Author's Note: Whenever writing scenes or thinking of things to put into my story, I enjoy imagining a tune or soundtrack that would play in the background as if it were in an actual movie or TV show. I'm gonna try out adding the music, which you can search on YouTube, to certain parts so that you could listen to it as well while reading. Let me know how you guys feel about it!
Previously on Rebirth...
Without warning, Hookfang is suddenly blown in their direction by an unseen force, and he roars in surprise and pain as he's thrown uncontrollably to the ground in front of the rest of the group; Snotlout shouts in alarm and fear, just barely managing to avoid any serious injury. Everybody who's unfamiliar with Darth Sidious watches with shocked and frightened eyes as he calmly walks out of the huge fire without a scratch, casting his cane aside.
"This was your best attempt to stop me? Using primitive beasts and outlandish fools?" the Emperor scoffs with a mocking laugh. "How pathetic!"
He then starts to chant in the Sith language, waving his arms around as he calls the dark side of the Force to his will. Everyone watches in shock and alarm as the fire from Hookfang startles angling over towards the Emperor, changing from red orange to a blue color, swirling behind him at his command. The Vikings of Berk are struck with fear at the sight, having never seen anything like it, or imagined it to be possible. The sense of evil vibrated around them.
Then the Emperor lets out a great yell and all of the fire, now Sidious's own blue flames, is thrust towards them and covering nearly the entire hallway, intending to burn them all alive.
TRACK ONE: You Have Become a Rival - David Glen Russell (0:00 - 1:09)
Imperial Palace - Coruscant
Jarik POV...
I slowly push myself up with a pained groan, my robes and armor smoking lightly. Blinking in a daze with blurry eyesight, I look around to see everyone else and all of the dragons scattered around the hallway in a heap, some passed out and others groaning in pain. Everyone has suffered the same thing, and I look to my left to see Mara lying on the ground beside me, Zenna partially curled around her and whimpering.
As my vision refocused, I then remember what just happened: Sidious attacked us using Hookfang's own blast of fire, sending a blue wall of flames screaming our way. I guess it must have hit us...
"Jarik Shan... how much longer must you continue to persist?" the Emperor asks.
Looking up, I scramble to my feet with a grimace and hold my side, standing protectively in front of Mara. He strolls towards me casually, his yellow eyes glowing with glee.
"It is unfortunate. You could have amounted to so much more," he continues with a 'tsk.'
"So you keep saying," I retort quietly, tensing up.
"It is true, I would've preferred you as my apprentice, though I suppose I cannot argue with the power of my current one," he replies with a knowing smirk.
I scowl angrily, knowing he's referring to how he turned Anakin to the dark side. The others slowly regain their senses and look up, the sight of the Emperor filling them with fear. Out of the corner of my vision I could see Hiccup gazing at him with absolute horror, trying to rouse Toothless. I refocus on Sidious and slowly bring a hand to my lightsaber, all the while he continues walking towards me, casting Mara a momentary glance.
"I had plans for Jade as well, she would have been a great asset," he remarks in disappointment. He then glares at me now, his voice gradually rising to showcase his hidden anger. "But now you are no longer just a mere rival: you've done far too much against my Empire. Now, you shall face the ultimate punishment for your insolence!"
Sidious whips his hands to the side, and before I could react I'm lifted off my feet and thrown against a column, grunting in pain as my impact breaks the stone. He holds me there for a moment, and then sends out streams of lightning from his fingers, causing me to scream in pain.
He starts to cackle, but a few seconds later I feel and hear as something heavy stomps nearby, and then a large plasma bolt slams into the floor next to the Emperor. He lets out a yell of pain and rage as the explosion sends him flying away, and I'm released from his grip and tumble to the floor in a heap.
TRACK ONE ENDS
3rd person POV...
Onslaught stomps forwards aggressively, throwing punches with intense ferocity. Elita struggles to avoid or block his strikes, using her forearms in order to cover her face. However Onslaught's relentless attacks eventually get the better of her when he kicks her leg, forcing her to stumble, before punching her in the helm. Elita is thrown to the ground by the force of the punch, grunting in pain. He then reaches down and grabs her around the throat, pinning her against a column and pointing his plasma cannon at her face.
"It's over Elita," he declares, glancing off to the side momentarily. "Those are your friends, am I right?"
