Author's Note: In case it wasn't clear already, the previous chapter was just an April Fool's joke and is not canon to the Shaniverse. Now let's continue! :D
Chopper Base - Atollon
Mara POV...
Elita and I were in conversation with Boil and Rex when Rylla and Hayden came walking up to us, faltering briefly at the sight of Elita. The two of them arrived not very long ago, and were shocked upon seeing her for the first time. We quickly smoothed things over and explained it to them, but they were still obviously 'weirded out.'
"Hey you guys," Rylla greets us. "I've got some things to tell you about, and I think you're the best people to learn about it."
"What's up?" I ask her.
"I have intel on some old Separatist hideout that was set up on Agamar," she explains.
"Oh really? Cool," I reply happily.
"Fantastic, we get to steal from the clankers again," Boil remarks.
"Heh, I bet you two are feeling nostalgic," Hayden comments, gesturing to Boil and Rex.
"Well, it's hard to beat the good old days kid," Rex admits.
Hayden frowns at the 'kid' remark, but otherwise doesn't comment, shrugging it off.
"Where exactly on Agamar is this base?" Rex asks Rylla.
"It's not exactly a base, more of a crashed supply ship," she explains. "My former master and I were looking for it before... well, I can send you the coordinates."
I don't miss how Rylla hesitates, faltering uncomfortably as old memories resurface, and I dount anyone else missed it either. Boil glances downwards for a moment at the accidental reminder.
"Thanks Rylla," I say with a smile.
She smiles back and turns around, starting to head off. Hayden watches her go for a moment before looking at us, giving a small wave and glancing up at Elita. She nods back down at him with her own smile, and Hayden shrugs before jogging after Rylla.
Temple Island - Ahch-To
Jarik POV...
I pull up my comlink and then send a call out to Mara. As I wait for her to answer I glance around my hut carelessly, letting my mind wander. My gaze falls on Ahsoka's lightsaber, and I falter for a moment, upset that I cracked the hilt. Then Mara receives the call, and I return my attention to the comlink, a hologram of her showing up.
"Hey Dad," she greets.
"Hey Mara," I reply. "Listen, could you possibly come back soon? I need you for something."
"What do you mean?" she asks in confusion.
"I have an idea about how I could possibly work the holocrons to rejoin them, but I'd need you here to do it," I explain.
She looks at me uneasily, glancing off to the side before replying. "Well, do you think it could wait a little bit? Rylla just sent us intel about ammunition and supplies on Agamar. We're about to leave."
I look away for a moment, sighing quietly to hide my frustration. I want to see if I can learn how to reach out to Ahsoka but... I suppose it can wait. Mara's mission sounds important for the Rebellion.
"Alright, sure, you can do that," I tell her.
She looks at me with some concern. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I ask her, furrowing a brow.
"You seem stressed," she points out.
"I'm always stressed!" I retort.
"More than usual," she shoots back just as quickly.
I glance down and after a few moments, nod my head to concede her point.
"Maybe you're right," I admit reluctantly.
"Alright well, I'll be back with R5 when the mission is over. I'd imagine Elita may want to come back as well," she says.
"What for?" I ask.
"I don't know," she replies with a shrug. "Well, see you later Dad!"
"See you," I tell her, ending the transmission.
I really hope this goes well.
Sighing, I return my gaze to Ahsoka's lightsaber, irritated at the fact that I cracked the hilt. And it happened because I lost myself to a fit of rage as well, trying to dispel the dark side. I don't know if it's corrupting me slowly, or if it's just making me go insane. Did Revan ever have to deal with it like this? He and Malak turned to the dark side, mainly because of the Sith Emperor Vitiate, but he was never in danger from it whenever he was in his Jedi state. So what makes it so easy to corrupt me, when it never did the same to Revan?
'...it is your destiny...'
I shake my head to get rid of Palpatine's voice, but a few more voices still echo over each other, whispering in my mind. I could recognize all of them as Maul, Snoke, and other dark spirits.
'Whatever would your master say?'
'So you believe yourself to be what the Jedi should have been?'
