The Rise of Starkiller
A New Addition II
Guten Tag mein freundes! How are you all doing? :) I love the support you guys have shown, and here is reward, a new chapter! :D This chapter and the previous one will be showing some girl power; as you may have noticed, Sabine, Rosa, and Ketsu showed no mercy to those unfortunate Stormtroopers XD.
Wow! Over 90 reviews already! I hope to reach 100 with this chapter :) Thank you all for your support!
Disclaimer: Refer to earlier chapters to know who owns what.
On Garel….
Sabine, Leonidas, and Maximus were pursuing Sabine's former friend Ketsu Onyo, when suddenly a red light flashed above the pilot's position.
"What's going on!?" Sabine exclaimed.
"Missile lock, hold on!" Maximus exclaimed as the missile collided with the side of the ship and blowing open the side door.
Maximus attempted to hold onto something but was sucked out of the door before he could.
"MAXIMUS!" Leonidas exclaimed as he saw his friend drop to the ground.
The hijacked transport soon came crashing down as well, throwing Leonidas and Sabine out the front of the newly shattered windows. It all happened so fast that the Mandos' minds had a hard time processing what just happened before blacking out.
Leonidas regained consciousness ten minutes later and saw Sabine lying on the ground next to the flaming wreckage. Leonidas didn't have a moment to lose, he scooped Sabine up bridal style and carried her a good distance from the downed vehicle.
He laid her down and removed her helmet so she could breathe easier and checked her pulse, which was slowly getting stronger. Leonidas activated his wristcom in an attempt to reach his blood brother.
"Solar, do you copy?" Leonidas used Maximus's codename.
Static was his response. Leonidas sighed and shut off his comm.
Not a minute after he did that Sabine regained consciousness with a huge gasp for air.
"Easy there." Leonidas said firmly.
"Ketsu! Where is she?!" Sabine exclaimed.
Leonidas pointed to another smoke plume in the distance.
"She shared our fate, whoever gunned us down is not an ally of hers." Leonidas stated.
"Where's Maximus?" Sabine asked as she stood back up.
"He was knocked out of the ship when we were still in the air, I don't know if he's alive or not." Leonidas replied; a look of grievance on his face.
"He's tough, I'm sure he made it", Sabine said as she drew her pistols, "But right now we need to find Ketsu."
"What about Maximus?" Leonidas asked incredulously.
"If he is alive, then he will be going to that smoke plume like you and I." Sabine stated as she began to jog to the plume in the distance.
Leonidas opened his mouth to protest but decided against it; when she put her mind to something she did it, Leonidas could only hope that his blood brother was alive as he jogged after Sabine to the Shadow Caster's wreckage.
Garellian Outlands, location unknown….
Maximus was sprawled out on the tall grass, regaining consciousness with gasp of air and a wheezing cough. Maximus stood up; experiencing some vertigo as the blood rushed to his head from standing up too fast, and saw that his wristcom was busted from his landing.
Maximus recalled that when he was sucked out of the transport he attempted to activate the jets in his boots to cushion his fall but they only succeeded by a very small margin as he had to resort to the old tuck and roll technique. After he finished collecting his thoughts and checking to see if he lost anything during his descent he noted two plumes of smoke in the distance. Without skipping a beat, Maximus sprinted to the one closest to him.
After a five minute sprint he arrived at the remains of the Shadow Caster and saw flames that were beginning to spread. Maximus looked to see a comatose Ketsu slumped over the pilot controls. At first Maximus pondered on leaving her for dead; but then something else inside of him told him to help her. Maximus came up to the cockpit of the downed fighter and took out his vibrosword, jamming it into an opening and prying the glass hatch off of the top with a mighty heave.
"I hope I don't end up regretting this." Maximus murmured to himself as he picked Ketsu up bridal style and carried her a good distance away from the debris.
He laid her down, removed her helmet along with his own, and checked her pulse. It was fading.
