Orbit over Scarif - Aboard the MC75 Star Cruiser Profundity

Rahm Kota stood at the bridge beside and slightly behind Admiral Raddus's command chair. During rare occasions, the Jedi Master would use the force to see what was going on around him. This was one of those occasions. He could see the bulks of the ships but even more clearly, he saw all the numbers of lives around him and thought to himself, this is how the Miraluka see the universe.

"What do you advise, General?" asked Raddus respectfully.

"This is your fleet, Admiral;" said Rahm but then stated, "The gate is currently open. Try to get all of Blue Squadron's X-wings and U-wings through to support Rogue One. Red Squadron should draw the fire from the towers while gold squadron makes a bombing on the gate's projectors. If we damage them enough, they may remain open."

Raddus nodded. "My thoughts exactly;" and he relayed the order.

If he really concentrated, the Jedi Master could get an idea of what was happening on the planet down below. Thinking fast, he took his comlink. "General Syndulla, this is General Kota, do you have anyone who can the Phantom II?"

"I have a couple good boys aboard, Rahm? What's on your mind?"

"If you can get through the shield gate before it closes-" but before he could even finish his statement, the shield flickers.

Luckily, ten Blue Squadron X-wings and three U-wings made it through but no one else was going to be able to. At the same time, one of the bridge officers called out, "Those two Star Destroyers and the gate itself are launching TIE's?"

Immediately, Rahm pointed to Raddus and said, "Recall Red Squadron to defend the Profundity while Gold Squadron. Tell Gold Squadron we need another proton bomb run on those shield gate emitters!"

Raddus nodded and Rahm quashed a feeling of guilt. This was the Admiral's fleet after all and the Jedi Master was lucky that the Mon Cal was gracious enough to respect his insight, especially considering Raddus's own expertise. The battle was only just warming up. Despite the skill of the Alliance's fighters, it quickly became clear that they were going to be overwhelmed. "Admiral, we need that gate open." said Kota grimly, "Any ideas?"

There was just a brief pause before he said, "Yes, General, I have one but it's a long shot."

"My favorite;" growled Kota.

Raddus hit his coms and said, "Corvette Lightmaker, this is Admiral Raddus, I want you to evacuate all but a skeleton crew. I have a job for you that you most likely won't be coming back from."

At the same time, Kota contacted Gold Leader. "Gold Leader this is General Kota; the Admiral is tied up on the other frequency. I need you to make an ion torpedo run against the higher orbit Imperial Star Destroyer. Do you copy?"

After just a moment, Gold leader replied, "Understood, General. Beginning our run on the Persecutor now."

The Y-wings made their run and managed to completely knock out the Star Destroyer's systems. "Lightmaker;" Admiral Raddus called, "go! Now!"

To Rahm's surprise, the Hammerhead Corvette rammed into the side of the Star Destroyer, a ship well over twenty times its own size, and put all power to thrusters. "Well done, Admiral;" he said, a new respect in his voice.

The corvette forced the Destroyer down towards the planet below and the gate in between. As it did, a second Star Destroyer was caught in between, reducing the defending Imperial ships to almost nothing as they both plummeted to through the shield gate, completely taking it down. As soon as it had dropped, the comms officer called, "Admiral, we're receiving a transmission from the planet!"

A cheer went up - a cheer suddenly cut off as a massive object dropped out of hyperspace. It was the size of a moon and all immediately knew what it was. "By the force;" said Raddus.

Aboard the Death Star

Before they had even dropped out of hyperspace over Scarif, the rebel infiltrators were on the move, trying to make their way to the fire control chamber. It wasn't easy. Imperials were very touchy about security clearances and if the rebels ran into a suspicious ISB or Imperial Intelligence Agent, they would be in serious trouble. The force was with them though and they entered the control room at different points. Ferroda entered with the other three disguised as stormtroopers. They hid to the side as the gunner furiously worked their controls. In the shadows with them, one of the other rebels murmured, "They're firing - at Scarif!"

They watched in horror as the beam struck the planet and a massive fire shockwave, visible even from there began to spread. They also saw through the viewport, the rebel fleet turning to flee - just in time for an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer to drop out of hyperspace. "We can only hope that they got the plans out before that-"

"They did;" growled Ferroda. "Don't ask me how I know but they did."