Elita struggles against his grip with a scowl, but glances over at his words to see the team sprawled out on the ground through a corridor on the other side of the hall.
"Dragons..." Onslaught mutters thoughtfully, the realization of where they're from entering his head. "Well regardless of them, you can enjoy watching your precious humans die before I kill you myself."
Elita widens her optics in horror as she watches Jarik being thrown against a column with violent force by who could only be the Emperor and Sith Lord. The Emperor then shoots out lightning from his fingertips, causing Jarik to scream in pain as he's struck by it and starts to burn.
"NO!" she cries out.
"What an interesting human," Onslaught remarks about the Emperor.
Growling angrily, Elita brings her helm forwards and slams it into Onslaught's face, catching him off guard. He stumbles back in surprise with a grunt of pain, releasing her from the column. Snarling, Onslaught lunges forwards with his plasma cannon raised with the intent to blow her to bits, but she grasps his cannon arm, wrenching it to the side and pointing it down the hallway as he fires.
The large plasma bolt travels through the air and explodes against the ground right beside the Emperor, sending him hurtling away with a yell of pain and rage.
As Jarik collapses to the ground, Elita shoves Onslaught away from her and then lets out a shout as she jumps for him, kicking her foot out. She catches him in the jaw with her heel, sending him spinning around from the force of the kick, before bringing her fist up in a fierce uppercut. Onslaught is sent into the air with the power of her punch and then slams into the ground, groaning in pain. Jumping up again, she brings her feet down for a landing on his helm, knocking him unconscious with the hit.
Satisfied, Elita then rushes over towards where the others were getting back to their feet, Jarik doing much the same with grunts of pain, his entire body smoking.
"Jarik, are you alright?!" she asks worriedly.
"E-Elita?" he mutters in a daze, looking up at her weakly.
"Come on, we all need to get moving," she replies urgently, noticing Mara to be with them.
"Yeah, yeah just... give me a moment..." he mumbles.
"You... Transformer!"
Elita looks up to see the Emperor getting to his feet a fair amount of distance away, the plasma cannon having thrown them far. Even from this distance, with him already looking ridiculously small compared to her, she could just feel the amount of evil and dark power within him, making her uneasy. The Emperor struggles to maintain balance while also raising an arm, intending to attack once more. Seeing his intent, Elita brings up her energon blaster and fires, forcing him to forgo the attack and jump away desperately. He goes tumbling across the ground from the unsteady movement, which is further upset by Elita's energon blaster.
By this point everyone has gotten back to their feet, the dragons standing up and snapping their jaws uneasily.
"Wh-what happened?" Snotlout asks in a daze.
"I don't know... should we go again?" Tuffnut asks.
"Guys, we need to focus!" Hiccup exclaims, climbing on Toothless.
"Where's the Emperor?" Sabine asks uneasily.
"On our butts if we don't get moving!" Kanan says instantly.
"That sounds like a good idea," Ezra adds meekly.
Everyone quickly gets themselves seated on the dragon's backs to take off once more, and Elita turns to Jarik, Zenna and Mara.
"Come on, get on her back!" Elita urges him. She picks up Mara from the ground and carefully lays her down in Zenna's saddle, giving the dragon a look. "Don't drop her will you?"
Zenna stares back at her as if to say 'do you really think I'm stupid?' With a squawk, Zenna then flaps her wings to fly into the air and then also grabs the dazed Jarik with her claws, causing him to yelp in surprise. He quickly scrambles up the Nadder's leg to sit on her back behind Mara, and the team begins to fly out of there. Elita runs after them, passing by Onslaught along the way as he starts regaining consciousness. She then raises her comlink to call in the rest of the team and inform them of the situation.
"Mara is secured! We need an evac at the at entrance of the palace!" she exclaims.
"We're on our way!" Hera replies.
As they exit the palace and out onto the main steps, Elita glances back to see Onslaught on his feet, starting to run after them with a look of intense fury. Behind him she could hear the outraged roar of the Sith Lord. Out on the steps, Blast Off was still furiously blasting at all of the TIE Fighters trying to take him down, with Vortex assisting him in their scout ship. He does a double take when the dragons fly past him, and turns around just in time to see Elita jumping through the air with a shout, landing a solid punch to his face.