'...blood of a Sith Lord...'
'You could end them all!'
Calling Ahsoka's lightsaber to my hand with the Force, I allow the energy of her kyber crystal to wash over me, instantly dispelling the multitude of voices trying to seep over me once again. It's not Ahsoka but... it's still a part of her. It helps me. However I freeze up upon hearing another voice speaking to me, this time much clearer... and more menacing. I open my eyes in surprise, looking up as the voice speaks.
"You could not live with your own failure, Shan," the deep voice states. "Where did that bring you?"
The voice then fades away, and sound seemingly returns to normal as the darkness draws back from wherever it came. But now I'm battling my own darkness, shivering, almost unnoticeably, but with fear and guilt. Whoever that voice is... why does it feel like they're right? A part of me feels like I've failed, and in some ways I have. I wasn't able to prevent Anakin from turning in the final days of the war, I wasn't able to uncover Palpatine's plot fast enough... and even if she didn't want me to, I wasn't able to save Ahsoka on Malachor.
How can I say I'm what the Jedi should've been when I messed up so much? Not to mention I'm constantly plagued by the dark side, and might inevitably succumb to it sometime in the future. Any other Jedi would be able to push the darkness back but, for me, it's growing. I really need all the help I can get.
I never noticed the Sith holocron faintly glowing.
ISD - Unknown Location
3rd person POV...
Third Brother walks through the hallways and into the command center of the bridge. Once he enters, the door to the other side opens to allow Grand Admiral Thrawn to stride through, his pose as formal as ever. This is apparently the cue for the rest of the officers and technicians there to leave the room.
Third Brother inclines his head respectfully to Thrawn as he approaches the holotable, mostly because of the Emperor's command for the the remaining Inquisitor's to respect his authority.
"You summoned me Grand Admiral?" he asks, voice altered by his mask.
"Yes Third Brother," he replies in greeting. "Although not of my own decision. It would seem that Lord Vader has something he would like to discuss with you."
Underneath his mask, the Third Brother frowns, but remains silent as Thrawn brings up a transmission. The room darkens as the blue hologram shows, and the Third Brother bows before the image of Darth Vader, who looks down at him.
"Lord Vader," he greets.
"Inquisitor. Something important has come to my attention," he states.
"Is it related to the Jedi?" he asks.
"No. It is related to you," Vader replies. He falters for a moment, glancing up in confusion. "There are things you have not been telling us."
"Lord Vader?" he asks cautiously.
"Tell me Third Brother. How long did you think you could hide your true allegiance from the Empire?" Vader demands coldly.
"I- I don't understand my Lord," Third Brother protests, becoming nervous. "I serve the Empire and the Sith!"
"Do not play games with me Inquisitor. The Emperor is most displeased at being used," Vader growls. "Thanks to Grand Admiral Thrawn, we know you serve another power, seeking to conspire against us."
"You have seemed to make a habit of disappearing every so often, according to reports from Second Sister," Thrawn remarks, looking at him. "Although who you serve, I'm curious to know."
Third Brother whips his gaze between Thrawn and Vader, trying one last time to make his case.
"I swear to you my lord, that is a lie!" he exclaims. "Why would I go against you and the Emperor?"
"You desire power," Vader scoffs. "Your game is up Third Brother. You will be punished most severely for your crimes."
The Third Brother scowls, sending that it is true, and he won't be able to convince him otherwise. Standing up, he whips out his lightsaber and points it towards Thrawn, who takes a few steps back.
"You're a fool to leave yourself alone with me then Admiral," he snarls, looking at Vader. "Allow me to leave quietly, and your Emperor's precious Admiral lives."
Vader remains silent however, and then the doors open up. Third Brother looks around in alarm as four Royal Guards enter the room, brandishing their Force-pikes at him and grunting in their private language. Thrawn calmly backs away to stand behind them.
"Did you think I wasn't prepared for that Inquisitor?" he asks calmly.
"Destroy him," Vader orders, his hologram disappearing.
Thrawn also leaves the command center, and the Third Brother activates his second lightsaber blade, growling at the Royal Guards. They swing their Force-pikes and charge at him.
