Well, it's been about a year, but I've finally done it. I've finally gone down and visited my grandfather's grave. It was around this time last year that I heard that he passed away in his sleep at the age 102 and it was the same day I uploaded the longest chapter to my Lone Wolf: End of a Journey story. Kind of… well I don't know the right word for it, but it wasn't something to joke about.
I'll never forget the day I heard that he passed, my Mom had to go down to where he and my Grandma live and when she came back, she broke the news to me and my brothers. All of us took it really hard, a lot harder than when my Dad's father passed away in 2011. While I did help carry the casket that my grandfather was laid to rest in, I cried a lot during the funeral, wake and on Christmas last year. Listening to the song 'Right Here Waiting' by Richard Marx, especially to music videos with that song for Hachi: A Dogs Tale makes me cry every time I listen to it, same thing goes for Sound the Bugle.
What I'm trying to say is that, it has been a rough month and a half for me since my Grandpa isn't around anymore. I know its hard for anyone to deal with the death of a loved one, but all that time I spent with my visiting my Grandfather, going with him into the city to help him out with a few errands, even staying at the house he and my Grandma have called home during the winter of 2015 when the train I usually take home was shutdown due to bad weather, those were some of the times I'll never forget.
I'm sorry, I know it sounds like I'm grieving, but I still am trying to get over the fact that it will be a long time before I see my grandfather again.
Anyway, lets get to the reviews.
Darth Tenibris2: I'm not trying to give my opinions on the political situation that has been occurring. Truth be told, I hate politics and I was only saying what I heard from several people I know. Please, just keep reading this story.
54godamora: You are right about Hondo being one of the most interesting side characters of Star Wars. I guess he's kind of a comic relief type of character, plus seeing as we don't know what happened to Hondo and his crew when the Empire came into power, in the Legends universe I'd figure I'd throw him into the mix and see what people would say about this. In regards to having anyone from Team RWBY die, like I said before I would never do that.
Darth Cody: Somehow, I had a feeling that March's Top hat had some kind of sentimental value to the guy, but I didn't guess it was his fathers. So, about what you gave me in the PM about your characters parents, thanks. And don't worry, March's top hat is in a safe place.
42: Good to hear from you again. Now in regards to the Death Troopers, the zombified Stormtroopers infected by the Blackwing Virus, I haven't really given that any thought, though if I were to use that, it would be a bit later that you would see the appearance of zombies, like maybe around Halloween this year.
Monster King: Thank you.
Jack Smith1: I can't reveal too much about what Maul gave Salem and how it will affect her plans, but when the time comes for the big reveal of what he gave her, Galen will have finally earned his pilot wings and a title that Cipher holds in the Ace Combat universe. As to your possible Resident Evil/Star Wars crossover, I have one suggestion for you: The T-Virus is developed by the Empire or whatever group in whatever era that story takes place during, also don't forget about Chris Redfield, his sister Claire and Leon S. Kennedy.
Spartan-626: Well, I did want to have March get a bit more of a background development so I'd figure I'd wing it. Like I said in chapter two, it was Obi-Wan who helped Sienna all those years ago, about two years before the Clone War began for those of you wondering. Now, how he will help Ahsoka when she learns the truth, that's another matter entirely. In regards to Hondo, I'd figure I would throw him in as a surprise for all of you. Now in regards to Katooni and Gungi appearing, it will be sooner than you think, but not this chapter. Now about Summer being a Jedi, I can't say anything about that but you aren't wrong her having a connection to the Star Wars universe as is your theory about Sutherland being a double agent.
Alright now onto the story. Disclaimers are the same as before, please enjoy. Also, I modified my poll down to eight aircraft with paint schemes each plane will have, so please cast your votes on the plane you want Galen to fly before its time for Galen, his team, Team RWBY, Ozpin, Ironwood and the pilots return to Remnant.
Chapter 27: The Red Planet
Flying one plane's length behind the other, the Galm Team, Mobius 1, Rick and Neo flew through a mountain canyon several miles from any settlements and the rebel base as ground crews along the canyon monitored the status of the five Remnant native fighters. "You're about to exit the canyon shortly. Pull up after exiting the canyon." One of the ground crew members said over an open commlink to the five pilots.
"Roger." All five replied and pushed their planes engines to full power and shot out of the canyon, pulling up before leveling out at twenty-five thousand feet.
"Modified engines are working at one-hundred percent on my end." Cipher stated over the commlink. Pixy and Dante all said the same thing, but Rick and Neo's planes weren't in the green. Using the parts from several damaged and beyond repair RZ-1 A-Wings, the engines of the five planes were modified for both atmospheric and space combat. The hyperdrives from the fighters along with the shields were also added to increase their combat effectiveness in battle, but due to the fact that neither of the five pilots knew anything about operating these extra systems, their fighters were modified to support an Astromech Droid copilot or in this case given some more work to ensure that every one of these new systems were in order.
"R5 is fixing the problem with my fighter now." Rick answered as his Astromech, a hybrid of the R2 and R4 series astromechs with a red and white paint job much like his S35 fixed the power problem with his craft. "Got it, engines are green across the board. What about you, Neo?" he asked his friend.
"Katie just finished it up now. My engines are green as well." Neo answered as her Strike Dagger got on the right side of Ricks plane. "And I told you to call me Countess when we're in the air. That's my callsign, Trigger." Neo joked as her copilot, R2-KT a former Galactic Republic and Galactic Empire R2-series astromech droid with a pink and silver paint job beeped in acknowledgement as the pilots former up with them. "Can't believe these little guys are going to be our partners when we're flying now. But it does make me wonder what that means for your S35." Neo said to her friend.
"I'm sure we'll figure something out with that bird. But for the moment, R5 and I will be partners." Rick answered before both their droids and the droids with Cipher, Pixy and Mobius 1 called out several holographic TIE fighters approaching them. "Time for the weapons test." He said before his copilot, R5-M9 beeped and whistled as all five planes switched to their new cannons.
Down below, Kota watched impressively as the five pilots engaged the holographic imperial fighters in mock-dogfights. While the holo-fighters were using training lasers, the five pilots from Remnant didn't hold anything back, using tactics and skills they learned from months of training from two of the best fighter pilots in all of Remnant. He watched with amazement as Cipher ran down three fighters with his twin cannons while Pixy flew directly through his wingman's path as the fighter chasing him was gunned down by cannon fire. "Their skills could probably rival that of Skywalker." Kota thought to himself as Dante zig-zagged to avoid cannon fire before going into the vertical with the fighters following him, cut his speed and allowed the enemy craft to overshoot him before destroying them with cannon fire.