She keeps running after he's knocked to the ground with the hit, and watches as the Knight Hawk, Ghost, and Endeavor come shooting around towards them.
As planned, all three ships fly low to the ground with their cargo bays open while Elita provides cover fire from behind, shooting down any TIE's that try to come close. Zenna and Toothless fly into the Knight Hawk; Meatlug, Blaze and Hookfang fly into the Ghost; Stormfly and Barch and Belch fly into the Endeavor. With all of their passengers boarded the cargo bay doors close up, and Elita jumps up to grasp onto the Knight Hawk, lightly flipping up to land on the top and then magnetically seals her feet to the surface.
"We're all clear team!" she reports.
With the all clear given, all three ships zoom away from the surface and start heading for orbit. Onslaught runs out of the palace with a furious growl and shoves Blast Off along, transforming into his vehicle mode and blasting off after them. Blast Off does the same, and scores of TIE Fighter's move to follow all of the enemy ships in hot pursuit.
"Take out Elita One, NOW!" Onslaught roars over his coms.
Vortex swings around to follow after his companions in the air, shooting any TIE's that get in the way of his pursuit.
Emperor Palpatine finally makes it to the entrance of his ruined palace, looking up into the sky to see all of the ships disappearing further from view. Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he lets out a great roar of fury at the escape, blasting lightning into the air and even cracking the ground around him as the Force swirls in response to his rage.
TRACK TWO: Ion Cannon Chase - Kevin Kiner
Moving further away from the Imperial Palace now gave the Empire no qualms about opening fire. All of the TIE Fighters and Imperial ships let loose their green lasers, intending to shoot down all of the enemy ships, regardless of who they are. Hera, Hayden and Lux fly in overdrive as they struggle to avoid the most of the fire. Elita wobbles heavily in a panic but still retains her stance on the Knight Hawk, crouching low to keep as much balance as possible. Facing backwards, she gets a good view of the Empire and Decepticons chasing after them.
"Just to let you guys know, we've got basically everybody after us," she says.
"YOU THINK?!" Hayden shouts through his comlink.
"Cut the complaints Hayden, and get moving!" Hera exclaims.
"I'd be more worried about me!" Lux adds, swerving the ship out of the way of a proton torpedo.
"I'll keep you covered Lux," Elita states.
With her energon blaster out, she opens fire on their pursuers with blue energon bolts. She takes down several TIE Fighters, but tries to keep her aim mainly focused on the Decepticons, who are in hot pursuit. Onslaught fires his own weapons in an attempt to shoot her down, which also targets the Knight Hawk as well.
"Oh come on!" Lux shouts anxiously.
"I've got him!" Rex replies.
He swivels his turret around and starts shooting at Onslaught, forcing him to back off momentarily. On the Ghost, Zeb also tries to shoot at the Decepticons, but his lasers strike against Vortex's scout ship without any affect.
"Karabast! What kind of ship is that?!" he shouts.
"Don't worry about that, your weapons can't damage it!" Elita replies. "Just focus on the TIE's!"
"That I can do!" Zeb says, doing exactly that.
Up above, the Star Destroyers now begin moving into position, aiming their turbolasers at the enemy ships. With them far away from the Imperial Palace, they can now fire at them without any worry of damaging it.
"We're about to see a lot of flak fellas!" Hera warns, seeing the Star Destroyers taking aim.
Just like she warned, the Destroyers start firing down at them with their turbolasers, unleashing a heavy barrage of large green bolts. The three ships spin around and swerve as much as possible to avoid them, while Onslaught and Blast Off do the same. Vortex just ignores it in his scout ship, but when a heavy laser strikes his ship he stumbles, and then starts to get clear of the blasts as well, the Star Destroyer actually having done some damage.
"Hayden, Lux, on me! We're gonna shoot right by these guys!" Hera exclaims.
Both ships form a line behind the Ghost, and Hera leads them higher into the atmosphere and directly towards the Star Destroyers. Green lasers swirl all around them, and Lux nearly falls out of position as one strikes against the side of the Knight Hawk, causing a bit of damage. Inside the ship R5 rolls over to deal with it while Lux keeps flying, and Rex and Zeb keep shooting at TIE Fighter's/
"Uhh... you know we're going straight at the Destroyer's right?!" Hayden points out uneasily.
