The Winds of Change

[Trenton Vinh]

"Change is in the air, my students." said Tylera Bans, the Zeison Sha teacher, as she stood atop the cliff before her disciples.
The seven students were all standing behind their teacher, looking over the cliff at the jungle below. In the distance, a clearing could be seen, with several huts and houses puffing trails of smoke into the crystal blue sky.
"Can you feel it? It echoes through The Force, but change is nothing to fear, so long as you remain strong."

The Zeison Sha were a sect of Force-Users that resided on Yanibar, a nearly inhospitable world. Centuries ago, the Zeison Sha were Jedi that fled to this planet to escape the threat of the Sith. The planet's harsh conditions led them to become incredibly self-reliant, and independence was a very important trait in their warriors.
The main reason they had not returned to their Jedi roots, was because they did not believe Force-Sensitive children should be removed from their parents.
Because of this, Force-Users with no Force-Sensitive parents were given lessons on their abilities by a skilled teacher, as was the case with Tylera.
Children with Force-Sensitive parents were taught informally by their family.

Trenton Vinh and his best friend, Roth Fenix, had come to Yanibar during their nearly six year Exile from Republic space, to learn from these Force-Users in the hopes to better understand The Force in its true nature.
Over the years, the duo had explored a dozen worlds, each with Force-Sects that had completely different, and often opposing views.

Normally, their isolationist society would not take on students from offworld, like Roth and Trenton. However, Tylera, the wise and enigmatic teacher they were learning from, had been awaiting them when they landed nearby the settlement, and immediately offered to train them. She had yet to explain why.

"Young ones, you may travel home, but I ask that you split up and take different routes. The dangers of the jungle are many, but you are strong enough to handle them by yourselves. If you survive the trip home, you will have passed today's lesson. Dismissed."

Five students turned and dove from the cliff, disappearing into the trees below. Trenton sensed they all landed safely, and tracked them as they wound their way through the jungle towards the village.
Roth and Trenton had remained behind, having suspected that they had not been dismissed as well.
Their suspicions were proven correct, when Tylera turned to look at them with her dark gray eyes, made all the more striking due to her red-tinted skin. The twi'lek said, "You two have learned quickly. You have been by my side almost constantly for the past month, and there is little else I can teach you. Tomorrow morning, it is time for you to depart."

Trenton didn't react, and Roth asked, "Is something wrong, Tylera? I feel your pain, you cannot mask it from us."
Tylera sighed heavily, and dropped to her knees, then twisted onto her bottom, swinging her body so her legs dangled off the edge of the cliff.

"You two are the most powerful Force-Users I have ever met. Both of you radiate....destiny. You show no fear, and have never second-guessed any of my teachings. Your thirst for knowledge is incredible. I always wondered why, but I understand now why you came here."

Both men were silent, and Roth stepped forward, standing next to her at the edge of the cliff.
Trenton remained behind them, watching them as the pair stared off towards the horizon.
After a long moment of silence, the wind whistled once more, and Tylera said slowly,
"You both are searching for meaning. You were not meant to spend your lives as Jedi, nor were you destined to remain here. I feel your paths are different from other Force-Users. You long to understand The Force in all its aspects, you take in as many points of view as possible, and I suspect you already have a more thorough understanding of The Force's true nature than anyone else."

Trent said quietly, "We feel that adherence to a single ideal only limits one's potential. Not because we lust for more power, but because following one doctrine will eventually close the mind from all others. The Jedi, the Sith, The Zeison Sha, the Aing-Tii, the others we have learned from, they all seemed positive that their way is the only way. And that belief cut them off from one another, and it cut them off from experiencing The Force for what it truly is."

Roth said, "One of the few common threads in all the Force religions, was that they all believed the others inferior, or incorrect."

Tylera nodded, and said, "While my people were Jedi when they claimed this planet, we have learned to survive with what we have, and we have a unique way of looking at The Force because of it. But tell me, do you see my way of viewing The Force as flawed?"

Roth shook his head, "Following your heart is as important as tolerating other people's points of view. If it feels right to you, than it is right for you. Trenton and I...we just haven't found the Force Religion that feels right. The Jedi felt right to me for most of my childhood...but now, I often ask myself if I was only fooling myself all along."

Trent added, "Often times, we ignore the flaws and focus on what we want to believe is right and best."

Tylera lowered her head and looked at the jungle below them, teeming with life, "The Force does not need to be made into an ideal. It is just so."
Roth replied, "It seems to me, that all the Force-Sects have some clues to the true nature of The Force, yet none seem to have it just right. Somehow, it is as if all have lost their way. Maybe by trying to classify it, they have only narrowed their ability to see it in its whole."

Tylera said again, "I sometimes wonder if The Force has a plan, if it...plans out everyone's destiny, or if by manipulating it the way we do, we create that destiny for ourselves."

Trenton said, "I think it is a touch of both. The Force is the opportunity, it is up to us to grasp it, or to let it pass us by. We are presented with many decisions, and these decisions influence everything in the universe around us. I do not think the Force consciously decides who will live, who will die, and what will happen to everyone. It is up to us to walk the path, The Force is what will light our way."
Tylera responded, "But do you think The Force pushes us in one direction or another? Has it not created the very path we tread?"

Roth shrugged, "Both questions bear the same answer. We create the path by making the decisions, but The Force creates it by giving us the opportunities to make it. The Force pushes us in the direction we choose to go, yet, it chooses for us by giving us the powers we have, by granting us the abilities to choose our direction."

Tylera asked, "Do you believe you both have a special destiny?"
Trenton and Roth did not answer this question. They believed that destiny lay in the moment, that it could be altered with their decisions, and it would be altered by the actions of others.
Tylera said again, "I never told you why I chose to train you. I chose to train you because the night before you arrived, I dreamed of your arrival. I dreamed that if you did not receive training from me, and others in the Galaxy like me, that you would not be ready for the fate that awaits you. And that if you were not ready, you would perish, and the Galaxy would fall with you. I believe you both have a great and terrible destiny, and that whether or not it is you or The Force that leads you to it, you will reach it in the end. And I sincerely hope you both will be ready. If not, it will be due to my failure."
Trent said, "You cannot blame yourself for what comes to us in the future."
Tylera shot back, "I do not blame just myself. The blame would lay in all those who failed to train you, those who would turn you away, those who would mislead you or try to harm you. When you reach that destination, be it next week or twenty years from now, you will need all the knowledge The Force could grant you. And you will only have that knowledge if those like me trained you, taught you. The conflicting viewpoints of a hundred Force-Religions will help mold you, to grant you the wisdom to overcome the challenge that lay before you."

Roth asked, "What did you see, Tylera?"
Tylera shook her head, "This, I cannot tell you. I will help guide you to greater powers, but I will not spoil your futures for you. I will not change your focus from learning. I fear that by telling you, you will begin preparing yourself for it the incorrect way."
Trent asked, "What is the correct way to prepare ourselves?"
Tylera answered, "By continuing to question The Force. Do not doubt it, but always question it. Continue learning, continue training. Look to your past to guide you to your future, and then you will be able to fulfill what you are meant to fulfill."

