SORRY ABOUT THE MESSED UP UPLOADING! I keep screwing things up in the chapter lol, always forgetting a part that should be there. xD The annoyances of not having an editor like most author's lol, I keep missing things. But it's good now! ENJOY!

Author's Note: So, has anyone seen the leaked concept art and story details for Colin Trevorrow's version of Star Wars: Episode 9? If not, then you should look those up right now because... my goodness, that stuff is absolutely breathtaking! Just those pictures brought up so much more emotion and "Star Wars giddiness" that I NEVER felt throughout Rise of Skywalker, I'm not even joking. It's just really amazing... and also really disappointing, knowing that it's quite possibly the greatest missed opportunity in the history of Star Wars, maybe even in cinema.

Jungle Moon of Dxun - Japrael Sector

3rd person POV…

While Jovani led the others in preparing the clan for an evacuation, Hadrian worked furiously to bring the outpost's shield generator online. It's a modified prototype based off of the DSS-02 shield generator which he worked to improve. It was positioned just off of the exterior of the outpost, resting at the foot of the surrounding mountains and hidden by the large trees. He never thought it would ever be used; now it seems that this shield generator is one of the most important aspects of their survival.

Hadrian quickly powers up the generator and fiddles with the settings, increasing the power level so that it's strong enough to withstand orbital bombardment from a warship. Once he's satisfied with the energy levels, he flips the switch to activate it.

Stepping back from the control pad, he looks up as the shield emitter points up into the sky and blasts out the glowing shield energy. It arcs fluidly into the sky and then begins spreading outward, forming a great bubble that spreads over the entirety of the outpost, ensuring its protection from any bombardment. And not a moment too soon, because Hadrian hears a crackling, constant booming sound coming from the Star Destroyer up above.

"Well, isn't that perfect timing," he murmurs sarcastically, looking upwards.

He could see the Star Destroyer shooting an intense volley of turbolaser fire, the green bolts screaming towards the base at a high velocity. Hadrian flinches instinctively as a laser shoots down directly for him, raising his arms as if to cover his head. However it slams into the defensive shield and dissipates, the green laser absorbed by the energy field. Through the canopy of the trees he could see flashes of the same thing happening all around the outpost, the orbital bombardment proving ineffective against the shield, which holds strong.

"Ugh, thank the stars I decided to work on this," Hadrian says with a relieved laugh.

His work complete, Hadrian begins to run as fast as he can, heading for his workshop where the basilisk war droid project still remains sitting. The farther into the Outpost he goes, the more people he sees around him, reacting to the Star Destroyer's attack with panic, disbelief, and alarm, the warriors rushing to gather their gear while the parents of younger kids usher their children inside to gather their things.

Hadrian pays them no mind, trusting Jovani and the others to evacuate the people. All he's concerned with right now is getting to the basilisk war droid. If he can just manage to bring it online, then that would prove extremely beneficial for them when the Empire inevitably begins their ground assault.

Admiral Konstantine remains confident in his posture as he looks out the window of the bridge. From this angle he couldn't see the Mandalorian Outpost, but the constanting firing of his turbolasers is more than enough proof in ensuring his victory.

"Status report on the enemy base?" he questions, eagerly awaiting the response.

"Sir, our bombardment is proving ineffective," the lieutenant reports uneasily. "They raised a deflector shield before we began our attack."

That was not what Konstantine wanted to hear.

"What?!" he demands incredulously, his smile dropping as he whirls around to face the lieutenant. "How could they have brought up a shield so quickly?"

"They must've had some sort of warning. Our sudden appearance may have startled them to react defensively," the lieutenant suggests.

"Preposterous," he snaps angrily.

"You would have been wise to heed Grand Admiral Thrawn's order, Admiral," Kallus points out slowly.

"I do not need Thrawn's permission to effectively destroy an enemy of the Empire," Konstantine retorts in frustration. "Increase power to the turbolasers!"

"Sir, the deflector shield is strong enough to repel any bombardment!" the lieutenant says warily.

"Just keep blasting them!" he orders fiercely, becoming aggravated. "There's no way for them to escape as long as we keep firing. Their deflector shield can't hold out for long!"

"Yes, Admiral," he replies in resignation.

"Sir, Lord Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn have arrived," an officer reports.

Konstantine and Kallus both adopt expressions of alarm and worry, although for different reasons. Konstantine's anger and frustration at his apparent setback swiftly morphs into fear and nervousness; he disobeyed an order and ended up not having any success to support his decision. Kallus is more concerned and uneasy at the news, although he masks it well, as now an escape for Jarik and the Mandalorians will be much more difficult.

Jarik POV…

To my great relief there was another way out of the tomb aside from the main entrance, which HK-47 promptly led us to. The doorway was a lot smaller, located more to the side of the structural monument outside. Inputting some sort of code into a control panel had the door sliding open, although with a lot of resistance, and we were met with a darkened environment due to it being late evening.

We only just arrived on Dxun this morning, and yet it already feels like forever ago.

"Statement: Here is your exit, meatbags," HK declares, gesturing out the open doorway.

"Here's a suggestion, how about you stop calling us meatbags, metal head?" Crassus asks irritably.

"Query: Why would I not refer to you as such if that's not what you are?" he asks in reply.

Despite being very grumpy about this whole mission underground, and also having a massive dislike against HK for apparently throwing him against a wall, R5 beeps his amusement at the comment, and I roll my eyes I exasperation.

"Response: Indeed, small astromech. How these meatbags do such distasteful things is beyond me," HK replies to R5, agreeing with him.

"Leave it to the psychopathic droids to become buddies," I say sarcastically.

"He's even worse than Dagur," Hiccup says, and Astrid nods in agreement.

"Kriff this, I want out of this stupid cave," Kira says, pushing her way forward.

"Here here," Mara replies.

"Isn't that the truth," Shae adds in agreement.

We make our way out of the tomb and climb up to get back onto the platform of the main structure, where our shuttle is just down the walkway. I stop however, sensing something amiss, and also noticing some sort of flashing in the distance. Raman and Aathias both notice it too.

"Hold on a moment," Raman calls out, leaning his head forwards. "You all see that right?"

We all pear in the direction of the bright flashes, and I start getting the idea of exactly what that may be, filling me with dread. Logan limps forward with the help of Kayli and lowers the device on his helmet, zooming his vision into the scene.

"Oh no…" he mutters worriedly. "The outpost is under fire."

"From the Empire?" Crassus asks in alarm.

"Observation: My scanners indicate a lone warship of powerful design in orbit, bombarding the outpost below on the surface with heavy fire," HK states.

"Jovani said they have the shields up right?" Aathias asks fearfully.

"The shield is up," Logan reveals, filling us all with some relief. "They're still firing though."

"And they'll keep firing. I'm betting the commander of that ship is just trying to jump in on an opportunity for 'glory,' by killing me," I say, prompting a scoff from Mara.

"Morons," she murmurs.

"We need to go and get your people out before this gets any worse," I tell Raman urgently.

"My father would be evacuating the people right now, I'm sure of that," Shae insists.

"How long do you think we have before the rest of them show?" Astrid asks me, concerned.

R5 then beeps loudly in urgent panic, detecting something on his scanners, while HK stares ahead as well.

"Sarcastic response: Not long it would seem," he says.

That's when I sense the approach of danger, and look up at the sky to see the small shape of the Star Destroyer currently firing on the base. Behind it however, come several more ships blasting out of hyperspace. One destroyer, two, three… and then lastly comes a massive Star Destroyer, startling us by the sheer size of it. The whole ship completely dwarfs all the other Star Destroyers under its shadow, its hull lit up by the light of the sun which had already set over the horizon.

We're all shocked at the appearance of this new vessel, all of us staring at it with wide eyes. I've never seen anything like it before, so it must be new. I've heard some reports about the construction of some new ship called a 'Super Star Destroyer,' but never managed to confirm them. However, the presence of him onboard it was unmistakable.

"Come on..." I mutter with a helpless look of despair and disbelief.

"Woah… I've never seen a ship that big before," Kayli says, baffled.

"Geez…" Hiccup murmurs, wide eyed with unease.

Just then, the crashing booms and shockwaves of the appearance of the Imperial fleet comes blasting over us like rolling thunder, booming in rapid succession before finishing with the loudest blast of all, no doubt from the Super Star Destroyers. Toothless yelps in surprise and discomfort at the loud noise, and I whip around to face Raman anxiously.

"If we don't go now, your people don't have a chance," I insist.

"I get that," he scowls in frustration, stomping forwards. "Let's go everyone, move it!"

He starts leading the group at a dead sprint for the shuttle, while Mara urges Hiccup and Astrid to hop aboard Toothless and take flight. I'm following along before I notice HK-47 is still standing in place, and stop to face him.

"Are you not coming?" I ask anxiously.

"Statement: I have no obligation to assist Mandalorians," he says firmly.

"You have an obligation to me, yes?" I challenge him.

"Response: Technically I only had to ensure that Revan's descendant was the one who dealt with Manndalore's Mask," he tells me.

I know this is wasting time, but if HK-47 is there at the base to help in the evacuation, he would be a great asset in fighting off the Empire.

"If you come, there'll be plenty of Imperials for you to kill," I suggest enticingly.

HK's optics light up with interest, and he nods his head.

"Statement: I would enjoy that!" he says cheerfully.

Satisfied, I resume my sprint for the shuttle and HK quickly follows. R5 shoots past us on his jet thruster with a taunting beep, and it doesn't take long before we reach the shuttle and get in, where Logan and Kayli are already in the cockpit.

"Ugh, who invited the rust bucket?" Crassus groans.

"Query: Who invited the snob?" HK retorts.

"Both of you just shut up!" I interrupt irritably. "Let's just go already!"

"Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless are already in the air dad," Mara says, giving me a thumbs up, and I nod in understanding.

"Logan, take us out," Raman orders sternly, leaning against the pilot's seat.

"You got it," he replies without hesitation.

Powering the shuttle online as fast as possible, he lifts us into the air and then turns in the direction of the outpost, blasting us off to quickly join up with the Vikings. During the flight my mind is locked on the presence of Vader here, filling me with doubt and worry. I would like to avoid any fighting with him, but it's seeming very unlikely considering he came to deal with me personally this time.

I may very well have to fend him off if we're to have any chance of escape.

3rd person POV...

"Unbelievable..."

