Cybertron was a bleak world, built uncounted millennia ago by a long-vanished race. Over the course of time it served as the battlefield between two mechanical armies-the Autobots, and the Decepticons. By the Earth year 2005, the Decepticons had driven the Autobots off Cybertron. Led by Megatron, a warrior without mercy, the Decepticons stood poised on the brink of absolute triumph and galactic domination.

Unfortunately for them, fate dealt them a different hand.

Megatron was not known as a patient mechanoid. He himself knew that, but did not care. It was little wonder then that he had decided to resurrect an old plan of his from 20 years ago. He strode into the main control room of his capital, Darkmount and began addressing the assembled commanders.

"Shockwave! Soundwave! I want a situation report on the Space Bridge. Is it functional?" Shockwave, perhaps the oldest Decepticon alive, turned away from a monitor and spoke. "Yes, mighty Megatron. We have sufficient power to move the planet. But I still do not see why. The Autobots will surely know what to do once Cybertron enters Earth orbit." Megatron’s mouth plates turned up in a sneer. "That is why we’re not putting it into Earth orbit. Instead, Cybertron shall be placed above Mars. This way we will have a defensible position in case of Autobot attack!"

One of the other Decepticons in the room, an air warrior by the name of Starscream, chuckled derisively at the plan. "Mars? That world is dead! There’s no energy left in that hunk of rock!" Megatron calmly walked up to his Lieutenant and, gripping him by the shoulder rammed him hard into a wall. "Hear me, Starscream." He said, all the while crushing Starscream’s arm motors, "I lead the Decepticons. Not you! All you command are the other seekers. Your logic circuits would burn out if you ever had to command the entire Decepticon army!"

Megatron punctuated his statement by flinging Starscream’s battered chassis halfway across the room. "Ready the space bridge!" He bellowed. Soundwave shook his head and helped Starscream up. "You should know better after 4 million years of trying this" He said. Starscream quickly shrugged off any assistance from Soundwave. "I don’t need any help!" The vain air commander hobbled out of the command room, bloodied but unbowed.

High above Darkmount rose three towers arranged in an equilateral triangle. The top of each one opened up like a metallic flower, revealing an energy dish at the top. All three began pulsing with energy. Down in the command room, Megatron’s second-in-command Shockwave studied the power flowing to each tower. The 30-meter tall robot made minute adjustments to each tower. Megatron checked the readouts. "We are ready."

The towers simultaneously fired a continuous purple stream of energy at a point 200 kilometers away from Cybertron. They met and began warping space itself. A monstrous energy vortex opened up, and Cybertron began moving towards it.

Inside Darkmount, Megatron cackled with glee. "It’s working! It’s working! Soon no power in the universe shall stop the Decepticons!" No sooner had the last syllable escaped his lips when warning klaxons began sounding. The room-no, the entire planet-began violently shaking. Soundwave extended several computer hook-ups from his right arm and plugged directly into Cybertron’s main computer. "The Space Bridge is unstable!" He shouted. Shockwave’s left arm ended in a laser cannon, and he plugged that into a similarly shaped computer terminal. "We cannot escape the gravitational pull. We will be-" A power surge shot through the terminal-and through Shockwave. He was flung back 10 meters by the discharge, and was also flung into unconsciousness.

Megatron couldn’t believe it. They were so close, so close! The monitor showed the energy vortex grow bigger, and bigger. After a few seconds it filled the screen. Then Cybertron entered it. After a half a second-or an eternity-Cybertron emerged from the other end. Soundwave immediately began checking the sky in order to triangulate Cybertron’s new position. Megatron walked up to his chief scientist. "Where are we?" He asked. Soundwave shook his head. "This does not compute. I cannot match up these stellar phenomena with any on record."

Starscream, silent through out all this, spoke up. "It appears, my dear Soundwave, that we aren’t even in the same universe anymore! Take a look at Quadrant 14." Megatron punched up the coordinates for Quadrant 14, 23 light years away. "A cluster of black holes? By Primus!" Soundwave began scanning common and uncommon communication signals. Within 2 seconds he found several….interesting broadcasts. He tuned into seven different broadcasts and put them on display.

Megatron’s mouth dropped open in surprise when he saw the first one, a commercial advertising robots for sale. "What is this, some sort of slave auction?" Starscream acknowledged another. "What’s this ‘Galactic Senate’? I know of no such governing body." Soundwave canceled the 6 other connections and enlarged the Senate. A human woman with long, black hair and regal bearing was addressing a large group of sentients. A small caption next to her head identified her as ‘Leia Organa-Solo.’

Megatron’s lips turned up in a sneer. "So you were right, Starscream! We do appear to be in some sort of alternate dimension." He pointed to the door. "Take a small group and begin scouting around. I want a full sweep of at least 6 parsecs out." Starscream immediately stood at attention and saluted. "Yes, sir!" He then turned and marched out the door, stopping only at the repair bay to get his arm fixed.

The gears in Megatron’s head began to literally turn as plans began forming. He activated a planet-wide intercom and began addressing his troops. "This is Megatron. As you may well know, the attempt to move Cybertron into Martian orbit has failed. The Space Bridge has sent us into another dimension entirely. But do not lose faith! This universe has humans as its leaders. No pitiful flesh creatures can stand up to the might of the Decepticon armies! We will conquer this galaxy and rule it forever!"

Soundwave had probably the most acute hearing in the galaxy, so it was no wonder he could hear the cheers from Decepticons on the other side of the planet. Megatron had them. Now all he had to do was direct this force out into the galaxy.

6 F-15 fighter jets glided silently through space. In the lead was the white-with-red trim Starscream. Flanking him were the 5 best fliers in the Decepticon army. Starting at the left was Thundercracker in blue. Next was his ‘brother’ Skywarp in black. To Starscream’s right was Thrust in blood red, followed by Ramjet in white and Dirge in blue. Except for differences in wing design and color, they were indistinguishable from one another.

Thundercracker radioed Dirge. "Hey, what was Megatron talking about when he said ‘another dimension’?" The green jet almost sighed in despair. "I don’t know, my young friend. However I do know this. We are doomed! If the flesh creatures don’t get us, time surely will." Thrust interrupted the conversation. "Oh, brother! Get a little more depressing, why don’cha? All I want to do is find me some action, and quick!"

Starscream radioed all 5 of his fellow seekers. "You want action? You got it. Sensors indicate a large vessel ahead. Range: 78 kilometers and closing" Thrust began stammering. "Wait! I didn’t mean now! Let’s get some reinforcements first." Skywarp gently eased himself behind Thrust. "Turn tail, and I’ll shoot you down myself."

The large vessel was known as Home One. It was the flagship of the New Republic. On board was a humanoid known throughout the galaxy as Admiral Ackbar. The salmon-colored Mon Calamari was quite perplexed at the ancient-looking fighters approaching his flagship. He turned to a sensor technician. "Ensign, what are those?"

The Ensign, a human, scanned the 6 jets. "Unknown, sir." She said. "They don’t conform to any known profile. I’m also getting some very anomalous reading off of-Sir! They’re firing weapons!" Ackbar turned to the monitors. The 6 fighters had launched a rather impressive display of firepower. Cluster bombs, lasers and ion cannon blasts ricocheted off Home One’s shields. What was even more impressive was that those ancient fighters were performing maneuvers that no New Republic fighter could ever pull off.

Ackbar activated the ship’s intercom. "All fighters, scramble. Shoot down those enemy craft." Twin doors opened on the port and starboard side of Home One. 72 one-man fightercraft emerged. X-wings, E-wings and A-wings peeled off and engaged Starscream’s group. It was a slaughter from the beginning.

12 A-wings began tracking Skywarp. Their twin lasers more often than not missed, and the occasional bolt that did impact did nothing to Skywarp’s armor. He waited until they were almost on top of him, and then he literally lived up to his name. A special device inside him warped space, and he teleported directly behind the A-wings. Since the A-wing pilots were pursuing Skywarp, they had all energy for the shields directed forward. The black jet simply launched a cluster missile and blew all 12 out of the sky simultaneously.

Thrust didn’t rely on finesse. His body was made of the strongest metallic alloys, and his wings and nosecone were razor-sharp. He simply lined up and rammed each enemy fighter that he could get close to, slicing them to ribbons. "That’ll teach them to use inferior alloys," He said. The battle was similar with Thundercracker, Thrust, Dirge and Starscream. Within minutes the entire wing of New Republic fighters were shot down.

Ackbar couldn’t believe it. "Target those fighters and destroy them! I want a curtain of energy thrown up so thick, no amount of maneuvering will save them!" He took a look at the main viewscreen. It showed a close-up of the white and red fighter. Suddenly parts of began shifting around, changing. Arms emerged from it’s side. The tail split in half and formed-legs? The nosecone folded down and a head emerged from what appeared to be the main body. Nasty looking lasers were attached to its upper arms, and a sneer formed on its lips. Ackbar checked the other fighters, and saw that they all had undergone a similar transformation. One of them was black-colored. It shimmered and disappeared-and then reappeared inside Home One’s shield perimeter. It dodged several scarlet laser blasts and then fired a missile straight at the bridge.

