The Resolute - Ahch-To
Jarik POV…
"Ok guys, everything up here is ready to go," I say through the comms.
"Energy transfer is going smoothly. No worry of the energy exploding," Elita reports.
"Reactor looks good and stable," Rylla says. "Do you think we'll be able to get it out of the water?"
"It has to," I say firmly. "These ships were capable of docking at the cities of Kamino."
We've spent the past day or two working on clearing out any small problems that the cruiser could've had, and also moved the remains of clone troopers to a room that nobody would use. Sadly they won't be able to receive proper send-offs.
By some miracle there wasn't much damage to the structure and hull of the Resolute to begin with, so that basically saved this entire idea from being a flop. I spent more time on this than the rest, despite the concerns of the others. I may be a little tired, sure, but there's no way I'm going to make a mistake on our one chance to save Mara from the Emperor.
"Starting the launch sequence," I tell them.
Working at the control console on the bridge, I let my finger hover over the activation button for just a moment, a few last second doubts creeping in. Shoving them away angrily, I press the button and let the ship begin its takeoff. The ship rumbles as the engines flare to life, the thrusters most likely blasting out. Looking at the scanners, the diagram shows me that the ship is now working to lift into the air, but with some noticeable difficulty.
"How's it looking?" I ask the others.
"Taking some strain, but still functioning," Rylla reports.
"Energy is being drained double time," Elita adds.
"Do we have enough?" I ask with wide eyes, worry streaking through me.
"We've got plenty. Just as long as there are no explosions or accidents, or something that would take up more power," she replies.
"That doesn't make me feel any better!" I growl in frustration. "Whatever."
"Are we rising?" Rylla asks me. "It's really loud down here."
I check the altitude measurement, and to my delight it reads that the cruiser is rising.
"It's saying we are," I state.
"Great!"
Adding more power to the thrusters, I then increase its lift underneath the cruiser to break away from all of the ocean bedding and marine life stuck to it. From what everything is saying, there's a ton of steam and water vapor being created because of the massive thrusters trying to achieve lift, creating superheated pockets of air between the water and the fire.
I head over down the narrow walkway on the bridge and look out of the viewport windows, anxiously waiting for any sign of light. The clock continues to tick by as I wait, and my anxiety continues to build the longer it stays pitch dark out there. The only light I could see through the blackness is coming from the cruiser itself, mostly along the hangar bay doors on top of the ship. Finally a patch of blue seems to cut through the black water: not bright, more like a midnight sky color. Still, it's more than black, which means something.
"Come on, come on," I murmur to myself hopefully.
The midnight blue then turns into a dark navy blue, and then a navy blue. A wide grin stretches across my face as I see the water continuing to get lighter and lighter, bluer and bluer. I finally begin to see my first ray of sunlight from the bridge of the Resolute, and I can't help the small laugh that bursts from my mouth. The ship is still rumbling and groaning dangerously, but we're rising out of the water.
"Guys… I can see sunlight," I tell them.
"Seriously?! That's wonderful!"
"Thank the Allspark, it's working!"
Isle of Berk - Ahch-To
3rd person POV…
"So… what is this thing they gave you?"
"Hey, don't touch it!"
Hiccup yanks the small device away from the seeking hands of Tuffnut and Ruffnut. The twins both scowl in disappointment, and cross their arms.
"Wow, you don't have to be such a jerk Hicky," Ruffnut scoffs.
"H-Hicky?" he asks dryly. "Y'know what, whatever."
"Ugh, why are we waiting again?" Snotlout groans.
"Are you really such an imbecile?" Calder remarks in a quiet tone, narrowing his eyes.
"Who are you calling imbecile, imbecile?!" Snotlout retorts angrily, marching up to him. Calder just looks down at him with a cold glare, not impressed.
"Can you two just cut it out?" Hiccup asks in exasperation.
"Whatever," Calder replies, waving his hand and walking away.
"Why do we listen to him again?" Snotlout demands.
"Uh, because he's an ally, and a friend," Astrid states dryly.
"Really? He's tried to kill us how many times now?"
"Coming from the guy who idolized Dagur the Deranged?" she retorts.
"Hey, he was really cool!" he says defensively.
"Uh, you just liked him because he picked on Hiccup," Fishlegs points out.
"Exactly!"
Hiccup groans in exasperation, but still goes back to looking at the device he's holding in his hand. Before sending them all back to Berk, Jarik gave Hiccup a small beacon that would supposedly start beeping once it was time for them to all meet up with him.
"So, gonna tell us what that is yet?" Tuffnut asks.
"You were there when Jarik gave is to us!" Hiccup reminds him.
"Is that supposed to mean anything?" Ruffnut replies.
