John and the LAATs flew over the walls of the city as the soldiers busted down the gates. They were coming from every side, and the humans couldn't do anything about it. Even their mages were pushed back.
As they pushed all who surrendered towards the center of the city, John's interceptor hovered in the air.
"Commander Indigo, have the LAATs land in groups of 2. Surround the buildings they're heading into."
Indigo's LAAT and the one Dex was in landed, followed by the others landing.
The clones poured out of the LAATs as soldiers surrounded the buildings and began to patrol through the city.
The people inside the building watched from the windows. "What do we do?"
"We wait them out." An elf spoke. "If we do that, they'll leave."
The someone else spoke up, quieting the crowd. "They won't leave. The emperor came, meaning this is an important incursion. We'll be lucky if we keep our lives."
They looked at the man who spoke. He had short white hair and wore black and gray armor.
"What do you know?"
"Yeah!"
The man stood up and walked over to the group at the windows. "That man killed my grandfather."
"And he'll kill you too, Arthur Wall."
Arthur turned to see who said that and tilted his head a bit.
"Who are you?" He was staring at a group of people in white robes and white masks. They each had lightsabers on their waists and numbered twelve strong.
"I am the Je'daii Horoc." He bowed slightly. His lightsaber, unlike the others, had a golden ring in its center. His mask also had a golden line down its center. "I believe he is here for us."
"If you would keep everyone inside, I would like to go out and speak with him."
Arthur nodded as Horoc walked passed him and opened the giant doors of the building, allowing the sky's light to brighten the room before the doors closed behind him.
As he walked out, he removed his hood and his mask. Horoc watched the interceptor land and John climb out of it.
John walked up to him and waited for him to speak. Horoc was blind in both eyes and had a burn across his face.
"I'm the Je'daii Horoc." He bowed as he spoke.
John folded his arms. "I'm Emperor Thane, and Dark Lord of the Sith."
Horoc laughed. "No you're not. Emperor, yes. Dark Lord? No. I've met him. Next to him you're nothing. It's actually why we came here."
"Is that why your Je'daii attacked me?" John asked.
Horoc shook his head. "When we crashed we were followed by three Sith Warriors trained directly by the Dark Lord. They killed three of my men and took their clothing. That's who you killed."
"When I sensed your presence on this world, I believed we could help each other." Horoc waited for John, who motioned for him to continue.
"I believe that, if you were to allow us to use this world as a base, we could-together-take down the Dark Lord."
John at that point sighed, but showed interest in the offer. "What's in it for me?"
Horoc smiled. "You can take over this world and the few around it, have the title of Dark Lord, and we will not mess with you."
"What makes you think I won't be worse than the one you're speaking of?"
Horoc continued to smile. "I am shown visions by both sides of the Force, but I only believe the ones that show the best in people." He stretched out his hand and waited for John. "Do we have an accord?"
John thought for a moment. "How much gold do you have? We don't have any large spacefaring technology, but with the right amount-"
Horoc nodded. "We have no gold. We do however have information about a giant store of it."
John lifted his head a bit. "Tell me where it is, and you have yourself a deal." He extended his hand.
Horoc took it and shook it once. "It's in the Union's Vault."
John pulled his hand away from Horoc. "This is strange behavior for a Je'daii."
Horoc shook his head. "The ones that split from us caused a war that killed millions. I'd say this isn't that strange. After all, Sith and Jedi have teamed up in the past. Why shouldn't we?"
John then began walking back to the interceptor before he turned around. "If your lying, Horoc, I don't care how strong you are. I will kill you."
He climbed into the interceptor and looked at Horoc one last time before he took off. The soldiers and clones also left.
Arthur walked out, along with the other Je'daii. "What did you say?"
Horoc smiled. "I promised a leader gold, and he promised us a home."
Arthur smiled. "So you got this place out of his hands."
Horoc smiled at Arthur as he laid his hand on his shoulder and put his mask back on. "When I say us, I mean my fellow Je'daii, not the inhabitants of this world. You all are definitely going to end up under the banner of the Sith Empire. Either as a citizen, or part of the mountain it's plants it's flag. Why he's pulling his forces out, I'm not sure."
Horoc and the other Je'daii walked away as he waved at Arthur. "Good luck."
Arthur stood there as he saw the men waking away. 'This is where the Jedi originated from, grandfather? A selfish order from the stars?'
As John flew back to the temple, followed by the LAATs, Indigo spoke over the comms.
"General, is there a specific reason you just called off the incursion?"
"Yes, Commander. I've decided we'll attack the Union first."
"The Union? Sir, there's a reason we decided to go after the human kingdom." Indigo voiced his disapproval. "General, they're more advanced then the elves were. They could probably invade us at any time they want."
"Yet something stops them from doing that." John responded as he landed in the temple.
Indigo had his LAAT land next to him and jumped out as John climbed out of the interceptor.
"What would stop them sir?"
John removed his helmet. "Have 2 LAATs stay alongside the soldiers as they make their way back to their specific cities."
He walked passed indigo but stopped. "The Abyss, commander. They don't have technology that can cross it."
"And we do?"
John smiled as he rubbed an LAAT. "We have these."
As John walked into the hall of the temple, he could hear lightsabers clashing.
He walked through as he enters a hall where the twins were dueling. One wore the white robes John left and the other wore the black robes.
Indigo ran up beside John. "General, I've been with you since the beginning. Dex has as well. I've got to say I do not like this plan. The only things we know about the Union is they are a conglomerate of multiple species, they are highly advanced, and now they have something you want."
"We have no idea where it is, the geography of their territory, or if the ships can even cross the Abyss!"
At this point the twins turned and looked at John as he stood their listening to Indigo.
John smiled and grabbed Indigo's shoulder. "That's why I'll be taking the twins with me. Fain will be in charge of the assault once I order it."
"You plan on crossing the Abyss alone?" Indigo was shocked, but didn't remove his helmet.
John nodded. "Yes. We'll have Cueball fly us and it will only be the three of us. I'll keep communications up as we are sure they don't knew we're there."
The twins had walked over at that point and both asked the same question. "How do we make sure they don't detect us?"
John smiled. "We fly really high, and jump out, hoping we're strong enough in the force to survive the landing."