Ackbar didn’t have time to scream as his body was disintegrated by the explosion. The entire bridge went up in a large explosion. Skywarp smiled at the carnage then began taking out the shield generators along the bow of the ship. Starscream radioed Thundercracker and Dirge. "Follow me. We’ll take out the engines and destroy this ship!" Thundercracker radioed back. "Shouldn’t we capture it so we can learn more about it?" Starscream grabbed him by the neck. "We do this my way! Understood?" The blue seeker could only nod in compliance.

The three seekers headed to the aft of the ship. Starscream didn’t know what the precise layout of this ship was, but he did know that fuel tanks were kept near the engines for convenience. He began scanning the almost organic-looking ship for anything familiar, like a fuel port or airlock. Finally he found it. "Decepticons, target and destroy." Dirge and Thundercracker raised their arms, and fired off several missiles directly into Home One’s underbelly. The missiles ripped through the hull and exploded inside several fuel tanks. Home One shuddered as the entire engine bank detonated one thruster module at a time. All six seekers were at a safe distance as the New Republic flagship was torn in half. There were no survivors.

Starscream laughed as they flew back to Cybertron. "Did you see that? It was a slaughter! We Decepticons shall rule this galaxy forever!" Thundercracker simply shook his head. I hope you know what you’ve done, he thought. Soon we’ll have this galaxy at our throats, and I fear for our jugular.

Megatron read Starscream’s report about the battle with the starship. Idiot! Where are the files from the computers, or fleshlings to interrogate? That Starscream is a fool! These thoughts rushed through his cranium as several of his top advisors prepared to give him situation reports. Shockwave was first. "Megatron, we appear to have settled into a stable orbit around a yellow star similar to the one Earth orbited. I already have teams constructing solar power stations to harness the energy." Megatron nodded. "Excellent, but I need those workers as troops. How goes the construction of new soldiers, Hook?"

A green robot about 2/3 the size of Megatron stepped forward. "I have all 10 facilities constructing new bodies. However, they need minds. I don’t suppose any progress has been made in getting Vector Sigma operational?" Shockwave nodded. "The supercomputer Vector Sigma is operational. No Decepticon will be a drone." Hook sighed in relief. "Good. I hate things that can’t think."

Soundwave was next. The deep blue robot walked over to the main viewscreen and called up several images from across the galaxy. Planets, moons, and shipyards and ships appeared. "The majority of this galaxy is ruled by ‘the New Republic.’ It appears to emerged about 19 years ago after a civil war. There is also mention of something called Jedi. They’re supposedly mystic protectors or some other nonsense like that." Megatron frowned. "I don’t need superstition, just facts. Where is the capital?" Soundwave called up a planet that looked suspiciously like Cybertron.

"It’s called Coruscant. Apparently most of the surface is covered by one large city." "Megatron nodded. "Excellent! Soundwave, I’ll need you to do some ‘undercover’ work. Release Ravage." Soundwave pressed a large button on his right shoulder. His front chest panel opened up and what appeared to be a large cassette tape popped out. It unfolded four legs and a feline head. Twin rocket launchers flashed into existence on its flanks. Soundwave spoke. "Ravage, operation: infiltration." Soundwave’s arms swung around onto his back, and his legs split and folded up where his arms were. His whole body shrank as he transformed into an old-style tape deck.

Ravage took his master gently into his mouth. He looked up to Megatron, who pointed at Coruscant’s image. "Go there. Infiltrate their computer systems, but above all else return! Understood?" Ravage growled affirmative, then bounded out the door and to the shipyards.

Megatron called up an image of the Kuat shipyards. "Call the Insecticons. I have need of their talents." It was time to start cutting this New Republic’s legs out from under it.

Coruscant! Heart of the galaxy! Over 100 billion sentients called it home. It was the capital of the New Republic. The head of the government was a woman of iron will named Leia Organa-Solo. She was 18 when she first came to the Senate as a representative of the now dead world Alderaan. Over 20 years she evolved to revolutionary, to stateswoman, to nascent Jedi to wife and mother. She was also a friend to the late Admiral Ackbar, and was determined to see his killers be brought to justice.

Leia was in her office talking to Admiral Hiram Drayson, the head of military intelligence. She picked up a datapad and handed it to the admiral. "Did we get anything from Home One’s wreckage?" Drayson shook his head. "Not much. The energy signatures from the weapons don’t match anything in our databanks. Furthermore, all the computer cores were reduced to burnt-out husks!" He threw the datapad down in disgust and ran his fingers through his hair. "The sector of space that Home One was patrolling was uninhabited. Duros don’t even go there. They say it’s ‘boring.’"

The admiral got up. " There’s a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2 hours to name a replacement for Ackbar. I believe Antilles will get it." Leia blinked back some tears. "He will be missed." Drayson turned and left Leia alone with her thoughts.

*****

20 kilometers away stood the Coruscant’s main spaceport. It had literally tens of thousands of ships going landing and taking off each day. Small wonder then that a small capsule about 4 meters in length was able to slip in unnoticed beneath the shadow of a quarter-million ton bulk freighter. A small hatch on the capsule opened up, and a jet-black metallic feline known as Ravage scampered out. Silently it made it’s way across the landing field, sticking to the shadows wherever possible. Eventually the lethal feline made its way off the landing field. The path taken gradually began winding down as Ravage made its way to the Imperial Palace. The lower Ravage went, the less security there would be. The sunlight eventually stopped reaching the metallic feline as the path taken reached halfway between the tops of the buildings and the ground buried under millions of tons of ferrocrete. Eventually Ravage reached a sewage entrance guarded by a single security camera. Ravage would’ve purred, but then he might have dropped Soundwave, who was still in Ravage’s mouth.

Ravage entered the sewage system and began swimming upstream in the sewage. Its feline head never popped out of the surface once. After about 200 meters Ravage emerged from the slime and shook itself clean. Not one security camera or sensor had managed to track the Decepticon. Ravage silently padded over to the lone security detail, 5 humans and a Duros. They literally never saw it coming as Ravage pounced, killing two humans instantly by shredding their jugulars. The others tried to raise the alarm, but Ravage fired a high-powered shrapnel grenade from the launcher mounted on its right rear leg. It exploded, and a fine mist of laser-sharp projectiles was launched at the organics at over 100 kph. All four were sliced into chunky blocks of flesh by it, and not one of them was able to sound the alarm.

The feline’s head snapped back as it released Soundwave into the air. Instantly the Decepticon’s form expanded as arms, legs, a head and a mortar cannon on his right shoulder emerged. Soundwave nodded to his pet. "Excellent work, Ravage." The 10-meter tall robot began scanning for any computer access port. After about a minute he found just what he was looking for. Soundwave folded back into his small handheld form, storing his extra mass in a subspace ‘pocket’. A small panel opened up on his front side. Ravage leapt into the air and began folding up. Its missile launchers were ‘shunted’ into subspace, and its arms, legs and head folded up as its body got smaller. The fully transformed Ravage landed in Soundwave’s front compartment, and the panel closed shut.

Computer access cables extended from Soundwave, and he interfaced with the Imperial Palace’s central computer. Soundwave expected to get in, but he didn’t expect it to be this easy! Firewalls were brought down with panache, and pass codes were cracked with frightening simplicity. To an organic hacker with only 20-30 years of experience, the Palace’s computer was near impossible to crack. To Soundwave, a machine with about 9 million years of computer experience, the computer was woefully obsolete. Within 30 milliseconds he began downloading whole files into his memory. It was like taking candy from a baby.

*****

About 2 kilometers up, Leia couldn’t shake a bad feeling. She made her way to the private hangar reserved for her husband, Han Solo. The old rogue was bringing their children back for a little vacation from studies on Yavin IV. She smiled as she saw Han’s ship, the Millennium Falcon, land in the hangar. The Falcon’s hatch opened and Leia’s three children bounded out. First were the twins Jacen and Jaina, age 17. Following close behind was younger Anakin, age 15. Finally out came Han himself along with his Wookiee first mate Chewbacca.

Jacen hugged his mother. "Hi Mom! Wanna hear a joke?" His twin Jaina groaned. "Oh, please! We’ve had to listen to your jokes all the way over here." Jacen sheepishly ran his fingers through his curly brown hair. "They weren’t that bad. At least Dad laughed."

Anakin, a few feet behind Jacen, shrugged and said. "Isn’t that what fathers are supposed to do?" Jaina burst out in a fit of giggles. "Now that was funny!" Jacen turned to his younger brother and swatted at him. Jaina moved swiftly to intercept him. "Now, now. He is your brother after all." Jacen struggled against her. "I don’t care. I’m still gonna mash him!"

Han walked over and kissed his wife of 18 years. "Hey, sweetheart. How’s things here at the homestead?" Leia shrugged. "We haven’t found who’s responsible for Home One’s destruction. Any word from the fringe?" The old smuggler shook his head.

"Nothing. Not even old Talon Karrde has any info. Either nobody’s talking, or for the first time in recorded history nobody really knows anything." The Solo family made their way home for some ‘family time’.

*****

Halfway across the galaxy lay Yavin IV, training center for the galactic defenders known as the Jedi Knights. High atop an ancient Massassi temple sat Luke Skywalker, Jedi master and first of the new order of Jedi. Lately he was having troubling visions: death, invasion and chaos. He was right now concentrating, trying to bring these visions into order. He had to. He-

Luke sat up straight as he saw…. a face? It was a symbol, purple with what appeared to be a crown. It was almost mocking him, laughing in a, metallic voice? He shook his head. Answers would not come easily.