"Fine. It's a beacon that's supposed to start beeping, or making noise when they signal us to meet up with him," he explains. "Happy?"
"No. Where are we meeting him?" Tuffnut asks.
Hiccup is about to say something sarcastic before frowning. "Well, he just said that we'd know where to meet him when it beeped."
"And where is that?" Snotlout asks.
"That's all he said," Hiccup shrugs in reply.
"Kind of wished he was more in detail. How are we going to know where to go?" Astrid asks.
"Maybe it'll be a map? Y'know, like one of his 'holograms' or whatever?" he suggests.
"Speaking of which," a voice says, and they all see Gobber and Stoick walking up. "Who do you kids plan on fighting those, 'Empire' people he showed us? Those tanks looked like nasty business."
"I'm working on it Gobber," Hiccup sighs.
"I hope your plan will be good son, because if we're going against those things, I doubt the entire village put together would be able to take them head on," Stoick adds in concern.
"I'm sure Jarik has a plan in mind," he suggests optimistically. "I doubt I'll be much of the planner on this trip."
"Wait, Hiccup isn't going to plan?" Ruffnut asks incredulously.
"Kinda weird to not have you in charge for once," Astrid comments, punching his shoulder lightly.
"Hey, Hiccup, your thing is doing something!" Fishlegs calls out.
Everyone instantly draws their attention to the beacon in Hiccup's hands, and he looks down at it. A light on top starts the flash, along with a low beeping sound coming out of it. The beeping progressively gets a little bit faster every second.
"You think it's a bomb?" Tuffnut asks hopefully.
"Right, because he wanted to blow us up?" Calder asks dryly.
"So, where do we go?" Stoick asks.
"Uhh…" Hiccup starts.
He suddenly falls quiet as something far in the distance at sea gets his attention. His eyes begin to widen as shock starts to overtake him, and he gapes at the sight of what he's seeing. Confused, Astrid follows his line of sight before widening his eyes and gasping in disbelief. Everyone starts looking over at the ocean, all expressing similar reactions.
Several miles away from the island and in the middle of the ocean, the largest object that any Viking had ever seen before begins to rise out of the water. First there's a really tall tower, and then it widens out into the hull of some massive vessel. A bright blue flame becomes visible on the back end of the cruiser, bringing with it a huge column of steam. It slowly rises out of the water and then begins to hover in the air. From this distance they can't fully gauge the size of it, just that it's insanely huge.
Then the sound reaches them, and they wince as a huge crashing noise blows by, sounding like an underwater explosion or wave, followed by a constant humming sound afterwards. The gang remains in place for a while, stunned into disbelief at the sight.
"Well…" Gobber finally says, his voice like a quiet squeak. "Wasn't expecting that…"
Once the Resolute was clear of the water and hovering in the air proudly, Jarik sent the message out to R5 to bring the Knight Hawk over. R5's reply was happy and excited, and he wasted no time in getting the Knight Hawk into the air. It took a few minutes for him to fly the ship to the cruiser, by which time the hangar bay doors on top slowly opened, allowing him to bring it inside and land in the hangar where Elita was waiting.
Jarik remained on top at the bridge to keep watch on things while Rylla joined back up with Elita. When the Knight Hawk was settled into an empty spot in the hangar, R5 rolls down the opening ramp and makes a beeline for the bridge, entering the hallway without a moment to waste. Rylla and Elita watch him go before glancing at each other, shrugging with amused grins.
"He really likes his ships huh?" Rylla remarks.
"From what I've seen, yes," Elita confirms with a nod.
Outside in the sky, the dragon riders of Berk were all making their approach to the Resolute, riding their dragons; Stoick rode with Hiccup, Gobber with Snotlout, though reluctantly, and Calder on his own dragon that he managed to tame, a Monstrous Nightmare he named 'Blaze'.
Every single one of them were all staring at the Resolute, their shock and disbelief growing. The closer they get to the cruiser, the more apparent it is to them just how massive it really is. The ship is so big that it easily dwarfs the entire village of Berk, no question! Maybe even as large as the island itself! Even the dragons were surprised at the sight of the cruiser, even a little bit skittish due to the unfamiliarity of it, and its sheer size. Toothless let out a low moan, warbling at the sight of it.
Zenna flew by herself, following along with Stormfly. Worry still dominated her mind over what could have happened to her rider, Mara, but in the current moment she was also awed by the sight of the cruiser.
"Never, in all my life, would I have ever expected to see something like this," Stoick murmurs in awe.
"It's incredible… the idea that people are capable of building something so big!" Hiccup replies in agreement.
"Well, I suppose they've gotta have someway of flying through space, eh?" Gobber comments.
"Come on, I could totally do something more impressive than this," Snotlout scoffs, trying to appear tough.