"Just received new orders;" said the gunnery chief. "Target the rebel ship, one reactor again, and get ready to fire as soon as Lord Vader calls clear."

The rebels looked at each other and immediately moved, leveling their blasters and firing. It took them less than a full minute to clear the room. "How do we stop it?" asked Rex.

"These, of course;" said Ferroda, pulling the grenade from the back of his stormtrooper utility belt. "Set them for maximum time - what, thirty seconds right?"

"Yeah that's right;" said Rex. "Let's scatter them around and get to the hanger."

They met the last remaining members of their team as they bolted for the doors. They made it less than thirty meters down the corridor when their grenades went off.

Aboard the Profundity

"We need to abandon ship, Admiral;" said Kota as they each carried injured men to the lift up from the bridge.

They weren't a moment too soon. Below them, the bridge was annihilated by the Star Destroyer's turbolaser fire. One of the soldiers from the comms station held a datadisc in shaking hands. "Son, you get that to the Princess;" growled Raddus. "My marines and I will hold as long as we can."

Kota's head lurched up and he cursed. "Vader is coming. You won't hold long, Admiral. Look, General Syndulla is docking at-"

"This is my ship, General;" said the Mon Cal fiercely. "I'll be damned to a waterless grave before I leave it to be taken without a fight. You need to go. Get out of here with Syndulla. Make sure that the Tantive IV gets to hyperspace and then have her return to Yavin Base. We have the plans and we'll need to see about the other operations or this will have been for a sum total of nothing."

Kota resisted the urge to grind his teeth before saying, "Put your injured man on my other arm and we'll get to the docking fixture. You just make sure that we have time to get out. May the force be with you, Admiral."

Raddus smiled. "And with you, Master Jedi."

They split up and General Rahm Kota felt that age old ache he always did when leaving friends he knew would be captured or killed but being unable to do a thing about it.

The rest of the battle was vicious and quick. Not a single living thing in the area of effect of the Death Star's attack survived on Scarif below whether they were rebel or Imperial. A good chunk of the Alliance ships made it out but the Profundity did not. It was left in orbit and completely disabled to be taken by a half a dozen light cruisers. The Star Destroyer Devastator was able to calculate where the Corellian Corvette Tantive IV was heading but before it could make the jump, a ship sent a quick transmission to the bridge, urgent for Lord Vader.

Lord Vader had only just made it to the bridge and the comms officer sprinted to him and bowed. "My Lord, an urgent transmission from one of the Emperor's agents, recognition code Hapspir Barrini Corbolan Triaxis."

He handed Vader the datapad. The Dark Lord nodded slowly and point to the forward viewport. "Make the jump to lightspeed after that corvette. As soon as we drop out, I'll contact the Emperor as ordered."

Just after the corvette flickered with pseudo-motion and vanished, the stars turned to lines. Lord Vader was not going to let them escape. Not this time and not with the plans for the Emperor's precious weapon. He would have Organa this time.

Aboard the Rogue Explorer - Over the Planet Toprawa

They dropped out of lightspeed and realized that it was an absolute disaster already. The wreckage of several corvettes and gunships littered the space in orbit and, immediately, the comms system chimed. Starkiller jabbed and heared, "-Tharen of the Rend Hand. Is there anyone out there? We need to transmit these right now!"

"This is Captain Juno Eclipse ready to receive, Command Tharen! Begin transmission."

"Finally! Thank the force for General Kota's foresight. Transmission commencing."

Juno watched and said, "We're receiving now. Jedi Starkiller will be down shortly to assist you."

Starkiller was ready, already gripping a lightsaber in each hand. He was about to head back towards the boarding ramp when Bria Tharen replied, "There's no time, Captain. We're lost down here but don't you worry, we can make them pay a hefty price."

Starkiller growled and said, "Commander, this is General Starkiller, I will be down there to assist. All you need do it-"

"Negative, General;" said Tharen again. "It is of the highest importance that you get those plans away from here."

As if to emphasize her point, three Imperial Star Destroyers dropped out of hyperspace. Juno looked at Starkiller. "She's right;" she whispered, her voice soft but firm. "We need to go."

Starkiller desperately wanted to protest but he knew it was true. Deep down in his soul, he knew that if they tried to help Red Hand, they would all be lost. Clearing his throat, he managed to say past the thick lump, "Red Hand, this is General Starkiller - thank you for your service and sacrifice. It will never be forgotten. May the force be with you, rebels."

