Nar Shadda - The Red Light Sector

Outside the ship on the landing pad in the wide open was not the proper place to train with lightsabers and Juno still refused to allow him to practice inside the Rogue Explorer. So Starkiller and PROXY went to an abandoned area of the old Refugee Sector and found a massive abandoned hostel bay. There, Starkiller watched as PROXY ran through the Sora Bulq training module. It wasn't anything close to having someone actually train him but it was certainly better than nothing. Juno had suggested they simply leave but somehow, that didn't seem right to Starkiller. The force was telling him to wait even if he couldn't exactly articulate what he was waiting for.

Sitting on the ground, his legs crossed, the Jedi watched as PROXY went through the velocities of Vaapad, wielding a lightsaber in each hand. The movement were very similar to traditional Juyo form seven movements but, if possible, they were even more chaotic and more aggressive. Starkiller stood and was about to work on it when someone said, "Bulq? Impossible!" and two lightsaber's snap-hissed to life.

Spinning around, Starkiller was surprised to see Quinlan and Korto Vos behind him, grim-faced and ready for battle. Thinking fast, he yelled, "PROXY, end training module."

Immediately, the droid obeyed and put the lightsabers back in their holders on his back. Quinlan Vos looked stunned for a moment. "Well I'll be blasted! The Seps had lightsaber wielding war droids but never a droid that taught lightsaber combat."

Starkiller chuckled. "He's not really an instructor droid. During my training, he was my sparring partner. I was just trying to get some idea of the form, especially by a Jar'Kai practitioner."

"I have almost five hundred modules of various Jedi and even a few Sith and can perfectly imitate and execute their fighting styles. I have repulsers, tractor beams and an internal arc caster as well to rather crudely imitate force abilities."

Master Vos nodded and said, "That will come in handy. Are you ready, Jakob Nion?"

Starkiller's eyes widened. "So you are willing to teach me?"

"I am. It's time to pass that knowledge on to somebody who will use it against the Empire. Droid, activate the Sora Bulq module again and get ready to help me."

"Yes, Master Vos;" said the droid cheerfully before the image shimmered to life over his frame.

"Now, pay attention, Kid. The Vaapad techniques, as I'm sure you've already figured out, are very similar to those of the standard Juyo velocities. They're just more aggressive and chaotic. The philosophy is as well but it puts an emphasis on enjoying the challenge of combat. It encourages and draws power from the darker emotions within one's self. To practice Vaapad is to walk a very fine line between the light and the abyss. Master Windu once told me that it was like becoming half of a superconducting loop of force energy with the other half being the darkness within the enemy. When he used it, it was like watching the man in the midst of a maelstrom of purple energy."

Starkiller nodded, eager to begin. Korto stood off to the side, his arms crossed and watching with interest. Frowning, Quinlan looked at him. "Korto, what are you waiting for? Come over here if you want to learn this."

With all the eagerness of youth, the young Jedi hurried over and stood behind his father. "Alright, PROXY, stand in front of Jakob and Korto, stand behind me. We're going to take this slow at first and pick up speed as we go. Let's begin."

When Juno came to check on them several hours later, she was surprised and excited to see that the Jedi Master had agreed to train him after all. Without disturbing them, she left, heading towards the Verpine who built custom droids and custom droid parts. PROXY's exterior plating should be ready and she didn't have anything better to do.

They stayed on Nar Shadda for some time as Starkiller learned the velocities of Vaapad form seven. The physical aspect wasn't difficult but the emotional, psychological and spiritual aspects of the form were a different matter. None of the other lightsaber forms were so holistic in their techniques.

On the final day, Master Vos hung his lightsaber on his belt. "You know the techniques and the droid will make sure that you don't become sloppy. As for the rest, you will become more comfortable with them as you continue to practice. Meditate on the form and everything it encompasses and that encompasses it. There is no longer anything else that I can teach you."

