CHAPTER 4
The Foundling
Botajef – 4 BBY
It was an utter onslaught of blasterfire once Bo Katan turned the hallway, her rocket boosters maintaining her hover as she zipped around, leaving a distinct black burn on the durasteel flooring she traversed. Her instincts were more than elite for her assailants, all of them feeling the impact of perfect headshots before their blasters were even half-raised. Part of her almost felt pity…but reminding herself who they served was the perfect remedy for such self-destructive thoughts.
It also made the eerie quiet of a victorious skirmish a little more bearable.
Landing on both feet within the maintenance tunnel, she killed her jetpack, and then reached out to steady her counterpart who hadn't landed so gracefully.
"What did I tell you about spreading your feet?" Bo reminded Nara, just as she managed to regain her balance. "If you open up too far…"
"I'll be doing the splits, yeah I remember," Nara tapped her helmet with the side of her blaster pistol. "Thanks."
Bo tipped her helmeted head slightly, before taking the lead forward. "We're not far from the maintenance catwalk. There we'll meet back up with the others."
They came to a rusted ladder with poor lighting, which was perfect for their necessity of surprise, even if the smell was about as rancid as an uncleaned trash compactor.
"Ugh…is that you?" Nara quipped. "Smells like someone died here."
"Someone certainly died back there," Bo flicked her head, beginning to ascend the ladder and onto the grated catwalk overlooking one of the main storage areas of the warehouse. It was lined with hundreds of massive durasteel shelves containing thousands of unmarked boxes of various shapes and sizes. They could spend a week looking through this place for various artifacts and trinkets the Empire had stolen…but they had more important matters to prioritize.
Taking a knee, she flipped down her antenna and triggered her infrared vision filter, noting multiple heat sigs below. They were mostly stormtrooper squads mixed with some orange shoulders, nothing even only the two of them couldn't handle.
"Do you think what that bucket of bolts said could be true?" Nara asked, just as Bo pulled up her antenna. "That there's no beskar?"
That was something she didn't want to think about right now…but she'd be doing herself and everyone involved in this mission a disservice if she didn't. "It's possible," she admitted. "But Ahsoka's never had bad intel before. If anything, I think it's more likely there's a half-truth to this."
"What do you mean?"
Bo watched some of the stormtrooper squads listen to their comms and then rush off with the others towards the front of the building, where their distraction was currently taking place.
"What I mean is there might be something else valuable to the Empire here, and we just don't know it. Beskar could be a code name in their shipments to throw off pirates," Bo mused, rising to her feet and progressing across the catwalk once the closest patrol headed out.
"Or Mandalorians," Nara added. "I always get the feeling someone's playing with us when we go after the Empire."
Bo Katan knew that all too well, and it only made her feel even more uneasy. "That's an odd feeling."
"I always trust my gut," Nara reiterated, keeping just behind Bo as they reached the edge of the catwalk and beside the maintenance door. "It's kept me alive this long."
Reaching for her belt, Bo unclipped a tiny detonator and stuck it to the durasteel, then proceeded to take five steps back with her back turned. "I think a few tricks had something to do with that."
Nara scoffed, priming her blaster as the detonator began to beep its countdown. "Why am I not surprised you're trying to take the credit?"
Bo shrugged. "I just don't ever remember you thanking me."
"That's bantha fodder, Kryze, and you damn well know it," Nara protested. "Would've still danced around poles on Nar Shaddaa if it wasn't for you."
"People usually end up where they belong…two, three…" she whispered the count as she spoke, raising her gauntlet. "If I didn't…seven, eight…someone would have."
Nara shook her head. "I doubt it."
"Maybe…thirteen."
The warehouse alarm blared.
The detonator blew on command, and immediately Bo Katan and Nara whirled around and charged into the hole, blasters firing with each lightning-quick pull of the trigger. Residents of the room never stood a chance, officers and white armored troopers crashing into the floor as their bodies went limp.
"Still, a young lothcat like myself," Nara lowered her blasters. "Can still shoot faster than your troubled joints."
That wasn't the first age joke that'd been shot her way in their tenure together, and by now she'd learned to merely play along with it. "With age comes wisdom," she quipped, and then fired one more blast that zipped past Nara's ear to down one more surviving trooper. Her counterpart gasped as she whirled around, giving her body a shake as her breathing readjusted.
"I did that on purpose."
Bo holstered her blasters, taking command of the control console. "I'm sure you did."
After a moment of recognizing the layout Bo looked out the observation window to watch the roof begin to slowly open itself, letting in the sparse light of dusk. Sifting through the data just as a precaution, she confirmed the troop deployments Rava had pulled out of their system.
Pressing the side of her helmet, she opened up her comm frequency.
"You're clear, Ahsoka. Nara and I have broken in and are now moving towards the transports," she reported, just as they both pushed through the side door and paced down another catwalk. "Just need to make sure Rava keeps this lockdown from boxing us in."
"Don't insult me," Rava protested on the line. "I kept entire star destroyers from being able to fire at all."
"That's cute, but all that talk won't matter if we get swarmed," Bo jumped, activating her jetpack to bypass a retractable bridge and reach the far catwalk. "Keep it up."
"We're just above the transports, Bo," Ahsoka relayed. "We can drop in as soon as you're ready."
"This is too easy…" she heard Nara whisper to herself as they continued to keep a fast pace. "…like not in a good way."
"Just keep moving," Bo waved her off, and then switched her channel. "Arrum, report your status."
She heard metal clench and scream, followed by a loud clang through the comm.
"This bloody jetii is stealing all my kills!" he protested, just as another scream in terror flew by his mic. "Tossing these white armored cowards around like rag dolls!"
Nara chucked in the background.
