1 Prologue: A Shadow From The Pas (1/2)

Prologue: A Shadow From The Past

=RK=

Place unknown

time irrelevant

”God damn it!” I shouted as loud as I could, before becoming aware that I was no longer in the seat of my disintegrating Dragon. In a futile attempt to save a pair of ZAFT pilots whose Mobile Suits were wrecked, I got caught on the edge of the CYCLOPS system, just as it detonated under the EA headquarters in Alaska. The display screens in my X311's cockpit shattered one after another, showering me with pieces of their monitors. All I knew was a wave of unbelievable agony. The last thing I remember was the incredible heat that caused my blood to boil.

Then I was here. Again. The Earth was just as breathtaking as the first time I saw it from this position, all those months ago.

Ever since I ended in the GS universe, I flirted with death on countless battlefields, yet feeling it actually claim me was... Dying was disconcerting. ”I fucked up and should be dead,” I said in a hollow voice.

”You should be. However, I made a deal,” a melodic voice sounded from behind me. It was the ethereal being who had plucked me from my home dimension the first time around.

I did not bother turning around. She liked her mysterious act and stayed invisible. For all I knew, she lacked a corporeal form to show me and anything I could see might be just more smoke and mirrors.

”Which means that I need to deal with another mess,” I stated.

”Correct. Then, if you do not get yourself killed, I'll be able to return you here shortly before JOSH-A was destroyed. I'll be nice and won't tell your girlfriend about that stunt you just pulled.”

I winced. Ever since I was sent here, I had to deal with a mountain of troubles, which became much harder when my ”favorite” ROB decided to become a chat buddy with my girlfriend. They had a lot of fun at my expense...

”Ahh. Don't pout. After all, she's the main reason I went to ,all that trouble of giving you a second chance.” Her voice became coy.

”Who needs to die this time?” I sighed.

”Funny you ask. You don't remember, do you?” The woman sighed. ”It was to be expected, yet...”

”What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion.

”One Republic Chancellor, a few of his cronies in the Senate, and the Separatist leadership. You have a war to end. It's all because you must prepare the galaxy to face the Vong. They aren't exactly what you expect, my Knight. Remember, the Vong must be stopped. Have fun!”

The curses that left my mouth were not fit for print.

=RK=

I awoke, slumped over the controls of a fighter. That's an upgrade from the shuttle ride where my last adventure started.

I frowned. There was something wrong with that thought.

I shook my head and looked around.

This time, my mind was clear-er. There was no sign of the numbness that plagued me for a week after my previous trans-dimensional travel. Those were the high points of my situation.

Yet, even those thoughts felt wrong. Off. My mind was clear, true. I couldn't say the same about my memories. I could remember fighting to get as many Eurasian soldiers out of the CYCLOPS blast radius as if it happened minutes ago, nevertheless I knew decades passed since I got myself killed over there. My mind went to the image of Earth seared in my head. I haven't thought about my homeworld in a very long time. Nor about Natarle or my comrades. I couldn't afford to – that life was over. I don't know when exactly it happened. It wasn't a sudden decision but a gradual process until one day I awoke and going back home to 'Nat wasn't so important any more for I already had home here. I had sacrificed too much of myself to survive as a Sith. I tore my morals to shreds and I'm sure the person I used to be didn't really come out of the Sith Academy on Korriban. A slave went in there, a former Earth Federation Lieutenant Commander seconded to ONI. When I was permitted to leave to do my first master's dirty work, a Sith Acolyte left and that was over sixty years ago…

Then why the battle at JOSH-A where I died was so vivid in my mind? What did the entity say? That I had forgotten?

”Who you are, my Knight. Why are you fighting for. May you find your heart in this future. Until the end of the road, when we shall meet again, fare thee well, my Knight.” Her voice echoed in my head and I knew I won't be meeting her until the day I die.

