I don't own Star Wars Rebels or it's characters

I own only Lisa Skywalker and my other OCs

Enjoy!

Sparks of Rebellion

Chapter 50: The Battle for Lothal Part 1

At the rebel base on Lothal, Ezra reflected on an image of his late parents Ephraim and Mira Bridger in the Ghost's top gun turret.

"Mum? Dad?"Ezra said. "I know what I have to do now, but I'm afraid, not for me, but for my friends. They've fought so hard and given so much and helped me to understand why you stood up to the Empire and made the sacrifices you did. I wish you could meet them, my new family. I guess, in some way, you will be with us today, when we finish what you started. I want you to know everything I've done and will do began with you."

Ezra continued looking at the image of his parents until Hera called him from below the Ghost.

"Ezra?"Hera asked. "They're bringing her up."

Ryder and Kallus lead the captive Governor Pryce to the Ghost.

"You disgust me, traitor."Governor Pryce retorted with a glare.

"The day I betrayed your Empire, Governor, was the day I finally stopped betraying myself."Kallus admitted.

"You've given up years of service, a promising career, prestige, for what?"Governor Pryce scoffed. "To join a band of failures who don't stand a chance."

"I think we do."Ezra admitted.

Ezra walked out of the Ghost.

"Especially with your help."Ezra stated.

"I will never help you."Govenor Pryce retorted.

"Uh, yes, you will."Ezra commented. "It will be your last act as Governor of Lothal. You're finally gonna do the right thing and help free your home world."

"I will do no such thing."Govenor Pryce scowled.

"Okay, if that's your choice."Ezra said simply.

Ezra whistled at something as he, Hera, Ryder and Kallus backed away from Governor Pryce.

A White Loth-wolf came forward as it growled and snapped it's teeth at Governor Pryce causing her to go down and back away in fear.

"Or you could transmit the victory code and then we could fly to the Capital as your prisoners."Ezra admitted. "If the odds against us are as bad as you say, what do you have to lose?"

"Fine."Govenor Pryce answered as she dodged the White Loth-wolf's teeth. "I'll do it. Just call off your dog."

Afterwards...

The rebels flew to Capital City in two patrol transports.

Ezra, Lisa and Sabine were disguised as scout troopers while Rex was disguised as a stormtrooper.

"I don't know about this plan, Rex."Gregor stated.

"In my experience, when it comes to Jedi, the worse the plan, the better the result."Rex responded.

Sabine looked at Ezra, who had a worried look on his face.

"Hey, you okay?"Sabine asked.

"I know I can always count on you."Ezra commented.

"All right, what are you up to?"Sabine questioned.

"Everything will be alright, Ezra."Lisa assured gently. "Don't worry."

Sabine's comlink started beeping.

"We're coming up on the Capital."Hera announced. "Better get ready."

"Copy."Sabine answered. "Head for platform zero delta."

"The command center? You're going to attempt to launch the dome."Govenor Pryce mocked. "Your plan is worse than I thought."

Lisa, Zack and Gwen glared at Governor Pryce.

"Mm, bolder."Ezra responded. "You mean bolder than you thought."

"More creative than you thought."Sabine added.

"Now, about those landing codes and remember, I'll know if they're correct."Kallus warned.

Kallus takes out his comlink and Governor Pryce took it from him.

"Gladly."Governor Pryce scowled. "The sooner we land, the sooner you will be my prisoners."

The two gunships entered the Dome's executive landing pad as Pryce issues 'Executive Code 627311'.

"Executive code 6-2-7 3-1-1."Governor Pryce said.

"Code's authorised, Governor."A Imperial Navy trooper answered. "You're clear to land. Security will take the prisoners on the platform."

A disguised Ezra, Lisa and Sabine lead the prisoners out as a Stormtrooper Commander and four stormtroopers walked forward.

Kallus was disguised as an Imperial officerin a black uniform and pointed a gun at Governor Pryce's back.

"Nice and easy, Governor."Kallus instructed.

The Stormtrooper Commander looked at Ezra.

"We'll take it from here."the Stormtrooper Commander said.

"They're all yours."Ezra commented.

Zeb let out an angry growl causing the stormtroopers to take out their blasters.

"Hey!"A stormtrooper shouted. "Look out!"

Then Zeb broke free and charged towards the door.

"Stop him!"Ezra demanded.

