Author's Note: Hey, so quick warning: because some characters are separated from each other during this chapter, some scenes actually occur simultaneously (at the same time), so I did my best in labeling them to try and point out which areas are concurrent with each other. Hopefully I made it easy to understand!
Chopper Base - Atollon
3rd person POV...
At the entrance of one of the tunnels leading underneath the rebel base, an Imperial shuttles flies down for a landing whilst squads of stormtroopers start flooding the tunnel. Upon landing, the shuttle's ramp opens to reveal the Second Sister walking out with two purge troopers at her sides. Behind her, Thrawn calmly walks down the ramp with his arms held behind his back, a satisfied smile on his face. He's flanked by six death troopers, who scan the area around them with blasters raised to gun down anyone who would attempt to come close.
"You two, with me. The Jedi are close," Second Sister hisses.
Her two purge troopers acknowledge her with a nod, and the three of them take off down the tunnel at a run, whereas Thrawn comes to a stop at the entrance and pulls out his comlink, his death troopers keeping guard.
"Armored division, hold your position and destroy any rebel ships that attempt to flee," Thrawn orders firmly. "Debark all ground troops and storm the base. And if possible, capture the rebel officers."
With the order given, he turns and continues on into the tunnels with his death trooper guards.
On the large coral branch hanging over the outer perimeter of Chopper Base, Hera, General Dodonna, Cere, Greez, and a few rebels rush forward to the edge, looking down to see a platoon of stormtroopers moving forwards.
"Here they come!" General Dodonna says.
They start shooting their blasters at the stormtroopers running forward into the tunnels beneath them, taking out a few before they take notice. Some of them stop to shoot back in retaliation while the others press on. Cere activates her lightsaber to deflect a few bolts while firing back down with her blaster in the other hand, while the other rebels duck their heads to avoid getting shot.
"General Dodonna, get our tanks loaded onto the Redemption and prepare any remaining ships for takeoff!" Hera exclaims.
"What about the blockade?" he asks in concern.
"If I go out, it's gonna be on the Ghost!" she replies determinedly.
"Imperial troops have entered the base! Imperial troops have entered the—" a rebel officer exclaims over the loudspeaker, before static cuts him off.
"Greez, get the Mantis ready too! I'll get Master Ti!" Cere orders, deflecting another shot.
"I'm on it!" he replies.
The four of them start moving away as fast as they could to carry out their assigned tasks while the other rebels stay behind to keep pushing back the Imperials as best as they could.
The ground shakes as a result of the battle going on all around the base, explosions blasting all around and heavy walkers stomping with powerful steps. In one of the tunnels directly underneath the base, Darth Vader emerges from a cloud of dust falling from the ceiling, marching forward with long strides. Stormtroopers rush through the tunnel around and passed him to clear the way of any possible enemies ahead while he presses on.
Dirt and dust fall from the ceiling of the tunnel every time the ground shakes, but Vader passes through it all without a care, a squad of purge troopers following dutifully behind him.
Kanan and Cal lead the group—consisting of Ezra, Merrin, Rex, Boil, and Zeb—down the tunnels leading up to the base before pausing at a turn, where Imperial chatter and searchlights could be spotted up ahead.
"This way!" Kanan exclaims, turning them around.
They sprint down the tunnels in another direction, reaching a three way intersection. Just at that moment however the Second Sister appears around the corner of the tunnel in front of them, two purge troopers flanking her, and the rebels skid to a stop in alarm.
"Uh, new problem," Ezra says worriedly.
"Cal Kestis!" Second Sister calls out gleefully. "It's been a while!"
Igniting her double-bladed lightsaber, she twirls it around and then dashes forwards in a blur, swinging her saber at him. Cal jumps forward with his own lightsaber up to block her attack, the sabers releasing a shower of sparks as they're held in a blade lock, before Cal shoves her back.
"Keep going! I'll slow her down!" Cal tells the others.
Kanan nods before gesturing for the group to go down the third passageway of the tunnel. The purge troopers sprint after them, electro-staffs buzzing, and he deflects the first trooper's strike with his lightsaber before blowing them back with a Force push and continuing on. After getting back to their feet the purge troopers continue chasing after them while Cal crosses blades with the Second Sister, blocking and parrying her strikes before retaliating with his own, forcing her back with a jab.
"Haven't seen you in a while Trilla," he says, twirling his saber.
"Oh, I've been busy. If it wasn't for that I would've hunted you and Cere down ages ago," she sneers.
"Does Cere's apology not mean anything to you? You could've joined us all those years ago!" Cal exclaims in disappointment.
"And do what? Fight for a hopeless cause like the rest of you?" Trilla scoffs, shaking her head. "No. My master reminded me of what true power is. And power, is all that matters!"
With a yell, she dashes forward again and raises her saber to deliver a fierce overhead blow. Cal backpedals while deflecting her attacks, swinging his lightsaber to counter Trilla's furious assault. She presses him back with swift jabs and speedy swings, using both blades of her lightsaber to add to the danger. Ducking underneath a swipe aimed for his head, Cal twirls around and ignites the second blade of his saber staff, swinging it at her. Surprised, she jumps backward to avoid it, but is suddenly blasted by a powerful Force push from Cal.
Trilla rolls across the ground, stopping herself a few feet away. Growling, she looks up to see Cal slip around the corner as he runs further down the tunnel, and gives chase with an angry shout.
In her quarters, Shaak Ti sits quietly in her hoverchair as she gazes at something held in her hands; the akul headdress once worn by Ahsoka Tano. Listening to the explosions going off outside and feeling the ground shake with each one, she sighs sadly, looking up as someone enters the room.
"Master, it's time to go! Everyone's getting to their ships for evacuation!" Cere tells her.
"Yes... yes it is time," Shaak murmurs, turning around to face her.
"You've got everything packed up already right?" she continues to say, looking around the room. "I don't think we have time to get anything else."
"Everything is taken care of," she assures her, sitting silently for a moment before continuing. "Will you, do something for me?"
Cere pauses, slightly confused before nodding in confirmation.
"When you see him next, can you give this to Jarik?" Shaak asks.
Shaak holds out the akul headdress to Cere, who looks down at it with even more confusion.
"What do you mean? What is that?" Cere asks.
"Jarik knows what it is," she replies softly, lifting her hand. "Please, give it to him for me."
Cere takes the headdress in her hand with a frown, still perplexed by the request.
"Of course, master, but why not give it him yourself...?" she asks, trailing off in horrified realization. "You can't be serious!"
Shaak doesn't respond, a look of resignation on her face. As Cere starts to protest the idea, a chilling voice interrupts them.
"So, you survived?" Vader asks coldly.
Widening her eyes fearfully, Cere whips around to see Darth Vader standing in the doorway to the room, igniting his blood red lightsaber. Scowling, Cere whips out her own lightsaber, its blades a much paler red in color, and lunges at him with a defiant shout. He blocks her attack, forcing his way into the room while Cere grits her teeth as she struggles to keep her saber upright against his strength, glancing back at Shaak.
"Master, go!" she cries.
Vader disengages their blades and slashes his saber down with swift, powerful strikes. Cere blocks them shakily, attempting to retaliate with a forward jab, but Vader bats her blade aside before gesturing with his hand. Cere is thrown aside with a casual burst of the Force, hitting the wall with a groan of pain while Vader advances on Shaak, holding his blade up menacingly.
"You cannot escape death a second time, Shaak Ti," he declares.
"I'm not trying to," she replies calmly, narrowing her eyes at him.
Before he could go any further, Cere jumps at him with a yell, and he whirls around to block her attack with his lightsaber, entering another bladelock.
"Master, please!" she shouts desperately.
Vader forces their lightsabers to the ground and then kicks her away, making her stumble. Before he could swipe his lightsaber down to kill her however, Shaak closes her eyes and stretches out her arms, using the Force to blow him away from her. Vader skids across the floor to the other side of her room with an irritated grunt, crouched down for stability.
"Cere, you must go," Shaak orders.
"Master Ti, no!" Cere protests.
"I'm not giving you a choice," she replies in a sad, but even tone of voice.
Without any hesitation, Shaak lifts her hand and uses the Force to push Cere out of the room. She falls to the ground with a surprised grunt, widening her eyes in horror at seeing she's outside. Panicking, she jumps to her feet and tries running back to her.
"No!" she shouts.
Looking back at her sadly, she gestures with her hand and uses the Force to shut the door, crushing the control console to lock it permanently. Vader stands back up to his feet and glances at the door for a moment, then her.
"You haven't changed at all Jedi," he says in disgust.
"Maybe not. Maybe I have," Shaak replies, turning to look at him. "There is far too much turmoil in you... Anakin."
Vader growls, clenching his fist. Shaak's hoverchair is instantly crushed by the Force, sending her sprawling on the ground with a small grunt of pain. He marches over to her, trembling with rage while she pushes her upper body up with her arms to look up at him.
"That name has no meaning for me, traitor," Vader snarls, pointing his blade at her throat. "I can sense him nearby. Tell me where he is, and I will grant you a swift death."
"Killing him will not give you the satisfaction you think it will," she replies, narrowing her eyes.