Maximus began performing CPR on her, he pumped her chest three times before breathing air into her via 'mouth-to-mouth'. This cycle continued for a few minutes when finally Ketsu woke up, unfortunately for Maximus it was right in the middle of him performing the mouth-to-mouth part of the CPR cycle. Ketsu's eyes widened in shock before punching Maximus across the face.
"What are you thinking you creep?!" Ketsu exclaimed a bit hysterically.
"Saving your life." Maximus groaned; rubbing his jaw.
Ketsu was about to ask what he was talking about when she saw her ship up in flames with the cockpit pried off. It all started to come back, she was gunned down by an anti-aircraft rocket.
"I performed CPR on you for four minutes straight", Maximus explained, "A thank you would be nice."
"That changes nothing." Ketsu snapped as she reached for her pistol, only to find that Maximus had confiscated it along with her staff.
"I have no intention of harming you, but I will put you down if you try anything." Maximus said sternly as he drew his pistol and held her at gunpoint.
"You wouldn't." Ketsu growled.
"You didn't seem too sorry when you tried to turn us in, so once again I have a proposition for you." Maximus replied in a dark tone, "You help me find my blood brother and his girlfriend, and I'll give you a ride to the nearest spaceport along with your weapons back. If not than I can just put you down right here and now and turn your carcass in for some credits to fatten up my pockets."
Maximus could be a very scary person when he wanted to, however Ketsu merely stared him down with a scowl.
"Deal." She agreed with the most reluctance anyone could have.
"Good, let's go to that second plume of smoke I thin…." Maximus began before Ketsu cut him off.
"Look, something is coming!" Ketsu exclaimed as she put her helmet back on.
Maximus looked in the direction Ketsu was looking and saw half a dozen Skiffs coming towards them. A bunch of thugs were aboard them and armed with rifles; some shot a few rounds into the air.
"Pirates, GET DOWN!" Maximus exclaimed as he tackled Ketsu to the ground.
The Skiffs whizzed over them with a bunch of trigger happy pirates howling and shooting the sky. After the sound of gunfire faded and the wind became the only sound in the area, the two got back up and brushed themselves off.
"I'd wager those are the scum who gunned us down." Ketsu growled, "They'll be coming back."
"Then we need to find Leonidas and Sabine quickly before they do." Maximus replied.
"We could be forced into a firefight at any moment with those hoodlums, I need to have a way to protect myself", Ketsu protested while extending an open hand, "Give me my weapon."
Maximus regretfully admitted that she had a point, he had promised her that she wouldn't be killed unless she tried to turn on him, leaving her without a weapon would be breaking that promise.
"Fine", Maximus relented and handed her a blaster pistol, "But I won't hesitate to put you down if you try anything funny."
"Sir yes sir." Ketsu said sarcastically with a mocking salute.
Maximus ignored the quip and gestured for her to take point.
Ketsu complied and led him stealthily through the tall grass.
"Why are you risking your neck for them", Ketsu asked, "Why sacrifice your freedom to be a part of some little resistance cell?"
"I learned young that the worlds don't revolve around me, a life alone isn't a life at all", Maximus responded, "As cliché as it sounds, I'd rather die knowing that I fought for what I believed in and made a difference in the process than live as a selfish loner."
"That doesn't sound like it is worth it." Ketsu scoffed, "I've gone years without allies or friends and I turned out fine."
"You can keep telling yourself that, but in the eyes of the Black Sun, you are just a pawn that can be discarded or sacrificed whenever they want, you aren't free you are just a puppet." Maximus continued.
"I am nobody's puppet!" Ketsu snarled; snapping her head back to look at Maximus's helmeted head.
"Then give the alliance the chance, cut your strings." Maximus countered.
Before Ketsu could respond a figure leaped from the foliage tackled her to the ground. It was Sabine!
"Sabine!" Maximus exclaimed.
"Glad to see you are in one piece." Leonidas greeted as he walked from the foliage.