Her words didn't make much sense. What did the Republic Chancellor had to die? Besides the fact he was the nominal leader of the enemy? What Separatists? There were just us, the Sith, our allies and the Republic with its own. Did someone on the Dark Council planned a coup or something, just like my supporters there did?

I closed my eyes and went over few meditation exercises to focus my mind. First I needed to figure out where I was then go join friendly forces so I could assess the situation. What happened anyway? The last thing I recall… Ah. The battle above Korriban. The Republic was launching spoiling attacks in attempt to break our momentum as we were in the final stages of the preparation for our final assault at the Core. I was caught out of position when the enemy arrived – in my fighter en route to a cruiser meant to bring me back to Dromund Kaas where I would be formally inducted as a member of the Dark Council.

Something happened during that battle, didn't it? I could vague recall the Force screaming a warning, then there was light and I was reliving my last engagement back on Earth. Whatever happened did a number on my memories. They felt quite scrambled yet otherwise my mind was clear. It was weird sensation.

On the bright side I couldn't feel any present danger which was reassuring. I took a few deep breaths and exhaled slowly finishing my last meditation exercise and opened my eyes.

I was in a cramped cockpit of a fighter I knew did not possess a hyperdrive and I had no idea where I was. My arms, which were clad in light and comfortable armored gloves, ran over the controls as I checked the status of my tiny ship. It was a modified Sith Interceptor, with a shield generator installed, as well as laser cannons with enhanced capacitors allowing a sustained rapid fire. Lastly, there were two racks of light proton torpedoes under the wings for attacks against hardened targets.

Yes, this was the ship I was in above Korriban. However said planet wasn't in sensor range, much less the two fleets viciously tearing at each other in orbit. I was reluctant to go with active sensors until I had better idea where I was stuck at.

As far as fighters go, my interceptor was a sweet killing machine – very good in a dogfight or even the odd bombing run. However, that did not help me with my current predicament. I was Force knew where, without a hyperdrive. I hoped that I won't be meeting my patron soon after suffocating. I sometimes called her ROB in my mind – as in Random Omnipotent Being, because she still hasn't properly introduced herself. Surely she didn't just drop in to troll me before I died? That's not the impression I got from her in our previous interaction, yet this latest meeting – it was off somehow.

Kriff it, what mess did I get myself in this time?!

I checked the starfighters sensors again. I could detect some gravitational disturbances at the edges of the scanner's range. So, there was probably at least one planet in the system. I hoped that it was inhabited or at least life bearing or I was kriffed beyond belief.

My hands ran over the controls and the Sith Interceptor's engines roared to life under my gentle touch. The nimble, little spacecraft carried me deeper into the system. I gave the autopilot a general course plot, and started checking what resources I had at my disposal.

I was wearing a black robe covered by durasteel armor. My head was protected by a mandalorian styled helmet, with an integrated computer projecting a small HUD display on which the status of my armor, oxygen supply, and shields were shown. It was good to know that I had some additional protection aside from the laminated sheets of durasteel and armored weave of my robe. I knew exactly what punishment it could handle so there was no need to test it. While my current outfit wasn't as durable as a proper heavy armor, it could still handle a lot of the stuff usually thrown my way, besides it was much more comfortable to wear that my Mandalorian crafted Cortosis Assault Suit.

My armor had some neat features. Like a dart launcher on the left arm guard, with knock out, poison and ion enhanced munitions – the last was for taking out droids. I was armed with a pair of heavy blaster pistols, and had four power cells for each. For tougher situations, I had a pair of thermal detonators, four frag grenades and two ion pulse grenades. For a moment, I thought that I was making a great impression of a Mando bounty hunter and I should know considering I've been posting as one a handful of times while doing odd jobs for either Baras or Imperial Intelligence.

I blinked in confusion. What the hell? Where did all those memories came from? I'm sure I just died back on Earth. The Kriff? That was decades ago! Did the other Sith do something to my mind? Or perhaps the Jedi?

