Author's Note: tbh I'm honestly a little bit surprised that no one seemed to comment on the significance of the second-to-last scene on Yavin 4 in the previous chapter lol.

Btw, the second season of The Mandalorian is turning into a real treat. No spoilers, but I'm super hyped for what's coming next! :D


ISD Chimaera - Lothal

Thrawn POV...

As time progresses, my concerns regarding Lord Vader and the Emperor's suspicions about my true motives continues to grow. I don't mean them any ill will, but unfortunately they are determined to see Shan killed by any means necessary: likewise, Shan is determined to see their rule usurped as well, with neither side ever going to concede.

It is... annoying. But if the galaxy is to survive the coming invasion, I need to ensure both sides come together. This 'Rebellion' is only causing further strife and civil unrest in the galaxy, which is exactly what the Yuuzhan Vong want. Thankfully, once the TIE Defender is complete, then the Rebellion's days will be numbered, and with any luck they will surrender to the Empire, a much more favorable conclusion than its outright destruction, as there are plenty of intelligent and respectable figures in their ranks that would be of a great asset as well, much like Shan is.

The beeping sound of my communicator gains my attention, and I allow myself a small smile of content at hearing what I've been waiting for. Closing down the analytics of the TIE Defender, I do a quick check to ensure my complete privacy within my office before answering the call. A hologram of Admiral Ar'alani appears on my desk, and I incline my head to her in acknowledgement.

"Admiral Ar'alani," I greet her respectfully. "I trust the negotiations went well?"

"Indeed, Mitth'raw'nurodo. The Jedi has agreed to our terms," she replies.

"I am glad to hear it," I tell her. "He will be a great ally for us against the enemy."

"I hope so. While I trust he will keep his end of the bargain, I do not yet believe he will be as much help as you claim," she informs me.

"His potential will reveal itself in time, I can assure you," I respond calmly. "Did he offer any insight about the enemy?"

"I'm afraid my time was cut short, so we did not reach that point," Ar'alani states with a small frown. "However, I have established communication between us. Our agreement states that he shall contact us on a weekly interval and share with us his knowledge, which I will in turn report to the Aristocra."

"I see. I believe that is an acceptable outcome, and his insight will be most beneficial in understanding the mystery of Oryx," I remark in satisfaction. "With any luck, his analysis of the Vong may yet prove to also provide necessary advancements to my Defender program."

"Perhaps, though the Ascendancy's own knowledge about the Vong fleet should be enough," she replies. "As for your project, I have also assured that Shan shall not impede its progress."

I raise an eyebrow at that, slightly surprised to hear it.

"Really? You have my thanks, Admiral," I say in gratitude. "However, I still advise caution, as the Rebellion will still continue their efforts of sabotaging it. While Shan may be one of its founders, I do not believe he carries any real authority in directing their actions."

"He himself made that clear to me," she informs me, and I nod in acknowledgment. "I shall have a report containing the details of our meeting sent to you."

"Very well. Thank you for your invaluable assistance in securing Shan's aid," I tell her.

"Certainly, Mitth'raw'nuruodo," she responds. "Let us hope this provides an advantage for us."

With that being said Ar'alani ends the transmission, her hologram disappearing. I take a moment to ponder her message, satisfied with this success. Once Ar'alani's report of the meeting is sent, and I have reviewed it, I'll make sure to travel down for an inspection of the TIE Defender's progress. The successful manufacturing of this starfighter will provide a much needed advantage for the Imperial Navy, an advantage that is absolutely necessary.


Temple Island - Ahch-To

Jarik POV...

There seemed to be nothing but a cloud of dark gray mist around me, obscuring almost everything in my vision. The sound of soft voices whispering filled the silence, before the silhouette of some massive creature appeared before me, the only features I could make out being its blue eyes and body of fur.

"...DUME..."

A deep voice reverberated around me, and while I knew it came from the creature, I had no idea what it meant. Doom? What does that mean? Or was it...

I'm broken from my thoughts when the shadowy figure changes to some darker, the gray mist replaced by black smoke, a red glow filtering through in front of me.

"...as your ever-faithful devotees, we will strive to unlock the secret..."

A dark figure seemed to bow before an even darker, more sinister entity.

"Should you succeed, Veris, it will be most appreciated..."

I could recognize the growl of that voice anywhere, even within the obscurity of a dream... or vision... The smoky landscape then changes to show the silhouettes of several figures, two of which seem to be cast in a pale glow of moonlight and sunlight respectively.

"...if the Sith are to be destroyed, then the Eternal must be rendered transient."

"We'll make sure of it..."

The darkness returns once more, this time bring with it a surge of power.

"Do not fear their feeble attack, my faithful!"

There's a bright flash of light, blinding me for a few moments, and when I regain my vision again the smoky surrounding is completely gone, replaced by the clear image of a familiar painting: the painting of the Mortis gods.

"Mine, at last!"

I sit up in bed with a short gasp, the echo of Palpatine's gleeful laughter slowly fading away into silence. A noise to my right gets my attention, and I look over to see Mara entering through the doorway of my hut, pausing upon taking notice of me.

"Oh, you're up," she says casually. "Thought you were still sleeping."

I take a moment to regain my bearings, glancing around momentarily before relaxing, assured of where I was.

"Yes, I just woke up," I tell her. "Did you need something?"

Mara glances at me in momentary skepticism before shrugging it off.

"Well, I was wondering if I could go with the gang for a little bit. They're trying to find some 'rogue dragon rider' who's been destroying ships," she explains. "Plus, I feel like I need to spend all the time with Zenna that I can get. She gets really anxious whenever I'm not around for too long."

"Not that I don't believe you, but define 'anxious,'" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Like, 'even-Hookfang-is-timid-of-her-temper' anxious," she deadpans.

I think about it for a moment before shrugging in acknowledgement.

"Well, she's definitely your dragon. You both share the same temper," I scoff in amusement.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demands, propping her hands on her hips with an expectant look.

I give her a dry stare in response, daring her to refute my point, and after a brief standoff Maraconcedes by glancing away, her face reddening slightly from embarrassment as she rubs her arm.

"Ok, point taken," she murmurs with a light, sheepish giggle.

"Uh huh," I nod my head, smiling in some amusement. "Well, I've got no problems with it. Just remember keep your comlink with you, and be wary of anything out of the ordinary. And be back here within the week."

"I know Dad," Mara says in acknowledgement, becoming a bit glum for a moment. "I still can't believe Thrawn found us here."

"We knew that could be a high possibility eventually," I tell her. "We just have to be glad his loyalty isn't strictly to the Empire."

She nods in agreement.

"Is your lightsaber still broken?" she asks.

"Unfortunately, yes," I confirm with a sad stare, glancing at the blue and green kyber crystals placed on my nightstand. "Because my crystal is damaged, I need to alter the design of the hilt to compensate for it. But we don't have the parts to do that right now."

"That sucks," Mara replies apologetically. "At least you still have the crystals though."

"That is true," I admit, a bit content at the reminder. "Alright, I'm sure Zenna's anxious enough waiting for you."

"Thanks Dad. I'll see you soon!" she replies, waving a hand at me as she walks out the door.

I smile at her as she goes and then sit in my bed in silence for a moment, staring aimlessly at the wall in front of me. After a little bit of sitting there I release a heavy sigh and slip out of bed, rubbing my neck with a tired grumble. Waking up in the morning is always when I feel the most tired, since I spend the first half an hour or so with a weary sleep-induced attitude.

I'm snapped out of it, however, by a faint howl echoing through the air.

I whip my head to stare at the entrance of my hut, perplexed. Contemplating for a brief second I then step outside and into the morning air, looking around cautiously.

"Mara?" I ask, wondering if that was her.

"Yeah Dad?" I hear her call out, seeing her pop her head out of her own hut a moment later.

"...I- uhh... just be careful of this 'dragon rider' okay?" I quickly say as improvisation, seeing as she didn't seem to notice the howl. "Would want another 'Calder situation' to happen."

"Noted!" she chirps in reply. "I'll be ready for it."

I smile at her, giving a small nod of acceptance at her response, before turning around. She disappears back inside of her hut right after, but I remain at the door of my own, staring out at the ocean in complete befuddlement. I'm almost certain I heard a howl, made by some sort of canine animal... I wasn't hallucinating, was I? Maybe I'm just tired–

...

I heard it again. I know I heard a howl.

The Force seems to be thrumming with energy, my senses tingling. I feel a slight tug pulling at me and turn to look in its direction, baffled at the sight. Standing on a rocky outcropping some distance away was a large wolf with black fur. Even from this distance I could tell it was staring right at me, its eyes tinged a shade of blue... a surprisingly familiar shade of blue.

But for the life of me I can't figure out why.

I remain standing in place and maintain eye contact with the wolf for a while, unsure of what to think. I'm broken out of the stare, however, when Zenna suddenly swoops down right above me with a great flap of her wings.

"We'll be back soon Dad! See ya!" Mara calls down from Zenna's back, waving a hand back at me.

I wave a hand to her as well before looking back to where the wolf was, expecting to figure out what exactly it is, and where it came from.

But it wasn't there.


Mara POV...

The recent events with Ahch-To being found out by Thrawn keeps nagging on my mind, no matter how hard I try to remind myself of the fact that the planet is still safe from the Empire... as long as Dad and I keep up our end of the 'bargain,' anyways. At the very least, this little adventure should take my mind off of it. Zenna and I flew across the ocean with the rest of the gang, heading for a rocky, forested island up ahead of us.

"So, this dragon we're looking for, it eats sea slugs?" I ask Hiccup.

"Yep," he answers.

"That sounds delightful," I sarcastically remark. "What kind of dragon is it?"

"According to the Dragon Eye, it's called a Razorwhip," he says.

"Wait, so you've never seen it before?" I ask in realization.

"No we haven't!" Fishlegs chimes in giddily. "This is so exciting! Another new dragon species to discover! I can't wait!"

"What do you do if you can't wait for something? Do you just... I don't know, get it instantly?" Tuffnut asks.

"No, you just keep waiting!" Ruffnut snaps at him.

I roll my eyes at their bickering, feeling that Zenna shares the sentiment.

"Then what's the point of saying you can't wait for something, if you have too anyways?" Tuffnut asks incredulously.

"You find it, duh," Ruffnut retorts.

"Oh Thor..." Astrid mutters in annoyance.

"Well, speaking of finding it, I have a good feeling about this island," Fishlegs says.