"Good to hear it's going well," Bo replied. "The alarms have been triggered. It is about to become much more crowded on your side."
"Oh, good!" Arrum cheered with a somewhat bloodthirsty edge. "More cattle for the slaughter!"
"Just stay focused," Bo chided him, and then cut the comm.
"He sure enjoys having sex with himself," Nara remarked. "Makes up for his inability to engage with anyone else."
Bo grumbled. "Why don't we save the insults for later? We have a job to do."
In fairness, Nara had a point. Arrum Vizsla was a loose, foolhardy cannon in every regard, even if he was perhaps the best at deconstructing a threat. Only Rondir was a superior warrior, and while Bo had sparred with the cousin of a man she had so dearly respected when she was younger, he had proven he was no pushover.
But he was no Pre Vizsla.
Perhaps fortune brought us together…but you and I both know why you're here…why you've come to Death Watch.
She grimaced behind her helmet, her walk slowing somewhat.
You want people who understand you. You want a real family.
What she said to him didn't matter. It's what she did afterwards that counts. She became a terrorist…a murderer, all for a quest of vengeance and longing, and it had only taken everything away from her.
She had a family…now she was the last of her line.
"Hey, Bo-Bo," Nara's glove gripped her shoulder from behind. "You're doing the trance thing again."
Kryze shook her head, then started forward again. "I'm fine. Let's keep moving."
She was far from fine. Ever since Alhara had stopped her on the Valkyrie, her memories had been jogged out of place, resurfacing after years of being ignored. For so long she'd tried to forget about those days, the days where she had run away after a terrible tragedy, the days in which she turned her back on those she thought she would never love again, only to lose them all in such horrific, terrible fashion.
The days in which she surrendered Mandalore to a monster…twice.
But she was better now…she had to be.
Reinitiating her comm, she refocused and tightened her aim, standing just above their designated coordinates. "Ahsoka…it's time. Go."
ISD Valkyrie – 4 BBY
Katara never liked waiting, in fact she hated it almost more than anything else in the world. After learning that her sister had snuck off with her parents to join them on their mission, she'd spent the past few days stomping around her designated room, complaining to herself how nothing was fair…how nothing was ever fair.
Why does she get to do what she wants, while Katara was rewarded for listening to her mother with some of the most yawn-inducing days of her life.
She was…quite literally…climbing up the walls at this point.
Dangling from a hanging lamp with her legs locked like hooks around it, she let imagination wander off, a hopeful attempt to pass time with nothing else to do. Most of those moments had been filled with imaginings of herself fighting off legions of stormtroopers or leaping across vast open areas with little effort.
Checking her chrono, it had only been two minutes.
With an exasperated huff, she hung more loosely, letting her arms dangle.
"Please do not hang from my lighting."
Katara's heart leapt into her throat as she quickly flipped off the lamp and onto her feet, clasping her hands behind her back. "I wasn't hanging."
Admiral Vorchenko looked down upon her with skeptic narrowed eyes, her lips eventually forming into a smirk. "You've got potential, as a liar, but still much to learn."
She bowed her head. "Sorry…I'm just really bored," Katara complained, shuffling her feet.
Vorchenko crossed her arms. "Haven't you tried meditating? Your mother told me to have you work on it."
Katara scowled. "Meditating is even more boring."
The Admiral tipped her head. "On that we can agree," she turned, heading toward the door. "Come now."
Katara dared to let excitement into her heart, skipping to Vorchenko's heel. "Where are we going?"
"Some place you must be able to mind your manners," she pointed down to the crimson girl. "People must be allowed to do their jobs, so that means no shouting or obnoxious behavior, understood?"
"Sir yes Ma'am!" Katara saluted, but then realized she had messed it up, and proceeded to blush and giggle. "I mean…yes, Admiral, I promise."
"Good," Vorchenko turned back on her heel, moving at a pace so fast Katara had to jog just to keep up. "Follow."
"Woah…" Katara gasped, letting her green eyes wander around the bridge…perhaps the most flashing lights she had ever seen in one place. "This is where you work?"
"Most of the time," Vorchenko affirmed, leading the girl across the command walkway. "This is where I manage and command the fleet."
Katara ran up to the holotable, her eyes barely peering its surface. "Can you play holochess on this? It's so huge!"
"Potentially…" Vorchenko wondered, and then furrowed her brow. "Although I've never considered that, oddly enough – what did I tell you about manners?"
The girl winced, pulling her finger away from one of the buttons. "Oh…sorry," she tried to hide her hands behind her back, making them have to travel farther just to touch anything. Knowing better than to hang around the mesmerizing device, she followed Vorchenko down the hall, looking down at the uniformed officers working their stations. Remembering her warning, she didn't try to speak to them or interact.
"How many people are needed up here?" Katara asked.
"No more than thirty," Vorchenko answered quickly. "Down there is where our shields and other defenses are monitored, while that holotable is used for visual strategy and communications. This is the brain of the entire ship."
Katara listened somewhat, but her eyes were focused on the viewport, getting to see all the pinpoints of stars and other massive ships that made up the fleet. It reminded her of the holovids she used to watch in her mother's arms when the sun had gone down, telling epic tales of heroes crossing the stars…and how she imagined herself being one of those heroes.
She missed her mother…but then again, she couldn't look like a little kid in front of the Admiral, crying for her mommy. She had to be strong. She had to be a Jedi. She couldn't let herself fall into a black abyss, blinding her vision with her emotions, her longing…her Aunt Zahira had taught her otherwise.
It was odd however, how everything had become so dark all of a sudden. At first Katara had thought the Admiral had shut off the lights, but it had become too dark…her vision fading into nothing, as well as the stark silence that followed.