Everybody just ignores him and decides not to waste any time saying otherwise, since they all know that's clearly a lie. Calder though still can't help but scoff in irritation, rolling his eyes.
"I don't think this is just a simple 'travel ship,'" Astrid says in response to Gobber. "Jarik's ship is tiny in comparison to this!"
"Yeah, fair point," Gobber shrugs in agreement.
"And look there," Stoick says, pointing over towards the base of the ship's tower, where four of the Resolute's turrets all lay in a row. "I'm willing to bet those are weapons of some sort."
"Those things are huge!" Fishlegs exclaims.
"I know…" Tuffnut trails off in awe. "Imagine the damage they could do!"
"I know right?! I want to test those things out! Come on, how do we shoot them!?" Ruffnut adds.
Both of the twins continue to gawk and eagerly eye the massive cannons on the cruiser, and Hiccup shakes his head, leaning his head back towards Stoick.
"If by some wild chance the twins figure out how to use those guns, I'd be worried for the fate of the entire world," he murmurs.
"That would be a terrifying thought indeed," Stoick nods in agreement, giving the twins a cautious glance.
"So uh, how do we get in there?" Calder questions.
"I'm not sure," Hiccup replies. "Let's try flying around, maybe there's an opening for us. Let's go bud."
Hiccup directs Toothless to fly over the top of the Resolute, and the rest of the gang follow. They look over the ship with seeking eyes, taking notice of how covered in kelp, sea plants, and other marine life it is. Despite that though, they can make it what the cruiser is supposed to look like fairly easy, with two symbols on either of the cruiser where the 'wings' stick out, and a red line going through the middle up to the bow. As they continue flying around the base of the bridge tower, a loud screeching noise suddenly gets their attention, and they bring themselves to a halt.
"What was that?" Astrid asks.
"I don't know," Hiccup replies cautiously.
The middle of the ship then splits open, and the dragons all back away in surprise. Far down the red area in the center of the cruiser, large doors open up to reveal an interior, and they watch them opening with wide eyes.
"Woah…" Hiccup murmurs.
"Incredible," Gobber says.
"I don't even know what to say," Astrid adds in bewilderment.
Once the hangar doors are open wide enough, the gang spot elite standing down in the center of the interior, waving a hand at them.
"Come on in guys!" she calls.
Hiccup, Astrid and the rest, all give each other glances before making their way down inside the ship. Passing through the wide doors, they looks around to view as much as they could, looking around in awe and curiosity at all of the different vehicles, machines, and other tech that even Hiccup couldn't even begin to understand. They all come in for a landing in front of Elita and dismount from their dragons. Zenna squawks up at her, fluttering her wings before rushing off further into the hangar, having sensed something.
"So, what do you guys think?" Elita asks.
"What do I think?" Snotlout replies, looking around. "I'm thinking this is going to be my new epic fortress when I become chief!"
Stick and Hiccup both roll their eyes in exasperation.
"Probably not," Rylla murmurs, standing nearby.
"This stuff is incredible! All these strange machines, metal structures, I- I don't know where to start!" Fishlegs adds giddily.
"I'd offer a tour, but that'd take ages. Plus I've got a lot on my mind," Jarik speaks up.
They look around to see him approaching, walking through a strange bluish hue with Zenna at his side. The Nadder chirps and continuously seeks more attention from him, which he provides with just a few friendly pats and strokes to the head.
"Is this a battleship?" Astrid asks.
"Venator cruiser. These were the most common warships used by the Republic during the Clone Wars," he explains.
"And what's all of that... stuff? Some sort of metal beasts?" Gobber asks, gesturing at the tanks and vehicles.
"Tanks and assault vehicles," he shrugs.
"Can I get in one? You've got to show me how they work!" Tuffnut exclaims.
"No, he's gonna show me how it works!" Ruffnut argues.
"You? You're so stupid you wouldn't even know how to blow yourself up with it!" he retorts, shoving her away.
"Clearly I'm the better choice to lead a fight using these awesome war machines," Snotlout declares boastfully. All they need are a few catapults."
"Guys!" Hiccup groans in exasperation.
"I wouldn't let you three get within a hundred miles of operating those things," Jarik deadpans with narrowed eyes.
"Awww!" the twins both groan in disappointment, while Snotlout just scoffs, crossing his arms.
"Hey while we're on the subject, can we talk about what we could do with them?" Rylla asks Jarik. "For later?"
"Plenty of it to go around," Elita adds.
"Sure, whatever," he replies with a sigh. "I'm sure you guys are bursting with questions, but right now we're on the clock. Right now is your chance to decide whether or not you really are ready to go through with this. Once those doors close, we're heading into space."
"What doors?" Tuffnut asks, and Calder bangs him on the head irritably.