"That's what you said about the last five islands!" Snotlout scoffs angrily.

"Hey, it isn't my fault I'm an optimist, I'm a yak bladder half full kind of guy," he replies defensively.

"Well, I see nothing has changed with the group," I murmur to Zenna, who chirps in agreement.

"I don't mean to burst your yak bladder, but has anyone considered what we're gonna do if we actually find this Razorwhip?" Astrid interrupts.

"You could marry it," Tuffnut suggests dreamily.

"And what if Dagur's riding it?" she replies with a raised eyebrow.

"Then Ruffnut can have him," he states with a sigh. "I admit, it will be complicated, but I will one day come to love him as my own."

"Um, Tuffnut—" Astrid asks warily.

"Like a little babe, a child, that I carry in my arms, but he's too heavy," he continues, staring forwards in a state of unease.

I share a baffled look with Astrid at Tuffnut's rambling, and she shakes her head in exasperation. Similarly, Hiccup and Toothless also share a perplexed look with each other.

"Well if it's any help, there was no sign of any dragon with Dagur when he was on our island," I point out.

"And since this rogue dragon rider attacked a ship only a short time before you guys got back, I guess we can safely rule out Dagur as the culprit," Hiccup deduces in agreement.

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Snotlout demands.

"It's supposed to shed some light on who's riding the Razorwhip," Astrid states dryly.

"Uh, quick question: how is light supposed to shed?" Ruffnut asks.

Upon hearing her question, all of us aside from Tuffnut turn our heads simultaneously to stare at Ruffnut with a disbelieving stare. She looks back at us with a confused frown on her face.

"What?" she demands.

Hiccup shakes his head and looks forward, pulling out his spy glass. After a few moments he lowers it with an upbeat expression.

"Guys look, smoke!" he calls out.

I look ahead and spot what he noticed: a thin plume of smoke drifting up into the sky.

"A campfire!" Astrid says in realization.

"This dragon builds campfires?" Tuffnut asks.

Astrid grumbles to herself and guides Stormfly closer to Hiccup and Toothless.

"Give me the 'twins-serve-a-purpose' speech again, quickly?" she demands expectantly.

"Yeah, I've never heard that! I've only ever heard the 'twins-are-muttonheads' speech, which is also very good!" Tuffnut says eagerly.

For what feels like the millionth time today, we share another perplexed look with each other, and I cover my mouth to withhold a few giggles.

"Uhh..." Hiccup mumbles in exasperation, before spurring Toothless onward.

"Okay, or you don't have to," Tuffnut frowns.

Less than a minute later we arrive at the campsite, and our dragons come in for a landing around the area. There's a recently extinguished fire sitting in the center, along with a few wooden boxes and barrels with tools, weapons, and other supplies scattered around.

"Could be the loot from the ship," Astrid suggests.

"And these gashes look familiar," Hiccup adds, pointing to a few claw marks on a rock. "Alright gang, let's split up and search the island for our rogue rider and his Razorwhip. He can't be far away."

"I think I could narrow it down a little bit," I suggest.

"How?" he asks curiously.

"Psychometry," I explain, hopping off of Zenna's back. "I've been practicing lately."

"Psycho- psy- what?" Snotlout asks in bewilderment.

"Is this something that has to do with psychos? Because it makes total sense," Tuffnut comments.

I pause in my step and glare at him in irritation, to which he glances away with a bit of unease.

"Or... not?" he continues meekly.

I roll my eyes at him and move over to the campfire, picking up a stick that looks like it was used to stoke the fire.

"Oh, like with the fake Night Fury!" Astrid recalls in realization.

"Exactly," I confirm with a nod.

Taking a deep breath, I hold the stick with both hands and focus the Force on it. Furrowing my brow in concentration, I stretch my senses out to the faint trace of the Living Force still in the stick, searching for a hint of any past events it came into contact with. After a few moments I open my eyes and look around with a thoughtful expression, dropping the stick back to the ground.

"Well there's two things I'm certain of; our rogue dragon rider was here less than a minute before we arrived," I inform the group.

"And the second thing?" Hiccup asks.

"'He' is actually a 'she,'" I reveal.

"Woah, really? Cool," Ruffnut says.

"A 'she' huh?" Snotlout remarks. "Well, she should be easy to find then!"

"Easy?" Astrid asks with narrowed eyes.

"Alright guys, no time to talk. If she left just before we got here, that means she probably saw us coming. We need to find her before she gets away," Hiccup tells us. "Fishlegs, you and Meatlug stay here. Signal if they come back."

"You got it!" he calls out cheerfully.

With that being said everyone besides Fishlegs and Meatlug take off into the sky. I hop back into Zenna's saddle, rubbing her neck as she chirps at me, before we take off as well.

Over the next couple of minutes she and I flew across a forested area of the island with some rocky cliffs, the rest of the group each searching other places. Zenna and I both stretched out our senses through the Force in search of anything that might be our suspect, though I'm starting to get a bit wary about how every so often it felt like I was detecting some sort of distress from the rest of the group, though I couldn't make out who exactly or for what reason.

It also felt as if there were eyes watching us.

An excited yelp from Zenna gets my attention, and I notice her focus was shifting to the ground somewhere below us.

"You getting something, Zen?" I ask her.

She circles around in the air for a bit before dropping down for a landing on a rocky outcropping that juts out of the tree line, next to a mountain. Zenna starts to sniff along the ground while I hop off her back, looking around for a possible lead. I then take notice of a few sharp gashes in a nearby tree trunk, as well as the scuff marks in the dirt.

"Well that's something," I murmur to myself, moving over for a closer look. "Zenna, over here!"

Zenna perks up at my call and trots over to me curiously, to which I gesture to the marks.

"Think you can get anything from this?" I ask her.

She lowers her head down to the marks and begins to sniff around, squawking every once in a while. I take a look around with narrowed eyes, however, hovering my hand over my lightsaber at sensing an unfamiliar presence close by. Rustling in the bushes nearby gets both of our attention, followed by something soaring over our heads and into a small cave close by. Zenna wastes no time in chasing after it with a loud squawk.

"Zenna, wait!" I call out anxiously, rushing after her.

She comes to a stop and sniffs whatever was thrown, before quickly chomping down on it: I also take notice of what exactly it was.

"Chicken...?" I mutter in bewilderment, gaping in realization. "...cooked chicken!"

The sound of something clinking against the stone gets my attention, and I look back to see a draconic silhouette at the edge of the cave, obscured by the sunlight. The dragons tail slashes above the entrance, shattering the stone and collapsing the cave.

"What the heck?" I exclaim in bewilderment.

Having finished the chicken, Zenna squawks in alarm and rushes over the collapsed entrance, looking at me anxiously.

"Yeah, nice going," I scoff at her, only able to see thanks to a small hole in the rubble. "Kriff your chicken!"

Gathering the Force around me, I take a deep breath before sprinting toward the entrance, thrust an arm out to release the gathered energy in a swift Force push. The shattered rock is blasted away by my Force push, opening the entrance of the cave once more. I rush out of the cave to see a sleek, silver dragon having just taken off, the rider looking back with a startled expression. Without any hesitation I reach out and grip the rider with the Force, pulling her straight off of the dragon. She lets out a short scream of surprise as she's pulled off, grunting in pain upon hitting the ground.

The Razorwhip looks back as well, letting out a startled screech of confusion before swiftly turning around with a flap of its wings and zipping back to its rider. Thankfully, Zenna charges out and meets the Razorwhip in the air, the two roaring and flapping around each other. Confident in Zenna's abilities I turn my attention towards the dragon rider, who is shakily getting to her feet while looking at me with wide, baffled eyes. She has a hood up and her face is covered by a cloth, so I couldn't make out anything more than her green eyes.

"What the..." I hear her says in bewilderment.

"Gonna have to try harder lady!" I exclaim with a mocking grin.

"Gladly," she retorts angrily.

Reaching behind her back she whips out an axe blade, and I lift an eyebrow when she unfolds it to reveal two blades. Wasting no time she runs forward and swings her axe at my head. I lean backwards to let it pass harmlessly over me and then roll away from her follow-up strike. I backpedal, either dodging or deflecting her swings with my forearms, admittedly having to work overtime to defend myself: Astrid and Calder are the only other Vikings that I've had to put in a bit of effort against, so whoever this girl is, she's good. While backing up, I stumble slightly over small dip in the ground, and she quickly seizes the opportunity by kicking me in the chest, knocking me against a tree.

"Shouldn't have gotten ahead of yourself," she taunts.

I glance up to see how Zenna's doing and see her blast a stream of purple fire at the Razorwhip, to which the silver dragon loops out of the way. I then refocus my gaze on the hooded girl, smiling casually at her.

"Yeah, you're good," I admit.

Using the Force to enhance my speed, I lunge out at her and smack the axe blade away with my hand while subsequently kicking her in the side, knocking her down and disarming her in the process.

"But I've been trained by the best," I state with a shrug.

The girl shakes her head for a moment and then growls with anger, lunging at me again. I nimbly jump right over her head and then twirl around, ducking underneath her startled and wild punch, grab her arm, and then shove her away. She almost trips over her feet while stumbling, but regains her balance and turns around again, grabbing her axe. However, I simply raise a hand and use the Force to throw her against a tree trunk, keeping her there.

"What the-" she asks in shock, struggling intensely. "Y-you... let me go! Now!"

"No can do," I reply, frowning in exasperation and murmuring to myself.. "When are the others going to get here..."

"Since when did the Outcasts get another witch with them?!" the girl demands.

"Witch? Outcasts?" I ask in bewilderment. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I know you're working with Calder!" she snaps.

"Oh, you've met him?" I deduce in realization. "I'm assuming when he was a real jerk-face, huh?"

"If you don't let me go right now, you'll be very sorry," she hisses at me.

"Oh really?" I reply sarcastically.

In response, the hooded girl makes a shrill whistle, which is answered by a roar. I look back in alarm to see the Razorwhip, having broken away from Zenna, charging straight at me at top speed, Zenna following close behind. Without a second to waste I release my hold on the girl in favor of jumping to the side, allowing the Razorwhip to fly right past. It skids to a stop beside the girl and snarls at me, though Zenna drops down beside me with a defiant growl, her tail spikes ready to fire.

