Aboard the E9 Explorer Rogue Explorer - Orbit over Yavin IV

Juno eased the hyperspace levers back and they reverted back to real space. Rahm already had the comms ready and his call was quickly received. "This is General Rahm Kota aboard the Alliance Freighter Rogue Explorer, requesting permission to land. We have urgent information for High Command."

There was an exorbitantly long pause before General Jan Dodonna's voice was heard. "It's good to hear from you, Rahm. It's been weeks since you last checked in. Unfortunately, most of High Command has evacuated Base One. We expect the Empire to attack at virtually any moment."

Kota's frown deepened. "General, it's vitally important that I speak to all members of High Command as soon as may be."

There was another pause before Dodonna said, "We'll have a holo-coms station ready for you and we'll get in touch with everyone that we can while you land. What in the blazes?"

"General, we have a dozen ships dropping out of hyperspace behind us!" said Juno.

Seven Interceptor-Class frigates, four Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers and an old Providence-class Dreadnought had dropped out of hyperspace behind the. Before anyone had the chance to react or even decided how to react, an announcement came across all Alliance transmissions. "Alliance forces of Yavin, this is Mandalore Sabine Wren. Requesting permission to join you."

The shocked silence that followed was deafening until Rahm burst into laughter. General Dodonna replied, "Permission granted, Mandalore Wren. Will your friends be joining us down here?"

"Only a few of us;" replied Sabine. "Myself, Commander Bridger and five clan chieftains will be descending in a shuttle."

"Land at your convenience then, Mandalore."

The set up was rather odd. In a previously empty room, holo-communications terminals had been set up and synchronized so that Generals Kota and Marek could speak to all members of Alliance High Command. With Kota, Marek and Dodonna were the crew members of the Ghost and the Clan Chieftains of the Mandalorian Clans. When everything was present, General Kota began. "We have received guidance from the force. A massive attack is coming. A strike force of dark side warriors will hunt down and destroy the leadership of the Rebel Alliance. This attack will come swiftly and viciously and there is nothing that we can do to stop it - except give them a critical target to attack."

There was a long silence before Garm Bel-Iblis asked, "What could be more critical than Alliance High Command?"

"Jedi;" stated Kota simply. "If we reveal that there are Jedi here and that those Jedi are willing to hit hard targets as Jedi and as a group, the Emperor and Lord Vader will send this strike force after us. We will have the opportunity to lead them away from anyone else."

"How many of these dark warriors are we talking about here?" asked Admiral Ackbar.

"At least twenty. Probably more than that;" said Galen. "They are all clones of me and trained by Darth Vader."

The glowing holograms looked back and forth, some of them seemingly at nothing since the holograms were in different positions wherever they were. Finally, Mon Mothma said, "How would you go about this distraction?"

"I already have a target planned out;" said Galen, surprising everyone including Rahm.

"You do?" asked the old General.

"That's right. On Coruscant, there is a building where all of the Emperor's Inquisitors are trained. We're going to sack it."

That took all of them by surprise. "And how do you plan on doing that?" asked Mon Mothma, her voice trembling slightly.

"We'll use PROXY and a stolen Imperial Lambda shuttle to infiltrate the building via the main hanger and wreak havoc from there;" said Starkiller firmly. "Our faux primary objective will be to download everything from the building's main computer."

There was a long silence before Hera Syndulla said rather bluntly, "This is insane."

"I must agree with General Syndulla;" said Mon Mothma. "It is a terrible risk. What will happen after you draw out Vader's hunters?"

"We'll flee;" said Rahm, "we'll head out into the deep Outer Rim or even into the Unknown Regions if we have to."

"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Admiral Ackbar.

"We'll escape via the same shuttle we came in on and will rendezvous with the Ghost and Rogue Explorer over Ralltiir and we'll go from there;" said Galen.

Again, the leadership of the Alliance looked around. Before any of them could object, Kanan Jarrus strode into the circle with Galen and Rahm. Though he was clearly as blind as Kota was, it seemed as though Kanan could see Galen with perfect clarity. Turning to face outward, he said, "Senators, Generals, Admirals and councilors - I am afraid I must agree with Generals Kota and Marek. If this force of Dark Jedi is cloned from Starkiller, the best thing for our cause is to get them as far away as possible."

