He would leave that for her, as he figured out what their current situation was.

It hadn't taken long to hide their presence in the force, so Vaylin was still in the room; she was standing next to the door with a frown of her own waiting for him to get up. Giving a single nod he moved to leave. Everyone would have gathered in the main hub after what just happened.

He was sure that nearly the whole crew had felt what happened in the force, if not they knew something happened while they were in hyper space. *Hiss* Pressing the button for the door it slid open nicely as he stepped through.

Just as he made it out, Vaylin spoke up. "You feel the difference in the force?" Glancing back over his shoulder to look at her, Mace nodded with a grave look. "Yes, but what it means I am still trying to figure out." Vaylin said nothing else as she trailed behind him.

Sending a glance towards the engine room, other bedroom and Armory and seeing no one there, he was assured that everyone was in the main hub. Mace was confident that they weren't being fired upon or in any immediate danger as someone would have gotten him if such an occurrence happened.

Walking past the loading ramp he stepped into the main hub.

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(Mace's PoV)

Six people stood surrounding the main holo projector discussing something as I stepped in, looking at those around and not seeing Vette I was sure she was still piloting the ship, relaying any and all important information.

Before the 6 people in the room was the projection of a planet I hadn't seen before and at the moment it was surrounded by ships I also hadn't seen before. These were images most likely taken from the ships sensors, some of the best in the galaxy.

Stepping in my eyes peeled taking in all the information that our sensors had gleamed; while I was doing that Vaylin also entered the room. I felt a spike of anger in the force, something I had become attuned to over the years. My eyes snapped to the source as a little irritation built up.

Nadia who was on the left and closest to us stomped closer, her angry overflowing eye turning slightly red. "Was this your doing!?" Addressing Vaylin, I could easily feel the spike of anger that appeared behind me.

Nadia had an extreme hate for anything and anybody from Zakuul, with good reason I guess, but this usually caused problems with Senya, Arcann and recently Vaylin. Honestly it was starting to get on my nerves. Feeling fed up I held my hand up behind me stopping Vaylin from whatever she was about to say.

"We don't have time for this Apprentice! This was not caused by her! You should have felt the force before that shock wave. Now stop wasting my time with this nonsense!" My voice growled out dangerously as I tapped into the dark side of the force. I knew that my eyes had turned red and the oppressive force that I projected shut Nadia up quickly.

Turning to look at me, hatred still deep in her eyes, it took her a few seconds before she finally regained herself and stepped back. Bowing her head in acquiescence she spoke just above a whisper. "Yes, Master." I looked at her for another few seconds feeling the emotions that were trapped underneath her skin.

I would have to let her loose soon, it was always good to vent such feelings, and I had a feeling that it would come in handy soon.

Turning my attention away from her I looked towards Ayillh. Most of the others in the room hadn't cared much with what just happened, after living in the empire for a while such small displays of aggression wouldn't bother anyone.

Though Jaesa and Ashara who used to teach her and still do every now and then; were giving her malicious smile. They were surely embarrassed by her outburst just then. It reflected badly on them as her past masters and I might not even have to personally discipline her later.

Ayillh returned my stare and began to report. Her mind was already on to the tactical situation. "We didn't arrive at Odessen." The most important information first. "Where are we?" Shrinking the planet we were looking at and zooming out to a map of the larger galaxy, she pointed to a specific sector.

We were nowhere close to Odessen, it would have taken us a few days to get to there from where we were. And I still couldn't recognize what planet we were on. Though we were pretty close to Tatooine, a place I loathed going to.

"We are on the Planet of Naboo. I have no specific records of such a place. It wasn't deemed important to our war effort. As far as I know, no military outpost or big civilizations live on the planet that have to deal with the war."

My eye brow rose slightly as I stepped closer and got another look at the planet. Starring at it for a minute or two I pointed at the ships that occupied the orbit of the planet. "Then where did these guys come from. I don't recognize the design, but they seem equipped for war. A new faction maybe? Does anyone have any input?"

Looking at those around me, I saw the small shakes of their head, most of the people on board were up to date with new technologies and forces that we had to face, though not that many were as informed as Ayillh, it was a part of her job.

Giving one final look at Nadia, seeing as she used to be a part of the Rift alliance that had dealings with many of the systems outside of the norm, she gave a small shake of the head. A frown came back to my face as I read some of the data on this new force.

For them to appear out of nowhere and not resemble anything we had seen, it didn't sit well with me. Though it was just another mystery to add to so far, the bigger question was the changes in the force. Even here I could feel the overwhelming light side of the force that encompassed swathes of the galaxy.

The dark side while present had been push back and hidden where it was once so prevalent. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head as we started to discuss our situation, it was decided that we wouldn't move for now. It had been the fore that had brought us to this planet and I wanted to know why.

I could faintly feel the force gathering on the planet below as if something big was going to happen, once again a moment in the force that could change the fate of the galaxy.

Just as we were ending the discussion Vette's voice shouted from the cockpit. "Incoming Transmission from what look like the capital ship! Should I accept it?" Glancing at everyone around, I motioned to the meeting room as everyone cleared out except me and Ayillh.

I didn't have any of my gear on and Ayillh was a master of negotiation. She wasn't carrying her sniper rifle which would make us look non-threatening. Finally I went and grabbed a mask to cover my face. When most saw the visage of a sith pure blood negative reactions would be the expected response. I would let Ayillh do the talking. Her rare purple skin and beauty were good distractions.

*Beep* *beep* The holo projector in front of us beeped once or twice before I pressed answer. The lights dimmed in the room so it was easier to see. Before us the picture of a race I hadn't seen before appeared. They had green grayish skin and multiple wrinkles littered their face. With 2 big red eyes and a long neck, with a regal hat on his head, I could tell a slimo when I saw one. This person was an opportunist.

"Unidentified Naboo cruiser, this is Viceroy, Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation, initiate landing protocols and come in for landing at the Theed Landing Plaza. If you do not comply we will immediately fire on your ship."

The voice was grating to the ear, though it did raise some questions in my mind. 'What is the trade Federation?' My eyes flickered to Ayillh for a second, but I didn't say anything, she would know the best course of action.

Taking the role of speaker she put on a pleasing smile as she responded. "We will comply immediately, Viceroy, and await landing instructions and coordinates. Thank you for the warning." The viceroy smiled at her pleasant tone, and nodded to himself, a self-satisfied expression showing. "Excellent, descend immediately."

With those words he cut the connection. We both looked at each other for a second as the others came back into the room, the lights turning brighter. "We will have to battle when we reach the landing port." Nearly everyone smiled as I said the words. They were raring for a fight, it would clear most minds.

As Vette started to pull us into the atmosphere the rest of us started planning our attack.