The girl jumps onto the Razorwhip's back, but before they could take off a familiar high-pitched whine penetrates the air, and a violet plasma blast strikes the ground right beside them. I look up with a relieved, and slightly annoyed, sigh at seeing Hiccup and Toothless hovering in the air above them, the latter's mouth glowing purple in preparation for another plasma blast.

"I wouldn't be going anywhere if I were you!" Hiccup calls out.

The girl pauses, looking up at him and then at me, though I keep my attention focused on Hiccup, propping my hands on my hips.

"Certainly took you long enough to get here," I call out dryly.

"So sorry to keep you waiting, Mara. I was a bit held up," he replies sarcastically, before refocusing on the girl. "You mind showing your face so that we can actually talk? You're not getting out of this."

The girl continued to stare back and forth between me and him for another few seconds, seemingly confused and baffled about something, which was making me confused.

"I guess you have a point," she finally says.

She reaches up and pulls down her hood, revealing a head of braided black hair, and then lowers the fabric covering her mouth. I'm slightly caught off guard at seeing she's also young: around the same age as Hiccup or Astrid. I don't recognize her, but from the shocked expression on Hiccup's face, he apparently does. I'm a bit perplexed at sensing that even Zenna seems to have some faint recognition of her. Who is this girl?

"Heather?" Hiccup asks incredulously.

Oh. That explains a lot...

"Who now?" I ask him, incredibly confused.


With Hiccup's appearance, and the rogue dragon rider's identity revealed, it seems like peace has been established... relatively speaking anyways. After gathering everyone back at Heather's campsite, they all took their turn to express their frustrations with her. Meanwhile, I stood beside Zenna and stroked her snout while observing this 'Heather' girl, who kept glancing uneasily at me every few seconds.

"You rolled me into a river!" Snotlout shouts.

"You trapped me in a cave!" Astrid snaps.

"You left me dangling in a tree!" Fishlegs complains.

"And I have to admit, the chicken move, that brought back some memories," Astrid adds in as an afterthought, smirking slightly.

"Okay, I am seriously lost," I interrupts, looking between them all. "When did you guys meet each other?"

"It was a few years ago, back when Alvin was still the bad guy," Hiccup explains, and I hum in acknowledgement. "Okay, guys, now I'm sure Heather has a really good reason for doing what she did, right?"

"First, I want to know just who she is," Heather demands, looking at me suspiciously. "Do you guys even know that she's a witch?"

I make a face at her, crossing my arms.

"Well that's rude," I remark.

"She's not a witch, Heather," Hiccup reassures her.

"Really? Then maybe you should ask her why she has the same dark magic that Calder has!" she says accusingly.

"Should we tell her that Calder isn't actually a 'bad' guy anymore?" Snotlout asks the others, not very quietly I might add.

"What?!" Heather does a double take, staring at them incredulously.

"Trust me Heather, we've known Mara for many years now; way before we ever became friends with our dragons actually," Astrid tells her.

"Then where was she before?" Heather asks, confused.

"She... well, Mara, it's easier if you explain it," she replies, looking at me.

"Gladly," I say with a cheerful grin. "To be honest, it's a very long story so I'll shorten it: I'm from space. My parents and I crashed here in our ship eight years ago on Berk. Since then we've taken residence on an island, where we live whenever we're not out in the galaxy helping the Rebellion."

"...what?" she asks, perplexed. "Rebellion?"

"Like I said, long story," I shrug my shoulders. "But, yeah, we never met because my parents and I were gone at the time when... whatever you guys did together, happened."

"Zenna here, is Mara's dragon," Hiccup adds.

Zenna chirps in acknowledgement, rubbing my arm with her snout needily for more attention. Heather frowns thoughtfully, still a bit skeptical.

"And what does that have to do with your magic?" she questions. "Calder uses it too."

"That would be the Force," I explain. "The Force is an energy field created by every living thing. People who are born with a stronger connection to that energy are capable of using its power themselves, like me and Calder."

To demonstrate, I use the Force to take my lightsaber off of my belt and let it hover over my hand. Heather's eyes widen at the sight, and I clip the saber back on my belt after a few seconds.

"So... you're not a witch," she says carefully.

"Nope. If you want to meet an actual witch, then you should go to Dathomir," I say with a scoff, making a face. "One of them actually possessed my Dad one time. That wasn't fun..."

"Wait, Jarik was possessed by a witch?!" Fishlegs shrieks in fright.

"There's actual witches?" Snotlout shouts in panic.

"Will you guys chill out? Geez. That was months ago, and only lasted for, like, twenty minutes," I say with a dismissive wave of my hand. "There's no witches on Ahch-To."

"That's what you think! What if those blue people bring witches here? What then?" Snotlout demands.

"Okay, I think we're getting a bit off track here," Astrid interrupts with a glare, smacking Snotlout on the head. "Stop being such a worry-wort."

"Yes! Thank you Astrid," Hiccup sighs in relief. "So, Heather... you've heard Mara's story. What exactly have you been up to?"

Heather gazes warily at me for a few seconds longer before conceding to Hiccup's question, turning to face him.

"Look, I've been living on my own out here for years, and I've made more than a few enemies," she starts to explain. "The reason I attacked you is because I was trying to send you back to Berk. I didn't want you guys to be involved."

"You couldn't have just, I don't know, said that?!" Snotlout demands angrily.

"Would you have listened?" Heather retorts.

"She does have a point. We're a pretty stubborn group," Astrid admits.

"I don't listen to anyone!" Snotlout declares, and she rolls her eyes.

"Well, that's not entirely true..." I start to say.

"Oh really Mara? Who would I listen to then?" he demands, glaring at me.

"I don't know, just a few people, like... Hiccup, Stoick, Astrid?" I count off on my fingers. "Force help you if you get on my Dad's bad side."

"That doesn't..." Snotlout begins arguing, before pausing uneasily. "Well... you don't count, because you're from space!"

"Uhh..." Fishlegs chimes in.

"Don't start with me Fishface!" he exclaims loudly, jabbing a finger at him.

"Heather, whatever problems you have, whatever enemies you've made, we can help," Hiccup tells Heather. "You don't have to be out here alone anymore."

"Hiccup please, just let this go," she protests.

"We have a base, not far from here," he continues, moving over to the rest of us with a hopeful smile. "Why don't you come back with us? Nothing permanent. We'll get you some provisions, and catch up, and you can see how you like it."

While Hiccup was talking Ruffnut suddenly appears from behind everyone, dragging a seemingly unconscious Tuffnut along the ground. I watch them weirdly, a bit concerned but also exasperated: if Ruffnut wasn't freaking out then it's usually fine. The twins are dumb, but they're not imbeciles... mostly. Ruffnut lays Tuffnut up against a tree and walks off, the rest of us giving her a weird look.

"Uh, Ruffnut? Is he... uh, okay?" I ask cautiously.

"Meh, he fell off a tree. Then I fell on top of him," she shrugs casually. "All because somebody decided to knock us off our dragon!"

"I'm sorry, Ruffnut. Truly," Heather apologizes.

Ruffnut's accusatory glare vanishes in an instant, replaced with dismissiveness once more.

"Eh, whatever. We've done far worse to each other," she replies.

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Fishlegs murmurs uneasily.

During our conversation, Tuffnut seemed to have regained consciousness and was messing around with Heather's Razorwhip, which pulled our attention over to him.

"...I, Tuffnut Thorston, take thee, Razorwhip―whatever your last name is insert it here―to be my..." Tuffnut was saying.

I raise a hand to cover my mouth, sharing a perplexed look with Zenna at the sight. Zenna was crooning in confusion, and I shook my head with an exasperated sigh. Meanwhile, Heather began approaching Tuffnut with a bit of amusement on her face.

"...Oh, hey Heather, what're you doing in my dream, at my wedding?" Tuffnut demands suspiciously. "I didn't put you on the list."

"You're not dreaming Tuff," Heather replies with a smile.

"Oh," he says, narrowing his eyes. "Hmm. Well, in that case... Razorwhip attack! RUN!"

He suddenly takes off screaming, though he accidentally stumbles and hits the dirt face-first right in front of me and Zenna. We both look down at him, and he quickly jumps right up without any indication he was hurt by the fall, gripping my shoulders.

"Mara! Just what we needed! Quick, use some of your magicky-stuff to take our that Razorwhip!" he cries frantically.

I cautiously grab his arms and gently push him away.

"Dude, you are seriously tripping right now," I state dryly.

"I know! I just tripped and hit my face!" he exclaims, nodding his head rapidly in agreement. "All because of the Razorwhip attack!"

"Uh huh," I say, looking over his shoulder. "Ruffnut, can you come hit him on the head, or, do whatever it is you guys do?"

"Sure thing!" she shouts cheerfully, rushing over.


Ryloth - Outer Rim Territories

3rd person POV...

The Stinger Mantis emerged from hyperspace in Ryloth's orbit and immediately made moves to avoid any Imperial presence that could be nearby, as the planet was still under control of the Empire. Greez flew the ship through the atmosphere and closer to the coordinates Iblis gave them for their rendezvous with Cham Syndulla.

"Looks like we're in the clear. We'll be up on the rendezvous point in no time," Greez informs the crew.

"Good work, Greez," Cere tells him.

"So, any of you ever had any experience with Cham before?" Boil asks.

"Not really," Cal admits.

"Captain Syndulla warned us to not let him push him around so much?" Merrin says, partially asking as a question too. "Should we be concerned."

"I don't know him that well either, to be honest, but he's a pretty decent guy," Boil tells them. "He's tough, and very opinionated for sure, but he's got no issues working with others."

"That's good to know," Cere says in relief.

"How about you? What's your story with Cham?" Cal asks Boil.

"I was a part of the campaign that helped liberate Ryloth from the Separatists during the war," he explains, smiling lightly at the memory. "Me and a fellow trooper, Waxer, were serving under General Kenobi's command. I never met Cham back then, but Waxer and I ended up getting sidetracked by an orphaned Twi'lek girl during one of our patrols. She would never leave us alone."

"Hmph. Always something, huh?" Greez says from the pilot's chair.

"Sure is," Boil scoffs in agreement.

"I can relate to stories like that. I was left alone for a long time when I was young," Merrin comments.

"Unfortunately, war makes it an all too common situation. Regardless of which who is affected by it," Cere says sadly.

"Well I can definitely tell you she's made a good life for herself now," Boil adds. "She's one of Cham's best fighters in their movement."

"That's good to hear," Cal smiles.

"Alright everybody, I think we've made it," Greez calls out.