"I have no interest in debating with you, Jedi. If you refuse to tell me where he is, you will suffer endlessly until you do," he threatens angrily.
"He is not your key to fulfillment, Anakin," Shaak says with a sad sigh, shaking her head. "In your effort to do what you thought was right, you only made yourself into Palpatine's slave. You're wasting your life with him, when you could be so much more."
Outraged, Vader swings his lightsaber down at her head with a terrible roar. Shaak only stares back at him with a sorrowful expression on her face, unflinching as the bright red color of Vader's lightsaber fills her vision. Anger and rage swiftly changed to bewilderment as he swung his lightsaber through her body, which disappeared on contact.
The only evidence of her existence were the cut up remains of her robes.
Jarik POV...
I glance between the two Decepticons anxiously, unsure of what I just managed to get myself into.
"Megatron," Ironhide growls, whipping out his cannons. "You came all the way out here just for this?!"
"Indeed Ironhide," Megatron says with a sinister chuckle. "I suppose I should thank you for bringing yourself here. Not only will Elita One die today, but I also get the pleasure of ripping out your spark."
"Ain't gonna happen buckethead!" Chromia snaps angrily.
Like Ironhide, Chromia also pulls out her energon blasters and charges at Megatron without hesitation, firing a heavy volley of blue energy bolts at him. Ironhide runs right along beside her, firing at Megatron in the same way. The Decepticon warlord growls as a few bolts hit both of his shoulders, and starts running back at them with a scowl on his face.
"Jarik, stay back!" Elita tells me, moving to join them.
"On your six!" I shout back in warning.
Elita glances behind her, just narrowly ducking back as Onslaught jumps forward to swipe his sword down. I jump away as well as it hits the ground close by, looking up to see him advancing on Elita. He swings his sword a few times, to which she dodges his swings before retaliating with a kick to his chassis that causes Onslaught to stagger back momentarily.
Hearing the chaotic mess from the other three, I turn my head just in time to watch as Megatron slams his fist into Ironhide's gut, sending him flying and bouncing across the rocky ground with grunts of pain, all from a single punch. I widen my eyes in surprise and alarm at the sight, remembering how effectively Ironhide took out Blast Off and Vortex earlier. To see him so easily taken down instead is shocking, and I immediately realize just why Megatron is so feared. Chromia sprints around him while firing her energon blasters, but she doesn't fair much better than Ironhide as Megatron lunges forward to grab her head with his hand, throwing her harshly against the cliff wall.
Having noticed the situation, Elita throws out a punch of desperation that sends Onslaught stumbling back before rushing to the defense of her companions, firing her own blasters at him. None of their shots seem strong enough to damage Megatron's armor though, and I watch helplessly as he instead switches his focus to her. Just like with Chromia, Megatron grabs her head and then spins around to slam Elita against the ground with enough force to go bounce up in a shower of sparks before crashing down again with a groan on pain. Smirking to himself, Megatron unveils a sword on his right arm and marches up to her, raising his sword to strike.
Narrowing my eyes, I take off running while igniting both of my lightsabers, and leap up into the air to throw them at the Decepticon warlord. Megatron pauses in his advance as my first lightsaber passes in front of his head, and then lifts his sword to deflect my second blade off of it. I reclaim both of my lightsabers from the air as I land on the ground beside Elita in a roll, glaring defiantly at him.
"This, is the one who cut out your optic?" Megatron asks Onslaught as he moves up beside him, not impressed.
"I guess my reputation proceeds me then," I reply, sending a grin his way.
"You won't be laughing when I'm finished," he growls spitefully, noticing my grin.
"Jarik Shan," Megatron chuckles in amusement. "Reviving Elita One was a grave mistake for you."
He and Onslaught resume their advance on us, Elita pushing herself to stand with a pained groan while I twirl my lightsabers in anticipation. To all of our surprise, Chromia dashes forward from out of nowhere and tackles him with all the strength she could muster, knocking him back a great distance—a great distance for me anyways. Irritated, he flips forward into a roll to dislodge her before grabbing her arm, swinging around to throw her away with a growl, where she breaks through a coral tree with a pained groan. Megatron wastes no time in sprinting for us again, and Elita stands in front of me protectively with her wrist blades out. Fortunatetly for us, Ironhide jumps into the fray to leap to our defense.
"You're going down buckethead!" he roars.
While saying that, he leapt at Megatron in a full out charge, tackling him so that they both go flying down the hill to our right, rolling and tumbling over each other in a large heap of metal. Meanwhile, Onslaught whips out his plasma cannon and fires at us. Elita and I jump in opposite directions to avoid the deadly shots, and she starts sprinting for him with her blades out. He shoots his cannon at her a few times, missing each shot as she jumps out of the way, and then switches tactic with an irritated growl as he pulls his sword back out, raising it just in time to block both of her wrist blades.
"I'll enjoy gutting you," he snarls.
"Too bad you'll be disappointed!" she retorts.
As she shoves him away, I run around and then jump into the air, throwing my lightsabers once more. Onslaught ducks out of the way of my lightsabers and swiftly fires a shot from his plasma cannon in retaliation. I land on the ground with a surprised yelp, making a desperate leap to get out of the way. The blast of the shot hitting the ground throws me farther away, but I manage to soften my landing, rolling across the ground with a groan of pain.
I shakily push myself up to watch as Elita assaults him with fast, angry swipes of her wrist blades, managing a few light scratches to him. However he ducks underneath a swipe aimed for her head and points his plasma cannon at her point blank. She widens her optics in alarm and jumps backward as he fires, throwing her arms up to protect herself. Most of the explosive shot is deflected off of her wrist blades, but there's still enough force to send her flying at least a hundred feet away, and upon hitting the ground she tumbles backwards down the hill where Megatron and Ironhide are fighting.
"Sister!" Chromia exclaims in worry.
With an angry yell, Chromia charges at Onslaught with her wrist blades, and he backs away with a startled expression of alarm as he holds his sword of to block her strikes, though she manages to land a swift blow to his face with her fist, knocking him back a few steps.
Knowing she can handle Onslaught I reacquire my lightsabers and make my way down the hill at a run to check on the others. I can see her getting to her feet, shaking her head dizzily while Megatron and Ironhide duke it out beside her.
While running over to them, I watch as Ironhide swings his fist to land several blows against Megatron, punching him in the chest and head while Elita turns around, transforming her hands into energon blasters. Unfortunately, Megatron grabs Ironhide's next punch mid-swing, halting him in place with a frustrated scowl. Before Ironhide could do anything, Megatron spins around to yank him off of his feet, still grasping his arm while Ironhide flails around in alarm, before throwing him away with a shout. Ironhide goes flying through the air directly at Elita, who is unable to move out of the way before he crashes into her, sending them both sprawling with pained cries.
I falter in my run with wide eyes, alarmed at the sudden danger they're in as Megatron wastes no time in running towards them, his sword arm held out in preparation to strike.
Stopping close to the bottom of the hill I start to call on the Force, gathering its energy around me for a few seconds before thrusting my arms forward with a shout. The charged up Force push slams into Megatron's left leg just before it hits the ground, sending him sprawling with a startled cry. Hitting the ground on one knee, he looks in my direction with a scowl as I jump through the air, lightsabers out. He swings his sword arm in my direction but I flip to avoid it and land on his shoulders, jabbing my lightsabers down. He growls in pain, twisting around violently to dislodge me, and I jump away to land on the ground, whipping around to face him.
"You wretched human!" he snarls.
He fires a few purple energy bolts from his arm cannon, and I jump backwards to avoid them, landing on a small ledge just behind me. Noticing a bunch of loose boulders sitting around me, I deactivate my lightsabers and close my eyes, calling on the Force once more. Sensing him aiming his cannon to fire at me, I reopen my eyes and thrust my arms forward with a fierce shout, casting several chunks of rock at him—the largest of them being about a third bigger than his head. A series of metal clangs ring out as the boulders slam into him several striking his head while one hits the barrel of his cannon just as it fired. He staggers backward with a painful grunt, mostly hurt by the energy blast exploding right on top of his arm.
Reigniting my lightsabers, I jump forward and throw Ahsoka's green lightsaber at his head once more. However, Megatron suddenly lifts his cannon arm up and fires a shot off, blasting the lightsaber out of the sky. I widen my eyes in shock as I land back on the ground, stumbling briefly upon impact, a horrified look on my face as the destroyed lightsaber falls out of the sky in several large pieces, the green kyber crystal landing in the middle of the pile. I gasp breathlessly for a second, a pang of hurt throbbing in my chest as I stare at the broken lightsaber in anguish.
Megatron's growl snaps my focus back for a second, and I look up in alarm as he slams his foot down on top of me. I just barely manage to jump away from him, although I stagger a few steps upon landing before I'm forced to jump out of the way once more as Megatron stabs his sword down into the ground, stumbling down to lay flat on my back with a groan of pain.
"I'm amused that you thought you stood a chance against me, Jarik Shan," Megatron sneers mockingly, advancing on me.