Grand Admiral Thrawn glares out of the ship's viewport, his blood red eyes fixed on the form of Admiral Konstantine's Star Destroyer, the Relentless, already hovering in orbit above the Mandalorian outpost.

He and the rest of the fleet, including the Executor, emerged out of hyperspace in the hopes of conducting a swift and efficient assault on Clan Ordo, ensuring their defeat and also the capture of Jarik Shan—Thrawn would've tried emphasizing his capture instead of outright execution. Instead of that however, they were met with the sight of Konstantine's Star Destroyer hovering in orbit above the outpost, attempting an orbital bombardment to annihilate them. Unfortunately for Konstantine, the outpost had a deflector shield raised to make his efforts pointless.

Thrawn knew he was right to be suspicious when Konstantine didn't respond to his hail to rejoin the fleet, the reason becoming all too clear. And his blunder has now just compromised any hope of surprise he might have had in his plan to capture Jarik Shan.

"The nerve of him!" Commodore Faro scoffs angrily. "He just botched this whole thing!"

"Perhaps. Konstantine has proved himself careless," Thrawn replies, voice deadly calm. "Fortunately, much still remains in our favor."

"Sir, you have an incoming call from the Executor," Senior Lieutenant Pyrondi reports.

"Lord Vader, I imagine," he replies with a nod. "Put him through."

Thrawn turns around to face the life-size hologram of Darth Vader that appears on the bridge in front of him, his hands resting on his belt. The Emperor's main enforcer was already hard enough to read in person, even more so through a hologram. However, Thrawn could quite clearly tell that the Sith Lord was not happy.

"Thrawn. May I ask exactly who allowed that Star Destroyer to begin an attack?" Vader demands, his voice cold with subdued rage.

"I'm afraid Admiral Konstantine decided to take matters into his own hands, rather than heed my request," Thrawn explains.

"That fool just gave our enemies plenty of time to prepare for our attack!" the dark lord snarls in reply. "There are now two individuals who shall die today. Jarik Shan, and Konstantine."

Thrawn knew nothing he said at this point would change Darth Vader's mind, and a part of him didn't care to do so either. He tolerated Konstantine's presence and saw a use for him as a way to test the rebels, but the man was more a privileged leader than a true tactician.

"I understand, Lord Vader," Thrawn nods in acknowledgement.

"Contact him at once, so that I may inform him of his grave error," Vader says with a growl.

Thrawn nods his head and then gestures for a transmission to be sent. They wait several long moments in silence before a hologram of Admiral Konstantine appears, also life-sized. Thrawn takes note of the panic and fear on his face, despite his efforts to compose himself, something which he's not surprised at. He allows his gaze to harden slightly at the sight of Konstantine, less than pleased himself.

"Ah, good. Admiral Thrawn, L-Lord Vader," Konstantine starts to say, stuttering slightly. "If I could just explain myse-"

Konstantine's words are cut off with a pained croak, and he reaches up to grab at his neck with pained gagging noises. Darth Vader doesn't make any movements to indicate he's responsible, but everyone present is already fully aware that he is.

"You have failed me for the last time, Admiral," Vader says coldly. "Your foolish desire for glory may have compromised the success of our mission."

The Admiral is unable to respond, clawing desperately at his throat for much needed air as his airway is closed off completely. Vader turns away from Konstantine to face Thrawn, but does not release his grip on him.

"With the Mandalorians alerted to our presence, they will begin attempts to flee the system. Prevent any ships from escaping and prepare your forces for a ground assault. I shall lead the strike and engage with Jarik Shan and these Mandalorians, personally," Vader states firmly.

"As you wish, Lord Vader. I'll see to it immediately," Thrawn replies with a nod.

"Do not fail me!" he warns dangerously, pointing a finger at him before vanishing.

The threat is emphasized as Konstantine's agony is finally brought to an end, an audible snap heard as Vader mercilessly executes him. His lifeless body falls to the ground as both holograms disappear, leaving Thrawn and his crew to their devices.

To say Konstantine didn't deserve the punishment couldn't be further from the truth in their view. However that doesn't change the fact that witnessing Darth Vader execute an Imperial officer always made them cringe in unease and nervousness, quickly reminded that the same fate could befall any one of them if they managed to displease the Sith Lord as well.

"Commodore Faro, inform the Relentless to halt their attack and regroup with the rest of the fleet," Thrawn orders, maintaining his composure.

"Yes sir," she nods in understanding.

After receiving the order from Thrawn's command ship, the Relentless 'relents' in its orbital bombardment and slowly pulls itself back to regroup with the rest of the fleet. Once it does so, the ships all begin to move forward, slowly descending through the atmosphere until they reach the cloud layer, halting in their position.

Onboard the Chimaera, Thrawn analyzes a holographic image of the outpost that they scanned, taking note of its defenses, structural positioning, and planetary terrain. He's annoyed at the presence of the shield, but most of his concern lies with the terrain all around the outpost. The Mandalorians performed an exceptional job when they first chose this place; the surrounding mountains work to their advantage as a natural, geological defense, while the shield protects them from aerial attacks. If Thrawn got here first, he could've quickly identified the shield generator and destroyed it before it could be activated, but unfortunately Konstantine did not carry such foresight. The only area in that ring of mountains from which a ground assault could work in is filled with a dense layer of forest, making it impossible to set down vehicles and also ensuring invading troops would be extremely vulnerable.

Lord Vader wants to strike at the Mandalorians from the ground while the cruisers remained in air to prevent any escape, and he expects to carry this out quickly. Unfortunately, ground assault would be impossible to do in an efficient manner, however there is one option available to him.

"Lieutenant Hammerly," Thrawn calls out.

"Yes Admiral?" she replies diligently.

"Are your gunners ready to fire?" he questions.

"They are sir," she confirms with a nod. "May I ask what for?"

"Lord Vader is expecting quick results in carrying out an assault against these Mandalorians, seeing that our progress is halted from the air. If we are to increase our chances of success for our ground forces, then we must even the playing field," he starts to explain, analyzing the forested area. "Have our gunners fire on the forest in these sectors, so that we have a clear shot at their base."

Senior Lieutenant Hammerly nods her head in clear understanding of the order.

"Right away sir," she states.

"Commodore Faro, signal the rest of the fleet to do the same," Thrawn says.

"Yes Admiral," she replies in confirmation.

The entire clan was in an uproar as they were busy gathering their things for evacuation, packing lightly as they made their way toward their escape vessel. The ship in question was a Carrack-class light cruiser, which the clan acquired not long after their initial banishment from Mandalore. They had decided to connect the cruiser to the outpost's main hangar so that it was part of the base, allowing it to be used while also providing them an option to disconnect it if necessary. Jovani was helping to direct people inside, mainly the children and any non-warriors/people with more important roles than combat.

Jovani directed people through the evacuation process alongside Ivanka, many other trusted warriors doing the same around the outpost. At that moment the Imperial fleet descends through the atmosphere to get closer to the outpost, now hovering at cloud height. His attention is drawn upwards to gaze at the ships for a second, frowning. The sight of that Super Star Destroyer especially had Jovani feeling a bit of apprehension and dread; dealing with one Star Destroyer was bad enough, but this entire fleet made their chances of escape very slim. He's hopeful they can pull off something, but even Mandalorians would have a difficult time, especially considering their limited resources.

Without any warning the Star Destroyers open fire with their turbolasers. Jovani flinches instinctively, while the gathered crowd lets out a few startled cries and curses in mando'a. However, he quickly notices that they aren't firing on the base this time; looking up once more with a baffled expression, he watches as heavy laser fire from the Empire tears through the great forest that stretches in front of the outpost and between the two mountains.

"What are they doing?" Ivanka asks, confused.

"I don't know…" he mutters, thinking.

Just then, Sedriv and Jag reappear next to them, this time with the rest of Jag's friends, as well as Varlaa.

"We finished up our side," Sedriv reports, breathless for a moment.

"Why are they shooting the forest?! That's just stupid!" Phanaa says incredulously.

Jovani then comes to the realization of why the Empire is destroying the forest, and shakes his head in response.

"No, it's not. They're clearing the field for ground assault," he informs them with a scowl, turning towards Varlaa. "How's your side of the base?"

"Still working on it," she replies grimly.

Jovani curses in mando'a, looking back at the ships when they cease fire, having successfully obliterated the forest, and then turns back to her.

"There's not enough time," he says grimly. "Varlaa, Sedriv, I need you all to gather anyone who's willing to fight. We're gonna have to hold off the Empire until everyone is onboard the cruiser."

"You got it," Sedriv nods.

"Where's Hadrian?" Ivanka suddenly notices.

"In his lab I'm sure," Krunald says.

"Someone go get him then. We'll need the ion cannon if we want to get past those cruisers," Jovani orders.

"Zhianna," Varlaa says, nodding towards her daughter.

"Yes mother!" she replies.

Just then, the rumble and echo of heavy stomping gains their attention, and they look towards their enemy once more. The once great forest is now a flat plain of charred land with fire sprouting from several fallen trees. Through the rapidly dissipating smoke they could all see five Imperial AT-AT walkers marching straight for them, each step taken causing the ground to shake while the sound of it echoes around the outpost.

"Go, now!" Jovani exclaims urgently.

Nobody argues and all rush off to complete their tasks; Jag, Phanaa, and Krunald run off with Sedriv, Varlaa heads off on her own, and Zhianna makes her way in the direction of Hadrian's lab building.

"Jovani, just in case this is… you know," Ivanka says worriedly. "I'm glad to face it with you."

"I know Ivanka," he replies softly, nodding his head. "But I'm not about to let us die today."

They both share a kiss with each other, their thoughts also on their daughter Shae, before they head off to get their own force of warriors ready.

Darth Vader stands in the cockpit of the lead walker, glaring out the viewport whilst the pilots maintained their forward march, not saying a word or doing anything that might gain his displeasure. The Sith Lord's focus is entirely on Jarik Shan as he seeks him, only to remain frustrated. He can sense he's here, just not his exact position within the Mandalorian Outpost. The Mandalorians themselves he could care less for, but if any get in his way he'd be more than happy to cut them down.

"We will be within firing range in a few moments Lord Vader," one of the pilots reports.

"Good. Maintain your course until we are right on top of their base. Destroy any who attempt to flee or resist us," Vader orders.

"Yes my Lord," he replies in confirmation.

