The Grey Guardian

Chapter One

Varlo's Pov

Piloting my fighter through the asteroid field was difficult, but it was far more preferable to dodging turbolaser shots from the capital ships pursuing me. "I guess they didn't appreciate my sabotage of their fighter squadrons." I joked to myself as I narrowly missed one asteroid.

Suddenly, one of the big space rocks behind me exploded, and it wasn't long before I saw why.

A small group of starfighters had managed to locate me and were hot on my tail. "T7, find a random point to jump to. I can't take them on in this field." I said to my faithful droid companion, getting a beep in response.

Pulling upwards out of the field to get clear of any obstacles, I sensed my pursuers attempt to follow, though only one made it out of the field with me.

Instead of turning to face my attacker, I increased my speed in an attempt to outrun him, and a few seconds later T7 informed me that the course was set.

However, before I could fully engage my hyperdrive, a shot from the ship behind me hit it, causing it to begin malfunctioning. "Blasted Sith Womprats!" I exclaimed, desperately trying to shut the drive down, but it was in vain. "T7, I-" before I could finish my sentence I was pulled back into my seat by the sudden acceleration of my ship as the hyperdrive activated and made the jump.

Raven's Pov

I was woken from my sleep by a sound like screaming and a rumbling as something flew overhead. Quickly getting dressed, I rushed outside to see my clan was already investigating. "Vernal! What the hell was that?!" "Our sentries saw some sort of aircraft flying overhead over in that direction. It had smoke trailing from it so I guess it won't be in the air for much longer." She said, pointing towards the forest beyond the gate. "Get a group ready. We're going to find out what it was." I ordered.

The drive took about half an hour before we found what we were looking for. An airship like I'd never seen before sat in a clearing, its cockpit empty. "Search the area. I want the pilot found."

The group spread out to search the surrounding woods, and I suddenly felt a sense of intense but familiar dread. "Grimm!" I shouted, drawing my sword and cleaving one in half right before it reached me.

The group quickly began firing at the horde that had managed to sneak up on us. "Stupid! I was too distracted!" I chastised myself for not being smarter. The clan began pulling back in a circle around the ship. One of my people was ambushed by a Creep which pulled him down and dragged him into the woods. "Focus on the ones closest!" I ordered.

It seemed hopeless, at least for the others. But the battle was interrupted by a bolt of energy whizzing past my head and killing a Beowolf that was about to strike me from behind, followed by another bolt, and another, and another that all quickly whittled down the numbers surrounding us. The creatures suddenly turned in the direction of the shots.

A man in robes and armor stood there, quickly holstering his pistols before an invisible force pulled two silver cylinders from his belt and into his hands. Then, two blue beams of energy sprang out of them, and the man quickly began dispatching the creatures charging him, the blades of light an incredible sight to behold. Even my sword needed at least two strikes to bring down anything more than a Beowolf or Ursa, and these... laser swords, were doing it in one.

Taking advantage of our reprieve from the onslaught, my people and I began bringing down the remaining Grimm that hadn't engaged the stranger, turning the tables and allowing more offensive actions. When the gunfire stopped and the dust settled, the man approached us, causing my people to raise their guns and blades at him. "Stand down." I ordered, sheathing my sword and removing my mask. "State your name." "Varlo Blaise, but you can just call me Varlo. I see you found my ship." He said, removing his hood and helmet and seemingly unfazed by the hostile response of my group.

"I think you mean MY ship. You landed in MY forest, now it's MINE." I corrected him, and once again barrels were trained on him. "Ah, bandits. Lovely. And here I was hoping for a more civilized conversation." "Oh, I can arrange that. Once you've handed over your weapons and goods." "You seem awfully confident in your ability to take me on." "Look around. You're outnumbered ten to one. Now you can either come quietly or we take your loot off your corpse. I'm not picky about which choice you make."

There was silence for a moment, before the man held his hands up. Two of my people began to approach before suddenly everyone's weapons were ripped from their grips and flung behind the stranger, who then proceeded to ignite his blades. "It seems you've all been disarmed. So what were those odds you were so confident about again? Ten to one was it? How about now?" He smirked at me. "Fine, I'll take you on myself."

I drew my sword and prepared to strike. The man just stood there, clearly trying to make me come to him. "What is your angle here?" I pondered. We began circling each other, both of us not taking our eyes off the other. Finally, I saw my opening and charged. My blade was quickly cut in half and I was knocked down by a spin kick to the head. "I'll admit, you got pretty close there. I can see why these people chose you as their leader." He said, the blades sinking back into the handles as he offered me a hand up. "I'm sorry about your friend that got dragged away. I wasn't fast enough. And I'm also sorry about your sword."

I glared up at him, only to realize the look of compassion and genuine kindness on his face. "Fool." I thought as I begrudgingly took his hand. "Call me what you want. It does not change that I truly am sorry for your loss." He said, surprising me. "How did he-" "I could explain how I know but every moment we spend out here only increases our risk of being attacked again." He interrupted, handing me the other half of my blade. The point of separation was melted, and upon looking at the part of the sword that was still attached to the handle I saw the same thing.

I looked at the man again, this time with one of curiosity. "I'm going to assume you've never seen a lightsaber before then." He spoke. "No." "You still want to try to take my things?" "Also no." "Smart choice. I'll make you an offer. You refrain from attacking me or any further attempts at extortion, and I'll cover you from the air while you get your people home." "Why would I trust you?" "You don't have to accept. Despite the fact that I find your particular way life... shall we say unsavory, I don't wish to see any more deaths, especially unnecessary ones." "We've done fine on our own. We don't need your help." "Very well then. T7! Fire it up!"

I looked at the ship to see a small robot sitting in a previously empty slot in the back, now beeping in a sequence that I could only assume was how it spoke. The "ship", as he called it, roared to life, the engines kicking up dirt and Grimm ash. The man then gave me a nod as he walked past me and climbed aboard the vehicle, the cockpit closing as the thing rose slowly in the air until it cleared the treeline, where it sped off faster than any other airship I'd ever seen. "What the hell just happened?" One of my tribe said. "I... have no idea.".