Still distressed over the destruction of Ahsoka's lightsaber, I don't react in time to properly avoid his next sword swing. Fortunately for me, Elita sprinted up and then launched herself off the ground with a furious yell, slamming into Megatron's back with all the strength she could muster. They go soaring over top of me and through the air, crashing onto the ground several dozen feet away while Ironhide sprints over to assist her.
I disregard the fight between them though in favor of desperately rushing over to the shattered remains of Ahsoka's lightsaber, falling to my knees as I painstakingly stare at the pieces. The lightsaber was shattered into five separate pieces, the exterior completely charred black while the interior side of each piece sparked violently. The kyber crystal still glowed green, although it was dimmer than usual, and with shaking hands I carefully gather the pieces together, the pang of heartache throbbing in my chest.
Mara POV...
After getting together a small force made up of Mandalorians from both Clan Ordo and Clan Wren, we took off through hyperspace for Atollon. Kira and Sabine were with me and R5 in the cockpit of the Knight Hawk, while a team of Mandalorians were waiting in the cargo hold. A small squadron of gauntlet starfighters backed us up led by Fenn Rau, as he easily was the best and most experienced pilot on the team.
We also had another ship to transport a Mandalorian team, led by Crassus and his girlfriend Shae, so that we could attack both Interdictor's simultaneously. The basilisk war droid that Hadrian built having been brought along with it, attached to its hull. Hadrian of course was in the war droid's cockpit, which was now outfitted with a closed cockpit to allow usage of it in space. Yeah, those things can fly too apparently.
"We're about to come out of hyperspace in a few seconds," I inform the others.
"Good. I've been waiting for some action," Kira replies eagerly, opening her comlink. "How you doing over there boys?"
"Other than being cramped in this cockpit? Just fine!" Hadrian responds sarcastically.
"Come on, don't make your bes'uliik feel bad sweetie!" she teases.
"Are you really gonna start talking to each other like that again?" Crassus interrupts in annoyance.
"In all fairness, we kind of do the same thing," Shae sheepishly points out, making us all laugh in amusement.
"I mean, yeah, but at least we're not cringey about it," he argues defensively.
"You guys are crazier than Ezra and Zeb," Sabine scoffs.
"Alright you all, time to focus on your jobs. We're about to come out of hyperspace," Fenn Rau states firmly. "Are both teams ready for deployment?"
"We're ready," Crassus says confidently.
"Same here," Sabine adds in agreement.
"Well, here we go," I say with a shrug, reaching a hand out to the hyperdrive lever. "R5, be sure to jam the Empire's transmissions."
R5 beeps in confirmation, and I pull the lever to take us out of hyperspace. The smokey blue tunnel reverts back into the field of stars, followed by Atollon bursting into our vision. I widen my eyes at the sight of the Imperial fleet hovering in orbit around the planet, shrinking a little bit at the immense size of the Executor, Vader's flagship. I know it's big, but seeing it still puts me off slightly. I quickly spot the two Interdictors on either side of the fleet, however there's another ship that gets my attention...
"What kind of a ship is that?" Shae asks in surprise.
The ship in question is a large cruiser with a strange, almost beast-like design. It's got tons of spines and prongs pointing out of its hull, as well as two glowing areas on the front that look suspiciously like eyes.
"I have no idea..." I say uneasily.
"Doesn't matter. Our targets are the Interdictor cruisers. If we take those out, then my friends on the surface have a shot at escaping," Sabine says firmly, taking charge. "Rau, you know what to do."
"All wings, engage," he says as a response.
Spurring his starfighter onwards, the rest of the squadron moves up to join him as they make a charge towards the Imperial fleet, moving into attack position. At the same time, Hadrian's basilisk war droid detaches from the underside of our other transport ship, taking flight with its own thrusters which emerge from its rear armored wing plates. Crassus's ship turns to make its way for the Interdictor on the right side of the fleet while I fly the Knight Hawk over to the Interdictor on the left.
3rd person POV...
"Vice Admiral, we have ships approaching," an Imperial officer reports.
Sloane turns toward him with a confused frown, cautious of who it could be. Surely it couldn't be rebels coming to the aid of Phoenix Squadron; all communications out of the systems are blocked, and none of the rebels have been able to escape!
"Rebel reinforcements?" she questions warily.
"Mandalorian, by the look of them," he reports.
"Why would Mandalorians be coming here?" she asks, doubly confused.
"Sabine Wren. It has to be!" Governor Pryce says over the comms with a scowl.
"Lieutenant, are you sure rebel communications are being blocked?" Sloane demands.
"Our jamming is still fully functional sir," he confirms.
Sloane frowns, but brushes off the question for now. Whatever the reason doesn't not matter; right now they need to focus on stopping these Mandalorians from assisting the rebels on the planet.
"Very well. Send fighter squadrons to intercept them," she orders. "Governor Pryce, keep a close watch on our Interdictors. I'm certain those will be their main target."
"I'm capable enough to make the decisions as well, Vice Admiral Sloane," Pryce responds.
"Grand Admiral Thrawn appointed me to lead the fleet, Governor," Sloane reminds her with narrowed eyes.
"I'm aware of that," she replies dismissively. "Do not worry, Wren's reinforcements will not succeed."
Squadrons of TIE Fighter's start flying in the direction of the Mandalorian ships, and start to fire on them with their green laser bolts. Rau leads the Mandalorian starfighters as they retaliate with their own barrage of laser bolts, destroying a pair of TIE's in the initial attack. Meanwhile, Crassus's team flies in their transport ship over to their chosen Interdictor cruiser on the right side of the fleet while Mara flies the Knight Hawk towards the cruiser on the left.
"R5, patch Dad in will ya?" Mara asks.
R5 beeps in confirmation, and starts opening a frequency to Jarik. However after a few moments he beeps in frustrated confusion as nobody picks up.
"What do you mean you can't contact him?" she demands incredulously.
"If he's not answering, then contact Hera," Sabine suggests.
"Fine. Do it R5," Mara nods in agreement.
SCENE A (below) - concurrent with Scene B
Having made it up to the area beneath the base, the AT-AT walkers start shooting up at the large branches, heavy blast bolts streaking through them in an attempt to destroy the rebel base. Standing in the command center with General Dodonna and any rebels still left, Hera looks up upon noticing the approach of a large group of people, a wide smile of relief stretching across her face.
"Kanan, you made it! What happened with your friend?" she asks.
"Oh, don't worry. I think he's coming," Kanan replies.
"You think?" Ezra asks incredulously.
"Phoenix Leader, do you read me?" a voice asks into their comlink.
Hera and the others all pause for a second they recognize the voice, quickly becoming surprised.
"Sabine?!" Hera asks in astonishment.
"Mara and I brought help. We're taking out the Interdictors!" Sabine explains.
"Not that I'm complaining, but how did you know we were in trouble?!" Ezra asks in bewilderment.
"What do you mean how did we know? My Dad told me," Mara replies, confused.
"But he wasn't—" Hera starts to ask before scoffing in exasperation. "Never mind, I'll take it. We'll see you up there!"
"Okay, this might be our only chance. Let's move!" Kanan urges.
"We're still missing Cal!" Merrin reminds them.
At that moment, Cal comes running around the corner, stopping with a grin on his face.
"Alright, I'm here! We ready to go?" he asks.
Cere also comes running forward from within the base, stopping with them as well, although she doesn't look happy at all. Quite the opposite in fact.
"Cere? What's wrong?" Greez asks, noticing instantly that she was upset.
"Not now. We have to go, now! Vader's gonna be here any second!" she snaps in reply.
"So is Trilla," Cal adds, startling Cere for a second.
"Then we better get going!" Kanan urges.
As a group, they all take off running through the base toward the landing pad where their ships are waiting, though Ezra notices they're missing a few people.
"Looks like the family's together again," Kanan jokes to Hera.
"Let's try and keep it that way," she replies firmly.
"Jarik's still out there!" Boil reminds them in concern.
"Statement: He can handle himself. He's a Shan," HK-47 says dismissively.
"And what about Master Ti?" Ezra adds worriedly.
Cere grimaces, but before anyone could respond a spinning red lightsaber hurtling through the air in their direction has Cal whipping around to smack it away with his own blue lightsaber, watching as it goes spinning back into the hands of Trilla.
"We gotta keep going!" he exclaims.
Just then, a large explosion from farther back in the base gets their attention, which occurred as a result of the Imperial forces destroying the shield generator.
"There goes our shield!" Zeb warns them.
True to his word, the blue dome of the shield sputters and fades away as it dies, exposing Chopper Base to attack from the sky. Explosions engulf much of base on the ground as stormtroopers and TIE Fighter's set to work in destroying everything. TIE Fighters and a-wing starfighters fly around, firing at each other while the rebel ships start to take off in a desperate attempt at escaping the doomed base. Several freighters and transports take to the air as well as the Munificent frigate, which slowly rises into the sky.
Taking aim, the AT-AT walkers lift their cannons up and fire at the fleeing transports. The Redemption is too big for them to damage effectively, but one of the transports is struck on the underside of its hull, sending it plummeting to the surface. The transport crashes in a tremendous explosion, pausing the group in their tracks as they cover their eyes from the brightness of the fireball, despair filtering in. Once they look back up, they widen their eyes in alarm to see themselves surrounded by death troopers and purge troopers, all of them aiming their weapons.