A large base camp appears up ahead of them, and they make their way over to the edge after spotting a free space among the different ships and other vehicles around them. The Eastern Base was established along the edge of a forested area, with tall rock spires and several mountains nearby. It looked big enough to support a guerrilla military of at least a thousand soldiers, maybe more. After the Stinger Mantis landed, a group of Twi'leks came forward led by Cham Syndulla and his right-hand man, Gobi. The Mantis crew and clone trooper exited the ship to meet them, and a smile broke across Cham's face at recognizing the latter.

"Boil! It is good to see you once again," Cham says, clapping him on the shoulder in a gesture of friendship.

"You too Cham," Boil nods in reply, smiling as he accepts the gesture. "Allow me to introduce the Mantis crew."

"Welcome to Ryloth, my friends," Cham greets then. "Senator Iblis says we can expect good things from you."

"Thank you. We're glad to be here," Cere responds, inclining her head. "I hope we can meet your expectations."

"Judging by what I'm seeing, I imagine you will," he says with a short laugh. "Jedi are always a welcome addition."

Cal smiles a bit more at hearing that while Cere simply nods.

"Senator Iblis mentioned that you probably won't be here for too long before you'll need to report back to them, so I hope you don't mind if we get started," Cham informs the group.

"I think we're all set," Cal remarks.

Cham nods in satisfaction and turns toward his second-in-command.

"Gobi, gather the others at command. We'll meet you there," he tells him.

"Of course, Cham," he replies.

He and the rest of the Twi'leks head off, while Cham faces the newcomers and gestures for them to follow him.

"Come. I'll show you around along the way," he says.

The group starts walking with him as he turns and starts making his way into the base. As they do so, however, Cal pauses in his step as he hears what sounds like a faint howl of some sort coming from the forest. He glances in the direction of the noise and spots what looks to be a large wolf-like creature with gray fur standing on top of a rock in the distance, staring at him. He narrows his eyes at the wolf, attempting to get a better look, but is taken aback when a hand lightly shakes his shoulder by Merrin, who had noticed his pause.

"Hey, Cal, you alright?" she asks curiously.

Cere also takes notice of their pause and glances back with some concern. Cal looks toward the distant rock, but blinks his eyes in surprise and confusion at seeing nothing there.

"Uh... nothing. I thought I saw something for a second," he replies dismissively.

Although a bit skeptical, Merrin nevertheless accepts his response and they continue walking, though Cere glanced in the direction Cal had looked for another moment before deciding the disregard it as well, seeing nothing of interest. Meanwhile, Boil moves up beside Cham with a question in mind.

"Is Numa around here somewhere?" he asks.

"Ah, I figured that might be on your mind," Cham remarks. "She's out on a scouting mission right now, but should be back within the hour."

Boil nods in acknowledgement.


Faylin flew the ship down to come in for a landing inside of the hangar of the Eastern Base, which was constructed in the side of a large cliff next to the forest. Once she successfully landed, she began shutting down the ship's engines while the rest of the passengers got up from their seats and began to depart. Numa, the leader of the scout team, took a moment to stop beside Faylin and patted her on the shoulder.

"That was some nice flying, Faylin, as always," she compliments her.

"A bit lousy that we were spotted though," human pilot responds in a less happy mood.

"You got us out though, that always counts for something," Numa points out.

"A little bumpy though!" a purple Twi'lek male calls out.

"Oh go kriff yourself, Kallon!" Faylin retorts.

He and the rest of the group simply laugh in response, prompting a few giggles out of Numa and even getting a smile from Faylin despite her seeming frustration, simply rolling her eyes in good fun.

"Tell him Faylin!" Xira adds in amusement.

"You are all children," Kaasha sighs, shaking her head at them.

"I can attest to that," Goll says in agreement.

The group of five Twi'leks and one human exit the ship and step into the hangar of the Eastern Base while chatting amiably with each other. Making their way to the exit in order to get some food before reporting the details of their scouting trip, Numa pauses in surprise at seeing a familiar face walking nearby with Cham, who was walking with an unfamiliar group of people.

"Hey, you all go on ahead, I'll catch up in a bit," she tells the others.

"Oh, okay then," Kallon shrugs.

She smiles and gives them a small wave before heading off, jogging lightly through the hangar to reach Cham's group. Once she does her smile widens considerably at recognizing one of the men who was with him.

"Nerra!" she calls out.

Boil turns around at hearing her voice, surprised by also pleased to see the teal blue Twi'lek. They both share a warm embrace for a few seconds and then separate, smiling at each other.

"Good to see you again, kid," Boil says.

"Dan cla, Boil," she smiles in reply. "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Boil and his allies have come to provide us with some support over the next few days," Cham informs her.

"That's wonderful!" Numa says, looking over at the others. "Thank you for the help, friends."

"Eh, don't mention it. Part of the job now, right?" Greez remarks good-naturedly.

"That it certainly is," Cham laughs in agreement.


Ahch-To - Unknown Regions

Mara POV...

When the Hiccup and Astrid first mentioned that they've set up shop at a new base they called 'Dragon's Edge' I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but all things considered it certainly delivers. Seeing the Edge for the first time took me by surprise, since it's basically a dragon rider paradise. The base is set up on cliff ledges right beside the ocean, with a forest on the land behind it and a tall snowy mountain at the island's center, most likely a dormant volcano. Multiple huts have been built, connected to each other with bridges, rope lines, and a bunch of other things, with the largest hut set in the middle. On a lower level is a structure that's clearly another dragon arena, much like the one back on Berk.

"So, what do you think?" Hiccup asks me.

"Have we seriously been off world for that long?" I ask in reply, looking around in amazement.

"Eh, long enough I suppose," he shrugs in response. "Dagur's escape happened almost right after you left."

"Still, it should've been at least two weeks before you started building here," I scoff, shaking my head. "You Vikings sure build things quickly."

"Well, we've had a lot of practice over the last three hundred years," he sarcastically replies in agreement.

I snort in amusement, agreeing with his statement.

"Well, we should probably get back to the clubhouse," Hiccup suggests. "Who knows what's happening with Heather here."

He directs Toothless back around and in the direction of the large hut in the center, and I get Zenna to follow after them.

"You worried she might try something?" I ask carefully.

"No, Heather is trustworthy," he corrects me, letting out a sigh. "It's Snotlout and the Twins I'm more worried about."

"That makes sense," I admit.

The four of us land on the wooden deck surrounding the hut, Hiccup and I dismounting our two dragons and walking inside to where the rest of the group is already gathered around Heather and her Razorwhip. Zenna walks behind me, glancing around with a curious, albeit cautious, gaze, eyeing Heather's Razorwhip suspiciously.

"Wait, where did you find her?" Tuffnut was asking Heather.

"More importantly, can we ride it?" Ruffnut adds in with an eager grin.

Snotlout suddenly shoves his way into Heather's space, glancing up at her with a smirk while she stares down at him in annoyance.

"Did you miss me? I think you did," he says suggestively. "That's why you threw that tree at me. Isn't it? Playing hard to get. Me likey."

Clearly uncomfortable and exasperated with him, Heather pushes him away with a finger on his forehead, leaving him to be immediately tripped as Astrid places her foot in his way, sending him sprawling on the ground. Heather and Astrid both bump fists with each other while I cross my arms, shaking my head.

"There are plenty of ways to woo a girl, Snotlout," I state dryly. "You always choose the worst strategy."

"I'm sorry, did anyone ask you?" he scoffs in reply, getting to his feet.

I release a heavy sigh of exasperation but opt to not respond.

"Never mind him," Fishlegs chimes in. "How did you train a Razorwhip? It's incredible!"

"Actually, I owe a lot to you, guys," Heather replies.

"To us?" Astrid asks in surprise.

"To me. She meant to me. I mean, how much more obvious can she be?" Snotlout interrupts with another smirk, and I rub my forehead. "Ahh, women. I totally understand them."

He's then smacked down by the Razorwhip's tail, gaining an amused reaction from Astrid. Zenna also seems to laugh as well, while I roll my eyes at the scene.

"Okay, great. Check you later!" he calls out from the floor.

"I'm sure you will," I mutter sarcastically, leaning back against Zenna's left leg.

"When I found Windshear..." Heather starts to explain.

"Awesome name!" Tuffnut interrupts gleefully, with Ruffnut snickering behind him. "I bet you ride like the wind, shearing through it! Get it? I used both of the words in its name to explain why he's called that."

Heather stares at him in annoyance while Hiccup groans in exasperation.

"Oh, gods..." he murmurs.

"Anyway, when I found her, she'd been hurt in a fight with a Typhoomerang," she explains. "Windshear held her own. Didn't you, girl?"

She pauses briefly to hug Windshear's head, but continues right after.

"But she needed to be nursed back to health. Then when she was better, I used the training you guys taught me on Berk. We've become the perfect team. We're unstoppable. I mean, look at her!" she exclaims, gesturing to Windshear. "No one can take us down. And if they try, they'll be sorry for it."

Throughout Heather's story, especially in the second half I share a skeptical glance with Zenna. By the end of her statement I resist the urge to disagree with her claim, since I know for a fact it is false, and also because I'm a bit unnerved by Heather's intensity, which ended up turning into borderline aggression. I also share a glance with Hiccup, both of us a bit concerned.

"Not to discredit you, but in my experience the whole 'lone-wolf,' 'one-man-army' type thing doesn't always work out," I end up saying, however, voicing my own opinion.

"Well, not everyone has magical abilities, Mara," Heather disagrees.

"Trust me, there's always someone else who's better," I say warily.

Hiccup and Astrid both glance knowingly at each other, a bit uncomfortable at the reminder.

"Yeah, like Mara's Dad," Ruffnut scoffs.

"Or that freaky old guy with the hood over his face that shot a bunch of fire!" Tuffnut adds loudly. "Man, that was scary... but also so glorious."

"...what?" Heather asks, bewildered.

"Nothing to worry about," Hiccup interrupts, trying to reassure her.

"Ha! I guess you Force users and your fancy dragons are pretty cool, but not as cool as this," Snotlout declares, now seeking to establish dominance rather than flirting. "Hookfang, flame up!"

Hookfang flaps his wings to hover in the air outside of the clubhouse and ignites his body with fire with a fierce roar, while Snotlout crosses his arms with a smug grin. Zenna squawks at the sight while I stare dryly at Snotlout, unimpressed.

