Dusk was falling across Atollon, the skies darkening as the sun set.

Yet that did not stop Kanan Jarrus from meditating at the edge of Chopper Base. He was perched on his knees at the boundary of the base, behind the wall of sensors designed to keep the spider creatures that inhabited Atollon away.

Not that they needed them to be fair. Kanan had learnt to coexist with the creatures. As long as one didn't show fear or anger, and respected the existence of the spiders, they were more than happy to let you pass unharmed.

Of course, that might be due to his force sensitivity, rather than just good manners.

As Kanan mediated, he sensed unease and unbalance in the force. He had heard Maul call out again for Ahsoka, sounding far more desperate than last time.

Ezra had been awake to hear Maul this time as well, prompting Kanan to reveal all to his apprentice.

Predictably, Ezra had been mortified at the thought of Ahsoka going alone, demanding to know why they didn't go to help her. She had come to Malachor with them, so in Ezra's mind they should have gone to Tatooine with her.

Kanan had done what he could to settle the boy's nerves, revealing his discussion with Rex, and how the clone had decided to accompany the Togruta in secret. Kanan hoped that it wouldn't cause any conflict between the two. He had sensed unrest from Ahsoka in recent months in regards to her old friend. Since Lothal, the two hadn't spoken.

It was times like those that Kanan wished he stilled possessed his sight. He was clearly missing something, and without being able to physically see, he was missing certain details.

But he trusted Ahsoka, and he had learnt to trust Rex. Whatever the problem was, they would sort it out between themselves.

Another presence appeared beside him as he mediated. Not one who could manipulate the force, but an individual who shone bright, even without being able to delve into the force.

At least, in Kanan's mind she did.

"You ok Kanan?" Hera's soft voice asked as she moved to sit next to the Jedi knight. Kanan resisted the urge to reach out and pull her into an embrace.

"Fine. Just meditating on things." Kanan replied. Beside him, Hera nodded, turning her attention to the wilds of Atollon.

"Still no word from Ahsoka?" Hera asked. Kanan had also told her about the mission, not that he could hid it even if he wanted to. Hera was remarkably good at figuring out when Kanan was hiding something from her.

"None yet. But Maul had been calling out for her again. Clearly she's not found him yet." Kanan replied, coming out of his meditative state.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She's got Rex with her after all." Hera encouraged, her hand coming to rest on Kanan's squeezing lightly.

Kanan reciprocated the gesture, appreciating the support. However, something told Kanan that not all was at it seemed.

"I know Hera, I just can't shake the feeling that something is about to go horribly wrong."

As if summoned by Kanan's very words, Hera's comm link began to blink in alarm.

"Captain Syndulla, report to the command centre immediately. We have a situation on our hands." Commander Sato's voice came through the comm, urgency evident.

Concern flooded through Kanan and Hera, as they both stood and darted towards the command centre.

When they arrived, Ezra and Zeb were already present, along with Sato, Kallus and the Larte sisters.

"What's going on?" Kanan asked, coming to stand beside his apprentice. Through the force bond he shared with Ezra, fear and worry was present.

"I'd say look at screen master Jedi, but that would be in poor taste." Sato responded. Again, Kanan wished he still possessed his vision.

"Hera?" Kanan asked. She would let him know if it was serious.

"The Empire has found us!" Hera replied, shock in her voice.

Kanan could not see it, but the holographic table in the command centre had pinged a fleet of imperial vessels in orbit above Atollon.

And at the head of the fleet, the Chimaera was present.

Seconds later, the holograms changed, and the form of a familiar Chiss Grand Admiral appeared.

"Commander Sato, Captain Syndulla, Agent Kallus, a pleasure to see you again in this remote sector of space. You are hopelessly outnumbered with no chance of escape. Your rebellion ends today!" The admiral spoke, his voice as eerie as always, with a hint of disguised malice in his tone.

"How did you find us?" Kallus was the first to respond, hatred for the Chiss evident. The hologram of Thrawn smirked, as if holding some dastardly secret.

"An error of yours in a previous engagement. It matters little now."