They're so close to their ships... and yet so far.
The rebels all group together in a circle, scowling in helpless frustration at being surrounded. Trilla moves up to join the purge troopers with her lightsaber activated, smirking underneath her mask; Cal and Cere both glare at her, the latter however appearing more distraught.
"I knew I would catch up to you eventually," Trilla taunts. "It seems today is the day."
On the other side of the circle, the familiar but terrifying sound of artifical breathing gets the rebels attention, and they look on with fear as Darth Vader appears out of the smoke, lightsaber ignited and casting blood red light around him. Beside the Sith Lord, Thrawn also walks up in a calm manner after appearing out of the smoke, smiling in satisfaction.
"And now, Captain Syndulla, I will accept your formal surrender," he requests in a casual tone, still smirking at them. "Or you will watch your friends perish, one by one."
"Beginning with the Jedi," Vader declares coldly.
"Monster!" Cere snarls hatefully.
She, Ezra, Kanan, and Cal all whip out their lightsabers in response, holding them up defensively while the purge troopers take a step closer, electro-staffs crackling dangerously with electricity. The rest aim their blasters and blaster pistols at the surrounding death troopers, not liking their odds: at least a dozen of them are scattered around the area, all aiming their blaster rifles at them. After a few moments of silence Vader starts moving forward, lightsaber still held down low towards the ground. Boil glances over at Vader, fear and bitter sadness running through him at knowing this used to be the great Jedi General, Anakin Skywalker.
"I know he is here, Jedi. Where is Jarik Shan?" Vader demands.
"You think we'd tell you that?" Ezra scoffs, glaring.
"If you will not speak, then you will join Shaak Ti in the Force," he growls.
The rebels all widen their eyes in shock, a few letting out horrified gasps while Cere trembles with rage. Letting out a roar she charges at Vader, only for him to throw her back with a casual gesture. Greez and Merrin help her back to her feet while the other three Jedi glare at Vader in a mixture of anger and grief, fidgeting with their lightsabers anxiously.
"Using the dark side again, Cere? My, how little you've changed," Trilla mocks, sneering at her.
"Just keep talking, and I'll show you my dark power," Merrin threatens coldly.
"Your time is running out, Captain Syndulla," Thrawn warns with a frown, reaching for his blaster pistol as he steps toward them.
"You already know my answer!" Hera scowls in reply.
Just then, a booming clash of thunder echoes through the sky as several bolts of lightning flicker in the distance, dark storm clouds swiftly gathering above them. The four Jedi all look up at the sky upon sensing the Force gathering with immense power around them, unease filtering through them. Trilla also loses her gleeful sneer and looks up nervously, afraid but unsure of why she felt that way. Vader too could sense the change in the Force, tilting his head upwards with a scowl. A powerful presence in the Force lurked at the edge of his sight, similar in its immensity and raw power to whatever it was that caused 'the Storm' on Dxun. Could it... is it the same?
"Do you fear the storm, Master Jedi?" Thrawn questions, noticing the reactions of the four Jedi.
"I think it'd be wise for you to fear the storm too Thrawn," Ezra taunts, a small grin on his face as he realizes what's happening.
Thrawn smirks at him in amusement, failing to notice Trilla and Vader's reactions as he did so.
"No... this can't be!" Vader growls in alarm.
Moments later, a massive lightning bolt strikes down very close by, wiping the smirk off of Thrawn's face as he stumbles forward, instinctively covering his head as he did so. Everybody present turns to look at the sky, watching the dark clouds swell and move over them far faster than any natural storm could, with massive lightning bolts striking down every few seconds. The wind starts to pick up, and the rebels crouch down while the Jedi deactivate their lightsabers.
"Hang on to something!" Kanan cries out in warning.
Trilla and Vader also deactivate their lightsabers, the former back up with a growing sense of fear while Vader whips around to glare at the sky, tensing up as he pushes against the wind, his cape flapping.
"What Jedi devilry is this?!" Thrawn hisses, holding an arm up.
The Grand Admiral starts to feel a rare moment of fear as he recognizes this to be an unnatural storm, remembering what happened with 'the Storm' on Dxun. From the center of the swirling mass of black clouds, a pair of great, glowing eyes open to glare down at them, shining gold.
"I AM THE BENDU!" the great Force wielder declares, his voice echoing across the landscape.
"What is that?" Zeb asks incredulously.
"Relax, he's on our side," Ezra tells him with a grin.
"I wouldn't say so if I were you," Kanan warns him, much to their confusion.
"Uh, Kanan?" Hera asks fearfully.
"I told you my friend was coming!" he replies.
"This is your friend?!" Cal asks incredulously.
"I BRING DEATH!" the Bendu roars.
Moments later, massive lightning bolts arc out of the clouds and down all across Chopper Base, leaving great explosions in their wake. Two bolts of lightning arc down and strike a pair of AT-AT walkers, destroying them effortlessly. The base also suffers from the Bendu's wrath, with more lightning bolts striking down and destroying everything in their path, regardless of which side they're on. Ezra widens his eyes with a new sense of bewilderment and terror, confused as to why the Bendu is attack them as well.
"Kanan! What did you say to him?!" he screams in an attempt to be heard over the roar of the wind.
"Come on!" Kanan urges.
Thrawn, Trilla, and the Imperials all start to scatter in their panic while Kanan leads the rebels to cover, further beneath the protection of the large coral branches. Vader raises his arms in front of his face for a second as a dust cloud blows past him, but otherwise doesn't move from his position, trembling with outrage and disbelief as he glares up at the sky.
SCENE B (below) - concurrent with Scene A
Chromia rolled backwards to avoid the sword swiping sat her, and Onslaught charges after her. However she pops up with her energon blasters and fires furiously at him, forcing him to raise his arms to protect himself. She leaps into the air and then kicks her foot out, however Onslaught sidesteps her attack and punches her in the back, sending her sprawling.
"What's the point of fighting, Autobot? You may as well accept that Elita One's fate is sealed," Onslaught sneers.
"Not gonna happen 'Con!" Chromia snaps angrily, jumping to her feet.
"Oh it shall. Lord Megatron will send you all to the Well of Allsparks," he replies smugly.
"Then you're coming with us, fragger," she retorts.
Whipping out a wrist blade on one arm with her energon blaster on the other, she sprints at Onslaught once more, firing blue energon bolts at him. He ducks away from them with a growl and rushes at her as well, charging his plasma cannon and firing. Chromia jumps to flip over the energy blast and then swings her wrist blade down with a shout, which Onslaught blocks with his sword.
Close by, Ironhide and Elita both sprint around either side of Megatron to flank him, firing their energon blasters as they did so. Megatron evades their shots with a scowl on his face, retaliating with shots from his own cannon. Elita jumps up and off of a coral tree to avoid the blasts while Ironhide charges at him with his fists at the ready. He throws a punch for Megatron's helm, but Megatron swiftly counters him by grabbing his arm and then flipping him over his shoulder, slamming him on the ground before kicking him away.
Elita jumps down at him with her wrist blades out, slashing at his head. Megatron raises his sword to block her blow, and she presses off of him to land on the ground behind him. She ducks underneath a sword swipe as he whirls around, and then raises her arms to block a downwards slash from Megatron's sword with both of her blades, groaning from the effort of holding him back.
"Your destruction will go a long way in ensuring the defeat of the Autobots!" Megatron taunts.
Elita pushes him back with a defiant growl, kicking her foot out at his knee. However he steps away from her kick and then raises his hand to grab her arm as she aims a slash for his head, holding her there with a smirk on his face.
"Imagine the look on Optimus Prime face when he sees your severed head on a stick," the Decepticon warlord sneers.
"Not gonna happen Megatron!" she says defiantly.
With her arm still held in his grasp, she jumps up to kick him in the chest, freeing herself. She lunges forward to attack him once more, but Megatron side steps her and then throws an arm out, punching her in the side so that she goes flying. Megatron's grin disappears however when he's suddenly rammed into the side of the cliff by Ironhide, grunting in pain.
"Eat scrap, Megatron!" Ironhide shouts.
He kicks him harder against the cliff while jumping backwards, sprinting forwards to ram him yet again while Megatron recovers. However as he launched himself at the Decepticon warlord, Megatron simply swings his arm in a backhand, sending him flying away.
"You would do well to remember that I was once a gladiator in the pits of Kaon!" Megatron proclaims.
Ironhide grunts in pain as he pushes himself back to his feet, spitting out a glob of energon.
"I don't give a frag," he scowls.
Lifting his arm, Ironhide starts shooting heavy rounds from his cannon while Megatron sprints forward at him. He attempts to throw out a punch when he gets too close, but Megatron smacks his arm aside and then slams his fist into Ironhide's helm, making him stumble backward. Ironhide attempts to step back to gain ground, firing his cannon once more, but Megatron ducks away from the shots and then runs around him to gain momentum, pushing off of the ground with a yell to swing his foot up and kick Ironhide in the chest, sending him soaring through the air to slam against a coral tree, falling to his hands and knees with a groan of pain.
