Chapter 19
Umbara - 9 Years Ago
Screams filled the streets of Eclypse.
In response to a rebel uprising on Umbara, the planet's capital city was being ravaged by the newly formed Galactic Empire. Umbarans young and old searched for cover as AT-TEs fired upon military and civilian targets. Clones broke into defenseless homes and arrested entire families, even children, for colluding with the rebels. All the while, a single star destroyer rested above the city to prevent anyone from escaping. Once again, the Shadow World was being invaded and overthrown. But as the Empire's campaign intensified, so did the Umbarans' defiance.
As an Umbaran woman was dragged out of her house by a pair of clones, one of the troopers was suddenly blasted in the back. The other clone quickly dropped the woman and raised his blaster in response. Then, a green lightsaber blade sliced through his midsection, killing him. With both troopers dead, the one who'd killed them offered her hand to the woman.
Des Phiun helped the woman to her feet, deactivating the double-blade she'd taken from Pong Krell's corpse. Des held the woman's hand and asked her in Umbarese if she could run. When the woman nodded yes, Des pointed to a nearby street and told her to run to the old homeless shelter for cover. The woman then quickly thanked Des before running off towards the shelter.
As the woman ran out of sight, Des was contacted via her comlink.
"What's up?"
One of the Shadows answered.
"Des! They're sending the ISB! We need to go now!"
"But the civilians…"
"The battle is lost, Des! If the Empire finds us here, they'll execute everyone in the city! The best thing we can do right now is make sure we're gone by the time they get here!"
"But…"
"It's the ISB, Des! They won't show them any mercy!"
Des hesitated for a moment. And then, she conceded.
"Alright, alright! Tell everyone else to fall back to the ship!"
"We'll see you there!"
Once the Shadow hung up, Des ran through what remained of Eclypse, avoiding detection as much as she could. As she leapt over piles of debris and weaved through the legs of walkers, she could still hear tens of civilians calling out for help. But as much as she wanted to, she couldn't stay. They would all be killed if the ISB found her and the Shadows there.
On her way to the ship, she would occasionally be spotted by a clone trooper and dispose of him as quickly as she could. Though they were strong and organized, they were no match for her or any of the skills that Quinlan had taught her. She also couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for every clone she struck down. She'd been friends with many of them before. But now, they were subjugating her people. And they'd left her no choice.
After reaching the outer perimeters of the city, Des spotted a YV-666 light freighter next to one of the abandoned shelters. It was their ship. While keeping watch for any other Imperials, Des ran as fast as she could towards the freighter. And as soon as she reached it, its entrance opened up and another Shadow waved her inside.
"Come on! Hurry!"
Des quickly boarded the vessel, embracing the rest of the Shadows as soon as she was inside. Two of the Shadows then ran to the cockpit and prepared the ship for takeoff. As Des sat down with the other Shadows, the freighter's engines roared to life before it took off from the ground and headed towards the sky.
Des sighed to herself.
"Dammit…"
Another Shadow put their hand on her shoulder.
"We did what we could. But we would only make things worse for them by staying."
"I know, I know. I'm just…"
She punched the wall in frustration.
"I'm just sick of running! And losing! And feeling helpless!"
"We all are, Des. But we've gotta know when to pick our battles."
Another Shadow spoke up.
"We still saved a lot of people. That's gotta count for something, right?"
Des leaned herself back against the wall.
"Yeah. Of course it does. But…I just wish we could save all of them."
"We saved as many of them as we could. Hell, we started a whole uprising. But at the end of the day, we're just a couple of kids fighting a whole Empire."
Des sighed again.
"Yeah. I know. If only we were bigger. If only we had more weapons and resources."
She rested her head in her arms.
"Maybe then we could free our people."
…
Savareen - Later
Des and the Shadows stepped inside the massive yacht that was parked in front of them. Upon entering, they found themselves surrounded by masked guards armed with blades and blasters. They were then met by an Imroosian who gestured them onto an elevator.
Once the elevator reached the yacht's bridge, it opened and led the Shadows into a large, ovular office containing various artifacts. Once the Shadows were gathered in the center of the office, the Imroosian approached the front desk and placed her ring inside of a small slot. With a twist of the ring, the office's windows closed as a hologram of a hooded figure seated on a throne appeared before the Shadows.
The figure looked upon the Shadows and spoke in a low, raspy voice.
"So you are the ones I've been told about. The Shadows of Umbara."
Des stood before the other Shadows in case they were attacked.
"Who are you?"
"I will ask the questions here."
The figure folded his hands and rested them in his lap.
"I am wondering. Why are you here?"
Des chose her words carefully.
"Because we want to destroy the Jedi. And the Empire. And we heard you have the means to do that."
The figure titled his head.
"So then…you seek an alliance?"
Des nodded.
"If you'll help us…then yes."
The figure chuckled to himself.
"I knew a child like you once. Scorned by the Jedi. Abandoned to her own devices. Left to find her purpose in a changing galaxy. You're much like myself in that way."
"How do you figure that?"
Just then, the figure lifted himself up from his throne, his metallic legs creaking as he stood tall over Des and the Shadows. Then, he removed his hood and revealed his horned face.
"I have gone by many names and done many things. But there are two things I still have yet to do; destroy the Jedi and the Empire. And I believe you and I could accomplish these things…together."
Des thought to herself for a minute or two. She reached out through the Force to the rest of the Shadows to see if they had the same thought as her.
And when she saw that they did, she gave her answer.
"We accept your offer."
The figure smiled in response.
"Welcome to Crimson Dawn."
…
Kalee - Present
The spider cruiser's legs folded inwards until its body touched the ground. Its front ramp opened. As Kalee's red sun began to rise on the horizon, a hooded figure appeared in the doorway. He stepped down the ramp toward the group gathered on the ground. The Izvoshra took up their weapons. The Shadows remained still. Especially Des, who appeared to be all but frozen in place. As the figure descended down the ramp, Ahsoka slowly began to recognize him. And then, once he reached the ground, she saw his face beneath his hood.
Her heart stopped.
Her body tensed.
Her blood ran cold.
Her breath disappeared.
Mandalore.
The Star Destroyer.
The moon.
The graves.
The memories all flooded back to her in an instant.
She couldn't speak.
She couldn't move.
She was like a statue.
Soon, the figure was standing directly in front of her.
He removed his hood.
He looked upon her.
Ahsoka's eyes went wide with fear.
And then, Maul smiled.
"Hello, Lady Tano."