Agamar System - Outer Rim Territories
Mara POV...
With the details of a supply mission laid out, we gathered the rest of the Ghost Crew together and informed them of our next move. They readily agreed, and we decided to move out quickly after telling Commander Sato, who also agreed with he plan. We have one Separatist cruiser already, but it wouldn't hurt to get more of their stuff.
During our preparation time, Dad called me up, asking for me to come back for something important. After explaining what we were doing, he reluctantly agreed and asked for me to come back after the mission. Something about him had me concerned though, as he seemed a lot more stressed and I confused than usual.
Still, I put it off for now, since I could ask more about it once the mission is over. Elita wants to come with because of an interest in what the Clone War was like, and because she's worried about Onslaught and the Decepticons. She feels like they might be attempting to track the Ghost, now that they know we're helping her, so she wants to be around in case they do show up.
So now we're in the Agamar System, having touched down at the coordinates that Rylla gave us. In front of us was a large Separatist supply ship, and I could tell that Rex and Boil were already feeling nostalgic. We all depart from the ship once the ramp opens, and Elita drives out after we're clear, transforming to look up at the supply ship.
"Huh. Strange design for a ship," she comments.
"You're sure you don't need help?" Hera asks us.
"I'm sure everything will go horribly wrong," Kanan replies sarcastically.
"We'll be fine. We got two Clone Wars veterans with us!" Ezra remarks happily.
"Not to mention a giant walking tank," I add in. Elita glances down at me, and I shrug. "I'm not wrong."
"Guess not," she replies dryly.
Being reassured, Hera and Sabine head back up into the ship along with Chopper, and we begin moving forwards. R5 decided to come along for this one, and already he was beeping lowly at the familiar sight of a Separatist warship.
"Kinda funny to think about the family astromech being a war veteran compared to me," I comment with some amusement. R5 beeps at me in displeasure, and I roll my eyes at the language. "Yeah yeah."
"Geez. Talk about language," Ezra mutters to Zeb.
"What'd he say?" Zeb asks.
"I'd... rather not say," he replies uneasily.
"Ready troopers?" Kanan asks Rex and Boil.
"Yes, sir," Rex and Boil say before faltering, a Rex quickly fumbles for a response. "Uh, General... Kanan."
They both put on their helmets, and Rex sighs in exasperation at his wartime habits popping back in. He and Boil start walking towards the Separatist supply ship, and the Ghost takes off into the sky moments later. There's no sound to disturb the quiet aside from the blowing wind, and Elita's footsteps as she walks slowly alongside us... slowly for her anyways. As we make our way over towards the hanger, Rex starts to explain the sight.
"There was a battle here during the Clone War. This old transport's the perfect place to find weapons, ammo, maybe even some proton bombs," he informs us.
Ezra then reaches down, picking up a battle droid head. "Hey, was this a Separatist battle droid?"
"Oh, yeah. Little piece of one anyway," Boil confirms after sparing it a glance. "This place used to be crawling with 'em. We called 'em clankers."
"Clankers," Zeb says with a chuckle. "I like that."
"Decent nickname," Elita comments. "One of my friends, Ironhide, liked to refer to the 'Cons as 'decepti-creeps.'"
"I like that even more," Zeb adds, before looking at Rex. "How many of these things do you think you blasted?"
"I don't know. Thousands. Probably tens of thousands," Rex replies with a shrug. "Never kept count like some of the boys."
"Well, it's a good thing I kept count," Boil remarks cockily. "My total count for the war was 13,678!"
We all stop for a moment to gape at him, although Rex just shakes his head in exasperation.
"You shot that many droids?!" Ezra asks.
"I'm more interested in knowing how you even counted that," I comment.
"I always keep a kill count," he replies. "Especially with clankers."
"They don't look very dangerous," Ezra says offhandedly, tossing the droid head away.
Boil and Rex both immediately stop, becoming frustrated and upset from what I could sense, and whirl around to face him. Rex steps forwards and raises a finger, much to Ezra's surprise.