A lance of pain split my skull at that thought. No. Not Jedi. What was I trying to recall? Acting as a bounty hunter but not really? I focused through the pain as I was taught back in the academy and the memories I was looking for surfaced… slowly and painfully but here they were.

Sith. I could remember now. Orders. Locations all over the galaxy – hunt down and dispose of low grade Sith who had went off the reservation and caused trouble for the Empire.

Wait what? Palpatine's Empire? Why would I need to take out a Chancellor or Separatists leaders then… Palpatine? Who was that and when did he got himself an Empire? The only Empire worthy of the title was ours.

The pain intensified.

Sith.The Sith Empire. It wasn't being a bounty hunter I vaguely recalled. I remembered being a partially trained Sith Acolyte whose good for nothing master sent me hunting embarrassments for the Empire. I spent years at that job before returning to the Academy on Korriban and becoming a proper Sith under Baras.

I had the Force then, didn't I? But of course I had it. I was a Dark Lord of the Sith.

What the kriff?! What was happening with my memories?!

It was like a veil that had been covering every one of my senses was suddenly lifted. It seemed that I truly saw, heard, and felt for the first time in my life. My senses went into an overdrive and I was lost. I saw even the tiniest imperfection on the control panel of my craft, I could hear every little sound and sense each vibration made by the interceptor. My armor felt like shards of broken glass upon my skin. Even the tiniest twitch caused me to feel stabbing pain as my clothes rubbed on my oversensitive flesh.

Then it became much worse. Some kind of barrier was breached and a tsunami of memories hit my mind in an unyielding wave. My world exploded as a whole life flashed before my eyes and I remembered.

From my first memories as a small child on Dromund Kaas, to my misfortune in ending as a slave before manifesting the Force and being sent to Korriban after tearing apart my ”master”… I remember accessing the Force for the first time. Then I got my memories from Earth back, something which increased my rage at being a slave. The rush I felt when the Force answered to my emotions and my 'master' being crushed under the power of my mind alone.

I remembered everything.

It all ended with a titanic battle over Korriban where I was engulfed in a flash of light. A Sith Lord who commanded the Imperial Fleet protecting that world activated a super weapon of some sort. I was sure of it. Then I felt the Force screaming of deadly danger and… what?

I shook my head, trying to clear it. Now my memories were making sense but my mind felt like a bunch of Gamoreans went wild on my head with war-hammers.

In a sense everything began and ended at the same place.

Korriban – the place where I arose from being one of the countless wretched slaves under the Imperial yoke and became a Sith Warrior. It was there, where I chose to disregard most of the creed of the Sith, and to try to changing the Empire from within.

It was Korriban, where my ambition died with tens of thousands of Sith and Republic sailors and I ended up here.

Somehow. Was my patron to blame? Did she sent me here? Did I die again?

I snapped back to the present. My right hand fell to a cylinder, hidden in my robes, and I felt relieved the moment my fingers closed around it. Holding the hilt of my lightsaber, a weapon that was literally part of myself as far as the Force was concerned, soothed my nerves.

I used it as an anchor for my mind. The torrent of memories almost shattered my very being, nearly washing away who I was. This was not like the last time when I got only skills and fragments of someone else's past. This time it felt like I ”lived” through the life of Darth Vael… Because I did. At least a version of and did if I, he, died above Korriban…

No. That wasn't true after all. The Force stirred around me driven by my confusion and need for answers. She felt odd, a bit distant and weaker yet she answered my intent. I could feel her soothing presence wrapping around me. Some called her a mere energy field, but I knew better. The Force was alive. I'm not sure if she truly had agenda or her own or if we, the Force Adepts using her gifts made her express one through our combined actions and emotions over the millennia. Perhaps once long ago the Force was merely the energy binding every living thing in this galaxy. Nowadays she was so much more… An ally, an enemy and constant companion… too many things to put into words so those who lacked her touch could understand. How do you describe the color red to the blind? How do you explain the way your lover's voice moves you to the deaf?