Elita looks behind her to see the Star Destroyers drawing much closer as their line shoots straight for them, and then refocuses on shooting at Onslaught and his brothers, trying to keep them off set as much as possible.
At this point they've now breached the upper atmosphere, the sky turning to the dark blackness of space. With a firm grip on the throttle and a determined glare in her eyes, Hera guns it straight at one of the Star Destroyers, giving Chopper a few assignments.
"Sorry Zeb, but I'm having Chopper divert all power to the shields and hyperdrive!" she says. "Lux, Hayden, you should as well!"
"Copy Hera," Lux replies.
With their shields now raised to the maximum, the trio of ships zoom across the bow of a Star Destroyer, moving upwards toward the bridge as its turbolasers continue firing at them. A few shots hit all three ships periodically, causing them to shake violently, but the shields hold most of the damage at bay, although at a significant cost of its own power. Finally, Hera pulls up on the throttle to pass by directly over the bridge tower, Hayden and Lux right behind her. The Decepticons do the same while a few unfortunate TIE Fighter's crash into the tower.
"Hera..." Hayden says anxiously.
"We're all clear! Make the jump!" she shouts in response.
Elita takes a few final shots at Onslaught for good measure, and then grips onto the Knight Hawk tightly as she feels the pull of the ship entering lightspeed, the Ghost and Endeavor doing the same. For a moment she's in completely stunned silence, unable to think properly, until a wide grin stretches across her faceplates as she views the blue clouds of hyperspace.
They really did it... they rescued Mara from the center of the Empire, and escaped flawlessly.
END TRACK TWO
The galaxy was in an uproar.
When news broke out across the holonet that that the Imperial Center of Coruscant was attacked, the Imperial Palace: home of the Emperor no less, everyone was shocked. Nobody ever thought it was possible... and yet it happened. Not only that, but the attack carried out against the Empire proved to be a successful one. People across the galaxy were stunned and in a state of disbelief, despite everybody talking about it. There was just no way it was possible, and yet it clearly was. Footage of the event had been taken, and still images of the damaged palace with a Venator-class cruiser right beside it were more than clear.
The official story the Empire gave out was that rebel terrorists had attempted an assassination of the Emperor, while also trying to kill Imperial citizens and spread fear. Many people bought the story, most of which were either there on Coruscant when it happened, or had some position of power within the Empire itself. The general public themselves don't have much knowledge of the attack aside from what they could see in the holonews, and so were afraid. If terrorists were willing to attack the Emperor's Palace in a direct assault, then why not them?
But many more didn't believe the official story.
So many systems have suffered under the reign of the Empire, resulting in most people to either fear it or hate it. So when they heard of this story, they were both appalled and amazed, quickly becoming emboldened and excited. Even more so when it was revealed that Jarik Shan himself led the attack.
And they rebelled.
SAW GERRERA...
He was amazed when he heard the news. And he cheered it on with every ounce of his being, laughing giddily along with his other Partisans and rebel friends at the entire thing. The Emperor's Palace! Straight up attacked! All because an old Republic cruiser rammed right through the blockade without a care and flew it straight into his palace! If he had access to his own cruiser like that, then he could very much imagine himself doing the same thing.
Of course, Saw knew the real reason why the attack was carried out. He was angry and feeling a small amount of guilt when he received word of Mara Jade being captured by the Empire on their attempt to rescue Ahsoka, who actually turned out to be Lux. He was shocked when Lux appeared and explained everything that happened. But now Jarik retaliated with an assault far stronger and dealing more consequences then the Emperor could ever hope to imagine. Here, the galaxy will see that the Empire can be fought. Here, the galaxy will see that the Empire can be defeated.
Getting himself a drink, he stands up on a table in his base on Jedha, raising his glass high into the air.
"My friends, my good friends!" he cries out. "Today we have witnessed one of the most extraordinary events in history! The Emperor... (there are a lot of boos at the mention of him) ...has been victim to an attack of his own making! He has been humiliated!"
The Partisans all laugh along with him as he says that, cheering Saw on.
"We have seen that the Empire can be defeated, even on the soil of their very own capital!" Saw continues, gaining a few cheers. "Jarik Shan has showed us that these dictators can be defeated, if only we work hard enough. So believe me when I say this, that we will not rest, UNTIL THE IMPERIAL FLAG HAS BEEN TOPPLED FOR GOOD!"