"But then, if you are driven into the Unknown Regions, we will have no more Jedi to assist us;" said Leia Organa, daughter of the late Bail Organa.

Kota gave a small smile. "But you will, Princess. You will. There are several among you who will be great Jedi. They will find their teachers when the time is right."

Leia seemed confused but didn't question his words. Garm Bel-Iblis shifted and said, "I agree. The Alliance would have no chance fighting against Vader's hunters. This must be done."

"We can't make a hasty decision about this;" said Mon Mothma. "If we are wrong-"

"If we're wrong, then we'll be back to hear you say 'I told you so';" said Rahm irritably. "But this is going to happen fast, Mon. We have five powerful and trained force users here and that is going to draw Vader's hunters, and quite possibly Vader himself."

Mon had never liked Kota's brash and even irreverent nature even though, and quite possibly because, she knew he was right. "Very well;" she said rather coolly. "proceed with your plan then - but I think having a task force ready to assist you would be prudent."

Garm nodded. "Agreed; Mandalore, would you be willing to take command of your troops alongside Captain Kallus and his section?"

Sabine Wren, still getting used to her new title, straightened and said, "I will. We'll meet Kallus's ships just outside of the Core Worlds near Ralltiir a short jump away. What kind of ships does he have?"

"A dual-fin Assault Frigate, four Hammerhead Corvettes and a pair of MC30c Missile Frigates, if I'm not mistaken;" said Admiral Ackbar, consulting his datapad.

General Kota nodded. "Good, good; we leave tomorrow. Is there anything else, councilors?"

"Yes;" said Mon Mothma and Garm Bel-Iblis together.

"But it doesn't require the full council. I would prefer, in fact, if only you remained, Rahm;" said Garm.

One by one, the holocoms winked out and those who were physically present filed out. When it was only those three, Rahm seemed to glare at both of his associates. "I take it that you are both finding more and more difficult to work together and agree on things?"

Garm spoke first. "Yes, we are. You're making me nervous, Mon. It may just be my perception but it seems that you are grabbing more and more influence and power to yourself. It's beginning to seem that you are expecting the Alliance, myself included, to simply accept what you have to say without any discourse."

"I explained to Rahm before that the Alliance needs to have a single head to rally behind and I fear that you and he are far to focused on the military aspect of our organization."

Garm's hard face hardened further. "This is a military organization, Mon. How can we be too military minded? What's more, the fact that it is a military organization suggests that perhaps someone who is military minded, as you put it, should be in charge of it. Several times, you have made or backed decisions that were tactically wrong and either ineffective or possibly detrimental."

"And when was that?" asked Mon, her voice becoming colder and colder.

"Before Rahm took it upon himself to do what was necessary to get the Death Star plans, for one. If it wasn't for him, we would all be dead or disbanded;" replied Garm.

His voice was increasing in volume as Mon Mothma's decreased in temperature. Finally, Kota snapped, "Enough! We three and Starkiller are all that remain of the founding members of the Rebel Alliance and this mission that we Jedi are about to undertake could cause me to be out of touch for some time. If you two cannot come to some kind of understanding about this, then you will doom the Rebel Alliance. I don't know whether it's desire for power and influence or just honest differences of opinion that are causing you two to be at each other's throats but it needs to be resolved. This war is far from over and the Empire is unified. If we are not, we lose. Settle this!"

With that, he turned and exited.

Galen strode towards the group at the base of the stolen Imperial shuttle. He had recognized the Jedi Knight from when he had used the portal of the World Between Worlds. As he approached, Kanan turned his sightless eyes to face him. "We meet again;" said the man. "I feel I must thank you."

Galen shook his proffered hand. "None required, Master Jarrus. I'm just glad it all worked out. My history of what happened after that is a little fuzzy now. What happened after you escaped the fuel depot?"