There was an ancient echo in the Force. A whisper just on the edge of my hearing. An impression if you will. I knew it just as I knew myself for it was of me.

The Force didn't lie.

I know I lived as Vael. I was that Sith Lord and something went terribly wrong so I could be here and now… whatever that meant. I could feel it through the Force. All the people I knew and had bonds with… They were gone. Mere echoes. Under other circumstances this revelation might have broken me, yet those closest to me were already dead – claimed by the war I among others made sure we would win. The final downfall of the Republic was all but guaranteed no matter what limited success their final offensives could boast of.

I stared at the stars through the canopy of the cockpit. It made a twisted kind of sense. If this was happening to anyone else, I would have thought that this stunt of ROB's was pure genius. This wasn't my time, was it? She apparently made a deal and needed this Palpatine disposed off, didn't she? However, I recalled our last deal. She knew by the time I would likely die I wouldn't really care about going back to Earth. I was a different man with different home.

A home that if what I was beginning to suspect was true was long gone. Was this what she meant by implying I might find my heart in this future, I wondered?

I knew that my eyes, hidden under the helmet as they were, had a distinct yellow tinge around the irises as my fury grew.

I spent a lifetime as a Sith Lord and what now? Was it all as good as erased? The memories from my first life were stirring. Separatists. Dooku. Sidious and Palpatine. At firs those were names without context but eventually a bit of recollection came. The later two were one and the same – a Sith Lord who was able to hide his nature and got himself elected as the Chancellor of the Republic.

That thought made my blood boil. Did we lose after all or was our victory a fleeting thing?

In my fury, I turned up to the Force, hoping that the Dark Side would soothe me. I tried to clear up my mind and think about my situation in a somewhat reasonable manner. I tried to remember more but it wasn't easy. Not after so many decades.

Instead, I was confused by the way the Force felt. I knew it was off, but I didn't think about reflecting upon it earlier as I was lost in my mind. Now I dismissed any thoughts about the past or the future for that matter and concentrated all my senses on my power.

The Light Side was muted, as if there was a veil made of living shadows thrown over it. The Dark Side on the other hand... Well let's just say that I had never felt it stronger or more seductive than it was right now. Not even on my one and only audience with the Emperor in his inner sanctum on Dromund Kaas.

My memories stirred. Fear gripped my heart with fingers colder than the void between the stars. I had knowledge and skills from an old forgotten age. Even if, by some miracle, I prevailed over Palpatine and his army of cutthroats, there was no guarantee that I would not replace him and become something much worse.

I had nothing left to keep me in check. Everyone who mattered to me was dead… and that deal that ROB offered? It was about saving a woman I knew decades ago in a different universe.

I still felt something when I thought of her, yet… She wasn't here to keep me company. To keep me sane.

For all its atrocities, Sidious and his Empire paled in comparison with the deaths and suffering caused by the Sith of old… By the Empire I served.

I laughed bitterly. It wasn't like the galaxy needed a monster like me unleashed upon it once again…

I snarled. Now I knew what was off. Whatever happened above Korriban or perhaps it was my patron… it wasn't just that my memories from Earth were fresher, more tangible than they were in decades. Oh, no. There was a presence in me. An echo of the soldier I was once upon a time. It was thanks to him and his skills that I lived long enough to become the Sith I am today. But in order to survive I had to kill that man. This was my mind and he was merely a ghost from a forgotten era.

Power surged through me. It was vast, incomprehensible and terrifying. It washed through me and I knew my patron has been here all along studying me. The sheer power I could feel in this… this mere echo of her glory was almost humbling. Utterly infuriating too.

I felt her gentle touch upon my mind and I understood. The ghost of the man I once was was plucked away to be send for his just reward – the second chance he become the monster I am today to gain. That… words failed me.