Rick and Neo on the other hand, flew in tight formation, keeping each other covered. Rick downed one fighter coming right at Neo with his cannons as Neo reduced her speed and slipped behind her friend, downing the fighter that was on his tail. "They may be holograms, but I have a feeling the real pilots we will be facing someday will be far deadlier than these holograms." Neo said too herself. KT beeped in agreement. "Yeah, you would know since you were with the Empire before Halberton brought himself and you to the rebellion." She said with a smile. "Still think I was joking when I said that you and I had a lot in common, aside from the pink we each have?" she asked her copilot. KT beeped in a laughing like tone as Neo downed a fourth holo-fighter with her cannons.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Don't forget, the Empire has over who knows how many skilled fighter pilots and we are only five pilots. Well, more than five if you count the rest of the fighter pilots of the rebellion." Rick said in a serious tone as the last holographic fighter was downed, finishing the weapons training portion of the test.
"Trigger's right." A new voice said over the commlink as Garven Dreis, from the planet Virujansi in the inner rim, clone wars veteran and leader of Red Squadron walked towards general Kota and the rest of the ground personal involved with the tests. "Imperial fighters have no shields, hyperdrive or even life-support systems, every fighter you shoot down a thousand more take its place. Cheap fighters and expendable pilots. Still, you need to be cautious, only the most skilled pilots operate customized versions of the TIE fighter as special operations squadrons, intelligence even suggests that the Empire has a newer more deadly version of the TIE coming into production, given their recent defeat in the Fei Hu campaign a couple of months ago." he stated.
"Trust me, Cipher and I know never to underestimate our opponents, especially since we were some of the first pilots to encounter the Empire a couple of months ago." Pixy assured Garven. Everyone soon noticed the arrival of the Rogue Shadow and a Corona-class armed frigate heading for the base. "Looks like the kids have made it back from that sandbox of a planet." he said.
"And it seems like they brought some guests with them. Is it just me or do those things look like flying saucers?" Dante asked in concern. No one had the answer, but they were soon going to get those answers when they returned to base.
Back at the base, Hondo presented the crates of imperial weapons to the rebellion leaders and while it was against their better judgement, they agreed to pay Hondo for the delivery of the weapons and giving Hondo enough for him to pay off his debt to Jabba. "Thank you for your business. Should you ever need anything delivered for your cause, be sure to contact me at any point in time." Hondo said as he walked up the ramp of his frigate, taking one last look at Ruby who made Hondo smile much like when he met Katooni all those years ago.
After Hondo and his men left, Galen and the others presented the information they gathered to the rebel high command and once again, it didn't sit well with the leaders of the rebellion, even Ozpin and Ironwood. "Of all the weapons the Emperor could develop, he chooses Trihexalon of all chemicals! It has been banned by both the old Republic and the Imperial Senate and he is constructing hex-weapons in secret!" Bail said with anger.
"This just goes to show you how far the Emperor will go to discredit the rebellion." Ozpin said in agreement. "But now that we know what weapon the Empire is developing; it will make it much easier for us to track down the possible locations of the factory." He added as an Astromech plugged into the command centers holo-table and brought up several planets that were mentioned in the data. "We can obliviously eliminate planets that are known to have increasingly hot climates such as Mustafar and Eos. Anywhere in the inner rim or core worlds is also out of the question. If one were to construct a weapon, a weapon that has been banned by the government, it would be done in secret on a planet where there is an area with a stable temperature that would allow them to construct this weapon without the risk of a leak." He added.
"You speak as if you have many secrets yourself, Ozpin." Bail surmised. Ozpin said nothing but kept his eyes focused on holo-map.
While the two headmasters and rebel leaders were trying to figure out what planet the Imperial weapons factory was located on, Galen, Ahsoka and Kota stood in one of the empty storage rooms in the rebel base where Plo Koon was testing Ruby. After what Ahsoka told him, Plo had a feeling that there was more too Ruby then anyone, even Ruby knew. As for said red-haired girl, Ruby stood in the center of the room with her Lightsaber ignited and her eyes focused on a Marksman-H combat remote being used for the test.
The remote fired its light blaster at Ruby who blocked the shot as the remote moved to another location and fired at her again, this time hitting her in the shoulder and causing her to lose her focus. "Dang it!" Ruby groaned, a little stunned by the impact of the blast. "Galen makes it easier than it looks." She said to herself.
"Its not that easy." Galen spoke. "Predicting what the remote is going to do is more difficult than you think. You have to act as you see fit before…" he continued before Ruby took another hit from the remotes blaster cannon, hitting her in the leg. "They fire." he finished.
"It's easier with a sniper rifle. Once I know what my target is going to do, I fire and take it down. It should be the same thing but why can't I just…" Ruby groaned before she took another hit, this time on her back. "Deflect the shot." She finished.
"Why not try a different approach?" Ahsoka suggested, pulling out a thick black cloth from one her pouches, walked over to Ruby and tied the cloth around her head, blindfolding her. "Try to act on your instincts." Ahsoka finished.
"But I'm blindfolded! I can't even see with this thing on and if I can't see how am I going to be able to fight?" Ruby asked in a complaining tone.
"Your eyes can deceive you. Trust your other feelings and allow the force to influence your actions. Don't believe everything you see." Ahsoka assured the young girl, who reignited her lightsaber and waited for the remote to fire again.
Again, Ruby tried to block the remotes shot but failed as another blast hit her, ticking her off. "Try not to focus on using your eyes, use your other senses and allow the Force to assist you, stretch out with your feelings." Kota instructed. Taking a deep breath, Ruby relaxed herself and listened for the remote's thrusters, telling her where the remote was going to be and this time, blocked every one of the remotes shots. "See, that's all there is too it. With more practice, you'll be even better." The general said as Ruby removed her blindfold, smiling.
"Kota's right, but why don't we try your hand at practice sparring." Galen added, tossing Ruby a wooden staff before picking one up himself, holding it in his preferred verse grip style. "Remember, this is only sparring but come at with me with everything you've got like your life depends on it." He instructed.
"Got it." Ruby said, determined and holding her own staff in the way Obi-Wan taught her.
While the two of them sparred, Rick and the others landed their planes at the base just in time to see Sutherland depart in one of the Lambda-T4a shuttles that the Rebellion had in their possession, something that didn't sit right with Neo and Rick. "Where's he going in such a hurry?" Rick asked one of the ground crew, who shrugged their shoulders in confusion. "Something doesn't add up." He said to himself before he and Neo headed for the armory.
Back in the command center, Rebel operatives continued to look through the list of planets that were the possible location of the weapons factory when one of them, a female Twi'lek found something rather unusual in regards to one of the planets mentioned in the data. Double checking her finds, the Twi'lek soon rushed out towards the briefing room with the information in hand giving it to Organa who then gave the information to R2 who plugged into the main terminal and confirmed what the operative had found. "Gather the teams at once, we've found what we're looking for." Ironwood said to a nearby Cody who did just as the general ordered.