[Roth Fenix]

((Give me a break I'm super rusty so I need to warm up with this post )

Trent asked, "What is the correct way to prepare ourselves?"
Tylera answered, "By continuing to question The Force. Do not doubt it, but always question it. Continue learning, continue training. Look to your past to guide you to your future, and then you will be able to fulfill what you are meant to fulfill."

Roth looked back at Tylera, "I see what you mean," he looked over at Trenton, "what Tylera advises is what we have been doing all along, even before we came searching for other sects of Force users. Only be questioning and broadening our minds to the various viewpoints of the force can we truly walk the correct path that will lead us to what we are destined to do."

Roth looked over at Tylera who was smiling at Roth. She nodded and said, "Yes, you understand the final words of wisdom I have left to offer you. Now I believe that there is nothing more that I can teach you." The dirt and dust on the ground flew out from under her as she began to levitate off the ground, landing on her feet at the edge of the cliff.

Her robes billowed in the air as she telepathically used the force to brush the grime off of her robes. "Now that your training is complete I have a gift for the both of you." Tylera smiled as two round objects floated from inside of her robes into the awaiting hands of Trenton and Roth. What landed in their hand was the Zeison Sha's signature weapon, the Discblade, a circular that's edges were were razor sharp , deadly at close and long range. The discs handle inside the perimeter of the circle allowed the user to safely catch and throw the object, yet even for a Force user, this weapon required a skillful talent with telekinesis. The discblades were also coated in Cortosis, able to withstand even a strike from a lightsaber in the thick of battle.

Roth bowed to Tylera, "thank you Tylera, these will help us greatly in the days to come." He drew back his robe and placed the discblade next to one of his double bladed lightsaber on his belt. Trenton gazed over and noticed a second saber staff on Roth's belt, "why do you need two of those?" Roth smiled at his friend, "in good time my friend, you will see."

Trenton bowed at Tylera as well and placed his disc blade on his belt. Tylera grinned and bowed equally in turn to both of them. "You are both the greatest students I have ever taught, I am honored to have trained both of you in our arts. However, now I would like to see what you both have learned."

Roth looked over at Trenton and grinned, it had been a while since they had engaged in combat with each other, or with another enemy since their self-imposed exile to seek out other branches of Force users.

Tylera took a step back as three Discblades floated up to her eye level, "a free-for-all to see how you two can implement the combination of lightsaber and Discblade in combat, wielding one is formidable, but two wield both at the same time is a deadly combination."

Roth pulled out his purple saber staff. The blades ignite with a slow snaphiss. He pulled his discblade from his belt and tossed it into the air, stopping it with the force at shoulder level, but kept it spinning like a piece of durasteel power equipment. Trenton stood there, his single lightsaber in hand with his discblade hovering around his waist like a moon in orbit.

Tylera bowed her head and whispered, "now let us begin the final test." She looked back up at the duo and jumped high in the air sending two of her discblades at Trenton and one at Roth.

The battle had begun.

[Trenton Vinh]

As soon as the twin discblades shot at Trenton, he tweaked his own with The Force; it shot up and deflected the incoming blades so they arced around him. Mentally gripping them with the Force, he sent Tylera's twin discblades into the trees behind him. His own, he shot at Tylera, who deftly dodged it with a smooth turn.

He was about to ignite his lightsaber to bat the returning discblades away, but before he could thumb the activation plate, a terrifying wave of pain ripped through him, emanating from The Force.
Hunching over in pain, he stumbled to his knees, nearly pitching over the side of the cliff as he gasped. Roth and Tylera both shook in pain as well, The Force seemed filled with utter terror and death.
As soon as it had begun, it ended. The trio were left shivering and shaken.

"What was that?" Tylera asked aloud.
Trenton and Roth looked at one another gravely, they had felt disturbances like this before.
Roth answered, "Deaths. Thousands of them. Nearby."
Trenton looked towards the city in the distance, "It wasn't from there...are there any other settlements on this planet?"
Tylera shook her head, "The closest settlement other than ours is in the Shadowville system."
Trenton furrowed his eyebrows, "Shadowville?" He asked
Tylera nodded affirmation, "Yes, its named that because for a large portion of its orbit takes it behind a gas giant, blocking much of their sunlight for a few months."
Roth said, "I have a feeling that something terrible is happening there."
He looked at Trenton, and both knew the answer to the question Tylera posed, "Are you going to go try to find out what happened?"
The two men nodded slowly, Roth was already summoning their shuttle.

Tylera looked nervous. Her uncertainty could be felt in The Force. As the Starskiff appeared over the trees, flying towards them at a leisurely speed, Tylera stated, "I'm going with you."
Trenton raised his eyebrows, "Really?"
Roth shrugged, "It might be dangerous, but I suppose you aren't afraid of much anyway. Let's go."

They boarded the shuttle, entered the cockpit, took their seats, and had blasted into the atmosphere within minutes.


*****


Shadowville had been ravaged by an unknown attacker.
By the time Roth, Tylera, and Trenton arrived in the system, any ship that had been there was now gone. There were small signs of a space skirmish, but the planet had a small defense force, and only one orbital station. The space station was in ruins, looking like it had been drilled straight through by a powerful laser.
The planet's surface had not been bombarded from orbit, but one area in particular showed signs of an intense fight. The only settlement on the planet.
Upon landing, the trio left the ship and began searching for anything that would explain what had caused the sudden deaths of all the beings on the planet.

Trenton said to Roth, "The death must have been sudden...whoever invaded had not been met with much resistance."
Roth shook his head and pointed to a burnt and blackened armored vehicle, "Or whoever invaded was far superior to the defending forces."
Tylera shivered, "This place feels cold. Not in terms of temperature, all I feel is the chill of destruction."

Trent nodded, and said, "What could have done this?"
Roth was eying some scorch marks, and answered, "Looks like typical blaster burns, but its penetration seems stronger than conventional blaster bolts."
Trent asked, "Do you think we should risk Flow-walking back to take a look? If a battle took place...we would most likely be seen by someone, either invaders or defenders. It could affect our present reality...perhaps change a future event."
Roth looked at him. The two had agreed that Flow-walking was a technique they must use sparingly. The risks behind the ability were many, and the benefits just as numerous.
"Whats flow-walking?" Tylera asked.
Roth said, "Well...we sensed the disturbance in The Force. I have the feeling we were meant to sense it. If that is so, than us coming here was meant to happen as well. And if we flow-walk back a few hours...it would be around the time we felt the disturbance..."
Trent caught on to his train of thought, a touch of a smile reaching his lips, "So you think the disturbance we felt was because we're going to flow-walk. I'm beginning to wonder about this whole predestination issue. It seems like sometimes things are set in stone. We felt the disturbance back on Yanibar because we are going to walk back to the massacre. So...that means we already have flow-walked back."
Roth sighed, "Not unless we choose not to now."
Trent replied with a grin, "But if we choose not to...than would we have not felt that disturbance at all?"
Roth shook his head, "Yes and no. The disturbance we felt was going to happen no matter what we decide now. The way I see it, sometimes, things are set in stone. But it is us who must inscribe the words of destiny upon the rock."
Trent nodded, "Well said."
With that, The Force flowed around the duo. Roth said to Tylera, "Hold my arm tightly, and do not interfere with whatever happens. Happened. Whatever."
Tylera nodded and gripped his forearm. Roth winced and said, "Not that tightly..." His wince became a grin as her grip loosened tightly.