Starkiller clipped his lightsabers to his belt and bowed before proffering his hand. "I am deeply indebted to you, Master Vos."

"No such thing;" said the Master with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just make me a promise, Kid. Do not teach anyone this technique unless you can say for a certainty that they will not slip into the abyss."

Starkiller nodded solemnly. "I promise."

"Thank you;" said Vos. "There was a reason that Windu only taught it to two of his apprentices. Both of them tipped over the edge because of it. One was a council member whom Windu was forced to hunt down himself. The other was a general who was killed on Krant."

Starkiller nodded. He well understood the seriousness of the situation. During just their practice sessions, he had felt the fine balance between using the darkness and fully giving in to it - and it scared him. He promised himself that he would only use it when absolutely the only remaining choice.

After a moment, he said, "You know, we could really use your help in the Alliance, Master Vos - yours and your families. The Empire has a small army of Dark Jedi, not to mention its already considerable military."

Quinlan chuckled and shook his head. "I've already fought a war, Kid. I've done my part in teaching you. Now go on. I've a feeling your Rebel Alliance needs you."

As if to prove the master's point, Starkiller's comlink chimed. When he answered, Juno urgently said, "We need to go, Jakob. I just received word from Kota and he wants us to go to Toprawa. Apparently there's a very important operation going on and that's where he'll need us."

"I'm on my way."

Starkiller turned one last time to Quinlan Vos. "Thanks again. May the force be with you, Master."

"Always;" said the master.

As Starkiller hurried away, Korto murmured, "Don't you think it's time we got out of hiding, Dad?"

Quinlan smiled, "Search your feelings, young Jedi. Do you think the time is right yet?"

After a long pause, Korto growled. "No, not yet. But how will we know when the right time is?"

"You will know, Korto. You will know."

Yavin IV - The Rebel Base

Rahm Kota strode briskly through the stone halls of the old Massassi temple. The operations would soon be under way only it wound up being five and not just four. According to intelligence received from an unknown source, the plans for the Death Star, a complete set, were kept on the Citadel base on Scarif but according to Galen Erso, the Chief Engineer of the ship's superstructure, they were heavily encrypted and in a different language. The Danuta base held two halves of the encryption key in separate places and would require a two-pronged operation. The Toprawa Listening Post contained the translation - the only translation, no less since the language the plans were set in was a variation of the ancient Sith species dialect, one that even their most knowledgeable protocol droids.

Apparently, whenever Imperial Advanced Weapons Research Director Krennic was going to begin work on a new section of the Death Star, I.E. the superlaser cannon assembly, the superstructure, the metal framework, ect. he had been required to get a copy of the specified component, take it first to Danuta and then to Troprawa to get lingual translation. From there, he would travel to the construction site of the weapon. Currently, the Death Star was staged over Jedha and had obliterated a city and ruined Jedi Temple there as a preliminary test of its main cannon.

Rahm had felt the thousands of deaths. It was terrible and he was now more than ever determined to destroy it. When he reached the briefing room, the argument that was going on went silent. "I can tell what many of you are thinking;" he stated flatly. "You fear that the Alliance is over before it has had the chance for any serious victory. Am I right?"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence before one of them, a former Senator named Nower Jabel said, "There is nothing we can do, Master Jedi. Have you seen the reports from Jedha? One of our fighter carriers, the Fortressa, attempted to attack the weapon and we lost five hundred of our fighters and a the carrier itself. It's obvious to everyone else! There is nothing more that we can do."

"Of course there is!" snapped Kota. "This weapon is likely the first of many to be constructed. The peoples of the galaxy will be enslaved to build them and entire worlds will be strip mined for the material. I suggest that we continue with our operations."

"I second that!" said Garm Bel-Iblis.

Admiral Raddus and several others murmured their agreement but still more voices disagreed. Mon Mothma shook her head. "We are at an impasse. No action will be taken until this is resolved."