Along with the walkers were several troop carriers that were transporting the infantry: platoons of stormtroopers. Inside the walkers themselves were squads of death troopers and purge troopers, especially chosen due to their lethality and skill to combat that of the Mandalorians. Second Sister was stationed on another walker; her mission was to find Mara Jade and kill her, while Vader dealt with Jarik Shan.

Personally, Vader didn't care what she did as long as she didn't get in his way of Shan.

Jarik POV…

By the time the outpost came into viewing distance, the Empire's assault was already well underway. A team of five AT-AT walkers was marching through the now destroyed forest, a straight shot for them on their way to the outpost. Flashes of red and yellow were erupting as both sides exchanged fire. And all the while, the Imperial fleet remained hovering about a mile high in the sky, their presence ensuring that no one is capable of escape.

"You've got to be kidding me," Logan murmurs incredulously.

"The Emperor really wants you dead," Raman says with a scowl.

"You have no idea," I murmur in reply.

"Guess this is what happens when you blow up his house," Kira comments.

"Not the time Kira!" Crassus groans angrily.

"What's wrong with a joke?!" she retorts.

"What's your escape plan?" I ask Raman, turning to face him.

"A section of the outpost is actually a cruiser we connected to it. If Jovani is following the plan, he should be getting everybody packed up in there," he explains, frowning worriedly. "Those Star Destroyers will be a problem though."

I look outside of the cockpit once more, observing the warships. This new Super Star Destroyer has got to be Vader's ship, but one of the others looks familiar. Spotting the design covering the hull of one, I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Definitely. Thrawn's in command, so he's not about to let anything slip by," I inform them grimly.

"Why's it always that guy?" Mara groans.

"Suggestion: This outpost has an ion cannon. Perhaps you should use it," HK-47 interrupts.

"It does?" I ask in surprise.

"How do you know that?" Aathias demands suspiciously.

"Sarcastic Query: You do realize I was assigned here by Canderous, correct? Of course I know all about the base," HK replies.

"Almost four thousand years ago?" Crassus points out irritably.

"Whatever, that doesn't matter!" I interrupt in exasperation. "Do you guys have one?"

"We do. Hadrian liked to work on it from time to time," Kira answers.

"Then have him bring it online," I state.

"Wouldn't Thrawn have noticed it?" Mara points out in concern.

"Most likely, but we don't have many options," I respond grimly.

"Jovani knows about it too, so he'll have Hadrian get on that," Raman states.

"Mara, I don't care what happens, but you're getting Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless on the Knight Hawk, got it?" I say firmly, then glance at R5. "You're helping her."

"I will Dad," Mara says, and R5 beeps in agreement.

"We're coming in now guys!" Kayli calls out.

We turn a look forward as our shuttle comes flying into the mountain valley, headed for the outpost. The AT-AT's have already come through the shield as well, and are firing on the outpost. Several gun turrets scattered around the base were returning fire with yellow bolts, but they weren't powerful enough to effectively damage the walkers, which would then just destroy them right after. Out of nowhere, Toothless comes shooting by our shuttle and towards the walkers, already in his signature attack dive.

"Woah!" Kira says in surprise.

"What are they doing…" I growl in frustration and worry.

Toothless releases a powerful plasma blast against the head of one of the walkers, swiftly pulling out of his dive. The walker's head lurches to the side as the blast explodes against it in a fireball, halting its march. After a few seconds however it faces forward and resumes its march, blasting away at the offending dragon.

"Those kids are either brave, or really stupid," Shae comments.

"A bit of both," I mutter irritably.

Thankfully, they come to the wise conclusion to not try another go at attacking the walkers; Toothless' plasma blast is powerful, but AT-AT's were made to withstand even the toughest of artillery fire. The fact that they're being shot at helps in their decision to back down as well.

Logan flies us down towards one of the landing pads, and Toothless swoops down to land as well. As we come in for a landing, the Mandalorians all prepare themselves for battle while I march over to the door, Mara standing by my side.

"Crassus," Raman calls out.

"What?" he asks tensely, focused on the fight.

"I need you and your sister to take this," he states, holding Mandalore's Mask out to him. "We can't afford to lose this now."

Crassus is taken aback, a bit stunned along with Kira, but he gently takes the mask with a firm nod of his head.

"Ni malyasa'yr va rala gar daab, buir," he says, his face full of determination.

"Ni kar'taylir," Raman replies confidently.

He and Aathias stare at their children proudly, and then the ship lurches as it lands on the platform. They all swiftly put their helmets on while I turn to Mara, giving her a serious look.

"Remember, Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless are the priority," I remind her.

"They're good with me," she nods reassuringly.

R5 then starts to beep at us frantically in warning; HK, Mara and I all whip around to stare at the viewport, understanding the droid, and alarm fills me as I take notice of a walker's head staring directly at us.

"Get out, now! Move!" I yell out, waving everyone to the exit.

With the door opening, I grab Mara's hand and rush out with her, everybody else sprinting outside right after us. When R5 flies out I quickly realize that Kayli and Logan are still inside. Kayli is still helping Logan, trying to move as fast as they could, nearly at the doorway; but then the AT-AT fires its laser cannons.

Logan hears the sound and realizes the intent behind; without a moment to waste he promptly rips away from Kayli's grasp and shoves her outside with all of his might. She gives a startled cry of surprise and protest at the action, flailing around in an attempt to reach her hand out to him, but it's too late. We all watch with horror as the heavy laser bolts connect with the shuttle, destroying it in a large explosive fireball. The blast knocks us back while Kayli is thrown away uncontrollably, still close enough to be blown away.

"LOGAN!" Aathias screams.

"NO!" Kayli gasps in disbelief, horrified.

Looking back at the shuttle, my expression falls as I take in the sight of the shuttle now completely destroyed, the charred remains still burning with intense fire. However we're not out of the clear yet, as the AT-AT still has more to offer.

"Look out!" I call out in warning.

"Come on!" Raman roars as well, shoving his family away.

We all start to scatter as the walker opens fire on our position, and I give Mara a fierce shove in the direction of the Vikings, who had just landed and were now attempting to run over to us. Toothless was scampering around a few blasts, roaring in surprise while the two Vikings on his back yelped in panic.

"Get them to the Knight Hawk!" I tell Mara.

Mara doesn't respond, though she doesn't need too, running over in their direction and waving an arm out to them, jumping onto Toothless' back behind Astrid. Raman reaches back to yank along a reluctant Kayli, who is still stunned in a state of disbelief over Logan's death. Aathias shouts something to Crassus and Kira, who then take off on their jetpacks along with Shae, undoubtedly taking the mask to safety.

The rest of us sprint behind the cover of one of the buildings, and I look out with some reassurance at seeing Toothless taking flight once more, flying in the direction of the hangar where the Knight Hawk is currently sitting. The rest of us gather together behind our choice of cover, taking a moment to regain our thoughts.

"Kriffing walkers!" Raman scowls.

"Logan…" Kayli murmurs disbelievingly.

"How could we have let that happen?!" Aathias demands.

"I could've gotten us both out!" Kayli continues in despair.

"Observation: We are in a battle right now. Sobbing won't help," HK states carelessly.

"You… STUPID-!" she snarls, lunging towards him.

Aathias and Raman both hold her back, although they're also throwing the assassin droid angry glares. I'm annoyed by him too, honestly. We all flinch as an explosion occurs nearby, likely another AT-AT blast, and the sounds of battle become a lot more prominent in my ears as both sides exchange fire.

"As much as I hate to say it," Raman growls, shaking his right. "The droid has a point. We have to focus on getting out of here."

"Is everyone evacuated?" I ask.

"Doesn't look like it, but close," he replies.

"Well, that better change soon, otherwise there'll be a slaughter," I say anxiously with unease, fearful of that fact.

"They may have more firepower, but we can easily hold them off for a few minutes," Aathias argues.

"I don't doubt your skills, but trust me when I say that this is different," I reply swiftly, glancing back out at the Empire's forces. "Darth Vader is leading them."

"The Emperor's Enforcer?" Raman asks, concerned.

"Statement: Based on the name, Darth Vader must be a Sith. The Jedi is correct: you Mandalorians are no match for him," HK says in agreement.

I nod along with that, before realizing R5 is still here.

"R5, what are you doing here?" I exclaim in disbelief. "I told you to go with Mara!"

R5 beeps back at me with an argument, and HK speaks up in support.

"Statement: I believe I can assist in getting this base's weaponry online, and your droid wished to assist me. He claims that his slicing abilities are unmatched," he informs me.

I scowl in annoyance but withhold my protest, nodding along with it.

"Fine, but I want you back at the ship as fast as possible!" I tell him firmly.

"We'll join the warriors in holding off the Empire until my people are evacuated," Raman says, continuing when I move to respond. "I know what you said about this Sith, but I refuse to leave until all of my people are safe."

I concede his point, and HK speaks up again.

"Query: And what of you Jedi? Clearly this Sith will tear through all of these Mandalorians until you're dead," he comments.

"Then I'll give him what he wants," I say in response, staring ahead with grim resignation.

Another series of explosions cut through our conversation, and then a voice starts talking over the loudspeakers, an alarm also starting to blare loudly.

"Imperial stormtroopers are entering the outpost." the voice of Jovani booms in warning. "All warriors, move to engage."

"We have to go!" Aathias says anxiously.

"Fine… we'll go," Kayli says with a quiet growl, full of anger.

"Order: Come along, astromech," HK declares.

He starts to move quickly across the base, R5 taking flight with his thrusters and following after him, beeping angrily at him.

"Statement: I have more than enough of a right to order you around…" he trails off, voice fading.

"Hope you stay alive, Shan," Raman tells me.

"So do I uncle," I reply with wry amusement.

Departing with a quick wave we separate and start running in different directions, Raman, Aathias and Kayli headed towards where his people are gathering for an evacuation, while I make my way down in the direction of the Imperial forces, hoping to catch Vader first.

Even though I wish I didn't have to.

3rd person POV...

Sedriv leads a force of around twenty Mandalorian warriors to the defense of the outpost, Jag, Krunald, and Phanaa moving with him as well. They come to a stop in one of the hallways of the complex, getting into position throughout the corridor as they aim their blasters at the door up ahead, planning to ambush the Empire and hold them back.

"Alright, listen up! The imps are gonna be coming through here any moment now, so our job is to hold them back for as long as we can," Sedriv explains loudly, gesturing down the hallway.