With that, Juno brought them about and sped away, making the jump to lightspeed well before the Imperials could do anything to stop them.

Yavin IV - The Main Rebel Base

The council had assembled again with two noticeable vacancies and one noticeable participant. Bail Organa had returned to Alderaan and Admiral Raddus had been taken or killed over Scarif. However, Starkiller was among them, the first time he had since the foundation of the Rebel Alliance. Nower Jabel cleared his throat and said, "We are extremely pleased to have you back with us, General Starkiller."

The Jedi smiled. "Thank you, Senator. It's good to be back with the Alliance. But please, what progress have we made against the Death Star? General Kota read me into the operations and, from what I understand, we managed to damage the superlaser firing systems and to obtain both parts of the decryption key and the translator program. But what do we know of what happened to the plans themselves?"

"We know that they made it aboard the Tantive IV with Princess Leia Organa and that they made the jump to hyperspace. However, she didn't return here, nor did she jump to any of the other expected locations;" said Jan Dodonna.

"Shouldn't we be looking for her then?" asked Starkiller.

"We are;" said a Mon Calamari in a white uniform.

Starkiller remembered him - Gial Ackbar, a Captain in the Alliance Forces. He continued, "We have General Syndulla and numerous others searching for the plans as we speak and they are going to any expected and unexpected places we could think of."

"Why wouldn't she just return them here?" asked Jadel.

"She most likely didn't want to lead Darth Vader of the Death Star right to our doorstep. Since we aren't sure how long it will take for us to configure the plans, I think that was a sound move;" said Mon Mothma.

"Well what now?" asked Jadel after a long pause.

Rahm looked in his general direction with his sightless eyes. "I'm not sure I understand, Senator. What do you mean by 'what now'? We still have a war to fight and win. Councilors, there are still many things we need to address."

They all looked skeptical. Finally, Mon Mothma shook her head. "Sending resources out when they might need to be recalled at a moment's notice wouldn't be wise. I recommend we keep all our people not involved in searching for Leia to stand down."

Garm Bel-Iblis shook his head. "Mon Mothma, we can't just cease all activities. The Empire won't be inactive."

Kota nodded in agreement. "I agree with Garm. We need to-" but he was suddenly cut off, his entire body stiffening. His sightless eyes, normally milky white orbs, were suddenly glowing with green light.

It took only a moment for it to pass and he sighed with exhaustion. "Rahm?" asked Mon Mothma.

"Forget what I said before. Keep all our ships not involved in searching for Leia Organa in hiding. There is something that I and General Starkiller need to attend to."

Bel-Iblis scowled slightly. "Wait a moment, Rahm! What's going on?"

"The force just gave me a vision of the future - or at least a possible future. If we don't heed it, Death Star or not, the Alliance is finished."

Starkiller considered his friend for a moment before asking, "What exactly did you see, General?"

"I saw a strike team of dark sider warriors cutting down every member of this council. Then I saw a planet in the midst of a maelstrom of black holes - a green and blues, mountainous planet with ancient ruins. The force wants me to go to Tython - and I'm pretty sure I know why."

Garm nodded slowly. "I understand the need to go where the force directs you, whatever that means, but we still cannot remain stagnant or inactive. If we do, more people will suffer. As long as the Imperial government and military is focused on combating us, they won't focus on their own citizens."

"I understand your sentiment, Garm;" said Mon Mothma, "but one wrong move would end the Rebellion entirely and then the galaxy would never rise from beneath the armored boot of the Empire. I'm sorry, but the matter is decided. We'll stay put until Leia is found and the plans are returned or until something imminently pressing comes up."

Garm's eyes glittered and he said through stiff lips, "We'll see. When Bail returned, he may have something to say about that."

Clearly angry, he stormed from the council chamber and several of his attendants and allies followed. The obvious and blatant sign of hostility took every aback - except Mon Mothma and Kota.

Turning to Starkiller, Rahm said, "Go ahead and have Juno ready that fancy new ship of hers, Boy. I'll be along shortly. I assume that the meeting is dismissed."

Mon Mothma nodded and everyone began to file out until she and Kota were the only ones remaining. "It's unwise to continue to completely dismiss what Garm has to say, Mon;" he said quietly yet firmly. "We can't afford to alienate each other now, not at this hour and not ever against the Empire."