Sometime later, both Beacon teams, the Bad Batch, Delta Squad, Rex, Cody, Waxer, Boil, Hevy, Hardcase, Fives, Jesse, Kix, Echo, Rick, Neo and the newly formed Ghost Squad stood as the holo-graphic image of a planet orbiting a red sun. "Dathomir, the home world of the Nightsisters or former home for lack of respect." Kota said with distain in his voice.
"Nightsisters?" Weiss asked.
"Witches who are strong in the force. They aren't Jedi if that's what you're thinking, but it's said that their abilities are the combination of their magic infused with the dark side of the Force. History said that they were trained in the ways of the force by rouge Jedi Knight named Allya around six hundred years ago." Kota explained, getting confused looks from the Remnant natives before he continued. "During the Clone Wars, the Nightsister's were attacked and all but wiped out by the Separatist supreme commander, General Grievous in an effort to kill Count Dooku's former apprentice, Asajj Ventress and their leader for some unknown reason. The Nightsisters were all but wiped out, but rumors have been spreading across the galaxy that the Nightsisters are still alive." He added.
"The weapons factory is located here, somewhere in the northern mountains. Normally, Trihexalon is manufactured on a planet like Nod Karth due to its climate being almost below freezing, but this factory is using a special simulated climate for production, hiding it from all the likely planets that would be a more suitable location." Organa added.
"While we know where the factory is, we haven't been able to pinpoint its exact location. One of the locals might know something, given the amount of Imperial supply ships arriving and leaving the planet is at an alarming rate. We're sending all of you to Dathomir, find that factory and we'll send in an air-strike to blow that damned facility to hell." Johnson said, carrying two duffle bags which he handed to Rick and Neo.
"Neo and I will accompany the others. Our skills aren't just limited to flying fighter planes and such." Rick inputted.
"We'll follow orders. But if you want us to target civilians then you can count us out." Neo added, a serious look in her eyes.
"We're not the type of group to target civilians." Kota assured, smiling at the determination the two of them were showing. He then turned back to the others. "Commander Cody, we'll lending you a captured Imperial shuttle, but you'll need more firepower to complete this mission. I recommend that you gather additional reinforcements from Remnant before you head for the planet." Kota suggested.
"I was thinking the same thing, General. I'm sure that Fordo, Alpha and his men must be pretty board right not with no droids to shoot." Rex said in agreement, joking a bit before he assured the others that they would be ready to go in a half-hour or less.
Everyone soon left the briefing room, except for Rick and Galen, the later of which shared the same concerned look as Rick had, in regards to the recent departure of Sutherland which had them both wondering what the captain was up too.
No one knew that Sutherland's 'borrowed' shuttle had dropped out of hyperspace in a remote area of the Outer Rim where he met with an Imperial Star Destroyer. Said Captain now stood on the bridge of the ship, wearing the standard Imperial officers' uniform where he stood in front of a holographic image of Wilhuf Tarkin, who was pleased with the Captains progress in leading the rebels astray in their search for the Trihexalon production facility or the target the Empire planned to attack. "My lord, I assure you that when and if the Rebels find out our intended target for deploying the weapon, they will be unable to stop the weapon and the galaxy will see them for what they are, terrorists." Sutherland said with a smug look on his face.
"Very good, Captain Sutherland. But remember, should you fail me you will face a fate far worse than death. I had not expected you to have been such an exceptional spy." Tarkin said with an unimpressed look in his eyes. "I am more concerned about these individuals from the planet Remnant, including the pilots. From what Lord Vader and our allies on Remnant have told us, they are some of the most skilled pilots, if on their planet only."
"That is one of the reasons I've contacted, sir. I would like to request the transfer of Lieutenant Colonel Anton Kupchenko, Captain Bristow, 1st Lieutenant Palmer and their teams for the operation. They are some of the best special operations squadrons in the fleet and I feel that if they are present during the operation, the Rebels and their new allies will become afraid to even fight back." Sutherland said with confidence.
"Very well than, Captain. I'll transfer them to your fleet immediately." Tarkin agreed before his figure vanished from the table, leaving Sutherland alone to think of his victory and his potential promotion.
Sutherland didn't know that while he was reporting to his superiors, the Rouge Shadow, Marauder and a single Sentinel-class shuttle traveled through the blue tunnel that was known as hyperspace. Inside the shuttle, Arc-Troopers of the Muunilinst 10 triple checked their weapons for the operation while Rick and Neo checked their own equipment. Both were wearing the same ARC-Trooper armor worn by Fordo and his brothers, but Neo's had a pink and brown paint scheme much like her hair color while Ricks armor was jet black with a red visor. Both of them carried a pair of DC-17 blaster pistols, but both of them carried a different type of blaster, in Neo's case a WESTAR-M5 equipped with an under-barrel pump-action grenade launcher while Rick had gone for the DC-17m Interchangeable-Weapons System or DC-17 ICWS which was the closest thing to his basic weapon back on Remnant.
Since they were still several minutes away from the planet, Rick took the time to look at the armor worn by Clone Blaze troopers. One of the Blaze troopers, Pyro said after the Breach that while the standard flamethrowers were effective against the Grimm, he and his brothers needed something with a little more punch for combating droids and enemy armor. Rick understood and was drawing up several ideas for upgrades to the Blaze Troopers weapons, such as interchangeable hybrid blaster/flamethrower gauntlets, mortars, missile launchers and anything else he could come up with on the fly.
"Homework?" Neo teased as she sat down beside him.
"Something like that." Rick answered with a chuckle before showing the ideas he came up with to Neo. "Those clones with the flamethrowers are pretty good, but when it comes to facing against enemy armor and those droids, fire doesn't really do much against machines. Now with a few upgrades to the weapons systems, they could become real demons on the battlefield." He added.
"Nothing for close quarters?" Neo asked. Rick smiled and showed him something else he came up with for the armor's weapons. "Yeah, that'll work. Think the troopers can make it work?" Rick just smiled and continued to chat with his friend as the ships continued towards the planet of the Witches.
Several minutes later, all three ships dropped out of hyperspace over the planet and to the surprise of those from Remnant, found it to be similar to their own home planet, if only with lush green forests, deserts and snow-capped mountains. "And I always thought that Remnant was the only planet in the universe capable of sustaining life. Man was I wrong." Rose said in awe.
"A lot of planets have been terraformed into habitable planets for the people who live on them. Whether Dathomir was terraformed or not is up for debate." Ahsoka added, feeling a familiar presence in the force. 'Is she still alive?' she thought.
