"You took back your old home and used it as a staging area to push towards Vaton's base… I admit… I'm impressed," said Mandalore, "most Mandalores like you would want to prove themselves quickly by going for the snake's head."
"Being a Jedi Sentinel makes one much… Wiser than an upstart warrior," said Zarayvia, "but I still need to know, Mandalore… Will you help my people? Will you help my warriors?"
Mandalore the Callous pondered for a moment, thinking over Zarayvia's offer.
"Mm… You've more than proven that you require my aid in this endeavor," he said, "and since it has likely been a long time since you've been in a full-scale battle, I have no doubt that many of your best warriors will perish."
Mandalore gave a nod.
"Very well, you will have my assistance," he said.
"Thank you Mandalore," said Zarayvia.
Mandalore got ready to end the transmission when, he turned to the sound of someone approaching.
"Vaukel?" he asked.
Meanwhile, Kayla was busy getting a feel for wielding dual-blades again. And how did she choose to get a feel for wielding dual-blades again.
"Let's pick up the pace a bit, boys," she said.
Orthus started blasting, Kayla started deflecting bolts while Daralec came at her from behind and swung at her neck. Kayla deflected the last three bolts, blocked the attack from behind and sent Daralec sliding back with Force Push. Daralec quickly recovered and came at Kayla again, this time she jumped over him. Orthus, seeing an opening, started blasting again. Kayla deflected the bolts and stuck the landing, when she turned around, she found Daralec's blade at her throat.
"Dead," he said.
Kayla groaned.
"Damn," she muttered.
"Don't feel too bad about it," Orthus said as he holstered his blasters, "if you ask me, I'd say you're getting much better."
"Speaking of better… How is it that you're able to keep up with us?" asked Daralec, "I've never seen a Force User move that quickly, even while being empowered by the Force itself."
Kayla deactivated her lightsabers.
"Oh that?" she asked, clipping her weapons to her hips, "that's… Just a trick I learned while I was going through my initiation. Courtesy of my father."
"Your father?" asked Orthus.
"Yeah. He told me to use my own fear to bolster my combat prowess, while turning it against the enemy," said Kayla, "apparently, the end result is being able to move and react so much faster than your opponent."
Orthus and Daralec looked at each other.
"…Do you know what she's talking about?" asked Orthus.
"Actually… No… No, I do not," Daralec said as he pondered for a bit, "the only abilities I know of that can bolster one's combat prowess are Battle Meditation and of course calling on the Force to enhance your strength. I've never heard of an ability that allowed one to use their own fear to give them strength."
"Trust me I was confused too, but… It did help me with my initiation. I'm hoping to master it, control it like him," said Kayla, "that way I can tap into this trick on instinct."
"Well, it's certainly a unique talent," said Daralec.
"Yeah. It's a shame I couldn't see it for myself," teased Orthus.
"Well, the thing-HEY!" snapped Kayla.
Orthus laughed.
"Welp, I'm going to hit the showers," he said, "then I'm probably going to crash. See ya!"
Orthus walked away. Kayla puffed up her cheeks.
"…He's quite the character, isn't he?" asked Daralec.
Kayla looked at Daralec.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Clearly he enjoys taking advantage of your disdain for Mandalorians so he can get a rise out of you," said Daralec.
"What?" asked Kayla.
Daralec sighed.
"He's saying he wished he could've fought you at your strongest when you two first met," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Oh," said Kayla, "well, I wasn't really-HEY!"
Daralec sighed and started to leave when he stopped and looked at Kayla.
"Oh Kayla… Would you like my two credits?" he asked.
"What?" she asked.
"As a member of the Knights of Revan, forming attachments is not forbidden like in the Jedi Order and one cannot possess another like a Sith," said Daralec, "however, do not try to force, what likely will never be."
Daralec left. Kayla stood where she was and looked down as she placed her right hand on her chest. Daralec's final words echoed in her head as she thought back to the number of interactions, she's had with Orthus so far.