He felt a presence behind him. It was Mara, his wife of 6 years. She walked up to him and sat down. "Credit for your thoughts?" Luke couldn’t help but chuckle at that. They turned to face each other, Mara speaking first. "Are you still having those visions? Nobody else is. Maybe you’re mistaken?" Luke grimaced. "I really don’t know. The fact that nobody else is having these visions would almost give me reason to dismiss them. Unfortunately, I don’t have that luxury!"

Mara nodded. "Let’s hope that you’re wrong about some of the things you’ve seen. Some of the things you said you saw sound straight of old Palpatine’s playbook." Her husband and former enemy said in a mock-serious tone. "Well, you would know about that better than I would, wouldn’t you?" That struck a nerve.

"Don’t you have a class to teach down in the temple?" Luke immediately got the hint and leapt off the temple, throwing off a quick "I love you!" before descending out of sight. Mara shook her head in disgust. "What did I ever see in that farm boy?"

The Planet Kuat was known to have one of the largest shipyards in the galaxy. The entire planet was encircled by kilometers of docks, construction facilities and space stations. Ships moved in and out constantly. It was little wonder that three tiny purple specks were missed as they approached the main control station. They were the Insecticons, and they brought death to Kuat.

In the lead was Shrapnel the stag beetle, followed by Kickback the grasshopper and Bombshell the dung beetle. They flew to the station, trying to figure a way in. They circled around until they came to an airlock. "Bombshell-shell, open the door please-please." Said Shrapnel. Bombshell’s front cannon, shaped like a dung beetle’s head, fired off a small mortar shell. It impacted the door controls, and a tiny remote known as a cerebro-shell uncoiled in the main circuitry. It rerouted pathways and seized command of the door control. It opened, allowing the Insecticons to move in. Bombshell commanded the outer door to stay open-while the inner door flew open. Seven sentients-two humans, three Bothans and two Duros, flew out before emergency force fields snapped into place.

Kickback flitted up to a vent and kicked at the thick mesh with his hind legs. It took two, but he was able to open up a hole large enough for them to fly into. Bombshell led the way. "So, what do you think is our most prudent course of action?" Kickback laughed maniacally. "We should cause all the shipyards to drop right down onto the planet!" Shrapnel promptly barrel-rolled into Kickback, sending him flying. "Fool-fool! We can’t tap into all the computers at once-once!" Bombshell interrupted him. I believe we can. This is the main control station, after all. I can probably command all the maneuvering thrusters to fire down to the planet. It would take several shells, but I can probably lock out the computer from manual override. Then, thirty seconds later, Kuat goes boom!"

Shrapnel and the others flew on until they reached a vent just above the main computer core. Kickback kicked a hole through the mesh, and Bombshell flew in. He launched five cerebro-shells, and they burrowed deep into the core. Microscopic tendrils extended from each capsule, bypassing security measures and firewalls. After about two seconds Bombshell had full control of the entire Kuat Drive Yards construction facility. His first order was to open all airlocks and open all doors and deactivate all force fields. "Hold on!" He radioed. All three Insecticons dug in as the air-and sentients-were expelled from the station.

Alarm klaxons flashed as Bombshell inputted the next command. He made sure all the thrusters were firing at full power, then he commanded the cerebro-shells to detonate. The explosions were tiny, but they were enough to completely burn out the core. "Let’s go-go!" shouted Shrapnel. All three Insecticons flew post-haste to the airlock they originally used to enter. They had to dodge bloated corpses as they quickly exited from the doomed spacedocks.

Kuat City, the capital city, barely had time to send off a distress call before all the orbital facilities began entering the ionosphere. The metal heated up to a few thousand degrees Celsius and was approaching the sound barrier when they slammed into the ground with the force of 100-megaton thermonuclear warheads. The shockwave flattened Kuat City and killed almost everybody instantly.

A hundred other space stations simultaneously crashed down onto the planet. The resulting detonations, fires, radiation and shockwaves killed 98.9% of the populace instantly. The rest died over a period of 2 hours. Bombshell looked back. "That has to be some of my best work!" The three Insecticons approached a familiar white F-15 with red trim. "Nice job!" said Starscream. His cockpit slid open and they flew in. Starscream resealed his cockpit and turned away from the burning planet. "So, now where to?" Shrapnel consulted his memory banks. "I believe the next destination is a planet called Mon Calamari, and after a place known as Fondor…."

Across the galaxy, Luke stood at the head of a class of Jedi trainees teaching levitation techniques. He doubled over in pain as the shock of Kuat’s death throes reached him. His students felt it, his wife felt it, and over 200 Jedi across the galaxy felt it. His mind flashed to that purple face he saw in his vision. This is it. This is only the beginning. He looked over the recovering students, and he knew many of them were not long for this plane of existence.

Thanks to two surviving ships, the obliteration of Kuat was revealed to the New Republic Senate within days. President Organa-Solo called an emergency meeting, but it was too late for Fondor-it suffered the same fate as Kuat nearly two hours before the Senate convened.

Leia called the assembly to order as soon as she walked in. "Order! General Antilles, what the Hell has been happening over the past week? We’ve lost two of our largest shipyards and had the planets they were orbiting stripped clean!" general Wedge Antilles, newly appointed head of the New Republic military, stood up and walked to the main dais in front of the senator. The ex-fighter pilot cleared his throat and activated a huge viewscreen behind him. A grainy image of Starscream in his fighter mode appeared.

"This is the only lead we have. It appears to be an ancient fighter of unknown manufacture. It was captured on sensors by a passing bulk freighter, but it entered hyperspace soon after." He pressed a button on the dais, and a second, grainier image of Starscream appeared. "This image was recovered from Home One’s databanks. It was the only image recovered, but it matches with the one taken over Kuat."

Borsk Fey’lya, power-hungry senator from Bothawui, snorted in disgust. "So, all we have are two pictures. Yes, General Antilles was a much better choice than General Kre’fey." Antilles leaned heavily on the dais. "Your cousin recommended me for the post of commander in chief, sir. So I suggest you take that up with him." Leia immediately stepped in front of Antilles in order to prevent a shouting match. She simultaneously shut off Fey’lya’s microphone so the furry senator’s shouting was limited and didn’t overload the p.a. system.

General Antilles’ comlink chirped. "Sir? This is Lieutenant Jaccs. We’ve been investigating Alpha Shift’s murder at the sewage entrance, and we’ve found a dev-" The transmission cut out abruptly, and both Leia and Wedge were left with a very bad feeling.

The senate chambers began shaking, growing ever more violent. Wedge turned on his shoulder-mounted comlink. "This is General Wedge Antilles. I want a situation report, NOW!" He got one when the 30-meter Soundwave came crashing through the floor directly below the senators. Either falling debris or Soundwave’s lethal weaponry killed almost the entire government. To Leia, he appeared almost demonic. Wedge pushed her aside and got a few shots from his blaster before Soundwave disintegrated him-and most of the main stage- with one shot from his handheld laser cannon.

Leia grabbed her blaster pistol from beneath her robes and began firing. Soundwave took notice of her and began moving towards her. The former princess concentrated with all her willpower and attempted to shove Soundwave through the Force. Nothing happened.

The back doors of the now destroyed senate chamber opened up, and Leia’s family rushed in. Han immediately began firing off shots from his DL-44 blaster, Chewbacca was firing his bowcaster while roaring, and the twins and Anakin had lightsabers ignited. Han yelled. "Get away from her!" Leia attempted to run, but was easily scooped up in Soundwave’s left hand. Jaina screamed. "Let her go!" She attempted to shove the hulking machine through the Force, but for some reason he wouldn’t budge! She tried again, this time joined by Anakin and Jacen. Again, nothing happened.

Soundwave took a look at the female he held. He knew that he held the New Republic president. He also knew that she would resist him every step of the way. Any information she might have was already downloaded into his memory banks, so he did the only thing he felt was logical. He held her up to his laser cannon, fired off a point-blank shot, and then dropped her.

Leia’s smoking corpse dropped to the ground. Anakin screamed. "NO!" Tears streaming from his eyes, he leapt 10 meters up and towards Soundwave-only to be disintegrated by another blast. The twins and Han were stunned to say the least. Chewbacca roared in disbelief and anger. He started to go after the machine that thoughtlessly butchered his friends-only to be stopped by Jaina. "Ch-Chewie, please d-don’t go." She said between sobs. She held onto him. "We must leave, now!" Jacen also snapped out of it and began dragging his father away. Han could only mutter. "My boy, it killed my boy. Leia-Anakin dead. Why?"

Soundwave pointed his cannon skyward and fired, blowing a hole in the ceiling and out into open space. He flew up, carrying terabytes of computer data in his memory banks. Among those files downloaded were passcodes and data concerning Coruscant’s defense systems. Red and green turbolasers began flashing by Soundwave as he began interfacing with Coruscant’s defense computers. The turbolasers stop firing as Soundwave ordered them to shut down. All too easy, he thought.