"Tech and Fixer have picked up imperial transmissions emanating from the planet. Where the transmissions are from, we haven't been able to pinpoint the exact location, but it is certainly coming from the northern mountains." Hunter reported from the Marauder.
Galen thought for a moment before he started to feel a presence strong in the force coming from the planets surface, the same presence that Ahsoka was sensing. "Commander, send us Rick and Neo. You and your men head to the northern mountains and wait for us there. There's something we need to investigate and it might be related to the mission." Galen said into the commlink.
"What do you have, kid?" Rex asked.
"I'm not sure. But whatever it is, its strong in the force and very angry." Galen answered. The troopers on the two ships knew that matters of the Force was well above their paygrade and agreed to Galen's request about sending Neo and Rick to Galen and the others while they headed for the sector where the factory was supposedly located while the Rouge Shadow headed towards another location on the planet.
"So, you sensed it too, didn't you?" Ahsoka asked.
"I did. It's strong in the dark side of the force and if I'm right it might be a surviving Nightsister. We don't need any of the troopers getting cut down, so its best that we deal with this ourselves." Galen answered as the ship soon touched down in a clearing surrounded by numerous dead trees, rusted tanks and battle droids. "Looks like there was quite a fight here." Galen observed.
"Anyone have any ideas what happened here?" Blake asked.
"My guess, the droids attacked the Nightsisters and massacred them all or all those who were on the planet when they attacked. Either way, we need to check this out." Galen answered before he left the cockpit and walked out of the ship. "Proxy, get the ship back in the air as soon as we leave. I don't want to risk losing the ship. Everyone else, stay on your guard and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious." He instructed.
"Got it/ Yes Master." Everyone replied and the group headed towards a temple some kilometers away from where they landed, keeping their fingers on the triggers of their blasters and ready to draw their lightsabers at a moment's notice. As they moved through the forest, they noticed the number of skeletal remains of certain female figures, some of whom looked to have cut down by a lightsaber.
"I don't get it. Why did the Separatists attack the Nightsisters? I mean, what did they do to deserve this?" Ruby asked, slightly shaken by the site she was seeing.
"Asajj Ventress." Ahsoka answered. "She was Dooku's assassin and apprentice during the Clone Wars. At some point, Dooku tried to kill Ventress and I heard that she attempted to kill him with someone by the name of Savage Opress. She failed and Dooku decided to eliminate her and her people in order to prevent them from trying to plot against him again." She explained.
"So, what happened to this Ventress?" Yang asked.
"Last time I saw her, she was a bounty hunter trying to collect the bounty placed on my head after I was framed for bombing the Jedi Temple and betraying the Republic. I heard rumors that she was on Boz Pity and working for the Separatists again, but she then vanished after that. Either she's still a bounty hunter or she was killed long ago." Ahsoka added.
"So, she might still be alive. If she is, she might prove to be a valuable ally. The more help we get the better, right?" March pipped in.
"Not likely, Ventress killed a lot of Jedi during the war and while she may have turned to the life of a bounty hunter, I don't think she'd be willing to work with us. Especially considering that she and I hold a grudge against each other." Ahsoka clarified. "Plus, she out right hates the Jedi for some reason." She added as the group arrived at a derelict temple with multiple statues standing outside the temple, some of them destroyed.
"Hey, what's that?" Ruby asked, glancing off to the side and noticed numerous blades planted in the ground. "Is this a… memorial for those that were killed?" she wondered. As she moved close to one of the blades, she failed to notice a figure standing on one of the statues above her. The figure was wearing the typical black and red Nightsister clothing with a hood and mask covering her face.
Angered by the fact that someone was disturbing their fallen sisters, the figure leapt down from the statue and drew a pair of curved hilt lightsabers which they ignited, ready to bring them down onto Ruby, only to be blocked by Galen's own blades, alerting everyone to their attackers' presence. "You trespass on sacred grounds." The mystery attacker said with a growl. "Now, you all die a swift death." She added before noticing Ahsoka. "Well now, this is a pleasant surprise, Skywalkers padawan still lives and you still look the same as when you were on the run. It's been too long."
"The feeling isn't mutual, Ventress." Ahsoka said with a snarl. "And you still look the same as the last time I saw you. Were you put into a stasis pod as well?" she asked.
"You seem to be well informed." Ventress chuckled, lowering her mask and removing her hood, revealing that she hadn't aged at all. "After I made my escape from Boz Pity, Dooku captured me and put me into stasis. I don't know how long I was in stasis but when I finally emerged, you can imagine my surprise to hear that the Jedi have been all but wiped out and the Republic has now become the Galactic Empire." She explained.
"So that means you're going to fight the Empire?" Ruby asked, relaxing her body. "Well, we could use some help. The Empire has a weapons plant in the mountains north of here. Their developing Trihexalon and its going to be used on civilians. They're planning on framing the rebellion for terrorism and we need to stop them. If you can give us the location of the factory, we can…" she began to say before Ventress looked at her with a glare in her eyes.
"Listen here, child. I have no interest in what the Empire is planning on another planet and I don't care about this rebellion. I want you and your companions to leave and never come back." Ventress growled.
"You think you're the only who knows betrayal?" Galen shouted getting Ventress to look at him with interest. "I've also been betrayed by my master, twice for that matter and I've also held my own against the Emperor! Even if you don't plan on joining the rebellion, you can at least help us find and get the Empire of your planet!"
Ventress looked to Galen for a moment and thought about her options. She did want Galen, Ruby, Ahsoka and the others to leave her home and would rather not kill them and bring the wrath of the rebellion down on her head. On the other hand, she did want the Empire off her planet, but she knew couldn't do it alone, despite her skills in the force and with a lightsaber. She continued to think, before she finally gave her answer. "If you want the information about the Empire's precise location on the planet, then perhaps you'd be willing to fight me for it." She suggested, sheathing her lightsabers before turning her attention towards Galen. "I'll fight the boy over there. If he wins, I'll tell you exactly where the Empire is stationed on the planet. Lose and all of you leave, but the girl stays with me."
"What!?" Yang shouted. "No way in hell are we going to agree to that wager. We can't leave Ruby here with this, this…. What did you call her, Ahsoka? Harpy?" Yang asked.
"Hairless Harpy." Ahsoka corrected. "And I also agree with Yang. We're not going to leave Ruby with you. Furthermore, what makes you think he'll going to fight you?" Ahsoka asked.
"Because I can sense his feelings for the girl." Ventress explained. "If what I sense is true, then he'll do anything to protect the girl, seeing as he made a promise to someone close to her. I want to see if he's still as strong as the rumors I've heard about over the last two years, a person strong in the force and just as powerful as the Emperor."
"Forget it lady! Galen will never…" Yang began.