"Do not try to force, what likely will never be."
Kayla felt her heart beat a bit faster as she thought about Mandalor-Zarayvia's son, then she shook her head rapidly.
"What are you doing!? Daralec's right, besides, he's still a Mandalorian and you said you don't like Mandalorians. How do you think that would look to the others?" she thought.
With a long sigh, Kayla went to the showers as well and then she too, headed to bed.
The following morning, Kayla awoke to someone sitting by her bedside, listening to the Galactic News. Kayla rubbed her eyes and gasped, seeing who it was.
"Vaukel?" she asked.
Vaukel looked over at her.
"Heh, even after all these years… You still like to sleep late," he said.
Kayla sat up.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"A step-brother can't accompany his new friends to help baby sister deal with some mean Mandos?" he asked.
Kayla blinked a couple of times and wiped her face.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Vaukel… We're not step-siblings," she said as she climbed out of bed, "just because you say you served my father, doesn't mean we have that kind of relationship."
"…Then why did you save me?" he asked as she started to go get ready for the day.
Kayla stopped and looked over her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Zarayvia, Mandalore the Callous and Ersanan were all present in the command center, planning out their attack on Vaton's base.
"My scouts did a quick sweep of Vaton's base and managed to bring back this detailed layout," Zarayvia said as she and the others looked at the holoprojector on the table, "thanks to our assault last night, Vaton doesn't know what went on here, so she hasn't doubled her security, however, she still has a fairly sizeable force. At least fifteen to twenty-five thousand imperials and five to ten thousand warriors under her command."
"I'm seeing a lot of walker support," said Ersanan, "…I'm curious as to why."
"The is it not obvious, Master Revanite? For some Mandalorians, it is much more difficult to engage a walker than it is to engage a tank," said Mandalore.
"He's right, especially considering the kind of walkers those bastards are using," Zarayvia said, pointing to the image of one of them, "damn AT-DPs are much faster than their AT-ST counterparts, though they don't have much firepower, they're still troublesome, especially when moving in packs."
"Fortunately, though, while the armor is strong enough to withstand blaster fire, it's poor when it comes to explosives and ion weapons," said Mandalore, "that is why, I recommend that we have specialized squads to take down those walkers."
"There's still the matter of the fighters though," said Ersanan.
He pointed to the holoimage of a hangar.
"What if the walkers can't take out the squads fast enough and Vaton calls in air support to try and smoke them out?" he asked.
"That's where our fighters come in," said Mandalore, "Zarayvia and I can send in our pilots to engage them and try to keep the fight in the skies."
"If we send in fighters, that's going to make a lot of noise, not to mention attract a lot of attention. What if the empire tries to contact Vaton?" asked Lavok.
Ersanan grinned.
"You leave that detail to me," he said, "so… How do you propose we execute this?"
Dusk. Two nights ago, Ersanan, Zarayvia, Lavok, and Mandalore had formulated a solid plan to assault Vaton's base. Once the plan was agreed upon, the group briefed their soldiers on the plan of attack and even showed them a detailed holographic execution of the plan.
Now… With everyone prepped and ready, the plan was already going into effect.
"Remember the mission Kayla, you are to infiltrate the base and knock out the communications inside so the empire, nor Vaton's warriors can call for back-up in case the fight turns in our favor," said Ersanan.
"Not that I don't understand the plan or anything… But why is Vaukel coming with me?" asked Kayla.
"What? Do you think you can hold your own against those saber guards if you run into them?" asked Vaukel.
"…Point taken," said Kayla.
"Good luck you two," said Ersanan, "may the Force make you strong."
"We're over the destination!" barked the pilot.
The shuttle ramp dropped open, Kayla took a deep breath and exhaled, then she and Vaukel took off and jumped while the shuttle was still in flight. Kayla and Vaukel fell fast, the two of them kept their mouths shut tight as they soared to the ground below… More specifically, soared towards one of the watch towers. Kayla closed her eyes for a moment, then she opened them right as she and Vaukel landed on top of the watch tower. Without wasting time, Kayla moved over to the edge of the roof and dropped down one, grabbing onto the windowsill.