"Much the same here", Maximus nodded to his blood brother before turning his attention to the female Mando, "Sabine, get off Ketsu! She is on our side, at least for now!"
"Is that so?" Sabine asked quizzically with an angry expression on her face.
"Yes, after your buddy there pulled me from the wreckage of my ship he resuscitated me offered me an ultimatum, I help him find you two and he won't turn me in for the bounty on my head", Ketsu said calmly, "But by the looks of things you found us."
"She's telling the truth, I offered her a deal and she accepted it." Maximus vouched for the purple eyed girl, "And I think we will need her help to deal with those pirates."
"So those guys on the Skiffs are responsible for gunning us down, I say we return the favor." Sabine cracked her knuckles; she was a lot more hostile today than usual, but Leonidas knew it was because of Ketsu.
"That is a plan I can get behind" Ketsu stated, "Just like the old times."
"I've changed Ketsu, I have friends and family that have my back through thick and thin", Sabine said; looking to Maximus and Leonidas to emphasize her point, "Right now we need to get out of this open field before the pirates come ba…"
An electro net flew through the air and hit Sabine, delivering a devastating shock. Ketsu sprinted forward and smashed the net's generator, freeing her former friend. Blaster fire was coming their way but Leonidas and Maximus deflected them.
"They have found us!" Leonidas exclaimed, "We need to get out of this tall grass!"
"I know a way out, but you need to trust me", Ketsu shouted after shooting a Gran pirate that was concealed by the foliage.
"Why? So you can turn on me like you did last time, I don't think so!" Sabine snapped before shooting two Weequays in the head.
"What would I have to gain from betraying you?" Ketsu asked incredulously, "If I killed you than my chances of surviving this skirmish will go down greatly!"
"Sabine, we have to trust her, we won't survive long out here; there isn't any cover!" Maximus exclaimed.
Sabine sighed in defeat, "Lead the way!"
Ketsu nodded and sprinted to the right with her frenemies in tow. They went through a series of turns and twists as if it were a maze before they finally came upon a small pirate camp with a Gammorean unloading crates from a Skiff, a Selkath was at the Skiff's controls and a few Thug Droids were patrolling the area.
"Time for some payback", Leonidas said as he drew his pistol.
"Maximus, do you have any EMP grenades on you?" Ketsu asked.
"You mean the Droid Poppers, yes I do." Maximus gave a nod.
"Hand me one." Ketsu said with an outstretched hand.
Maximus looked to Sabine, who gave him a nod, he handed Ketsu an EMP grenade.
"Alright, I'll use this on the Thug Droids, you guys deal with the non-droid ruffians." Ketsu continued, "Every ready?"
The team nodded with their firearms drawn. Ketsu chucked the grenade at the droids, the droids looked at it curiously and one even picked it up to get a better look at it before it sent out an electromagnetic pulse that shut them down. The pirates looked at the disabled droids with shock before a blaster shot hit a Gammorean in the head and a volley of other shots gunned down the other foot soldiers. The Selkath panicked and accelerated the Skiff as far away from the base as possible; but unknown to the aquatic alien, Ketsu had placed a tracking device on the Skiff before he fled.
"Not bad Ketsu." Sabine admitted, "Glad to have you on our side for now."
"I told you that trusting me was the right call." Ketsu said smugly.
"So why did you tag that Skiff with a tracking device?" Maximus asked.
"One of the things I know about pirates is that they report back to the main base when one of the small camps is compromised, to them this is like a scavenger hunt." Ketsu replied.
"Impressive, the rebellion could use someone of your talents." Maximus complimented Ketsu; who blushed a little under her helmet, "When this is over, you could always come with us, you can see what Sabine abandoned the life of a loner for."
After a few minutes of silence Ketsu gave her response.
"We'll see."
Sabine and Leonidas's eyes widened with shock, Maximus may have gotten through to her after all.
"Speaking of which, if you do have allies, why haven't they sent help?" Ketsu asked.