Rahm would have glared at her if he could see. Without another word, he turned and left the room, resisting the urge to curse the cowardice of politicians and the procedural rigidity of bureaucracy. He sensed before he heard the person behind him. "So that's it then?" said a woman's voice in a high Coruscant accent.

"Of course not, Erso;" said Rahm. "This is something we can't afford to worry about policies and ridiculous red tape on. The operations will proceed as planned. Get me Andor, Tharen and anyone else involved with the operations."

They met aboard General Hera Syndulla's ship, the Ghost. The green-skinned Twi'lek woman saw them and immediately said, "I know nothing and I saw nothing. Get your business done and make sure it isn't traced back to me."

"Thanks, General;" said Rahm.

Hera's only response was to lift a hand without even turning around.

Slowly, the others began to trickle in and six individuals joined him. He could sense Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso. Beside them were two other Humans, a male named Kyle Katarn and a female named Jan Ors. Beside them was a young Twi'lek female mercenary named Rianna Saren. Completing the group was Brianna Tharen of the Red Hand. Ferroda Grey and three other former clone troopers were already aboard the Death Star alone with ten others disguised as various Imperial military personnel.

"Alright, listen up;" he said gruffly. "The council is deadlocked on to whether we are going to move or not - on whether we're still even the Rebel Alliance or not and Mon Mothma is calling a halt to all operations. But I think that we don't have time to discuss this nonsense in a committee. The Death Star will come for us and we need to be ready for it. So I say that this operation will continue. If anyone isn't comfortable with that, depart now."

He wasn't at all surprised when no one left. "Alright, you all leave the minute we're done here. Do you have transportation?"

They all replied in the affirmative. "Good. You have your plans and your op orders. Let's get this done. We don't have much time."

They all exited but Rahm followed Captain Andor. "Cassian, do you have the crew and troops that you need?"

"Yes he does;" came an unexpected voice behind him.

Shifting his focus in that direction, Rahm grinned. A group of individuals were there. "We'll take that Zeta you rode in on."

"Hurry;" said Rahm. "You won't have long."

As they hurried off, the old General chuckled and headed towards the command center. "You're taking an awful risk, you know;" commented a feminine voice.

Kota nodded. "We all take risks, General. You know that far better than most in this Alliance."

General Hera Syndulla gave a mirthless chuckle. "You're right, I do. For the record I think that you're right. But if even one of these operations aren't successful, the fallout will be severe."

Kota nodded slowly. "They will be. I have faith in our troops. I know that many of them won't be returning home but they will succeed and their sacrifice will be the salvation of trillions."

There was a long silence before a small but strong hand landed on Kota's shoulder. "You remind me of someone, Rahm. I mean, you constantly remind me of them."

"Caleb Dume?"

She was quiet for some time until she whispered, "Yes. You remind me very much of Kanan. Despite your handicap, you seem to be able to see far more clearly than the rest of us. He was always the same way."

Rahm grunted. "The eyes deceive, Hon. To those of us who are blind, we are often gifted with a better understanding of reality, especially those of us blessed with a special affinity for the force."

"Hmmm;" she said.

Rahm could feel the deep ache and sorrow in her heart. It was clear that she had loved Kanan deeply and that his death still haunted her - and likely would for the rest of her days. "Keep your chin up, General;" he said in an uncharacteristically kind voice. "We'll need your strength, intelligence and skill before the end."

He heard a loud sniff and could sense her resolve steeling. "Thank you for your time, General Kota."

"And thank you for the use of your ship, General Syndulla."

She snorted in amusement before walking away, the sound of her boots against stone receding into the temple. All around him, Rahm suddenly sensed alarm and consternation. At the same time, he heard several different ships staring up and taking off. A broad grin crossed his face before he quashed it. They were off and there was no stopping them.