At the same time, Chromia goes flying down the hill to land beside Elita with a pained grunt, having been hit by Onslaught's plasma cannon. Megatron observes the defeated Autobots for a moment, glaring at Ironhide and Chromia in contempt as he turns to refocus on Elita, who is slowly getting to her feet. Just then, Jarik comes running forward on a ledge situated on the side of the cliff and jumps off of it, his blue lightsaber ignited in his hand as he soars through the air towards Megatron's back.
Jarik's newfound anger and determination as a result of Ahsoka's broken lightsaber swiftly turns to surprise and panic as Megatron whips around with a backhanded swing of his sword arm, aimed directly at him. He desperately holds his left arm out in front of himself protectively, also seeking to create a Force shield around himself when he's hit by Megatron.
The massive cybertronian blade crashes against Jarik's Force shield, which was strong enough to deflect the sharpened edge of the blade. However that doesn't prevent the flat side of the blade from hitting him full force, and he's struck with a sudden surge of intense pain. Because his left arm was held up to protect himself, the flat of Megatron's blade crashed into it, the cybertronian alloy easily proving stronger than the prosthetic, resulting in the arm snapping and breaking apart into a mangled wreck; his left collarbone also suffers a break as a result.
Jarik goes flying through the air, only just barely managing to soften his fall slightly before he hits the ground painfully, rolling across the dirt several feet before coming to a stop, moaning in pain and drifting in and out of unconsciousness. His lightsaber fell out of his grip while he was hit, and what was left of his arm was a broken, bent and mangled mess of metal bits and wires.
"Jarik!" Elita shouts in horror.
"Such a pity," Megatron scoffs, smirking at her. "I sure hope the Andromeda galaxy did not depend on him too much."
Elita sprints over to Jarik's fallen form, crouching down beside him with a panicked look on her face, well aware that he couldn't take such a hit from Megatron like she, Ironhide and Chromia could. Noticing that he was clearly hurt, she looks up to glare at the two Decepticons as they stalk over towards her with satisfied smirks on their faces. Far behind them, Ironhide and Chromia are slowly getting back to their feet.
"You're going to pay for that!" Elita snarls, pointing her blasters at Megatron.
"That insect had it long coming," Onslaught retorts dismissively.
Jarik's eyes flicker weakly as he looks up at the sky with blurry vision, barely making out the sight of dark storm clouds approaching, as well as a powerful presence in the Force. His eyes then close as he falls unconscious.
"Megatron!" Ironhide growls, staggering to his feet. "I'm not through with you yet."
"But I am, Autobot," Megatron sneers. "Tell me, should trust that Optimus will feel Elita's death? Or should I let you live to deliver the news?"
"You piece of slag!" Chromia hisses furiously.
Onslaught grins in satisfaction, charging up his plasma cannon as he steps toward Elita and Jarik, while Megatron watches with in satisfaction, grinning smugly at the other two. Elita scowls defiantly at him, stepping protectively in front of Jarik as he aims his cannon at them, the barrel glowing red.
Just before he could fire his cannon however, a huge lightning bolt suddenly strikes the ground between the two Decepticons, causing them to stagger with surprised shouts, and Onslaughts shot goes wide. The wind starts to pick up, and up in the sky a pair of great, glowing eyes emerges from the dark clouds above them, catching the attention of all five cybertronians.
"What the slag?!" Onslaught says incredulously, taking a step back.
"I AM THE BENDU!" a great voice declares, booming across the landscape.
The cybertronians all stare at the sky with wide optics, amazed, astonished, but also slightly fearful.
"I BRING DEATH!" the Bendu roars.
All around them, powerful lightning bolts strike the ground, forcing the cybertronians to scatter in order to avoid being hit. Elita places her body over Jarik's prone form to protect him from the lightning, however the lightning seems to be avoiding them, striking everywhere else instead. Onslaught was not so lucky however, as in his attempt to attack Elita once more he was struck by a great beam of lightning. He roars in agony as the lightning bolt arcs through his body, even his cybertronian alloy proving pointless. When the lightning bolt disappears, his lifeless husk falls down with a heavy clang, a large smoking hole going through his head and chassis.
Megatron stares as Onslaught's metal husk in complete disbelief, his optics wide with astonishment and fear. He lets out a long yell of frustration and rage, ducking to avoid another bolt of lightning aimed at him while Ironhide and Chromia both sprint under the protection of a large coralline formation, not being spared of the Bendu's wrath either.
Seventh Fleet - Atollon
"Dad! Dad, do you read me?" Mara asks urgently.
"He'll get them out, Mara. We've got a job to do," Sabine tells her.
"You ready kid?" Kira asks Mara.
"To go into space? As ready as I'll ever be I guess," she replies with a shrug.
'At least I'll have a spacesuit for this,' Mara thinks to herself, remembering that one time years ago when Jarik was blasted out into space. Sabine and Kira both put their helmets on and get up from their chairs, while Mara glances down at R5.
"Alright buddy, get us onto that Interdictor," she tells him.
R5 beeps in confirmation, taking control of the ship while Mara stands up to join the others in the cargo hold. On the other side of the battlefield, Hadrian crashes his basilisk war droid through a TIE Fighter, scoffing in amusement.
"These guys are morons!" he calls out.
"Well who can blame them for failing to fight a bes'uliik?" Jag sarcastically replies through the comms.
"Alright everyone, time to do so damage," Crassus says.
"You got it Crassus!" Phanaa responds enthusiastically.
Hadrian pilots his war droid down towards the Interdictor, landing on its hull while the gauntlet transport ship's bottom hatch opened up, allowing its complement of Mandalorian warriors to jump out and land on the hull. Crassus, Shae, Jag, and Phanaa led their strike time of Clan Ordo warriors, assisted by Hadrian and his basilisk war droid.
"Okay guys, according to the Wren's the best way to destroy the ship is by damaging those gravity well projectors!" Crassus calls out.
"So, we start blasting?" Jag asks.
"We start blasting, yup," Hadrian confirms with a nod. "It'll cause a chain reaction that will—"
"Blah blah blah, no more technical talk! I want to shoot something!" Phanaa interrupts.
Shae glances over at Crassus with an amused shrug, and he shakes his head in exasperation. Meanwhile, the other strike team prepares themselves for their own assault, the Knight Hawk's cargo bay doors opening to give them all a clear view of the Interdictor. Mara was wearing a black EVA suit to protect herself from the vacuum of space. Once they're in range, she, Sabine, and Kira all jump out of the ship and onto the hull of the Interdictor cruiser while the rest of their team—including Tristan, Zhianaa, and Krunald—follows them down.
"Ready your jetpacks and target those gravity well projectors," Sabine orders.
"Hey, I don't have a jetpack!" Mara says with a frown.
"Yes you do! They're those little thrusters!" Kira informs her, glancing back with a grin, hidden by her helmet. "They're kind of adorable."
"Oh you did not just use that word with me," she scoffs irritably.
Kallus pulls his arm away from the stormtroopers holding him with a scowl, but they only restrain him more harshly, while Governor Pryce scoffs in contempt.
"Governor, the enemy fighters have deployed strike teams onto the hull of our Interdictors!" an Imperial officer reports.
"What?" Vice Admiral Sloane demands, her hologram turning around to face them. "Governor Pryce, you assured me our Interdictors would not be in jeopardy!"
"They aren't! We won't lose to this rabble!" Pryce snaps irritably, turning to give out orders. "Commodore Faro, I want those insurgents dealt with! Immediately!"
"Of course, Governor," Faro replies neutrally, hiding her annoyance with Pryce.
"And will someone get this blasted machine, off of my ship?!" Captain Brunson exclaims, referring to the basilisk war droid on her cruiser.
Armed with a blaster pistol, Mara bounces forward across the Interdictor's hull with the Mandalorians as they all fire at the gravity well projectors, blue sparks flashing with each laser bolt that strikes the side. Just then, Mara looks up above them upon sensing something, widening her eyes in alarm at the sight of rocket troopers soaring through space in their direction.
"We got trouble guys!" she warns the team.
The Mandalorians pause in their attack on the cruiser as the rocket troopers start blasting at them, flying around swiftly to intercept their path. The strike team is forced into a defensive circle as they get shot at from all sides, and Mara ignites her blue lightsaber to deflect red laser bolts aimed at her, shooting back with her blaster. Krunald turns slightly so that his shoulder is angled upwards, flinching as a blaster bolt bounces off of the tough shoulder pad.
"They've cut us off!" Kira scowls in frustration, ducking her head away from a red bolt.
Onboard the bridge of the Nemesis, Soundwave quietly stands in front of the main computer as he observes the space battle going on, silent as ever while also not showing any sign of movement in his stance. Several different monitors were showing different points of view of the battle: Laserbeak gave him a visual of the battle occurring on the planet's surface below; as well as the unnatural lightning storm.
He tilts his head slightly as he glances between the different visual feeds, recording everything that he saw for later reference.
