AN: I cried, like a whole lot writing this, which is pointless because barely anyone reads it, I just love writing it, and this chapter demonstrated that perfectly. I was listening to 'Your Father Would Have Been Proud' from the Rogue One Soundtrack, which is the song playing as Cassian and Jyn die on screen. I highly recommend listening to that song as soon as Cassian and Juno come into the chapter, and you'll see why.
Anyway, I love Star Wars so much, I loved Rogue One too much, I love Cassian Andor more than any hero in the films except Obi-Wan and Rey. And I love this story, a lot, and I don't mind that barely anyone reads it, I don't write it for that. I write this, because I love it. And this chapter was a very hard one to stomach through, not because I'm bored, but because something happens that I found incredibly hard to write, for the first time ever I did something. And I'm sorry for it.
Enjoy reading this to anyone who is, and please please, leave a review on this chapter if you read it, if you enjoyed it or didn't. Because this chapter took everything out of me, I cried for about three hours while writing it, and you'll see why. In the end, it actually came to a coin toss. Enjoy!
Cassian Andor - Dark Purge
Chapter 6: Strength Often Forged Through Vigorous Defeat, Part 2
Mara was choking, her life slipping before her very feeling as the whole world and galaxy around her blackened and went numb, even white, her vision slipping. And all she could hear coming closer and closer through the dust and smoke that filled the corridor was the foul and menacing breathing of Lord Vader combined with his clad iron footprints.
She was dead, her mission failed and her girlfriend alone, and it was all over, without Mara, Juno and Cassian would die too, Vader would find them and cut them down before him and the Dark Purge project would continue and thrive, and the Rebel Alliance would die. The Empire would win, Darth Vader would win, and by extension, Emperor Palpatine himself would win. Her escape from the Inquisition and theft of Mace Windu's lightsaber was all for nothing, absolutely nothing. The darkness was surrounding her completely. All she could do was try to slither out some last words to Vader, and die a warrior's death to his hand like Ahsoka Tano.
"You'll destroy each other," Mara choked, holding the visage of nothingness that was the Force wrapped around her throat, killing her completely. "Palpatine, and you. It's… The way of the Sith," she edged out through the crushing pressure killing and stifling her breaths and respiratory system. Her lungs were bursting before her.
Vader's wheezing and tumultuously ravage breathing noise hissed from his ghastly robotic suit and core, being the ultimate thing Mara would hear. He stepped a little closer and stopped right in front of her, standing tall and victorious, the winner of their little unfair contest.
"The Emperor will be defeated, by me, but not with you… Never," Lord Vader groaned and tightened his grip a little more, deciding she was not worth her trouble, and killing her… Only there came a noise from behind Mara's suspended body, and the door began to creak.
The tall man in black let Mara go, dropping her unconscious to the floor but certainly alive as the door began to heat up and well from a charged explosion, and before he knew it, the whole thing was ablaze with flame, and exploded spectacularly just as the Dark Lord ignited his lightsaber again, prepared to deflect blaster bolts.
"Go, go, go! Shoot him down!" The voice of Hera Syndulla shouted as the Rebels unleashed a hail of magenta and red blaster bolts down the corridor, with precision aim careful enough not to hit Mara on the floor. "Zeb! Grab her now!" The Twi'lek general boomed as she stepped over an already dead Rebel Soldier, shot with a deflected blast bolt from Vader's lightsaber as the hulking Sith Lord shifted back and back, down the deep and dark corridor with flashes of red and magenta light sparking all over. Hera was resolute, determined to get Mara out and eyed down Vader the whole time as she shot at him with her rifle, all while Zeb meandered down over the bodies to grab the VIP. His Bo-rifle was out too and he was giving Vader as much suppressive fire as he could while grabbing Mara. It was pure chaos but they were close, and more troopers were falling down dead with smoking holes in their bodies from Vader's expert deflection.
"Zeb!" Hera roared behind her as she stepped to the front of the firing squad to pepper Vader with sharp orange bolts from her rifle. "I said get her out! Now!" She thundered again, inspiring Garazeb to move and retreat back through the incursion hole that was the door. "Troopers set the damn shield grate now and retreat back to the ship!" The General ordered and behind her, one trooper with a minigun took up position behind her as Zeb got to safety with Mara.