The Decepticon exited the atmosphere, but was immediately met by hordes of New Republic starfighters. X-wings, A-wings and B-wings. Soundwave pressed the ‘eject’ button on his left shoulder, his front panel opened, and two cassettes popped out. Both underwent identical transformations-wings unfolded from the sides, ‘feet’ dropped from the bottom, a head and neck snaked out from the front and twin laser cannons flashed into existence on top of their bodies. Soundwave radioed the twin condors. "Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, eject. Operation: diversion." The two birds began weaving in and out of the blockade, firing high-powered lasers from their weapon mounts. Unfortunately for them, starfighter weaponry was a lot more powerful than handheld blasters. Laserbeak was hit by a blast from an X-wing’s quad lasers and promptly blew up. Buzzsaw’s exit from this mortal coil was flashier as he rammed a B-wing, taking him out in the process

The sacrifice was not in vain, however. Six F-15 jets dropped out of transwarp directly behind the group of fighters. Soundwave radioed the lead jet. "Information gathering successful. Buzzsaw and Laserbeak destroyed." Starscream’s cockpit opened up. "We’ll grieve later. Right now we should just get out of here! Transform!" Soundwave complied, and his limbs began retracting into his main body. His overall size also shrank. He landed perfectly in Starscream’s cockpit, and the commander of the seekers veered off along with his escort. They re-entered transwarp, leaving behind a completely shattered government.

Jaina led her family through the Imperial palace like a droid. She literally couldn’t feel anything. Her younger brother and her mother were both dead. The government was destroyed. What was that thing? Jacen turned to his sister. "Wanna hear a joke?" A mirthless chuckle escaped her lips. "I don’t think so." Han collapsed against the wall. He literally couldn’t go on. "I’m sorry." He began mumbling. Jacen walked up to him. "Dad, we gotta get in contact with Uncle Luke. He’s had visions about this."

Han looked up at his son. "Yeah. Luke’ll know what to do. He always does." He reached up and grabbed Jacen’s outstretched hand. The surviving members of the Solo family silently made their way to the Millennium Falcon. They went in, and Jaina sat down in the cockpit. She knew her father was in no condition to fly. Chewbacca took his usual spot in the co-pilot’s chair. She glanced back at the Wookiee and nodded. "Okay. What are we waiting for?" Chewie roared an affirmative as the Falcon’s main engines powered up. The old ship lifted off the landing pad, exited the hangar and left Coruscant behind. Nobody aboard knew if they would return.

Generally speaking, Balmorra was one of the most secure planets in the Galactic Core. Under the leadership of Governor Beltane, the planet had grown rich and was heavily defended. Maybe that was why nobody seemed particularly worried when ‘only’ twenty Decepticon battleships dropped out of transwarp and began deploying fighters.

Governor Beltane stood in the capital’s control center, calmly observing the deployment of enemy forces. The head of the planet’s military, Colonel Da Verd, stood beside the stern governor. "Sir, shields are up and we are deploying capital ships from our base on the moon. Shall we open fire?" Beltane turned to the colonel. "We can’t fire unless fired upon. You know that!" Verd shrunk back a bit. "Sorry, sir."

The Decepticon battleships, each 2 kilometers in length and loaded with weaponry, began firing red-hued laser blasts from their forward weapons mounts. Now that the enemy had initiated hostile action, the Balmorran militia forces were free to open fire on the Decepticons. Carrack Class Cruisers and Nebulon-B Frigates moved in perpendicular to the Decepticon’s flanks, forcing the battleships directly into the fire coming up from Balmorra’s planetary turbolaser batteries. It was a classic and successful maneuver that had worked countless times-until now.

A sensor technician working in the control center was checking the shield’s output when the lead Decepticon battleship began transmitting a powerful signal directed at the planet’s shield generators. The technician double-checked the signal, then shouted across the room. "Colonel! The lead ship is broadcasting our shield deactivation codes!" Verd turned to the main viewscreen in front of him. "On screen, now!" The viewscreen changed from a tactical overview of the battle to one of the planet. Planetary shields produced a yellowish glow as they interacted with the atmosphere. There was no glow above Balmorra as Decepticon turbolasers and high-explosive warheads began landing on the surface.

The main communications officer, sitting in front of the Governor and the Colonel, swiveled around in her seat and said. "Sirs? We have a signal from the lead ship. They want to discuss…. Surrender terms." Beltane swallowed hard. "On screen." He was expecting a humanoid, or at least something organic. Instead he got a droid! The machine's faceplate began moving as if a mouth was underneath, and cultured voice came out! "This is Onslaught. As you can see, you have no choice to surrender Governor Beltane. If your starships don’t move off, your cities will be destroyed. If you do surrender, we will be merciful. What say you?"

Beltane knew he had no choice. With no shields, Balmorra’s cities would be reduced to rubble before the militia’s starships could even destroy one of those enemy starships. "Very well. Balmorra surrenders to you, Onslaught." He nodded to Colonel Verd. "Send the surrender order to our ships. Tell them not to resist. Understood?" Verd nodded and touched his shoulder comlink, activating it. "This is Colonel Verd on the surface to orbital fleet. Stand down and surrender. I repeat, stand down and surrender. Code Alpha-13." The Governor drew himself up to full height and addressed the Decepticon Commander. "Shall I ready myself for execution?"

Onslaught laughed. "My dear governor! By doing the right thing, you’ve spared your life and the lives of billions of Balmorrans! We Decepticons don’t kill our allies or willing subjects." Onslaught’s voice grew hard. "We do, however, slaughter our enemies without mercy. Never, ever get on our bad side. Is that understood?" Beltane and Verd both silently nodded. Onslaught’s facemask moved in an approximation of a smile. "Excellent. Now let’s see about converting those huge factories of yours into shipyards, shall we?"

*****

Two hours later, Megatron read a report from Onslaught about Balmorra’s capitulation. Excellent he thought. I should’ve promoted Onslaught years ago. Shockwave interrupted his musings. "My lord, advance scouts have secured the former shipyards at Bilbringi. It will be about six days before they are operational, however." Megatron nodded. "What response has the New Republic forces mustered against us?"

Shockwave plugged his gun-hand into a receptacle below the main viewscreen. The screen changed from an image of Cybertron to one of the galaxy. "About 70% of their military has no idea what is going on. They have been cut off from each other and can offer limited resistance." Megatron laughed. "Soundwave’s killing of their government was quite fortuitous, wasn’t it?" Shockwave nodded.

Starscream walked into the control room. "Megatron! Why haven’t we struck more planets? We have to keep the New Republic off-balance! They’re divided now and easy to conquer." Fuming, Megatron walked over to the seeker and punched him in the gut. "Fool! Our factories can churn out only 1,000 Decepticons a day. It takes even longer when you factor in giving them personalities and training them! The assault on Balmorra took up about 40% of our fleet!" Shockwave spoke up. "May I make a suggestion?"

Megatron turned and glared at him. "What?" The Military operations commander plugged his gun-hand back in and switched the screen to a picture of an old human in a white military uniform. "This is Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. He is head of the Imperial Remnant, the government formerly in power. Research indicates that he would like to see the New Republic fall. They are situated almost exactly opposite from our position, and so a ‘squeeze play’ could be brought into effect." Megatron smiled "Excellent! Contact this Pellaeon. I want to meet with him within one standard week." Shockwave saluted and left the room.

*****

The Millennium Falcon had touched down on Yavin 4 about 3 days after leaving Coruscant. Luke was there to greet his brother-in-law Han as he plodded down the Falcon’s ramp. The two old friends hugged. "Han, I’m so sorry about this." Han pulled away and looked the Jedi Master in the eyes. "Luke. How does this end?" He half-closed his eyes. "It will end… in fire."

Jacen, Jaina and Chewbacca exited the Falcon. Luke went up to his niece and nephew. "How are you doing?" He asked. Jaina blinked back tears. "I feel numb." Jacen nodded. "I miss Anakin." Chewie roared his grief. Luke motioned to the large Massassi Temple in front of them. "I’ve called a meeting of the Jedi, but only about 50 of us have been able to gather." The quintet made their way up the steps of the temple and into the main audience chamber. About 50 sentients were already inside. Some were human or at least humanoid. Others resembled bizarre creatures. A group of the more powerful Jedi Masters was on the main stage. A human named Kyp Durron walked up to Han. "Han, I am so sorry about Leia and Anakin. I will avenge their deaths!" The old smuggler looked at the young man. "No, that’s not a good idea. I don’t want you falling to the Dark Side like you did 13 years ago!" Kyp shook his head. "I won’t fall. We have to be aggressive against this new threat, or we will be destroyed."

Jaina wandered to the middle of the group and raised her voice so that everybody could hear her. "Anakin, Jacen and I all simultaneously attempted to telekinetically throw the robot that killed Mom. It failed. We could feel it through the Force, but we couldn’t affect it." An old friend of Jaina’s named Tenel Ka spoke up. "This does not bode well. Our greatest weapon seems to be useless." Kyp shook his head. "I don’t think so, Red. We can still sense these droids, just not directly affect them. I wonder how a lightsaber would slice them up?" A feral grin spread across his face. Tenel Ka rolled her eyes at the Jedi Master. "Please. If anything it’s rusty, not red."

Mara Jade, silent through out the conversation, snapped her fingers to get everybody’s attention. "Ahem, but does anybody actually know what the stang is actually going on at Coruscant?" She raised her voice. "Hey, Chewie? Can you get a portable comm unit from the Falcon?" Chewbacca growled an affirmative and headed to the Falcon.

