Orbiting the planet Ilum was the Vindicator. Commander Cravern was overseeing operations on the ship's bridge. On Ilum's surface, Republic soldiers were prepping the planetary base for battle, in case the Shadow's Hand found them. Anti-aircraft turrets, Republic walkers, and hundreds of soldiers filled the base. To the northeast of the base was a seemingly abandoned Jedi enclave. But on the inside, the enclave was very much alive. Five Jedi Knights were at the enclave, assessing the situation.
Master Vysalia, a green-skinned Mirialan, was in command. Her Padawan, Trayko, stood at her side. Trayko was a male human. With them were Jedi Knights Azaran, Ezrani, and Adyrin, all women. Adyrin was human, Azaran was a feline-like Cathar with light brown fur, and Ezrani was mostly human. Her species was called Miraluka; naturally Force-sensitive humans born without eyesight. Miraluka relied on the Force to sense their surroundings. Ezrani had her eyes completely covered with a brown piece of cloth.
Master Vysalia was observing a holoterminal that was emitting an image of the Republic base.
"We still haven't heard from Master Sykon's Padawan," she said to the others. "I fear Tylin may have been lost during the Hand's assault on Shola."
"I know Tylin," said Adyrin. "We trained together in the Temple for a long time, until I passed the Trials. I doubt he's been killed."
"I hope you're right," commented Ezrani. "We will need all the help we can get to defeat the Hand."
"Trust in the Force, my friends," said Azaran. "We will stop Darth Savek and his followers."
Suddenly, a shrill beeping noise came from the holoterminal. The holographic image of the Republic command base shifted to an image of the entire planet, and five large warships emerging from hyperspace on the edge of the system. The largest of the five ships was flashing red, identifying it as the Shadow's Fist.
"They're here," murmured Trayko. "We need to assemble our troops immediately."
"Agreed," replied Master Vysalia. "Get to your ships and get board our reinforcement frigates when they get here."
....
Back on board the Vindicator, Commander Cravern had seen the Shadow's Fleet come out of hyperspace. They were barely within range. Despite this, the enemy fleet began to open fire on them from a distance, trying to scare them.
"Sir," called an ensign to Cravern. "The Hand is firing at us... Turbolasers, missiles, and what looks like transport pods. I'm not sure."
"The pods are a distraction," replied Cravern. "Return fire. Try to aim for their power generators. As long as they're damaged and we're not, we still have the advantage. Also, contact Supreme Chancellor Saresh on Coruscant. Tell her we need immediate reinforcements."
The ensign nodded, and got to work on his orders. Moments later, sections of the ship began to shake violently. Modified escape pods with knife-like points jammed through the walls from outside the ship. The points opened up, and Hand boarding troops started pouring out into the hallways.
"Commander," said the ensign. "Engineering is reporting blaster fire. They just cut out."
Commander Cravern turned to a Republic trooper by his side. "Sergeant Jekir," he said. "Take your squad down to engineering and clear it out. Kill all enemy forces you encounter."
The tan-skinned Zabrak trooper Sergeant Jekir nodded. He put on his helmet, wearing a white and dark blue trooper's armor. "We're on it," he replied with a salute. He grabbed his blaster rifle, which was leaning against a nearby terminal, and ran out of the bridge to reach the engineering deck.
"Raise the forward deflector shields," Cravern said to the rest of the crew. "We need to be prepared in case that hypervelocity cannon fires again like it did at Shola."
....
Sergeant Jekir and his squad made their way through the hallways, killing every single Hand soldier they found on their way to the engineering deck. Once there, Jekir and his men found enemy troops setting up baradium detonators on key systems.
"If those systems go down," he said to his squad. "The whole ship goes down with 'em. We'll be completely defenseless. They're setting up bombs on the engine cooling tanks, the shield generator, the life support system, and the auto-defense mainframe. We need to disarm those bombs. Move it, boys!"
Jekir's squad nodded, and split into groups, moving throughout the engineering deck. Blaster fire started erupting from all directions. The air became thick with the smell of tibanna gas from the blasters. One by one, the Hand infiltrators fell dead. In the midst of the fighting, Jekir's squadmates went to work on disabling the bombs while the others covered their backs.
Jekir found one baradium detonator attached to the auto-defense mainframe. The auto-defense mainframe controlled the Republic droids inside the Vindicator, as well as the ship's turbolaser defenses.
"Corporal Gentar," Jekir called to one of his men. "Cover me while I get to work on this thing."
Corporal Gentar, a Cathar, crouched next to Jekir behind a supply crate, firing back at the Hand troopers. Suddenly, Gentar was shot in the shoulder. He fell backwards, his breath knocked out of him. Jekir looked up, trying to find the shooter. He spotted a man across the room wielding a sniping blaster. Before Jekir had a chance to raise his rifle and fire back, the sniper shot him in the chest. Jekir felt a burning sensation in his chest and he too, fell backwards. He started to lose feeling in his chest and arms.