"Fleet commander Yitzhak said that Quasar Company will here in an hour or two." Sabine replied, "We'll be dead by then unless we strike back at those pirates."
"Now you are speaking my language." Ketsu and Maximus exclaimed in unison.
"But if we are to strike back at the main base, we'll need some heavier firepower." Leonidas gave his two cents.
"I think we have that part covered." Sabine said with excitement evident in her voice; she opened a crate that showed top of the line grenade and rocket launchers.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Maximus said with enthusiasm.
"I'll contact Quasar Company and inform them of the plan." Leonidas stated as he activated his wristcom.
At the Broken Horn Command Camp….
"Escaped! What do you mean escaped!?" Vizago shouted into his wristcom.
"We lost track of them in the tall grass, we can't find them." A pirate's voice replied through the wristcom.
"Those rebels have already made a fool of Cikatro Vizago once, you won't like what happens to you if it becomes twice!" Vizago threatened before shutting off his comlink.
He nearly popped a blood vessel when it rang again.
"WHAT IS IT THIS TIME!?" Vizago hollered.
"One of our waypoint camps was compromised, only Zaqoi made it out." A Weequay pirate reported.
"Send him to me." Vizago growled.
"Yes boss." The Weequay complied.
The Selkath known as Zaqoi came running in with his arms flailing about. He frantically was releasing a bunch of hiss, click, and whistles that his species used to communicate to try to tell Vizago something.
"I don't understand a word you are saying!" Cikatro face palmed, "Where is my protocol droid!?"
"Right here sir." A very broken up voice replied.
It belonged to a severely rusted protocol droid that looked like it hadn't been cleaned since it was assembled and was ready to fall apart at any given moment.
"Tell me what this buffoon is blathering about!" Vizago ordered.
Zaqoi repeated what he said earlier, this time a bit more slowly.
"He says that he was attacked a group of Mandalorians, they killed the others in his group and your thug droids." The Droid translated.
"Tell me you didn't leave the weapons behind." Vizago stated with an eerie calmness in his voice.
The Selkath seemed to hesitate before he answered.
"He says that it happened too fast for him to take the supplies with him." The protocol droid translated.
Vizago's left eye began to twitch as he seemed about ready to explode with anger.
Zaqoi was smart enough to flee before the Devaronian lost his temper. Vizago took his anger out on his protocol droid instead by shooting it to pieces.
"Must I do everything myself!?" Vizago continued his tirade.
The green Devaronian grabbed his DXR-6 Disruptor rifle and pressed a button on his wristcom.
"I want half the men from camp Alpha and Beta to meet me and my men at camp Gamma, we'll teach those rebel scum a lesson!"
Back at camp Gamma….
Unbeknownst to the angry leader of the Broken Horn Syndicate, Ketsu had used the dead Gammorean pirate's comlink to patch into the thug's com chatter.
"We are about to have company", Ketsu informed her frenemies, "Do we have what we need?"
"You know it", Maximus replied; cocking his grenade launcher for emphasis, "Sabine, how are the explosives coming along?"
"They are all in place." Sabine reported, "Leonidas, have you triangulated the positions of the camps Beta and Alpha?"
"Affirmative", Leonidas said with a quick salute, "You and Ketsu sure know how to make a plan."
"Well, they did use to work together." Maximus pointed out.
"With any luck those days will continue." Sabine thought to herself; Ketsu was still considering Maximus's offer.
"What are we waiting for?" Ketsu asked with a soft laugh, "Let's get going!"
"Vizago has crossed us for the last time." Sabine added while holstering her pistols.
"Let's show him what the alliance can do, Quasar Company will arrive at their designated target within the hour." Leonidas reported.
"Time wreak some havoc!" Maximus hollered with glee; finally the action packed mission he'd been waiting for.
Annnnd that's a wrap! Read, Review, and Enjoy!
I appreciate all your support, I couldn't have made it this far without you guys :)
Glory to Mandalore!