Katara quickly realized she wasn't on the bridge of the Valkyrie anymore.
BOOM!
She screamed, ducking in terror as she begged to be away from whatever noise had just frightened her so dearly. Trembling, she looked in the direction of the terrible sound, and without warning, she was swept into a red fog that carried her off her feet and tossed her through the air, landing roughly on her back…but felt no pain.
Picking herself up, she was now surrounded by that red fog, her surroundings becoming more obvious. A forest…tents set up with a fire…a banner with the symbol her sister had drawn on her armor…
"Katara…"
She looked down…and saw Alhara, bleeding from her eyes and choking on her own blood, grasping at her legs. "Help…me…"
Katara froze, the sight of her sister dying before her throwing her into a state of shock…an image her young mind could've never been prepared for.
"Alhara!" she screamed, falling to her knees and trying to help her, only to see her lie still, her eyes consumed with crimson, and her breathing a distant memory. Tears flooded Katara's eyes as she cried out in vain. "Alhara!"
"Katara!"
She gasped, the image gone from her as quickly as it had appeared, and she was back on the bridge, two faces looking down upon her. Antaria gripped her tightly, her ice-blue eyes and white skin so familiar it was almost as if her mother had awoken her, and she collapsed into the woman's arms, crying.
"It's alright," Antaria eased, letting Katara's tears continue as her fear failed to release its grip on her heart. "You're safe now…"
She could sense Vorchenko watching her, revealing no detectable emotion, but the fact that she hadn't tried to pull her off the bridge meant that she may understand what had just happened to her…why she had just been forced to watch her little sister die.
"It's Alhara…she's…" Katara whimpered. "They're going to kill her with a red fog! We have to warn Mama!"
Vorchenko winced, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Premonition."
Antaria kept up her embrace but looked up to her Admiral. "Are you sure? She could've imagined it."
"Don't be silly," Vorchenko chided, slanting her brow. "Wild imaginings wouldn't terrify a child like that, certainly not in broad daylight."
Antaria grimaced, and then tried to pull Katara away so their eyes could meet, and the girl still had tears flowing down her face. "Hey, hey…tell us what you saw."
Katara sniveled, still visibly terrified. "I-I…I saw a camp…a red fog came through…killing Alhara…" she fell into another fit of tears. "It killed her!"
The echani guardian pulled her in again, looking back to Vorchenko. "How often do these come true?"
The Admiral turned her gaze towards the viewport. "Eon has had a few, some that saved my life…and yours. Katara is strong with the Force, stronger maybe than her mother or her father…and we'd be remiss to ignore this. If Alhara dies…" she paused, seemingly running the scenarios in her head as always, and eventually returned, her expression becoming even more grim. "…it would be catastrophic."
"But if we warn them…" Antaria began.
"We can't," Vorchenko shook her head. "But there are other ways."
Botajef – 4 BBY
Trilla's mother senses were tingling, and it was making her angry.
Being angry, of course, was nothing new for her. She'd spent plenty of years festering hatred within her heart to understand its intricacies, functions, uses…and penalties. She'd let most of it go long ago, the portion of it that truly mattered, but she'd tasted that darkness for too long to be every fully free of it, and she was fine with that. Being angry had its advantages, especially in combat.
Not so much in stealth.
"Something's wrong," she repeated, anxiously waiting for Rava to slice through the door, Ahsoka standing patiently beside the android. "This is too easy."
"It's alright, Trilla," Ahsoka eased. "Just stay calm. The faster we—"
"Do not lecture me on being calm," Trilla pointed her way, eliciting little to no reaction from the togruta. "How can you not sense it?"
Ahsoka seemed to pause, her glance to the right giving away as much. Trilla always hated how calm she managed to be…very much so.
"If you sense something, the battle is distorting it for me. All I can feel is the aggression and alarm," she said. "What are you feeling?"
Trilla didn't just lash out in annoyance at her agitation, and instead probed her thoughts, tracing the stem of her anxiety from her mind and outwards, following it across the vast distance it occupied. She felt herself leave the planet, cross entire systems, zoom by whole planets…all to arrive at an all-too-familiar Star Destroyer. She sensed fear, despair…tears…from…from…
"Katara…" she whispered. "Bloody hell, her strength in the Force is…"
"You can feel her?" Ahsoka asked, but then had a thought. "It must be a bond."
"Congratulations for deciphering the obvious," Trilla looked away, letting her tone ooze with contempt. "There's more to this than that."
"I think you're just paranoid," Rava butted in, her eyes still glowing as she tried to punch through main security. "Katara is with the fleet. It's Alhara I'd be worried about."
Trilla scoffed sarcastically. "Oh, do you suppose so? Keep your focus on your task. It's what you're here for."
"Believe me, I still have plenty of RAM to hold a conversation," Rava assured her. "And I did bloody tell all of you this was a bad idea."
Trilla's mechanical arm dug into her elbow, before swiping her arm through the air and pacing away in frustration. She could barely control her heartbeat, let alone the sweat that began to pour down her face. Already she'd spent the entire mission worried about her youngest daughter, and now the Force was seemingly determined to make that as torturous as possible.
"Why did I agree to this?!" she shouted, igniting her gold blade and letting it slice through the durasteel wall, leaving a glowing streak of orange where it had cut through.
"Don't make me stun you again," Rava warned.
"Do I appear to be in the mood for your jokes?!" she bellowed; her blade still ignited. "Gah! That's it. I'm returning to the camp!"
Ahsoka grasped her shoulder. "They're supposed to leave in ten minutes. You'll never make it back in time!"
"Through," Rava reported, just in time to stop Trilla from winding up her metal fist to shatter Ahsoka's nose. "You can cease your shouting now."