The trio flashed, and the universe around them suddenly seemed to rewind. The sun, now partially obscured by a looming gas giant, slid back into view slowly. Smoke trailing from craters slid back into the cracks in the planet's crust. Clouds moved back the way they had come, as if the wind had reversed direction.
In a few moments, the three would be able to see firsthand, exactly what had happened on Shadowville's battlefield.

[Ghev Dralin]

Shadowville, 6 hours earlier

Chaos had ensued, with little warning. An advance scout vessel bearing a small crack-team of Mandalorians had received intel, with instructions to make their presence known to Shadowville's populace, and advise them to evacuate.

Shadowville's people, however, were not so easy to coerce. Despite the evidence laid before them - from charts tracking the Iskalloni advance into the Rimma Trade Route, to deep-space scans of an Iskalloni fleet en-route to Shadowville - the people were having none of it.
"You'll drive us out, then take our world as your own" their governor had spat angrily, all but ending their discussions. Even had the Mandalorians been prepared to counter that argument, words had become unnecessary, and as klaxons began drowning out all sound in the capital, the armoured warriors had taken to their vessel to assist in any way they could while Shadowville evacuated en masse.

The slaughter at Shadowville, as history would come to know the event, did not last very long. Descending in part-organic, part-machine vessels, the Iskalloni were merciless in their execution of whatever message they'd hoped to send to the Galactic Alliance. No prisoners were taken for labour, no bargains struck, no quarter given.
War machines, also melded of flesh and metal, multi-limbed and barbaric, descended upon the fleeting citizens. Flesh and muscle were rent from bone by blade and blaster, and fleeing ships were tractored in, only to be blown apart while they struggled for freedom.

The Mandalorians lived long enough to witness the destruction of Shadowville's orbital station, torn through by a spitting beam of yellow laser unlike anything they'd witnessed before. From where it originated, they had no time to tell, for seconds later, their ship was caught in the grip of some grotesque destroyer, which ripped it and its occupants apart with tractor beams and cutting lasers.

******

Shadowville, 6 hours later

"I'm starting to get bored of these SAR missions" Tarn Kane grumbled through his helmet comm.
"Copy that, Bronze leader" muttered the pilot to his six. His name was Aidan, of the Shendo clan from the mountains north of Keldabe. Their clan had grown sizeable over the decades, though forever secluded, until the call to arms from Ghev Dralin. The same was true of many of the clans which had rallied to fight the Iskalloni; infact, this was the first time in Kane's living memory that the mando'ade had been so united since before the Empire.
"I mean it" Kane reiterated, irate and showing it. "So far, we've sat on our shebse and waited for these metal chakaare to start a fight, then moved in and wiped up the mess. This isn't war, this is clean-up duty" he growled.

"Dralin says we don't have enough people or resources to take the fight directly to them. Not since..." Aidan trailed off.
Not since Galtea. Kane remembered it well; the Mandalorians had gone in full-strength, intending to nip the Iskalloni threat in the bud before it became too widespread. What actually happened, though, was a complete reversal of fortune, to say the least.
Bad intel, or shoddy communications, had put the enemy numbers a clear ninety-thousand less than what they actually were. They had walked into a slaughter, losing an estimated 60% of the fleet, and probably more men, not to mention the dessecration of Galtea itself. Dralin hadn't released the exact numbers, even to his war council. If the mando'ade didn't need solidarity right now, he suspected Dralin would be voted out of the top spot for that particular embarassment.

"I don't understand the thinking behind this" Aidan said over the comm, obviously sensing Kane's train of thought and switching conversation.
"There is no thinking behind this. Just... calculation" Kane replied, happy to play along and put past tragedy behind him, where it belonged.
"But the Iskalloni don't wipe out anything and everything in their path" Aidan insisted. "We've seen enough to know that".
"Shadowville had little enough in the way of tech and manpower. Might be why the metal freaks chose this site to leave a message"
"A message?" Aidan asked. "But what message? We know what they can do..."
"Not a message for us, a message for the GA. They're making the next step, probably figured we're not gonna bring the Alliance into this, so they're gonna do it themselves".
"So... what do we do?" Aiden asked. Kane wished he'd be quiet, allow some time for reflection on the gravity of the situation.
"Personally, I'd say do nothing" Kane admitted, nonchalantly. "We owe the GA nothing, and we've been fighting this war long enough without them even knowing it was happening. Unfortunately, Dralin has a soft spot for the aruetiise, so he'll probably try and come to some sort of accord".

The pair of fighters had soon regrouped with the rest of the patrol, and made their way as a single squadron to the cruiser orbiting Shadowville on the night-side, sensor mask active and running on low power to avoid detection from any Iskalloni stragglers.
"Gentlemen, this disappoints me" sighed General Adenn, as Kane and his squadron walked across the deck toward the briefing room.
"It disappoints me too, General, but if there's nothing left alive then there's nothing to rescue. I warned you coming in that there'd be little chance of finding anything substantial" Kane snapped. He was able to talk down to the General without fear, for the rank was meaningless among most Mandalorians, General Adenn included. It was just another qualm introduced by the military-minded Ghev Dralin, for structural purposes.

And, technically, Kane outranked him anyway, owing to being on the war council.

"Didn't one of those soft-bellied hut'uun at least carry a holocam, so we can see what went down here?" the General growled, clearly agitated by the complete one-sidedness of the battle that had occurred.
"When you're being flayed alive by a crazed cyborg, you don't exactly stop to take pictures, sir" Aidan murmered from behind Kane.
"So, thats it, is it? Dralin sends us on a SAR, yet again, and the only thing we actually search-and-rescue is space dust and more disappointment" Adenn snapped, turning his back on Kane and his men.
"What would you have us do?" Kane snapped in return, yanking off his helmet and spinning Adenn by the shoulder. The two large men stared down, tensions rising, veins throbbing in their temples... until a comm chimed.

Tearing his eyes away reluctanty, Adenn tore his comm from his belt.
"What?" he half-growled, half-whispered. "A ship? Any markings?"
Kane turned to his squadron, eyebrows raised, while the General had his discussion; perhaps they were going to see more than cosmic dust on this mission afterall.
"Kane, get your men back to their ships. A vessel has broken orbit and made planetfall, and sensors couldn't identify any markings linking it to the GA or the Iskalloni"
"Iskalloni don't carry markings" Kane retorted.
"See who they are and what they want, and if its those metal bastards looking for survivors, make sure they don't leave" Adenn continued, ignoring the remark.