"Mm?" murmured a scout trooper.
The scout trooper walked over to the edge. Kayla reached up, grabbed the man and pulled him out. The scout trooper screamed as he fell to his death. The second scout trooper turned and saw Kayla climb inside.
"What the he-"
But he was cut off as Vaukel jumped inside and drove his lightsaber through the man's back, killing him.
"That takes care of the sentries," said Kayla, "let's get to the command ce-"
Kayla stopped and looked around.
"…What is it?" asked Vaukel.
"…Nothing," said Kayla.
The two of them made their way out of the tower and began their mission, sticking to the shadows as they moved through the base, ducking out of sight from patrols as they slowly made their way to the command center.
"You really know your way around this place," said Vaukel, "like you've been here before or something."
"…I haven't," said Kayla, "during my time as an Inquisitor, we're trained to remember full, detailed layouts of bases and cities; that way we can send troopers to cut off likely escape routes while we routed out Jedi-"
Kayla stopped and looked back at Vaukel.
"…Never mind," she said as they kept moving.
Kayla and Vaukel arrived at their destination… But there was a problem.
"Uh-oh," she said.
"What is it?" asked Vaukel.
"Purge Troopers, there's an Inquisitor here," said Kayla, "I might be able to slip past them without arousing suspicion, but you…"
Vaukel pondered for a moment.
"…Your right, you could be able to slip past them without arousing suspicion… But even more so if you had a Jedi in custody," said Vaukel.
Without even hesitating, Kayla threw a punch and struck Vaukel in the face.
"Ow! What the hell was that-"
But he was cut off as Kayla punched him again in the face, then she punched him in the gut, kicked him in the shin, then the gut and drove her knee into his nose for good measure. Vaukel spat up blood.
"What the hell was that for?" he groaned.
"What? It's to make it look convincing," Kayla said with a smirk, "plus, you kind of owe me for what happened on Corellia. Let's go!"
Kayla took Vaukel's lightsaber and shoved him along. As the two of them approached, the Purge Troopers immediately were on guard.
"Howdy boys," she said with a wink, "did you miss me?"
"Inquisitor Abaven, you've returned," said the first Purge Trooper, "and you've brought the Jedi Knight who escaped your capture."
"That's right, I left so I could find someplace to think when I got a tip that this bastard was in town," said Kayla, "he tried to put up a fight, but ever since our last encounter, I was a step ahead of him."
"We'll have him taken to the prison facility immediately," said the second Purge Trooper.
"That will be unnecessary trooper," said Kayla, "I wish to bring him inside so I can present him to my master when I call and let him know I've returned from my… Personal trip."
The two Purge Troopers looked at each other, then they looked at Kayla and Vaukel.
"…Very well, Inquisitor," said the first Purge Trooper, "but just to make sure he doesn't escape."
The Purge Trooper cuffed Vaukel and then let the two of them into the command center.
"See? What'd I tell you?" asked Kayla.
"You could've told me before hand," huffed Vaukel, "…And hey, where are we going?"
Kayla brought Vaukel into a room, where a group of Imperials were monitoring the activity of the base.
"Monitors?" murmured Vaukel, "why are we in-"
But Vaukel was cut off as Kayla closed the door and locked it. An imperial officer turned and raised an eyebrow, seeing Kayla and her 'Jedi Prisoner'.
"Inquisitor Abaven?" he asked, "when did you get back? And how is it that you've recovered this Jedi that escaped you?"
Kayla grinned and drew her main hand lightsaber. She ignited it and cut Vaukel free. The imperial officer gasped; the imperial security personnel turned around fast as well.
"Nothing personal boys," she said, tossing Vaukel his lightsaber.