Tenel Ka put her right hand up to her chin as she began to think. She paced around the assembled groups. "I believe we are dealing with a systematic and deliberate invasion aimed at breaking our morale, depleting our materials and killing our manpower." Kyp rolled his eyes. "Well, thank you Miss Obvious! We couldn’t have figured that out on our own, no sir!" The Heir to the Hapes Cluster walked up to Kyp and looked him directly in the eyes. "That was not necessary." Any further talk was halted when every Jedi in the room felt danger. The temple violently shaking amplified that.

Luke shouted above the noise. "We’re under attack! Get out of here, now!" Everybody fled the ancient temple even as it was crumbling around them. Luke was the last to leave; making sure everybody got out. He left just as the roof collapsed. The ancient Massassi structure crumbled to the ground as turbolasers and missiles impacted it.

Outside wasn’t better. Three ancient looking fighters flew around, dropping high explosive charges into the forest surrounding the temple and the Jedi. Han broke out into a dead run in order to get to the Falcon. "I’ll shoot them down along with Chewie! Get everybody to safety!" Jaina shouted after her father. "Dad! Be careful!" Han sprinted up the landing ramp and closed it. Chewbacca was already in the cockpit finishing up preflight checks. Han jumped into the pilot’s chair and powered up the repulsorlifts. He blinked back tears as he muttered. "Leia, Anakin, this is for you." The ancient, disc-shaped freighter rose in the air as it’s laser cannons powered up and began firing at the Decepticon seekers. The Falcon shot off as the main engines kicked in. It shot off into space, drawing away two of the seekers. The other one went back to strafing the Jedi students.

Out in space, Han rocketed the Falcon away from Yavin. However, he wasn’t counting on the rather large Decepticon battleship directly in his path. "Hang on, Chewie!" He yelled as he sent his ship into a corkscrew dive. The two seekers, Thrust and Ramjet, followed. "I don’t like this." Said Thrust. Not two seconds later the Falcon’s quad lasers hit Thrust dead on, blowing away his nosecone and shredding his port wing. Ramjet screamed. "NO! My brother!" He transformed into humanoid mode, firing off a burst of cluster missiles at the Falcon. Five impacted, dropping the aft shields.

Ramjet transformed back into jet mode and opened up his auxiliary thrusters. Han swung his ship in various maneuvers, but he couldn’t shake the enraged seeker. Ramjet caught up and, living up to his name, rammed his starboard wing directly into the Millennium Falcon’s aft engine bank.

The air in the cockpit howled as it escaped from the Falcon and out into space. Chewie activated the manual door control and shut it before he and Han died of explosive decompression. He checked the aft sensors, and noted that the robot suffered damage. Han double-checked the sensors, and noted that several missiles that were previously on the robot’s wing were gone. That would mean that…

Three missiles lodged in the Falcon’s engine banks exploded, consuming the Millennium Falcon in a large fireball. Chewbacca and Han died instantly. Jacen, Jaina and Luke felt the death through the Force, and it felt like a swift kick to the gut. Jaina broke down and collapsed in a heap, crying her eyes out. Luke looked up to the sky and picked out the fireball where the Falcon was. "We’re a couple of shooting stars, Han. We’ll never be stopped."

Kyp knelt down in grief. Han and Chewie had rescued him from the planet Kessel when he was just a teenager. He looked upon Han as the father he never had. Anger welled up in him as he raised his right hand. Sparks erupted around his fist as he summoned the Dark Side. He looked up at the jet still firing, and he raised his hand. "Die!" He shouted as lightning shot up from him and impacted the jet. The lightning hit the twin engines in back, and smoke poured from the impact. The seeker transformed into robot mode, and crash-landed in front of the group.

Luke turned to face Kyp. "Are you mad? The Dark Side will destroy you if you persist!" An odd, metallic voice shouted from behind Luke. He turned to see the robot kneeling down, right arm raised. "All will be destroyed by the void." Dirge launched a cluster missile at Luke and Kyp. "Some, however, will be destroyed more quickly."

Time slowed down for Luke as the missile streaked toward him. He pushed on it through the Force, trying to send it back, but it didn’t work. He grabbed Kyp and leapt straight up, 10 meters into the air. The missile split into ten separate warheads and impacted, killing or wounding a dozen Jedi. Dirge painfully got up on both legs. "You will meet the void, fleshlings! I will send you there myself!" With that, Dirge’s boot thrusters ignited, sending him skyward.

Jaina watched the Decepticon fly up out of the atmosphere and into space. "I’ll see you reach the ‘void’ before I do, droid! I swear this!"

Gilad Pellaeon was not a man who indulged in frivolity or games. He was the head of the Imperial Remnant, and had far too much to do to be bothered by pranks. All his subordinates knew and respected this. Maybe that was why he believed the message he received two ago from the alien machine about some sort of ‘alliance’ against the New Republic.

He was currently standing in an open field with a legion of Imperial Stormtroopers and a thousand Army Officers as a two-kilometer ship landed without so much as stirred-up breeze. One of Pellaeon’s aides, a Major Rish, shook her head at the purple ship. "Twice the size of an Imperial Class and able to make planetfall. I’d kill to see the specs on those repulsors!" A ramp on the bottom of the ship extended, and a 15-meter tall door opened. A large robot-no, Decepticon, - walked down the ramp and towards the Grand Admiral. He was twelve meters tall, and mostly silver. A fusion cannon one and a half times the length of his arms was attached to his right arm. His head appeared to have a black war helmet on it, and his face radiated death. He spoke. "I am Megatron, supreme commander of the Decepticon Empire." Pellaeon looked up. "I am Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon of the Imperial Remnant. It is good to talk to a fellow soldier and warrior." He motioned to Megatron. "Shall we walk a bit?"

The two warriors began walking away from Megatron’s starship. "Word travels fast, especially concerning the murder of the entire New Republic Senate." Megatron looked down at Pellaeon. "You say that as if it’s a bad thing!" Pellaeon smiled. "No. I have no love for that government. The New Republic is ripe for conquest. And together, your Decepticon forces and my Imperial Fleet would be able to conquer it in a matter of months. The problem would be holding onto it." He looked up at the behemoth. "Bloodshed has a tendency to harden, not weaken resolve."

Megatron nodded. "I know. That is why I am merciful with those who surrender. Make no mistake, Admiral. I can be cruel, but I can also be merciful." Pellaeon’s eyes closed as he thought of his former commander Grand Admiral Thrawn. "That is an excellent balance. The fact that you haven’t wiped Balmorra clean is testament to that." Megatron’s face screwed up at that. "They surrendered, have offered no resistance and all their work is excellent. Why waste a good thing?"

Pellaeon nodded: that was the clincher. "Lord Megatron, I pledge the Imperial Remnant to you. May death come to our enemies!" Megatron smiled. "Yes, may our might rule this galaxy!"

*****

At Yavin, preparations were being made for an alliance of a different kind. The losses over the past week were not insignificant. And the Decepticons had already began moving in on the military. Chewbacca was able to get out a portable comm unit before being killed by Ramjet, and a crowd had gathered around the device.

Jaina fiddled with the controls. "There. I’m tuned into the main news departments." A holographic projector mounted on the side flared to life, and a three-dimensional image of a human female behind a desk appeared. "The Imperial Remnant has apparently allied themselves with what is now known as the Decepticon Empire. This previously unknown race of living machines hails from a planet called ‘Cybertron.’" An image of the metal planet replaced the woman. "The Decepticons have already conquered a significant amount of territory over the past standard week, and their leader is claiming responsibility for the murder of the entire Senate."

Mara Jade, Standing behind Jaina, growled. "They’ve not only cut off our heads, they’ve taken our legs as well." She motioned over to Tenel Ka. "Kid, the Hapes Cluster right now has the largest single military force. The rest of the fleet is scattered and right now is being picked apart. Will the Queen Mother give us her support?" The future queen thought for a moment, then she looked at Mara with those gray eyes of hers. "I believe so. We must petition her in person, however. Otherwise, we will be committing a grave insult." Mara nodded. "Great. I’ll fly you there myself. We better take Luke along. If I remember your Mom was sweet on him." Tenel Ka’s facial expression didn’t change, but her complexion got several times redder.

After a half-hour of preparations, they were ready. Mara’s personal ship, the Jade Fire, lifted off carrying Mara, Tenel Ka, Luke, Jaina and Jacen Solo. The sleek cruiser quickly left Yavin’s atmosphere and entered hyperspace. Mara and Jaina sat in the cockpit, talking. "I’m sorry about Han and Chewie. They were good people." Jaina’s chest threatened to cave in as she thought about the Falcon blowing up. "It’s all right. At least Mom and Dad are back together now." Mara nodded, impressed with the young woman’s composure.

Jacen and Tenel Ka sat in the galley, talking about old times. Tenel Ka looked into the eyes of her first and only love. "Jacen, if you are hurt please talk about it. Holding it in will eventually kill you." Jacen shook his head. "I can’t. The wound is too fresh. The anger still burns." He gave her a lop-sided smile. "Mom, Anakin, Dad and Chewie. Now the New Republic is literally falling apart. What’s next, the return of the Sith?" He got up to get some more juice. "You want anything?" Tenel Ka shook her head, sending her braided hair waving back and forth like leaves on a palm tree. Jacen sat back down. "So, how’s your family?"