SCENE C (below) - concurrent with Scene D
Chopper Base - Atollon
The Bendu continued to unleash his wrath, lightning striking all around and slowly but steadily destroying everything in his wake, rebels and Imperials alike. Pinned down behind several large storage creates, both sides could only watch helplessly without any clue as to what to do while the Bendu reigned terror.
"LEAVE THIS PLACE!" his voice booms. "I AM THE LIGHT! I AM THE DARK! I AM THE BENDU!"
Vader takes a step back as he senses an attack coming, clenching his fists. A lightning bolt arcs down from the clouds in his direction, and Vader raises his hands to create a force shield that deflects the bolt's trajectory to hit beside him, coincidentally blasting a death trooper instead. Vader stumbles from the resulting explosion but remains out in the open, whereas Thrawn and Trilla were hiding behind cover with their troopers, lost on how to proceed; Thrawn glares at the sky with gritted teeth, frustrated on not knowing what to do in the face of such unknown power. Meanwhile, Kanan turns to the others after listening to Bendu's declaration, waving them onward.
"You heard him! Make for the ship!" he exclaims.
Agreeing without a second thought, the rebels rush out from behind their cover and start heading towards their ships at a dead sprint, running towards the Ghost and Mantis respectively. Vader notices their escape attempt and turns around to give chase, but roars in outrage as he's thrown aside by a stray bolt of lightning. Trilla covers her head with a fearful cry as another lightning bolt strikes close by; Thrawn looks on with narrowed eyes as one of his death trooper guards starts blasting away at the Bendu in his panic, observing to see if the bolts cause any noticeable affect.
As soon as the rebels are inside their ships, they waste no time in lifting off and the ground and into the air, joining the remaining transports as they starting flying away from the doomed base as fast as possible. However the Bendu seems to take notice, the dim silhouette of his head following their path.
"KANAN JARRUS! JEDI KNIGHT!" he roars.
Moments later, a lightning bolt crashes down on top of the Ghost, knocking it down. Hera grunts in surprise as she lifts the ship back into position, fortunate that the Ghost's shields managed to hold up, although the blast severely weakened them.
"This is your friend?!" she demands.
"Uh... I might've made him angry," Kanan admits sheepishly.
"Angry?! You straight up pissed him off Kanan!" Ezra exclaims incredulously. "What did you even do to make him this mad?!"
"Can we talk about this later?" he retorts defensively.
Hera flinches as another lightning bolt strikes nearby, glancing over sadly as she watches one of their a-wings getting struck down by the lightning storm. Fortunately they manage to flee from the worst of the storm, the skies clearing up a bit, while the Autobots also join up with them in their own ship.
SCENE D (below) - concurrent with Scene C
Megatron, Ironhide and Chromia were all hunkered down under whatever protection they could find from the deadly lightning storm—the Autobots separate from Megatron of course—while Elita still seemed to not need to do so, as lightning wasn't striking in her vicinity. Whatever the reason was, Elita didn't care, she was just grateful she didn't have to worry about Jarik or herself getting fried like Onslaught.
"LEAVE THIS PLACE!" the Bendu says, voice booming with power. "I AM THE LIGHT! I AM THE DARK! I AM THE BENDU!"
"Ironhide! Chromia!" Elita shouts loudly to be heard over the wind. "We need to go now!"
The two Autobots glance at the sky and then each other before nodding in agreement. They transform down into their vehicle modes and stand driving at full speed, swerving around bolts of lightning on their way to the ship while Elita carefully picks Jarik up in her hand, transforming around him so he's placed in the interior of her own vehicle mode before driving after her companions.
Megatron watches furiously as the Autobots start to flee, a bolt of lightning striking down next to his hiding place. Glaring at the sky, Megatron lets out a terrible roar of outrage before running out into the open and sprinting after them. Immediately he is besieged by great bolts of lightning, and he barely manages to jump out of the way of each bolt, quickly losing ground as a result. Enraged, Megatron swiftly transforms into his jet mode and takes to the skies to better avoid the lightning, all the while scanning the landscape with seeking optics for sign of the Autobots.
Ironhide, Chromia, and Elita drove through the Atollonian wilderness, Elita still not an apparent target of the lightning bolts, so they all stick close to each other to better avoid being hit. Reaching the top of the canyon where their ship sat untouched at the edge of Chopper Base's landing pad, Ironhide and Chromia waste no time in transforming back to their bipedal modes and open the door, rushing inside while Elita drives in after them. The two sit down in the pilots seats while Elita carefully transforms back into her bipedal mode, still holding Jarik's unconscious body in her hands.
"What a pit-spawned day this has been," Ironhide grumbles.
"How the frag did Onslaught get buckethead here?" Chromia asks incredulously. "How did he get through the Hive blockade?!"
"To slag if I know," he scoffs in reply.
The ramp closes up as the ship takes off into the air, and they start to fly away in the direction of the other fleeing rebel ships.
"KANAN JARRUS! JEDI KNIGHT!" they hear the Bendu call out.
"Looks like one of your buddies decided to upset this spawn of Unicron," Ironhide scoffs.
"I suppose," Elita replies warily, glancing worriedly at Jarik once more. "Jarik needs a medic as soon as possible."
"How is he?" Chromia asks.
"Bad. But I don't know how to help him," she groans helplessly.
"Crazy fragger," Ironhide mutters. "Don't worry Elita, we'll get him to the rebels."
"We've got another problem 'Hide," Chromia points out in alarm.
He looks at the ship's scanner to see a bogey on their tail: Megatron, chasing after them in his jet mode.
"Mother Fragger," he grumbles.
Megatron starts to fire at the Autobots with his energon blasters, bolts of purple shooting through the sky at them. A few hit the back of the ship, causing it to shake slightly as a result. Elita makes sure she has a secure hold on Jarik as the ship lurches around in Ironhide's efforts to avoid being shot. Much to their surprise and relief however, a bolt of lightning strikes Megatron directly, sending him spiraling out of the sky and to the ground far below.
"HAH! Eat that mudslogger!" Ironhide roars with laughter.
"How about you worry about not getting us struck down by lightning too?!" Chromia admonishes him.
"Frag off, Chromia, let me have a laugh," he retorts.
Back at Chopper Base, the Bendu's storm was only becoming more intense as further destruction swept across it, with practically everything set up for the base having exploded at this point. Thrawn staggers back a few steps, staring up at the sky with wide eyes, frightened and infuriated.
"LEAVE THIS PLACE!" the Bendu roars.
Growling with fury at his interruption, Vader takes a step forward and then reaches his arms out towards the sky, bringing the dark side of the Force under his command. Letting his power in the Force grow, he then starts to direct it on the origin of the creature's presence, seeking to dominate it utterly. The Bendu lets out a terrible roar of anger, the silhouette of his head in the clouds becoming more apparent as Vader tries to force him into submission with his own power in the Force. Thrawn takes notice of the Bendu's silhouette, a thought entering his mind.
Despite Vader's efforts to dominate the creature however, a lightning bolt strikes down in front of him, and he's blasted away with a startled yell to hit the ground on his back, the Bendu having won their contest of power. However, Thrawn comes to a decision and makes his move, glaring at the glowing eyes of the Bendu with determination.
"Concentrate fire on the center of the storm!" he orders his forces.
The death troopers, purge troopers, and remaining AT-AT's all start firing at the glowing eyes of the Bendu simultaneously, a hail of red laser bolts arcing up into the sky. The Bendu's silhouette starts to become more clear as he shakes his head around in surprise and pain, lashing out with bolts of lightnings. One of the AT-AT's is struck by the lightning bolt and brought down, however the rest of the Imperial forces maintain their fire.
Trilla slowly walks out from her hiding place to gaze up at the sky while Vader forces himself back to his feet, calling on the dark side of the Force and bending it to his will. Lifting his arms up once more, Vader resumes his efforts to overpower the great creature with his own mastery of the dark side, roaring with fury in his efforts to do so. Eventually, the combined might of Imperial weaponry and Vader's Force attack takes its toll on the Bendu and, with a final cry of pain, the silhouette of his head falls into nothingness.
In the distance, the clouds open up to reveal sunlight as a large fireball falls down to the planet's surface. Vader lowers his arms while Thrawn narrows his eyes at the sight of the fireball, determined to figure out the mystery of this great Force entity. Although he does not understand the Force, one of his great suspicions is that this creature was also the one who caused 'the Storm' back on Dxun: the use of lightning most certainly must be a connection, although there is still much he does not know, not to mention some things don't add up to their similarity either.
In the wilderness farther away from the base, a smoking metal hand slowly reaches up to the edge of a crater, and Megatron pulls himself out with a barely contained snarl of fury, his silver chassis blackened and scorched by the lightning bolt. He standings to his feet, glaring up at the sky, realizing that the Autobots have escaped his grasp. Clenching his fists, Megatron throws his arms out wide and releases a terrible scream to express his rage.
Seventh Fleet - Atollon
Hadrian fires his basilisk war droid's arsenal of weaponry at the Interdictor's gravity well projectors while the rest of the Mandalorian team works on dealing with the rocket troopers that had flown out to face them. A trio of rocket troopers soar in Hadrian's direction, armed with rocket launchers, but Crassus and Shae both flew up to intercept them, shooting them down before they had the chance to shoot.