Ezra attacked the stormtroopers from behind and used his green lightsaber to chop off their blasters before he hurled them aside with the Force.

Lisa, Zack and Gwen took out their lightsabers to deflect the lasers coming from the stormtroopers' blasters.

The doors to the Dome started to close.

"Zeb!"Zack shouted. "The doors!"

An alarm went on as Zeb rushed to hold the doors from closing causing Ketsu and Sabine to rush in.

Ketsu worked to unlock the door while Sabine and Zeb exchange fire with stormtroopers.

Zeb released the doors and went inside the building.

"Ketsu, get that door open!"Sabine ordered. "And try to jam their comm system!"

Outside...

Ezra, Lisa, Zack, Gwen, Kallus and Melch exchanged fire with stormtroopers.

Hera and Chopper descended from the gunship and shoot a few stormtroopers down.

"Go, go, go!"Hera demanded.

Meanwhile...

Sabine took down the Stormtroopers that were firing at her, Zeb and Ketsu.

"How's that door coming?"Sabine asked.

Ketsu managed to unlock the door and lock down the comm system.

"Got it!"Ketsu stated.

"Nice work."Zeb complemented.

"What about the comm systems?"Sabine questioned.

"They're all locked down."Ketsu answered. "Now, let's get everyone inside."

Ezra, Lisa, Zack, Gwen and the other rebels rushed into the base.

As the rebels entered the base, Hondo issued orders to Zeb.

"Hey, purple guy!"Hondo called out. "Get in position!"

"Good luck."Ketsu commented.

Sabine and Ketsu run off to a direction in the base.

"Okay, okay, getting there."Hondo instructed and made Zeb stop moving. "Right there, and stop!"

Hondo looked at Melch.

"Melch, back further, a little more."Hondo ordered. "Go, bah-bah-bah."

Melch began to slowly back away as Hondo instructed him.

Sabine, Ketsu, Hera, Ezra and Lisa reached a door, which Ketsu tried to unlock.

"Can you get us in?"Sabine asked.

"Give me a minute."Ketsu instructed.

As Ketsu worked on the door, Zeb throws Melch at the transparisteel window above the command center causing the officers to fire their blasters at them.

"That's our queue!"Ezra announced.

The Rebels and the Lothal resistance group members stormed the command center and force the Imperials to surrender.

Having accomplished his mission, Melch slipped off the window.

Lisa looked at Rex.

"Rex, lock them in the storage bin."Lisa ordered.

"Yes, General."Rex responded.

Ryder entered the command center with Governor Pryce, Zeb, Zack and Gwen in tow.

"It's only a matter of time before you're discovered."Governor Pryce retorted. "You can't hope to defeat my forces."

"Defeat them? Hmm, not planning to."Sabine replied.

"But we would love to put all of them in the dome."Gwen complemented.

"We'll utilize protocol 13."Kallus stated.

"The Empire's new order, for the immediate recall of all personnel to the base for a full evacuation."Hera responded.

"Once they're all inside, we'll launch and it'll be goodbye to the Empire."Ryder admitted.

Hera took out her comlink to talk to Wolffe.

"Spectre-2 to base."Hera said in her comlink. "We're in and we've taken the dome. Wait for me to signal for pickup."

"Acknowledged, Spectre-2."Wolffe answered. "Nice work. We're standing by."

"Ezra, we're ready."Sabine replied.

"Kallus, you're up."Ezra stated.

Kallus issued Protocol 13 and orders all Imperial forces to report to their action stations immediately.

"Attention, all personnel Protocol 13 is now in effect."Kallus announced. "Report to your action stations immediately. Repeat. Protocol 13 is in effect."

"Hangar 2-7 to command."A man responded. "Please confirm lockdown order."

"Command center to all units."Kallus ordered. "The order is confirmed."

"This is highly irregular."A man stated. "Please repeat sector authorization."

Ezra looked at Ryder.

"Ryder, get ready."Ezra ordered.

Ryder walked forward and poses as Colonel Wullf Yularen, mimicking his voice and announces that he is executing 'Override Code Base Gamma Zero'.

"Repeat."Kallus said. "The order is confirmed."

"This is ISB Colonel Yularen."Ryder spoke up. "I am executing override code Base Gamma Zero."

"Imperial security?"the man said nervously. "I was unaware ISB was involved."

"That is the point of this exercise."Ryder answered firmly.