The Hand sniper approached Jekir and Gentar, aided by two Hand troopers. The sniper's outfit was all black; the vest, pants, gloves, boots, and helmet covered him completely. The troopers with him looked nothing like the others. One wore a black and gray suit, with silver shoulderplates and a sling carrying blaster power cells stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip. His helmet only revealed his eyes, and included a rebreather which filtered out toxic or hazardous air. Judging from what little of his face could be seen, the man was probably a pale gray-skinned Rattataki.
The second trooper accompanying the sniper was really not a Hand trooper at all. He wore large, dusty brown and pale gray armor, with twin blaster pistols holstered to his belt. His shoulderplates stuck out almost a foot, and his boots thumped as he walked. The man was armored head to toe, and his helmet had a tall crest that stood a foot up. On the left side of his helmet was a metal rod, which was a thermal scanner. On the helmet's other side was a circular rangefinder. The helmet's visor was in a thin T-shape, just big enough to see out of. The man appeared to be a Mandalorian.
In a low, rugged voice, the Mandalorian looked down at Jekir and Gentar and said, "Your lives are over. The Shadow's Hand will have totally destroyed the Hammer of Light after today."
Jekir looked over at Gentar, struggling to breathe. Gentar was motionless.
"Your leaders will fall," continued the Mandalorian. "And like you, they will remember this as their last day." The Mandalorian pulled out one of his blaster pistols, and finished off Jekir.
....
The bridge doors suddenly exploded, bursting them wide open. The crew of the bridge started to panic. Red blaster bolts came streaking into the room from the outside hallway. Hand troopers stormed the bridge, killing most of the crew as they did. Commander Cravern picked up an autocannon, which was essentially a minigun blaster. He opened fire on the enemy troopers, spraying green plasma bolts all over the room. He managed to kill off most of the Hand troops, but more and more waves of them kept entering the room.
At the back of the room, Lord Solvus entered the bridge, lightsaber in hand. He had his hood up, which partly covered his eyes. Solvus looked around the room. He saw Commander Cravern firing wildly at the Hand troopers. Solvus took a slight step back, then made a Force-augmented leap towards Cravern from across the room. When he came down, Solvus brought his lightsaber down on Cravern's autocannon, slicing the end of the barrel clean off. The jolt of the saber strike made Cravern drop the remainder of the autocannon, and he raised his hands as if to surrender. Solvus pointed his lightsaber directly at Cravern's face, glaring coldly at him. Cravern eyeballed the blade's tip, giving off intense heat right in his face.
"Hello there," said Solvus in a menacing tone. "You and I are going to have a chat..."
....
On the Shadow's Fist, Tylin was wide awake in his holding cell, no longer chained to a standing table. The cell's laser gate was closed, virtually impenetrable. A guard stood outside the cell, silently watching him. Tylin stood up slowly, approaching the guard from his side of the laser gate. The guard stood still, not reacting at all.
Tylin gazed at him. "You will open this cell," he said. "And bring me to my lightsaber."
The guard took a step forward. "What did you just say?" he asked threateningly.
Tylin took a deep breath and calmly repeated, "You will open this cell and take me to my lightsaber." He waited a moment.
The guard briefly shifted his stance, then said, "I will open this cell and take you to your lightsaber." He pressed a few buttons on a control pad on the wall. The laser gate shut off, and Tylin stepped into the hallway. "Follow me," said the guard. He turned to his left and walked down the hall. Tylin followed closely.
They stopped at the end of the hall at a blast door. The guard pressed a button on the wall next to the door, and it slid open.
"The confiscated items locker," said the guard. "Your lightsaber should be in there."
"Thank you," replied Tylin. He waved his hand in front of the guard's face, and he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Tylin stepped into the locker, looking around. He found one end of his saberstaff sticking out of a storage container. He grabbed it, and hooked it onto his belt, leaving the room.
A few minutes later, Tylin found the ship's escape pod launch bay. He got inside one of the pods, closing the hatch behind him. Tylin sat in the pilot's seat, and launched the escape pod. He flew out, away from the Fist. He headed for the Vindicator in the distance.
....
On the bridge of the Fist, Darth Savek, Darth Braviss, and Admiral Senoru were watching the battle in space.
"Things are progressing far better than I'd anticipated," said Admiral Senoru with a grin. "Soon, we'll be holding the enemy by their throats."
Lord Tyro and Lord Zukamari approached Darth Savek.
"Father," Tyro began. "Our mission to Tatooine has failed. The Jedi slipped through our fingers."
"Sir," said a security officer as he came up directly behind Savek. "Cell block 223-C is showing an open cell... It's the Padawan's cell, my lord."
Savek turned around to face Tyro and the security officer. He rapidly pulled out his lightsaber and activated it, stabbing the security officer in the stomach in one swift stroke. With the red blade sizzling through the man's stomach, Savek glared at his face for a long, silent moment.
He yanked his lightsaber out of the officer's stomach, and deactivated it. "Someone jettison this miserable whelp out the airlock... As for you, my son, a chance to prove yourself may yet come."