Then Hera herself slowly retreated, slowly enough to allow more and more troopers to get behind the frame of the door and spray more laser fire down range at Vader, keeping him suppressed where he was so he could not kill Hera. She retreated down the hallway and passed the frame, tapping the trooper waiting on his shock and clad white helmet to activate their trap and before they knew it, the door was blocked by a red laser gate. And Vader was trapped.
"There, that oughta hold him for a while," General Syndulla sniffed as she wiped her brow, with Vader getting all too close to the gate, even testing it with his sabre. There was no way through, not even with the blade. "Good to see you again Darth."
Vader's breath was still audible and some of the troopers wretched when they heard it, some even taking Mara on a stretcher and retreating to the exit point.
"You are all traitors to the Empire, and shall soon meet the same fate as Miss Jade," Vader threatened with his red lightsaber still drawn and his towering stature bearing over Hera. She was not afraid, never of Vader, not after their encounter on Lothal years ago.
Hera stood right up close to the gate, looking up and into Vader's red eyes, peering seemingly into the mask. "Yeah, well the Empire can go kiss my ass. Enjoy your stay on Corulag… Lord Vader."
Cassian fired his own barrage down range at Thrawn and his entrenched forces of Deathtroopers and what Juno had informed Cassian were Storm Commandos. He didn't really care what they were, they were elusive to kill and fired with an accuracy that almost all Stormtroopers lacked. They were bastards to the Captain and he was rapidly getting annoyed of all their tenacity to stay alive no matter how much he and Juno shot down range. The tanned rimmer from Fest swapped magazines and handed Juno a spare, grimacing and how much was left on his utility belt. "I'm down to my least mag, and I'm out of detonators," Cassian breathed hastily, his breath white hot and his heart thumping in his chest. It was getting close now and he could tell that Thrawn himself would make a push with the Deathtroopers. He did not want to die here, not now, not after all this day had thrown at him and with so much left to do. If Cassian and Juno died now, the Dark Purge Project would wipe out the Rebellion. He would not allow that to happen.
Juno looked him, her blonde hair darkened by the dim light and the stress in her head, and her blue eyes shining like pretty sapphires. She was breathing faster than he, stood up tall and closest to the tip of the corner. She was afraid, he could tell by the glimmer of fear in her eyes, and he felt sorry for her. She had not asked for this. To have worked so hard in the hands of the Empire and escaping Coruscant only to be shot like a wild Nexu from Fellucia.
"Cassian, it's not looking good," Juno squeaked, feeling the heat from another blaster bolt hitting the corner behind her.
What could he do besides look at her muted?
Cassian took a deep breath, waited and leant around to shoot a Storm Commando in the chest as he peered to do the same to them. The man fell backwards, right at Thrawn's feet with a grunt, causing the Chiss to grit his teeth and snarl. Quickly he peered and managed to get a shot off, which barrel down space and made thick and burning contact with Cassian's shoulder. He screamed in pain, falling back behind the corner as Juno held him, pressuring the wound. She yelled his name in duress and Thrawn smiled. He was about to win where Vader had failed, and two out of three fugitives were more that a victory to the Chiss, he'd hunt Mara down soon enough, but Juno and Fulcrum were precious heads to own.
"Juno," Cassian gasped, his wound scorching down his chest in excruciating pain. They were both in pain, immense pain, and it hurt more than anything. Cassian had been shot a few times, but only grazes and misses, searing through his clothing and across his arms. This was a direct shot at him and it had pained him more than anything. It was going to leave the worst scar should he survive. "Juno I don't want to die now. I don't want to die yet, or here."
The blonde Captain looked into his eyes, seeing his regret and his worry about dying there and then, and he saw her fear of the same, of leaving Mara even if she was still alive. They both then, in that moment, if anything else, shared one thing, and found a common place in one thing. They both did not want to die to Thrawn, on Corulag, in some dark hallway like animals to a fascist, and extreme regime that some man had found through the ashes of the Clone Wars.
"Oh Cassian, why must we fight for the Galaxy's liberty? Why do they have to do this? The Empire? Why Cassian?" Juno wept, her eyes glassy and filled with tears daring to break loose as Cassian kneeled beside her, his fight extinguished and his mental stream preparing to stop.
He took a breath, his shoulder bubbling pain, and hearing the footsteps of what he assumed were Deathtroopers coming to collect him and murder Juno in the corridor. "Juno… I don't know why they do this. Why the Empire insist on having so much control over people's lives… But I know one thing Juno, even if we die now…"
Again she looked at him, and he at her, as the footsteps got closer and closer, slowly, with the sound of a rifle changing magazines and another being set to stun. This was it, completely. It was over, for both of them.