Hiccup looks back at his father and friends, about a million thoughts running through his head. Toothless comes up to him and lets out a soft warble of reassurance, looking up at Hiccup with wide eyes. Stoick gives a small nod of determination, while Gobber grins. Astrid also sends Hiccup a confident smile, and he looks back at Jarik.
"We're all ready," he declares firmly.
Jarik lets out a soft sigh in response but nods, gesturing for everyone to follow him.
"Let's get moving then. We don't want to be in here when we leave the atmosphere," he says, raising his comlink. "R5, close the hangar doors."
The gang and their dragons begin to follow after him when the doors start to close again with a loud screech, drawing their attention. They all look up and watch the massive doors slowly closing, some of the dragons flinching from the sound.
"Let's go guys!" Jarik calls.
They quickly resume following him, walking through the blue shields as the doors close. While walking through, some of them get a look at the shields warily, yet confused as to how they didn't feel anything once they passed through them.
"Uhh, what is this thing?" Ruffnut asks.
"It's a shield, meant to keep air in while we're in space," Rylla answers.
"Really? Fascinating!" Fishlegs says, eyeing it curiously and waving his hand through the shimmer, trying to figure it out. "How does it work?"
"It's a complicated science," Elita replies.
"WAIT! Don't close it!" Snotlout cries out.
"What?" Jarik asks, whipping around irritably, and the others all look at him.
"I forgot my mace!" he exclaims.
Jarik's expression falls to irritation, and he rolls his eyes before turning back around and continuing onwards.
"It's very important!" Snotlout protests angrily.
"You're not using a 'mace,' against the Empire," Jarik states.
"Oh, so the Chief gets to use his axe, Gobber gets his hammer, Calder has a sword, Astrid also has an axe, but I can't get my mace?!" he demands incredulously.
"Yes," he retorts dryly.
"Oh. Fine," Snotlout scoffs, and Hookfang laughs at him. "Hey! Keep your mouth shut!"
In response, Hookfng growls at him and shoots a small jet of flame, to which Snotlout yelps in surprise and jumps out of the way.
"AHH! Hookfang!"
Toothless lets out a sharp roar at Hookfang, to which the Nightmare just responds with an innocent look. Elita raises an optic ridge at the squabble and looks down at Rylla, who just shrugs helplessly. Hiccup sighs, a hand on his forehead to ease his frustration.
"Snotlout, we're going to be flying dragons. You don't need a mace," he explains.
"Well, maybe you don't need weapons, but me and Stoick don't exactly have dragons," Gobber reminds him.
"He does have a point son," Stoick adds in agreement.
"Don't worry, you two aren't the only ones who enjoy fighting enemies with punches," Rylla comments.
"You a good fighter?" Astrid asks curiously.
"Well, yes, but I wasn't referring to myself," she replies.
"Come on, lets get moving," Jarik reminds them.
*:*:*
Jarik led the group up to the bridge while the dragons remained in the hangar with Elita, since they aren't able to fit in the areas that lead there. The entire trip the Vikings looked at everything with curiosity and awe, wondering what things did. They were mostly quiet about it, all of them getting the feeling that Jarik didn't feel like talking about that stuff right, but Snotlout and the twins didn't share the same thought.
They were being super loud and questioning every single detail they saw, sometimes attempting to mess with some things. Rylla was glad that she was there, along with Hiccup, Stoick and Gobber to help keep them in check, because she could tell Jarik was close to blowing a fuse. Being so anxious about the quickly approaching mission to rescue Mara was making him tense and easy to frustrate. She was relieved when they finally reached the bridge, and the troublemakers loudness was quenched for the moment.
"Woah..."
The Resolute was now high enough that they could see the blackness of space, and the curved horizon of the planet. Everybody rushed over to the window to stare out, transfixed at the sight of their home. They'd been high in the sky on their dragons of course, but never at a height like this.
"Odin's beard," Stoick murmurs. "I never realized that Ahch-To looks so beautiful from above..."
"Lot's of ocean of course," Gobber adds quietly with a small chuckle.
"This is amazing to see," Astrid says.
"You see planets like this all of the time?" Hiccup asks the two off worlders.
"This is a common sight for most people," Rylla shrugs. "I guess we've just sort of, taken it for granted."
"The world is round?!" Ruffnut exclaims.
Everybody sighs in exasperation, and even Tuffnut looks at her incredulously.
"Uh, you're such an idiot. Even I knew that!" he scoffs.
Mocking beeps come from R5, and the gang looks over to see him plugged into a console near Jarik, who was looking at a holographic screen. Having seen the droid before, Hiccup and Astrid didn't react too badly. The rest of them however were surprised, widening their eyes at him. The twins of course just had to rush over to investigate.
