A/N: Part two of the cliche. I've worked really hard so far to update everyday, but I am going to stop doing so, due to the fact that this chapter is kind of crap and I'm going to use that extra day to attempt to improve the quality of the chapters. Oh, and this chapter is very important to the plot, so REVIEW! Oh, and Emily, the reason you didn't get a thank you is because I couldn't care less what you think.

Vader surveyed the great plains that made up the planet of Ukio. Just above the horizon, he could see a mountain range, the giant, snow-capped peaks one of the few interruptions to the giant prairie that the planet consisted of.

And somewhere in that range was a rebel base.

It had been fairly simple to spark this miniature rebellion-he had simply pushed. And the rebel cell on the planet had begun to push back.

He had let them win the first few battles-they had lost a few outposts, but it had been necessary in order to let them think that they had had the element of surprise. But then he had struck back furiously, sending the hundreds of walkers and thousands of stormtroopers that traveled with the Devastator and her battle group in a crushing blow that had driven the rebels back to their base.

The other rebels, the ones who had struck at Fondor, had of course felt obligated to lend assistance to their comrades, and last night, three blockade runners had run the blockade around the planet. Their final destination was unknown, but Vader was confident that they had landed in the base in those mountains with reinforcements.

Which meant that the rebels would counterattack any moment.

Next to him, on the rocky outcropping on the very edge of a gully that stretched all the way from Vader to the mountains, stood the bounty hunter Boba Fett.

"Lord Vader."

Vader did not turn to face the stormtrooper. "What is it?"

"Our scouts at the edge of the mountains have reported that the rebels are leaving their defensive fortifications. We are awaiting your orders."

Fett activated the macrobinoculars built into his helmet. There. A large mass of what looked like ants at this distance. "I see them, sir." Fett was the only person, save the Emperor, whom Vader allowed to address him as anything other than 'My Lord.'

"Are the defenses in place?"

"Yes, Lord Vader," the stormtrooper replied.

"And the walkers?"

"Hidden, as per your orders."

"Then let the games begin."

-----

At the front of the Rebel attack group, piloting an ancient STAP left over from the Clone Wars, was Iter Wasp. He had been brought to the planet the previous night aboard the blockade runner Corusca, and was now charged with the task of assisting the rebels in their capture of the city of Montugra. Little did he know that not one of them would make it past the edge of the gully.

Fett checked his rifle to make sure it was fully charged. Almost directly beneath him, he could see the rebel army and the Imperial fortifications collide, and the ensuing firefight. He checked the mass of red for a hint of green or blue. There.

How alike he and Fett were, Vader thought. Neither had had a complete set of parents. Both had lost their parents at the hands of people they had then taken revenge on.

With one key difference. Vader-or Anakin as he had been known as then-had been ashamed of his actions. Fett had been proud.

Vader remembered the shame he had felt when he had confessed to Padmé about how he had handled his mother's death. He had sworn on her grave that he would never again be so weak as to let somebody he loved die.

And he had followed that oath. When he had first had visions of his wife dying, he had forsaken everything-the Jedi, his loyalty, his honor-to save her.

And then she had betrayed him.

The bitch.

He was startled out of his reverie by Fett's voice. "There, sir."

Vader looked where Fett had indicated. Sure enough, there was a Rodian, with a blue lightsaber blade, fighting alongside the rebels.

"Wait," he instructed Fett.

The Jedi leapt over a section of wall, and started making his way up the miniature canyon.

Directly below Vader.

Gathering the Force, Vader leapt down into the canyon, landing silently behind the Rodian.

----

Iter ran along the canyon, the tall walls obscuring the light and causing his lightsaber to cast shadows everywhere. If he could get come at the Imperials from behind while they didn't suspect his prescence-

He jumped at the snap-hiss of an igniting lightsaber. He turned, facing the new threat-

And found himself staring at Darth Vader.

His heart rate quickened. Darth Vader. The Jedi who had betrayed the Order. The Jedi who had massacred everyone in the temple-

His mind was being probed. But he was powerless to stop it. All his energy was being spent trying to predict and block Vader's blows.

----

The sounds of the two lightsabers crashing together resounded up and down the canyon, muted by the sounds of the battle. Vader swung. The Jedi moved to block-

But suddenly there was the whine of a blaster and the Jedi fell to the ground, a smoking hole in the back of his head.

Vader reached out with the Force. Nothing. The Rodian was dead.

He looked at Fett, whose blaster rifle was still smoking. "Go."

Fett activated his jetpack and blasted off, throwing himself into the heart of the battle. Vader signaled the stormtrooper above him, who spoke into a radio.

The battle came to a brief halt as the whine of the walkers' engines starting up permeated the battlefield.

Fifty All Terrain-Armored Transports rose out of their hiding places. The rebels, the inspiration that had given them the courage to fight the Empire suddenly gone, turned tail and fled.

But the AT-ATs gave them no such chance. Their guns blared, turning the ground around the retreating army into a wasteland of flame and smoke. Vader listened to their screams with great satisfaction. This rebellion, at least, would be short-lived.