"Done!" Galen answered, getting a shocked reaction from everyone. "I won't leave Ruby in the hands of this Bounty Hunter. She's staying with me and the others." he said with determination. "I accept your challenge."
"Good. Follow me." Ventress said heading into the remains of the temple. The others followed her, everyone being a little on edge with Galen agreeing to the demands given to them by Dooku's former apprentice. As they followed Ventress, everyone took notice of several other Nightsisters inside several rebuilt buildings, glaring at the group. "I assume you all thought the Nightsisters were wiped out when the droids attacked us, correct? Well, I can assure you that we are still alive, albeit scattered and few in number." Ventress began. "While I was in stasis, many of my sisters who were out in other parts of the galaxy felt the deaths of so many sisters and came here to rebuild our group, even without Mother Talzin." She added.
"And it seems you also decided to scavenge fallen weapons from the droids to protect your people." Rick chimed in. "I'd recommend you try and get some more heavier firepower like machine guns and rocket launchers. Maybe some sniper rifles for those who are the best shots, a couple of assault rifles and shotguns for medium and close-range combat, in case anyone tries to attack you." He suggested, getting an elbow to the stomach from Neo. "What? All I'm trying to do is give her some ideas on how to protect her people." He explained.
"Not many people would be willing to trade with us." Ventress stated, coming to a stop in the center of the village which consisted of several islands surrounded by water with rock structures the Nightsisters called home. "We'll fight here using only our lightsabers and the force, no one outside the two combatants will be allowed in the fight. Any outside interference and you forfeit the match." Ventress added.
"Fine by me. I don't plan on losing." Galen answered again determined not to lose. He took his place on one side of the island while Ventress took her place on the other side, both of them reaching for their lightsabers and waited for the other to make the first move.
(Ash Like Snow starts)
Ventress moved first and quickly ignited her lightsabers, catching Galen off guard. Her attacks were enough to force Galen to jump into the water which was surprisingly shallow. A quick ignition of his lightsaber allowed Galen to block an attack from Ventress. "You are certainly strong in the force, much more than that brute Savage." Ventress said.
"Was that a compliment? Because I thought you never complemented your opponents." Galen quipped, angering Ventress who grabbed a couple of nearby rocks and sent them flying towards him, who in turn sliced the rocks in half before they could hit.
"I'll enjoy killing you slowly. I'll hang your corpse from one of the statues as a warning to anyone who trespasses on our sacred ground. If they don't take heed from your dead body, I could always use more corpses, maybe even have the red head as a living statue." Ventress goaded.
"I won't let that happen!" Galen said, passing a glance towards Ruby who was cheering him on. "Besides, I'm the one who's going to be training her." he added. A couple of attacks from Galen forced Ventress to block each of them before Galen reached out and pushed Ventress back several feet, slamming her into a large boulder, briefly knocking the wind out of her before she rolled out of the way to avoid Galen's blue blade.
"Now that's the spirit. I've been waiting for a fight like this ever since Kenobi and Skywalker humiliated me so many times during the war." Ventress said with excitement, before she connected her two sabers together forming a saber-staff.
With a roar, Ventress charged towards Galen, spinning her saber-staff before red and blue clashed against each other. "I don't fear you or death." Ventress spat, swinging her saber and still keeping Galen on the defensive.
Galen said nothing and swung his saber at Ventresses saber, forcing the Dathomirian to separate her two blades into the base sabers, giving Galen the chance to pull out his secondary saber. Before he ignited it, Ventress reached out with the force, grabbed Galen and sent him flying outside the temple. "Damn, that's going to hurt in the morning." He groaned before rolling out of the way as Ventress roared and was about to bring her sabers down on him before Galen reached out and caught his opponent with the force, sending her flying into one of the statues with a strong slam and causing his opponent to drop their weapons.
Slamming Ventress into another statue, Galen threw her back into the temple before picking up her lightsabers and following after his opponent who was now battered, beaten and bleeding a bit from the cuts on her body. Believing her opponent was about to kill her, Ventress prepared for what came next only to be surprised when Galen sheathed his weapons and handed Ventress her own weapons.
(End song)
"You've lost. It was a good fight, but you still have a lot to learn." Galen stated. "So, where is the Empire's weapons factory?" he asked.
"I can do one better; I'll take you to the factory. Even if the Empire hasn't attacked my people, its only a matter of time before they decide to attack us. I want to make sure that they don't get that chance." Ventress answered, walking towards her quarters before emerging sometime later wearing her bounty hunter attire and helmet. She took a glance at Neo and handed her a lightsaber, the one she relieved Grievous of years ago. "I think you'll be needing this."
Neo took the lightsaber before clipping it to her belt before Ventress instructed one of her fellow Nightsisters to stay on alert, in the event that the Empire decided to come and wipe out her people. "Thanks." Neo replied before Ventress led them to several BARC Speeder bikes that she and her people had taken from those who trespassed on their land. "We're taking these things?" she asked.
"They may be old, but these old Speeder bikes have been well maintained by my people, in the event we need to head-off several intruders." Ventress answered, climbing onto one of the speeders and powering it up. "Plus, this is the quickest way to get to where the factory. But we'll need to stop by the Nightbrother village. One of my sisters saw smoke rising from the village a few days ago and it has me concerned for my own people." She added.
"Hop on, Ruby." Galen said to the leader of Team RWBY who got on the same speeder bike that Galen was operating, holding onto him tightly while the others each took one of the remaining bikes, powered them up and headed for the Nightbrother village with Ventress leading the pack. "Rex, its Galen. We made contact with Ventress and she's taking us to the factory. We'll send you our location the moment we reach the factory, but we're checking out a Nightbrother village that's gone quiet."
"Ventress is alive!? You be careful around her; she's killed a lot of my brothers during the war and she nearly killed Ahsoka several times." Rex warned Galen.
"I don't think she's the enemy, but I'll keep my eyes on her." Galen assured the captain, keeping his eyes closely focused on Ventress for any signs of malice. The group continued on for a few more kilometers before they arrived at the village, only to find it completed destroyed. "Seems like someone beat us to the place." Galen observed before he instructed everyone to fan out and look for survivors.
"What do you think happened here?" Ventress asked.
"Best guess, is that the Empire found out that one of the Nightbrothers had somehow found the factory and was planning to try and give that information to the Rebellion, only to end up being tracked back here and killed along with the rest of the village. Question is, where are the bodies?" Galen surmised before checking an abandoned house only to find nothing inside. The others reported the same thing, no signs of anyone living or dead was located in the village and it was starting to feel a lot like they had returned to Mountain Glenn, but that didn't last long.