"Woah! what is this thing?!" Tuffnut asks.
R5 looks up at them incredulously as they both stand on either side of him, crouching down to examine him.
"Looks like a rolling trash can," Ruffnut remarks, reaching out to touch him.
Beeping angrily, R5 whips around to face her and then brings out his electric prod, zapping her. She lets out a cry of pain and jumps back after being shocked, while Tuffnut just laughs at her.
"Ha! You just got zapped like a loser!" he mocks, pointing at her.
R5 then turns around and shocks him as well, and this time he's yelping in pain while Ruffnut laughs at him.
"And you just got zapped like Hiccup!" she jeers.
"Seriously?" Hiccup deadpans dryly.
"Wait, what?" Rylla asks, confused.
"I could struck by lightning once," he mutters in response.
"Really? You look fine!" Rylla replies, before looking down. "I guess that's why you have a metal leg?"
"No-"
"Technically the lightning struck the metal spear that he was holding at the time," Gobber points out.
"Oh," she replies.
R5 is now busy chasing the twins around, beeping angrily, all the while they try and stay out of his reach, terrorized. Finally Jarik reaches a breaking point, and steps in to intervene.
"Oh for Morai's sake, can you guys just be serious for once in your life?!" Jarik snaps, getting in between them. "You two, stop messing with my droid. And you, stop terrorizing these knuckleheads!"
R5 beeps quietly to himself before retracting his electric prod and rolling back over to his console. The twins also step back to rejoin with the gang, Stoick giving them a look, while Calder crosses his arms in annoyance.
"Seriously, how did you guys even beat us?" Calder asks.
"Because we're better than you Outcasts, that's why!" Snotlout declares.
Astrid looks at Calder and shrugs, apparently just as bewildered as he is. "Well, we just have a way of doing things despite them seeming ridiculous, I suppose."
"Trust me, I'd rather face Alvin than have to get the twins in line," Hiccup adds with a murmur.
"Everything ready R5?" Jarik asks, and he beeps back in affirmative. "Alright. Let's hope the hyperdrive doesn't blow up."
"What's going to blow up?" Tuffnut asks, both of them perking up excitedly.
"What's a hyperdrive?" Fishlegs asks curiously.
"Lightspeed engine. It's how we travel to different star systems," Rylla explains.
"And... here we go," Jarik says, pulling a lever on the control console.
Everybody looks out of the window again with wide eyes as the stars seem to stretch out like noodles, before the ship zooms into hyperspace. The stretched out stars are replaced with a flowing black and blue cloud that travels past them like a tube, the very center a bright light. They all watch, mesmerized, before someone finally speaks up.
"This is the craziest day of my life," Gobber quips.
Ahch-To - Unknown Regions
The residents of Berk weren't the only ones to witness the old Republic Star Destroyer rising into the sky. With the cruiser being such a massive object, people from miles away were able to witness it: whether they be simple sailors, merchants, or warlords.
From his position on his commanding ship, Drago Bludvist watches the massive vessel in the sky disappear with a streaking blur, the typical scowl on his face. Within that scowl however was a small hint of fear and confusion: fear of the unknown, and of what that could possibly mean for his conquest.
"I need more dragons," he mutters to himself, growling. "I want more trappers out hunting! Double time it now!"
In that moment, Drago makes the resolve to make his dragon army even bigger than he previously intended. He already has an alpha to control them all, but now he may need to worry about enemies from a much grander scale, and prepare for them. He would not let his desires be thwarted by the unknown.
*:*:*
Grimmel the Grisly had come to a stop, his Deathgrippers hovering in the air with his airship, so that he could look up at the sky and see the cruiser far in the distance, appearing no larger to him than a coin. Despite its seemingly small size, he knew it was far more massive than he could have ever imagined. The sight of it has him in a state of disbelief, his normally narrow and calculating eyes wide as he tries to come to terms with what he's seeing.
Finally, once the cruiser disappears from view in a streaking blur, his mind starts to think.
"That was no dragon…" he murmurs to himself. "Those legends… are they true?"
*:*:*
Zipping just through the top of the low clouds was a Stormcutter dragon and astride it was a woman clad in armor, which was made to resemble a dragon. She looks up into the sky, bewildered and fearful of the massive object that hovers high above, higher than any dragon could fly. The Stormcutter growls anxiously, and the woman strokes her hand comfortingly along its head, still focused on the huge thing in the sky.
Before her very eyes, the large vessel then disappears in a streaking blur, and she lets out a quiet gasp. Several long seconds later a loud boom blows through the air, as a result of the vessel's disappearance. She covers her ears for a moment while the Stormcutter lets out a startled roar, and then looks back up where the vessel previously was. The Stormcutter growls worriedly.