This…all of this was a bad idea. Leaving Artakha, taking her children with her, trying to help people she'd never even met…it was madness, and she still went along with it.
Why? How could she be so foolish?
No, no…it's too late to be worried about such things. I can't let my anxiety take from the moment, or else all will be lost anyway…
She needed to relax. She needed to trust that her children were alright, and if she could do that…there was no doubt she would see them again.
But that meant trusting Ahsoka…
No, no, no…
Trilla felt her fingers tingle as every inch of her body restrained itself.
Restraint is not weakness…it is strength.
She shook the togruta's hand from her shoulder. "I'm alright."
It was obvious Ahsoka knew she was lying, but she seemed to drop it, turning back to Rava. "Open the shaders. Let's have a look."
Before long, the mechanical shaders rose, revealing the viewport into the hangar bay. Blaster bolts tore through their view, firing across the bay in a barrage towards an unseen opponent…until a blaze of fire cooked multiple stormtroopers alive, originating from an armored woman who was certainly a Mandalorian.
Perfect.
Trilla ignited her blade and slashed through the glass, entering the scene in a blinding blaze of light that none of her enemies could perceive until her blade protruded through one of their white armored allies. He died in a sudden groan, and quickly Trilla was back on the move, nothing but a blur from the eyes of her opponents.
She needed something to kill.
ISD Corona – 4 BBY
"My patience wears thin, High Agent."
Markov, while silent, was beginning to understand Admiral Daala's protest as she continued to watch her fellow men be butchered by the unabating savages that had raided the warehouse. If she was going to be anywhere, she wanted to be on the ground with those men, fighting alongside them to snuff out the enemies of the Empire…not cooped up in a command ship and watching from above.
It made her stomach roil with distaste.
If only Nerah were here…these animals would think twice before cutting down so many men.
"You promised me my men would not be lost, and yet here we are, watching them fall one by one," Daala said, her gaze turning sour as she kept her eyes pointed towards the visual. "You have two minutes to begin your little test, otherwise you shall be explaining your failure to Grand Moff Tarkin himself."
Gideon was unphased by her threats, keeping his somewhat smug demeanor that was only making her angrier by the minute.
"All in good time," Gideon promised, and then tapped a control on his wrist.
From a frigate not far from the Corona, the aft guns turned towards Botajef, angling themselves into a precise angle that took much longer than a usual missile salvo to lock on. The frigate lurched forward as its engines power up, inching closer until finally grinding too a halt and locking in place.
"You will now bear witness to the enemy of life itself," Gideon proudly proclaimed. "Fire."
Botajef – 4 BBY
Bo Katan grunted as the butt of a rifle collided into her beskar protected chest, the impact doing nothing more but knocking her off balance for a moment. Her death trooper opponent tossed their weapon aside and drew a large stun stick, swinging with intense power from their unnatural and superior height. She backpedaled, ducking underneath and using her jetpack to strafe backwards, before angling herself forward and slamming into him head on. Carrying the massive body into one of the large durasteel support beams, they impacted together, him taking the brunt of the force with her to cushion against his much softer body.
His gauntlet smacked into her helmet, knocking her senses out for long enough to pull himself free, shaking off the rough blow. Staggering, Bo once again waited for her moment, virtually dancing around his swings with strained effort that became minimal as she focused, and finally caught his wrist with an overhead swing with both hands. Turning with a roundhouse kick, her armored shin crashed into the side of his hip, making him lose enough leverage to allow her to overpower him, kicking him once again in the same spot. This time he groaned in pain, detectable even through the audio scrambler, and she pressed her advantage, activating her wrist blade and swiping at his neck.
A fist collided into the side of her head, knocking her helmet from her head with the force it contained and body onto the floor, rolling with ringing ears and blurred vision. Flipping onto her feet to a bent-knees stance, now able to see both of her death trooper opponents. Tasting blood on her lips, she wiped it away and observed the crimson liquid now soiling her gloves.
Her knuckles cracked. "Come on."
Charging forward, she feinted a dive and activated her jetpack, gliding over her battered opponent as he dove to meet her and slammed her heel into his back with enough force to crack bone, and his yelp in pain was evidence as much. Landing on her feet, the next trooper, this one even larger, swung his heavy fists her way, pushing enough air by her ear to know she may not remain conscious the next time one of those haymakers connected. Remaining calm regardless, she ducked and swiped with her blade, only to miss paydirt as her opponent jerked their head to the side and counter attacked, forcing Bo to roll away and attempt to swipe at his calf, only to miss again.
Her senses tingled as the other reappeared, wrapping her in a bear hug from behind and pinning her arms back, readjusting to put her into a choke hold, to which she fiercely resisted. Feeling her vision begin to tunnel regardless, she thought fast, watching the fresh trooper charge forward to wind back the final punch.
Perfect.
Waiting for her chance, she swung forward, kicking off the charging trooper's chest and activating her jetpack with enough power to keep it pointed his way enough to begin to melt his armor and illicit cries of intense pain from severe burns. The enhanced force was enough to free her neck, and she rode the momentum to end up atop his shoulders and sink her wrist blade into his soft neck. He gurgled as she felt him go limp, planting her feet as she watched the other trooper writhe on the floor in pain.
Taking the time to wipe the blood from her blade and retrieve her blaster, she ended his suffering with three shots to his head.
She breathed.
With a sniff, she retracted her blade and rolled out her neck, just in time for another trooper to fly through her vision and land in a heap of boxes. Boots tattered lightly as another figure appeared, this one much less unfortunate to see.
"Bo!" Ahsoka called out. "Are you alright?"