"Listen, those droids wiped out a lot of Republic troopers!" he states firmly. "Many of them were my friends."
He and Boil then turn away and continue on towards the hanger, leaving Ezra in a state of surprise. I would offer some sympathy, but I'm still extremely bitter about how he talked to my Dad a little while back, especially with his comments about Mom. There haven't been too many moments for me to express that, but I am still irritated by it. Thankfully, Kanan decides to do it for me.
"Rex and Boil have been through a lot. Battles leave scars, some you can't see," he tells us.
"Those scars, are the worst of all," Elita adds grimly.
With the gaping hanger now in front of us, we start making our way over towards it when Elita comes to a stop.
"You guys go on ahead. I'll scout around for a little bit, make sure nobody's tracking us," she tells us. "Call me if you need some heavy-lifting."
"Sure thing," I tell her with a nod.
Elita then transforms into her vehicle mode and drives off, beginning to circle the supply ship. We continue on our way into the hanger, looking around an spotting a good amount of supply crates. I'd be willing to bet though that most of the things stored here would be beyond repair, but there's usually something salvageable. Once we reach Rex and Boil, the former holds up his hand to stop us.
"Hold up. Let me recon first," he says.
He moves quickly into the hanger bay, and after a few moments Boil waves us forwards to follow after him. It doesn't take long before Rex comes to a stop, a supply room full of proton bombs up ahead.
"Well, look at that. We hit pay dirt. The munitions depot is fully loaded," he tells us. "More proton bombs in there than we can carry."
"Good job, Rex," Kanan says.
"Way to go, Captain," Ezra adds enthusiastically.
We start to move over to the supply room, Ezra moving a bit too eagerly.
"Hey, careful, kid. The droids used to protect their armories with ray shields," Rex warns him.
"What's a ray sHIELD?" Ezra exclaims in surprise.
We all glance around in bewilderment, surprised and alarmed as a ray shield suddenly pops into existence, trapping us before we could react.
"What the-?" I ask incredulously.
"This is a ray shield," Rex states.
Movement beyond the shield gets out attention, and a small patrol of battle droids surrounds us, blasters held in their hands. They're dusty, but still fully operational apparently.
"Look! Are those battle droids?" Ezra asks incredulously. "I thought they were all shut down!"
"Well, these weren't," Zeb replies, brandishing his bo-rifle.
"You have been captured by the Separatist Alliance!" a commanding droid states.
"Huh?" Zeb asks.
"Separatists?" Rex exclaims.
"You've got to be kriffing with me," Boil grumbles angrily, gripping his blaster tighter.
"Prepare to blast the Republic invaders," one droid states.
"Republic invaders?" Kanan murmurs.
"Belay that order," the commander states, lifting a hand to his com, obviously receiving orders.. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Roger, roger."
"Wait, who's Roger?" Ezra asks.
I roll my eyes a him and scoff. "Could you get any dumber?"
Before he could respond, the commander starts to speak. "We have new orders, incapacitate and capture. Activating stunner."
He pulls out a datapad, and I widen my eyes in alarm.
"No! No!" Rex exclaims.
The droid presses a button, and a bolt of electricity zaps down from the ceiling. I yell in pain as the electricity courses through my body, making me singe and smoke a little bit. The pain becomes to much, and I'm quickly knocked to the floor unconscious.
The last thing I realized beforehand was that R5 wasn't with us.
R5-S7 POV...
I slowly roll forwards to peek out from behind a large storage crate, getting a good look at the Separatist rust-buckets that are somehow still working. Didn't the shut down order work on them?
"Take them to the command center," the commander orders, lowering the ray shield.
Beeping irritably to myself, I let out my own version of a long and exasperated sigh as I realize I would have to rescue them all myself. Honestly, I would've thought I'd be past that once the war ended. The droids all grab the legs of the group, two working to pull along the smelly, hairless wookiee.
Yes, I know I can't smell, and yes, I know his name is Zeb.
"We haven't captured anyone in years!" one droid says happily.
"We haven't captured anyone ever," another retorts dryly.