Eager to be leaving the good General's pleasant company, Kane and Bronze Squadron all but danced their way out of the hangar, flying tight formation toward the planets surface...

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton stepped away from Roth and Tylera as he strode through time itself. The Aing-tii monks taught that flow-walking came from letting the Flow of the Force carry one into the Future, by reading its currents and understanding its path.
Trenton compared it to floating on his back down a river; he would be gently carried downstream, as long as he understood the river's path enough to keep away from the shallows, and the rocks.
"One must be careful when Flow-Walking," the Aing-tii monk had proclaimed, when he taught Trenton the technique, "You must remain anchored to the present, or you can be lost in the flow."
Trent knew what they meant, and understood the risks quite well. If a Force-sensitive used Flow-walking to visit lost loved ones, or to view something they couldn't handle emotionally, they could risk being dragged into the rapids, or drown in the depths.
Trenton had none he would visit that had died. All those close to him that had passed on, were with The Force. He would see them in time, when he eventually became One as well.
The dangers of Flow-walking also included trying to alter events, or unintentionally changing things.

Trenton turned to look the way he had come. He was on the edge of town, and the air behind him left behind a blur, almost a physical imprint of where he had been.

As he released himself and let the currents take him, he closed his eyes, feeling the Force embrace and permeate him. He opened his eyes when he heard the first scream -- the first death in the slaughter of Shadowville.

Roth and Tylera waded up next to him, the trio stood on a hill overlooking the town.
"Look." Roth pointed, and his companions followed his finger to the sight of a group of armor-clad warriors.
"Mandalorians." Trent stated, "I didn't think they would be here."
Tylera looked at Roth, still holding his arm, and asked, "Do you think they killed these people?"
Roth shook his head, "No. Mandalorians are warriors, but not entirely barbaric. They have honor, and I don't think they would wipe out an entire settlement for no reason. I suspect they are here to fight..." His eyes widened and he pointed north, "Those!"

Trent turned to see a group of semi-robotic humanoids advancing into the town, wielding a variety of weapons. They appeared cybernetic, or at least partially implanted with robotic technology. Most had at least one glowing crimson eye, with metal jutting out of various body parts.
The invaders appeared disturbing and emotionless as they began to wipe out the Shadowville inhabitants, who tried to flee, but only in vain. They were cut down by blade or blaster as they ran.
Some cowered, only to be smashed or stabbed or shot. Some were executed brutally.
Trenton had seen violence, but these creatures were sadistic, sick, vile. They had no remorse, no second-thoughts, no regard. They slaughtered women, children, elders. Men fell as they tried to fight with small arms and makeshift weapons.

Trenton felt a nudge in The Force, and turned around, taking a few steps away from Roth and Tylera, who continued watching the gruesome scene in stunned silence.
Trenton rounded the corner of a building and came to a halt. One of the cybernetic beings stood there, looking slightly vacant; Trent suspected he was making an adjustment to one of the many devices implanted upon his body. The being was tall, standing above seven feet, with one arm removed just below the elbow. Where his forearm and hand should have been was a metal cylinder just wider than his bicep, hollow. Where his fingers would protrude was a deep black hole. Trent eyed it, and realized it was a blaster weapon, an arm-mounted cannon.
Trenton felt like these creatures were similar to the Yuuzhan Vong, but entirely opposite at the same time -- the Yuuzhan Vong religiously desecrated their bodies and attached organic implants, where these creatures seemed to do it with robotics. Or they were very strange AI`s, but Trenton could feel them in The Force, so he suspected they were at least primarily organic life forms.
The creature turned and looked directly at Trenton, as if just having noticed him. Trent knew the creature could not harm him -- his physical form was bound to the past, whereas Trent was merely visiting. But the creature saw him, at least recognized that Trenton was there, and studied him. Trenton wondered for a momednt if the creature was going to try to attack him, or interact with him. Then the creature smirked.
Trent raised his eyebrows, staring into the creatures eyes. One was the glowing red of an implant, the other a deeply-set, dark black. Its skin was a pale blue, and its cheekbones were high on its face and protruded outwards violently. The teeth -- revealed when it smirked -- were triangular and short.
The crimson eye glinted for a moment as it looked to Trent, who frowned and wondered if the creature had stored an image of him in its databanks.
Then the creature turned and strode away, returning to its fellow aliens to take part in the murder of Shadowville`s people.

Trent remained where he was for a moment, trying to understand what had happened. Had the feelings he had received on Yanibar earlier been because of this Flow-walk event? Had he been destined to have this odd encounter this strange creature?
What consequences would this lead to in the future?
He turned and walked back towards the others, his mind struggling to understand.
When he saw Roth and Tylera, he said, "We've seen enough, we may as well go."

He turned and strode through the Force once more, mentally dragging himself out of the water and returning to the shores of the present.

Looking up, he watched as a shuttle, escorted by a squadron of fighters, came in for a landing. The fighters sped off in formation, breaking off into pairs, patrolling and reconnoitering.
Trent began walking towards the shuttle, his robes billowing as the wind picked up. Dust skipped up, small tornadoes of sand danced across the hills.
Whoever was in the shuttle was disembarking, and they had landed next to Trent and Roth's skiff.
Trent realized that his palms were sweating. The exertion needed to Flow-walk was less than one would expect; his perspiration was due to the tension and confusion he was feeling. His mind was reeling. He felt he would have some answers shortly, but that did not ease his mind.
After all the man had learned, all he had experienced, he understood one thing quite well:
There are always more questions than answers.

[Ghev Dralin]

The first man out of his fighter was Tarn Kane, popping the canopy and dropping with urgency into cover. Around him, his men were doing the same, and as one they ran crouched toward the unidentified skiff, surrounding it with weapons raised defensively.

Kane nodded in silence at the skiff's hull, and the comm experts who'd arrived with them via shuttle made a hurried approach. Palm-sized scanners were slapped against the metal, while other instruments of varying description were cast on and around the skiff.
"No lifesigns" one of them acknowledged after a minute.
"Look sharp" Kane ordered, pointing with two fingers in the direction of an approaching figure, striding toward them with intent. Flanking him, though with less certainty, were another two figures, one of them female judging by her gait.

Rifles, carbines, pistols, and even a bes'kad were brought to bear on the approaching man, though Kane was sure now that it was no Iskalloni. Swathed in billowing robes and walking with the confidence that only humanity could bestow, he was either a survivor or a scavenger, judging by first impressions.
"Whatever your business is here, I suggest you finish it quickly and move along. This area could be dangerous" Kane advised, before the approaching man had time to speak.
"And what is it you're doing here?" asked one of the other figures, the man who was flanking the first.
"Cleaning up, and making sure those chakaare don't come back unnoticed" Kane replied.

