Jaster launched himself forward, his speed allowing him to swing his blade which just barely missed Velan's throat who leaned back and dodged the attack. Jaster swung his sword back around and was about to attack again, but this time Velan swung his lightsaber and cut the sword in half.
Jaster stepped back and looked at the sword in his hand which was cut in half in shock. He then looked up at the red glowing lightsaber in Velan's hand as he had never seen such a weapon that was capable of cutting his sword in half with little effort.
"A crude weapon, Effective only against lesser foes," he said even though Jaster couldn't understand him.
Jaster in response took out his clan crafted Slugthrower pistol from his waist and fired it at Darth Velan.
Velan spun his lightsaber around and blocked the projectiles one after another as Jaster raised his wrist and shot out a grappling line toward his feet.
Darth Velan didn't have time to react and was caught in the trap. Jaster charged forward, hoping to finish this before Darth Velan recovered.
But Valen simply raised a hand.
An invisible grip grabbed Jaster's throat and lifted him off the ground. His legs were kicking in the air as his feet left the ground. Slowly his confusion turned into panic as the pressure tightened around his throat.
Valen used his lightsaber and cut the grappling line, then starting walking closer to Jaster who was just floating in the air. Jaster tried to reach for anything, a knife, pistol, but there was nothing.
Then with a single swing, Valen's lightsaber cut him in half. The surrounding Mandalorians who were engaged in battle against other soldiers were also promptly defeated as they were facing an enemy that they didn't know how to deal with.
As such the first battle between a Sith Lord and a Mandalorian was over with the Sith claiming victory, but give the Mandalorians enough time and they will learn to adapt.
The rest of the invasion went just as Valen planned. Majority of the population was either enslaved or killed, and the warriors of Clan Ordo were killed, leaving few to carry on the clans name.
A few days later on Mandalore, the clans had gathered together after hearing the news of the invasion by the Sith. They heard how their people were defeated and enslaved and they were screaming for revenge. The current Mand'alor stood before the assembled clan leaders. The war room in the capital was packed with representatives from every major clan, their voices rising in anger and demands for a Crusade.
"Silence!" the Mand'alor commanded, causing everybody to shut up. "Clan Ordo has suffered a devastating blow at the hands of those Sith. As such I hereby order the Crusaders to assemble and prepare to march to war against those honor less bastards. WE WILL SHOW THEM THE MIGHT OF MANDALORE!!" he shouted as he stood up and raised his sword in the air.
The others joined him and soon enough the greatest Mandalorian Crusader fleet was being assembled and prepared to march to war against the Sith. However, they weren't going into this blindly. The survivors who managed to escape had spoken of strange powers that were being used by the Sith that granted them superhuman abilities.
There was nothing they could do with so little information, so the Mand'alor sent some scouts to gather information on these strange powers so that they can find a way to counter it.
But since the survivors reported that they had only seen a handful of people use it, the Mand'alor figured that they could still attack with overwhelming numbers and beat whatever the Sith threw at them.
On Mandalore, millions of crusaders were gathering for their crusade against the Sith. Many didn't know who the Sith were since they had limited contact between the two, but they knew that they were an enemy who attacked them first.
Within the Sith Empire, news of Darth Velan's unauthorized attack reached the Imperial Palace on Korriban within days. The current Sith Emperor, Darth Vithrax, flew into a rage when he learned what had transpired.
"Velan acts without my authority!" Vithrax roared, "He provokes a war we are not prepared for!"
Darth Asid stood among the assembled Dark Council, his expression neutral despite the satisfaction he felt at this outcome. The dark entity whispered its approval in his mind. 'Everything proceeds as planned. The Emperor's weakness is exposed.'
"My Lord," Asid spoke, his voice respectful but also conveying an edge of challenge. "Velan's actions, while unauthorized, demonstrate the warrior spirit the Sith should embody. We cannot appear weak before the Mandalorians now. To punish Velan publicly would be to show division."
Several other Dark Council members nodded in agreement. Vithrax's cautious policies had grown increasingly unpopular among the more aggressive Sith Lords.
"You would have me reward insubordination?" Vithrax questioned.
"I would have you turn a tactical error into strategic advantage," Asid replied. "The Mandalorians will come for us regardless. Velan has simply accelerated the inevitable. We should prepare for war, not internal conflict."
Vithrax studied Asid carefully, sensing something had changed about the younger Sith Lord over the decades. There was a depth to his power now that hadn't existed before, something that Vithrax had sensed with his rise to power. But he did nothing as he only saw it as greed, which was normal for a Sith.
"The fleet will be mobilized," Vithrax finally declared. "But Velan will answer for his actions after the Mandalorians are dealt with. No Sith acts without my authority. And if you ever try to challenge my authority again, I will kill you myself."
Asid bowed respectfully, as his plans were proceeding just as planned. The empty threat that the emperor gave him meant nothing if he didn't have the power to back it up. But now wasn't the time to challenge his authority. First he would prove himself in the war and cement his rise once it's over.
———
A year later, back on Veldari, Daimon was watching the screen in front of him as Progenitor Thoryn stepped up onto the platform to announce the introduction of the public dimensional gates to everyday civilian travel.
"Citizens of the Veldari Imperium," Thoryn's voice could be heard across every major world simultaneously through the holonet, "today marks a new chapter in our civilization's history. For centuries, we have relied on hyperspace travel to connect our worlds. While effective, it has always imposed limitations on how quickly we could move, trade, and communicate across our vast territories."
He gestured to the massive dimensional gate behind him. "Through the combined efforts of our finest scientists, Force engineers, and the vision of His Majesty, we have achieved something extraordinary. We have recreated technology not seen in tens of thousands of years."
Murmurs started to spread through the crowd. Even though there were rumors of a secret project for years, seeing the gate in person was something else entirely.
"Dimensional gates will allow instantaneous travel between worlds. What once took days or weeks will now take seconds. Commerce, family visits, cultural exchange; all will be revolutionized. The first civilian gates are now operational on several core worlds, with expansion planned over the coming decades. Any citizen of the Imperium can apply for gate usage, while residents will require some additional information."
Following this, a demonstration was put on. A family who volunteered to participate stepped through the gate and emerged on Rakata Prime to cheers from the crowd. Another demonstration showed medical supplied being transported to a distant frontier world experiencing a shortage.
Cargo from a merchant vessel was transported to its destination instantaneously, bypassing weeks of hyperspace travel.
The public reaction was very receptive. Within hours of the announcement, millions of citizens across the Imperium flooded ImperiNet with questions, applications for gate usage, and speculation about what this meant for their daily lives.
Trading guilds immediately recognized the economic implications. Goods that previously took weeks to transport could now arrive instantly. Perishable items from agricultural worlds could reach industrial centers while still fresh. The logistics industry would need to be completely restructured to adjust to this change.
In his office, Daimon watched as millions of applications for gate usage began to flood in as the hours passed. However, they did receive some complaints from a few small corporations about being made obsolete.
In response, Daimon announced the implementation of the transition programs which would look to prevent people's livelihoods from being lost because of progress.
The military dimensional gates were a separate issue that was not announced to the public as those were strategic assets. But anyone could guess that if the public had access to it, then the military did as well.
As the days passed, Daimon was paying attention to what the Republic and surrounding adversaries would do. If what he saw in his vision was correct, then a war would break out. If not now, then the war would be sometime in the future.