"I have no idea what that was," Valka murmurs, crouching down on Cloudjumper's back. "We should head back to the Nest."
The Resolute - Hyperspace
After entering hyperspace, Jarik informed the gang that it would be several hours before they reached their destination. Some of them were interested in going back down to the hangar to see more things, and also get back with their dragons, so Rylla offered to take them. Jarik remained on the bridge, merely giving Rylla a quiet nod of confirmation when she gives the suggestion.
Once the group returned to the hangar, they all reunited with their dragons and started looking around. Rylla made sure to keep an eye on the twins and Snotlout every so often, so that they wouldn't do anything stupid. Thankfully Stoick and Gobber were doing the same, so she wouldn't have to worry as much. Zenna trotted over, looking throughout the crowd of people and then lowering her head sadly, rumbling. Stormfly comes over to soothe her hatchling, so naturally Astrid and Hiccup take notice.
"This just makes it feel even worse," Astrid remarks with a sad look on her face.
"Yeah," Hiccup says in agreement, looking at Zenna. "I always saw Mara and the others as seeming... untouchable. They're Jedi, right? Powerful warriors."
"And then they came back without... Ahsoka," Astrid finishes with a sigh.
"No one's invincible, even if it seems hard to believe," Rylla says, walking up to them. "The Clone War made that a harsh reality, since Jedi kept falling every day to the Separatists. And then the war came to an end."
"Did you fight in it?" Hiccup asks her.
"Not nearly to the extent that Jarik did. I was just made a padawan a week before it ended," she replies.
"Ahsoka and Jarik never really talked about it, although Mara told us stories from them," Astrid recalls.
"I'm not surprised they don't. Even I have painful memories of it," Rylla remarks with a humorous scoff, sighing. "It was a bittersweet time though."
"Do you think we'll be able to get Mara back?" Hiccup asks her, feeling anxious.
"I really hope so. I don't even want to begin to think about what the Emperor has planned for her," she says worriedly.
"Blah blah blah, why so worried you guys?" Snotlout says, overhearing the conversation.
"Because this is a serious rescue mission. Tougher than anything we've ever done before," Astrid points out with a frown.
"Tough?" Snotlout scoffs disbelievingly. "Are you kidding me? Look at the ship we're in right now! It's huge! With this thing we don't even have to worry about those weird, flimsy, white-armored... uhhh, what were they called...?"
"Stormtroopers," Fishlegs remind him.
"Right, stormtroopers!" Snotlout says with a nod.
"Stupid name," Ruffnut scoffs.
"Yeah. Are they made of storm clouds or something?" Tuffnut says.
"Oh get your head out of your helmet Snotlout," Gobber comments dismissively.
"What?! Seriously, can somebody please tell me how we would lose with this?!" Snotlout demands incredulously.
"Because this is only one ship," Elita says, crouching down off to the side.
Snotlout lets out a startled yelp and stumbles on his feet, while Hookfang laughs at him.
"The Empire will have a large fleet surrounding Coruscant," she continues. "This cruiser is older and smaller than an Imperial Star Destroyer, and has less firepower."
"Oh, I want one of those now," Tuffnut comments eagerly.
"What? You're saying there are ships bigger than this one?" Snotlout asks in bewilderment.
"Did you not even pay attention to the stuff that Jarik showed us?" Gobber asks in reply, raising an eyebrow.
"No, why would I?" he asks dumbly.
Everybody sighs in exasperation, some shaking their heads.
"Where'd you even pull this ship from anyways?" Calder asks.
"I found it under the ocean," Elita comments with a shrug. "Apparently it crashed here quite a few years ago. Considering what happened it's a full blown miracle that it's this functional."
"Yeah, about that, did any of you ever notice it? A ship this big is impossible to miss if it crash landed," Rylla asks the two burly Vikings.
"Well, we did see Jarik's ship crash down when they first arrived, although they did land on our island," Hiccup remarks.
"Oh I remember that. But as for this big flying hunk of metal..." Gobber trails off, looking around the hangar. "I can't recall seeing it before. Honestly, how did we miss that?"
"Maybe we didn't," Stoick says, eyes narrowed in thought. "I think we did see it, we just never realized what it was."
"Oh really? When?" Gobber demands.
"Gobber, remember the large tsunami we had years ago? The one that nearly wiped out the village?"
"Oh, yeah. That was a bad one," Gobber recalls with a nod.
"Just before that, the sky was lit up with some great fire, far beyond the horizon. We thought it might've been dragons, but the fire seemed so huge," Stoick tells him.
Gobber frowns before widening his eyes in remembrance. "Oh! That was this thing falling? Huh."