:Yeah, because you're a bunch of dumb rust buckets. And the organic people are even dumber apparently: I grumble to myself.
I then realize that I actually don't have to do this by myself, and can get them all out of there quite easily! I just have to call Elita! Beeping happily to myself, I pull out my sensor beacon and send a call to her, which is swiftly answered.
"R5?" she asks, a little surprised. "What's wrong?"
:Everyone found the proton bombs, but apparently this junk heap still has working battle droids!: I tell her.
"Really? They still work?" she asks in surprise. "Well, where's the rest of the team?"
:Those dimwits got themselves captured. They're being taken to the bridge: I grumble.
"Ok, well I'll be over in a moment. The bridge is the spire in the center of the ship right?" she asks me.
:Where do you think?: I reply sarcastically.
"Alright alright! Geez! Remember I'm not familiar with any of these things!" she retorts. "Look, just do... whatever you feel like doing and I'll get them out, ok?"
:I'm good with that: I decide in agreement.
"Good. Elita out," she states, closing the transmission.
:Elita out: I beep sarcastically. :What is this, a spy holovid?:
Boil POV...
My head feels like complete crap, as if I just gave myself a hangover with the rest boys after a mission. I slowly open my eyes, my vision a little blurry as my head continues to pound with throbbing pain.
"Ugh. Where- Where are we?" I hear Rex murmur.
"Looks like the usual mess sir," I mumble in reply.
I then blink my eyes, surprised at the foggy sight that greets me: the feet of a battle droid. Blinking more, I try clearing up my vision and spot the droid reporting to a tactical droid. What is... what mission are we on? Where's the General?
"How intriguing. Well done, B1-268," the tactical droid's cold voice states.
"Roger, roger," the droid replies.
I widen my eyes in horror, remembering what we were doing. We were trying to infiltrate a Separatist base to sabotage their supplies to cripple their forces! General Kenobi, Commander Shan And Commander Tano were with us!
"Oh, no. The war, it's not over!" I hear Rex breathe out
"Rex!" a voice says. "Boil!"
"Waxer!" I cry out, recognizing the voice.
My vision then finally clears up, and I look over to realize that it was actually Kanan who spoke. Mara was looking over in concern from the other side of him, and I realize what happened, sighing shakily.
"Talk to me!" Kanan insists.
"Are you guys alright?" Mara asks worriedly.
"Ah, Mara, Kanan!" I realize, shaking my head. "I'm sorry. Forgot what happened for a moment."
"Thought you were someone else," Rex adds apologetically.
"I need you here now, guys. We're in the usual mess," Kanan replies. "I think the commander's a super tactical droid."
I look up, spotting the commanding droid getting up from it's chair, holding Rex's helmet in its hand. My helmet is placed on the armrest of its char, and I scowl upon recognizing the type of droid, especially this particular droid.
"Ah, you're right. He is," Rex confirms grimly.
"Is that bad?" Ezra asks.
"It's really bad. That droid's extremely intelligent," he replies.
"Especially this one," I state with narrowed eyes. I never crossed paths with him, but Commander Shan did. "Kalani."
"That is correct, CT-2376, weapons specialist for the 212th battalion," Kalani replies, and I scowl at him.
"You know me?" I demand.
"You fought by the side of Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, and of course the infamous Slicer, Jarik Shan," Kalani states, before looking at Rex. "And you are CT-7567, Clone Captain of the 501st Legion, under the command of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano."
I grimace at the mention of the latter two names, knowing their fates, especially at the mention of General Skywalker. I still haven't mustered up the courage to tell Rex what happened to him. Mara on the other hand, looks down at the mention of Ahsoka before looking up with narrowed eyes.
"Great, you know who they are. Now what do you want with us?" she demands.
"Near the end of the war, Separatist droids significantly outnumbered Republic units," Kalani states, turning to face us. "By my calculations, our probability of being defeated was only 23.6%."
"After Clone Order 66, the whole droid army was given a shutdown command. How are you even operating?" Rex demands.
"The Jedi betrayal ended the war for most of the galaxy. But here on Agamar, I assumed it was a Republic trick and prevented the shutdown command," he explains.