"Don't make me tell Zenna to shoot her tail-spikes," I threaten him.

"I've got a better one," Heather smirks. "Windshear, tail slice!"

Windshear strikes forward with her long tail, causing Snotlout to cry out in alarm and cover himself in fright. However, Windshear instead cuts through the wooden floor in a circle around him before pulling away, and he looks up in slight confusion.

"Ha!" he laughs confidently. "What's so great about..."

The floor then collapses under him as a result of being sliced through by Windshear's tail and he falls down with a startled scream, grabbing onto a support beam underneath the hut, and we all look down at him in surprise.

"Okay, we'll call it a draw," he says meekly.

"Whoa," Fishlegs says in amazement. "What else can she do?"

"Her breath can burn the flesh off a human from a hundred feet away," Heather declares proudly.

"That sounds delightful," I comment sarcastically.

"You're gonna get me outta here?" Snotlout shouts.

I casually hold out a hand and use the Force to lift him out of the hole, setting him on the ground by the door. He yelps in surprise at first when he's lifted through the air, but then stands up once he's back on the wooden floor.

"Uhh, thanks," he mutters.

"Your welcome," I respond with a small grin.

The Twins eagerly rush up to Heather and Windshear to ask more questions, while Hiccup and Astrid hang back to chat, which I decide to participate in also.

"Great having Heather back," Astrid says happily. "She's so... I don't know, intense, hardcore. I love it!"

"That's one way of putting it," I mutter, glancing over at Heather skeptically.

"Yeah- yeah, it's great," Hiccup responds with less enthusiasm. "She's, uh, definitely grown up since the last time we saw her."

"Hiccup, it's been nearly three years. We were just kids," Astrid reasons. "We've all grown up. Even Zenna!"

Zenna perks up at hearing her name and looks down at Astrid with a confused squawk, and I roll my eyes in amusement.

"Well, that's debatable," I reply, narrowing my eyes at Zenna after sensing indignation from her. "Don't get started with me missy, I'm not the one who's scampering after chicken legs!"

Zenna squawks in protest and begins to pout, which I smile at and pat her on the neck.

"I hear what you're saying, Astrid, but Heather was so sweet, and now she's so... I don't know," Hiccup shakes his head helplessly.

"Edgy? What's wrong with that? I like it," she comments.

With the topic of conversation shifted back to Heather, I take the opportunity to add some of my own thoughts.

"She's not just edgy, she's angry," I tell them.

"Angry?" Hiccup asks in concern.

"Something happened to her, something that's left her upset," I say carefully, furrowing my brow in thought and recalling what I've been sensing from her. "I have a feeling she's on a path of revenge."

"Are you sure?" Astrid asks skeptically.

I nod my head firmly in reply.

"Trust me, I've seen this type of behavior before," I tell her.

"Hmm... I guess that could explain why she's destroying ships, but there's gotta be more to it," Hiccup remarks thoughtfully. "I really need to ask her about that."

"Well, do me a favor and wait until after I ask her about her battle-axe," Astrid replies, watching Heather unfold her axe for the Twins to see. "I want her to show me how to make one for myself."

Heather suddenly gets into a battle-ready stance with a wide smirk on her face, and the Twins eagerly pull out a sword each in acceptance of the invitation.

"Let's do this!" Tuffnut declares.

They charge at her with swords held high and begin swinging, their strikes swiftly blocked by Heather, who utilizes both sides of her axe to do so. They enter into a short duel, Heather blocking or jumping to avoid the Twins sword strikes with near the same level of skill and agility that Astrid has.

"Come on! Is that all you got?" Heather taunts.

She raises a foot to kick Ruffnut in the face, sending her sprawling, then twirls around and holds up her axe blade to block Tuffnut's sword, the metal blade snapping in half upon connecting with her axe, leaving the Twins dumbfounded.

"Uh..." Tuffnut says uneasily.

"I'm not doubting what you're feeling, Mara, but I think she's great. Totally hardcore," Astrid tells me with a grin.

"I guess," I reply with a casual shrug.

"Care for round two, Mara?" Heather suddenly challenges me, twirling her axe in her hands threateningly.

I glance at Hiccup, Astrid, and the Zenna for a moment before shaking my head to decline.

"No thanks, I'm good," I tell her.

Heather narrows her eyes at me before sighing.

"Well, suit yourself," she says.

"I'd be glad to take the offer," Astrid says eagerly.

Picking up a sword, she then charges at Heather with a battle cry, and the fighting ensues once more while the rest of us watch, Hiccup and I perfectly fine with staying out of it. Toothless then waddles up beside Hiccup, staring at Heather with a smile on his face.

"I don't suppose you want to talk to her, do you, bud?" Hiccup asks him.

Toothless responds by lunging forward in Heather's direction, knocking him down with his wing along the way. Zenna laughs at the action, whereas Hiccup groans in exasperation.

"Yeah, thanks again for everything," he murmurs dryly from the ground.

I giggle at his predicament, watching him get up from the floor with an amused smile on my face.

"If it makes you feel any better, Zenna and I aren't part of the 'gather-around-Heather' reunion," I point out.

"Wonderful," he sighs.


Lothal - Outer Rim Territories

Ezra POV...

As I waited for a response from Sabine, my mind begins to think a bit more over what the Empire has been doing to my home. The very thought is seriously upsetting, but more than that, it makes me furious. I thought things were bad enough a year ago, but now the entire planet feels like it's dying because of what's been done to it!

"Ok I found it," Sabine's voice says through my comlink. "Just give me a few minutes to remove it from the panel."

Reminded of the mission, I think back on my Jedi training and try to cool down my thoughts to focus more on the task at hand. Kanan and Jarik have both said that anger can only cloud my judgement and cause further harm, and remembering how I acted under the Sith holocron's influence proved it to me: seeing Jarik losing it to his rage was even worse because he is absolutely terrifying in that state. So it's better for me to withhold it.

Calming my thoughts down, I take in Sabine's statement with an anxious frown.

"Can't you just copy the data?" I ask her.

"No, faster to take the whole thing," she replies.

Great. Plenty of time for us to be caught.

"Heads up you two. We got a ship inbound from the south," Zeb warns us.

Right after he said that, I look up at the sound of a shuttle and crouch down even further against the boxes as an Imperial shuttle flies overhead, coming in for a landing at the opposite end of the airfield. An Imperial pilot marches up to the shuttle as its ramp lowers to the ground, and I switch positions in order to get a better view of the scene.

"Ezra what's happening?" Sabine asks.

I widen my eyes in alarm when none other than Grand Admiral Thrawn walks down the ramp, flanked by Governor Pryce and two Death Troopers. I drop back down behind the crates in front of me in dread, knowing this mission just became a whole lot worse.

"Something terrible," I mutter into the comm.


3rd person POV...

Thrawn looked around the airfield as he walked down the ramp, constantly taking in the details with his eyes as he usually did, his focus drawn towards the TIE Defender specifically. He then turned his attention to commander Vult Skerris, who stood firmly at attention.

"Good afternoon, commander," he greets politely. "I'm eager to hear your opinion on the improvements made to the TIE Defender program."

"Allow me to present the Defender Elite for your inspection, Grand Admiral," Skerris says proudly in response, gesturing to the fighter. "And then I will provide you with a flight demonstration."

Thrawn nods his head in satisfaction and starts to follow Skerris down the airfield, Pryce and the death troopers moving along with them. As they do so, Thrawn's thoughts turn toward the Defender, running the details of its capabilities through his head and what might need to be improved, as well as the fact that Jarik Shan will no longer be making any moves to jeopardize its success. Although the rebels will not be the same, it is nevertheless a comforting thought, as he is prepared for any attempts they will try to make at sabotaging the program. Meanwhile, Ezra wasn't as happy with the current situation and anxiously watched Thrawn's progress.

"Sabine, we have to go now!" he says urgently.

"I- I've almost got it, just stall him," Sabine replies.

If his hair was still long, he would've been ripping it out right now.

"Stall him? How?!" he angrily retorts in frustration. "It's Thrawn! You know? The guy who's literally screwed Jarik over time and time again?!"

"I'm confident you'll think of something!" she shoots back.

Grumbling irritably to himself he cuts off the transmission and peeks over the crate in front of him, painstakingly formulating any possible ideas over how to stall the Chiss admiral. However, he starts to feel a strange feeling through the Force, and catches sight of something standing on a hilltop in the distance. Shifting his focus in that direction, he widens his eyes in surprise and confusion upon identifying what seemed to be a loth-wolf of all things, and even from this distance he could tell it was staring right back at him. In his mind he heard the echoing sound of the wolf's howl, carrying with it a strange current in the Force.

At the sound of a blaster being readied behind him Ezra gasps in alarm, turning around just in time to deflect an incoming blaster bolt with his lightsaber. Instinctively jumping backward in the process, he tumbles through the crates in front of him and hits the ground with a grunt. He looks up at where the wolf stood moments ago, only to find nothing there. Glancing behind him, he jumps to his feet and starts deflecting blaster fire from the TIE pilot, which gains the attention of the other Imperials.

"A Jedi? Here?" Skerris exclaims in surprise.

"Ezra Bridger," Thrawn easily identifies with some curiosity.

"Capture him!" Pryce orders several stormtroopers, who rush to do so.

While observing Ezra Bridger, a small frown crosses Thrawn's face as a thought enters his mind. Whenever one of the rebels of the Ghost were around, there was usually another close by.

"Secure the prototype," Thrawn orders his guards.

The death troopers begin to make their way over to the TIE Defender while the facility's stormtroopers attempt to subdue to Jedi Padawan. Meanwhile, Sabine continues to fiddle around with the TIE Defender, growing more and more excited.

"I don't believe it, this thing has a navicomputer!" she remarks excitedly, peeking out the viewport to see what was going on. "Well, Ezra, you certainly got their attention!"

"I'm glad this is working for you!" Ezra angrily replies, working overtime to deflect blaster fire.

"Ezra, Sabine, head for the south end of the runway! We'll blast our way down there to get to you," Zeb says through the comlink.

"No, take the information you have and report to base!" he says in reply. "We'll find our own way back."