Kanan shrugged. "A lot has happened. We found the World Between Worlds ourselves and used it to save an old friend before the long lost spirit of a Jedi Master told us we had to leave before we changed too much. That done, we fled to the southern hemisphere of the planet. From there, we waged our fight. We managed to capture Governor Pryce, survived a raid by Noghri commandos-"

"Noghri Commandos? What the hell are Noghri Commandos?" asked Galen, getting more and more confused.

"We'll tell you about it later. Anyhow, we managed to launch the Planetary Headquarters Dome and Deployable Garrison Base back into space, thereby freeing Lothal - at least until Grand Admiral Thrawn returned. He rescued Governor Price and then threatened to shell the planet into the ground if we didn't surrender."

Galen's eyes widened. "What about the rest of the Alliance?"

Kanan sighed. "Up until that point, they had left Lothal as lost. Well before you and I met on the fuel depot dome, they had tried to assist, sending a large group under Hera. Thrawn crushed them. After that, the Alliance left us to our own defense. We had to make do with little to nothing. But then we suddenly received the assistance of a group of militiamen under Rahm Kota over a year before the missions to secure the Death Star plans. Rahm is a, the perfect match against Thrawn. In seven months, we managed to cause enough trouble for the Emperor to order Thrawn and Governor Pryce away. Apparently, we were just too much trouble, which was Kota's whole plan. Supply lines were pirated, ships were sabotaged and any time any sort of relief was attempted, Rahm would make sure that it failed and failed spectacularly."

Galen laughed and shook his head. "That sounds like Kota. The first-" but he suddenly stopped and gasped.

"What is it?" asked Kanan.

"It's me;" said Maris Brood behind him. "It's been some time, Assassin."

Kanan turned so that they were in front of and on either side of him. "You two know each other?"

"Yes;" said Maris. "He killed Master Shaak Ti. He once served Vader."

Kanan nodded slowly. "I was aware that you served the Empire but I had no idea you were one of his Inquisitors."

"I wasn't;" said Galen. "I was his secret Sith Apprentice - or so he told me. In truth it was all a long term, highly intricate farce. He used me to flush out all of the rebellious senators so that he could capture them and then he betrayed me. Didn't Kota tell you this?"

"He told me most, yes. Those who follow the dark side always betray each other."

Galen nodded soberly as he studied Maris. "That's what Shaak Ti told me. She was right. I'm sorry that I caused you so much pain and suffering."

Maris lowered her eyes. "I caused it myself as well. I'm glad you're on our side now, General Starkiller."

Galen nodded and proffered his hand. "And I'm glad you are too, Maris."

Just then, a spunky young man jogged up. "Hey. You're General Starkiller right? Master Kota told us some pretty intense stories about you. Is it true you've beaten the Emperor in a fight and Darth Vader several times?"

Galen felt his cheeks coloring and was about to answer before Kota approached. "Load up, kids. Juno will be flying us there and PROXY will get us in. Let's go."

Galen winked at Ezra. "We'll talk later. What's your name?"

"I'm Ezra Bridger."

"Call me Galen, Ezra. It's a pleasure to meet you."

They loaded up and took off. Juno made for open space and jumped to lightspeed as soon as they were out of the planets mass shadow.

Imperial Center - The Imperial Palace

Emperor Palpatine watched with little interest as Mara danced for him in her scant, slinky outfit. Normally, he loved watching the girl dance between her missions but at the moment, he was too perturbed. At the end of the throne room, the doors opened and in strode Lord Vader and the new Grand Inquisitor, a very pale skinned Iridonian Zabrak named Ja'ce Yiaso. "Return to your quarters, my child;" the Emperor told Mara.

She bowed and murmured, "As you wish, My Lord."

The hard thudding of Vader's boots grew louder and when they were almost right behind him, the Emperor turned his throne to face his enforcer. "What news of Starkiller, Lord Vader?"

Vader and his Grand Inquisitor were on one knee as the Dark Lord replied, "There has been no news for over a week, my Lord. It would seem that Starkiller has gone into hiding."