Amused laughter echoed in my mind making my head ring with pure innocent joy. For a brief moment I was back on Earth watching my X311 Dragon in Mobile Suit configuration let go of the two ZAFT GINNs it was dragging and speed away on the wing of the CYCLOPs activation. The microwave radiation of the trap clawed behind it scrambling the engine exhaust but my machine made it out of the area of effect just in time.

Just like that I was back in the cockpit of my interceptor with laughter still ringing in my ears.

”I keep my word my Knight. The man I made my original deal with has still work to do back on Earth. Thanks to him you exist. Thanks to you he has his second chance. That merely leaves you and the task I gave you.” The amusement in her voice grew up a notch. ”My meddling in this universe is at end, my Knight. I'll merely trust you'll find your heart before its too late.” She laughed again. ”In your nature too, my Dark Knight. Fare thee well, Veil.”

I slumped in my seat. The monstrous energy was gone, hopefully for good. I knew my patron was powerful but this… I shuddered. It was eye opening. Did I dare not follow up on her nice 'request'? I snarled. I was no ones pawn!

Was I going to have a choice? My memories of what back on Earth was known as Star Wars were fragmented. Unless I went to hide under some rock and ignored the galaxy sooner or later I would clash with Sidious. With the Jedi too, because them I remembered. They existed in this time and age. The one thing I could count on was that the Force would make sure I would meet them. The Dark Side wouldn't waste such a chance to cause more conflict.

=RK=

Phase 01: Use the Force, Luke!

=RK=

Part 1

Location: Still Unknown

The Sith Interceptor cruised through the unknown star system on autopilot, while I huddled in the pilot seat.

Being stuck here with only my memories for company, wasn't doing me any favors. The only silver lining was that I could remember everything and sort out my head. The bad one was simple – I could very well imagine the horrors I could unleash upon the galaxy. If what I remembered from my time in my birthplace about the Clone Wars era was anything to go by, I had more knowledge of the Force and how it worked than all but a few actors in this day and age.

I was a veteran of a war the likes of which the galaxy hasn't seen in more than millennia.

If I lost it and either fell to the Dark Side, or the more likely outcome – let it consume me in order to make the pain of losing everything I knew, everything I've worked to achieve… The consequences would made Palpy's Empire look like particularly relaxing resort in comparison. I knew that for a fact. When Ashara was murdered few years ago I was falling to the Dark Side. It took desperate measures to prevent it, I had to become a Mask I wore all the time, one of the man I was up to that moment.

The danger of letting myself be consumed by the Dark Side couldn't be overstated. I've wrought terrible things while in my right mind. If I really lost it… I would become everything I hated about the Sith ad the galaxy would burn for my amusement. Or just to make the paint stop. It wouldn't really matter at that point.

The Force itself didn't help me. The Dark Side was strong, alluring. It was whispering to me, like the devious seductress she was. She was promising everything I ever wanted, even if it couldn't bring back my hearts desire.

However, the Dark Side could give me one thing – losing myself and ending the agony and that made her more dangerous than ever. Because I wanted the void in my heart filled. I wanted the pain of the loss gone even if it made me more powerful than ever before.

Wasn't this ironic? Right now I was on the preciple of being what most typical Sith would sell everything for – all I needed to trade for more power than only a handful beings could ever conceive of was what was left of my sanity. It would be so easy and there would be no more regrets…

I rulefully shook my head. The Dark Side was particularly heavy handed in her attempts to make me fall today. If I ever did it, it would be my own volition. Just as becoming the Sith I was today was.

My personal pity party was interrupted when I felt a sudden chill. Somewhere, nearby, thousands of sentient beings were dying. I felt someone's malicious joy and in the same time I was sick to the pit of my stomach as I enjoyed feeling all those people die. As a Sith, there was a part of me that considered their dying cries as the finest beverage in the galaxy and craved more.