Everyone roars in approval, cheering and shouting and drinking. Saw grins, if appearing a little mad, and takes his own swig of his drink. He may not be the closest of friends with Jarik, but he will not hesitate to fight alongside him, no matter what.
MON MOTHMA...
As a member of the Imperial Senate, she used her voice and authority to try and give reason and attempts of peace for anyone in the galaxy who would listen. Much like Senator Organa, they did their best to prevent harsh laws or oppressive force from being used, and made attempts to convince the Senate of a better alternative for the future of the galaxy. Being a Senator also meant she also has an office on Coruscant.
Mothma watched from her office window as the Republic Star Destroyer crash landed the planet's surface and rammed into the Imperial Palace: the former Jedi Temple and Emperor's home. She was shocked, instantly making the connection as to why this was happening, and who was behind it. As a member of the Senate, she technically isn't supposed to know about Mara Jade being captured, having been informed by Bail, so there was nothing she could legally do to assist the young Jedi. But it would seem that she no longer has to do so, now that Jarik Shan successfully rescued her with his team.
At first she disapproved of such a violent and dangerous act, as using a cruiser like that could have resulted in the deaths of civilians. But after hearing the strategy from Bail, she quickly realized that steps were made to ensure that no civilians were harmed, and she was relieved. Now as the aftermath of the attack makes itself apparent, she fast comes to realize the major benefits of such an operation being carried out.
Since the Imperial capital was attacked, those who disliked the Empire now felt more emboldened than ever before to oppose it. All across the galaxy she and Bail received reports of more volunteers wishing to join the rapidly growing Rebel Alliance. Existing rebel cells made their presence more known, and encouraged others to join the cause as well. She couldn't be more happier to see people getting past their fear of the Empire in favor of seeing real change, and resistance against oppression.
In the Senate she did her part as well. While speaking out to show favoritism towards the incident is sure to get her a death sentence from the Emperor within moments, she points out her views in more subtle, less dangerous ways. In spite of the story being a terrorist attack against the Empire and its citizens, Mothma does her best to remind the Senate that no Imperial citizens were actually harmed during the chaos. Of course she has to show impartiality and 'loyalty' to the Empire, but still tries to spin the narrative around so that it doesn't seem like an attack directed at Imperial citizens, and more so towards Imperial leaders.
Change is coming in the near future, and Mon Mothma couldn't be more hopeful that this Empire will be defeated, and the Republic restored once more.
KASSIUS KONSTANTINE
For the longest time, he just couldn't believe what he was hearing.
A rebel attack against the Emperor on Coruscant? Preposterous! You would be a fool to ever dare consider it! And yet it seems like the real fools were the Admirals who allowed a single cruiser to break through the Imperial blockade and then to make things worse, DOESN'T STOP them from escaping without punishment! Konstantine knows he could most certainly do better than whoever was in charge of defending the Imperial Center.
Any mention of Jarik Shan now gains his interest, even more so than ever before. If there were any doubts about him being the Empire's most wanted criminal, they can now be safetly thrown out the window. If he were to capture or eliminate Shan, then the reward from the Emperor would be well worth any trouble he's had to go through before. He's finally get the respect he deserves, and would quickly move to the top of Imperial command. He'd finally be able to put that irritating 'Grand Admiral,' Thrawn, in his place once and for all!
And he knows he is capable of eliminating Jarik Shan as a threat to the Empire. It's his mission to do so, and his right.
FENN RAU
He's never had much love of the Shan lineage, which is an understatement compared to most Mandalorians. As one of the Protectors, his clan was charged with keeping Duchess Satine during the Mandalorian Civil War. He was too young at the time to participate, but his father fought alongside Clan Ordo and the Sohl's to ensure victory for them. He was a good friend of Marcus Sohl, up until he turned away from Mandalore in favor of marrying a descendant of Revan... and to have a child with her.
Yet now as he hears what happened at the Imperial Center, with Jarik Shan leading an assault to rescue Mara Jade, a newfound sense of respect for the Jedi Knight starts to grow in him. Even though he's a descendant of Revan, and not even related to the red-haired girl, Jarik has shown that he's willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family. He carries a sense of honor and devotion about him, something that makes him seem so much like a Mandalorian himself.