After finishing her search of a house near the center of the village, Ruby was about to head back to where they parked the speeder bikes when she caught a whiff of a nasty smell. The vile smell flew into her nose and at first, Ruby thought it was some rotten food and thought that maybe someone was alive, looking for something to eat and decided to follow the smell. What she found was something far worse than rotten food.
Ruby's eyes widened in horror as she gazed at a large pile of rotting Nightbrother corpses all piled up and already decomposing. The bodies of the Nightbrother warriors, old and young indicated that they were killed by blaster fire in an execution style. The mere sight of this caused Ruby's vision to change and she actually saw what had happened. She watched helplessly as Stormtroopers gunned down the unarmed warriors before they began to pile up the bodies, leaving them as a warning to anyone who came to investigate the village even going as far as to set fire to the homes. She even saw the body of a rebel operative among the dead.
Ruby dropped her blaster rifle and felt her heart pounding inside her chest, alarmed and disgusted by this sight as Galen and the others arrived, minus Rick, Neo and Ahsoka. "The Empire… they killed them all… not just the men, but the children as well… they didn't deserve this… why did they do this?" Ruby stuttered.
"Fear. That's what this served. Someone from the Rebellion must have made their way to Dathomir and found out about the factory. As a result, the Empire must have found out this was where the operative was hiding and decided to wipe out everyone, regardless of their support for the Rebellion." Galen said, comforting Ruby while the others felt a burning anger inside them. "Let's go. Ventress, maybe you have your people give these warriors a proper burial." He suggested, taking Ruby away from the sight.
"If this is what the Empire is capable of, I'll kill them all." Ruby said with anger, anger that Galen sensed was building up inside her.
"Believe me, I understand about wanting to make the Empire pay for they've done, but you can't give into your anger. If we were on Remnant, the Grimm would be swarming this place in a matter of minutes and we'd all die. Letting your anger get the better of you will do these people no good. Your mother wouldn't want this." Galen said.
"How would you know about my mother?" Ruby snapped, surprising Galen.
"I don't." Galen snapped. "But I know that she wouldn't want this for you. You're a kind girl Ruby and that's what makes you the person you are. If you give into that anger you have for the Empire, there's a chance that you'll end up the same as me, when I was Vader's apprentice and I don't want you to be like that. You mean a lot to me, Ruby."
That last part made Ruby forget about her anger and she turned to Galen with a surprised look. Did she mean that much to Galen? "I'm not going to let you die, I won't let that happen." He said determinedly.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
Meanwhile, Rick, Ahsoka and Neo had found the personal effects of the rebel operative and were looking through everything that they found. "So, it looks like this operative was one of Sutherlands pilots, an A-Wing pilot who went missing during the Captain's last mission. 'Missing' my ass, this pilot found out the Captains dirty little secret. The bastards a spy!" Rick snarled, slamming his fist down on one of the tables in the operative's home.
"Every war has its traitors." Neo said with venom in her voice. "This guy wasn't a defector, he's a double agent. He's been supplying the rebellion with false intel and leading those he's been commanding into traps. No wonder he come's back with so few ships!"
"And it would also seem that he was the one who suggested the Emperor use chemical weapons on civilians no less." Ahsoka added. "Looks he's also one Tarkin's subordinates."
"Tarkin? Isn't that the guy who tried to have you executed for a crime you didn't commit and submitted a faulty recording as evidence?" Rick asked.
"That's right. He never thought to highly of the Jedi taking the role of generals during the war. I heard he even landed one of his ships atop of peaceful protestors on the planet Ghorman, on purpose. He's ambitious, always willing to do anything to accomplish goals, no matter who gets in the way." Ahsoka answered, remembering how Tarkin was willing to execute her for something she didn't do, along with the feelings of broken trust from both Barriss and the Jedi Council.
"Hey, aren't we forgetting about something? If he's a double agent, that means he knows that the base is on Dantooine and that would mean he's probably leading an assault on the base right now!" Neo exclaimed.
"Not likely. The shuttle that Sutherland took from the base had its navigation systems wiped clean, so even if he could track the shuttle back to the base, he wouldn't find anything at the base. I heard from Halberton that they were moving their base to a planet in the Yavin system I think." Rick assured.
"Well, that's good news. I guess there's no reason for us to contact the base and alert them to the impending attack." Neo said with a sigh before she noticed something. "Hey, Ahsoka what would be a good target for a chemical weapons attack in the Mid-Rim?" she asked.
"I only planet I can think of is… Naboo!" Ahsoka said with a shock. "Naboo, that's their target. The Empire's going to use Trihexalon on the Emperor's own home planet! I can't believe he would stoop so low as to attack the planet he was born on!" she exclaimed.
"And if a leader's home were attacked by 'terrorists' he'll use it as a rallying cry to give him more power and support from the galaxy then he already has." Neo added.
"Bastard! I'd like to put a bullet into that man's head. But right now, we need to find the factory and destroy it. Hopefully, the factory hasn't shipped out the weapon to the fleet planning the attack." Rick said, transmitting the data to Proxy who would then send it to Rebel high command.
They soon rejoined the others who had left Ventress and her people to give the fallen Nightbrothers a proper burial and showed them everything the fallen pilot had found and needless to say, a lot of them were raring to go and destroy the factory. Ventress soon joined them after telling her people to return to their home in the event the Empire was watching the village. "Well, this makes our job a lot easier. Tell whoever you brought with you the location of the factory and let's get going." Ventress said.
"You're coming with us? I thought you didn't care about what the Empire is planning?" Ruby asked.
"I don't. But if they think they come to my planet and kill my people, they have another thing coming." She answered, hopping onto a speeder bike, waited for the others to do the same and once again headed towards the northern mountains after transmitting the location of the factory to Rex and the others.
Needless to say, the journey wasn't an easy one since they had to pass through territory that was home to the massive Rancor, a carnivorous reptomammal native to Dathomir, though many have been seen on other planets due the starship they were on had crashed and some were kept as pets by crime lords who used them as means of entertainment or even food sources. But in the end, the group was able to make it through the Rancor dominated territory, surprisingly unscathed and they made it to the factory without any problems.
Though there was some initial hostility from the clones towards Ventress who had killed many of their brothers during the war, but despite the hostility Ventress assured them that she was only interested in pushing the Empire off her planet. Needless to say, the troopers reluctantly agreed but they were still unsure about her motives.
Once the matter of Ventress's trustworthiness was taken care of Delta Squad and Ghost Squad returned from their recon of the factories defenses and found it was very similar to the factory on Nod Kartha, minus the droids and armor. "The factory sits on the right side of the mountain, here." Fixer pointed out as the holo-map of their target had everyone's attention. "They don't have any bunkers controlling a deflector shield, most likely because they didn't expect anyone to find this place but we can't launch an airstrike on the factory. The main entrance to the factory is right here, at the south side of the factory. Infiltrating the factory shouldn't be a problem, but the factory has a series of anti-aircraft turrets on the landing pad. We'll need to eliminate those turrets before we can call for an evac and we'll need to eliminate the factories communication system so the factory doesn't call for help." He added.