Enjoying the death of those unknown people made me feel dirty in a way I knew that no amount of bathing or decontamination could clean up too. This was one of the biggest pitfalls of using the Dark Side - it made you enjoy the suffering and agony of others and if you had a conscience, you hated it too. The dichotomy was something that would eventually drive all but a few insane or straight into the clutches of the Dark Side. Worse, most sooner or later would make causing strife and suffering their priority even if they wouldn't admit it even to themselves. They would chose the way that would make them feel the rush of the Dark Side even if doing so means taking less than optimal choices in the long run. Eventually in the short term too.

The only way to keep experiencing that from driving you insane was to have people you respected and cared about centering you. People to keep you sane.

”Bloody hell...” I muttered. It was almost like feeling a lot of people die for the first time.

Whatever the process that brought me here, it did a number on me, didn't it? Or perhaps there were few vestiges of the man I used to be my patron left behind for one reason or another.

With a thought, I shut down the interceptor's auto pilot and the small ship changed its flight path as I used the Force to guide it. I barely felt the acceleration when the twin engines roared to life and jumped from cruise mode to eighty percent of max acceleration.

The place where I felt people dying was calling to me like a siren's song.

=RK=

The clock shown on my HUD counted that forty-three minutes had passed from the time I sensed the deaths. It took me that long to reach the general area where I felt people dying.

It was obvious what had happened – war. I could see a small debris field made by the shattered forms of three large ships. From what I could remember, which wasn't as much as I would like after all this time, I was observing the remains of Republic cruisers. Proto Stardstroyers or something in that vein. The shattered hulls told a story of a dagger like design – what the Republic preferred to field before its transformation in Palpy's empire during the Clone Wars if I remembered correctly

Three destroyed cruisers in a system with a red star. Why was this image ringing an alarm bell?!

I shrugged. Expecting to remember details from a show and movies I've watched so long ago was funny and foolish.

I started scanning for survivors with both the Force and my fighter's sensors. A display on my control panel lit up with few clusters of life signs, one of which winked out moments later. I felt cold pangs as the people died even before the sensors could register it. Probably Clones if I was when I presumed to be.

Briefly, all my attention focused on the whispers of the Force, trying to determine where I should go.

That cluster of survivors, the one on the far left. It felt more important than the rest. My hands went to the controls and I headed that way.

I deftly evaded pieces of demolished ships which were tumbling around the few remaining bigger parts of the cruisers. Without the Force guiding my hands, navigating this unholy mess would have been moderately challenging and dangerous. However, I was cheating using my powers so it was just like a training exercise in a simulator set on easy.

A curious sight greeted me when I reached the life signs. An escape pod was gripped by an oddly shaped craft - it looked like a crude robotic manipulator with four fingers. Four fragile looking droids appeared from the center of that strange craft, where the middle of the palm would be if it really was a hand. They had something that resembled miner's helmets on their heads, right down to the round light mounted on the front. The droids had rocket packs on their backs which they used to maneuver in space.

I've seen a lot of weird droids in my day, but still, those were quite odd. Miner helmets in space, really?! Eh. Droids. Sometimes they go weird.

My fighter's computer detected wireless comms and automatically tapped into them. To my surprise, the encryption was quite basic and it was broken into within moments. I would have expected it to be much, much harder if not impossible. This was to be the far future… Yet my memories told another story. This era wasn't as advanced as one might expect after a few thousand years time-out. In fact in some technologies had either fallen out of use or were lost.

I heard synthetic voices speaking with unfamiliar accents.

”Let's pop this can!” An overly enthusiastic droid eagerly exclaimed.

It was easily to guess which one spoke as I saw one of the machines activate a blowtorch mounted on its right forearm.

The Sith part of me grumbled in irritation at my decision to save what I suspected to be Republic Clone Troopers but I squashed it. This Republic wasn't my enemy, I reminded myself. The only bright side of my situation was that all my enemies had been dead for a long, long time. If nothing else I had the victory of outliving them all.