"This is target practice! Stormtroopers can't shoot!" Krunald calls out.

There's a bit of laughter from the gathered Mandalorian warriors, Jag and Phanaa bursting out especially, but Sedriv looks back in irritation.

"Shut it! Focus on the plan," he snaps, shaking his head.

"Or just think of them as a bunch of Revan's," Phanaa whispers to Jag and Krunald, who withhold their snorts of laughter.

The sound of another explosion outside regains their attention and seriousness, and the ground shakes slightly from the explosive impact. However moments later the lights are cut off, much to the surprise of the defenders, who look around in bewilderment and frustration.

"Steady!" Sedriv calls out evenly. "They're coming."

"Bet I can get the most kills…" Jag murmurs to Krunald and Phanaa.

"You're on," they whisper in reply.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the Mandalorians all tense up in preparation for the Empire's forces to appear, ready to commence their ambush. Blaster rifle in hand, Sedriv aims down the corridor, every fiber of his body ready to pull the trigger. To their confusion however, there only seems to be one person approaching based on the footsteps. The hallway isn't just a straight shot to the door, but also branches off left and right as well just before the door; the footsteps seemed to be coming from around the left corner, and they soon stop just before entering their line of sight.

Then they hear the breathing; cold, mechanical, and ominous, which echoes down the hall. The sound fills the Mandalorians with unease, though they shove it down with their determination, tensing up for any sign of the enemy.

Frowning, Sedriv lowers his rifle and pulls out a grenade from his belt, priming it, and then throws it down the hallway. It hits the ground and rolls a small distance before coming to a halt, the beeping red light illuminating a black, armored boot. Without warning, the grenade is suddenly launched back at them, much to their surprise, and only an instinctive but well-aimed shot from Sedriv blows it up before it could reach them. The gathered Mandalorians let out startled grunts of surprise and cringe momentarily from the sudden brightness and intensity of the explosion, but Sedriv notices a tall, dark figure illuminated by the flash of light.

Moments later a crimson lightsaber is activated at the end of the hallway with a snapping hiss, bathing the Sith Lord in blood red light, his tall and imposing stature well defined and monstrous as he looks out at them. Jag, Krunald, and Phanaa are stunned with surprise, frozen in place. Sedriv widens his eyes at the sight of Vader before shoving down his fear, aiming his blaster rifle.

"Shoot him down!" he orders.

Sedriv begins blasting away with his rifle, the yellow Mandalorian-style plasma bolts erupting forth. His actions spur the rest of the Mandalorians to do the same; Jag, Krunald, and Phanaa snap out of their frozen state and also start shooting, adding to the barrage of laser bolts being shot at the Sith Lord.

Undeterred, Darth Vader begins his advance down the hallway, swinging and slashing his lightsaber left and right to deflect blaster without breaking stride. Familiar with the danger posed by a lightsaber, the Mandalorians closest to him swiftly back down the hall, shooting all the while. Sparks erupt from the walls as deflected bolts slam into the metal surface, and a few more are sent back to hit the shooters. A few Mandalorians grunt in pain as they're hit with blaster bolts, although their armor is strong enough to protect them from the worst of it. Unfortunately, that armor is quickly proven worthless as Vader begins his offensive. Reaching an arm out, he grabs a Mandalorian with the Force and yanks him through the air, impaling him through the chest. Casting the body aside, he descends upon the next few Mandalorians in his path, slashing and cutting through them with his lightsaber, aiming for the weaker spots of their armor.

Sedriv pulls another grenade out of his belt, but a gesture from Vader sends him slamming against a wall with a pained groan, the grenade falling from his grip. It explodes in the middle of the hallway, blowing several Mandalorians away and killing two with the initial blast.

"Father!" Jag calls out in alarm, halting his fire for a second.

Vader doesn't waste a moment and charges through the smoke created by the explosion, slashing his lightsaber upwards to cleave his next victim in two.

One Mandalorian fires another shot off, which Vader casually deflects back at him with only his hand. He ducks underneath the bolt however and charges forward, his Mandalorian pride and courage overriding his fear. Seeing this, Vader gestures with his hand and slams him against the ceiling, allowing him to walk underneath and cut him in half without a glance. Another warrior leaps forward and kicks his foot out, but Vader ducks his head to the side and cuts through him with his lightsaber as he moves past.

Seeing that the situation is hopeless at this point, Sedriv backs down the hall and turns to face his son, and his friends, resting a hand on Jag's shoulder.

"You three get out of here! Join the others in the hangar!" he orders.

"What?!" he asks incredulously. "I'm not leaving you!"

"I'm not giving you a choice!" Sedriv responds fiercely. "Go now!"

"Father-" Jag protests.

"GO!" Sedriv roars.

Giving him, Krunald and Phanaa a shove down the hallway, Sedriv reaches out and slams his hand against a button on the console before shooting it, allowing a blast door to seal the hallway.

"NO!" Jag yells in horror.

His friends held him back before he could lunge back to his father's side, the door closing between them. Satisfied, Sedriv whirls around and watches as Vader takes a step forward, lightsaber raised. Swinging his arm, he throws his lightsaber so that it spins through the corridor in a deadly arc, cutting through the necks of four Mandalorians on its pathway to him. Sedriv ducks underneath the blade just in time and charges forward with an angry yell, tackling Vader head on.

The Sith Lord grunts in surprise and shoves him back, but Sedriv still manages to shoot his rifle against him and then smacks it hard against his helmet. Vader groans as a bolt strikes his shoulder plating while his head is whipped to the side from the hit. Growling furiously, he brings his hand up and smacks Sedriv away with a powerful hit, slamming him against a wall, and then clenches his fist. Sedriv starts gagging, lifted off of the ground with his arms clawing for his throat as Vader chokes him with the Force, glaring at the Mandalorian.

"Where is Jarik Shan?" he demands.

"I'd rather die before I tell you, demagolka!" he snarls in reply, before gasping in pain as the chokehold tightens.

"As you wish," Vader responds coldly.

With his lightsaber back in hand, Vader thrusts the blade directly into his chest, stabbing the lightsaber through the wall behind him. Sedriv grunts in pain, and Vader releases his hold on his lifeless body, allowing him to fall to the floor.

Thrawn observed the ongoing operation through a hologram with a tactical eye, analyzing every substance of the scene. He watched as the walkers and transports successfully marched forwards to deliver their troopers, the enemy turrets unable to penetrate the tough armor as expected. Vader was the first to enter the outpost with a detachment of death troopers close behind, while Second Sister made her entry point in another section of the base not too much further away, also with purge troopers at her side.

The rest of the base's entrances were taken care of by their stormtroopers as they forced their way inside; all detachments aside from Vader and Second Sister were having plenty of difficulties in their assault however, which Thrawn wasn't surprised by either. No matter the situation, Mandalorian warriors have always proven to be the most formidable opponents in galactic history, matched by very few. As of right now they are being pushed back, albeit slower than he would have liked, as the Mandalorians main focus was on holding the Empire back long enough to get all of their people to safety.

As for the full reason of why they're here in the first place...

"Commodore Faro, have their been any signs yet of our quarry?" he questions calmly.

"No clear presence of Shan just yet sir. However, a shuttle just recently entered the battlefield in sector 13a and landed in before it was destroyed," she reports.

Thrawn frowns thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes. He shifts his gaze and the holomap over to that area and zooms in on it, noting the ship that Faro reported. Looking around, he also takes notice of a small black shape shooting through the air across the base. Getting a better look, he quickly recognizes the figure of the dragon.

"How interesting..." he murmurs. "Now what would they be doing here?"

"Admiral, if I may?" Commodore Faro asks, gaining Thrawn's attention. "We've located Jarik Shan's ship in the outpost's main hangar. Most likely he's in there, attempting to escape."

"No, he won't try an escape just yet. It's not in his character to abandon people to the Empire," he replies in disagreement. "Most likely he will go to face Lord Vader?"

"Willingly?" Faro asks, baffled. "That's the last thing I would try in his position!"

"It would appear that one of Shan's allies from his hidden world has joined him on this mission," Thrawn explains, looking at the dragon once more and watching it. "The dragon is headed for the hangar, where his ship is. Lord Vader is Shan's greatest fear, and he would not want his newfound friends to die outside of where they belong."

"The dragon?" she questions, frowning. "Who's flying it?"

"One of his allies, and also Mara Jade I suspect. Shan would want to ensure their safety before his own, which is why he will confront Lord Vader," he tells her, looking up from the holomap. "Contact the Second Sister, and inform her that she is to proceed to the main hangar."

Commodore Faro nods her head, understanding the bigger picture that Thrawn is explaining to her.

"Yes Admiral," she acknowledges dutifully.

Several heavy bolts from AT-AT walkers streak through the air as they attempt to shoot down the night fury zipping through the air. Toothless yelps in alarm as one bolt comes a bit too close, shooting past them and exploding against one of the buildings, damaging the metal structure.

"Woah!" Hiccup exclaims, shaking his head with wide eyes. "That was way too close!"

"No kidding," Mara scoffs. "What were you two thinking trying to divebomb an AT-AT?!"

"Is that what they're called?" Astrid asks.

"Should I even answer?" she replies in exasperation.

"I thought we could take one out, you know, like we did with those turret things the last time," Hiccup reasons defensively.

"Those didn't have shields at the time! These things do!" Mara points out.

Toothless growls as another laser blast shoots by, flapping his wings furiously to swing up and over it before continuing on his flight path.

"Just keep going to the hangar!" she continues.

"What about the others?" Hiccup asks in concern.

"They'll be fine, we just have to get you out of here! The Empire's surprise attack wasn't part of the agreement," Mara states.

"Well it is now," Astrid scoffs, flinching when another bolt whizzes by. "Those things are huge!"

"At least half the size of the Red Death!" Hiccup notes in bewilderment.

"Yeah, so get your butts moving!" Mara snaps.

Hiccup nods, leaning forward closer to Toothless's head.

"You heard her bud, let's go!" he urges.

Toothless lets out a roar of approval and zips forward once Hiccup flicks open the tail more, ducking around the laser bolts on the way towards the main hangar. Down below they could see fully armored Mandalorians rushing around the outpost, some of them already fighting back the invading Imperial forces, yellow blaster bolts whizzing past red ones. A few seconds later they change direction in the air and spiral down to the large open hangar, flying through the massive doorway and over to the Knight Hawk, coming to a rough landing as Toothless stumbles on his feet due to the speed of it.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Hiccup remarks pleasantly, scratching Toothless on the neck. "Good job bud."