"Well however the war ended doesn't kriffing matter, it's over, so let us go tin head!" I demand angrily.
"Negative, trooper. I calculate that this will be my only opportunity to end the Clone Wars as I planned, with a victory for the Separatist Alliance," he declares.
"What do you want us to do, surrender?" Rex asks incredulously.
"On the contrary, I want you to fight, to prove, once and for all, whose tactical strategy was superior," Kalani states.
"Well, you can count me out. I'm not playing some stupid war game," Zeb scoffs.
"That is correct, Lasat. Your species were not in the Clone Wars, so you will be the hostage your allies must save. The 'Jedi Rescue' is a recurring scenario based on 132 battles I have reviewed," Kalani says firmly, and Zeb grimaces.
"Yeah, we've done it a few times," Kanan remarks.
"And I've heard plenty of it to," Mara adds.
"Jedi, is this your Padawan?" Kalani asks Kanan, gesturing to Mara.
"No, that's Ezra," he corrects before faltering. "Most of the time."
"Good. Although the added Jedi Padawan is strange, it wasn't unheard of for them to operate without their masters," Kalani remarks with a nod. "But adding that with another trooper to compensate will complete the set of Republic opponents to make this authentic."
"No, it won't, because we're not fighting!" Rex snaps, and I scowl at Kalani in agreement.
"If you will not fight, you will be terminated," Kalani threatens us.
Just then, the bridge shakes a little as the sound of large stomping makes its way for us. The droids look around in confusion and nervousness, while we smile in response to the noise. Soon enough, Elita appears in front of the bridge window and easily rips off the front panel, looking inside.
Several of the droids cry out in alarm, a few stumbling while Kalani looks over quickly, backing up a couple of steps.
"I'll ask nicely once: please let my friends go!" she says firmly.
"I'd listen to her if so were you," Mara says smugly.
"On the contrary, I would rather you listen to me," Kalani replies, and I furrow a brow. Droids don't act that way unless they believe they have the upper hand. "I know not what kind of droid you are, but somehow you seem to carry emotions or loyalty towords your friends. You make a move, and they die."
Instantly, a droid levels a blaster at each of our necks, and I glance behind me, grimacing upon seeing they're commando droids. Great. Elita looks over at us in concern before narrowing her optics at Kalani.
"Well this stinks," Zeb grumbles.
"You're making a mistake droid," Elita warns.
"No. I wish to prove the Separatists were superior over the Republic. They will fight, and if you interfere during the battle, I kill the hostage," he threatens.
"Elita, I don't think it's worth it," Ezra says, before adding to Kalani: "I'll fight your Clone War."
"What?" Rex and I both exclaim incredulously.
"Ezra, no!" Kanan protests.
"We're not doing that Ezra!" Mara scowls.
"Hey, you four all talk about the Clone Wars. What it was like, the good and the bad. I wanna help you win this last battle," he reasons, before grinning at the droids. "Besides, look at them. How can we lose?"
"Uh... hey," one of the droids says uneasily, looking at its partner.
"Maybe against those guys, but head ones aren't a joke," I warn him, gesturing with my head at the commando droids.
"They are difficult..." Rex mutters.
"Okay, it might be easier to fight them head-on than to get out of our current dilemma," Kanan reasons.
"Fine. Fine, we'll do it," Rex reluctantly says, and I sigh in agreement as well.
"Okay, but if we win, Zeb goes free, and we take all the proton bombs in the hangar," Ezra states.
"I accept your terms," Kalani says with a nod, and then faces Elita. "If you interfere, the Lasat will face death."
Elita scowls angrily, not happy, but reluctantly nods her head in agreement, not having much of a choice.
R5-S7 POV...
"The commander has initiated Battle Plan Zeta. Take your positions at once," I hear one of the droids say.
"Roger, roger."
"Battle Plan Zeta? Finally!" another exclaims happily.
I beep irritably and roll over through the hanger. Elita just contacted me, and is now apparently unable to do anything without Zeb being killed. Glancing around, I beep in surprise upon spotting an old shuttle nearby, and roll over to it.