Shan or not, Jarik acts like how a true Mandalorian should, protecting his comrades and engaging against enemies with honor and dignity, even when the odds are so often stacked against him. Not only that, but he also seems to have picked up so many of his traits from Marcus... it's uncanny. Despite that however, Jarik's kindess and gentle heart doesn't sound much like Marcus... he could only have gotten that from his mother. From a Shan.
Perhaps Rau feels like he may be going soft, and forgetting the horrendous crimes committed against Mandalore by Revan and the Shan's. Don't they have a saying that should be judged by more than his lineage?
Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la.
Nobody cares who your father was, only the father you'll be.
If a true Mandalorian respects that philosophy, then why should it be any different for Jarik Shan?
WILHUFF TARKIN
Never before has Tarkin been so angered by the outcome of a battle fought against the Empire. If he thought that Grint and Aresko should be beheaded for failing to apprehend the rebel cell on Lothal, then the commanders in charge of defending Coruscant should be executed in the most painful way possible.
An atrocity like this... it cannot go unanswered!
For the longest time, Jarik Shan has been a thorn in the Empire's side, also stirring up trouble even before it existed! The moment he first met Shan in the Citadel prison all those years ago, he knew he would not like the boy. And he was certainly right: he's been nothing but a troublesome hinderance against the former Chancellor; now Emperor. Him and the Jedi. But now Shan couldn't even be called a hinderance... he's a horrible threat! Someone capable of causing all of this is no mere hinderance but rather someone who has to be dealt with, swiftly and severely.
Tarkin requested that the Admiral's in charge of the Imperial Center's defense be called in for questioning to explain their inexcusable failure. Personally he would've liked them executed, Sloane most of all, as she was the top ranking Admiral. However she was spared the fates of the others, thanks to Thrawn and the Emperor stepping in, for the reason of her simply being physically unable to do anything by the time that Venator cruiser appeared out of hyperspace. She simply couldn't hold any blame for it, and wasn't capable of regaining command until after the terrorists had already escaped; something Tarkin begrudgingly admitted.
Now however, this is proving to be even more disastrous for the Empire than any other attack against some obscure Imperial facility. Insurgents are appearing all across the galaxy, emboldened by Jarik Shan to start their own resistance. He's made the Empire look weak.
With everything going so horribly wrong, Tarkin was left no other choice but to personally question the progress of Project Stardust. The response he received from Director Orsen Krennic was less than desirable, as they still had yet to properly install the weapon's dish, and some of the infrastructure needed more work as well. Furious, Tarkin made sure to remind Krennic in a manner of deadly calm that Project Stardust is needed now more than ever to squash the growing Rebellion once and for all.
But most importantly, Jarik Shan cannot be allowed to continue.
OBI-WAN KENOBI
Many times throughout his exile on Tatooine, he's questioned his competence as a teacher. And many times he feels he failed at doing so; Vader is a symbol of that failure in the broken form of his former student and brother.
And then he thinks about Jarik... his second apprentice. However he went wrong with Anakin, he somehow managed to correct it with Jarik, who did not fall victim to the dark side. Maybe it was his partnership with Ahsoka, which wasn't as secretive or dangerous as Anakin's was with Padme, or maybe it was something else... either way though, he feels as if he failed them both. He failed Anakin for not helping him when he was needed most, and he failed Jarik by leaving him in a galaxy filled with darkness.
So to hear that Jarik, his own apprentice and someone who he might have once considered a son, took the fight directly to the Emperor himself on Coruscant left him shocked. A flurry of thoughts and emotions ran through him, ranging from disbelief, to worry, to elated joy, and unease. But whatever the case for such an attack to be carried out, he knew without a shred of doubt that the galaxy would rally behind him. The Rebellion is continuing to grow, and it'll only be a matter of time before Luke needs to discover his own destiny as well.
However he failed in training Anakin, he did not do so with Jarik. And he couldn't be more proud of the man he's become.
DARTH VADER
He's felt many emotions during his time as a Sith Lord: anger, hate, irritation, sadness, loneliness, regret, and loss. But surprise was very rarely ever one of those emotions.