Toothless warbles happily in response while Mara jumps off of his back, running over to the ship. Astrid and Hiccup are quick to follow, with Toothless bounding after them. A few Mandalorians rushing around take notice of them, but withhold their confrontation in favor of moving on, not bothering to prevent them from going to their own ship.

"Crap, R5 isn't here," Mara scowls.

"Was he supposed to be?" Astrid asks.

"He's kind of our 'key-holder' for the ship, but I know the code to get in. We're fine," she replies.

"Wait, we're leaving him and Jarik?" Hiccup asks, baffled.

"My Dad is gonna find another way out, probably with the Mandalorians. Trust me, he's got it handled," Mara reassures him.

"Going somewhere?" a voice calls out.

Mara widens her eyes in alarm, and they whip around to see the Second Sister standing several feet away in front of one of the entrances to the hangar, igniting her lightsaber. A small squad of six purge troopers come up from behind her while a detachment of death troopers filter into the hangar, spreading out.

"I'm afraid there's nowhere to go, Padawan," Second Sister states mockingly. "And you needn't worry about Shan, my dear friends. My master has a few things he'd like to tell him."

Mara's heart stops with fear at the implications behind the statement, and Toothless snarls threateningly at the Inquisitor, his pupils narrows and his wings spread out for intimidation. All around the hangar, the Mandalorian warriors present take notice of the Imperials, rushing over to battle. They engage with the death troopers, who spread out in droves to take control of the hangar, proving to be a fair match for the skilled warriors.

"Oh, it's you," Astrid scoffs dryly, hefting her axe.

"Curious, aren't you? Perhaps you could tell me where you're hiding," Second Sister replies.

"Astrid, Hiccup, stay back," Mara warns, forcing herself in front of her friends.

"No need to worry girl, I'm not here for them," she chuckles in response, gesturing to her purge troopers. "I have my own friends to entertain them while we have a chat."

Mara looks around at the squad anxiously, igniting her blue lightsaber and taking a step back as the purge troopers spin their electro staffs for intimidation, stepping forwards themselves.

"Mara, we'll be fine," Hiccup insists, and Astrid nods in agreement.

"...okay," she says in reluctant defeat, nodding back at them.

Looking at the Second Sister once again, Mara tenses up and then dashes forward in a sprint for the Inquisitor, leaping up and then bringing her lightsaber down in a quick slash. Second Sister raises her saberstaff to block and then retaliates with her own jab, forcing Mara back a step. She launches on the offensive, forcing Mara off to the side and away from her friends with quick and powerful swings of her lightsaber, while the purge troopers charge for the Vikings.

Toothless shoots a plasma blast, but the two troopers in the vicinity react with surprising quickness by rolling out of the way, popping back up to resume their charge. Astrid charges at one with a battle cry and swings her axe in a heavy strike, forcing one purge trooper to block it with his staff. A second comes up to jab at her, but she quickly pulls back out of the way with an uneasy grunt, and they both advance.

Hiccup grimaces anxiously at the sight of the other four troopers running for him, brainstorming his options while taking nervous steps backward, but Toothless acts first. Snarling at them, the night fury swings his tail around to knock two of the troopers flat on their backs, and then fires another plasma blast. The third trooper is thrown to the ground by the explosion, but the fourth evades it and lunges forward to jab his electro staff. Hiccup runs at the trooper and then rams against him with all his strength, preventing him from shocking Toothless.

The purge trooper grunts in surprise but then brings his arms up, knocking Hiccup off of him and then swinging his staff. Hiccup ducks underneath the swing with a startled yelp and is then aided by Toothless, who tackles the trooper to the ground with a roar. He grabs his arm with his mouth and then swings around to throw him several feet away.

"Thanks bud," Hiccup says with a smile.

"Dumb beast," another purge trooper scoffs.

Hiccup and Toothless turn around to see the other three purge troopers quickly running around to flank them, and he groans at the sight.

"Oh gods, what have we gotten into," he grumbles.

Hadrian smacks his tools, cursing angrily in mando'a before throwing it down, scoffing in disbelief and helpless frustration.

"Di'kutla bes'uliik," he growls.

Another explosion near his lab buildings makes the whole room shake, and he stumbles for a second in alarm. The door then opens, allowing Zhianna to barge inside. She looks around wildly for a moment before spotting Hadrian, sprinting over to him.

"Hadrian!" she exclaims. "What're you doing?!"

"Trying to get this dumb war droid working," he groans.

"Seriously? We've got bigger problems right now!" she says incredulously.

"What do you think I'm doing this for? An oversized loth-cat?!" he snaps in reply.

"Well have you?" she retorts.

"No! And I don't get it, everything is as it should be, it just won't activate!" he says in frustration.

"Then sorry, but we need you to do something else," Zhianna tells him. "We've got to get our ion cannon online so we can use it to get our cruiser out."

"Okay, that I can get working," he sighs in reluctant agreement.

Just then, another entrance to the lab is blown open, taking them both by surprise. Hadrian covers himself with his arms while Zhianna whips around to face the doorway, aiming her blaster rifle. A squad of stormtroopers start pouring in, spotting the two Mandalorians and opening fire on them.

"Get down!" Zhianna exclaims, returning fire with her pistols.

Hadrian ducks behind the cover of his work table while Zhianna dashes behind one of the legs of the basilisk war droid, shooting her rifle to take out two stormtroopers along the way. She hides behind the cover for a moment while Hadrian furiously searches through his things, opening a drawer to find his own weapon. Pulling it into his hands and activating its power source, he waits a few moments before jumping up to a standing position and aiming his gun, firing off a blue plasma projectile that arcs through the air into the midst of the stormtroopers, exploding on impact. Several troopers go flying with pained cries while Zhianna looks on in bewilderment.

"What was that?!" she exclaims.

"Just made it last week. Pretty cool, right?" he replies with a grin.

She shakes her head in exasperation before pulling back as a red laser bolt just narrowly avoids slamming into her helmet. Hadrian crouches down once morel, taking a quick peek above the table to see another group of Imperials storming in, ducking down behind cover as one shot comes way too close to blowing his head off.

"Death troopers," he calls out.

"Great!" Zhianna groans.

"HEADS UP YOU KRIFFERS!" a voice yells.

The five death troopers whip around in the direction of the voice, only to get blown away by a missile slamming against the ground. Crassus, Kira, and Shae come swooping in on their jetpacks and through the main doorway, firing their blasters at the invaders. Several stormtroopers are quickly gunned down with the death troopers respond more skillfully, one allowing a shot to bounce harmlessly off of his shoulder plating.

However with the odds more evenly matched, the Imperials are forced back as Crassus and Shae fly at them without any hesitation, and Zhianna jumps out from her cover to join them in the charge. Meanwhile Kira steers off to the side in favor of checking on Hadrian, landing beside him in concern.

"Hadrian! Thank goodness you're okay!" she exclaims, pulling him into a hug.

"Yup, I'm fine," he reassures her, and they separate from each other.

"You're not hurt are you?" she asks worriedly, looking him over.

"I appreciate the concern, but I can still handle myself just fine," he tells her confidently, holding up his new gun.

"You used that thing?" she replies, baffled for a second. "Nice."

Crassus completely bowls over a death trooper as he rams him at full jetpack speed, knocking him flat on his back. Zhianna swiftly takes care of the remaining stormtroopers while Shae engages with another death trooper, kneeing him in the helmet before spinning around to deliver a swift kick to his chest, knocking him down. Crassus deflects a punch from his opponent before headbutting him, the death trooper stunned by the impact as the beskar helmet easily proves its superiority, and he swiftly ends the fight by shooting him with his blaster.

"Death troopers? How accurate," he scoffs.

"Did you really just make that joke?" Shae asks him.

"I said it loud enough, right?" he asks jokingly, grinning underneath his helmet.

"Hah hah, very funny," Zhianna says mockingly. "There's something we need to do though."

"You're right," Crassus nods in agreement, turning towards Hadrian. "Ion cannon, right?"

"Hmm hmm," Hadrian nods in confirmation.

The arrival of more stormtroopers once more interrupts their conversation, and they prepare for another fight. However, as fast as the troopers arrived, they were swiftly gunned down by red laser bolts shooting out of that same doorway. The group of friends look on in bewilderment as a stormtrooper comes flying through the door as if thrown, and is then shot in the head out of midair, collapsing to the floor in a smoking heap.

HK-47 comes stomping through the doorway, blaster in hand, and R5 rolls in behind him with a few beeps, commenting on the scene.

"Proud statement: That was indeed an excellent shot. I missed this very much," he remarks pleasantly.

"You've got to be joking," Crassus grumbles in irritation.

"Friends of yours?" Zhianna asks warily, tensed up.

"Not really," he replies.

"Yes, they're fine. They're with us," Kira quickly adds, shooting her brother a look.

"Well what are they doing here?" Shae questions with a frown.

"Statement: Looking for weaponry in the outpost to increase our tactical support against these meatbags," HK replies matter-of-factly, looking up with a gleam in his optics. "Musing: A basilisk war droid will most certainly do!"

"Well that's too bad, because it won't activate," Hadrian points out.

"Observation: Based on my data, I can spot several flaws in the design, but it should be optimal for combat use," HK argues, and R5 beeps in agreement.

"We don't have time to figure out how to work this thing, metal head," Crassus snaps.

"Query: Have you attempted using the activation code?" he asks in reply, disregarding Crassus's comment.

"The what?" Hadrian asks, furrowing his brow.

HK turns his head to look at him and, despite being a droid with no facial expression, everyone else could still feel an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Musing: A Mandalorian who doesn't know the activation code for basilisk war droids?" he asks, looking down at R5. "Statement: Revan would be laughing right now."

The gathered Mandalorians all tense with anger at the assassin droid's jab, while R5 beeps with a small amount of laughter.

"Can I blast him?" Zhianna growls furiously.

"All it needs is an activation code?" Hadrian asks eagerly, uncaring of the insult.

"Query: Would you like to know it?" HK asks.

"Yes!" he exclaims in aggravation.

"Response: Very well. I shall input it into your database," he replies.

HK marches over to his work station, R5 rolling behind him while the other Mandalorians look on, a bit frustrated. The possibility of activating something as powerful as a basilisk war droid however keeps them from arguing. Hadrian moves beside the console to observe with an analytical gaze, and Kira goes with him partially out of wariness of the assassin droid.