While they're all talking with each other, Jarik comes into the hangar and gives the group a glance before moving over to the side. He looks up at an AT-TE with a frown on his face, a little lost in his thoughts. Holding up a communicator, he then displays a small holographic image of himself, Mara, and Ahsoka, in a family portrait. They were sitting in front of a cliff ledge on the island, Mara sitting in between him and Ahsoka. He gazes longingly at the picture, a series of emotions running through him that he struggles to keep down.
"I'll get you back... I promise," he whispers quietly.
Footsteps from behind has him glancing up to see Zenna coming from behind, lowering her head upon noticing the picture of Mara. She lets out a quiet moan of sadness, nudging Jarik with her snout, and he carefully pets her back.
"How are you doing Jarik?" Elita asks.
He looks up to see her standing nearby, before then crouching down to be more at level with him. Her optics are filled with concern and empathy as she looks down with him, and he sighs.
"As good as I can be," he murmurs.
"Y'know, sometimes I've wondered how the others must be doing back on Cybertron... how they felt when I disappeared," Elita remarks, recalling memories. "My sister Chromia was the last person I ever spoke to."
"You have family?" Jarik asks.
"Not exactly in the sense that you would think. She's my sister because we share part of the same spark, along with my youngest sister Arcee" she explains. "On Cybertron we don't really have what you would call 'parents,' or siblings. We're born from the Well of Allsparks, not from... well... y'know."
Elita gestures awkwardly and Jarik grimaces, rolling his eyes in an exasperated expression.
"My sparkmate, Optimus, must surely be looking for me right now, much like how you are looking for your family," she comments.
"How would he know you're revived?" Jarik asks, confused.
"When two Cybertronians become sparkmates, that is a very literal term. It's not just being married, but it's also a bond where our very sparks are joined together. Even across this vast distance we can still feel what happens to the other," she tells him.
Jarik widens his eyes at the description. "That sounds so much like a Force bond..."
"You share one with Ahsoka?" Elita deduces.
His expression darkens, and he looks down at the ground with a heaving breath.
"I did... but its broken," he replies bitterly. "It snapped when she... when she stayed behind to protect us."
Elita widens her optics sadly and looks down at Jarik, feeling a huge amount of sympathy for him.
"I'm sorry to hear that," she apologizes. "I don't know if I could continue living on without Optimus."
"It's hard... but it is what it is. I'm happy that you still feel your sparkmate, and that you can find each other again," Jarik says softly. "...I should get to the bridge. We'll be at Atollon soon."
Jarik gives Elita a bitter smile before walking off, breaking away from Zenna as well. The dragon and Autobot watch him go sadly, the latter greatly saddened to see Jarik in such a state. Being in war for so long, she's seen all of the many stages of grief, and she can recognize that Jarik has been fluctuating mostly between anger, regret, and depression, the last one what he's currently in right now.
Across the hangar, Rylla and a few of the Vikings also took notice of Jarik walking back to the hallway by himself. Rylla watches him leave sadly, hating the sight of her friend in such a state.
"I hate seeing him like this," Rylla sighs.
"I've never seen Jarik act this way before," Hiccup adds worriedly.
"Me neither. He's usually so..." Astrid trails off.
"Humorous? Quirky?" Rylla offers.
"Yeah," Hiccup confirms.
"He's grieving," Stoick says grimly. "I know what it's like to feel that way."
Hiccup glances down and swallows at the mention of his late mother.
"It hurt even more knowing what he used to be like," Rylla recalls longingly. "Back in the Temple when we younglings, Jarik was always the jokester of our group. Always playful, always looking to get a few laughs. Really irritating for me, Ahsoka, and Vifi, since he seemed to take a special enjoyment out of making fun of us girls. The other two boys often helped him."
Rylla smiles at the bittersweet memory of her childhood, when everything was bright and simple. There was no war, no loss, no suffering. Just the six of them in their clan.
"Everything was easier back then... but now it just feels like it's gone from Jarik," she finishes sadly.
The three Vikings listen to Rylla talk with sad looks in their eyes, and then look over just as Jarik disappears from view, catching a glimpse of his face to see that he looked impassive and blank. So unlike what Rylla was describing.
"This just makes me hate the Empire even more," Astrid says with a scowl.
"This 'Emperor' of yours... he must be a truly evil person to continue with such horrors," Stoick states with a frown.
"He knows he's evil, and he relishes in it," Rylla says.
"I wish there was some way we could help," Hiccup says, looking at where Jarik disappeared.
Rylla sighs. "Right now, the only thing that could help his emotional state is the have Mara back."
"When will we learn what the plan's going to be?" Astrid asks.
"First we need to stop off at the rebel base," she replies.
"I thought we were going straight to the Imperial capital," Stoick says in confusion.
"After this stop. The rebellion itself can't help us because it's too risky, but the Ghost Crew should be able to come along with us and help out," Rylla informs them.