A moment of silence passed between the two groups, and still the Mandalorians didn't lower their weapons, nor did they even waver.
"And why does that duty fall to you?" asked the first man, his penetrative gaze unsettling Kane for a moment. It was now that he noticed at least two lightsabers in their presence, possibly a third if the woman was carrying one too.
"It falls to us because nobody else is interested in fighting this war" Kane spat, his voice sounding all the more harsh because of his helmet. "It falls to us because the G.A would rather bury its head in the sand rather than acknowledge another potential war to rock their dream of peace".

He dug around in his belt for a moment, then drew out a comm unit. He activated the disc and tossed it on the floor, a cone of blue light swirling through the air as the device spun, then settled.
A gruesome melding of flesh, bone and steel leered out over the onlookers, the image flickering and distorting slightly, but horrifying in its clarity.
Whatever it had been before becoming this abomination was hard to tell; its left arm was completely severed and replaced by a blaster cannon, complete with underside blades designed for rending flesh and smashing bone. Its right eye and the surrounding area were covered by a metal plate embedded roughly into the skin, with a glowing yellow disc where the eye should be. Hairless skin was peppered with nondescript cybernetics, and the heart was penetrated by some spider-like construct which appeared to have embedded its limbs throughout the chest and hardened the breastplate into metal, which was visibly jutting through the skin.

"What..." the flanking man began, but the hologram interrupted.
"Surrender immediately" the grotesque effigy droned, in a voice neither its own nor entirely sentient. "Resistance will be met with pain. We are Iskalloni". This drew further frowns from the onlookers, though the Mandalorians exchanged helmeted glances. "Surrender and die".

"Until a year ago, the message was 'Surrender to our way', but then things started to change" Kane said solemnly.
"They started taking fewer people alive" one of the other Mandalorians explained. "But this is the first time we've heard of them wiping out... well, everyone".
"And make no mistake, very soon they'll be on the GA's doorstep", Kane promised, "and I'm not sure you Jedi have the numbers to fend them off..."

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton watched as the Holographic monstrosity disappeared back into its emitter.
He turned and motioned for Tylera and Roth to move closer. Trent faced the Mandalorians again, he recognized none of them, not that he knew many personally. It had been years since he had last met with any that he could consider friends.
He decided to start with introductions. First, because he wasn't a fan of having multiple weapons trained on him, and because he had an idea of what the next move would be for both parties.
"My name is Trenton Vinh. This is Roth Fenix. We worked with your people several years ago. During the Vong war and on several other Campaigns. If your leader is Ghev Dralin, please send him my regards. Our companion here is Tylera Bans. We were training with her on Yanibar when we felt the disturbance caused by the...," He was going to say battle, but this had not been a fight, "slaughter."
Roth asked, "Any idea why they changed? New technology or more numbers?"

Trenton frowned.
'We are Iskalloni.'
"Iskalloni...from the Unknown Regions." He had a vague recollection of a report he had read years ago, before he had begun his search for other Force-religions, which had made a tiny reference to the alien species.
"Don't they need slaves to...dispose of their wastes?"
He remembered having read that there had been several encounters with this species by Jedi of generations past during exploratory missions beyond the borders of the Republic. Besides being a single sentence mention of the species name and their need for slaves, there wasn't any elaboration.
If they had stopped taking prisoners...perhaps they had amassed enough slaves, or had figured another way to deal with their wastes.

Trent shrugged, "I am no longer a Jedi, but I will not deny you the right to use it as a term for me and my friends here. We are Force-Users, but the Jedi way is no longer the path we tread. And I do not think there are enough Jedi to repel this threat, when I last saw them, their numbers were spread thin. However, I was exiled from the Galactic Alliance, almost seven years ago."
Roth said, "The Jedi should be warned of this, our issues with them are insignificant compared with this threat."
Trenton nodded, and eyed the Mandalorian that seemed to be leading the others, "We should discuss this. I would like to learn some more about the Iskalloni. And I will offer whatever aid I can to help you stop them."

[Ghev Dralin]

Kane took a moment to regard this 'Trenton Vinh' and his companions, then issued the order in mando'a to stand down. Rifles and carbines were lowered, and the Mandalorians adopted a more comfortable stance, some even removing their helmets and squinting into the distance to see if there was an end to the carnage.

Kane, however, remained helmeted, and though his weapon was pointed at nobody, his finger lay a hairsbreadth from the trigger guard.
He let the mention of Dralin pass, for now, though he made note to speak with Trenton privately on the matter in a few moments.
"Mr Fenix is right on both counts. Technological advancement, and increased numbers" he confirmed. "At one time, the Iskalloni were pretty archaic, as far as technology goes, and their numbers were never anything to consider a threat. Something changed all that, but we can't get any intel on what that may be".

He began to pace a little, as though going over facts in his head.
"The waste produced by their machines is toxic to them, which is why, as Trenton pointed out, they enslave other species to do their work" he said. "There's been no mention of people going missing en-masse before this war started, but we have theories".
He chose his next words carefully, hoping to impress upon them the full seriousness of the situation.

"The favourite theory among us, and the one which seems to add up, is that the Iskalloni ambushed and enslaved the retreating Yuuzhan Vong after the war". He paused a moment, letting this settle, half expecting the theory to be shot down right away.
"Those that didn't settle or come to an accord with the G.A have never been heard from again, and most of the galaxy doesn't give enough of a frack to investigate. Their biology is much more complex than most other sentient beings, and they can withstand a lot more too. And I don't doubt that in their weakened state, they were easy pickings for the Iskalloni".

He eyed them all in turn, not sure what to make of them. Being a practical man, he wasn't about to start preening about their hopes being raised; even though he had no vendetta with the Jedi, or whatever these people claimed to be, he also didn't like to place faith in that which he couldn't see or touch. And their Force... that fell into such a category.
Then again, they did need all the help they could muster.
"Contact the Jedi if you feel they can help" Kane said. "We've already appealed to the G.A, as I've said, but if the Jedi are willing to act independantly of the Senate, then all the better for everyone involved".

He took a glance over his shoulder; all of his men now had discarded their helmets, and were milling about, taking advantage of the downtime.
Kane began walking casually away from them, gesturing for the three non-Jedi to follow.
"Ghev Dralin is losing favour" he said in hushed tones, particularly to Trenton, who mentioned having worked with Dralin. "People don't have the same faith in him that they once did, and its getting easier to see why. Cracks are appearing in the armour, ner vod" he muttered grimly. "Some of it is bad luck, some of it is tactical error, but his leadership is waning and the Mandalorians along with it. Maybe... I don't know what to hope for, but maybe you could reinvigorate him?" Kane asked. Stars end, it was what they all needed right now.