She cleared her throat, and admittedly felt the aches start to set in, but shook them off. "Nothing that won't heal," she paced to her helmet, scooping it from the floor. "Come on, we better keep moving."
Metal boots landed with a loud clang just beside them, and the android Rava approached with her blaster over her chest, looking like it…or she herself had seen some combat. Another jetpack also appeared just behind, followed by a blur.
"You know, I think I'm starting to like you," Nara regarded Trilla, to which the maskless woman shook her ruffled hair out.
"You're not so bad yourself," she admitted. "Still a little slow, but…"
Nara looked back to Bo Katan, waving off the shot. "Well…you look like shit."
Ahsoka snorted.
"Focus, please?" Bo directed, turning towards their prize, the docked transport ships that were now unattended. Sliding over her helmet, she flicked her head to incline Rava to begin, just as they reached the large aircraft. "Our time is running out."
Standing watch, Bo let Rava take point, her eyes glowing as she began to interface with the ship's systems. In moments, the loading ramp creaked open, slowly unfolding and revealing a metal crate with a shining coat of paint. She felt her heart race for a moment, naturally checking for traps as she ascended the vehicle and entered the cabin, running her glove over the top of the crate.
"Ah…resistive coating," Rava noted, standing just behind her. "Perhaps you will get your prize after all. My scanners cannot pierce it."
That was all she needed to hear.
Reaching for the clamps, she pulled up and heard them click.
"Congratulations."
Bo's blaster was pointed so quickly, she had almost pulled the trigger before the hologram finished its first word. The image was a dark-skinned male human dressed in ISB garbs, but also sported a black cape for good measure…and a somewhat confident stoic demeanor.
"If you are seeing this, Bo Katan Kryze, then you have successfully reclaimed an inkling of your lost beskar. This will perhaps be seen as a major victory for your people," the hologram continued, her visor fixed on his face. "But it will come with one condition. I need a testing ground for my new weapon that I wish to give to our Emperor, and your camp about twenty kilometers north of this facility will do just nicely."
She felt her fist clench and knuckles crack, her mind scanning his face so many times, she felt it burn into her brain.
"At this moment, I will be launching a specialized rocket whose warhead contains the cunning edge of biological warfare…the experimental compound known only as Alpha Red. In about five minutes time, your entire camp of Mandalorian recruits will be choking on their own blood, grasping their throats in desperation as the toxin melts them from inside out."
Trilla's gasp was almost a scream.
"You may have your beskar, but it will do you no good when there's no one left to wear it," he smirked. "Think quickly…but just know that you cannot save them all. The Empire will always prevail.
"Let this be a taste of your annihilation."
The hologram faded, and Bo finally unclenched her fist.
Feeling her legs leave the ground immediately, her back slammed into the wall as one metal arm dug into the cloth parts of her armor.
"YOU! YOU KILLED HER!" Trilla screamed with tears in her eyes, only to have Ahsoka and Nara pull her free. "MY DAUGHTER WILL DIE BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"Trilla, stop! We'll figure something out!" Rava insisted, taking her from the others before she had a chance to cut them both down. "I can detect his missile. He bluffed about the timing."
"How long do we have?" Nara asked, her voice trembling.
Rava struggled with Trilla, letting her mechanical joints kick in to hold her down. "Eight minutes…not enough time for even a Jedi to cover that much ground, and this shuttle would take too long to lift off."
"What about the shuttles?" Ahsoka inquired, trying to stay calm as always, but still had her own tremble of worry. "They've already packed. They can escape the camp!"
Bo tagged into her comm, shaking off her shock. "Rondir…Rondir! Come in, dammit!" when all she got was static, her fist collided into the wall. "There's no signal!"
"Those shuttles will never spin up fast enough by the time they see that missile," Ahsoka warned. "It'll be too late."
"So we're essentially fucked is what you're saying?" Nara's voice rose, her own anger apparent. "They're all going to die?!"
It was over, and Bo Katan knew it. They'd walked right into the Empire's trap, and this time they would lose everything for it. There would be nothing left of Mandalore without those recruits, her people shattered for all time…dealt the killing blow…all because no one was fast enough to…
…to reach them.
"No," Bo shook her head. "Nara and I can make it back in time. Everyone else needs to get on this shuttle and pick up the others."
"This craft is not large enough to hold them all," Rava pointed out, having let go of a distraught Trilla by now.
"It'll have to work," Bo swiped her hand. "We don't have a choice."
"Even if we escape atmosphere—"
"It'll have to work!" she bellowed. "Go! Now!"
Rava hesitated, but complied, leaving Ahsoka to follow her and assist, while Bo beckoned Nara to follow.
Trilla grabbed ahold of Bo's shoulder, her eyes helpless. "If you save my daughter…I'll do anything…I don't care. Just save her."
Bo had seen that look before…that desperation driving someone to utter madness, clinging to others to save them from whatever desolate fate awaited them. She watched it destroy them…utterly and completely…
And Alhara…that girl was now the personification of her failure, and if she died…then Kryze saw no need to carry her name any longer.
"I will," Bo Katan said. "I promise."
With that, her jetpack flared to life, and she raced towards her people.
ISD Corona – 4 BBY
"Warhead is breaching atmosphere."
Markov was glad the Mandalorians had fallen right into the rather ingenious trap Gideon had left for them. She had to settle to imagine their shocked faces when their brutish impulses once again had proven to be the death of them…so martially superior. If she could kill all of them herself, she would.
But Alpha Red…was simply barbaric.
"Rather distasteful, I must say," Daala admitted. "It's almost a shame. Still, a victory is a victory."
Indeed it was.
"This will be a victory without proportion, Admiral," Gideon assured her. "No one will be able to stand against the Empire once Alpha Red has been fully utilized."