"My mother’s brain has been atrophied by years of court intrigue and assassination attempts. Grandmother is basically running things, and Father is wishing he had married Leia." Jacen groaned. "Do you think old Ta’a Chume would be willing to lend some Hapan Battle Dragons to the war effort?" Tenel Ka snorted in disgust. "Negative. She will believe that the Hapes Cluster will be safe behind the Transitory Mists." The Transitory Mists cut off the Hapes Cluster from the outside galaxy: There was only a narrow corridor where hyperspace was possible, and that corridor was fiercely defended.

Jacen chuckled. "A robot has no sense of time. The Mists don’t stop thrusters. The Decepticons will waltz right in through the back door and slaughter the Hapans." Tenel Ka nodded. "Fact. Unfortunately, Grandmother is not very proficient in military or tactical thinking. It is unknown if word has even reached the Hapes Cluster." Jacen shrugged. We’ll see."

After three days the Jade Fire emerged from hyperspace. Mara immediately opened up all communication channels to find out what was happening. It was not good.

"I can’t believe this! How did it all fall apart like this?" Mara was referring to the news that the Decepticons had conquered over three hundred star systems in the time that the Jade Fire was in hyperspace. The Imperial Remnant’s gains were smaller, but no less impressive. Jaina read about several battles between the Empire and the rapidly dwindling New Republic military. "I knew Pellaeon was good, but taking out two of our fleets?" Jaina brought up a map of the galaxy on one of the viewscreens. It showed a view of the galaxy drastically altered from what she knew. Places that she had visited as a child were now under the banner of the Decepticon Empire. They had even attacked the Corellia System, where her father was from. That bordered on sacrilege.

Mara expertly guided her ship through the Hapes Cluster. The codes provided by Tenel Ka had gotten them past the Transitory Mists. Now it was just a short flight to Hapes itself. She checked the route to Hapes and found something interesting. "Aren’t their a lot more Hapan Battle dragons than normal?" Jaina checked the scanners. "Maybe they’re preparing for an attack?" Both women quickly got a very bad feeling, especially as two of the Battle Dragons began moving toward the Jade Fire. Both 500-meter ships resembled two disks attached to a smaller disk in the center with a block of engines in the back. The edges of the larger disks had deadly turbolasers and ion cannons sticking out like spears.

Mara suddenly jerked the controls, sending her ship into a violent turn-just as the port Battle Dragon fired off a half-dozen turbolaser bolts. She hit the intercom and shouted. "Tenel Ka, get in here now!" Within seconds Tenel Ka, Jacen and Luke entered the cockpit. Tenel Ka checked the sensor data on the attacking Battle Dragon. "This is not good. The captain of that Battle Dragon is a fierce supporter of Ta’a Chume!" Jacen swore as the Jade Fire shook. "Damn! That means that the old crone’s probably allied with the Decepticons!" Tenel Ka could only nod.

Luke pointed to a planet rapidly approaching. "Is that Hapes?" His wife nodded. "Yup. We’ll reach it in a minute." The Jade Fire groaned as it absorbed more fire. "Providing we don’t get shot down, of course." Mara opened herself up to the Force, letting it guide her actions. She guided her ship through the hail of scarlet turbolasers as if they weren’t there. The sky outside the cockpit changed from black, to purple, and finally to deep blue as the Jade Fire entered Hapes’ atmosphere. I am good! She thought. Unfortunately, the cocky pilot was so focused on the Battle Dragons; she completely missed the ground based turbolasers-until two shots tore off the Jade Fire’s port engine and tore a hole in her underbelly. Smoke filled the cockpit as sparks erupted from some of the consoles. Mara gritted her teeth as the ground came spiraling towards them. "Get strapped in, now!" She yelled at Luke, Tenel Ka and Jacen. The three nodded and quickly moved back to the cabin.

Mara’s pride and joy plowed into the ground, digging a two-meter deep trench into the ground. The starboard engine tore off and exploded. All five occupants were violently thrown about the inside, and Jacen felt like vomiting. After an eternity, Mara unstrapped herself from her chair. "Any landing you can walk away from is-what is the rest of that saying?" She chuckled and slowly went over to Jaina. "You okay?" She asked. Jaina struggled to get out of the chair’s crash webbing. She looked up at her aunt with a worried look on her face. "Do you sense them?"

The cabin door groaned open, and Luke walked in. "We have company." He said. Mara sighed and reached out with the Force. She could sense five large machines outside her wrecked ship. "Decepticons!" Jacen and Tenel Ka entered the cockpit, and both had worried looks on their faces. Jacen pointed to the emergency hatch. "Uncle Luke, we’ve got big problems outside!" The Jedi Master shook his head and cleared his mind of all thoughts. He quickly reached an epiphany: fighting these five robots would mean death, and a painful one at that. "We have to escape, now!"

Jaina shook her head. "We don’t have any ground vehicles, and we can’t fly out of here. If we simply attempt to run we’ll be quickly overrun and slaughtered. Besides, where would we go?" Tenel Ka looked down in thought, then spoke up. "Question. Why have the Decepticons not attacked yet? This is completely contrary to known behavior patterns." As if on cue, the comm system came to life, and a metallic voice came on. "I wish to speak to the Human Jedi inside the crashed starship. We are here to escort you to the Fountain Palace for a meeting with Queen Mother Ta’a Chume." Tenel Ka gritted her teeth in anger. Her traitorous grandmother had sold the Hapes Cluster down the river!

Mara swore and angrily activated the last piece of functioning machinery on her ship. "Listen up, you poor excuses for astromechs. We will come out, but not to be escorted by you. Instead, we will come out and turn you walking scrap heaps into junk so worthless, Jawas won’t want to buy you!" She shut the comm system down and turned around, only to meet the eyes of her husband. "Mara, what the hell was that?" He pointed to Jaina, Jacen and Tenel Ka. "If you fight here, you die. And so does the future of our galaxy." He gripped her by the shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "We will win against this evil, but not by becoming like it." Mara brought her arms up around Luke and squeezed. So, that’s what I saw in you, farmboy.

After five minutes the starboard hatch on the Jade Fire opened, and out stepped five Jedi with their hands behind their heads. Luke shouted. "We surrender! Take us to Ta’a Chume!" The leader, a sleek Decepticon with what appeared to be a felinoid’s head mounted on his chest, crossed his arms and said. "Excellent. We must hurry." The robot’s hands retracted into his arms and were replaced by claws. The legs folded up and took on the form of an animal, and the felinoid head on the chest rotated to cover the Decepticon’s robot head. Where a deadly looking warrior stood moments before, now an equally dangerous felinoid crouched. The other four Decepticons underwent similar transformations-except one. While four of them transformed into land animals, the fifth transformed into an avian creature.

The leader, a warrior named Razorclaw, spoke again. This time his voice was more…feral. It was lower in bass and sounded more like a series of growls. "Climb aboard. We will take you to the Fountain Palace." He motioned to the bird-like Decepticon. "Mara Jade will ride aboard Divebomb." Mara groaned. He knew it was me saying that stuff? How? Mara went up to Divebomb, who motioned to handles on his back. "Climb aboard, human. I hope you don’t get airsick." He began laughing as the other four Jedi climbed aboard the other Decepticons. Tenel Ka rode Razorclaw. "Let’s go!" She shouted, and they were off at over 50 kph.

The group passed through several cities on the way to the palace. Tenel Ka tried to look around, but she had a difficult time holding onto Razorclaw. Her left arm was sliced off at the elbow a few years ago, and she never did get a replacement arm.

Luke had an easier time. He was holding onto Headstrong, an incredibly insecure mechanoid with an extreme inferiority complex. Luke listened to everything Headstrong said about the Decepticons. "Razorclaw thinks he’s capable of taking on Megatron, but he’s not. All five of us Predacons tried it once, but Megatron batted us away like scrapelets!" Luke leaned close to Headstrong’s head. "Predacons? Are you a different group from the Decepticons?"

Headstrong shook his red head, nearly impaling several airspeeders on his horn as he ran past them. "Sort of. We’re a specialized unit, so we get our own name. Isn’t that cool?" Luke nodded. He didn’t like manipulation, but he didn’t feel too guilty manipulating this robot. "Yes, it sounds ‘cool’. Have you ever voiced this to Razorclaw?" Headstrong shrugged, which almost threw Luke off! "No way! I have this thing about being shredded into fine duranium filing, thank you." Headstrong looked ahead and appeared to squint. "I think we’re almost there."

Luke saw the Fountain Palace up ahead. It resembled something out of a fairy tale, with it’s huge towers and gleaming stone construction. At the top of the middle tower flew the Decepticon banner-a view of outer space, with Cybertron in the middle. The flag of the Hapes Consortium flew right below it. Seeker jets and Hapan fighters buzzed around the Palace like flies, and laser turrets could just be made out on the walls.

The main gate opened up, and the Predacons dashed inside. Divebomb landed, and a definitely frazzled Mara Jade dismounted. She was quite green, and looked like she was about to vomit her lunch. Luke, Tenel Ka, Jacen and Jaina dismounted their mounts, and the Predacons transformed back into their humanoid forms. Razorclaw pointed to a large door on the other side of the courtyard. "Ta’a Chume waits inside. I suggest you don’t keep her waiting." Tenel Ka nodded. "Understood." The quintet marched to the door, all the while memorizing small details that might aid in an escape. Human and small Decepticons lined an upper balcony, and all the doors had electronic locks. The door to Ta’a Chume’s chambers, however, did not.