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton fell into step beside the Mandalorian and the pair walked a bit away from the rest. Trenton wasn't too surprised to hear that Dralin had caused some strife within the Mandos -- he had been doing that for years. Trent had the feeling that was exactly what the Mandalorians needed, however. He wondered if there had ever been a Mandalore that didn't cause a stir or two. If so, he had probably not been a very good one.
Or had a very long reign.
"I would be honored to do whatever I can to help Dralin, and your people. Perhaps we can arrange for a meeting soon. I feel time is running short, if the Iskalloni passed here already, they could be at the Rimma Trade Route within a week. After they pass the Trition Trade Route, there isn't much that stands between them and the Rimma Trade Route, which leads directly to several other Hyperspace lanes. From there we won't be as able to predict where they are going. And that will be made even harder, seeing as we don't understand their motives"
He frowned. This was looking bad. If his galactic geography was correct, there were very few locations they would be able to catch the Iskalloni before they entered the Rimma. The Trition Route led into the beginning of the Rimma, but only after traversing the Marcol Void.
His thoughts were interrupted by Roth's softly-spoken voice.

"I suspect that if they did enslave some of the Vong...they would have integrated the bio-tech into their own. Trenton." He stopped walking, and Trent turned away from the Mandalorian leader to look at his friend,
"What is it, Roth?"
Roth looked restless, "I have a few contacts in the G.A. that could possibly help us. Pilots, military contacts, mercs. We can maybe rustle together a defensive fleet. It will give you some time to meet with Ghev Dralin, and perhaps convince the Senate that they need to get their heads on straight. And it will give me a chance to see these Iskalloni first-hand."
Trent raised his eyebrows, "There's only one place I can think of that we could catch them..."
Roth nodded. Both had traveled through the Marcol Void before, on their way to train with the Aing-Tii Monks. It was little more than an incredibly vast area of empty space, surrounded by nebulae and asteroids. It took several days to traverse, but it was necessary to exit Hyperspace in the Void in order to prepare to jump into the nearby sectors of space -- The Kathol Rift and Kal'Shebbol.
Trent frowned, "How long will it take for you to rustle up a small fleet?"
Roth shrugged, "A few days...maybe a week before we can assemble. There isn't much out in that void to use for cover, we will be in a tough spot. but if you can get the G.A. to lend you a fleet...you might be able to arrive before its too late."
Both men knew what Roth meant. Before its too late roughly translated as Before we get scrapped.
Tylera spoke for the first time in a while, "But Trenton...aren't you exiled from Republic space?"
Trent nodded slowly, and he answered, "Perhaps its time I return to Coruscant. I imagine my arrival will cause enough of a fuss for me to get the attention of a few Senators and Military Officials. The Jedi may wish to have a word with me as well."
Roth bowed his head, "May The Force Be With You, my friend."
Trent bowed his head as well, turning away and replying, "And with you."
Roth smirked as he and Tylera began to leave, "It had better be...I'll need it."

"I think, I will need some proof of this Iskalloni threat before getting any help from anyone, Jedi or Galactic Alliance." Trent said with a sigh. A part of him wondered if he would be simply shot on sight upon arriving at Coruscant -- if he even made it there.
He turned to stare into the faceplate of the Mandalorian and took a slow breath, "Let's get started, shall we?"

[Ghev Dralin]

Trenton's analysis of the potential threat posed by the continuing advancement of the Iskalloni toward the Rimma fitted with that of the Mandalorians, just as Kane assumed it would. It seemed logical and grimly fateful that their cyborg enemies were heading toward the greater galaxy. In a way, Kane wished the conflict would remain more isolated; true, once the threat was pushed out into the open, the G.A would be forced to respond, but while it remained away from the larger galaxy, the Mandalorians could fight on their own terms.
And claim our own victory, he thought to himself.

Static rang in the comm unit built into his helmet, and Kane turned away from Trenton, Roth and Tylera for a moment.
"Understood" he said calmly, after the transmission had ended. "If everything is concluded here, I suggest we get offworld, and fast" he said to the non-Jedi. Without further explanation, he pointed to the skies, then headed to relay orders to his men.

Descending rapidly from orbit, a squadron of fighters and bombers screeched toward the surface. The closer they came, the more discernible was their grotesque appearance. How they'd slipped past 'Iron Fist', the cruiser laying in orbit awaiting the Mandalorians' return, Kane didn't know. All the comms officer had said was that a squadron of Iskalloni ships had been detected entering atmosphere, and it was likely that their presence on the ground had been discovered somehow.
"Back in your ships, double-time!" Kane yelled at his men, who were still milling around with little to do. "Don't let 'em catch us with our pants down, I want fighters scrambling in three minutes maximum! Clear path to the 'Iron Fist', no heroics!" he ordered. He very much doubted they'd get away without trading blows, but the Iskalloni had the advantage. Much like the Iskalloni themselves, their fighters had a bad habit of absorbing blaster fire like a sponge absorbs water, and there was no telling whether this was a scouting patrol or an advance guard for a larger fleet; either way, the Iskalloni threat to Shadowville wasn't yet over, as everybody had wrongly predicted.

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton lifted his eyes skyward and squinted into the harsh sunlight, spotting the enemy fighters dropping in from space. They disappeared behind some clouds before reemerging to dive at their prey like a flock of deadly birds.

A distant disconnected part of his mind noted that three minutes wasn't going to be enough time to get everyone into the air.

Roth and Tylera were already heading toward the skiff, and Trent yelled, "Open the hangar doors!", from a dozen meters behind them, sprinting to catch up.

Tylera got to the ship first, tapping in codes to lower the ramp and open the small hangar bay door on the side of the ship.
Crammed into the small hangar were Roth and Trenton's X-wing fighters.
Trent didn't bother taking the boarding ramp -- he merely threw himself ten feet into the air, flipping once before landing on the cold steel of the hangar. He rolled back to his feet and jumped again, this time he landed on the nose of his snubfighter.
With a wave of his hand, the canopy popped open and he dropped into the seat. As he pulled on his crash-webbing, he felt a deep rumble; Roth had activated the engines on the Skiff.
Trent started his engines as well, his console lighting up as the ship began its power-up sequence.

As his canopy snapped closed over him, he looked ahead through the transparisteel, out the door of the cramped hangar, and across the sandy fields outside. A pair of Iskalloni fighters had swooped in low, and were skimming the ground, coming in fast.
"Shields up!" He yelled into his comm, as he flipped a few switches. His X-wing lifted off the deck, and he accelerated out the hangar -- straight towards the enemy fighters.

He hurtled past the twin enemy fighters just as they opened fire. Sand was scorched into glass as two dual-blaster cannons traced cannonfire along the surface before stitching a line of fire up the side of Roth's skiff. Roth had the shields up, and the skiff itself took no damage beyond being buffeted by the blasts.
Trent wheeled his ship around to pursue the fighters, his sensors noting that there were nearly a dozen enemy ships circling, beginning attack runs.
The Iskalloni clearly didn't want the Mandalorians or their new counterparts going off-planet.
Opening his comm freq. so the Mandalorians could hear his broadcast, Trent said quickly, "If we can make it into orbit we can get some cover from your cruiser."