Analyzing the computers hooked up to the war droid for a moment, HK then begins typing on the keyboard, bringing the power online. Without any sudden warning he lifts his arm up at lightning speed and fires off a blaster bolt. Everyone flinches in surprise and bring up their blasters toward the droid, but soon realize that HK was aiming for a death trooper that snuck through the doorway, one shot to the head enough to take him out with a pained cry.

"Suggestion: Keep an eye out on the doors," HK says.

"Yeah, sure," Crassus sighs, frustrated.

Hadrian glances up for a moment to give Kira a baffled look, but she just sighs and shakes her head, and he continues watching HK work with the computer. After a few more moments he pulls away and looks up at the war droid, which now begins humming with power. Hadrian looks between them incredulously.

"That was it?" he asks the droid.

"Statement: It's not as difficult as you assumed," HK replies. "I've fought your kind before. I know how these droids operate."

"...huh," he muses, curious.

"So the thing's working now?" Shae asks.

"Yeah, it is," Hadrian confirms with a nod.

"That's nice, but we've gotta get to the ion cannon!" Zhianna reminds him.

"There's a lot of fighting going on between us. Getting there will be hard," Crassus states. "Not to mention we have something we can't lose to the Empire."

Zhianna looks at him before realizing, straightening up in astonishment.

"Mandalore's Mask?" she questions, and he nods.

"Well, I think we can solve both of those problems simultaneously," Hadrian suggests.

Everyone looks at each other for a moment, confused, but Kira quickly catches on and nods her head in agreement, smiling underneath her helmet.

"I like your thinking babe," she says in approval.

They turn their heads to the basilisk war droid, and R5 lets out an amused series of beeps as if laughing.

Raman, Aathias and Kayli sprint down a hallway inside one of the buildings, headed for the evacuation point. Along the way they come across a squad of stormtroopers, which they effortlessly take care of.

"Looks like everyone's almost onboard!" Aathias says.

"They better be!" he replies, glaring forward.

They come out of the building and back outside, standing on a platform separating them from the escape cruiser. On the other side they can see Jovani and Ivanka with a large group of warriors holding back a steady flow of Imperial troopers attempting to break through. A purge trooper is bold enough to charge at them with his electrostaff buzzing, but Jovani reacts by grabbing his staff mid swing and then kicking him away with his foot.

Seeing as the Imperials are completely oblivious to them, Raman, Aathias and Kayli all pull out two thermal detonators each from their belts and then toss through through the air. The six grenades roll into the midst of the stormtroopers, giving them a moment to look on in a panic before they're blown sky high. They quickly charge in with their blasters ablaze, gunning down the remaining stormtroopers. Caught on both sides by enemy fire, the stormtroopers have no chance to defend themselves before they're all gunned down.

"Jovani!" Raman calls out.

"Raman!" Jovani replies with relief, rushing forward to greet them. "Thank Ordo you guys are alright."

"Generally," he says with a glum sigh. Jovani notices, but he continues talking before he could ask. "Is everybody evacuated?"

"Just about," he confirms with a nod, glancing up. "I'm not sure what we're gonna do about all those Star Destroyers though."

"You sent Hadrian to activate the ion cannon right?" Raman asks.

"We did. But getting in the air is still gonna be hard," Jovani says.

"There's also those walkers to worry about," Ivanka points out.

"We'll just have to deal with it," Aathias states grimly.

"Where're the others?" Kayli questions.

Before they could answer, three other Mandalorian's run in their direction from a side structure, who they recognize as Jag, Krunald, and Phanaa.

"We've got trouble!" Phanaa shouts in a panic.

"Phanaa?" Kaylia asks in surprise, but also relief. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"What trouble?" Raman asks.

"Jag, what're you all doing here? I thought you were with your group in the south sector," Jovani says in confusion. "Where's your father?"

"They're all gone…" Jag replies softly, sounding defeated.

"What?!" Aathias exclaims in shock.

"It was a darjetii!" Krunald explains anxiously.

Before they could react any further to this news, especially the appearance of a darjetii being here, another round of blaster fire streams across their group. They quickly duck down behind cover, although one Mandalorian is unfortunate enough to be struck in the visor and killed. Looking over they spot several death troopers running for them, seemingly having followed Jag and his friends the whole way.

"Take them out!" Raman orders.

Aiming down the sights of his rifle, he suddenly whips his head over in surprise as a nearby Mandalorian is suddenly yanked through the air by an invisible force. He turns around with a startled gaze and watches as his fellow warrior is impaled by a red blade nearly fifty feet away from him, crying out in pain.

His body is then thrown to the ground to reveal the monstrous figure of Darth Vader, who turns to look at them, a pair of purge troopers flanking him. Aathias and Kayli both gasp in alarm at his appearance, the others all struck with a sense of fear and unease, while Jag's eyes narrow in cold rage.

"I'm gonna kill him," he snarls in cold rage.

"Don't you dare charge him," Krunald snaps.

Raman grabs Jag's arm and yanks him back, the other adults quickly moving in front to protect their children.

"Rockets, now!" Raman shouts fiercely.

Together, he, Jovani and Aathias each press a button on their gauntlets and then lean forward. Three rockets are shot out of their jetpacks and streak through the air towards Vader. The purge troopers swiftly roll out of harm's way, but the Sith Lord simply raises his arms and bats the first two rockets harmlessly to the side with simple backhands, also using the Force to enhance his deflection. However, Raman's rocket still manages to hit the ground beside Vader as he hits it aside, engulfing him in an explosion. Vader grunts in surprise and covers himself momentarily before looking back up with a smoldering glare, the only sign of damage being small blackened scorch marks on his armor.

"I want all of you to get everyone out of here. Now!" Raman orders.

"What are you- Raman!" Aathias protests in shock.

Raman ignores her sudden cries of protest and instead charges for the Sith Lord, narrowing his eyes. The first purge trooper lunges at him from the side, but Raman merely smacks him aside with a heavy backhand, continuing onward. The second one jumps at him head on, electrostaff buzzing, but Raman ducks down and then tackles the unprepared trooper, tossing him overhead in one swift move.

Vader watched, waiting as Raman charges right at him. The Mandalorian then jumps up into the air with his jetpack, pulling out his late brother's vibroblades and slashing down with a yell. Vader sidesteps out of the way and turns to face him; Raman lands on his feet and lunges around with him blades in a wide arc, which Vader casually deflects. He pushes forward with another few blade swipes that are all blocked by Vader, who then thrusts his saber forward in a jab. Raman just barely dodges the attack, but a swinging fist from Vader sends him slamming against the wall, grunting in pain as he loses his grip on the vibroblades. He attempts to get up, but is harshly shoved against the wall by an invisible force and held there by Vader, who levels his lightsaber at his neck.

"Raman Sohl, is it?" he inquires knowingly. "Before you die I ask this: where's the coward you call your nephew? Where is Jarik Shan?"

"You're not getting anything out of me," Raman snarls, grunting as he tries to escape from Vader's grasp.

"Remarkable. The other spoke much in the same way," he taunts in reply.

Vader raises his lightsaber and then swings it down, and Raman shuts his eyes in preparation for his death; a loud crashing noise follows, though there's no pain, and he reopens his eyes to see that the red lightsaber was halted by a glowing blue one. He looks up to see his nephew Jarik holding the lightsaber that saved him from death, glaring at Darth Vader while the Sith Lord turns his gaze to him.

"You won't hurt my family," he states fiercely, slowly pushing the lightsabers away from Raman. "You wanted me, right?"

"Indeed," Vader says in agreement.

Moving swiftly, the Sith Lord pulls his lightsaber away and then marches forward with a powerful swing toward's Jarik, who quickly deflects it before it could cut his head off. Raman slumps to the ground in exhaustion as he's suddenly released from Vader's grip, and looks on as his nephew faces off against him.

"Go uncle! I've got this!" he calls out.

Raman considers his options, his duty and honor as a warrior insisting he take up arms once more against Vader to help fight him, but he also has duties to his family and the rest of his clan, and needs to get them to safety; this is Jarik's fight, not his. Raman nods his head in acknowledgement, getting to his feet and picking up Marcus's vibroblades before rushing off to rejoin his clan.

Vader attacks with intense ferocity, forcing Jarik into a desperate defensive form. Stepping forwards again and again, he swings his lightsaber with wide, hard hitting blows and then knocks Jarik slightly off balance. Jarik stumbles backwards a step, but brings his lightsaber up to block the next overhead strike from Vader. They enter a blade lock for a moment, facing off in a contest of strength, before Jarik separates with another step backward. He blocks high, low, and then ducks underneath a swing aimed for his head and backflips over a follow-up strike to his legs. Landing elegantly on his feet he leans back to avoid another swipe from Vader, who intended to cut his head off. However, Vader uses the opening provided to twirl around and deliver a spinning back kick; his boot strikes Jarik full in the chest and sends him tumbling backwards through the air with a grunt of pain.

Jarik manages to recuperate and flip around to land in a crouch, his metal hand dragging through the ground with enough force and strength to tear it up as he stops himself. Sensing an incoming attack, he slashes his saber behind him to cut through the legs of a purge trooper charging at him, incapacitating him with a scream of pain, and then brings his lightsaber up to block an electrostaff strike from a second purge trooper, swiftly twirling through his guard and cutting his back to kill him. A warning through the Force has Jarik flipping into the air to avoid a lightsaber thrown at him by Vader, the red blade hovering beneath him as if in slow motion.

However, Vader follows up by thrusting his arms forward and unleashing a devastating Force push that catches Jarik off guard, blasting him completely through a metal wall and tumbling out to the ground outside, sections of the wall landing around him as a result of his body breaking through it. He groans in pain, struggling to push himself up to his feet when a war cry meets his ears. He looks up to see Vader jumping through the hole he made and down towards him, lightsaber in hand and ready to stab him in the back on impact. Without a second to waste he rolls to the side to avoid the lightsaber and jumps up to his feet, reigniting his lightsaber as he lands a few feet away in a battle-ready stance. Vader rips his blade out of the ground and turns to face him, holding his lightsaber at his side.

"You have improved much, Jarik. Your time in hiding has clearly allowed you to develop your skills," Vader states.

"Nice of you to notice," Jarik retorts, narrowing his eyes. "How's life with Papa Palpatine?"