Running forward onto a hovering trolley, firing his blaster pistol at several stormtroopers as it moves forward. His trolley then crashes into a few large crates, sending him tumbling over them and onto the ground, though he quickly recovers and sprints for cover between a few large storage bins, the stormtroopers hot in pursuit. He takes off running along the outer wall of the landing field, only to skid to a halt as two stormtroopers turn around the corner. Bringing his lightsaber up to defend himself, he instead jumps up and on top of the storage bins, deflecting blaster fire and kicking off of a TIE pilot's head before tumbling down the other side with several grunts of pain. After hitting the ground he looks up to see Thrawn, Pryce, and Skerris, only a few feet away, and waves at them with a grin on his face.

"Hey!" he calls out cheerfully.

"Fascinating," Thrawn remarks, privately amused by the display.

Moments later, just before the death troopers reached the TIE Defender it suddenly lifted up into the air, flying over the heads of Thrawn, Pryce, and Skerris, who all watch with varying levels of surprise. Thrawn narrows his eyes in minor vexation, his face contorted into a small frown. Ezra, on the other hand, continues to jump around the pile of crates, blocking blaster fire and shooting back with his own pistol every so often. He jumps behind a crate for cover, pulling out his comlink.

"Sabine, now's your chance. Get out of here!" he exclaims.

"Just stay down!" she replies.

Before the stormtroopers could reach Ezra, they're distracted by the sound of the TIE Defender moving in closer. Turning around to see it, they barely have any moment to yell out in alarm before Sabine opens fires, sending a torrent of green laser blasts around the area, throwing troopers everywhere and causing massive explosions. Once the stormtroopers are taken care of she eases off on the laser fire, and Ezra peeks out from his cover with a bewildered expression.

"Sabine! Are you crazy?!" he shouts incredulously.

"Don't just stand there, jump!" she yells back.

Shaking his head in frustration, he nevertheless jumps up into the air and lands on the wing of the TIE Defender, swiftly jumping into the cockpit with Sabine.


Thrawn POV...

Irritating. That's the most prominent feeling on my mind right now, and my irritation only continues to grow once Bridger jumps into the Defender before the pilot begins subsequently wreaking havoc all over the landing field. Perhaps I underestimated the boldness of the rebels, even when they are severely lacking in their capabilities. If they manage to get away with the TIE Defender, then Jarik Shan will never have even been the issue, as they would uncover a lot of information about the ship's specifications. Already, Bridger and his rebel companion are causing severe damage to the airfield with only a single fighter...

A new thought suddenly springs to mind as the TIE Defender tears through several TIE Intercepters during its pass, instantly destroying them.

I calmly move forward while keeping my gaze locked on the Defender, my irritation swiftly being replaced by curiosity and intrigue at the scene. Perhaps this situation will work out in my favor after all, for due to the rebels intervention I now have a genuine demonstration of the Defender's capabilities in battle. As the Defender turns back around for another attack run on the base I pull out my blaster pistol and take aim at the ship's cockpit, releasing several shots. The Defender moves even closer, a torrent of green lasers firing rapidly from the ship and hitting the landing field all around us, but I continue to fire at it, noting with great satisfaction that repeated shots from a blaster do virtually no damage to the Defender's shields.

"Grand Admiral, take cover!" Skerris cries out in a panic.

He and Pryce jump down as the Defender shoots right over us, but I maintain my stance and turn around to watch as it flew by, blowing up the shuttle in the process. Seemingly satisfied with the mayhem the rebels head off into the sky, and I place my pistol back in its holster.

"Was this part of the demonstration?" I ask Skerris.

"They won't get far, sir," he says anxiously. "Its hyperdrive is offline."

"I will activate the ship's kill switch," Pryce tells me.

"Not yet, governor. This is a perfect opportunity for a combat test," I respond calmly, smiling in content. "Skerris, send your pilots to intercept."

"Right away," he quickly acknowledges.


Following the dispatch of three TIE Intercepters to track down the stolen ship, I traveled up to the command center in the tower of the airbase to observe their progress on the holomap, accompanied by Pryce and Skerris. Although the image wasn't a first hand video recording, I was nevertheless getting all the information I needed to understand what occurred based on the readouts being provided by each craft, including the TIE Defender, as its transponder was still active.

Taking Lord Vader's analysis into account, as well as those provided by Skerris, I watch with some content at seeing the TIE Defender in action, flying fast enough through the atmosphere to break the sound barrier, and easily outmaneuver the Intercepters as well by pulling back to slip behind them in a moments notice. Already, two of the Intercepters have been destroyed by the rebels with relative ease. The question I need answered, however, is the mystery of who else is piloting the ship. It does little good if I don't know the skill level of the pilot, as if it is someone with a high level of skill in piloting then the ship itself can often not matter.

"I wonder who else is in that stolen fighter," I remark thoughtfully.

"They destroyed two of our Intercepters. It must be Hera Syndulla," Skerris states firmly.

"Oh I think not," I shake my head in disagreement. "If Captain Syndulla were piloting the ship, our fighters would not have survived this long."

"Then who else?" Pryce asks.

"Perhaps we shall know soon enough," I say calmly, already having a good idea of who.

The TIE Defender then fires four missiles to take out the final Intercepter and, moments later, the holoprojector begins to beep right before the ship's signal disappears, confirming my suspicions.

"Ah... it's transponder has been disabled, in record time. It's the Mandalorian," I determine with satisfaction, which means that Bridger was the pilot.

"Would it not be Jarik Shan, sir? You have mentioned before he is a skilled slicer," Skerris suggests warily.

"I would be surprised if it is him, for if it truly were, we would never even have known the rebels were here," I say in disagreement, shaking my head. "He would've effortlessly acquired what they were looking for at the start."

Aside from that detail, I also know with absolute certainty that it could never have been him at all, as he has agreed to take no part in the rebels efforts to undermine the TIE Defender program according to our agreement. Even if that was not the case, he would never be involved in a simple mission like this regardless, as he would risk drawing the attention of Lord Vader and the Emperor. Not to mention, the way Bridger and Wren accomplished the task is simply not Shan's style.

Skerris acknowledges my comment with a careful nod of understanding.

"I see," he remarks.

"If someone of Ezra Bridger's modest skill can best three trained pilots, our new fighter will give us an overwhelming advantage against the rebels," I comment, pleased with the outcome of this little incident. "Governor, you may proceed."

"Activating theft-countermeasure now," she proclaims, looking over at the technicians. "Scramble gunships! Once they have fallen from the sky locate and secure the crash site."

She inputs the code into the terminal to deactivate the ship while the officers heed her orders, but I pay their activities no mind, more focused on what I've learned today. All things considered, I would say it has been a relative success, as it has provided me with an even more clear understanding of the TIE Defender's capabilities. With this fighter, it'll be very crucial in bringing about a swift end to the Rebellion, after which it'll provide the Empire with a firm defense against the Yuuzhan Vong.

While my plans have been furthered along greatly in recent weeks, I am also now beginning to enter a new level of territory far more dangerous than dealing with Shan and the rebels. Thanks to recent events, the Emperor's trust is me has been lessened greatly, and he and Lord Vader are now suspecting my true motives. Even though my motives are not to usurp them, they would not care, as it still goes against the Emperor's singular desire: complete domination of everything that isn't loyal to him. I think that he may in fact be considering the possibility of taking control of the Chiss Ascendancy once the threat of the Vong has passed, and he likely suspects that I know this too. Both of us, I feel, have some awareness of what the other is planning.

The key difference between us is that he and Vader carry power, while I do not.

There are several possibilities which lie ahead, many of them unfavorable to me. If I do not play my cards correctly, then I may be forced to cut ties with the Empire and flee back to the Chiss Ascendancy, which would leave the alliance between the two factions broken, and make us that much more vulnerable to attack by the Yuuzhan Vong. If that happens, then it may be wise for me to deliver specifications of the TIE Defender program to Admiral Ar'alani, who can then submit them to the Chiss Defense Force leadership as an addition to its navy. The main issue, however, is that the Ascendancy lacks the same abundance of resources that the Empire has, leaving it at a disadvantage.

I do indeed seem to be treading a very thin line.


Eastern Base, Ryloth - Outer Rim Territories

3rd person POV...

After leading the group to the command center, where Gobi was waiting for them, the rebels spread out around a table to begin planning. Cham placed a small hologram projector onto the table, turning it on to display a three dimensional diagram of an Imperial base.

"This factory has been giving us difficulties for some time," he starts to say. "Despite the hit taken at the Tann Province a few months back, the Empire still maintains heavy control of the region."

"Has Thrawn popped in every now and again?" Boil asks.

"I do not think so. The Empire's tactics haven't been as devastating to our movement since then," Cham replies.

"Then that should make things easier for us, if we don't have to worry about Thrawn," Cere remarks.

"Yes, but unfortunately the Empire still has the tactical advantage in every aspect," Gobi points out grimly.

"That's always been the case everywhere," Cal chimes in. "Doesn't mean we can't still hit them hard, and make something good come out of it."

"Indeed," Cham nods in agreement. "The Empire gets much of their munitions and supplies from this factory. If we can destroy, it won't cut off their supply lines, but it'll mean it takes longer for them to replenish their resources."

"The terrain around the factory looks very rugged," Merrin observes. "It'd be hard to get a lot of people there at once."

"Or a ship for aerial support," Greez adds in agreement.

"So an assault would be to risky to try," Boil says thoughtfully. "Maybe an infiltration method would be better. You could set off the factory's reactor."

"I had a similar thought in mind, which is why I asked for your assistance," Cham nods in reply. "Numa has been taking scout teams to try and determine the best means of gaining entry to the facility."

"In order to get into the factory, undetected, we'll have to travel through the cover of the forest, and make our way to this side of the building," Numa starts to say.

She points toward one side of the factory, where a small door at the very bottom of the structure lights up in red.

"This door is used by maintenance workers, and is the least guarded point of entry in the factory," she states.

"Do you have a map of the inside?" Cere questions.

"I'm afraid not. We haven't managed to get any spies inside," Cham says in frustration.

"I think Cal and I could help figuring out which way to go, once inside," Merrin suggests.

"How will you do that?" Gobi asks.

"These two can find their way around places quite well," Cere says in support of her crew.

"It wouldn't be the first Imperial facility we've had to break into either," Cal adds.

"Very well then," Cham acknowledges. "I'll see preparations begin over the next few days for this mission."


Tann Provine, Ryloth - Outer Rim Territories

An Imperial shuttle flew down on approach for the Tann Province, headed to one of the hangar bays. An Imperial Captain, Lunric Behvar, stood anxiously in front of where the ship would be landing, a few stormtroopers lined up on either side. Once the shuttle landed, steam began blowing out of its vents as the ramp lowered, allowing the masked persona of the Second Sister to walk out, flanked by a pair of purge troopers.