It was a cold comfort when I was about to help Republic scum!

The more reasonable part of my mind conceded the fact and countered by pointing out that the Old Republic that was my enemy had been gone for a millennia. With a bit of luck, the Empire had used the strategy I helped devise and won the war so I could take pride of a job well done.

I grumbled at these random thoughts.

I dialed down the power of my fighter's laser cannons to near hand-held weapon's strength and unloaded a barrage of crimson laser bolts at the quartet of unsuspecting droids.

The machines didn't stand a chance. With no shields and obviously being mass-produced expendable grunts, they were annihilated by the underpowered laser blasts. After I made sure that there were no more of the killer droids milling around, I positioned my fighter so that I had a good view of the inside of the capsule.

There were a pair of dark-skinned clones, who were wearing blueish, almost gray, navy uniforms. No armor which could be sealed if their escape pod was breached by something. I guess this was their lucky day. Probably mine too, because they looked like officers and now they owed me their lives.

Well that sealed it. Seeing the Clones all but guaranteed that I was sometime during the Clone Wars. I knew it was unlikely that my patron kriffed up when and where she placed me, but it was good to have independent confirmation, especially given the odd encounters I had with her today. When the opportunity presents itself I would drink to not meeting her again in the longest time.

After all, the first few minutes after I awoke, I was pretty sure I've been sent here directly from my Gundam back on Earth.

I shook my head in exasperation. It was time to have a chat with the locals.

”Escape pod, this is Rogue Knight, please respond.” I said once my flight computer could determine the frequency they were using. I went with the call sign I got after qualifying as a pilot in the Empire… how long ago was that? Sixty years give or take? It was soon after I got out of the Sith academy for the first time.

I sighed. Damn I felt old. Only learning how to use the Force to slow down my aging by my first proper master – Darth Baras – allowed me to look like I was in my mid-thirties nowadays. Otherwise, I would probably look worse than Palpy in the last movie or something. Huh. How do I remember such random kriffing stuff instead of more important details?

When I finally got an answer, it came from another capsule – one that was tumbling towards my current position.

There was a shift in the Force coming from that direction, which made me pay attention to the newcomers. I knew that feeling quite well. There was a bloody Jedi on the second escape pod!

I shook my head in exasperation. Obviously my patron wanted to make my life interesting from the start. I smiled in anticipation. The Jedi's reaction once they knew what I was was going to be entertaining.

=RK=

Part 2

Republic fleet's debris field

Unknown System

”This is capsule one-nine-seven-seven. Thank you for the help,” said a voice which had the characteristic distortion of one wearing a breathing mask.

”You are welcome. After an accident I happen to be stuck in this system without operational hyperdrive. You wouldn't happen to have a way out of here, do you?” I asked cheerfully while using a Force technique known to many Sith of my time to cloak my Force Alignment. No reason to spook the Jedi before I absolutely had to. I wondered how would they react to meeting a live friendly and helpful Sith?

The technique wasn't going to hold up to a close scrutiny, but I was safe until we met face to face, which would be when the true fun begins.

While I waited for an answer, I examined the droid ship. Now that I think about it, the craft was somewhat familiar. I thought I have a vague recollection of this situation. If I was lucky, and I remembered right, I had landed during the early months of the Clone Wars. If I played my cards right this conflict could be a great opportunity to regain a lot of the power I lost.

”We are sending distress signal to all Republic forces that could reach us. I hope that someone will be here soon.” The response came a few seconds later.

”Preferably before whoever sent the droids figures out that they are gone and decides to pay us a visit,” I muttered.

While my fighter was state of the art, I was a few thousands of years in the future. Further, the other side, this Confederacy, obvious had enough forces in system to wreck three capital ships just an hour ago. I was reluctant in pitting my interceptor against anything modern without first seeing for myself how the future hardware compared to what I had available even before factoring in likely being outnumbered to a ridiculous margin.