Entering the ramp, I look for an astromech socket and beep in satisfaction upon finding it, plugging in. The shuttle begins to power up, before shutting off. I beep angrily and slam against the side, forcing the power to come back on.
With the shuttle working, and a better transmitter now at my disposal, I think about calling Master Jarik before quickly deciding against it. The distance makes the possibility of interception by the Empire to great of a risk, and although I don't care too much for the wet dirt ball, Master Jarik and Mistress Mara do a lot, and hey have good reasons too.
Grumbling, I decide to send a signal to the Ghost instead, although I'm a little doubtful that insufferable trash can of theirs will pay attention.
Outer Rim Territories - Space
3rd person POV...
Governor Pryce looks out of the bridge window, watching as several TIE fighters continued to pursue the Ghost, which was desperately trying to escape thanks to their ambush. Beside her, the Second Sister stands with crossed arms, and then Kallus walks up.
"Congratulations. Your plan to ambush them at the fuel depot worked like a charm," Kallus comments with a small smile.
"Only if we catch them," Pryce replies firmly.
"The Jedi aren't on the ship though. I do not believe whoever is there may be of much help," Second Sister says in displeasure.
"Grand Admiral Thrawn will have use of them, you can be sure of that," Pryce says in response.
"Excuse me, Governor. We've intercepted a rebel transmission from the Agamar system before it was received by the rebel ship," Admiral Konstantine reports, and the three look over. "The message is encrypted, but it repeats like a distress signal."
"Interesting. The rebels there must be desperate for help that will never come," Pryce says with a grin. "Locate the nearest Imperial outpost to Agamar and deploy them. Immediately."
Unknown Location - somewhere in the Outer Rim
"This is getting ridiculous. I was never meant to be sent out like some sort of bounty hunter! I'm meant to orbit planets!" Blast Off growls in frustration.
From a rock ledge beneath him, Vortex laughs in mocking amusement. "Hah! You know it is your fault we're here in the first place. 'Oh look at me, I'm Blast Off! I was buried underneath a cliff by three tiny organics!' What a joke!"
While he was talking, Vortex makes a few mocking mannerisms, speaking in a higher, mocking tone. Blast Off jumps down to land beside Vortex, and storms up to him with a furious growl, getting in his face.
"Oh, you think you're real tough huh? Being alone up in orbit is a lot better than being with a repulsive fragger like you!" he snarls. "You may be an interrogator, but beyond that you can't fight for slag!"
Vortex scoffs in response. "Better that than some slag-for-brains who got bested by some female insect with a tiny laser sword."
Blast Off yells in fury, about to transform his arm into his blaster cannon when Onslaught marches up furiously to the two, shoving the apart.
"Enough you slag-heads!" he roars. "Will both of you actually try and continue searching?!"
"Why bother? I doubt the Autobots know that glitch is here. Let her rust!" Blast Off states irritably.
"I would watch your mouth Blast Off, because Vortex does have a point," Onslaught growls, advancing on him with glaring optics. "Lord Megatron has ordered us to rip out Elita One's spark. If you didn't allow yourself to be so easily beaten by her and those insects, we'd be on our way back to Cybertron already!"
Blast Off growls but submissively backs away, a little nervous. Vortex begins to laugh before Onslaught whirls around on him.
"And you! What have you been doing lately? Stop fragging around and actually do something you dim-spark! Or else you'll be explaining to Lord Megatron why we're failing! Is that clear?!" Onslaught seethes.
Vortex slowly nods with a grimace, becoming submissive like Blast Off. Onslaught nods his head in satisfaction and turns away from them, taking a few steps.
"Good. Now we need to..." he starts to say, before going silent.
Both Blast Off and Vortex also pick up the same distress signal radiating across the space waves. A quick hacking informs them all of where the signal came from, and who sent it. Onslaught smiles to himself, a location now set.
Temple Island - Ahch-To
Jarik POV...