Very satisfied, he began to stretch out to the force to find Admiral Raddus. The old Mon Calamari wouldn't be willing to let them go on their own. He would take his own ship and his fleet and follow one of the groups - most likely Scarif. That was the most fortified world. At the same time, a few ships, blockade runners mostly, would be sent to assist the Toprawa group. All in all, everything was going largely as he had expected. "Kota!" came a growl from behind him. "What did you do?"

Behind him, Rahm could sense several of the council who had not agreed with a move to act against the Death Star. "I did what was necessary;" he said, turning to face them. "I did what I have done since the fall of the Old Republic and the Jedi Order - what I thought was right."

"You'll be executed for treason."

"I highly doubt it;" said Rahm. "Have any of you seen Admiral Raddus, I have to speak with him."

There was a low negative murmur. "Never mind;" said Rahm. "He's heading for his shuttle."

Aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator

As soon as Intelligence had brought word that the attacks were happening, Darth Vader had moved. There were major attacks happening on Scarif and on Toprawa by small but dangerous groups of rebel commandos. This had forced the Dark Lord to miss his rendezvous with the Death Star to witness its power, forcing his ship to drop out of hyperspace and change course. Since Scarif was where the actual Death Star plans were, that is where he was heading. The encryption was very good, the best the Empire could come up with but it could be cracked and even the language the plans were stored in could be translated with enough effort. It would be best to simply stop them from getting the plans at all.

Before changing course, Vader had contacted his apprentice on the Executor. "Prepare yourself, Stalker Prime. After this battle, we will seek out and destroy the remainder of the rebels. Your first objective will be to find the hidden main base and then you and your task force will eradicate it."

"Yes, my master;" the clone had replied.

Now, Vader was on his was to Scarif, ready to exact vengeance upon the rebels.

Aboard the Death Star

Ferroda Grey, the Clone formerly known as X2, hurried towards his barracks section on the Death Star. He had just received word that the station was on the move. In the bay that he shared with his three fellow infiltrators, he said, "We need to be ready. As soon as we get to Scarif, we need to get the rest of the crew together and get out on a shuttle."

"Woah! Take it easy;" said Rex, a former clone trooper in the Grand Army of the Republic. "What's going on?"

"The Death Star is being mobilized against the Alliance. Tarkin is taking us all to Scarif where he's going to use it against a rebel strike team apparently."

The other two clones looked at each other. "Do we have a plan?"

Ferroda nodded. "Yes - as soon as our shift begins, we head straight for the Fire Control Sector and sabotage it so that we can make sure they don't use it against the fleet. After that, we go to the nearest hanger, steal a shuttle and get the hell off this monstrosity."

Rex looked at his two brothers before nodding. "Sounds like a plan, Sir. I'll put contacts out to each of our team mates and we'll go from there."

"We'll all meet at the Hard Heart Cantina and pretend to all be old friends, just like always."

Rex nodded and went to his computer console.

An hour later, when they were all off shift, they gathered around one of the tables and began to laugh, eat and drink like it was all one big reunion. During times like this, when the whole team needed to hear the plan, Ferroda would tell them in the form of a memory with Rex and the others backing him. "Hey Tev;" he said to one of them, "do you remember when we all had to bail on that big prank we were going to play on the superintendent?"

Tev nodded, his eyes twinkling. He loved games of subterfuge like this. "I thinks so, but which time was this? We were constantly doing things back in our school days."

Ferroda laughed and lifted his glass, conceding the point. "Touche but it was the time we were about to mess with his fancy new landspeeder."

Rex laughed. "That's right! There was going to be a huge parade for Empire day and the school staff were all going to be a part of it."

A parade meant a battle in their verbal code. All the staff were the rebel fleet. The superintendent was the Death Star and the big prank was their mission. Bailing was the code word meaning that they had to get out, preferably soon.

Tev laughed and said, "Right! We cut it so close to the parade. When did we have to pull out?"

"As soon as the superintendent was in his slot with the rest of the staff."

Translation, they would pull out as soon as the Death Star was out of hyperspace at its target location. "That's right;" said Rex, "and we all met at the fire station before hand to make sure the equipment was ready. Then we all went to Ferroda's garage and borrowed his dad's speeder truck."