Daala crossed her arms, watching the holo. "I am yet to see how it works, and how quickly. I would not count your winnings too early, High Agent, although your planning abilities certainly deserve praise."
"Your concern is hardly warranted."
"If only all words were truths, High Agent," Daala bit out, her frustration beginning to show…to which Markov could not understand. "This delay has left us exposed for far too long. If we continue to—"
"Admiral! Multiple warships coming out of hyperspace!"
Daala cocked her head in distaste, but turned to face her deck officer. "Are they hostile or friendly?"
On cue, Markov watched from the bridge as nothing short of an entire fleet emerged from hyperspace, lead by a Star Destroyer she hoped to never see again.
"I-I don't know, Admiral. Their transponders are Imperial, but—"
"The Alliance has come to save their most precious asset," Gideon noted, and this time Markov found surprise in his tone…along with a hint of anger. "…but too soon…" he seethed.
Daala marched to the viewport, trying to get a naked eye visual. "I've seen that ship before…in the holos…"
Markov swallowed. "It's the Valkyrie…the Bane of the Empire."
The Admiral scowled, and then shook her head. "We are outnumbered ten to one. We must retreat. Get all forces off that planet immediately."
Markov could not understand why, however…why would the Alliance forgo their treaty now? The Senate had made them untouchable…
Unless…unless they believed they could win.
How quaint.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Gideon ironically interjected. "We are still in bombardment range. Fire on the camp. Give them no means of escape."
"Are you mad?" Daala spat. "If we do not leave now all of us will die, then it won't matter how your test fairs."
"If we do not stay, Admiral Daala, then the Galactic Alliance will continue to have stood by their treaty, and thus we would not be able to counter-attack or find any of the fugitives they may be hiding once today is said and done. Allow them to fire upon Imperial vessels…" he explained, letting it trail off, and leaving Markov with a smile.
"Then the treaty is void, and the Empire can attack them openly without interference from the Senate," Markov filled in.
"Precisely," Gideon praised. "If you stay, Admiral, sacrifice a few men in a bombardment, which would allow Alpha Red to impact with the surface, you will be remembered as the one who finally took a stand against the lawless insurgency situated right before us. You would have started the war that needed to be waged…no more protections, no more delays."
Daala narrowed her eyes, considering the reasoning. "They are situated awfully aggressively, and if they do attack, we win. If they don't attack…and we stay…we win."
Gideon inclined his head with a smirk.
"Very well, High Agent. We shall do it your way…although I have a more efficient method in mind to ensure your results remain intact…"
Botajef – 4 BBY
Bo Katan's jetpack monitor was already protesting in the form of flashing red over her HUD when she hit the ten-kilometer mark, and the wind resistance had made turning her head virtually impossible. She had no idea how close the missile was from impact, but by now, the burns that were singeing her back from the heating beskar took priority to her worries.
And they hurt…but that pain would be nothing compared to the knowledge that she had failed to protect her people.
It was in that moment she heard a familiar scream.
Nearly clipping her arm, a TIE Fighter roared past her, seemingly knowing better than to fire upon such a small target, and continued its bearing straight ahead, angling itself for a flyby. The trees beneath it roiled and whipped from the downdraft, and by now she knew exactly where it was going.
She needed to be even faster.
With her heat gauge already beginning to issue severe warnings, she increased her velocity to catch up, just as the TIE made its first pass over the camp. The first salvo it launched seemed to miss…which meant they were either incompetent or acting on stale intel, two things that worked perfectly for her.
It banked in the distance, and she angled herself on intercept trajectory, reaching for a thermal detonator. She was traveling too quickly to grab ahold now, but if she timed it right…
Pressing down with her thumb, the detonator began to tick, and she began to count in her head as the TIE rocketed towards her.
1
Now the pilot saw her, his cannons beginning to scream.
2
Her jetpack sputtered as the heat gauge hit 96%.
3
The detonator let out its warning cry.
Flipping underneath the wing, Bo rolled and lobbed the grenade.
BOOM!
The world spun around her as the explosion rocked her entire body, the proximity plenty to kill anyone who did not have beskar to absorb the blast. She heard the satisfying engine failure of the TIE, as well as it spinning out of control, and struggled to regain control of her fall. Her stomach was in her lungs as her jetpack reset for an emergency burst, all those lessons of avoiding death from pack failure returning to her in fractions of seconds.
Finding the fast-approaching dirt and pointing her feet, she triggered the last burst, slowing her just enough to get a clear look before the pack shut off again. Tree branches collided into her as she continued to fall, the impact against some of the less moveable ones taking their toll on her already tested body, until finally hitting the dirt.
Everything hurt.
Bo Katan gasped, rolling onto her knees as she continued to make herself move bones that couldn't support her anymore. Blood was beginning to seep into her eyes, forcing her to tear off her helmet and wipe it away as she rose to her feet. Taking each step took almost all the strength she had, but she continued, that constant clock ticking in her head, reminding her of the imminent failure she could never live with.
Stay focused. Mandalore will soon be ours.
Another step.
And Maul and his brother will be dead alongside the Duchess.
Another step.
There was a time when we weren't enemies. Perhaps that time has come again.
She stumbled, her leg sliding out from under her.
I challenge you! One warrior to another!
Her hand closed into the dirt.
It's like you said…only the strongest shall rule…
Bo screamed as she got both legs under her again, her rage and determination driving each necessary step that brought her closer to her people, and like any anesthetic, she felt her pain dissipate, her mind ignoring it until her goal had been reached.
You're all traitors!
He murdered their ruler…my sister!
Is that any way to treat your rightful ruler?