"Right then. Delta Squad, Ghost Squad, the Bad Batch will eliminate the enemy communications relay. We'll probably be up to our necks in bucketheads by the time you blow up the relay. Fordo, take your men and knock out those anti-aircraft cannons and hold the landing pad until we arrive. The rest of us will infiltrate the factory, find the reactor and place some demo charges on it before making our way to the landing pad for evac. The charges will be remote detonated so as they aren't detonated by accident by us or the Empire." Rex instructed.
"Neo and I will assist Captain Fordo in securing the landing pad." Rick said, volunteering himself and his friend to assist the Captain of the Muunulinst 10 with their objective. "Neo knows a thing or two about demolitions from when she 'worked' with Roman so she can handle planting the charges. I'll help out the best way I know how; kicking ass and taking names." He added with a grin underneath his helmet.
"He's right. Roman did teach me a bit about explosives, but I don't know if I'll be able to handle the kind of explosives you guys have." She admitted. "But if it means blowing up this death factory, then I'll do what I can." She added.
"Then I'll give you some assistance. You'll need someone strong in the force to help keep the Empire off you all when they start shooting." Ventress offered.
"Ok then. Galen, Ruby your teams will be assisting me, Rex and our group with infiltrating the factory and finding the reactor. Evergreen, do not under any circumstances use that mortar launcher. Its going to be close quarters inside so use the heavy blaster rifle only. No grenades or any other explosives, unless you want to a gruesome death. Commander- I mean Ahsoka will be with our group. Remember, we've got to take out this factory before the Empire can produce any more of this weapon." Cody said, still unsure of Ventresses motives, but knew that they had a mission to complete and they didn't have a lot of time.
Once everyone was given their orders, the group split off towards their objectives. Ventress, Rick, Neo and Fordo arrived at the anti-air guns location and found it to be lightly guarded by several Stormtroopers. "Any ideas on how to get rid of these bucketheads?" Rick asked, his finger ready to pull the trigger of his blaster at a moment's notice. Before he could even fire, Ventress rushed towards the guns and killed the Stormtroopers using hand-to-hand and CQC combat techniques she learned from both of her masters. Bones were broken and limbs were snapped as Ventress tossed the body of one trooper into the snow while the others watched impressively. "What a woman." Rick said impressively.
"Careful there, Mr. Autumn. You don't want a certain Togruta to think that you like to hit on other women, especially those that are older than you." Neo teased, knowing full well that Rick was starting to feel something for Ahsoka.
"Very funny." Rick remarked dryly and followed the others to the AA guns. "Still, that's one way to eliminate the enemy without anyone hearing you." He added, keeping watch for any signs of Imperial forces with Fordo, Ventress and Neo while several of Fordo's brothers began to place demo charges on the AA guns.
At the same time, the three commando squads were also placing deme-charges on the communications relay tower while Tech and Fixer sliced into the relay towers systems, hoping to find some more intel about the Empire's plan that wasn't included in the intelligence the rebel pilot had found before their death. "If what Ahsoka said is true, then that means Naboo is the Empire's target. We have to inform Rebel high command of the attack." Niner said, placing a demo charge on one of the relay towers supports.
"You think it might have something to do with the uprising in Theed shortly after the Empire came into power? Maybe something related to Queen Apailana's military buildup? If it's to send a message to the Rebellion, why wouldn't he do it before hand?" Climber pondered.
"Maybe its because it would be too soon to enact such a plan. If he did it right after the attack, others would have started to rise up against him and his new order. So, he probably decided to wait until it was the right time. My intel suggests that the empire declared it was a terrorist attack and transported the survivors to some unknown location, to cover up the truth." Tech said as he and Fixer pulled the last of the imperial data from the terminal, just as Wrecker confirmed that all demo charges were placed and ready to detonate.
Meanwhile, Galen, Ruby, Rex and the others waited at the southside entrance for the explosions. "Detonating charges now." Boss said over the commlink as the relay tower exploded before it fell down with a crash, followed by explosions from the anti-aircraft guns which alerted the Imperial forces to the presence of intruders. A call on a captured imperial commlink indicated that the Imperial forces were converging on Fordo's position. "Delta three-eight here, relay tower is down and we're heading to the landing pad now. We'll hold it until you've completed your objective, Commander."
"Copy that, three-eight." Cody responded as multiple squads of Imperial Stormtroopers rushed towards the landing pad. "Alright, lets move it."
Without the Stormtroopers guarding the entrance, it was easy for the large group to enter the factory without being noticed. However, that didn't mean they didn't encounter any imperial forces inside the factory. A platoon of Stormtroopers rushing towards the landing pad came across the group and were quick to open fire on them. Galen and Ahsoka began to deflect enemy blaster fire back while the others took cover and quickly returned fire.
(When the Dragon Swims, Everything Ends starts)
Reaching out with the force, Galen pulled a piece of the wall down, giving the others more cover to move up while March, Hardcase and Hevy laid down suppressing fire with their rotary and heavy blasters. "Man, they are really dug in. I wish I could just blow them up!" March groaned, remembering the orders given to him by Cody. "Damn it!" he cursed.
Blake and Weiss dashed forwards, each firing one of their twin blaster pistols while slashing any unfortunate Stormtroopers that got in their path before they took cover by a wall while Ahsoka kept them covered. "Yang, use that blaster of yours and hit them from range!" Weiss shouted.
"You want me to get my head blasted off!? I can't move up with those heavy weapons troopers firing on us!" Yang shouted back, ducking down as a blaster bolt flew overhead. "Alright that's it!" she roared and broke from cover, firing her M5 in full-auto and mowing down any trooper that got in her path. "Come on let's move it boys!" she shouted to Rex and the others who were firing back at the enemy.
"Come on then, lets move it!" Rex said to his fellow 501st brothers, lobbing a flashbang grenade towards the imperial forces which Ahsoka gave an extra push with the force and landed behind the imperial forces. The grenade exploded, blinding the imperial troopers and making their helmets ring like crazy, leaving them open to blaster fire from Ruby, Rose and Arthur who were quick to move up.
"Flashbangs huh, that's a better grenade to use in a situation like this." March mused, tempted to reach for his launcher, but Hevy quickly put a stop to that. "No fair!" he complained.
"War isn't fair kid. Remember, this isn't the best place for explosives! Unless you want to die, then don't even think about it again!" Hevy spat, firing his blaster cannon at any imperial forces foolish enough to try and move up. "Come on, then! Let's move our asses and not get left behind!" The others followed suit, moving to where Rex, Cody and the others were before once again laying down suppressing fire and allowing the other clones to move up.
