Galactic date: 19 December, 4 BBY

Location: Star destroyer Hyperion

The officer was running breathlessly, he had a very urgent message to deliver to the captain. He dashed into the turbolift that went straight to the bridge. He managed to catch his breath in the lift. He got out of the lift and sprinted towards a giant hologram in the middle of the bridge.

"Sir, four rebel cruisers are jumping out of hyperspace."

The captain glanced outside the window, only to see two Tantive IVs and a Venator class cruiser. "This is a code black. All hands, battle stations. Send every TIE we've got. Disengage the cruisers." The officer, still panting from his run, answered sharply. "Yes captain."

Meanwhile, aboard the Kanera...

Sato pressed his hands on the hologram. He couldn't do anything but listen to the chatters coming from the comms. "Battle cruiser Valkyrie in position." "Battle cruiser Titan in position." "Battleship Liberator in position and awaiting your command." Sato hit the comlink switch on the hologram and broadcasted, "Battleship Kanera in position. All cannons, open fire!" Laser fire and explosions painted the skies of Lola Sayu. The rebel fleet gave all their might to bring down the imperial armada while trying not to lose another one of their prized cruisers.

"Captain Syndulla, commander Tano. You may deploy when ready." Hera grinned exactly when Sato said the word 'ready'. Moments later, a squadron of 30 A-wings and B-wings formed up ahead of the cruisers. "This is Grey leader. Check in." "Grey 2 standing by." "Grey 3 standing by." "Grey 4 standing by." "Grey 5 standing by." "Grey 6 standing by."...

"All teams we're green! We're green! Fire at will!" The rebel fighters scattered. 6 of the starfighters formed up again in a V pattern and made a dash to the surface. They were trailed by 2 LAAT gunships which carried Zeb and his ground team.

"You better keep those bucketheads occupied Hera!". Zeb and the rest of the crew were getting anxious. Their craft was already smoking and they're not even close to the surface. "I know I know! But there fighters sure are aggressive today! Hang in there Zeb!" Even the ace pilot was getting concerned about getting shot down. She flicked the comlink switch and yelled, "This is Grey leader. Request fire support for ground team! We're getteing hammered out here!" Sato's voice came from the other side. "Negative. But we'll chop another two escorts. Hang tight."

"You heard the commander! We're almost through!" Every second felt like a year in the gunship. The ground beneath the team rumbled every few seconds. This was one ride Zeb won't forget anytime soon.

Back in the Grey's cockpit, Hera noticed the green lasers were mixed with red. Then everything went silent. Two A-wings swooped in from above the gunships. "This is Green 7, we got you covered." "Thanks. Alright punch it Greys! We'll have to take out the turret towers in the airfield before the gunships arrive!"

The other 2 pilots responded, "Copy that Grey leader. Let's do this!" The B-wings broke formation and made a run towards the Citadel.

On the surface of Lola Sayu...

Ezra was inside a turbolift. He was still trying to recover from his last vision. Sabine was dying, and she's counting on Ezra, and only on Ezra, to get her to a safe haven and patch her up again. The turbolift jolted and stopped with no warning. The facility was on full lockdown, and it's definitely not helping. "Kronus, you better double time to the command center! They just initiated a lockdown in here, and getting out's a lot harder right now!" Ezra said as he ignited his lightsaber and cut a hole above him. He intended to cut the lift's power and let it freefall to the basement.

He fired his disruptor on the lift. The blue glowing around the turbolift vanished, leaving it falling 7 stories, threatening to take Ezra with it. Ezra jumped off and hanged himself on an edge sticking out of the walls. He carved another hole in the door, only to find a black hooded figure walking slowing towards him.

"And we meet again, Vader."

Kronus fired his grapple to the top of the shaft. He then dropped a grenade down to the turbolift and made his way to the command center. "How's it going fellas?" He unleashed a killing spree in the room and slaughtered every trooper and officer. Warlock backed away, watching in horror as Kronus unloaded loads of lasers onto his bodyguards. Kronus drew his pistol, and pointed it at Warlock's forehead, poised for the kill.

"This is for the unfortunate young lovers I met."

Bang.

"Bridge, I got it! I deactivated the rest of the towers. I set this place to blow in 15 minutes, do you copy? Bridge, can you hear me?" Kronus yelled frantically at the comms, only to hear the sounds of a lightsaber slashing in random directions. Or more like, two lightsabers.

Ezra was stuck in the hallway. Vader was convinced the boy will fall. "It is time you realise your pathetic rebel friends will never make through me. Surrender and you may serve as the most powerful warrior in the galaxy." Although Vader was a strong opponent, Ezra could still find the mood for sarcasm. "Well, it's also the time you realise I've got a stronger power source. Much stronger, coming from that room." He pointed at the interrogation room. "You once possessed such a power yourself too. Why can't you just control it well and bring freedom to this godforsaken galaxy?" He threw down his helmet and injected his second dose of adrenaline into his body. He was determined to defeat Vader, once and for all.

Ezra managed to corner Vader, the two lightsabers clashed together like a pair of cymbals, each warrior attempted to used their brute strength to overpower the other. "You and I know this better than anyone. Love is a dreadful matter. Why won't you give in and cause yourself less trouble?" Ezra said nothing but roared as he swung his lightsaber towards Vader. Each blow was more powerful than the last. Eventually, Vader's life support was cut. Ezra could't bear to end a man that cannot fight back and turn to the dark side. So instead of taking the final blow, he stepped away and pierced the reinforced durasteel door of the interrogation room.

He bursted in and shot the two guards in there. He then turned his weapon the power source of the electric shackles and disabled them. Sabine fell, and was caught in his arms. Ezra drifted into his memories, again.

They're fading, and Ezra knew it. It had been haunting them ever since the beginning of this quest. He knew this was the last time they'll ever show up in his brain. He knew, he made it. He was free, free from the fear of losing his loved ones. Free from the temptations of the inquisitors. Free, from the chains of Darth Vader.

He won.

Sabine brought their bodies closer together. She made Ezra gasp in surprise as she let their lips collide. Ezra caressed her cheeks while kissing her in return. They didn't even stop for breathing. Kronus ran down the hallway. "Alright, I got her gear. You...Oh." He found himself staring at two lip-locking teenagers. He couldn't help but let out a smile on his face. "You guys mind kissing later? We gotta get out of here now!" Ezra reluctantly broke the kiss and caught his breath. "Get dressed."

"...ectre 6...you copy? Spec...6, please...res..." Ezra heard a chatter coming from his comlink. "I'm here. Spectre 5 is secure. Which platform?" "Exfil is on platform 2. You have 8 minutes before this place goes sky *bang*...!" Ezra could tell the voice was Hera. This can't be good. "Grey leader do you copy? Hera, are you there?" Damn, Kanan's not gonna be happy about this.

The clones made a final dash to the landing platform. Hoping to see the gunships waiting for them. Instead, they saw an object that appears to be an escape pod. A twi'lek was trying to crawl out of the wreckage, but was surrounded by a pack of shadow troopers.

Kronus leaped out without warning. He gunned down every shadow trooper standing in his way and made a run for the escape pod. Ezra suddenly found something strange in Kronus' armor. His right arm was completely green. And the tube clipped on his hip wasn't a detonator. It was a lightsaber.

"Only one person would do this for Hera."