"Burn in hell…" she grumbled to herself, breaking into a light jog through the tree line and into the camp, just in time to see Nara already directing everyone into the tarped shuttles.
I served something once. I can't do that again.
"Everyone on, move it, dammit!" Nara directed, just as she spotted her half-dead form emerge from the forest. "Bo!"
"Alhara…" she mumbled, but then shook her head back into focus. "Alhara…where's Alhara?"
Bo couldn't see Nara's face, but she knew that look.
No.
She looked towards the burning wreck of the TIE fighter she had taken down, as well as the various scorch craters where laser fire had pounded into the ground…and the dead they had left behind.
"Where did you last see her?" she limped to Nara, feeling herself straighten for now, just as the gunships finished loading.
"Kryze, we don't have time!" Rondir butted in, just behind her. "We have one minute to impact!"
One minute.
We can't save him!
You can't just let him die!
I won't.
"Go!" Bo Katan directed, sliding her helmet back over her head. "Get on board. I'll find her and catch up."
"Bo!" Nara gripped her shoulder, desperation in her voice. "Please!"
"Now!" she shoved her towards the ramp, and then broke into a run towards the wreckage. "There's no time!"
"Move, Nara!" Rondir pulled her onto the gunship, and then waved them to take off, just as Bo left their sight and earshot.
Through blood covered eyes, she pulled down her antenna and scanned for heat, which was already difficult to discern from the blaze, and quickly realized how useless that would make it. She didn't dare look up to watch for the missile, as that would waste the precious 60 seconds she had to spend, nor did she check if her jetpack had finished recycling by now.
Finding Alhara was all that mattered.
"Alhara!" she called out, pacing the wreckage quickly, scanning for any evidence of a survivor. "Alhara!"
"…here…I'm here!" a tiny voice responded, making Bo's heart leap and pain simmer away. Over at the tree line was a fallen tree trunk…with Alhara pinned beneath.
"Hold on!" she eased, sprinting towards her, already bending her knees to lift the massive flora. "One, two…three!" she cried out as her body was forced to lift something well beyond her body weight, but her leverage was enough to free Alhara from beneath and allow the child to crawl out. Dropping the tree, she ran and scooped her into her arms. "Are you okay?"
Her face was covered in soot, and the cough she let out suggested her lungs had breathed in enough smoke to become dangerous…but she didn't look afraid.
Alhara coughed in her arms. "…tried to…push her away…but the tree fell on me. Armor saved me…I think…"
Bo almost gasped, beginning to carry her away. "You saved someone, and they left you here?!"
Alhara shook her head. "I…told them to. Told them to say I was dead, so they wouldn't waste time."
"Alhara…that was…" Bo Katan began, but knew she didn't have time to finish.
But that…that was Mandalorian.
Looking up, Bo saw the glint of the missile's head, and knew it was now or never.
"Hold on to me!" she directed and activated her jetpack. It sputtered for a moment, but eventually roared to life, carrying them away from the camp and into the sky…and not a second to spare.
The warhead detonated on impact, emitting a shockwave of red gas that flooded the air below them, it's noxious smell almost forcing Bo unconscious if they hadn't already ascended so high.
Not bearing to look down anymore, she increased the power to her jets, gaining on the gunships that had taken off in time. Alhara remained clung to her embrace…and heard her tears begin to fall.
"Thank you…Bo Katan."
You're safe…I've got you.
Bo tightened her grip. "It's alright, Alhara…you're safe…I've got you."
Valkyrie – 4 BBY
It was agonizing.
Part of it was hard not to blame himself, after all it was Xur who went against Trilla's wishes and allowed Alhara to join them on the ground. It had all reminded him too much of being trapped in the Jedi Temple, unable to unleash himself and do some good in the galaxy…even if his methods were less than ideal. She had kept it to herself, but they say that parents know what their children are thinking without them realizing…and he'd known for a long time what Alhara's destiny would be.
Her abilities in the Force weren't nearly as developed as Katara's had at her age, and Alhara had never found much interest in the practice anyhow. She always wanted to learn hand to hand, how to shoot a blaster, not how to conjure force waves and swing a lightsaber.
She would never be a Jedi because she never wanted to be, and to not give her a chance to realize that felt like doing even himself a disservice.
And then she barely escaped the chemical attack the Empire had launched, carried in by a Mandalorian who looked like she had walked through hell just to pull her out. He and Trilla had been utterly powerless to save her, forced to rely on a relative stranger just to do so…but the way Alhara had clung to her, and Bo Katan in return…
Xur had never seen Alhara cling to anyone like that.
"How did you know?" Xur asked, leaning against the holotable in the command conference room, Vorchenko situated in the far seat. "We didn't have comms, and yet you found us anyway."
The Admiral had her hands clasped together, looking more anxious than he remembered seeing her before. "Katara had an…episode…and glimpsed Alhara's death from the biological weapon. So we came."
Xur shook his head, letting it bow. "I'm sorry…whole thing was a mess."
"Sorry for?" she asked. "If you are feeling any bit of guilt at the forced void of our treaty, don't be. I made a calculated move after the Empire forced our hand…" she trailed off, letting out a sigh. "Besides…we couldn't keep this wild bantha chase up forever. It's only a matter of time before the Senate will no longer have any real power…and I've had enough of watching from a distance while this galaxy suffocates."
He nodded. "It's going to get a lot more complicated now, isn't it?"
She shook her head. "On the contrary, we're going back to what we did best all those years ago…wage war…and if these rumors of a larger Rebellion are true…"
Xur chuckled slightly, despite his mood. "Yeah…it's gonna get more complicated."
The zabrak sensed her discomfort, but she continued, nonetheless. "I'm going to need you…now more than ever."