The door slid open when Tenel Ka approached. She hesitated for a second-until she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Jacen. "Don’t worry. We’re in this together, and that’s when we’re strongest." She blinked back an unusual moistness in her eyes, then turned around and marched straight in.

The ‘inner chambers’ were actually the Hapan throne room. Ta’a Chume sat at an ornate throne at the end of a long carpet. Her son, Prince Isolder, stood by her side with his right hand near a blaster pistol on his belt. Ta’a Chume was dressed in an expensive-looking dress, and was wearing a veil. Isolder walked up to his daughter and extended his arms to hug his daughter. "Tenel Ka. I’m so glad you’re all right!" He was held off by Tenel Ka’s arm. She poked him in the chest, and everybody in the room could feel her white-hot anger.

"Father. You sold out. You sold out to the Decepticons, and you sold out to her." Tenel Ka pointed to the former Queen Mother. "I can still feel Mother. Where is she?" The warrior Jedi walked right up to the visibly nervous Ta’a Chume and bent down in order to look her grandmother in the eyes. "You betrayed the Hapes consortium! How could you? To ally with the Decepticons is, is-" Tenel Ka stopped speaking as she felt a distinctly mechanical presence in the shadows behind the throne. Ta’a Chume motioned to the emerging Starscream. "It’s quite simple, child. It was either surrender, or watch all 63 planets in the Hapes Cluster be destroyed."

The Decepticon laughed in a high-pitched tone. "HA! Pathetic fools, the might of the Decepticon Empire shall triumph over your insignificant little republic." Tenel Ka looked up at him. In one fluid motion she unclipped her lightsaber from her lizard-armor and activated it. She threw it full force at Starscream and impaled him hilt-deep in his chest. Fuel and smoke spurted from the wound as the seeker stumbled and fell back, clutching at his chest.

Ta’a Chume stood up out of her throne. "Fool! You’ll kill us all!" Tenel Ka took one look at her grandmother-and slugged her right in the face. Isolder rushed to grab his mother from falling backward, while his daughter turned back to her friends. Her lightsaber slid itself out of Starscream’s still moving body and levitated right into her hand. Isolder shouted at her. "You have just killed your people!" Mara, silent through the entire exchange, chuckled. "Leia sure was lucky to avoid that loser."

The five Jedi raced down the throne room to the door, lightsabers ignited. Luke swung and sliced a hole in the door leading outside. He stepped through, but tripped on the way out. That saved his life when several laser blasts zipped by where his head was. Jacen unholstered his blaster and took aim, downing several human guards on the balcony overhead. His danger sense flashed into overdrive when a large duranium door slowly slid open. Jaina pointed and shouted. "I recognize that Decepticon. He’s their leader." Sure enough, Megatron, flanked by two hunter seekers, stepped out. His eyes flashed in anger as he strode to the Jedi. Luke and Mara stood firm, lightsabers humming.

Megatron looked down at the husband and wife. "Who are you to challenge Megatron? It is the destiny of the Decepticons to rule the stars!" He pointed his fusion cannon at Luke and Mara. "We will not be stopped."

Mara looked Megatron square in the eye. "We are not to be ruled by some malfunctioning droid with delusions of grandeur! We are free people, and will fight you to the death." Luke shook his head. "I’ve seen petty tyrants like you come and go. They all fell, sooner or later. Evil will never triumph." Megatron looked aghast and stepped back. "I’m not evil! I bring order and stability to the galaxy. Your New Republic was in danger of collapsing in almost the same fashion as the old one." Jaina stepped forward. "That’s not true! We were stabilizing. We learned from previous mistakes."

One of the seekers, the blue jet Thundercracker, spoke up. "Actually, I don’t think so. Your bureaucracy has been completely paralyzed. Already, it was simply too large. As a result, it was ridiculously easy to move in and take over." He looked pained as he paused, then started speaking again. "Perhaps it is for the best that you surrender, to avoid unnecessary killing." The other seeker looked at Thundercracker. "What the slag is wrong with you? They’re our enemy, they deserve to die!" With that, he raised his arm and began firing red-hued laser bolts. Luke and Mara somersaulted back out of the way as Megatron turned to the seeker. "I’ll deal with you later!" He swiftly hopped up and began transforming. His legs latched together and retracted into his body, and his entire torso and arms began rotating to join together. Jaina stared in fascination, as several laws of physics were broken. I’m not seeing this! Megatron shrank in size, and dropped comfortably into Thundercracker’s outstretched right hand. The seeker wielded Megatron’s pistol form with ease, and fired off several blasts, tearing holes in the duracrete floor and walls like they were paper.

Tenel Ka ran toward Thundercracker, lightsaber brandished. She leaped up toward him, using the Force to increase her leg strength. She slashed at his face-only to be hit in the back by an ion cannon shot from Starscream. Blue electricity arced over her body as she hung there for an eternity. Then she fell like a rock.

Jacen ran. He ran faster than he ever ran before. He got under Tenel Ka as she was dropping while Luke, Mara and Jaina held off the Decepticons. He slowed her body down with the Force, all the while pleading with the fates that she live. She impacted, and nearly knocked him down. Jacen lowered Tenel Ka to the ground. She was still alive! Isolder ran out of the throne room. "My daughter! What have I done!" He knelt at her still-breathing form and wept. Starscream stumbled up to them, smoke still emanating from his wound. "Step aside, Isolder. I want to finish the job!"

Megatron leapt out of Thundercracker’s hand and transformed back to robot mode. He shouted. "Don’t, you fool!" He looked up at the soldiers still on the balcony. "Get her into a bacta tank, now." He strode forward as Luke, Mara and Jaina clustered around Tenel Ka’s barely moving form. Mara snarled. "Back off, now!" Megatron looked them over. "I will not kill her, but I ask you a favor in return. Leave the Hapes Cluster and leave Decepticon territory. Otherwise, she will die." Isolder stood up and moved toward the Decepticon. "How dare you! This is my daughter we are talking about, and you will help her!" The Decepticon leaned down and pointed his fusion cannon at Isolder. "Silence, human. It would be…unwise to anger me." He looked at the Jedi. "What say you, humans?"

Jacen stood. "At least let me stay with her. Please?" Luke shook his head in protest. "No. It’s too dangerous. I-" Then the Jedi master saw the pain in Jacen’s eyes. He looked up at Megatron. "Agreed. We will leave, but mark my words. We will not tolerate this oppressive regime. In time, you will lose." One of the locked doors opened, and a team of medical personnel rushed over to Tenel Ka. They quickly, but gently moved her onto a repulsor-lift sled. Jacen walked over to her and took her hand. He looked at Luke: his master, Mara: his friend, and Jaina: his sister. "Goodbye. I’ll see you again." His gaze drifted up to Megatron. "That is a promise!"

Luke watched his nephew walk out of the courtyard. Megatron chuckled. "Such sentimental nonsense." He looked down at Luke. "You will be escorted to the landing pad inside the palace. There, you will leave Decepticon airspace." Luke extinguished his lightsaber, and turned to the now-arriving escort. He nodded to Mara and Jaina. "Let’s go." He said. The two women fell in behind him and silently walked to the palace’s landing pad surrounded by a dozen female soldiers. They entered an elevator that took them a half-kilometer up. They got off walked over to a Majestic-class Diplomatic shuttle. Mara walked around the sleek craft. "Nice lines. I bet its hyperdrive is what, a class one?" The escort promptly turned around and marched back to the elevator, never saying a word. Jaina watched them go. She reached out with the force, but could feel no danger. She pressed the door control, and the hatch slid open. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Mara sat down in the pilot’s chair, while Jaina took co-pilot. She started up the engines and checked the navi-computer. She wasn’t surprised to see it was pre-programmed to take them straight to Yavin IV. "Do you think you could re-program the navi-computer, Jaina?" Jaina looked up, surprised. "No way. They’re probably monitoring the shuttle’s flight path, and I’m not endangering my brother!" With that, she swiveled her chair around to check the sensor array, but to also hide the tears that were threatening to stream down her face.

The shuttle lifted off Hapes and quickly reached the Transitory Mists. It flew through the hazy corridor and left the Hapes Consortium. Jaina looked back and sent her brother a message. I’ll be back, Jacen. I promise you that.

Mara looked over at Jaina, wondering why she was trying to stifle a laugh. She shook her head. Some people were simply too strange for words. She pulled back the hyperdrive activation levers, and the shuttle entered hyperspace in a bright flash of light.

Luke sat in the cabin, meditating. He could not get the past week and a half out of his mind. His sister was dead. Hell, half his family was dead. The New Republic that he fought so hard for was in tatters. He wasn’t sure what was left….

He found himself on Tattooine, his homeworld. In the distance he saw what appeared to be large rocks, but they flew like starfighters. He recognized Decepticon seeker jets fighting them off, but they were outnumbered four to one. In the foreground he spotted humanoid warriors with what appeared to be eels. They were being slaughtered by Decepticon vehicles-or were those Decepticons transformed into vehicles? It was almost impossible to tell sometimes.

Tenel Ka struggled. The parallel bars in front of her seemed so…distant. A nurse beside her helped her up, and Tenel Ka took her first steps in almost three months. Clamped to her legs were durasteel braces that supported her weight, and controlled the actual muscular movement. They were physically anchored to her at her knees, ankles and waist, and connected to the base of her spine. Without them, Tenel Ka couldn’t even get out of bed.