"He will not remain that way, Lord Vader."

"I have every fully trained Inquisitor not involved in training apprentices scouring the galaxy for any intelligence on them, your Excellency;" said the Grand Inquisitor. "High Inquisitor Jerec is coordinating the entire operation."

Palpatine pointed at the Zabrak. "You are the Grand Inquisitor; you should be coordinating these efforts."

Clearly the Yiaso knew better than to contradict. Instead, he bowed his head and stated, "As the Emperor wills it. I will take full command forth-with and reassign Inquisitor Jerec somewhere else."

Palpatine didn't even bother dismissing them, instead turning his chair away. As he heard the heavy boots thudding behind him, he sneered. Lord Vader had his strengths but he often reminded the Emperor that, should another prove to be more worthy, a more powerful and more creative apprentice would be a vast improvement to the black armored cyborg.

Juno's heart thudded as she blazed into Coruscant's atmosphere. The clearance code had worked as everyone had expected and PROXY had fooled both the traffic controller and the being who had cleared them to land in the Inquisitor's HQ. Now they were flying over the industrial sector of the planet towards one tall building that stood out. As they came to it, a panel in the side of the building slid open and revealed a hidden hanger. "Get ready, Jedi;" she called. "We're landing."

As soon as the shuttle was on the deck, the ramp was lowered and the five Jedi disembarked. Immediately, it was a battle. There were several troopers and crew workers in the hanger who recognized right away that they were not Inquisitors. The alarm rang out moments later and blaster fire began to streak towards them.

Galen and Ezra advanced side by side, swatting aside the incoming fire. When they reached the blast door to the inside, they expected the resistance to quickly become stiff and they weren't disappointed. Three Inquisitors waited for them - one with the strange double bladed weapons and two with single bladed weapons. The fight was short and vicious. Starkiller engaged two of them while Ezra quickly overwhelmed the other. "Where is the main computer? Does anyone know?" asked Ezra.

Galen plugged a datapad into a wall terminal and entered a command. After just a moment, a map of the whole building appeared. "Alright, this is where we are;" he said, pointing at an intersection just off the hanger, "and this is where we're going to get;" and he pointed out an obvious control room in the tower.

"Wow;" murmured Maris. "There's a lot of ground between here and there and we'll be fighting every step of the way."

"That is the point, after all;" said Rahm dryly.

The two blind masters placed their hands on one of their follower's shoulder and they hurried as quickly as possible towards the nearest turbo lift cluster."Blast;" muttered Ezra, "I wouldn't mind having Sabine and a couple dozen of her Mandalorian supercommandos here with us right now."

The others murmured in agreement as they came around a corner and nearly ran smack-into a group of eight Inquisitors. The shock wore off and the fight started. Even outnumbered, the Jedi clearly had an advantage. The masters handled two of the Inquisitors apiece as did Galen while Ezra and Maris engaged the remaining two. Again, it did not prove to be a very strenuous fight. "Their training seems to be slacking;" said Kanan as they continued.

"From what I understand, they are more for interrogation and corrupting of any force sensitives or Jedi they find these days. It would seem that, since Jedi are no longer a common, widespread problem throughout the galaxy, the Inquisitors are no longer trained with a strict combat regimen. Those that I have run into over the years have gradually become less and less skilled in combat;" replied Kota.

When the lifts came into view, the Jedi were not at all surprised to find Inquisitors and the black-armored Death Commandos barring their path. "Here we go;" murmured Starkiller.

As they headed towards the hanger, Grand Inquisitor Yiaso's comlink chimed. "My lord;" the panicked individual on other end said, "we are getting reports of a task force of Jedi cutting their way through the headquarters."

Yiaso paused for just a moment before asking, "And? How many? Can you identify them?"

Lord Vader quickened his stride and growled, "It's Starkiller and Kota and I wouldn't at all be surprised if Bridger and Jarrus are with them."

When they reached the hanger and headed towards a shuttle, the whole room was lit by a rapid series of explosions. Every ship and speeder was a burning wreck in a matter of moments. "How could they possibly-"

"This wasn't the Jedi;" said Vader, interrupting Yiaso.

