Prolouge: Skirmish Over Ossus, Seven Years Ago
250 years After the Battle of Yavin (ABY)
The ships came out of hyperspace without warning, emerging in orbit around Ossus below the orbital defenses. The original defenses had been constructed in 167 ABY by order of then-Jedi Grandmaster Cade Skywalker. They were replaced with new, automated defense stations after the original defenses' destruction in 208 ABY by a fleet of Imperious-class Star Destroyers on the orders of then-Emperor Sombra during the opening phases of the Third Galactic Civil War. Since that war's end in 210 ABY, the stations had been nearly deactivated on a number of occasions.
Now they proved their worth once more. Alarms went off as the ships opened fire on the orbital defenses. On the planet below, Jedi fighter aces clambered into their heavily modified and updated but aging X-83 Twintail starfighters, taking off and heading straight towards the hostile ships.
In her chambers, Jedi Grandmaster Celestia raised her head as she sensed a presence familiar to her - a former padawan that she had thought deceased for the past twelve years.
"Sunset Shimmer", she whispered to herself.
On board the Indomitable-class Star Destroyer Vengeance, Sith Lady Sunset Shimmer stood, looking out the bridge viewports at the unfolding battle. The Jedi's X-83 Twintails were streaking in, as the orbital defenses poured fire upon her quintet of ships. She waited, then turned to her commander, a battle-scarred Twil'ek.
"Release the fighters", she commanded.
"Yes, my lady." The commander turned, giving the necessary orders.
The hanger doors opened, and black and gray fighters spewed out. They were similar in appearance to the TIE/D Defender design that the Galactic Empire had utilized as part of its arsenal approximately two hundred and fifty years earlier, but with one immediately noticeable difference - they had four wings instead of three.
As the fighters engaged the Jedi starfighters, the attack on the orbital defenses began to take its toll. One of the stations had its shield generators fail, and explosions began to rock the structure. Another, its shield generators taken out in the first strike before it could respond, began to fall out of orbit, as explosions added downward momentum to its path.
Sunset smiled. Her knowledge of the defenses from her time as padawan to Jedi Grandmaster Celestia had paid off handsomely, and soon this section of the orbital defenses would crumble, making this early strike worth it, as she could decapitate the Jedi Order at a single stroke. The landing craft were ready, and after her squadron pounded the Temple into rubble, they would land and make sure that there were no survivors.
Then her smile turned into a snarl as sensors suddenly reported the arrival of a fleet of nineteen aged M140 Scythe-class cruisers. Reaching out with her force senses, Sunset detected that there was only one person onboard the lead ship, and no one on any of the others- they clearly had been heavily modified to be automated, just as the orbital defense stations were automated.
Even though they were outdated, the Scythes were still dangerous. Forty proton torpedo tubes, supported by nine turbolaser batteries and two ion cannon mountings were concentrated along the frontal hull and massive hammerhead, creating a 'cross of fire'. As her ships reacted to the new threat, the Scythes began to pound them.
Her ships blew five up, and heavily damaged six more. But the Scythes took a harsh toll - one of her ships exploded into fragments of wreckage, and the other three were being heavily battered. Her ship was taking hits of its own along with the rest.
Sunset whipped around. "Enact Protocol Traceless and jump to lightspeed NOW!!"
"But my lady, we don't have time to do the hyperspace calculations, and our ships-"
"NOW!!!"
The Vengeance blindly jumped into hyperspace.
At that precise moment, all of Sunset's remaining ships detonated, Star Destroyers and starfighters alike vanishing into blossoming fireballs.
There were no survivors.
On the planet below, Celestia felt the sudden surge of pain in the Force as the ships died.
She keyed instructions into the pad that controlled the personal holoprojector in her room. A Duros, whose insignia proclaimed his rank of Admiral, appeared.
"Report, Admiral Dar Stazi."
"A squadron of ships of unknown origin attacked the orbital defenses. They deployed a type of fighter that we haven't seen before. When I jumped into the battle, the ships fought back with determination. I lost five Scythes, and six more will need extensive repairs", the Jedi Admiral reported.
"And the simultaneous deaths?"
"One of the capital ships jumped to hyperspace. All the others exploded, including the fighters. We believe that they were equipped with suicide charges."
Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at the distant relation of the legendary Galactic Alliance Admiral Gar Stazi once more.
"Any indication of who attacked us?"
The Admiral shook his head. "We're analyzing the wreckage now, but the preliminary reports don't look promising."
Celestia bowed her head. "Thank you Admiral. Celestia out."