"I know that one day, we'll beat them, Juno. There is hope. There's always hope," he whispered, taking her hand in his and looking deep into her eyes, then resting his head on her shoulder. If she was going to die, then he'd be with her until the end. "May the Force be with you Juno Eclipse…"
She closed her eyes, accepting the Deathtroopers coming to extinguish her. "And may the Force be with you Cassian Andor."
The footsteps stopped, and rifles were drawn, aimed threateningly at Juno. She didn't bother to open her eyes. She knew what was coming.
When Cassian opened his eyes he was aboard the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser under Admiral Raddus, alone and on the bed of a medical bay, with his shoulder patched up as much as it could with a bacta pad. Several lines were drawn and strung up to his arms to keep him sedated and hydrated, and by the looks of himself as he drowsily sat up he'd been under for at least a few hours. And it was a miracle he was still breathing, and not aboard an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer being prepared for interrogation by two medical droids. He was in the hands of Alliance crew, on an Alliance ship and he was alive, breathing, and going to be okay. No doubt they were heading back to Yavin at that very moment.
He sat back, even daring to smile at his luck, at something that had saved him from death or imprisonment. He was alive.
But Cassian turned to his left, at the medical table next to him, which had a body on it, one with blonde hair and with blue eyes, and the body was female.
It was Juno Eclipse, and she was dead. Shot in the middle of her forehead with one single laser bolt. She was dead, and he was alive.
Vader stared out of the front window panel of his flagship, the Super Star Destroyer, a prototype, what was named The Executor, simply looking down at the planet of Corulag, and Thrawn was next to him, looking a little less illustrious and confident than before they had both visited the planet. Much had been lost and wasted there and now; time, resources, troops and Juno Eclipse as well, not to mention the Imperial Droid the Rebels needed by the designation of K-2SO. And now, with the Rebels heading back to their secret base with the precious cargo intact as well as Cassian Andor and Mara Jade alive and well, Vader was out of patience.
"I will find them, Lord Vader, you have my word on that, the Emperor will not see the foundry on Prefsbelt destroyed," Thrawn assured Vader, who simply stood enigmatic and silent aside from the foul and menacing breathing of his automatic respiratory system.
Lord Vader was out of patience, especially with Thrawn, after three failures now he would no longer see another chance from the blackly clad Sith Lord.
With a grip of his fingers, as if Vader were holding something a visage field wrapped itself around Thrawn's throat, and he began to choke completely before Vader. "I have no more time or patience for your failure Grand Admiral Thrawn… And neither does the Emperor. You were trusted to eradicate all three of the Rebels and it took you this long to correct your mistake of Juno Eclipse," Vader riddled off in his bass and echoing tone, swelling with the anger of a Sith. He was furious, even if Juno was now dead. There was still the growing problem of Cassian Andor, who Vader now knew of as Fulcrum, and Mara Jade, who would most certainly find strength in the Force through her anger over Juno's death. Vader knew that the next time they met, she would be a rival to him, and would be able to fight him possibly. Thanks to the Rebels, there was another Force-user in the Galaxy who could stand up to the threat Vader and the Inquisition posed to them.
"The Dark Purge project is now at full risk and Mara Jade will only grow stronger in The Force, thus, I have taken matters into my own hands as to find them," Vader alluded and let Thrawn go, letting him cough and splutter all over the floor of the command deck, as one more man joined them at the window.
He was shorter than both of them, but his footsteps ringing on the durasteel hinted at the twang of Mandalorian Iron in the composite of the armour, and the green and white colour that Thrawn saw as he stood up showed him who the man was. There was only one man, one Bounty Hunter in the galaxy that wore Mandalorian Armour anymore, only one who would be inclined to take a job from the Empire.
"Boba Fett, we meet again," Thrawn spoke harshly.
"Pleasure," he spat through his father's helmet, before turning to Darth Vader as the Sith enforcer did the same and looked at Boba with the red of his artificial eyes. He was pleased to see the Bounty Hunter, and even more pleased he had come. "So, Lord Vader, what is this job? I had to turn down the capture of Liana Hallik for this."
Vader sternly looked down at Boba. "You will be well compensated, Bounty Hunter. Should you find a man known as Cassian Andor…"
To Be Continued...