Jacen stood by, more for moral support than for anything else. He sent Tenel Ka encouraging thoughts through the Force, but wouldn’t dare aid her physically. Tenel Ka glanced at him for a moment, then turned away before he caught the shame in her eyes. She breathed in deeply, then pushed herself forward-with two hands. The proud warrior had finally relented and had gotten a mechanical arm to replace the one she lost in an accident so many years ago. She started moving forward, taking small steps and inching forward. The nurse was right there in case she fell.

Who knew that such a common action was so difficult? Tenel Ka could hardly believe it. The nurse kept saying encouraging words, but she paid her no mind. The Jedi concentrated on her legs, moving them forward. After an eternity, she reached the end and sagged down in relief. Jacen quickly moved to her side. "That was great!" He said. He helped Tenel Ka into another wheelchair at the end of the parallel bars and wheeled her up to the nurse. "This is just the first step, but it’s a big one. Keep doing those leg strengthening exercises and you’ll be fine." Tenel Ka nodded silently, and was wheeled out of the therapy room.

Jacen pushed her down the hospital corridor, all the while talking in order to fill up the silence. Finally they reached her room. Jacen helped his love up into a standing position. She grabbed onto a strap and swung herself into bed. Jacen stood by. "Will you be all right?"

"Yes. And, thank you my friend. Your support means more to me than I can put into words." Jacen’s cheeks turned crimson in embarrassment. He bowed melodramatically, took Tenel Ka’s right hand and kissed it. Then the young Jedi turned and left her alone with her thoughts-and a datapad full of schematics on Decepticon technology. Being the heir to the Hapes Consortium did have certain advantages, after all.

*****

Yavin IV was once the home to the Rebel Alliance. Now, 25 years later, it served as the home for the remnants of the New Republic’s military and government. Over one thousand Mon Calamari Star Cruisers and other ships orbited the moon, while a battered group tried to regroup and take the fight back to the ‘Cons.

Planetside, a large construction droid worked tirelessly rebuilding the Great Temple. Its arms sifted through the rubble, fitting pieces together that were large enough, and grinding down the smaller rubble into even smaller pieces. X-wings and E-wings buzzed about in patrol while soldiers trained in the courtyard.

Kyp Durron watched this from one of the buildings adjacent to the Great Temple’s ruins. He sat with Mara Jade discussing strategy for a counter-offensive. A holo-emitter on the table showed the galaxy at the moment. A large red splotch in the middle showed Decepticon territory, while the edge was partially ringed with blue, indicating New Republic territory. Mara pointed to an area. "Any word from the Wookiees?" Kyp shook his head. "They’ve been blockaded for weeks. Kashyyyk is slowly being starved into submission." He growled his head in disgust, then studied his friend. Dark circles lined her eyes, and her jumpsuit was wrinkled and threadbare.

"When’s the last time you got sleep? You look awful." Mara shot him a poisonous look. "Listen, boy. We’ve got a bunch of droids who fashion themselves empire builders. Sleep is not an option!" Both Jedi then shouted, "Enter!" when they felt a familiar presence outside the room. The door swung open, and Luke Skywalker walked in.

He sat down at the table and handed his wife a cup of hot chocolate. "Thanks." She said. Luke pointed at the map. "How’s it look?" Kyp grimaced. "We’ve lost almost all our major shipyards and 85% of our fleet. Mon Calamari’s been attacked five times, and it takes longer to recover from the damage each time." He looked down. "I’d recommend an aggressive strategy, but with what? Their fleet’s about 50 times our size now and growing."

Luke thought for a second. "The only thing I can think of is to split the fleet up and scatter it to the four corners of the galaxy, and assign each group its own ‘hunting preserve’. It’ll be years before we can launch a successful counter-offensive." Mara smiled at that. "A return to the Rebel Alliance? It sounds almost quaint." She checked her chronometer. "I’ve got a meeting with Talon Karrde in 10 minutes. I’ll see you boys later, okay?" Luke and Kyp nodded as Mara got up and left the room. Kyp leaned back and whistled. "Boy, it’s a good thing you married Mara when you did. Otherwise, she might be Mrs. Mara Durron today." Kyp chuckled-until he was shoved back by a force shove from Luke. The brash Jedi tumbled out of his chair and rolled until he hit the stone wall with a thunk. Luke got up and walked over to Kyp, who was still lying there, stunned. "Don’t mess with my wife, Kyp. You’ve never seen me while in the grasp of the Dark Side, and trust me, you don’t want to." And with that, the Jedi Master walked out. Leaving a very confused Kyp Durron still lying in a heap.

*****

Deep in the forest of Yavin IV lay the battered wreck of the Millennium Falcon. Jaina Solo and her friend, the Wookiee Lowbacca had found the wreck a week after Jaina had returned from the Hapes Consortium. She grimly buried her father and Lowbacca’s uncle, Chewbacca in a funeral attended only by a dozen people. Over the next two and a half months, the two tirelessly worked on the ship, determined to see the freighter once more fly again.

It was difficult work, to say the least. Ramjet’s attack and subsequent crash had split the ship almost in two, and spare parts for a YT-1300 CEC freighter were hard to come by. Still, the two persevered. Slowly, the battered ship came together. It was during a marathon work session when Jaina felt somebody outside. She shouted at Lowbacca. "I’ll be outside if you need me." The Wookiee growled an affirmative, then went back to work fixing the upper quad-laser gunwell.

Jaina exited the Falcon and saw who was waiting outside, Lando Calrissian. The con artist flashed a smile at the young woman and bowed. "My dear lady, it’s good to see you." Jaina giggled and smiled for the first time in weeks. "Lando! It’s good to see you." She stopped when she sensed Lando’s unease. "What is it?" Lando, an old friend of Jaina’s father, looked down in anger as he spoke. "I’m sorry to tell you this, but those blasted ‘Cons were able to capture the Corellian System. Worse, they got Centerpoint Station." Jaina swore a blue streak: Centerpoint Station was a massive space station in the Corellian System. It was able to cause stars to go nova.

Lowbacca emerged from the other side of the Falcon. He stopped and barked a greeting at Lando and shook his hand. The Wookiee inquired about how the war was going, and Lando told him the same thing he told Jaina. Lowbacca howled in anger at his words. Jaina ran over to him and grabbed him. "Hey, hey! Calm down, you walking carpet." She managed to calm her friend down, then turned to Lando. Since you’re here. Want a tour?" The gambler agreed, and spent the next 20 minutes touring the repairs Jaina and Lowbacca had been able to complete. He noted that the hull was sealed, but the engines were still not welded back into position. The dorsal laser cannons were mostly intact, but the ventral cannons were completely sheared off in the crash. Still, he noted, the pair had done some amazing work in short time.

After the tour, Jaina got the trio something to eat from the newly repaired food prep unit. She set the tray down on a table in the Falcon’s crew lounge. Lowbacca poked at the food. Jaina sat down next to Lando and promptly dug in. She took two bites and swallowed them down without even pausing. Satisfied, Lando and Lowbacca dug into their food. Lowbacca asked Lando what was next for him. He shrugged. "I’m not really sure. I’m not enlisting back in the military because, quite frankly there isn’t much left." He looked at Jaina. "What about you? After the Falcon’s fixed, what do you intend to do?"

Jaina thought for a second, her face getting darker by the moment. "I will take this ship, and I will fight the Decepticons." She stood up. "I will avenge my father, my mother and brother. I will personally destroy the seeker droid who shot down this freighter, and I won’t stop until Megatron’s head is on my mantle!" She glanced down and saw both men looking at her like she had grown two heads. She sat down and leaned forward, resting her head on her hands. "Sorry. I get that way sometimes." Lando shrugged. "I’m feeling the same way you are, Jaina. I think we all are."

*****

On the edge of the galaxy lay the Helska system. For millennia there was absolutely nothing remarkable about this system-until a large asteroid like ship approached the fourth world. On board that ‘worldship’ were the Yuuzhan Vong, an alien species from a neighboring galaxy. Countless years ago, they destroyed their homeworld. Now they claimed this galaxy as their own.

The worldship began to slow down as large, fleshy lumps known as dovin basils projected an artificial gravity field in front of the ten-kilometer wide worldship. It slowed down; eventually landing with a splosh as it hit the ice-covered ocean. The ship began to sink down as the dovin basils on the opposite side of the impact zone manipulated gravity to push the rock down, until it, and the 5,000 Yuuzhan Vong aboard were submerged.

Deep in the heart of the worldship was a creature known as a yammosk. The organism resembled a large jellyfish, with two black eyes and numerous tentacles connecting it to the worldship. Off to one side of the massive yammosk sat Prefect Da’gara, leader of the initial invasion force. I front of the hulking warrior was what appeared to be a lump of flesh. He stroked it, and the lump reshaped itself into a head. Da’gara spoke. "My lord, we have landed in the infidel’s galaxy. However, reports indicate that the abominations they created now run the galaxy." The head, which was an organic communications device, spoke. "So, the infidels are conquered by their own heresy. I expected more from them than that." The head looked down for a moment, then back up. "We will be sending more worldships under Malik Carr. Be prepared for the next phase of our plan." With that, the head folded in on itself, reverting back to a fleshy lump. Da’gara quickly got up and headed for the yammosk. Time was short, and soon the Yuuzhan Vong would sweep through this galaxy and woe to the infidels and their accursed abominations, the Deecipticons.