"Ghost Crew...? Oh, you mean those guys we were with before? And with those clone guys?" Hiccup recalls curiously.
"Wait, you've met them?" she asks, confused.
"By sneaking onto Jarik's ship and getting entangled in one of their missions," Stoick states, narrowing his eyes at Hiccup and Astrid.
"In our defense, Dad, we were just chasing after Zenna," Hiccup reminds him.
"After she ran onto the ship after Mara," Astrid adds.
"Alright, well you have some experience with them already. I guess that's good," Rylla comments.
Atollon - Lothal Sector
Jarik POV...
"You're coming in with a what?!"
"You heard me right Bail," I state, crossing my arms. "I'm standing in the bridge right now."
"That's incredible... an entire Venator cruiser," Bail remarks in wonder. "How did you find it?"
"Apparently it crashed into the same planet I'm living on years before I arrived. Small galaxy huh?"
"Small indeed," Bail nods in agreement.
With our hyperspace trip to Atollon almost over, I decided to call up Senator Organa and inform him of what's coming in. His hologram is being shown on the holotable situated in the command center of the bridge, and he was quite happy about this.
"This will be of great benefit to the cause. It may just be one cruiser, but right now it's the most powerful one we have," Bail continues with a smile.
"I'm afraid this cruiser isn't going to be used in the Rebellion," I tell him.
"What do you mean?" he asks in confusion.
"I'm using it to rescue Mara," I state firmly.
"But, she's on Coruscant!" he replies, eyes wide.
"I know. That's why I'm using the cruiser."
"Jarik, please, that's a suicide mission, not to mention a waste! There is no way you'll be able to make it onto Coruscant, much less blow past the Emperor's blockade with one cruiser!" Bail urges. "Please, you must let the Rebellion use it!"
"I'm not backing down on this," I retort with a glare.
He sighs sadly in exasperation. "Jarik... I know this is tough for you. Believe me, I couldn't bear the thought of losing Leia. But if Mara's being kept on Coruscant by Palpatine then there's no possible way for any of us to help her! This is a fight you cannot win!"
"If you really believed that, then you wouldn't have started this Rebellion," I shout angrily, and he flinches in response. I take a moment to calm myself, breathing out with a heavy sigh. "Look, I know you have the Rebellion's best interest at heart, but you said it yourself. You couldn't bear the thought of losing your daughter. Well I lost my daughter, and she needs me! I'm not going to just leave her in the hands of kriffing Sidious."
Bail sighs, looking down. "You know I can't offer any help from the Rebellion on a mission like this."
"I know you can't. That's why I'm planning to ask the Ghost Crew for assistance," I tell him. "Plus, I've got my own help as well."
"If you say so," he replies reluctantly. "Jarik, I must insist though that if there's anything of use on that cruiser that you won't be using on your mission, that you please allow the Rebellion to use it."
"That's fine. There's a good amount of starfighters and tanks in the hangar. I'm sure you'll be able to find somewhere to use them," I state with a nod. "We'll be arriving to Atollon soon."
"Thank you my friend," he says gratefully. "Please be careful Jarik... if we lose you to the Empire as well, that may very well destroy any hopes that others in the Rebellion may have, and frighten the galaxy's inhabitants."
"I'll do my best Bail," I reply.
Closing the transmission, I lean against the holotable and bow my head with a sigh, shutting my eyes for a moment. Horrible doubt, fear and worry is just running rampant through my head, and I can't help it. I'll do anything to get Mara out of Palpatine's grasp, even if it means my death, but that would also be a problem for others. I have no issue with dying if needs be, but I'm a well known figure in fighting the Empire, and my death would crush the hopes of so many people, just like Bail said.
The scanners then start to beep signaling that the hyperspace jump has ended. Moving around the holotable, I get up to the console and then pull the hyperdrive lever, bringing the Resolute out light speed and into Atollon's orbit. R5 beeps at me from his spot at one of the consoles, and I glance at him.
"Time to get this show on the road," I state determinedly, glaring out the window.
As soon as the Ghost Crew is loaded onto the Resolute... I'm going to show the galaxy just why I'm the most wanted 'criminal' in the Empire. If Palpatine isn't already afraid of me in some way, then he surely will be. My eyes flicker with gold to emphasize my thoughts.
Well, things are getting really serious now. Jarik is no longer messing around, and he is dead set on getting his daughter back. Whatever it takes. Next chapter will be a bit different than the others, but the rescue mission is just around the corner!
Back on Ahch-To, Berk is not the only island to have seen the Resolute hovering into the air. By bringing up the ship, Jarik and the others unintentionally let the entire world know of the existence of life beyond their own planet. All actions have consequences...
Also this chapter title was on purpose lol.