"Thanks man!" Hadrian calls out.
"No problem scrawny!" Crassus replies, and he sighs in exasperation.
Jag and Phanaa both charge head on at a few rocket troopers, easily besting them in flight with their own jetpacks to take them out with a few well aimed kicks and punches, shooting them afterwards for good measure.
"Do they actually think they can defeat us in combat while flying?!" Jag jeers with laughter.
"Well, it's not like Imperials were ever smart!" Shae comments, blasting another rocket trooper.
"Or have good aim," Phanaa adds jokingly.
After a few long seconds of constant laser cannon fire on the gravity well projector, Hadrian fires a pair of missiles, which blow up against it and cause a massive explosion, which starts spreading across the entirety of the gravity well projector.
"Gravity wells are down!" Hadrian informs the team. "This thing is about to blow, so we better get out of here!"
"Understood Hadrian," Crassus acknowledges. "Alright everyone, lets head out!"
The Mandalorians all take flight from the Interdictor with their jetpacks, heading for their gauntlet transport which swings around to pick them up, whereas Hadrian pilots his droid forward into jumping off the hull of the cruiser, blasting away with its thrusters to follow after the Mandalorian ship. On the bridge of the Interdictor, Captain Brunson rushes up to the window, widening her eyes in fear as the gravity well projectors start to blow up in tremendous explosions of blue fire, causing the ship to implode on itself.
Meanwhile, Mara's team was still being pressured by the rocket troopers, not having the advantage of a large war droid on their side. Sabine, Tristan, Kira, and the rest of the Mandalorians fly around on their jetbacks, shooting down the rocket troopers while Mara deflects blaster fire with her lightsaber, doing her best to keep firing at the gravity well projectors with her own blaster.
"Sabine, we're headed for the blockade. Are the Interdictors disabled yet?" Hera asks through the comlink.
"We're working on it!" Sabine replies, shooting down another trooper. "We've got one down so far!"
TIE Fighters start to scream through space in their direction, and Mara just barely manages to deflect a few green laser bolts with her lightsaber, jumping out of the way in a panic. Fortunately, Fenn Rau and a few Mandalorians came by with their starfighters, shooting down the TIE Fighters, while Kira Zhianaa takes out the last of the rocket troopers.
"We're clear guys!" she calls out.
"Alright everyone, give everything you've got on that gravity well projector!" Kira orders.
She, Sabine, Mara, and the rest of the Mandalorians resume their assault on the gravity well projector, firing an intense barrage of blaster fire at the structure. Kira, Sabine, Tristan, Krunald, and Zhianaa add to the intensity by shooting the rockets on their jetpacks, which are enough to break through the structure's shield and cause extensive damage.
An explosion blasts outwards, and Mara jumps away with it, letting the blast throw her further away from the cruiser while the Mandalorians fly around with her. R5 passes overhead in the Knight Hawk, the ramp open for them, and they team all fly through inside. Mara scrambles wildly to grab onto the Knight Hawk, the jet thrusters of her EVA suit faltering, but Kira reaches a hand out and grabs hold of her, pulling her inside.
"Thanks," Mara tells her gratefully.
"Anytime kid," Kira replies.
"R5, time to go!" Mara then says into her comlink.
R5 beeps in acknowledgement as he flies the ship out of the range of the Interdictor's explosion radius, regrouping with the gauntlet transport just as Hadrian reattaches the basilisk war droid to it. A few TIE Fighter's chase after the strike team, firing green laser bolts after them while the Interdictor implodes in a massive blue fireball.
"Governor, we have a problem!" an officer cries out in alarm.
"I don't want to hear it!" Pryce snaps, panicking a little bit. "Just stop them. Nothing gets through!"
"Are you serious?!" Commodore Faro growls, fed up with her.
"We just lost both our Interdictors!" Sloane exclaims angrily. "Governor Pryce, what is going on?!"
Pryce growls in panicked frustration, trying to formulate a response to save some dignity.
"Thrawn's not going to be happy with you making a mess of his fleet," Kallus taunts with a smirk. "I doubt Lord Vader will either."
Snarling, Pryce whirls around to glare at him with rage in her eyes, seeking something to vent her anger on, however Kallus could also see that she was terrified at the mention of Vader, making him grin even wider.
"Throw this traitor out the airlock!" Pryce seethes.
Kallus's grin falls to bewilderment and annoyance as the stormtroopers holding him forcefully yank him along. They take him down and shove him into an elevator lift, stepping inside beside him. Instead of fear at the prospect of death however, he had a small grin on his face while the door closed shut.
"Hera, the Interdictors are taken out! You're all clear!" Sabine says over the comms.
"That's the first good news I've gotten today," Hera almost laughs in relief.
"Meet us at point 8-7. We'll lead the way," she continues to say.
"Copy that," she responds.
"Nice work Sabine," Ezra says with a grin.
"Yeah yeah, ignore my efforts too," Mara's voice jumps in sarcastically. "Whatever, doesn't matter. Is my Dad with you guys?!"
"I don't know where he is," Kanan replies apologetically.
"Don't worry Mara, I've got Jarik with us," Elita's voice cuts in to reassure her.
"Elita?!" Mara exclaims in shock. "W-when did you get back?!"
"I'll tell you later! Right now we've got bigger problems," Elita replies sternly. "Jarik's been hurt."
"What?" she shouts, growing alarmed.
"He's hurt? How badly?" Ezra asks in concern.
"It doesn't seem life-threatening, but he needs medical attention as soon as possible," she explains.
"Then we better get past this blockade fast," Hera states determinedly.
Flying the Ghost up front, she leads the rest of the rebel fleet along with the Mantis and the Autobot ship, while the Redemption moves along behind at a slower pace, although still making good progress at full speed to provide much needed supporting with its own laser cannons against the Star Destroyers. Swarms of TIE Fighters surge in, and the rebel ships either fire back or just fly past them in their haste to escape, the Redemption flying through the gap between the Chimaera and the Executor while the others fly around it, keeping any TIE's off of their much needed warship.
"All batteries, target that frigate, now!" Vice Admiral Sloane orders angrily, gesturing to the Redemption.
Meanwhile onboard the Nemesis, Soundwave silently watches the fleeing rebel fleet through the monitor, searching his target. Once he identifies the Autobot ship, which was flying over the Vigilance Star Destroyer and shooting a few of his turbolasers, he connects himself into the Nemesis' ground bridge system, his face visor beeping as it displays a diagram of it.
Ironhide breaks off from the Star Destroyer to maintain pace with the rebels, when a ground bridge portal suddenly opens up in front of their ship.
"What the—?" he sputters in surprise.
"Turn, turn!" Chromia exclaims in alarm.
He swerves the ship out of the way of the ground bridge, just barely missing it while a pursuing TIE Fighter flies straight through the portal instead, unable to react in time. However, they barely have a moment to ponder it before another portal opens up in front of their ship, forcing Ironhide to fly over it. Elita stumbles from the violent motion, making sure her hold of Jarik was still secure in order to prevent further injury, as he was still unconscious.
"What's up with that?!" Elita asks incredulously.
"It's gotta be Soundwave," Ironhide growls. "That 'Con is as slippery as he is cunning."
Ironhide rolls the ship out of the way of another ground bridge portal that appeared in front of them yet again, trying to make his way through to keep up with the rebels. For every portal he avoids, another pops out in front of them. Growing slightly irritated, Soundwave then sends a signal that gives the order for Vehicon troopers to take flight and chase after them. A squadron of Vehicons standing out on the flight deck of the Nemesis receive the signal and promptly transform into their jet modes, blasting off to carry out the order. Meanwhile, Hera and the crew of the Ghost notice a message appearing on their console.
"We've got an incoming transmission?" Hera asks.
She accepts the message, and a hologram displays the Fulcrum symbol.
"It's Kallus!" Zeb realizes. "He's sending coordinates."
"There's an escape pod on my scope," Hera replies in confirmation.
She flies the Ghost over in the direction of the escape pod, and angles the ship just right in order to pick up the pod in the cargo bay.
"Got him!" she says, and Kallus lets out a sigh of relief in the pod, while Hera flies up to rejoin the rest of the ships. "I'm on your 6, Knight Hawk."
"Hey, I think we better get going, because that weird vessel over there? It just launched a bunch of starfighters," Kira Sohl's voice says through the comlink.
"Oh... that looks really bad," Ezra murmurs with wide eyes, spotting the problem. "Are they what I think they are?"
"Decepticons," Mara sighs.
"Phoenix Squadron, let's get outta here!" Hera exclaims.
"Roger, Phoenix Leader. We're right behind you!" Wedge replies.
"Can your ship jump to hyperspace with us, Elita?" she then asks.
"Transwarp Drives are different, but share the same principle! We'll join you there!" Elita informs them.
"If we don't get scrapped first," Chromia adds with a scoff.