The pair of Iskalloni fighters peeled off for a second attack run, but Trenton was on their tail now. His quad laser cannons spat fire, and one of the enemy fighters slammed into the ground before exploding. The other fighter accelerated sharply, turning upwards to get cover from its counterparts.
Trent wasn't going to push his luck; he had no idea what their ships were capable of, so he spun back around to cover his allies.
Roth's skiff was in the air, the relatively small vessel had defensive turrets on its nose and tail, but neither had been activated yet.
Roth's voice came over the comm, "I can offer some protection for the Mando ships if they need it, as soon as our turrets come online. Just stick close and we can make it out of here in one piece."
Trent responded quickly with, "Begin inputting your hyperspace coordinates, Roth. As soon as we're clear of the planet I want you heading to your contacts. If we escape, they might push their fleet to get into G.A. space sooner to rush an attack before we can muster up a defense."
Roth acknowledged with a comm click as he struggled with the controls; another pair of Iskalloni fighters had come around for another pass.
Trent formed up with the skiff, using its mass as cover when needed. His X-Wing was versatile enough to handle most situations he got into, but he didn't have the shields the skiff did.

[Ghev Dralin]

The squadron was in the air within the three minutes allotted by Kane, but the Iskalloni had descended much quicker than predicted. Blasting off into a downpour of fire, one of the Bes'uliik fighters peeled away after being barraged by the sheet of yellow-tinged blaster bolts, armour melting away even before the craft barrell-rolled into a homestead and ignited.
"We lost Bronze Four" Tarn said over the comm, all business and little time for remorse.
"They're all over us!" came another voice; Aidan, the young mountaineer who'd accompanied Kane on this mission.
"Fierfek, Kane, why isn't 'Iron Fist' providing covering fire?" snapped a third Mando.
"She'd risk hitting us from all the way up there in orbit" Kane growled in return, snap-rolling just in time to avoid collision from an incoming fighter which came so close that Kane could see the melding of wiring and flesh through its tinted canopy. "Frack, those birds are ugly. Cut the kriffing comm chatter, you can bitch at the General when you're tucked up in your rack with a hot cup of caf" he drawled.

There was a general muttering of dissent, which was largely smothered by the static of the comm, then silence.
The Iskalloni fighters were coming in hard now, and Kane almost believed they were aiming to collide; a belief proven when Bronze Three disappeared in a ball of fire and beskar to his starboard wing, the debris peppering his viewport.
"By the stars... did you see that?" Aidan gasped over the comm. "Tin-can's grew a pair of..."
"Cut it" Kane ordered. "Bronze Two, Five, Six and Seven, on me. Suppressive fire, don't give 'em an opening. Missiles only, they absorb most of our fire, remember" he sighed into the comm. He'd hoped not to have to stretch this out. "Bronze Eight through Twelve, prep missiles and watch your six"
There was a chorus of "Copy, Bronze Leader", and the squadron tightened formation, leaving no room for Iskalloni to slip between their fighters.

What remained of the squadron rocketed for atmosphere, dogged by Iskalloni and refusing to go down without a fight. Whenever the enemy attempted to close in, a web of missiles warded them off. Whenever they assaulted the Mandalorians with blasterfire - which, for some irritating reason, seemed perfectly able to deal with their beskar armour plating - the Mando's overcharged their shields, possible in large because of the lack of power expenditure on blaster cannons.
"Trenton, Roth, you still with us?" Kane asked, as the comm went silent. He'd been playing their conversation over his cockpit comm rather than his helmet, so that he could keep surveillance over the whole situation without getting distracted.
Both men confirmed, and Kane found himself releasing a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.
"We're about to break orbit, and we'll have a string of disappointed Iskalloni on our tails when we do" he said, making light of a dangerous situation. "As soon as the 'Iron Fist' detects enemy signatures, she's gonna open fire without discrimination, and you're not carrying a friendly tag as far as she's concerned".

He made no effort to talk casual; he was a military man before he'd found a home with the Mandalorians, and Ghev's current regime made him feel even more at home than ever.
"I know you're not part of my squadron" he said, forcing himself to ignore the dying scream of Bronze 12 as a lucky Iskalloni penetrated his canopy, "but if you don't get in formation with us as soon as we break orbit, the 'Iron Fist' won't need to accidentally pick you off, because I'll do it myself before I lose another man to these metal bastards. Is that clear?"

Perhaps it wasn't wise to be threatening a Jedi, or whatever the hell he was. But this was the first glimmer of hope he'd seen for the larger Galaxy in a long time, and he'd be damned if he was going to lose it now.

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton's X-wing escorted Roth's ship out of atmosphere, close to the Mandalorians but keeping a partial distance from them.
Trent watched their tactics on his tacnav; he didn't have many doubts about how combat savvy they were, and they seemed to do a pretty good job of keeping the Iskalloni at bay.
Roth and Tylera hit Hyperspace as soon as they were out of the planet's gravity well, leaving Trenton in their wake, as alone as he had ever been.
He barrel rolled into formation with the Mando's upon receiving their commander's transmission.
His X-wing shook violently as a pair of blasts hit it, his shields dropping instantly.
He began to jink about rapidly, attempting to avoid the incoming fire from pursuing enemy ships.
As the Mandalorian formation and Trent neared the Iron Fist, its turbolasers opened fire.
Someone said over the comm, "Keep in tight formation!"
Lances of crimson light erupted from the cruiser, the precise Mandalorian gun operators were impressive. The lasers passed by very close to the friendlies they were covering, and Trent found himself frowning in appreciation of his allies' accuracy.
"I'll keep on your tail the entire way in, commander." Trenton said with a calm demeanor. He was a confident pilot, one who had flown in a dozen battles and a hundred skirmishes; he wasn't too worried about this one, but he was far from arrogant about dogfighting. Starfighter combat was a mathematical terror -- so many variables it was impossible to calculate.
Death could claim a pilot at any time, and from any direction.

[Ghev Dralin]

Even though he trusted in the accuracy of her gunners, Kane couldn't help but feel like he was the one in 'Iron Fist's crosshairs. It probably had something to do with hurtling at full-throttle down a tunnel of turbolaser fire, knowing that a slight misjudge in aim would result in his evaporation, as would a slight course deviation on his part.
"Copy that, Trenton" he replied tensely, focused now on getting the hell out of space and away from Shadowville completely. His helmet visor continued to polarise as flash after flash streaked past his fighter, protecting his eyes from the strobing glare.

"Oh yeah, can't block that can you, chakaare?" Bronze Eight laughed, as the turbolaser barrage disentegrated half the squadron to his starboard side.
"Turbolaser can damage them?" asked Bronze Six, Aidan, seeming surprised.
"Looks like it" replied Bronze Eight, "probably too much for them to absorb like they usually do".
"Comm silence" Kane cut in irritably. "Unless you wanna end up joining 'em".
"Ah c'mon, I can navigate a..." Bronze Eight began, but what he could navigate they never found out, because at that moment another squadron of fighters emerged from the debris orbiting Shadowville and picked him off, along with Bronze Seven and Nine.
Silence descended over the comm, except for a roll call, which received many less "Copy, Bronze Leader" than last time.