"Still with the pathetic attempt at humor I see," the Sith Lord scowls angrily. "The only thing you should be concerned with is how you'll deal with all the same pain I've had to endure."

"Don't blame me for your own actions. I supported you all the way until you went and joined the Sith," he snaps in reply.

"You're nothing but a treacherous liar, just like the rest of your Jedi," Vader snarls hatefully. "There's only one thing I may grant you: a swift death if you tell me where Kenobi is hiding."

"Oh is that right?" Jarik says dryly.

"I know that coward is alive, and he will suffer for all of the pain and suffering he caused me," he declares coldly, pointing his lightsaber at him. "Just like you will suffer."

"Oh really? Well I'm gonna have to say no to that one," he retorts firmly.

Bringing his lightsaber by his side, Jarik raises his left arm and calls his second into his hand with the Force, the vibrant green blade glowing brightly as it ignites. Getting into a ready stance, he then charges forward with both lightsaber while Vader rushes to meet him, the former friends clashing against each other with their blades in a bitter showdown.

Mara blocks high and low, deflecting the Second Sister's quick saber strikes as she backs up. She then deactivates her lightsaber and rolls underneath the next swing, popping up behind her and reigniting her lightsaber for a fast strike at her back. However the Inquisitor twists around to block her strike, and the two push their blades against each other in a blade lock.

"No matter how much you try, girl, you and Shan cannot escape the gaze of the Emperor!" Second Sister declares.

"Maybe not the Emperor, but your gaze? Definitely," Mara retorts with a smirk.

"You think yourself clever? If it wasn't for Shan you would have long since been his servant," she sneers.

"Yeah, I would've replaced you," she retorts with a taunting grin.

Growling, Second Sister shoves their blades back and then advances with furious strikes, swinging and slashing her saberstaff with intense ferocity. Mara backpedals with uneasy deflections, swinging her blue lightsaber back and forth to deflect the Inquisitor's attacks. Second Sister then dashes to the side like a blur before kicking off of the wall, leaping through the air and lunging her blade out. Mara only has a moment to react, just barely raising her lightsaber to block her strike, but a spinning kick sends her tumbling to the ground.

"Lost your loud mouth Jade?" Second Sister mocks.

With a defiant yell, Mara gets up from her crouch and whips her lightsaber around in a wide, speedy arc, catching Second Sister by surprise. She leans back in order to avoid it, but the saber still catches her helmet and has her stumbling back with a cry of pain and rage, holding a hand to it. Mara holds her lightsaber in front of her with an angry glare, breathing heavily as she takes a moment to rest.

"It's still here you freak," she snaps.

Second Sister slowly stands back to her full height and turns to face Mara, holding her hand over the slash mark on her mask. She pulls at it, allowing the mask to fall off her head in two pieces and revealing the face beneath it. Mara is taken aback for a second, looking at the face of a dark skinned woman with shoulder length black hair, her face covered in scars that look like the result of intense burns. She fixes Mara with a steaming glare of pure rage, lunging forwards with a yell.

Nearby, Astrid raises her axe to block a swing from one electrostaff, grunting as she pushes him away and then swings her axe at the other trooper. The trooper backs up a step to avoid the swing before delivering his own swift jab, which Astrid narrowly avoids. However she's struck by the first trooper, who kicks her in the chest to make her stumble.

"You're not much of a challenge girl," one trooper scoffs dismissively. "We've trained for Jedi."

"Well, I'm not a Jedi. I'm a viking!" she retorts defiantly.

She spins around and chucks her axe at one trooper, who narrowly avoids getting cut by the blade but is still smacked to the ground from it. Sprinting forward she tackles the second trooper to the ground, getting on top of him in an attempt to slam his head into the floor. They wrestle with each other for a second, but then the second trooper recovers and jabs her in the side with his electrostaff. Astrid lets out a scream of pain and then collapses on her side, groaning, allowing the second trooper to get back up.

"Not much better it seems," he comments.

He lifts his electrostaff and thrusts it down at her head, but she lifts her arms just in time to grab the staff on its safer part, grunting as she struggles to push it away. At that moment however she's saved by a plasma blast from Toothless, which blows him completely off of her for an instant kill. The second trooper is taken by surprise, and Astrid quickly uses the opportunity by grabbing one of the electrostaffs and using it to sweep him off of his feet.

With Toothless and Hiccup, the four purge troopers had been attempting to take him down, targeting Hiccup as the weak link, but the night fury furiously worked to keep them at bay. He snarls at a trooper and then swings his tail around to hit one once more, shooting another plasma blast at the others to force them back.

"Why do I never have anything for this…" Hiccup scowls, berating himself. "Wait a second!"

Hiccup's eyes light up in remembrance, and he rushes over to Toothless's saddle bags, opening it and reaching in to pull out something; his old gronckle iron shield.

"Thank Thor for this," he murmurs to himself with a grin.

Toothless roars in alarm, and he swiftly turns around to see a purge trooper lunging towards him with an overhead swing of his staff. Reacting quickly, Hiccup raises his shield and grunts in exertion as the staff is blocked, and they push against each other for a moment. The purge trooper is then smacked away by Toothless, and he gives him a quick smile of gratitude before looking back at their opponents once more.

Hiccup points his shield at a trooper and fires the grappling line from its center. The trooper raises his staff to protect himself, and the line wraps around it. Pulling with all of his might, Hiccup yanks the staff out of his hand and makes him stumble forward, where he's swiftly taken out by a shot from Toothless. Another trooper dashes around at Toothless and jabs it against his forearm, making the dragon roar in pain before he retaliates with a vicious smack from his paw, sending him tumbling.

Hiccup throws his shield at another, but that trooper swings his staff to smack it out of the air and lunges forward. Hiccup ducks underneath his strike with a startled yelp and stands back up, managing to catch the staff in his hands on the follow up swing. He struggles for a moment, but the purge trooper easily pushes him back and up against the Knight Hawk's landing gear. Hiccup grunts, panicking a bit as he's quickly becoming overpowered, but a wild slap of Toothless's tail saves him.

"Ugh!" he grunts, dropping to a crouch in exhaustion before looking up. "Thanks bud!"

Seeing the electrostaff on the ground, he picks it up and gives it an experimental gaze for a second, noticing the fourth trooper rushing for them. Standing up to his full height he rushes forwards and chucks the electrostaff at the trooper with all of his might. He's forced to raise his own staff to smack the projectile away, which leaves him open to a plasma blast from Toothless, throwing him down to the floor in a smoking heap.

"Nice shot bud," Hiccup congratulates.

Astrid is still in a fierce struggle against her own purge trooper, attempting to use her stolen staff against him. Their staffs connect in a few strikes, but the more skilled wielder of it quickly disarms her with a hard strike, causing her to stumble back a step.

"Astrid!" Hiccup calls out.

Astrid looks over to see Hiccup pick her axe up and then toss it to her. Reaching a hand out, she grabs it just in time to swivel around a forward thrust from the purge trooper. Gaining an opening, she swings his axe around with all of her might and hits the trooper in the back. He cries out in pain before falling to the ground, the wound fatal, and Astrid yanks the axe out of him, breathing heavily in exhaustion.

"Yes!" Hiccup says happily. "Nice one!"

"Thanks Hiccup," she says in reply, smiling at him. "You didn't do so bad yourself."

"Yeah, well, if it wasn't for Toothless I'd never have a chance," he says sheepishly.

A platoon of stormtroopers led by three death troopers rushed along one of the walkways of the base, having dispatched a few Mandalorian stragglers on their way towards the escaping groups. They come to a halt when they hear the sound of fast, heavy stomping, tensing up and raising their weapons.

Behind them, a basilisk war droid comes charging forth across the walkway, unleashing a barrage of missiles and heavy laser fire, catching the imperials completely off guard. The stormtroopers scatter while the death troopers attempt to rally and fight back, but they're all killed within moments. The basilisk war droid continues onwards at a run, its passengers hollering in delight.

"Hah! This thing is awesome!" Zhianna exclaims.

"You see how fast those guys got stomped?" Kira laughs in agreement.

"Not even ten seconds," Shae snorts.

The three of them are all holding onto the droid, riding on its back, along with Crassus, HK-47, and R5, who was magnetically attached to it. Hadrian was sitting in saddle/cockpit, piloting it eagerly.

"It's so much cooler than I thought it would be," he says giddily.

"Statement: Basilisk war droids were used to great effect in the past," HK states.

"I can't even argue with you about that, because you're so right!" Crassus scoffs, and R5 beeps in agreement.

Running around another corner, Hadrian unleashes a barrage of heavy laser bolts against another squad of stormtroopers, decimating them swiftly. The Mandalorians they were fighting against are stunned in bewilderment for a moment, but cheer them on as they run past.

"Sweet," Kira says.

"Alright, so ion cannon. We need to get to that," Crassus says, reminding them of the goal.

"Yeah, we're close. It's at the base of the southern mountain," Hadrian replies.

They head in that direction, jumping off of the walkway and to the ground below, hiding themselves from the gaze of the AT-AT's as they head over to the ion cannon. It doesn't take them long before they reach it, and Hadrian brings the basilisk war droid to a halt.

"Fantastic," Zhianna comments.

The ion cannon is a large, spherical structure built partially into the mountain, the metal colored the same shade as the rock. It's huge barrel remained pointed up towards the sky, cold and barren from a lack of use. Everyone starts jumping off towards the activation platform; Kira grabs hold of Hadrian so that she can fly him down, since he doesn't have his own jetpack. One on the ground they all run up to the control panel, where Hadrian instantly gets to work.

"So how long is this gonna take?" Shae asks.

"Just a couple minutes. This thing hasn't been used in who knows how long," Hadrian replies.

R5 beeps and rolls up to the computers, finding and astromech port and plugging in.

"Statement: R5-S7 says he can help shorten the time frame," HK translates.

"Seriously? For an ion cannon?" he asks in reply, surprised, shaking his head. "What kind of modifications did Shan even give you?"

"Commodore, what is the status of the shield generator?" Thrawn questions.

"Our forces haven't reached it yet. Some sort of, war machine intercepted them and swiftly took out our troopers," Faro replies with a concerned frown.

Thrawn turns his gaze to the holomap and observes the machine in question, watching as it traveled swiftly throughout the base, having no trouble in taking out any imperial platoons it came across. He hums in recognition, bringing a hand to his chin.