Ironhide maneuvers the ship out of the way of another ground bridge portal, while Chromia watches the approach of the Decepticons on her radar with growing anxiety, as they're getting closer and closer. Fortunately for them however, they make it past the Chimaera and are now nearly free, with only the shadow of the Executor lurking far above them. Governor Pryce watches them pass the bridge of her ship with a nervous expression on her face while Vice Admiral Sloane was scowling in frustration, clenching her fists with a glare on her face.
Once the Redemption made it past the Chimaera, albeit with a heavily damaged and smoking hull, all of the rebel ships promptly jumping into hyperspace while the Autobot ship activates its Transwarp Drive just as the Vehicons reached them, disappearing in a blur. The Vehicons broke off from their attack while Soundwave watched from the bridge of the Nemesis, his long fingers curling into fists.
Atollon Wilderness - Atollon
The Bendu lay on the ground, in a crater caused by his fall. He could not be killed by these creatures, but... he could be weakened by them. As he lay quietly, slowly recovering in strength he looks ahead to see others approaching him; a man who relies on logic but understands not the mystical, a wielder of Bogan who has fallen astray, and the most tragic of all, led into the monster he is today... though he falsely believes there is no light. Along with them was a small squad of death troopers and purge troopers, their weapons trained on him while keeping watch for any other threats.
"What manner of creature are you?" Thrawn asks, perplexed and analyzing him in the hopes of finding some logical explanation.
"One beyond your power to destroy," Bendu replies calmly, assured in himself.
"You may believe so, but you are a creature of the Force. And I am its master," Vader declares, stepping closer to him.
"Master? The Force has no master. And it never will," he says dismissively, sighing. "You have long been led astray, believing to know all that you are."
"You would speak to Lord Vader that way?" Trilla hisses dangerously.
"The Force knows all. The Force sees all," Bendu states softly. "You cannot see... but I can."
Thrawn narrows his eyes at the Bendu, seeking to understand the truth of what has always seemed to elude him.
"What? What do you see?" he whispers.
"I see your defeat, like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace," Bendu answers, and Thrawn glares at him with a bit of fear and uncertainty. "But the other, his destiny is clearest of all."
"You refer to Jarik Shan?" Vader demands, gripping his lightsaber hilt in hand. "What will he do?"
"No, not the Sun... I refer to you," Bendu corrects him, much to his surprise. "You believe you will remain, this, forever... but I see who you truly are."
Vader glares at the Bendu with simmer anger, his body trembling with rage as he tightens his grip on his lightsaber.
"I see that Skywalker will bring balance to the Force," Bendu says with a smile, closing his eyes.
Outraged, Vader ignites his lightsaber with a terrible roar and thrusts the crimson blade through Bendu's head. However, the moment the lightsaber reached him the Bendu disappeared, leaving his lightsaber to stab through the rocky ground instead. Stunned, Thrawn and Trilla both stare at the suddenly empty spot with wide eyes while Vader pulls his lightsaber back with a stunned, slightly fearful gaze. Just like with Shaak Ti, the Bendu disappeared upon contact with his blade as well. Startling them further is the sound of Bendu chuckling sinisterly, his laughter echoing softly around them.
Thrawn and Trilla step back in surprise and fear while Vader looks around desperately to try and locate the Bendu, finding nothing.
Somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories
The remaining rebel ships gathered together in the large hangar bay of the Redemption; there was more than enough room for them all to do so... as there were so few rebel ships left in the aftermath of the battle.
"I'm sorry for your losses," Ursa Wren says sorrowfully.
"As am I," Raman Sohl adds with a nod.
"We are just grateful for your aid in our time of need," Hera replies in gratitude.
"I want to return the favor, Hera," Sabine tells her. "My mother needs our help."
"Go. But I can't come with you. I have to get our survivors to rebel command," she replies.
"Understandable," Raman responds in acknowledgement. "Crassus, you and your sister better return with the others soon. Saxon has been adding more pressure."
"I understand father," Crassus nods in reply.
"Be sure to check up on your cousin before you leave," he also advises.
"Query: How did you all know we were under attack?" HK-47 asks.
"Like we said, Mara received a message from Jarik explaining what was going on," Sabine explains.
"Musing: I find that very doubtful," he scoffs in reply.
"What's that supposed to mean tin-head?" Crassus asks with an irritated expression. "You saying that's not what happened?"
"Statement: Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying Mandalorian," HK-47 retorts. "Jarik Shan never delivered a message to anyone. He had not yet broken through Imperial jamming before the fighting began on the surface."
"Maybe he did and you just didn't notice," Sabine suggests, rolling her eyes.
"Statement: I was with him the entire time," he adamantly continues.
"Is he being serious?" she asks Hera in annoyance.
Hera however doesn't respond immediately, a bit confused as well: she may not have been paying attention to Jarik the whole time, but she does know he hand't yet sent out a message after Thrawn forced them back to the surface.
"I honestly don't know, but we can ask him when he wakes up," Hera finally says, nodding to the Mandalorians. "What matters is that we all made it out, thanks to your support."
Across the hangar bay, standing beside the Mantis was Kanan, Ezra, Cal, Merrin, and Cere. They were all consoling each other over the losses they've gone through during the battle; what was once a cell of at least three thousand rebels was now whittled down to only five hundred, including the loss of Jedi Master Shaak Ti at the hands of Darth Vader.
"Cere, none of this was your fault," Cal says gently.
"It should be," she mutters bitterly, still feeling a strong sense of guilt and anguish. "I wasn't strong enough to fight Vader. If I was... Master Ti would still be with us."
"But she kept you away so that you could live," Merrin tells her. "If you threw your life away, her sacrifice would be in vain."
"Her sacrifice?" Cere demands, scoffing. "What sacrifice? There was no reason for her to die, but there was every reason for her to live!"
"Cere, I know its hard. Believe me, I've felt the same way," Kanan says quietly. "But thanks to Master Ti, I've learned to see things differently. There's a future for us, one where we're all free. But it's up to us to make it happen."
"How are we supposed to do that when we lost everything?" Ezra asks doubtfully, feeling depressed.
"We continue one. Keep hope alive in the galaxy," he answers. "That's what she would've wanted us to do."
Cere looks away with crossed arms, a mournful expression on her face while Ezra glances down thoughtfully, looking over in the direction that Mara had traveled too. In the medical bay, Mara was sat on beside Jarik on his bed, her hand placed gently over his. She kept watch as he slept, still having not woken up since he fell unconscious in his fight against Megatron. Mara sighs, unable to help the worry filling her heart at his current state; his prosthetic arm was all but gone, damaged beyond repair, and his collar bone was broken.
As they no longer had access to a bacta tank with the loss of the base, it would take some time for the bone to heal, and he would need a new prosthetic to replace the destroyed limb as well. But those injuries were still only temporary; Mara was devastated to realize that during the chaos, Jarik lost his blue lightsaber back on Atollon while Ahsoka's original blade was destroyed, its crystal and pieces laid out on the table beside his bed. At the sound of the door opening, she looks up to see Rex and Boil enter the room, followed by Kira.
"Hey guys," she greets quietly.
"Hey kid," Rex replies with a small smile. "How's he holding up?"
"He's okay... he still hasn't woken up though," Mara responds, looking back at Jarik sadly, squeezing his hand with hers. "I'm not sure why. The doctors said he didn't hit his head that hard."
"Maybe he's just messing with you," Boil suggests in an attempt to joke. "He always had the worst timing when it came to his jokes."
Mara cracks a small smile at his teasing, shrugging her shoulders.
"Maybe," she comments, falling silent for a moment before continuing. "I'm starting to get why Mom fussed over him now."
"Is he one of those people that does a bunch of stupid stuff all the time?" Kira asks.
"You could say that," Mara nods in agreement.
"Hmph. No surprise there," Boil scoffs.
"How're the Autobots doing?" she asks them.
"Elita said they're doing fine," Rex tells her. "Apparently the Decepticons placed a tracking beacon on their ship, which is why they knew where to find them."
"So that weird warship was full of a bunch of giant droids?" Kira asks.
"Hmm hmm," he hums in confirmation. "That's who those starfighters you pointed out were."
"A race of giant, transforming droids," she scoffs, perplexed by the whole thing. "That's a scary thought."
Mara smiles slightly before turning back to look at Jarik, her worry still very much present. She frowns however upon noticing him shift his head slightly, his lips moving softly as if he were saying something: she just barely manages to hear his voice whisper one word, almost impossible to hear if she were not listening for it.
"Ahsoka."
Author's Note: Intense chapter for sure! Hopefully it was a proper, epic take on the Season 3 finale of Rebels! Working with so many different characters when there's so much going on all at once is always so mind-destroying to write, but I think I pulled it off alright. Yes, Shaak Ti is now dead unfortunately, but the good news is that she seems to have learned the secret of retaining one's consciousness in the Force as well! I wonder who taught her that... (his name starts with a J).
Honestly though, real talk: it should just be a running gag to have everyone Vader tries to kill with a lightsaber just disappear into thin air lol. First it was Obi-Wan, then Ahsoka, and now I've added Shaak Ti and the Bendu to the list! I'm sure that doesn't make him very happy lol.