His mask seemed to be tilted slightly upward. "This was someone else - a far bigger headache than even my one-time secret apprentice is proving to be."

Quickly, he pulled his own comlink from his belt. "This is Darth Vader - I need a dropship sent to my location for a pick-up immediately."

The Grand Inquisitor glared out through the debris and smoke. "It may very-well be too late."

Vader considered before heading towards the hanger control room. "Clear the room;" he commanded to those inside.

When he was alone, he commed the command room of the Executor, his flagship that was still under construction and the training base for his Dark Stalkers. When Stalker Prime appeared, kneeling on one knee, Lord Vader commanded, "Get aboard the Rogue Shadow, the Scimitar and the squadron of Advanced x1 TIE Fighters in my private Hanger and bring them all to Imperial Center. Your hunt begins right here."

"As you wish, my Lord;" replied Stalker Prime.

Vader cut the connection and commed another individual. "Admiral Pryce, your chance to redeem yourself has finally emerged;" he said.

Admiral Arihnda Pryce, the former governor of Lothol, bowed and said, "I eagerly await the chance, my Lord."

"Come to Imperial Center with your fleet. From here, you will get the chance to pay back the Lothol rebels for the humiliation they dealt you. You will be working with a special force of my personal Dark Stalkers. They are trained for the singular purpose of tracking, fighting and killing Jedi. While you engage the rebel forces, they will insure that the Jedi do not interfere."

The Grand Inquisitor was listening at the entrance to the room. When Lord Vader cut his comms connect, Yiaso stated, "The dropship is here, my Lord."

Wordlessly, they boarded it. There were three squads of elite stormtroopers as well, checking weapons and ready for action.

From the Imperial Palace, it was still a ten minute flight to the old facility in the Industrial Sector. Waiting for them in the hanger, other than wracks of advanced TIE Fighters, was a single Lambda shuttle. Stretching out with the force, Lord Vader sensed a familiar presence inside. The Grand Inquisitor could sense the Dark Lord's satisfaction. "I warned him that I would control him as long as he lived."

Instead of heading into the facility, Vader went towards the shuttles boarding ramp. Just as he was about to board it, an old Z-95 Headhunter manufactured for clonetrooper pilots during the war suddenly swept in and blew the dropship to rubble and blasted the troopers as well. Just as Lord Vader was about to casually grab the fighter and yank it to the dank, the ship's landing skids extended and it dropped to the deck with a clang. Out from the cockpit leaped a hooded and cloaked figure and in their hands were a pair of lightsabers with silvery-white blades. "Ah;" said Lord Vader, pulling his lightsaber and stepping to meet them. "Again."

Grand Inquisitor Yiaso pulled his own weapon form his belt but Lord Vader held up a forestalling hand as the mysterious Jedi approached. "Go and rally your Inquisitors. Send out a general recall to all those in the field as well. Do not allow the other Jedi to escape. Go."

Turning to face the cloaked figure, he said, "I don't know how you escaped my on Malachor but you will not be so fortunate this time."

His opponent didn't respond except to begin to circle him. With sure, brutal motions, the Dark Lord attacked, seeking to beat down and over power the much smaller duelist. "Surely you realize that you cannot defeat me. You never could, my one time padawan;" he said after his adversary had gained some space and they had resumed circling.

"To defeat isn't my plan this time, my old Master;" came the feminine voice beneath the cowl and, with a flurry of silver, she attacked in an acrobatic assault the put the Dark Lord firmly on the defensive.

Ezra glanced at Kanan as they rode the lift upwards. "She's here;" murmured the younger Jedi.

"I know. I can sense her too."

"Who's here?" asked Galen, casting out with the force and sensing an unfamiliar presence.

"We'll introduce you on the way out;" said Kanan as he pulled his lightsaber. "But we're going to have a major fight as soon as those lift doors open."

"Step back;" said Starkiller.