Jarik Shan, the one who took part in betraying him with Kenobi all of those years ago, was bold enough to launch a full out assault against the Imperial Palace in order to rescue Mara Jade. He used an old Venator-class cruiser in order to do so, using a tactic that he himself used during the Battle of Ryloth years ago. Not only that, but a closer examination revealed that it was his very own flagship from the Clone Wars, the Resolute, which left him appalled. Where in the universe did Shan ever manage to get his hands on that vessel? With all that happened, Vader can't help but find himself a little bit impressed of Shan's accomplishment, respecting him as a worthy adversary.
That respect however pales in comparison to the pure, loathing, rage and contempt he has for the Jedi Knight.
Not only has this past week left him without the tremendous source of power hidden underneath his temple on Mustafar, but now the capture of Mara Jade has been rendered completely useless! And the Empire is left appearing weak as a result of this atrocity! All because of one man: Jarik Shan. He continues to be a source of pain and misery for him, much of which he can't find himself able to reserve for Kenobi, as that coward won't reveal himself. Every time Vader thinks he has the upper hand over him, Jarik retaliates with an even greater intensity. He can't even reveal the truth of what happened on the raid of his Sith temple without Palpatine realizing his attempt of treachery.
He fought and sacrificed to create the Empire so that peace, freedom, justice, and security would finally prevail across the galaxy. His efforts forced him to endure tremendous loss and betrayal because of the Jedi, leaving him in a burned shell of his former self. So to have Jarik Shan constantly trying to usurp and destroy the Empire with every breath he takes is nothing less than infuriating. He's humiliated the Empire, made it look vulnerable and weak to attack, even at its very center.
Because of his sacrifice, Vader takes it personally.
THE EMPEROR
He was considered having the boy as his own apprentice. A Force-wielding descendant of Darth Revan himself would make a powerful Sith indeed, molded from infancy to serve him and him alone. He thought Jarik Shan would've made a great apprentice, possibly even more so than Lord Vader in his current state.
What a fool he was.
The more he thinks about Jarik Shan, the more the Emperor regrets ever considering to have him as an apprentice at all. He should've had that boy killed from the very beginning! Maul should've never been sent to retrieve him, but rather to kill on sight! He should've followed in the footsteps of his Sith ancestors, and eliminated the lineage of the Shan's for good, never to return. Because of that error in judgement, Shan has grown up to become the most dangerous threat to his reign, even more dangerous than Yoda or the entirety of the Jedi Order.
Every encounter he's had with Shan has constantly ended in failure. The more he escapes from him, the more enraged the Emperor becomes... as well as afraid. Any other Jedi would've been dead when faced with him yet Shan still continues to survive, and with each escape he grows stronger... and more dangerous. So for the first time he disregarded toying with Shan and went straight for the kill, showing no mercy for him. He had him right in his grasp, killing him quickly and painfully while he and his friends were helpless to stop him. And just as he's delivering the finishing blow once and for all, that wretched transformer ruins his moment of victory and saves his life.
He loathes to admit it but, the Emperor is starting to feel a sense of fear over Jarik Shan. He simply just will not die.
He's made many mistakes, and has been far too lenient during his battles with Shan, allowing for far too many chances of escape. And the moment he finally unleashes his full power on the Jedi he gains the predictable result in defeating Shan quite easily. But once again he's escaped after an untimely intervention. No longer can he allow Shan the chance to fight. No longer can he hold back on him. No longer can he make mistakes, and no longer can he underestimate the strength and will of the man that is Jarik Shan!
The Emperor has done that far too much in the past... but no longer.
GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN
He's a difficult man to leave bewildered. Not impossible, but difficult. Thrawn accounted for every possible way that Jarik Shan might attempt to rescue his daughter, for he knew he would surely try.
He would've been most likely attempted a form of discreetness, searching for a way to sneak onto Coruscant.
Thrawn was prepared for that.
He would've tried using the Separatist cruiser acquired years ago to gain entry.
Thrawn was prepared for that.
He would've attempted to gain the support of rebel cells, ships, or other groups to help fly past the blockade.
Thrawn was prepared for that.
But when Jarik Shan pops up in front of the Imperial blockade with a Star Destroyer of his own, and uses it to smash straight through the ISD's and get to the surface of the planet? Thrawn was not prepared for that. And as he analyzes an image of the wrecked Venator cruiser lying on the surface with its destroyed bow plunged into one corner of the Imperial Palace, he worked to figure out everything he could. Getting past his bewilderment, he quickly recognized the tactic as being the same one used by Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, where he and Ahsoka Tano broke through the Separatist blockade over Ryloth.