"CALL SECUR-"
But the imperial officer was cut off as Kayla jumped forward and swung, taking the man's head off. The imperials jumped to their feet and went for their blaster pistols, then they started blasting. Kayla deflected the first five shots and jumped at the closest imperial, stabbing him in the chest, then she whirled around and elbowed the next guy in the nose before slicing him across the stomach and taking his head off next.
Vaukel pulled an imperial towards him and onto his blade, then he hurled the imperial's corpse into his comrade with Force Push, knocking him into the security console. The imperial security guard tried to retaliate, but Vaukel took off his hand with a swing of his lightsaber and reached out with the Force, grabbing the man by his throat, and lifting off into the air.
Kayla, who cut off the leg of the second to last security guard and impaled him, looked up and gasped as she saw Vaukel close his left hand and break the man's neck before dropping him to the ground.
"…I didn't know my father taught you that," she said slowly.
"What do you mean?" asked Vaukel.
Kayla's eyes went wide, but then she shook her head, letting what Vaukel said slide.
"So… How do you suggest we do this?" he asked.
"Simple," said Kayla.
Vaukel watched as she drove her main hand lightsaber into the console, destroying it.
"Surveillance is down," she said, "let's head to the communication deck and knock it out."
Vaukel nodded and followed Kayla up to the fifth level of the command center, via the elevator. During the ride, Kayla looked over at Vaukel and examined his face. She slowly looked at her left sleeve and proceeded to tear off a piece of it.
"Here," she said, handing the piece to him, "wipe yourself off a bit."
Vaukel looked at the piece of cloth in Kayla's hand and took it, then he wiped his nose and some of the blood off his lip.
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
"…It's throbbing," he said, "but… It doesn't seem to hamper my performance too much."
"That's good," said Kayla.
The elevator stopped at the fifth floor. Kayla and Vaukel drew their lightsabers. When the elevator door opened, two stormtroopers were on the other side looking like they were waiting to get on.
"Oh crap!" exclaimed the first stormtrooper.
"Hey! Who let you in-GULK!" the second stormtrooper groaned as Kayla jumped forward and impaled the man.
Vaukel sent the first stormtrooper flying and crashing into a console, breaking his spine. Everyone on the fifth floor turned around fast.
"Intruders! Sound the alar-"
But the imperial officer was cut off as Kayla hurled her offhand lightsaber and took the man's head off.
"This is where the fun begins," Kayla said as her offhand lightsaber returned.
"Open fire!" barked a stormtrooper sergeant.
Vaukel and Kayla stormed into the room as everyone, who had access to a blaster, started… Well, blasting. Vaukel went for the unarmed personnel while Kayla went for the combatants. It wasn't anything personal, Vaukel just couldn't afford to have the unarmed personnel call for help or escape in the chaos.
"Wait, wait, wait, I thought you Jedi didn't kill unarmed combatants!" pleaded a communication's officer.
"Shut the hell up," said Vaukel.
With a good upward slash, Vaukel cut the man down. A stormtrooper tried to take a shot, but Vaukel deflected it and jumped at the poor sod, cutting his left hand and blaster barrel, then turning around and delivering the 'No Look' kill maneuver, ending the man's life. More stormtroopers started to fire on Vaukel and he slowly started to make his advance towards them, deliberately sending their shots in different directions… Or rather at the remaining imperials at their stations.
Meanwhile, Kayla was having the time of her life.
"Inquisitor, what's the meaning of this!? We thought you were with us!" sputtered a stormtrooper.
"Why the hell would I work with the very same people who were once responsible for killing my father at the end of the Clone Wars!?" Kayla roared as she cut off a stormtrooper's right leg, stabbed another one in the gut and impaled the amputated stormtrooper through the back.
"B-B-But we're not clones! Honest! We're just members of the academy!" the stormtrooper cried out.
Kayla's eyes appeared to burn in the stormtrooper's skull as she shot him a death stare.
"…Irrelevant," she hissed.