Translation: they would all meet in the fire control room to sabotage the cannon if they could before going to the nearest hanger and steal a shuttle, drop ship, gun ship or transport of some kind.

"Good times;" Ferroda said, signalling that the coded talk was finished.

They all sat quietly, eating and drinking as they observed everyone around them. The officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers that served were all laughing and enjoying their time off. The cantina owner Memah Roothes, a female Twi'lek and one of maybe a half a dozen non-humans on the whole station, was serving and making drinks and her huge bouncer Rodo sat conspicuously at the end of the bar. "Hey... you think we can convince her to come with us?" asked Tev conversationally.

They all shot the young man a warning look. "I'm just saying... I mean, she's pretty cute and all..."

"Shut up, Tev;" they all muttered him.

All over the galaxy, the four of the Alliance's most dangerous and important operations were underway simultaneously. Under the call sign 'Rogue One' Cassian Andor and his unit were on Scarif. Bria Tharen and the Red Hand were landing Toprawa where, force willing, Starkiller would meet and assist them. But Nar Shadda was farther away from Toprawa than the Yavin System was. There was no guarantee of anything. Ferroda and his infiltration team were anxiously awaiting the Death Star's drop out of hyperspace. Lastly, Kyle Katarn was on a lone mission to infiltrate the Imperial base on Danuta from one end, hoping to get to the main communications center while Rianna Saren entered from a different direction, heading for the principle data center of the base. They would both escape on there own and by their own routes.

Lord Vader himself was on the way to Scarif and ahead of him was an Alliance fleet lead by Raddus and Rahm Kota and it would later be recognized that the will of the unifying force had fated a convergence on this event.

Imperial Center - the Imperial Palace

Deep within the darkest sanctum of his stronghold, Emperor Palpatine, the Dark Lord Darth Sidious, stood with his arms upraised, surrounded by a hundred dark side artifacts and talismans of the ancient Sith Lords. With their aide, he was able to see the past, the present and the future. The past was simple, for it was set in stone. The present, he could even effect with some limitations though the current events were beyond his ability to touch. The force was converging at this event in history as it had many times in the past - the end of the Brotherhood of Darkness on the lost world of Ruusan and before that, the defeat of Naga Sadow at the hands of his apprentice Gav Daragon, forcing him to flee to the fourth moon of the gas giant Yavin Prime.

Gritting his teeth and exerting his will, Palpatine looked into the future and was bombarded by a multitude of possibilities. The rebels could succeed or fail and it would cause an effect. How the rebels succeeded or failed would cause an effect. Even the smallest, tiniest decision during any of the various operations could have a massive effect on future events. Suddenly, one bright blazed, drawing his attention to just one of the possible future events. It was that blasted Starkiller again! Once again, in this possible future, Starkiller would face the Emperor and this time, the Jedi would not be so foolish as to allow him to survive. Palpatine would die and the Empire would collapse.

Snapping out of his meditation and sorcery with a roar, Palpatine turned and left his sanctum, going to his own private communications center. If he wasn't mistaken, Lord Vader would still be in hyperspace. Foregoing the comms center, Palpatine returned to his throne and closed his eyes. My child, I have an urgent assignment for you that cannot wait!

It wasn't even a moment before Mara Jade, one of his most precious Hands, replied. What is my wish, Master?

You will go to Scarif in the fastest of my private ships and you will contact Lord Vader and tell him that he is to contact me immediately. It is most urgent, my child.

The Emperor's Hand complied without hesitation. As you wish, Master. I will leave immediately.

Emperor Palpatine allowed warmth, affection and approval to flow from himself into her before withdrawing. Again, the Emperor scowled. If Lord Vader insisted on bending Darth Bane's Rule of Two, then he would dispatch his Stalkers at the Emperor's command and not on his own private errands.