A Jedi Master as well as an Admiral, Dar Stazi ignited his lightsaber and flourished it in a formal salute before his holographic image faded out.
Celestia sat upon the floor once more, stretching out with all of her power through the force, looking for the presence that up until a few minutes ago she had thought blazed no longer in the galaxy.
Celestia sensed Sunset, but she was heading away rapidly, and the taste of anger and rage was unmistakeable - as was the darkness in her spirit.
Celestia sighed and opened her eyes, tears unshed glimmering in them. She thought of the bright, hopeful student that had been almost like the daughter she had never had to her.
"What happened to you, Sunset? And what will you do now?" she whispered to herself, mourning the person whose loss she regretted almost as much as the loss of her sister.
Somewhere in the Unknown Regions
A dark, cloaked figure spoke as it sat in a meditative position.
"So, Lady Sunset has failed me - just as I foresaw." A smile appeared on its face. "At least she knows enough to run, for I will offer her no mercy if she returns to me now."
The figure stood, its black robes glinting in the red lighting.
"And I wonder what my sister will think when she sees this countenance again", the figure stated as it threw back its hood, exposing a head of flowing, blue hair, with gleaming spots of white.
Lady Nightmare smiled again, her icy blue eyes piercing and cold. "I doubt that she will be expecting it."
Elsewhere in the Unknown Regions, some weeks later
Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes.
Wasting no time, she swiftly strode out into the hall, used the force to open the turbolift doors, and leaped up the shaft, not even attempting to wait for the car.
She used the Force once more, then strode onto the bridge.
"Emerge from hyperspace now, Commander."
The Twi'lek looked at her, about to protest. Then, seeing her merciless expression, he nodded, giving the necessary orders.
Sunset looked out as they emerged from hyerspace, seeing a planet with distinct oceans and continents.
"Any idea where we are, Commander?"
"No, milady. We're attempting to figure that out even as we speak."
Sunset looked out at the world again. "Deploy the landing transports now. And ready my shuttle for immediate departure."
The Twi'lek had learned long ago not to question a Sith. He had nearly violated that rule just now, and he wasn't about to do that again. "Yes, milady."
Four weeks later
Applejack stared in shock at the human woman who had just ignited a brilliant beam of red light and decapitated her parents.
Sunset turned and looked at the young, eight year old girl, who shivered at her gaze. She could sense, however, that this one was different from the other beings that she had encountered so far.
She could actually feel the girl through the force, for one thing - the other humans that she had met on this world had no midi-chlorians and could not sense the Force, nor be sensed through it.
The other, however, was that she could feel the anger and hate surging through this girl, and her eyes narrowed as she contemplated a previously unentertained possibility.
Yes, this one could do quite nicely, she thought to herself. A smile appeared on her face, a calculatingly cold grin that made the girl tremble more violently. Quite nicely indeed.
Chapter 1: Investigation and Assassination
257 ABY, Kuat
The door slid open noiselessly, allowing a dark shape to step through. The door closed, and the figure walked on silent feet.
Outside lay the remains of a number of security measures. Guard droids, hidden laser emplacements, scanners; all had been quietly and swiftly disabled.
Now the figure drew a metal knife, which was archaic to be sure, but had a significant advantage over a blaster or even a vibroblade: it was absolutely silent.
It stealthily walked over to the sleeping form that lay on the bed. That form was Darrick Shen, a dark-haired human that was in charge of Kuat's orbital shipyards. He slept deeply, enjoying his vacation at the luxury resort. He almost never was away from the Shipyards, so when he was, he always attended a resort known for the quality of its sleeping arrangements.
Now, however, his sleep was about to be terminated permanently. The dark shape walked to the side of the bed, and it readied its knife, then slashed at Darrick Shen's throat.
However, that deadly thrust was suddenly terminated by a purple lightsaber blade, which sliced the hand right off. The figure whirled around, and was confronted with a young human woman, dressed in a black cloak. Her violet eyes were focused on the failed assassin.
"Surrender."
The figure suddenly threw back its cloak, revealing a black, metallic body, which looked like a cross between the ancient HK-series assassin droids and the commando droids that the Seperatists had used nearly two hundred and eighty years prior. Its photoreceptors glowed a menacing shade of red, and the droid spoke.
"Negative, Jedi. Failure to accomplish my mission is not acceptable." A hidden compartment on its right thigh opened, and the droid drew the hidden vibroblade with its left hand, slashing at the Jedi as soon as the blade's tip cleared its hidden sheath.