"Inquisitor! I apologize for our lack of preparedness for your arrival," Behvar greets nervously. "I was not aware you would be visiting."

"That was intentional, Captain," Trilla responds dismissively, stopping in front of him. "My business here is to be kept from prying eyes."

"I- I see," he nods in understanding. "May I ask what it is that has brought you here?"

"A pair of Jedi seem to have joined forces with Syndulla's resistance," Trilla states, much to his surprise. "The Emperor sent me here to eliminate them."

She then continues on her way, moving past the Imperial Captain, her guards following with her.

"Of course," Behvar replies. "Is there anything I may do to assist you, Inquisitor?"

"Stay out of my way," she says coldly in response.

Behvar grimaces at her reply, unnerved by the Inquisitor and fearful of what might happen should he end up 'getting in her way' as she called it.


Lothal - Outer Rim Territories

Ezra POV...

With the TIE Defender's flight data recorder in hand, I follow Sabine as we move urgently across the terrain, constantly having to change positions in order to avoid being caught by patrolling gunships. Ducking down for cover behind another boulder, we wait for a moment and then peek out once the gunship flies past.

"Did they see us?" Sabine asks.

"No, I don't think so!" I tell her.

"We gotta keep moving!" she says urgently.

Another howl echoes through the air, and I turn around to see that same loth-wolf standing on the edge of the small incline in the distance, staring at me just like before.

"-zra!" Sabine's voice cuts into my mind, and I look at her as she shoves me. "Hey, I said we need to keep moving!"

I glance at her but look back at the loth-wolf, only to see it has once again vanished.

"What is it?" Sabine asks, noticing my pause.

"I- I thought I saw something," I admit, unsure of what to think. "I think it's uh... loth-wolf, no one's seen 'em in a hundred years but I think I keep seeing one today."

"A loth-wolf?" she asks, confused. "Like from those old cave paintings?"

"Yeaa-aahhhhh..." I say before trailing off in alarm.

From around the boulder the white loth-wolf steps suddenly appears directly behind Sabine and looks down at us, snarling and baring its teeth.

"Sabine!" I exclaim in fright.

She whips around, gasping in surprise at seeing the wolf right behind her. We both back up anxiously while the loth-wolf continues to step forward.

"...Sleeepp..."

The loth-wolf seems to say something, or perhaps it was growling, right in front of Sabine, causing her to suddenly fall unconscious and collapse. I catch her just before she hits the ground, shocked at seeing she was completely unmoving.

"Sabine!?" I exclaim in alarm, looking up wide-eyed at the loth-wolf. "What did you do to her?"

The loth-wolf sits itself down on the ground right in front of me, still growling softly in its throat, and I make a move to reach for my lightsaber. I hesitate when the white loth-cat from before suddenly appears on top of the loth-wolf's head, meowing happily. It twitches its ears, a movement immediately copied by the wolf, who then stops growling. Through the Force I couldn't sense any hostility from them.

"I don't believe it," I murmur in awe, releasing my grip on my lightsaber. "I thought I was just imagining things earlier."

The gunships then start to move in closer to our position, to which both creatures look their way with angry hissing and growling, ears lowered against their heads in a clear sign of aggression.

"I'm glad you don't like the Empire either," I say with relief. "They're looking for us."

The loth-wolf turns back around to me and stands back up, moving closer. I reach a hand out and tentatively touch its snout, after which the wolf then gently lifts Sabine up by grabbing part of her armor with its teeth. I quickly stand up and take hold of her, realizing what the wolf was implying.

"Are you sure it's okay?" I ask warily.

It croons in apparent confirmation and lowers itself to the ground. Acknowledging the gesture I lift Sabine up onto the loth-wolf's back and grab her helmet and the data recorder before getting on as well, after which the wolf stands up, whereas the the loth-cat hops to the ground. The wolf then takes off running, and I make sure to keep hold of Sabine and the two objects in front of her so that they don't slip off the wolf's back. The wolf nimbly avoids the gunship's light beams, and within seconds we've moved past them. I glance behind us excitedly to see that we're quickly leaving them behind.

"Thank you!" I tell the wolf happily.


Ahch-To - Unknown Regions

Mara POV...

I look on casually with crossed arms as Astrid and Heather threw their axes at the target a few dozen feet away from them, managing to hit the targets very close to the center, startling one Night Terror dragon in the process. Zenna watches curiously and gave the occasional chirp while standing directly behind me, as she always did. Admittedly, I'm marveling a little bit at how far they can throw those axe blades, since they had to be at least a couple pounds each, yet they don't seem to have any difficulty in throwing them.

"Two axes are better than one!" Astrid states.

"True. Unless you have one of these!" Heather replies.

She whips out her battle axe and unfurls both sides, twirling it around before tossing it at the targets. I raise an eyebrow at it's erratic movement through the air, waitching it slice the handles of the first two axes before sticking into Heather's target.

"You really have to show me how you made that!" Astrid says in amazement.

"Honestly, that thing does not obey the laws of physics at all," I comment.

"Says the magician," Heather points out, to which I rolls my eyes but acknowledge her point. "What about you, Mara? You got a weapon of choice?"

"Usually in small incursions I just stick with hand-to-hand combat," I admit in reply. "Speaking of which, you actually got me on the ropes for a little bit in our fight, so you're not that bad either."

"A little overconfident in yourself, aren't you?" she says doubtfully.

"No, she's being honest, Heather," Astrid chimes in. "She's the best fighter out of all of us, and her parents are even better. I'd take what she said as a compliment."

"Perks of being a Jedi, I suppose," I add with a small smile.

"Huh. If you say so," Heather replies, still skeptical but trusting Astrid's word. "So, what do you use if not hand-to-hand?"

"I use this," I respond, pulling out my lightsaber.

She narrows her eyes at it in confusion.

"And that is...?" she asks slowly.

With a slight grin I ignite the weapon, allowing the blue blade to burst forth from the hilt with a sharp hiss. Heather gasps in surprise, staring at my lightsaber in complete astonishment and disbelief.

"What is that?!" she asks incredulously.

"It's called a lightsaber," I explain." It's a Jedi's standard weapon and can cut through almost anything."

I twirl my saber around briefly and then tense up to throw it, pausing however to glance at Astrid.

"You've got plenty of these, right?" I ask her.

"Sure. Go right ahead," she tells me.

Having received permission, I bring my arm back and then toss my lightsaber, letting it spiral through the air and slice through one of the targets before guiding it back to my hand with the Force, catching it easily. Zenna squawks in approval while Heather gapes in bewilderment, watching the lightsaber's path through the air and back to my hand.

"Woah..." she murmurs in shock. "Even Calder doesn't have one of those. H-how'd you make that?!"

"It takes a special crystal that's connected with the Force, along with a lot of other parts that you can't get here on this planet," I explain, deactivating my lightsaber and clipping it back to my belt.

"So you really are from space?" Heather asks.

"Yup," I confirm. "Calder is from here just like you guys, which is why he doesn't have a lightsaber."

Heather takes it in for a moment, still baffled by the concept.

"Honestly, I think Hiccup is trying to make one of his own," Astrid comments.

"Seriously?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.

"It wouldn't surprise me," she shrugs in reply. "He'd probably make it a flaming sword or something, I don't know, but I'm sure he's trying."

"Of course he would," I say dryly.

"Now that I think about it, that kind of makes sense. He is crafty from what I remember," Heather remarks, picking up another axe with a smirk. "So, Astrid, you two are a thing, right?"

Astrid was in the middle of throwing an axe when she said that, and it accidentally slips from her grasp and goes soaring up into the trees to hit the tree trunk, startling the same Night Terror from earlier. I nearly burst out laughing as well, covering my mouth with my hands to prevent my laughter.

"What? No, just friends!" Astrid quickly tells Heather.

"Hah!" I call out, snickering in amusement.

"Something you're trying to say, Mara?" she demands, turning around and glaring at me.

I manage to retain my laughter and place a hand on my hip, tilting my head slightly with a knowing smirk.

"You know I don't need to say anything," I remind her.

Astrid grimaces in response and looks away from me, and Zenna chortles with draconic laughter, much to my amusement. Heather catches on as well with a sly grin.

"Come on, Astrid. I've seen the way the you two are together," she continues to say.

"No. Seriously. Friends," Astrid insists.

"My senses say otherwise!" I call out teasingly, and she growls at me in frustration, though I could see the blush on her face.

"Hmm," Heather hums, not convinced. "He's kind of cute."

"I guess," Astrid stammers with a nervous smile. "If you like that unassuming, heroic, dragon rider type."

She tosses an axe at a target, glancing over at us in clear embarrassment, her blush deepening at my continuing smirk. Heather tosses her own axe, scoring a direct hit on the target.

"Bullseye," she says with a smile.

"Now, you and Snotlout, that's a match made in Valhalla," Astrid says to Heather, quickly switching the topic of conversation, and they both laugh while I roll my eyes at the idea. "I don't know whether to thank you or feel sorry for you."

"I can handle Snotlout," Heather replies confidently. "And besides, I'm not into the macho Viking type. I like a little smarts. Like Fishlegs."

She retrieves her two-sided battle axe while Astrid and I both share a bewildered expression.

"Fishlegs?!" she breathes out in astonishment. "Seriously?!"

"What? I think he's funny and cute," Heather says in defense, folding up her axe.

"We're talking about Fishlegs, right?" Astrid continues incredulously. "The guy with the Gronckle?"

"Well, everyone's got their own preference for a relationship, I suppose," I remark in casual acceptance.

"Exactly," Heather nods in agreement, looking at me. "Speaking of which, you have any boys you're matched with?"

"Yeah, that's a good question," Astrid says eagerly, looking at me with a grin. "You got a relationship you haven't talked about?"

"Hmm... not really, no," I reply, shaking my head.

"Really? You must have someone, right?" Heather asks.

"What about that other kid, uh, Ezra, right?" Astrid suggests.

"Ezra? Don't make me laugh," I scoff in dismissal. "Besides, if anything he would be with Sabine."

"Fair point," she admits.

"Are those space people?" Heather asks.

"Yup," I confirm.

"Fine, answer this then: what type of guy are you interested in?" Astrid presses. "Definitely someone like Hiccup, for sure. You guys became friends first."