Less than a minute away, the open hangar doors of the 'Iron Fist' yawned, awaiting the squadron and Trenton, the unexpected guest. With Roth and Tylera safely away, Kane didn't have to worry about the logistics of docking their skiff to the cruiser in the middle of a battle. Their part of the mission was likely already underway, and may whatever deities they believed in give them good fortune.
"Ok, we're going in hot" Kane said over the comm, leaving the channel open so Trenton could listen in. "Soon as we're in the hangar, we'll be hitting hyperspace, but I want everyone on deck as soon as you touch down" he ordered.
"That's gonna be difficult, we won't have time to adjust to artificial grav or brace for the jump..." Aidan complained.
"Can it, Aidan" Kane warned. "If one of those things gets on board, we're gonna be the only ones in there to take it out. Hangar will have been cleared of personnel incase there's an accident with our landing" Kane explained.

It was a rough landing, to say the least. Kane, at the head of the formation, had to make sure not to touch down too close to the hangar entrance for risk of getting in the way of another pilot, and on his way in he clipped a ceiling-mounted surveillance emplacement, sending him crashing unceremoniously to the deck. His ship skidded, sending up a wash of white-hot sparks, and when he finally came to a stop he'd left a trail of smashed equipment in his wake. Immediately, he unbuckled his crash webbing, popped his canopy and rocketed into the air, landing in a crouch with his rifle drawn.
Bronze Two skidded to a neat stop at the other side of the hangar, and the pilot ejected in the same manner, a plume of blue flame flowering from his jetpack and thrusting him briefly into the air.
"Holy sh..." Kane yelled, as Bronze Five clipped the wall of the hangar bay, denting a pair of sliding doors inward and spinning out of control toward Bronze Two's fighter. The pilot managed to jump out of the way, but his ship and Bronze Five went careening out of the other end of the hangar, disappearing through the energy shield and falling from view.

Kane turned away, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and saying a silent prayer for the men who'd lost their lives today.
"Sir, we got incoming" Aidan's voice panicked in his ear. Kane opened his eyes, to see the last Bes'uliik landing, alongside Trenton's X-Wing, and a pair of Iskalloni heavy fighters. The fighters looked large enough to have room for passengers.
Kane flicked the safety off his rifle, and as the hangar doors slammed home, he rocketed into the air, the ship blasting into hyperspace around him...

[Trenton Vinh]

Trent was one of the final ships to enter the hangar -- and at nearly full speed his X-Wing slid across a third of the deck, coming to a halt a few feet from a wall of durasteel.
Twisting in his seat to see behind him, he was able to see two heavy fighters, twisted and disturbing in their dimensions, land on the deck before the hangar bay doors slammed home.
The cruiser vaulted into Hyperspace, and Trent yanked his crash webbing off, forced the canopy open, and vaulted from the nose of his starfighter. He hit the floor and rolled to his feet, gripping his lightsaber in his left hand, a blaster pistol in his right.
The remaining Mandalorians he had arrived with were already prepared for a firefight, and Trent realized he would now get the chance to see the Iskalloni soldiers in battle, not mere slaughter.
Trent waited for a boarding ramp to descend from the fighters, but instead it emitted a horrible screeching noise; grinding metal. From the belly of the ship, Trent could just see a hole open up like a gaping maw, and from it dropped Iskalloni troopers, armed with a variety of strange weapons.

Their gruesome appearance was something Trent still would have to get used to -- the steel and flesh blend, some of them had entire limbs amputated and replaced with cybernetics, or one with a blaster rifle for an arm instead of a hand.
The first Iskalloni that dropped out of the hole immediately opened fire and strafed, his arm-rifle spraying pinkish crimson lasers across the hangar.
At least three more dropped out behind him, and five or six dropped out of the other heavy fighter.
Moving towards the first group of Iskallons, the Mandalorians opened fire. Blaster bolts slapped into the Iskallon warriors, who did little more than stumble. Their bodies seemed somewhat resistance to laserfire -- whether this came from implants or a natural trait of their species, Trent did not know.

He strode towards four of the Iskalloni warriors, who seemed to not realize he was moving towards them; they were focusing their fire on the Mandalorians, who were covered behind crates or ships and various debris.
Trenton's lightsaber blazed to life, the amethyst blade buzzing into existence and drawing the attention of the nearby enemies.
His discblade, given to him by Tylera Bans, floated from his belt and orbited his body slowly, a razor-sharp planet orbiting a star.
His luminous Force-presence flared; a star going supernova, and the discblade shot forward, slamming into the closest Iskallon at high speed. The blade would normally penetrate and sever, but it merely dug in and came to a halt, buried midway into the warrior, who roared in anger, pain, or surprise. As his mouth opened, Trent spotted razor-sharp teeth, and decided to test their strength against his blade.
He shot forward, as the Iskallon waved a huge hand to swat Trenton to the ground, and twisted in a circle, his blade coming in tight and impaling the warrior through his mouth. The crimson glow of its eye faded and it dropped to the ground, dead.
Trent was satisfied that the warriors were at least susceptible to lightsabers, if not blasters. He returned his blaster to its holster and proceeded to grip his lightsaber in a two-handed stance. The remaining three warriors rushed him, while the Mandalorians focused on the ones that had come from the other heavy fighter.
One of the warriors was smirking arrogantly at Trenton, and it said in basic, "Mere flesh will not halt our progress."
Trent raised an eyebrow, then raised his blade -- but it was a feint. Lightning seemed to explode from everywhere at once, showering the Iskalloni with licks of electricity. Smoke erupted from much of their bodies, pouring out of mouths and nostrils and in one's case, his eyes.
They dropped to the ground, their circuits fried and melted from within.
Trent would have felt satisfaction, but instead he felt a heavy weight slam into him from the side, carrying him two meters before depositing him onto the ground.
Trent's lightsaber flipped out of his hand, and he rolled onto his back just in time to grip with both hands, the incoming razor-blade appendage of the Iskalloni who had tackled him. He tried to force the descending blade affixed to an arm away from him, but where flesh and muscle lent him strength, servomotor and gears gave his attacker more power. The blade angled towards Trent's face, shrieking almost like it was delighted to taste his flesh.
The Iskalloni warrior had a cruel smile on his lips, and a gleam of sadism in his eye.
Trent struggled, and with The Force his discblade erupted from the flesh of one of the now-dead Iskalloni, and flew in between Trent and the enemy now on top of him, searing the saw-blade from off at the wrist. Or from where the wrist should have been.
Trent twisted his head and the now-lifeless saw blade clattered to the floor next to him, and the face of the Iskalloni twisted with rage.
The violent-appearance of the monstrous creature was the last thing he saw before one of the Mandos slammed his beskad through the Iskallons skull.
Trent flinched and slid away from the dropping corpse, climbing to his feet and summoning his weapon back into his hand.

The Iskalloni were dangerous, deadly, formidable, and ruthless. But they were far from invincible, and their physical modifications made them unpredictable.
But he had hope that they could be defeated. And with two of the Heavy Fighters now sitting in the Mandalorians hangar bay, they could be studied, and used as evidence of the incoming assault on the Galactic Alliance.