Another stormtrooper tried to take a shot at her from behind, but Kayla deflected the first shot and sent the next shot flying back and striking the man in the chest, killing him. The first stormtrooper tried to get her from behind next, but Kayla evaded, via backflip, and cut the stormtrooper's arms off as she stuck the landing. The stormtrooper screamed before Kayla cut him to pieces with a flurry of blows. Kayla looked over at Vaukel and saw that he cut down the last stormtrooper.
"That's the last of them," he said, "now… What do we do from here?"
Outside of the base, Mandalore the Callous, Zarayvia, and Ersanan were waiting for the signal.
"…The men are getting antsy," said Ersanan.
"They're just eager for the battle to start," said Mandalore, "I hope that your initiate can be able to accomplish her mission."
"She'll get it done," said Ersanan, "I have faith."
Back at the command center, four stormtroopers and an imperial officer were heading up to the fifth floor of the command center, to spread the word of a possible intruder inside of the base and to be on the lookout. Upon reaching the fifth floor though, they were met with… Something else.
"Howdy boys," Kayla said with a smile.
The stormtroopers and imperial officer slowly looked around. Kayla and Vaukel had placed the detonators from the fallen stormtroopers around the most vital parts of the communication center; and what's worse… Vaukel had a blaster in his hand!
"Later," Kayla said with a wink as she cut open a window with her lightsaber.
Vaukel fired and the detonators that they placed with quick, precise shots and the communication's center went up flames, which in turn caused a chain reaction that caused the communication's center, and the command center itself… To go erupt in an explosion, all while Kayla and Vaukel jumped for it just before they were hit with the searing flames and the concussive shockwave.
The imperial patrols whirled around fast and ran in direction of the explosion.
"We're under attack!" yelled a stormtrooper.
Outside of the base, Ersanan saw the smoke coming from the command center.
"The command center is down!" he barked.
Zarayvia donned her helmet.
"Par Manda'yaim!" she yelled.
"Par Manda'yaim!" yelled Mandalore.
And with that, the battle began. Zarayvia and Mandalore's warriors took off towards the base. As the combined forces of Zarayvia and Mandalore charged in to begin the assault, back inside of the base, a stormtrooper rushed to Vaton's personal barracks to wake her.
"Ma'am, forgive me for rousing you but, we're under-"
"I'm well aware trooper," said Vaton.
To the stormtrooper's surprise, the super commando captain was awake and in the middle of putting on her armor.
"Sound the alarm," she ordered as she went to put on her helmet.
"…We can't… The command center was destroyed," said the trooper.
Vaton stopped and whirled around.
"Meg!?" she screamed.
Zarayvia and Mandalore's forces reached the base, a large group of their warriors loosed their rockets from their jet packs, destroying the remaining watch towers, supply depots, parked tanks and gun emplacements; the rest rushed in and started blasting, killing patrols left and right. Among the warriors, Ersanan and Daralec ignited their lightsabers and began to cut down a few stragglers who managed to avoid being gunned down at the start of the assault.
"I don't see any fighters in the air," Mandalore said as he flew in and started blasting, killing five stormtroopers and wounding ten more.
"For now," said Zarayvia.
She turned to her right.
"Lavok, Orthus, you two take a squad and go around the base, knock out those TIEs, do not let them get in the air," she ordered.
"Yes Mandalore," said Lavok.
The two warriors flew off.
"Laem, take a squad and go through the base, take out their walkers," ordered Mandalore, "they're not active, let's keep it that way."
"At once," said the warrior.
The Mandalorian took off. Mandalore got on the comms.
"Thax, have the squadrons do a sweep of the base, keep an eye out for any imperials or Mandalorian warriors who look like they're trying to escape," ordered Mandalore.
"By your command, Mandalore," he said.
With both blasters in their hands, Mandalore and Zarayvia took off and joined their warriors in battle. However, not even half-way through the battle, Vaton and her warriors made an appearance, which brought a frown on Zarayvia's face.
"Engage the enemy! Kill them all!" she roared.
"Vaton," hissed Zarayvia.