"Uhh..." I falter, a bit caught off guard. "Well, I honestly don't know who I'd be with. I've been in conflict for pretty much all of my life, so the thought never crossed my mind."

Now that I think about it, I really don't have any clue at all what kind of guy I might end up with, or if I've even met someone yet. I haven't have I? I don't think anyone I know would really be an option, since Ezra would be the most likely person but neither of us feel that way for each other at all, and I highly doubt we will either. What kind of guy would I like? Definitely not the 'macho' type person, probably not someone shy or small either... I don't know. Someone who's kind and gentle, but also strong willed and wouldn't back down from a fight. Someone who could understand me.

"Nope, not a clue," I finally say, shaking my head. "For all I know, I'll end up dating a farm boy."

We all share a laugh at that, though for some reason that did seem oddly plausible.

"Okay, all right. Enough boy talk," Heather interjects. "What else do you do for fun around here?"

"Oh, I've got an idea. You'll love it," Astrid says with a grin.

"You girls go do that. I'm gonna head off elsewhere," I tell them, sauntering over to Zenna.

"Alright, sure thing," she shrugs in reply.


Lothal - Outer Rim Territories

3rd person POV...

The white loth-wolf carried Sabine and Ezra through the night, and by the time they reached our camp it was morning. Ezra stares at the campsite for a moment, unsure of how the wolf knew where it was, but that was the least confusing thing about it to him. The wolf sat down on the ground, and he got off its back and helped Sabine down as well, gently laying her on the ground before turning around to face the wolf.

"I don't understand. why did you help us?" he asks.

The loth-wolf stands up and approaches him with an intense gaze, opening its mouth.

"...DUME..."

Ezra blinks in surprise and frowns at the word, wondering what it meant. Doom? Why would it say that? Was it a warning?

"Ezra! Sabine!" a voice cries out.

Ezra turns around to see Hera and everyone else running over in their direction. Sabine was waking up just as they reached them, and Hera kneels down to help her up.

"Thank goodness you're safe," Hera says in relief.

"How did you get back here so fast?" Zeb asks Ezra.

"Didn't you see the..." he starts to ask before pausing, turning around to see no trace of the loth-wolf. "...loth-wolf?"

Judging by the confused looks on everyone's faces, he figured that they didn't, and so turns to the person who he knows for a fact saw the wolf.

"Sabine?" he ask her.

"I don't remember seeing anything. I just heard you say wolf," she replies groggily, standing up with Hera's help.

Ezra gapes at her in bewilderment, stunned that she doesn't seem to remember seeing the wolf either. He then looks over at Kanan, who merely shrugs his shoulders in response.

"Is that the...?" Hera asks, looking at the ground.

"Flight data recorder from the TIE Defender Elite," Ezra confirms. "All Sabine's idea."

"We got the hyperdrive too. Stashed it in the rocks near the crash," Sabine adds with a smile. "I think it'll work in our u-wing."

"Then we can come and go off this rock," Zeb states, picking up the data recorder. "Well done you two."

He and the rest of the group start heading back to the camp, but Ezra moves over to Kanan with uncertainty.

"Kanan, there was a wolf," he insists uneasily. "And there's something more too it. What, I don't know."

"I believe you," Kanan reassures him, placing a hand on my shoulder. "All paths are coming together now."

"What does that mean?" he asks warily.

"There's something special about Lothal, Ezra. One way or another, we always find our way back here. And as you said earlier, we're here to stay," he tells Ezra, who looks down at the ground thoughtfully. "What are paths lead to, I don't know. We'll have to find out when we get there."

The master and apprentice then start walking back to the camp as well, unaware that they were being watched.

The white loth-wolf steps forward onto the small hill, gazing at them, Dume in particular, with an almost gentle expression. Beside him, the white loth-cat also sat down to watch the two Jedi with a small, happy meow. The white loth-wolf turned its head to gaze at the sky and let out a gentle croon, which was answered by the call of the white-green convor before it flew off in the direction of the rising sun.


Ahch-To - Unknown Regions

Jarik POV...

Within the main chamber of the Jedi Temple I knelt down on the floor in front of the mosaic depicting the Prime Jedi, which had a thin layer of water covering it to create a glimmering shine. On the edge of the raised rock which surrounded the mosaic I had put down both of my kyber crystals, providing a soothing thrum of energy as I meditated.

Over the last few days I've been having a greater abundance of visions, something that had quieted down for some time now. The visions haven't been very long, depicting images that I don't fully understand, but are generally the same. Sometimes I see a large creature covered in fur, which speaks in a very deep voice and saying the word "doom" every time. Sometimes I see a painting on a wall that depicts a tall, albeit familiar, rock. On rarer occasions I've seen the shadowy figure of an older man garbed in a some sort of black religious outfit speaking with who I believe to be Darth Sidious, though I've never caught enough of their conversations to know what exactly they're talking about.

For once, it'd be nice if the Force wasn't so vague all the time.

And then there's the mystery of this black wolf that I keep seeing every now and then. I don't know if it's an illusion or not, as whenever I've seen the wolf it looks very real, yet there is no possible way a wolf could be living on this island, much less one of its size. I've one thing I am sure of is that it's connected to the Force in some way, as I'm certain I'm not just imagining things.

I open my eyes when a strange current of the Force seems to blow through me. Orange sunlight from the setting suns filters through the opening for the outcrop to display a mirrored image in the water pool, and I look down at it to see a reflection of myself... with the large black wolf standing directly behind me, its blue eyes meeting my own. I jump to my feet in surprise and turn around to face the wolf, but to my astonishment it has completely vanished.

"Ok..." I murmur uneasily, tensing up a bit defensively.

A loud chirping sound from the outcrop gets my attention, and I look over to see a convor perched on the meditation rock, partially silhouetted due to the sunlight being directly behind it. Narrowing my eyes in confusion I cautiously make my way over and, once I'm close enough, I gasp quietly in amazement at making out the familiar green and creamy white pattern of feathers that belongs to none other than Morai.

"...Morai?" I whisper, caught off guard.

Morai chirps at me and then takes to the sky with a flap of her wings, prompting me to rush out onto the outcropping.

"Wait, come back!" I exclaim, but she's already gone.

A low growling sound has me turning around yet again, this time to be faced by the large form of the black wolf standing a few feet in front of me, staring at me with an intense gaze. I tense up in alarm, unsure of what to expect, and try to take a good look at it. The wolf is large, standing taller than me while about the same length as Toothless, minus the latter's tail. This much closer now, I also get a very good look at its eyes, which are colored a deep blue. The sensation of familiarity in the wolf's eyes keeps nagging at my mind, but I simply can't figure out why.

The wolf growls again and begins stalking forward, its gaze locked completely on me. I warily step backwards to maintain some distance from the wolf, keeping my prosthetic arm in front of me as protection in case it tries to attack. However, I soon have no where left to back up to when I reach the end of the outcropping, left with nothing but a sheer drop down the mountain behind me. I briefly glance down at the drop before returning my gaze to the wolf, which has now reached the meditation rock.

I hold my left arm out defensively, completely tense and ready to move, but at that moment the wolf comes to a full stop. It stands silently just a few feet away, and after a few tense moments of nothing happening I lower my arm slightly, stretching out my senses through the Force: the wolf seems to want something.

"At least I know I'm not going crazy," I start to say in light humor, speaking more to myself than anything.

The wolf doesn't say anything, continuing to stare at me.

"I don't really understand... is there something that you want from me?" I try asking.

The wolf's head and eyes shift slightly downward for a moment, as if it were making a gesture of confirmation.

"What do you want?" I then ask.

The wolf regards me for a few seconds and then turns around, walking back into the temple chamber. I hesitate, a bit perplexed, but follow after it. The wolf walks around the mosaic image before stopping, looking at me again. I stop on the opposite side of the mosaic, unsure of what to do. The wolf then looks down at my two kyber crystals, and then back at me.

"My kyber crystals?" I ask in confusion, and I feel a sense of confirmation in the stare it gives me. "What about them?"

The wolf's eyes narrow slightly and it looks back down at the crystals, lowering its head as if to sniff them. I watch in bemusement as it uses its large snout to push Ahsoka's old green crystal closer to my blue one, which results in them both gaining a more whitish glow instead of their normal colors. I furrow my brow for a moment, confused, before realizing what it was implying.

"Are you trying to say something about Ahsoka?" I say in surprise. "About both of us?"

All I receive from the wolf is an unblinking stare, but through the Force I could sense another feeling in confirmation.

"...why?" is all I could think to ask.

The wolf took on step forward, placing a single paw on the edge of the mosaic, then opened its jaws and spoke a single word. The wolf spoke with a deep voice, a mix between a growl or a hum of some sort, yet in a weird way I couldn't really determine if the wolf was male or female: the deep growling would be an indicator it spoke in a male voice, yet it still seemed feminine in some odd way that I can't determine.

"...DUME..."

Recognizing the word spoken to be the same thing I've heard in my visions, I take a small step back in surprise, my eyes wide. I'm almost afraid of what it could mean, especially if the wolf was communicating something that has to do with both me and Ahsoka... is this confirmation that she's alive? Is something going to happen that results in our doom, if that's what the wolf said? Or is it not 'doom' at all but rather 'dume,' as in 'Caleb Dume?' And if so, what does he have to do with this?

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I almost don't notice when the wolf walks away from the mosaic and over to the wall. I blink my eyes in surprise and turn to watch it, and the stare is soon returned by the wolf. It reaches a shadowy part of the rocky wall and turns around to face me, meeting my gaze before backing up. After a few seconds I realize that the wolf is disappearing right before my eyes, almost sinking into the wall like a shadow in dark mist, only the blue of its eyes visible before that then disappears as well. A patch of sunlight then moves onto that very spot, as if to confirm that there's nothing but solid rock.

The wolf has simply vanished without a trace, leaving me with a lot of questions.


Author's Note: Hello readers, sorry about the wait! I've just been busy with a lot of things in college recently. Also, trying to figure out the chronological order of everything here is also kind of difficult, so I apologize if everything seems like it's all over the place. I'm not too happy with it, because it's a lot of stuff and doesn't seem entirely cohesive for me, but it is what it is, I guess. I didn't want to just skip through a whole bunch of stuff, but I didn't want to write it all in-depth either, as plenty of it isn't important to the story I want to tell.

Just a heads up, there will be a one week time jump between this chapter and the next, so keep that in mind!