Hera spoke up next. "You expect us to surrender Grand Admiral."

Thrawn turned all his attention to the Twi-lek pilot, his red eyes boring into her skull, even though a hologram.

"You misunderstand Captain Syndulla, I never intended to capture you. There shall be no surrenders, only utter defeat, crashing down upon you." Thrawn spoke, as if reading some elaborate script he had prepared earlier.

Beneath his mask, Kanan rolled his milky eyes.

"And you shall know that it was I that delivered it to you this day. Now, let us proceed." Thrawn finished his monologue, disconnecting the channel.

An uneasy silence fell upon the collected rebels. No one dared move, or say anything. Some looked to Sato for guidance, others Hera.

So it was a surprise to all when Zeb spoke first.

"There's no way we have the strength to overpower Thrawn."

"Agreed, and no doubt he will have countermeasures in place to ensure we cannot escape." Sato took Zeb's line of thought, analysing the field of battle.

The holographic screen depicting the assembled Star Destroyers had returned. Seven of the ships were present in orbit, as well as two smaller vessels that were familiar to the rebels.

"Interdictors, great!" Ezra spoke with annoyance. "Thrawn thinks of everything."

"How did he find us though?" Kallus reiterated his question from earlier. Since becoming an official Fulcrum agent, Kallus had been in charge of the intelligence network for Phoenix Squadron. Was it possible that he slipped up somewhere and allowed Thrawn to trace the signal back to Atollon?

"Right now that is not our concern. What is is getting as many people out of here as possible. We have to find a way to deal with those Interdictors first, before Thrawn lands ground troops." Hera took command, her 'Captain' demeanour coming to the forefront.

"Our carrier is already in orbit, and we have a few corvettes ready and waiting. But that is not enough to handle that many Star Destroyers, let alone a pair of Interdictors." Miara joined in now, her hands interacting with the screen before her.

"True, but we do still have the Defender Prototype. Its weapons are designed to pierce even the strongest of ship's hulls. If we can get in close to the Interdictors, we might have a chance." Hera concluded, bringing up the schematics for the Defender, as well as what they had managed to pull from it so far.

Admittedly, they had taken the Defender apart somewhat in order to study the design and develop a countermeasure. But that didn't mean they could put it together again.

Hera clearly had the same idea, as she brought up her comm to her mouth.

"Chopper, AP5, we need to Defender ready to go ASAP."

AP5 replied in his usual style.

"I apologise Captain Syndulla, but that will take time, otherwise the fighter will not be in the best condition it could be. Certain systems may not work effectively."

Hera was about to shout at the droid, when Chopper's annoyed beeps could be heard on the other side.

"No Chopper, we cannot just rush the job. The Defender must be repaired systematically in order for it to operate at peak efficiency."

The rebels did not have the time to wait for Chopper and AP5 to finish another of their exaggerated arguments.

This time, it was Kanan that spoke through the comms.

"Chop, we need the weapons online at the very least. Can you do that buddy?"

Surprising everyone, Chopper buzzed back enthusiastically, following Kanan's order without hesitance for the first time in a long while. Clearly the astromech knew that the situation was dire, and that it was not the time to mess around.

"Ok, Chopper and AP5 will repair the ship, the rest of us will stall Thrawn's fleet as long as we can." Hera spoke. Nods and murmurs of agreement went around the collected rebels.

Kanan however, had other intentions.

"You guys go ahead, I have to warn somebody first."


Grand Admiral Thrawn stood on the bridge of the Chimaera, observing the planet below. It may have been crawling with his opposition, but it was still a beautiful place, full of mystery and intrigue.

Perhaps when this war was over, he would come back and visit it, discover what he could about the planet.

Till then, he had a battle to win.

He had possessed the exact location of the rebel base since Lothal, when the rebels had stolen the TIE Defender prototype from him. Unbeknownst to them, a tracking beacon placed into the vessel had provided Thrawn with their exact location. The only reason he had not attacked sooner was to give himself more time to prepare, to analyse the tactics of Phoenix Squadron. He had learnt that Hera Syndulla would willingly sacrifice certain aspects for the safety of others, and that Jun Sato would come to the aid of any that needed him, regardless of the danger.