"Then, uh, this is a drill?"the man asked nervously. "Is it?"

"And do you always question the orders of a superior officer?"Ryder questioned.

The man clears his throat before responding.

"Proceeding with protocol 13 immediately."the man stated.

The man then ended the conversation as Ezra, Lisa, Zack and Gwen smiled at Ryder.

"Sounds like they bought it, Colonel."Ezra remarked. "Nice work."

"Looks like they have fallen for it."Gwen chuckled.

Imperial troops and vehicles entered the Dome's hangars.

"All personnel, report to your stations."A woman's voice announced. "Protocol 13 is in effect."

In the streets, loud speakers announce that Protocol 13 is now in effect.

"So far so good."Lisa complemented.

"All units have returned to their duty stations and the dome is now secure."Kallus admitted.

"Hera, start the launch cycle."Ezra ordered. "Sabine, set the self-destruct."

"We do have a way off this thing before, it explodes right?"Honda asked hopefully.

"That's where the Ghost comes in to pick us up."Hera replied.

"All right, let's get airborne."Zeb suggested.

Hera and Zack work on activating the thrusters.

"These thrusters haven't been fired in years."Hera explained. "Gonna take time to prime them."

"You're too late."Governor Pryce stated smugly.

The rebels became alarmed when they saw Thrawn's Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera arriving above the Dome.

"It's Thrawn."Kallus said.

"Shutting down the launch cycle."Hera admitted.

"No!"Ketsu protested. "We can't just sit here!"

"Thrawn is holding position directly overhead."Hera reminded. "If we launch the dome..."

"We'll crash into his ship and destroy the entire city."Zack muttered bitterly.

"Karabast."Zeb retorted. "We're trapped."

"Chopper, put me through."Ezra ordered.

Chopper beeped and puts Ezra through to Thrawn via hologram.

"Governor Pryce is our prisoner, and we have complete control of the Imperial Dome, with every trooper, pilot and officer trapped inside."Ezra stated. "You failed, Thrawn. Leave Lothal, and we might let your troops out before we blow the dome to pieces."

"Are you quite finished?"Thrawn questioned. "If you truly wish to save Lothal, Commander Bridger, the only term I'll accept is your immediate and unconditional surrender."

"Why would I surrender when I hold your entire army prisoner?"Ezra questioned.

"No, you've simply moved my assets to a safe position so that I can bombard the civilians of your home without incurring Imperial casualties."Thrawn admitted.

Anger slowly boiled in Lisa as Sabine glanced at Rex.

"Rex, raise the planetary shields!"Sabine ordered.

"The generators just went offline, sir."Rex admitted.

"Someone's engaged the manual override at the power terminals!"Sabine said in realisation.

"Your shield generator is under my control."Thrawn stated."Just so that you understand that my intentions are genuine, I shall demonstrate my power. Open fire."

The Chimaera's guns started bombarding the Capital City, destroying several buildings and wounding and killing many civilians.

Lisa and Gwen watched the sight in horror as Zack clenched his fist in anger.

"Enough!"Ezra shouted. "I surrender!"

Then the bombarding stopped.

"I await your arrival."Thrawn responded. "And make no mistake, come alone. If you attempt any heroics, I will resume the bombardment and destroy your city and then your friends."

The hologram of Thrawn vanished.

Ezra hands Chopper his lightsaber as he began to walk away.

"Ezra, I understand that you think you need to do this, but..."Hera started.

"This is what I was meant to do."Ezra interrupted.

"There's another way."Hera suggested. "There's always another way. I won't let you go."

Lisa and the others looked at Ezra quietly.

"All right if this isn't the way, then what is?"Ezra asked.

"Let's see what we have to work with."Hera commented and walked away.

Rex, Kallus, Zeb, Hera, Gregor, Zack and Gwen went to study the hologram of Thrawn's Star Destroyer and Lothal.

"Charge up the dome's cannon."Zeb insisted. "We'll blow him out of the sky."

"Easy."Rex instructed. "Our turbolasers are no match for that Star Destroyer."

"Even if we do "blow him out of the sky," we don't want him to crash down onto the city."Kallus reminded.

"Then we have to find a way to get the shield up."Zack suggested.

"Over here."Sabine spoke up and walked forward. "We should use the primary schematic if we're going to find a way to raise the shield. We need to get down here and take control of the power terminals."