Before long, Vaton's base had erupted into a full-on warzone, with two combined armies hashing out in the most vicious conflict under the cover of darkness. Zarayvia's warriors gave no quarter to Vaton's super commandos, as they traded shots and even traded blows with each other whenever they got in close to one another.
Ersanan bore witness to the brutality of the Mandalorians and Super Commandos, as he saw one of Zarayvia's warriors charge in, firing a volley of blaster bolts as he closed the distance, then he holstered his blasters and tackled his opponent. The super commando punched the Mandalorian in the face and kicked him off, then he tried to go for his discarded blaster. The Mandalorian fired an electro dart to immobilize the super commando before running up, kicking him onto his back while he was down and throwing three good punches to his face.
The super commando tried to retaliate, but the Mandalorian grabbed hold of his arm and got in a lock, then he gave a good twist, and a sickening crack was heard. The super commando screamed, but he didn't have any time to dress his broken limb, as the Mandalorian warrior pulled out a vibro knife and drove it into the super commando's neck, ending his life.
"Ash'amur aruetii," he growled.
Just then, the Mandalorian warrior ducked as a super commando started to fire on him, along with two others. The lone warrior went for his blasters and turned around to return fire when he took a shot a shot to his arm and another to the head, killing him. No sooner had he fallen, four of Mandalore's warriors came in and fired on the super commandos, driving them back, though one of them took a shot to the jet pack and… Well, he went on a high-flying adventure.
"I hate to think how Kayla and Vaukel are holding up amidst the chaos," said Daralec.
As it turned out though…
"This is the most fun I've had in years!" cackled Kayla.
Vaukel and Kayla were cutting through stormtroopers left and right, sticking close together and blocking barrages of bolts that came in every direction as the imperial forces tried to catch them in a crossfire. Vaukel cut off a stormtrooper's arm and pulled another onto his blade, then he sent him flying into his comrade and jumped at two more, cutting down the stormtrooper on the right, kicking the other stormtrooper's blaster out of his hands, then he stabbed him in the chest.
Kayla drove her knee into one stormtrooper's gut and rolled over his back, sticking the landing, and hurling her offhand lightsaber into another charging stormtrooper, taking his head off. A heavy trooper fired a rocket launcher, but Kayla sent it flying towards a large pocket of imperials who appeared to be engaged with Mandalore's forces, blowing them away. The stormtrooper that took a knee to his gut, was stabbed through the back, and fell over, dead. Kayla pulled her offhand lightsaber back and jumped into the middle of a squad of imperial soldiers.
"Kayla, we can't stick around for long," Vaukel grunted as he kicked a stormtrooper in the face and pulled another towards him and cut him in half, "we need to regroup with the others."
"Oh right," Kayla grunted as she cut a stormtrooper's arms off and sliced him into thirds, "come on, I sense-LOOK OUT!"
Kayla shoved Vaukel to the ground with Force Push and performed a quadruple backflip before jumping onto the roof of the mess hall as a hail of cannon fire came her way. Kayla looked down and saw what it was that fired on her.
"That's an E-Web heavy repeater blaster," she thought, "if I don't take that out, this is going to be one short-CRAP!"
Kayla performed another quadruple backflip as more blaster fire came her way, then she stuck the landing and looked up to see who it was that fired on her: Super commandos. Five of them.
Kayla made a face and got in a ready stance.
"Bring it on," she said. The super commandos landed and started to move in on her when… One of them lost their head and was kicked forward.
"I guess this makes us even," said Vaukel.
Kayla gave him a smirk and together, they engaged the imperial Mandalorian warriors. Amidst the chaos, a blonde female inquisitor, backed by a squad of Purge Troopers, a two saber guards and a Shadow Guard, were seen entering the fray. The inquisitor took a deep breath and exhaled, sensing the presence of multiple Force Sensitives.
"…Troopers, support your brothers," ordered the inquisitor, "guardsmen, you're with me."
Author's note: Kept you waiting, huh?