The purple blade blocked, and a second lightsaber, concealed from view in the folds of the robe, leaped into her other hand, which ignited and cut off the droid's remaining hand, which clattered to the floor, the vibroblade still held in its grasp.
"You're wrong, droid. Surrender. Now." Her gaze never wavered from the droid for a moment.
"Denied." The droid suddenly leapt out through the apartment's window. Darrick Shen, startled awake by the noise, looked on with astonishment at the young woman standing next to the head of his bed, lightsabers drawn. "What-"
"I just saved your life from an assassination attempt. Awaken everyone else in the resort and leave as fast as you can. There's probably a backup team with orders to destroy the entire building."
"Who are you?"
"I am Twilight Sparkle, padawan to Jedi Grandmaster Celestia. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an assassin to catch." Before Darrick could say anything more, she turned and leaped out the shattered window, her cloak billowing behind her.
Two Hours Later
Applejack was sitting at the cantina bar, drinking a glass of juma juice. Her trusty blasters sat on her hips, their presence familiar and reassuring. She was infamous among custom officials of both the Empire and the Alliance, who cursed her ability to make a clean getaway, and to be present where she shouldn't be able to get into.
Like now, for example. Her presence on Kuat was a testimonial to her ability to just walk in right under the law's nose, without seeming to do a thing. Her straightforwardness was considered to be quite odd for one who had to lie on a routine basis, but her piloting skills were deemed to be legendary. Add to that her quick draw and unerring aim, and it was no wonder that the galactic underworld in hushed tones compared her to Han Solo before age had dulled his senses - and even then, he was faster to react and improvise than almost all his opponents.
However, while Han's history and achievements were still known close to two hundred years after his death, no one knew of her past, for her first emergence upon the galactic scene had been when she hijacked the Hutt freighter Boonta's Eve, which had a full load of glitterstem from the spice mines of Kessel, at the young age of thirteen.
That hijacking was still spoken of, some with anger, some with shock, but all spoke of it in tones of amazement.
For she had suddenly appeared, having somehow hidden aboard ship, and had strode onto the bridge, declaring that its crew and cargo were now hers. When she had been attacked in response, she drew her now famous pistols and mowed down the enforcers and the captain, and took control of the ship.
She went to Tatooine, and landed in Mos Eisley. She somehow managed to get an audience with Zora the Hutt, and sold the freighter and its valuable cargo. When she returned, she distributed the profits from the sale of the freighter and its cargo among the downtrodden crew before setting them loose from her control to do with their lives as they wished, earning her their grateful praises. She then vanished with the remainder of the profits, and when she next appeared, she was piloting her legendary light freighter Darkness's Bane.
That ship she had heavily upgraded over the years, and it bore a striking resemblance to Han Solo's Millennium Falcon, a fact invariably noted by those who compared her to him. However, the coloration was different, for while the Falcon in its time was various shades of grey, Darkness's Bane was a dark black.
But there was another side to her, one that was hidden from most. Her beautiful green eyes were often unsettling to look at, for they spoke of a hidden pain.
Now, however, Applejack attention was attracted to a figure cloaked in black. The being's face was hidden by a hood, but nevertheless Applejack felt that it was watching her.
She sauntered out onto the adjoining dark alleyway with deliberate casualness, and her suspicions were confirmed when she heard light footsteps following her. She whirled around, her blasters drawn with lightning quickness.
Only to be faced with a drawn lightsaber, its purple blade casting a purple glow onto the alley's walls.
"Who are you?"
"I am Twilight Sparkle." The figure threw back its hood, exposing a barely tanned face, framed by shoulder-length violet hair, which had two streaks of pink and purple running through its center.
Applejack quickly processed her name, vaguely recognizing it. "Aren't you-"
"The padawan of Jedi Grandmaster Celestia herself, I know." Twilight's violet eyes narrowed as she added, "And I know who you are, Applejack."
"What do you want with me?" Applejack demanded.
"I need a fast ship and its captain, one that isn't associated with the Jedi Order or the other members of the Triumvirate. The word is that you're surprisingly honest, considering your chosen occupation, and that you keep your word when you give it."
"What's the job?"
"Tracking an assassin droid's flight. You'll be paid, of course."
Applejack's eyes narrowed. "And if I don't accept?"
Twilight shrugged. "Then I turn you over to the Galactic Alliance authorities, who I'm sure would love to have the most famous smuggler in the galaxy go into early retirement inside of a maximum security jail cell."
Applejack looked at her, but there wasn't exactly a choice to be made. "Deal. When do we leave?"
"Now."