It's a costly strategy, but very effective it would seem. Shan has shown that he's ready to do anything in order to protect the ones he's cared about, and if pushed to the limit, will go to the extremes to use any means necessary. He's smart and skilled, which already makes him dangerous in his own right. Add to that his unpredictability while suffering from emotional turmoil, he's proven himself to be a real force of nature.
Beyond that though, Thrawn turns his attention more to focus on Jarik Shan's allies: indeed they were most certainly not from any rebel cell he's heard of, and they don't seem like they have any familiarity with technology at all. They most likely never even knew life existed outside of their own planet until Jarik Shan arrived... when Shan arrived. Thrawn starts to think more critically, coming to the realization that these allies and dragons of theirs must come from the planet through which Jarik Shan has resided on in hiding. A primitive world, unknown to the galaxy: a perfect hiding place.
This fact alone instantly narrows down Thrawn's search for Shan's hiding place by a huge margin. Before he would've had to search through thousands of possible planets, and unidentified pockets of space deep in the Unknown Regions. Based on the dragon's however, he can see what the world must be like. A planet dominated by dragons and humans, with a lush green environment and lots of water to necessitate their needs. The black dragon clearly suffered an injury resulting in the loss of a tail fin, and the prosthetic sported a symbol which resembled some sort of skull with a horned helmet, much like what a few of their group wore. Perhaps a tribal crest of some sort?
As for the humans themselves, all besides one certainly seemed to be apart of the same tribe, sporting similar clothing styles and fashion. And based on the style of what they wore, he deduced that the planet was most likely a wet environment, with cooler temperatures and lots of moisture, be it from rain or vast oceans, he's unable to figure out with his current information. The purple and dark gray dragon seemed to share a unique connection with Mara Jade, seeming just as desperate to find her as Shan was. Clearly this shows that the Shan's have been hiding on that planet for quite some time, and have become good friends with its native people.
All of this information only quickens Thrawn's inevitable discovery of that planet.
Dxun - Onderon System
He's always put his family first.
He's always put forth his devotion to his clan.
He's always put the one's he cares about ahead of himself.
He's always been loyal to Mandalorian culture.
It's why looking back on the past and what happened to his brother always hurt him so much, no matter how much time has passed. He refused to believe it when he learned his brother was married to a Shan; a descendant of Revan. And it hurt so much to be the one that had to send him away.
Even so, he's been guilty of keeping up with the news of Jarik Shan, who could only be Marcus's son. Once Marcus left, everybody wanted to forget about him erase him from the memory and history of Clan Ordo. He became a complete 'dar'manda,' a disgrace to the very essence of Mandalore. He dishonored them, and turned all of the other clans against them as well, forcing them to suffer the consequences. So they made it their life's goal to ignore any and all mentions of Jarik Shan, who they didn't doubt was the 'etyc' son of Marcus.
But when his brother disappeared off of the face of the galaxy, along with his wife, he couldn't help but feel a sense of worry. He was hurt and angry at Marcus for all that he did, but deep down he still cared for him. Marcus tried to send messages from time to time, but he would always ignore him. And then one day... he just stopped. He never sent a message again. And it was only later that Jarik Shan turned up at the Jedi Temple, which could only mean that something horrible happened to his brother.
He knew he would never get to see him again.
So whether it's out of some misplaced sense of guilt or responsibility, Raman Sohl has quietly kept up with the news regarding his nephew, watching over the years as he grew up to be a Jedi Knight. Heard stories about his encounters with Death Watch and other Mandalorians, saw through the holovids that he became a fierce warrior in his own right. Saw that he's capable of taking the fight to the Emperor himself, and managing to come out victoriously.
Raman wants to hate Jarik Shan so badly: he's a symbol of all the pain and betrayal his brother wrought upon him and the clan. And yet no matter how hard he tries... he just can't.
TRANSLATIONS:
dar'manda - a state of not being Mandalorian - not an outsider, but one who has lost his heritage, and so his identity and his soul - regarded with absolute dread by most traditionall-minded Mando'ade
etyc - dirty, filthy, grimy