Force lightning danced from finger tip to finger tip as the others stepped behind him. They all waited as the lift finally came to its level with a musical chime when the lift opened, the young Jedi Knight released such a massive torrent of bright blue force lightning that those who could see had to avert their eyes. Those outside were immediately either incinerated or forced on the defensive, using their lightsabers or abilities it the force to attempted to absorb the attack. When he let up, the Jedi charged into the fight. "What in the blazes was that?" demanded Ezra.

"Force lightning;" said Galen as he engaged several opponents at once.

"Oh really?" bit out the younger Jedi. "Couldn't even tell! Why the hell were you using a power like that?"

"It worked, didn't it?" demanded Starkiller, defensive and taken aback at Ezra's hostility.

"Enough!" said Kota as he laid a Zabrak Inquisitor low with a thrust through the heart. "We'll discuss and explain later, Bridger."

Maris was weaving and spinning her way in and around three opponents and cut them down one at a time. Every step of the way was a fight as more and more of the Inquisitor's Death Trooper commando, shadow troopers, shadow guards and Inquisitors themselves continued to converge on the seen. Over the intercom, the a deep voice sounded. "This is Grand Inquisitor Ja'ce Yiaso. All forces rally to the primary Command Center. I repeat, all forces rally to the Primary Command Center."

The five Jedi managed to finish off the defending group of dark siders and catch their breath. "Using the force for destruction of that magnitude is not the Jedi way;" said Kanan to Galen.

He didn't sound judgmental or angry or even reprimanding. In fact, he almost sounded curious and cautious more than anything. Galen shrugged as he clipped his weapons to his belt. "It's all I know, Master. Besides, what difference does it make? We're here to draw out the enemy by fighting our way through this facility. One way or the other, we're going to be killing a lot of Dark Jedi."

"He has a point;" grunted Kota. "We can't win this war or restore the Republic by easing up on the Empire - especially not the Emperor's corp of dark siders."

"Even so, Rahm," said Kanan, "causing that kind of mass death will darken your spirit. Simply because something can be done an easier way doesn't mean you should always do it that way."

Rahm seemed to contemplate that. "I can see your point, I suppose."

Galen nodded slowly and was about to hesitantly and grudgingly concur when something suddenly caught his attention. "Vader's here;" he said. "I can sense him."

"Yes, he is;" said Kanan contemplatively. "Do we need to continue with the false front of our mission? Wouldn't it be more prudent to bail while we can and meet the task force at Ralltiir?"

They all turned to Rahm who stroked his silver goatee for just a moment before saying, "Yes, I agree; back into the lift. We should get back to the hanger."

Vader thrust out his hand and sent his opponent spinning backwards through the air before she barely managed to land on her feet, roll and bounce back up, ready to continue their fight. Her cloak had been ripped away and there she stood, a tall and wiry female Togruta with orange skin and striking white markings. "Even after you walked away from the Jedi, you managed to become more skilled and become stronger, young one;" said the Sith Lord.

"So have you, Master;" she said. "Now more than ever, I regret walking away. I can't help but wonder - could I have prevented this from happening? could I have prevented you from falling?"

"Falling?" came the mechanical voice. "Are you so certain that I have fallen, Ahsoka? No. I have risen and become more powerful than I ever thought possible."

"And yet here you are, trapped in a suit that barely keeps you alive and the lap dog of the man who betrayed the Republic and destroyed the Jedi."

"No;" said Vader, "I destroyed the Jedi."

"You were simply his weapon, Master;" insisted Ahsoka as she evaded another furious assault. "You were the blade that he wielded against his opponents. If it hadn't been for you, he would have failed."

"Well I know it, little one;" said Vader. "And if it weren't for him, I would still be blinded by the Jedi lies."

"What lies, Anakin? What lies did they tell you? What crimes did they commit against you that they deserved utter destruction?"

"That name no longer has any meaning for me;" he growled. "Anakin Skywalker died in the Jedi temple during the first stage of the Jedi Purge. I killed him as if I had plunged my blade in his heart."

"No;" she said, "I know you, Master. The man who taught me nearly everything I know about the force and the Jedi would never allow himself to be so driven by a dark master that he would forget who he is."