He smirked slightly. "I'm not going anywhere. If we returned to Artakha, we'd just put Cal's operation at risk…and we can't have that. They may be our only chance at actually winning this thing…and I don't want to spend the rest of my days cooped up in some cliffside mansion, not with what happened today."
She nodded. "And your children?"
"Trilla will never let Katara out of her sight…those two are inseparable, and Alhara…I think you and I both know where she has to go."
Vorchenko let her gloved hand pat the datapad just in front of her. "I did some research while you were gone. Bo Katan Kryze was one of the leading members of Death Watch during the Clone Wars…and was apparently trained by Pre Vizsla from about the age Alhara is now. After Duchess Satine was murdered, her less than flattering demeanor apparently softened."
Xur snorted. "Ahsoka told me she tried to kill her once, and a year later the two were storming Mandalore together. That's one hell of a shift."
"Indeed," Vorchenko nodded. "You are not concerned it will shift back?"
"She's fighting the same thing we are, and that will never change," Xur said without a doubt in his mind. "If we offer to help her take back Mandalore when the time comes, we'll get along just fine."
The admiral seemed to accept that and rose to her feet. "For the first time since we met, I believe you and I agree completely."
Xur scoffed, turning to her. "That was the day. Didn't I break you out of the Citadel?"
"Not alone, no," she shook her head, keeping her gaze from becoming friendly. "You had a substantial amount of help."
That was perhaps the truest statement there was surrounding him…and it could not be truer now.
Alhara didn't know how long she'd been in the medical bay, but it was obvious it had been too long. Everyone else in the hangar bay looked so much cleaner than her, even Bo Katan, with her various bandages hidden behind her armor, she suspected. None of them sagged in their posture, standing perfectly straight with all their eyes locked on each other. Surrounded by her family, Alhara knew it was time to say goodbye…maybe forever. She hadn't seen Bo since they had returned aboard…which meant that she hadn't proven herself worthy enough.
"Thanks for everything you did," she heard her father say, shaking hands with Bo Katan, Rondir and Nara, to which her mother did as well. The rest, Alhara was too upset to listen, and just tuned it out. "If you need anything from us, you just let us know."
It was the tree…if she hadn't let the tree fall on her, she would've shown she was the strongest, not some weakling who needed someone to save her.
"Of course," Bo tipped her head. "Your assistance was invaluable, and I thank you for everything you sacrificed…and that we have the chance to fight together again one day."
And with that, they began to walk away, and Alhara felt worthless.
"Hey…" Nara said, raising her hand for Bo to stop. "I think we're missing someone."
It almost made her sick…thinking about someone they had forgotten. That could've been her. That could've been…
Nara and Bo Katan were staring her way.
What?
Immediately Alhara looked up to her mother, convinced this was some kind of mean joke…but all she saw was an expression of blissful sadness, and it became more apparent as she knelt before her.
"I can…I can go?" Alhara asked.
Trilla nodded, wiping away a tear. "If that's what you want, Alhara."
She blinked. "But Mom…you—"
"What?!" Katara gasped. "B-But…you can't leave us! Y-You!"
Trilla waved for her to be silent. "I want you to be happy, Alhara…and since we can't go home, your father and I won't be able to take care of you both anymore," she looked to Katara as well. "And…I can tell you want to be with them. You want to be a Mandalorian…and I'm so proud of what you did…"
Alhara felt herself choke for a moment.
"Go be you, kid," her father said, looking down with that same prideful smirk he wore. "Go be you."
This was really happening.
"But…Alhara you can't just…" Katara began to cry. "I don't want you to go!"
Even she felt her tears begin to show, but she wiped them away, trying to be strong. "Mom…are you sure?"
Trilla swallowed. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."
Alhara could feel that was the truth…and she couldn't be happier.
She nodded. "Okay."
Katara sniveled and pulled her in to a hug, and only then did she notice that despite all her sister's flaws…she was her sister, and she loved her. She hugged her back. "I'll see you again, Katara, I promise."
"You'd better!" she sniffed, and then let her go. "You promise?"
Alhara nodded. "I promise."
"Just don't forget who your favorite woman is," Rava butted in, lightening the mood. "I'd hate to feel replaced."
Alhara smiled back at her, sharing a quick hug. "No promises, you bucket of bolts."
"Language, young lady," Rava chided, releasing her to whisper. "You know who to chat with for technical expertise. I doubt any of those brutes understand anything other than firing blasters."
Alhara scoffed. "Yeah, whatever, Rava."
That only left her father, and he took a knee to share with her the tightest hug the two could muster. "You're gonna do great. Maybe teach them a few things."
Alhara nodded. "Thank you Dad…for believing in me."
Xur shrugged. "It's a dad thing. You'll get it one day."
She laughed…and then finally backed away. "Bye everyone," she waved.
Salutations were sent her way, and by then her eyes were fixed on her new life…and the new path that had been revealed.
The way of the Mandalore.
Botajef – 4 BBY
Alpha Red truly earned its name today.
In full hazmat, Markov kept just behind Gideon as they paced the horror vid of a scene, a thick cloud of red eating away at every living, breathing thing it touched. Green had turned to grey, all color washed away in perhaps the most vile thing she had ever witnessed.
This…this wasn't war…this was insanity.
"Sir! Over here!" a hazmat trooper waved the two of them over, and Gideon quickened his pace, reaching him shortly. "A body."
Markov hid her scream. Twisted beyond recognition, only the bones remained of this soldier, their body mass liquified and left to pool around where they had fallen. She could only imagine the agony…
Gideon revealed a smirk. "Ready a salvage team. It's time to show the Emperor what will be the instrument of his desire."
She feared him before…but now…
…now she felt nothing but hate.