”That's nice mess we landed into this time,” One of the Clones spoke over the comm.

”I do not want to be pessimist, general, but I do not believe that someone will come searching for us any time soon,” interjected another.

So the Jedi was a general, not just a small strike force leader. I should be careful until I knew their abilities. The Jedi I knew weren't giving such ranks unless you knew your job and were a decent fighter too.

At that moment the scanner on my fighter pinged. A ship had entered the debris field.

”Well, someone came, all right.” I sent to the Jedi and the Cones. ”This is Rogue Knight to the unknown ship that just entered the debris field. Please respond.” I hailed the newcomer.

”This is Jedi Knight Skywalker. Who is this?” An irritated voice answered.

Oh, my. The so-called Chosen One himself. Him I remembered. I wondered how did he compare in real life to the one from my memories.

”This is Delkatar Veil, I am parked near two escape pods with survivors. Follow my signal.” I introduced myself.

”This is Jedi Master Plo Koon. Good to hear from you Skywalker.” The other Jedi decided to introduce himself too. So nice of him however the name didn't ring any bells.

”Master Jedi, would you mind giving me a lift out of this system? I'm a bit stuck.” I added my two credits.

”That shouldn't be a problem,” Plo Koon answered.

There was curious silence coming from Skywalker's end.

=RK=

Skywalker's ship was a kriffing flying scrap pile that looked like it was held together with space tape, spit, and prayers. It was also far uglier than my very vague recollections from the show featuring the bloody thing.

In the end, I had to ditch my interceptor and take a spacewalk to the open compartment of Skywalker ship. It was a good thing that my armored robes were in fact an armor suit that could be sealed and was rated for short vacuum exposure. Using the Force, I navigated through the short distance between our spacecraft and landed at the back of Skywalker's ship letting its gravity field pull me to the deck.

I stepped through a force field that kept the air inside what looked like a cargo space and found myself face to face with master Koon – who apparently was a Kel Dor Male.

The moment he saw me, I could practically feel his glare.

Yeah, I looked the splitting image of heavily armored mercenary who were usually not to be trusted. To add insult to injury, my outfit had distinct Mandalorian influence, which was likely to count against me even in the future. Besides, from this short range, my camouflaging technique was less effective. Perhaps I should have put an effort in mastering it, but back in the day that simply wasn't necessary. It wasn't like most people – both friend and foe alike didn't know me by sight and its been long since I had to deal with fieldwork making infiltration necessary. Rank did have its privilegies after all.

”I am not your enemy, Jedi.” I raised my hands in a peaceful gesture. I wasn't ready to make today's Jedi Order my enemy. I lacked the resources needed for such a conflict and right now, the Jedi were my way out of this system.

”You reek of the Dark side. Whatever you did to conceal it is no longer working.” The Kel Dor snapped.

”That technique served its purpose.” I shrugged nonchalantly. ”If I meant you harm, master Jedi, I would have blown up your escape pods otherwise”

While we were chatting, the pair of Clone troopers had raised their weapons and taken positions between their navy brethren and me. They were soon joined by Skywalker and his apprentice, who moved closer to me and were gripping the hilts of their lightsabers.

I looked at the supposed Chosen One. Huh. The show did capture him quite well. The same went for the young Togruta who was obviously Anakin's padawan.

”Three Jedi versus little old me and it's you who's feeling apprehensive.” I pointed out. Their nervousness was like a beacon for my emphatic senses.

Koon tilted his head to the left.

”I sense no deception coming from you.” He frowned.

”No need for it right now. As I said I need a ride out of here. And if you are wondering I am not with those droids.” I said.

When facing presumably competent Force Adepts, one should keep their lies to a minimum. That's way, when you really need to lie your ass off, its more likely they'll buy it if you have a way to cloak your intentions from them.

It was astounding how well you could lie by omission or when you simply decline to volunteer information.

”Who are you with then?” asked Asoka.