All his research, all his so called defeats, would now culminate in this battle.

He would destroy Phoenix Squadron, and capture Ahsoka Tano for the Emperor.

Behind him, Governor Pryce spoke.

"The fleet is in position, and Admiral Konstantine has ensured us that the gravity well generators of his Interdictors are working at optimum efficiency. Nothing can escape the blockade Grand Admiral."

Thrawn knew it was a risk letting Konstantine be a part of this operation, but then everyone deserved a second chance. Maybe this time Konstatine would prove to be reliable, and not inept as he had in previous engagements.

"Excellent work Governor, now we wait and let the rebels make the first move." Thrawn replied.

He was patient. He would let them come to him.

"Very good Grand Admiral." Pryce responded, before moving towards a holographic table near the back of the Chimaera's bridge.

Thrawn remained at the front, watching out the window, staring down at Atollon.

"Your move Captain Syndulla."

Author's thoughts

Surprise perspective shift. Sorry to anyone who thought it would be Kenobi this chapter, but the next few chapters are dedicated to what is going on at Atollon.

On the bright side, Thrawn had made his reappearance. :D

Before I go any further, I want to apologise for last chapter, where I gave my views on The Last Jedi and such. I didn't mean for it to sound like a rant, which it did when I went back and read it myself. I do like the Force Awakens, and I'm sure The Last Jedi will be good, I'm just not in any great rush to see it myself. Still, if you are, I hope you enjoy it.

Anyways, now that I got that off my chest...

As usual, feel free to comment/speculate/ask questions at will.

Speaking of which, boy do I have a lot to answer this time. Yay:

FossilQueen1984: Eighth Brother stands no chance against even a single one of them conventionally, so at the sight of Kenobi he had legged it with the Sith Holocron in his possession. He got what he came for, now to wait and see what he does with it.

Mogor: More chapters are coming. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan is coming, just after the Atollon chapters are done.

Mysterious Guest number one that commented on chapter 7: "Please don't kill off Maul." Let me tell you, I went back and forth over Maul's fate in this AU numerous times. You will have to wait and see what happens to him.

Mysterious Guest number two that commented on chapter 7: Old Ben to the rescue indeed. As for Rex... he's survived worse.

Mysterious Guest number three that commented on chapter 7: Old Ben shows up when Old Ben is needed most, he's like that. His reaction to Ahsoka will be interesting indeed.
I will certainly give the trailer a shot when I get the time. Guess its a case of personal preference really. While I liked Star Wars when I first saw it, I wasn't really a fan until The Clone Wars, (and Ahsoka if you couldn't already guess). I will see the movie at some point, just probably some time after it first releases.

Luke Dude: KENOBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
As much as the Eighth Bro had improved and learnt from Malachor, he is still no match for Ahsoka. Perhaps he could legitimately beat Kanan or Ezra, but anyone else and he is screwed, thus he had to improvise. I'm glad that idea got through in the writing, as that was what I was going for.
More questions are always welcome, keep them coming. I love answering them.
Both Director Krennic and Galen Erso will appear in the next story as key players. In fact I have just started writing that story, and Krennic appears in the very first scene. As for the Death Star... how else would I end this AU? :)

Travis Middleton: I'm glad you liked the chapter, and hope you aren't too angry about having to wait a bit to see Ahsoka and Obi-Wan reunite.
Regarding your idea about how Maul found Obi-Wan... it's something I don't address in this story as their wasn't time and I didn't have a good solution for it yet. However, I really like your idea, and would like to include it in the next story if that's ok with you. I'll make sure to note that it was your idea as well. If not, thats cool, I have a backup idea.
Now, to answer your questions:
1. Anakin died as Vader in this AU, meaning no redemption, and no force ghost ability. (not that he deserved it in the first place in my opinion but hey).
2. Obi-Wan's fate remains to be seen. With Vader dead, you might think him safe. Guess you will have to wait and see.