I run my finger alongside the crack in Ahsoka's lightsaber, still irritated with what happened. Although the saber itself seems to be fine, and the crystal unharmed, it's still hurts to know that I damaged something that belonged to Ahsoka. Sighing, I place the saber back on the table and then move outside into the warm afternoon.
The caretakers are going through on their regular routine, examining all of the structures and repairing any bit of damage that would have occurred since their last work period, keeping everything in good shape. Thinking about it, I move over towards one of the caretakers and tap her should to get her attention.
"One of the stones inside my hut is cracked. Probably needs some work," I inform her.
She nods in understanding before calling out to a few others in her language, waving an arm over. Two others come with her, and they enter the hut with a few tools to work on the damage. I purposefully leave out the fact that I damaged the stone by throwing Ahsoka's lightsaber.
Looking around, I make my way over towards a much emptier area of the village. Once there, I pull out my lightsaber and start running through some drills in an attempt to clear my head.
I swing my saber around, starting off with some classic Makashi maneuvers before shifting over to Soresu, a more defensive movement. I revert back to Makashi soon after, jabbing my saber and slashing with swift, precise movements. As I do so my thoughts dwell more on what I heard spoken to me. About how I've failed in many things...
I stumble briefly and scratch up the ground with my lightsaber. Scowling and muttering to myself about the mistake, I continue going through the drills again.
But I can't just be a failure right? I'm trying to make up for those huge mistakes! I helped to start the Rebellion, I'm fighting against the Empire, I'm trying to help others do the right thing, and I'm trying to bring back the Jedi Order in a better way, not like how it was before.
But I'm still very weak and vulnerable. Without Ahsoka I'm doomed to fall to the dark side eventually. I feel like nothing and no one else besides her can keep the corrupting darkness within me in check. So much for defeating my 'dark side self' when we first found Ahch-To.
I might have to make something that... kills me, if I ever do turn.
I'm never telling anyone else this, but if it does come down to it I may very well have to make something for that. Mara would be distraught if it ever came to that, which just makes it even more important to find Ahsoka, so that Mara wouldn't have to live through losing not only her birth parents, but both of her adopted parents as well.
Obviously I wouldn't do what would be needed if so turned, so someone else would have to be trusted with that responsibility. But who could I possibly trust to carry a burden like that?
Maybe Bendu... though I have a feeling he wouldn't agree to that. Shaak-Ti maybe? I don't know if she would either.
Or...
Unknown Location - Space
3rd person POV...
The Third Brother takes a few steps forwards and then kneels before the large throne, bowing his head. The titan seated on the throne looks down at him, with the pale woman and the blue creature standing off to the side.
"So you were found out?!" the creature snarls.
"Unfortunately. But, I have good news," Third Brother says.
"Go on," the warlord says.
"While I have been exposed to Darth Sidious, and no longer have inside knowledge to the Empire, I have come up with a plan, which if successful, will ensure that the stone beneath Vader's castle belongs to you," the Third Brother reports.
"The details of your plan?" he questions.
"Sneaking into his castle is impossible my lord. However, if we are able to create something that draws the attention of the Sith, I will be able to infiltrate his castle and recover the stone," he explains.
"And how do you expect to do that Third Brother?" the creature demands.
"Vader and Sidious both seek Jarik Shan more than anything. With the proper setup, we could draw all possible threats to one location, where they will all be focused on each other," Third Brother says with a smile. "I could sneak into the castle for the stone, while they all destroy each other."
The warlord nods in approval of the plan.
"Very good," he says, and Third Brother basks in satisfaction. "But to ensure the plan does not fail, I will send Sylvia to accompany you."
Third Brother falters for a moment, glancing over at the pale woman, who bows to the titan.
"By your command Father. I will not fail you," Sylvia promises.
"See that you don't," he replies.
Sylvia turns to smile at the Third Brother, who scowls back in response, frustrated.
Man, Jarik really is having a very tough time. He's questioning everything about himself, and doesn't know how to properly go on with Ahsoka. He'll have to learn how to do so soon.
Also, Third Brother has been exposed as a double agent... you can't fool Sidious for long. Or Thrawn.