Blaster fire slammed into Arthur's armor, causing his shields to flicker as he charged forwards and swung Excalibur at the helpless imperial forces, killing them. "You kill the innocent; you have no honor." Arthur snarled, switching his blade into its blaster mode and fired. Hot blue bolts of plasma slammed into the imperial forces as more and more enemy reinforcements arrived.
The newly arrived reinforcements were then subjected to sniper fire from Ruby and Rose who kept their allies covered from the rear as everyone continued to move up. "Come on, let's move it little red!" Rose shouted, shouldering her sniper rifle in favor of her blaster rifle and moved up to join the others. Ruby followed suit, but stopped where March, Hevy and Hardcase were providing covering fire.
The moment she took up a firing position, she watched as Galen slashed through multiple imperial troopers, blasting some of them out of the way with a strong force attack sending them flying as if they were rag dolls. "Show off." She teased, though it was only to herself. She then noticed an imperial sniper on the catwalk above them taking aim at Galen and was quick to fire off a few rounds at the sniper, killing them before they fell over the side, screaming. "I love my Crescent Rose 2.0!" she squealed with excitement.
Galen on the other hand, kept on cutting through the imperial forces before reaching out and pulling the catwalk down, killing those still on the catwalk and the ones who unfortunate enough to be underneath it. Reaching out with the force again, he grabbed an imperial trooper and electrocuted them with force lightning before sending them back into their allies and exploding like a grenade. "Fall back, fall back!" one of the imperials shouted starting to retreat back towards another section of the factory.
"We need to keep moving! Let's move it!" Galen shouted, sending a powerful blast of force energy and sent the remaining troopers flying. "We're shutting this place down!"
The others nodded their heads and moved forwards past the bodies of dead imperials before they made it to the reactor room and began to plant the explosives on the reactor after fighting their way through multiple imperial forces again.
(End song)
Outside on the landing pad, Imperial forces were getting torn to pieces by either blaster fire or Ventress's lightsabers. Said nightsister sliced through multiple imperial troopers, severing limbs and slicing apart weapons, like a certain Imperial officer who got the red blades of her weapon right through the chest. "Leave Dathomir now, or be destroyed!" she snarled.
The imperial forces didn't even flinch and just kept on firing at the defenders, taking out a few ARC-Troopers whose deaths were avenged by Neo and Rick who threw a couple of grenades towards their foes, killing them with the explosion. "Let's try the launcher." Rick said, configuring his blaster into its anti-armor mode and loaded up a grenade. "Say hello to my little friend!" he shouted and pulled the trigger. The grenade flew towards the imperial forces, killing many of them before grenades from Wrecker, Scorch and Darman's launchers killed several more imperials.
Neo opened up with her own blaster rifle, laying down covering fire and allowing several other ARC-Troopers to pull back their wounded. "You've always wanted to say that!" she shouted to Rick. "You love that line!"
"Not as much as this one!" Rick replied before turning to the other troopers. "Come on you apes! You wanna live forever!?" he shouted, firing at any imperial trooper that cross his sights.
"I like this guy already!" Wrecker said, stowing away his rifle, bent down and lifted up a supply crate which he threw towards the imperials before drawing his knives and charged forwards. "TIME TO UNLEASH THE WRECKING BALL!" he shouted and proceeded to slash through the imperial ranks.
"Honestly, I almost feel bad for those Imperials. Almost." Hunter joked to Fordo and Boss before the later lobbed a grenade towards several imperials using a nearby crate as cover, sending them falling off the landing pad from the resulting explosion.
"I don't. They serve an old man with ugly face and who manipulated the entire galaxy all for power. Sure, they might have families and loved ones, but these bastards deserve no mercy when it comes to war." Rick said as he joined them, just before he took a blaster bolt to the shoulder. "Damn it! I'll kill every last one of you bastards!" he shouted, charging after Wrecker while Crosshair and Sev provide sniper support.
"I like you kid! You know what you're fighting for when you're on the ground or in the air. You sure you're not a Jedi?" Wrecker asked, firing his own blaster one-handed.
"Nope, I'm just huntsmen who dropped out of Beacon who became a fighter pilot and is looking for his sister. When I fine her, I'll be telling her all about this." Rick answered as Ventress leapt over them and slashed at several Dark Troopers who had just arrived.
Next thing anyone knew, blaster fire from the factory caught the imperial troopers from behind as Galen and the others started attacking the enemy from behind, having finished planting the charges on the factory's reactor. "Proxy, we need a pick up now!" Galen shouted into his commlink before turning around and grabbed several nearby crates with the force which he then sent flying towards the remaining imperial forces.
No sooner had Proxy heard him, multiple Purge Troopers began to march out of the factory and towards the landing pad. "I'll hold them off! Get the wounded onboard the transports!" Galen shouted, igniting his secondary lightsaber and dashed towards the purge troopers weaving in and out between the incoming rockets before he slashed at them with a lighting charged saber attack.
The captured shuttle landed and everyone began to pile into the transport which was followed by the Marauder and Rogue Shadow. "Ruby, come on! Let's go!" Yang called to her sister who stood back and watched Galen get thrown back across the landing pad. The purge trooper that threw him readied its energy and was about to bring it down on Galen.
"NOOOOOOO!" Ruby shouted and almost on instinct reached out with the force and pushed the purge troopers back before they could even activate their magnetic tractor boots. Using the force made Ruby collapse and a nearby Stormtrooper would have finished her off had Galen not cut down the trooper.
"I knew she was strong in the force." Galen said as he picked up Ruby and her weapon before he dashed towards the edge of the landing pad and leapt into the air, landing on the Rogue Shadow's boarding ramp as Wrecker pressed the button on the detonator triggering a massive explosion which consumed the factory and caused a small avalanche. "Get in contact with Rebel high command and tell them that the Empire's target is Naboo. Plot a course to the new rebel base after we drop Ventress off back at her people's village!" Galen instructed, praying that they weren't too late.
And Chapter is done.
Ruby is force sensitive, Ventress has returned, if only for one Chapter. Galm Team, Mobius 1, Trigger and Neo have their planes upgraded with better tech. Sutherland is indeed an Imperial spy, has requested the services of Kupchenko, Bristow and Palmer. For those who don't know, they are the leaders of the Sorcerer, Gault and Wizard Teams from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War. If I'm bringing in the Galm and Gelb Teams, I might as well bring in the bad guy teams as Imperial special forces squadrons or in this case Storm Commando's.
Now, Naboo is about to make an appearance next chapter and you all will be in for quite the battle next chapter. Until then, please read, review and put your votes on my poll and I'll see you all next time.