"How do we get past all the Imperials we've locked in here with us?"Zeb questioned.

"We can bypass the upper barracks levels using the executive turbo lifts."Kallus answered.

Ezra sneaked out to the landing bay causing Lisa to follow after him.

Inside the Landing Bay...

"You shouldn't do this by yourself."Lisa reminded. "You would end up getting killed."

"What choice do I have, Lisa?"Ezra asked. "Thrawn will kill you and everyone else, if I don't surrender and come alone."

Lisa gives Ezra a hug causing him to hug her back.

"Just promise me, you'll be careful."Lisa whispered softly. "We don't we want to lose another friend."

"I will."Ezra assured. "I promise."

Lisa let's Ezra go and watched as he boards a patrol transport to head to Thrawn's Star Destroyer.

Inside the Commander Center...

Lisa returned to the command center and saw her companions were still talking with each other.

"So, we got a plan to get the shield up."Gwen commented.

"The trick is to pull it off before Thrawn loses patience."Hera stated. "We need to stall him somehow."

Hera looked behind her and saw Ezra was no longer in the room.

"Ezra?"Hera asked.

The group see a patrol transport talking off in the sky.

"No way."Gwen whispered in shock.

"We have to stop him."Rex stated.

Hera took out her comlink to tell Ezra to come back.

"Ezra, don't do this!"Hera protested.

"Hera, we have to trust him."Sabine insisted. "The best way we can help is to get that shield up, so when Ezra makes his move, we're ready. We have to assume the generator room will be well-guarded, so we'll need two teams to hit it from different sides if we're gonna capture both power terminals. That is, if you agree, Hera."

Hera smiled at Sabine's idea.

"It's a good plan."Hera stated. "The best chance we've got."

Chopper beeped a respond at his companions.

"Stormtroopers are on their way here."Lisa scoffed.

"It appears my troops have decided your drill is over."Governor Pryce sneered.

The rebels form position at front of the blast door as Lisa, Zack and Gwen took out their lightsabers, ready to take down the stormtroopers.

Meanwhile...

Ezra flew his gunship in the Chimaera's hangar bay.

There he was greeted by several armed stormtroopers, who place him in binders and bring him to Thrawn's quarters.

"It was a wise decision for you to surrender."Thrawn stated.

"I didn't have much choice."Ezra replied.

The stormtroopers walked out of Thrawn's quarters.

"Oh, nonsense."Thrawn commented and stood up. "You could have chosen to let your people die. However, you chose to be a Jedi. Predictable. You follow a long history written by the Jedi, where they choose what they believe to be morally correct, instead of what is strategically sound."

"And yet, the Jedi have survived."Ezra responded.

"Hmm, the Jedi once numbered in the thousands."Thrawn answered. "What's left are a scattered, frightened lot, mostly beaten and in hiding, or poorly trained children, like yourself. I must admit, the mysteries of the Force are an enigma to me. But for all those abilities, all the power, the Jedi lacked the vision for how to wield it."

"The Force isn't a weapon, but you'll never understand that."Ezra retorted with an angry tone.

"Oh, I don't have to."Thrawn said as he placed a mask of a jedi guard down and walked up to a piece of a building that had the symbol of a Phoenix. "It was not my intention to utterly destroy Lothal, but that is inevitable now. These are a few of the artifacts I've gathered from your home world. I saved what I could. I have even taken some of Sabine Wren's work. She's quite talented. Or was quite talented."

"You think you can take whatever you want, things you didn't make, didn't earn, things you don't even understand!"Ezra snapped. "You don't deserve to have this art or Lothal!"

"Who deserves what is irrelevant."Thrawn responded. "What matters is who has power. But that is something the Jedi won't teach you, so I'll take you to someone who will."

Ezra glared at Thrawn as the grand admiral brought him to a special chamber aboard the Chimaera where they are met by a holographic projection of Emperor Palpatine.

Palpatine was dressed in fine white robes and had assumed his 'un-scarred' visage prior which hasn't been seen since his fateful duel with Jedi Master Mace Windu.

"My Emperor."Thrawn said. "I have brought you Ezra Bridger."

"My dear boy, I've so wanted to meet you and here you are at last."Palpatine responded with a smile.

Ezra looked at the Emperor in silence.

Author's Note: Should Ezra go away with Thrawn or stay in the next chapter?

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter:)