"I know;" she said as she gathered her data discs. "But if Garm had his way, the fleet would just attack the Death Star, full-bore without knowing anything else about it or even how to destroy it."

"That's not true;" said Kota patiently, "and I think you know it, Mon. You and him have differences of opinion about how the Alliance should proceed and without Bail, it seems that your abilities to compromise are hampered. But if we lose him, a there will be a massive tactical gap in our leadership. We cannot afford that."

"If the Rebellion doesn't have someone giving a single, final decision, we mighty be bogged down while the galaxy burns around us, Rahm;" countered Mon Mothma.

"Okay;" said Rahm quietly, "you aren't going to want to hear this, but why should you be the one making those final decisions? You may be the most charismatic one but Mon, you don't have my or Garm's tactical expertise, nor do you have the expertise of a ruler that Bail has since he's the viceroy of Alderaan. This isn't about power who gets to tell who what to do. This is about practicality and tactics."

With her items gathered, Mon Mothma said, "I know, Rahm but we need someone who the whole of the Alliance will rally behind. Garm is too focused on the war and so are you. Bail is still too wrapped up in the senate. That only leaves me. Do you disagree?"

Kota sighed. "Not entirely but even so, just assuming command without even considering what we think is going to draw some bad blood. I suggest that you talk to Garm and at least try to make him understand. Otherwise, we could lose him."

Mon Mothma nodded slowly. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask. Now, I need to go. We'll report in once we're in orbit over Tython."

When Kota strode up the ramp of the ship and said, "Are we ready to depart, Juno?" he was quite amused to hear gasps of surprise and a large amount of embarrassment from both Juno Eclipse and Starkiller.

"Was I interrupting something, Kids?" he asked with rye amusement.

"Not at all, Rahm. We're ready to depart. Glad to see you made it back safely from Scarif by the way;" said Juno briskly, hugging the old master on the way passed him to the cockpit.

Starkiller was silent, still radiating embarrassment from where he was standing. "So;" he said, desperately looking for something to talk about. "what's the big hurry to go to Tython all of a sudden?"

Rahm grew serious and began to reach around for a chair. "Over here, General;" said Starkiller, pulling up a couple chairs at a work table.

They sat down and Rahm said, "Listen carefully, my Boy. The vision I received, I only told part of to the council. They wouldn't understand the rest. We are looking for a gate - a special gate that leads to place that the ancients called the World Between Worlds. According to the rumors I had heard during the Clone Wars, there were a few of these gates spread throughout the galaxy. This world between worlds is said to look different to different people. In the realm, there are other gates - gates that look into the passed, the present and the future. In my vision, the force told me that there were several things we needed to see in there. Otherwise, the Rebellion would be finished. Vader's darksiders will find them on Yavin and kill all of them, all of them not wiped out by this Death Star."

Starkiller nodded solemnly. "Well it's a bit of a trip to the deep core. We have plenty of time to meditate and immerse ourselves in the force to prepare for this."

Kota chuckled. "Agreed. Let's meditate, Boy. After that, some real sleep would be nice too."

Starkiller couldn't agree more.

Orbit over Tatooine - Aboard the Devastator

Lord Vader knelt in his communications chamber and knelt. The grim visage of the Emperor appeared and he asked dutifully, "What is thigh bidding, my Master?"

"I have foreseen that Starkiller will destroy us soon if he is not brought down. Therefore, you will immediately send your dark stalkers against him. They must hunt him down while you complete your task of finding the Rebels and destroying them yourself."

The Emperor's tone left absolutely zero room for debate, argument or suggestion. "It will be done as you command, my Master."

The Emperor disappeared and Vader stood to his feet before contacting his apprentice. The dark clone knelt before him. "What is thy bidding, my master?"

"Gather your dark stalkers and have them wait for a summons aboard the Executor. Your assignment will be to hunt down the Starkiller clone who escaped on Kamino. When you find him, contact your stalkers and destroy him. That is your only mission until it is complete."

"As you will, my master;" said the clone before the comms were cut.

Vader turned and exited the chamber. Immediately, Captain Bolvan stood to attention, "My Lord, we have just taken the Tantive IV on board. The troops are beginning boarding operations as we speak."

"Very good, Captain. I will board myself at once."