"A basilisk war droid, it would seem. Quite armed and versatile in combat," he muses thoughtfully.

"Could there be more of them?" Faro questions.

"I don't believe so. The appearance of one this late in the battle would suggest this droid is only operating by chance success," he tells her in reply, taking note of its route. "They're headed for the base's anti-orbital ion cannon."

"I didn't realize this place had an ion cannon," she says in surprise.

"Oh, they surely do. I would conclude that they have a skilled inventor among their ranks," Thrawn deduces, nodding to himself. "Redirect our shield generator teams to the ion cannon. There's no doubt about what they are attempting to achieve with it."

"Yes sir," Faro nods in confirmation.

"Admiral, we've identified an unknown ship on our scopes," Lieutenant Pyrondi calls out. "It's an S-161 Stinger XL model."

"From where?" he asks, frowning.

"I'm not sure sir, it just randomly appeared," she replies.

Thrawn frowns at the info, curious about the sudden arrival of this new ship. It's not a ship designed for battle by any means; it's a luxury yacht. And yet it's heading straight into battle, and somehow hid itself from their scopes before arrival... there's only one ship he can recall from Imperial reports that would match the description of this vessel.

"How curious," he murmurs, mentally identifying the newcomers.

Jarik POV...

I swing my lightsabers at Vader in quick succession, using the speed and maneuverability of two blades to my advantage, but no matter what I did I couldn't break through his defense.

Vader presses forwards with fierce anger, his breath coming out in quick pants as he slashes at me with rage. I block his strikes with my own lightsabers, slightly desperate with my defense as he forces me backwards. He pressures me up a ramp and back onto one of the walkway's of the outpost, marching forwards while swinging his lightsaber left and right. I duck underneath one strike and then dodge another, thrusting my green saber out at his head. Vader raises his lightsaber to block and then shoves it away, bringing his blade overhead and then swinging down to cut me in half.

I lift my lightsabers overhead to block the swing, but when the blades connect I'm forced down onto one knee by the sheer strength of his blow. I keep him at bay, pushing back against his lightsaber with my own while he forces them closer towards my head. Grunting in exertion, I slowly get myself back on my feet and then push off the ground with a shout, flipping backwards and out of the way of his lightsaber, which slices through the metal floor. Flipping my sabers around so I'm holding them in a reverse grip, and thrust my arms forward.

Using as much Force energy as I could gather I cast it all at Vader in a ferocious blast, however it doesn't work in the way I had hoped. Vader grunts as the Force push hits him, leaning into it to provide himself better momentum as he withstands the blast, his cape flapping from the attack. Narrowing my eyes, I throw more power into my Force push, keeping it at a continuous stream while Vader shoves himself against it, snarling with rage. I grimace uneasily as he begins to stomp forward with clenched fists, his gaze directly on me the whole time. I take a step back, becoming more alarmed as he presses forwards with unrelenting fury, and after a few more steps he thrusts his free arm out.

My Force push is suddenly redirected against me, and I let out a startled cry as I'm blasted off of my feet, slamming into a metal structure behind me with enough force to dent it heavily. I groan in pain as I collapse on the ground, my lightsabers rolling out of my grip as I weakly hold myself up on my hands and knees.

"Not even one from the lineage of Darth Revan himself is a match for me," Vader states with contempt, striding over to me. "You were never one for the Force, Jarik."

"You done talking yet?" I retort with a pained grimace, struggling to my feet and holding my aching ribs.

"Very," he replies coldly.

I attempt to regain my lightsabers, but Vader lifts his hand up and uses the Force to shove me against the metal wall once more. I let out a grunt of pain, stumbling, but don't fall this time, looking up to see Vader lunging at me. Before he could strike me with his lightsaber however, another lightsaber comes hurtling through the air in his direction. He halts in surprise, stopping himself and then turning around to smack the lightsaber out of the air with his own blade.

I watch in surprise as the blue saberstaff is pulled back into the hands of another man, who leaps forward to my defense. Falling out of the air, he lands between me and Vader and then swings his saberstaff at the Sith Lord, who swiftly meets it with his own red blade in a one handed grip, glaring at who could only be another Jedi. I take notice of the navy blue poncho he's wearing, as well as the startlingly bright red hair.

"So, we meet again, Jedi," Vader sneers.

"Not just me," the Jedi replies.

Another figure comes leaping down from the building above us, and Vader pulls back from the first just in time to block the second, who also wields a saberstaff, only this person's lightsaber seems to be an inquisitor design, not to mention the blade seems more of a pale red than the usual crimson. This second Jedi, who is a dark skinned woman dressed in a casual smuggler's outfit, swings her lightsaber at Vader a few times before entering a blade lock with him.

"Your reign of terror is over, Vader!" she scowls angrily.

She attempts to slash him with the other side of her saberstaff, but Vader moves with surprising swiftness to deflect her strike, retaliating with his own and forcing her to back up. The first Jedi jumps forward and brings her lightsaber down, but Vader catches his wrists with his free hand and then throws him back, where he manages to roll along the ground to pop back up on his feet. The woman then twirls around to give herself more momentum in throwing her lightsaber at him, which Vader swipes upwards to knock it away, only to be pushed back a few feet by a Force push from her.

Regaining my lightsabers with a slight limp, I look on as Vader comes out of his momentary stumble and glares at us. He stomps forward, but at the same time I hear the sound of a woman chanting, her voice carrying around us in a loud, unsettling hiss; a piece of the metal ground suddenly wraps up and ensnares Vader's foot. He looks down in surprise and confusion, the green mist swirling around him making me widen my eyes in disbelief. Switching my gaze up to the building, I spot a nightsister garbed in red robes staring at Vader, an arm held out towards him. Her eyes are glowing green, with the same green magic swirling around her hands as she continues to chant her magic.

More of the walkway around Vader springs to life as green mist swirls around it, ripping off of the structure and launching itself at Vader. He lets out a growl of rage and bafflement as the metal begins covering him, slashing his lightsaber through sections in order to free himself, but before I could even comprehend what was happening he's completely encased in a cocoon of metal, covering up his furious yells while his lightsaber falls from his grip and onto the ground.

"...what?" I ask slowly, baffled.

"Hah! Nice one Merrin!" the red-headed Jedi calls out.

"Thanks. Not bad yourself with the sneak attack Cal," the nightsister replies, smiling at him, although also looking exhausted.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" I ask them cautiously.

"I'm Cere Junda. We're here to help," the woman tells me.

I shake my head anxiously in reply.

"You've only endangered yourselves by coming here," I tell her, before widening my eyes. "Duck!"

I shove both her and 'Cal' down as the metal prison explodes outward, Vader unleashing a great roar of fury as he does so. The metal pieces go flying in all directions, just narrowly missing us, and I prepare myself for his attack. However he first focuses on the nightsister, Merrin, thrusting an arm out to her and clenching his fist. She attempts to use her magic once more, but is suddenly halted as she's grabbed in a vicious Force choke, lifted off the ground while gasping desperately for air.

"WITCH!" Vader snarls.

"Merrin!" Cal shouts in a panic.

Vader swings his arm in our direction, and Merrin is sent hurtling through the air to crash into Cal, sending them tumbling across the ground in a heap. Cere dashes forward, but is immobilized by Vader with a mere gesture before he throws her away, where she slams against the metal wall with a cry of pain.

Vader then turns his focus back to me, leaning out of the way of my green lightsaber as I throw it in his direction, before making another furious gesture. A large section of the metal walkway is ripped from its place and then thrown at me. I'm startled by the sudden action but slide across the ground on my knees, narrowly passing by underneath it, before jumping back up to my feet and falling down towards him. With my arm out I call my green lightsaber back to me and then swing both blades down, but Vader regains his own lightsaber just in time to block me.

"You think your new friends can save you?" he growls angrily, pushing against me with all of his strength. "Nothing ever will!"

He pushes me away and begins delivering powerful, hard hitting strikes in quick succession, making me stumble with every deflection.

"I have seen your destiny Jarik! You will perish by my hand!" he roars, emphasizing his words with each saber strike.

"Not gonna happen!" I retort, taking a step back before pushing forward for extra power in my next attack.

However Vader deflects my attack off to the side and then swings his saber down at my head, and we enter a blade lock once more.

"You think you will ever be safe? You think that Ahch-To can protect you?" he sneers.

My heart stops beating at the statement, complete astonishment and total fear filling my soul as I hear him say it... the name of the planet I've worked so hard to keep hidden. The planet that nobody, especially not the Sith, should ever know about.

"What did you say?" I whisper with wide eyes.

"By my hand, Jarik, you will perish on the planet you call home," Vader tells me with complete confidence, pressing his lightsaber harder against mine. "Your days in hiding will soon be over."

I breathe heavily, shaking with fear and total panic at this newfound knowledge. He knows... he knows about Ahch-To!

Author's Note: Well... kriff. o_O That's not good. Lot's of stuff to think about with this chapter... I'll let you all contemplate these new developments. :O

Certainly a longer chapter than I expected; guess all of these battle sequences take up a lot of words lol. And back in V2: The Clone Wars, my chapters rarely got to 6,000 words, let alone 16,000 words. xD

Casual topics: You know, since the Clone Wars is coming back I just remembered the Zillo Beast Arc, particularly the part where it goes all Godzilla and tries to kill Darth Sidious (one of the few times he actually feels fear lol). Based on chronological order that event happened right before the Geonosis Arc, which is when Jarik started his journey as a Padawan.

I'm just curious if you guys would be interested in seeing that event maybe make its way into my stories at some point? Most likely it would be in V1: Beginnings (when I actually continue writing that lol), at the very end, maybe as something where he is finally admitted as a Padawan or something. Ahsoka wasn't present in those episodes with Anakin either, so that's something to think about. Or how about the Cad Bane Arc where he steals a holocron? That also happens not to long before the Geonosis Arc, and since it involves the Jedi Temple that would definitely come into play with Jarik's involvement, especially since Ahsoka is temporarily suspended from active duty, which means she would be catching up with friends from her clan as well. That's what I have planned as the finale for V1: Beginnings (once again WHEN I actually get there lol).

Either way, I'm leaving the decision up to you guys. It wouldn't be as important, since we already know everything that happens, but it'd be a nice addition for a "prequel" or something like that. And of course, once the final season of Clone Wars is put out that will also be added to my series. :D