"But I did not forget, Child;" said the Dark Lord. "I killed who I was."

Again, he attacked, seeking to end her with every brutal strike. Just then, a familiar voice cried, "Dark Lord, it's time you faced justice for your crimes against the Jedi Order and the Republic."

They both turned and a tall woman with short brown hair and gray eyes stood there. Ahsoka's mouth dropped open. "Callista Masanna!"

With quick, sure movements, the Jedi attacked Vader. She and Ahsoka droved him back towards the main facility just in time for Starkiller and the others to arrive back at the hanger. Eager, they surrounded the Dark Lord. "It ends here, Vader;" snarled Starkiller, readying himself for the attack. "This time, you die."

"What?" said Ahsoka, shocked at his viciousness. "Wait! Don't kill him! We can capture him."

"We tried that before, girl;" said Rahm grimly. "It didn't work."

Suddenly, Vader laughed. It was something that Starkiller had heard only once and it sent a shiver up and down his spine. "You assume much, Jedi."

With an intensely powerful outward blast, the Dark Lord leaped towards Kota - only to have Starkiller yank him away, throwing him back into the facility. He was about to pursue when he sensed something strange. Something, or perhaps many somethings, were coming. They were strong in the force. They were dark and evil and they sensed unnatural and off, even more so than the Sith Lord did. "We need to go. NOW!" he said. "Something is coming. Something I've never experience before."

"Back to the shuttle;" said Kota.

As they bolted for it, the Grand Inquisitor and the entire remaining force in the facility began to pour from the various entrances to the hanger. Blaster bolts flew thickly through the air, filling it with the smell of ozone. Suddenly, the shuttle's laser cannons swiveled around and targeted the Imperials, firing intense blasts into their midst and forcing them to run for cover while the Jedi ran up the ramp. Before it was even completely shut, the shuttle was in the air and Juno maneuvered it out of the hanger. "Buckle in back there;" she called. "We have police gunships and TIE's coming in and this bucket is sluggish so get ready for some bumps and dings."

They buckled in and Ahsoka grinned at Callista Masana. "I never thought I'd say this but I am so glad to see you, Masana!"

"Thank you, Madam;" said Masana but her voice had become an odd, automated voice.

Suddenly, the droid that appeared to be Masana emerged. He had an oblong head somewhat similar to a protocol droids and durasteel gray plating covered his body. In holsters on his back plates were twin lightsabers. "I apologize for the deception but Captain Eclipse ordered that I assist you and-AH!"

The droid was interrupted by a bang and the shuttle began to shutter. "We may be in trouble;" announced Juno, her voice tense.

For another few tense moments, they all held on tight to their crash webbing. Then, suddenly, Juno whooped. "Thank the force! We have help!"

Over the comms, they could all hear General Hera Syndulla say, "Rebel Shuttle, this is the Ghost, we'll watch your six and the Phantom II will clear a path for you."

Kanan and Ezra both sighed with relief and visibly relaxed. "Thank the force for that;" said the latter and leaned back, even closing his eyes of if to take a nap.

Galen unbuckled and hurried up to the cockpit. "Are you sure everything is alright?" he asked.

Juno shot him a quick grin. "Yes! Just watch that piloting."

An obviously overhauled and modified Sheathipede shuttle blazed across the view, shredding TIE's and gunships. Whoever was flying her was a supremely talented fighter pilot.

As they broke atmosphere, Juno cursed. Aside from an unexpected fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers and their support craft, there were numerous single ships from long-range advanced TIE fighters to solitary Star Destroyers dropping out of hyperspace from all directions. "This may have been a mistake;" commented Galen.

Juno glared at him. "Not helping! Shut up, Starkiller and let me concentrate. Put the coordinates in to the nav computer."

Galen quickly obeyed and then buckled in, gripping the arms of the seat and unconsciously holding his breath. He could sense them even more strongly now. Those Dark Stalkers, the clones of him, were causing a strange resonance in the force and he wondered if they could feel it too.

Time seemed to slow as they three rebel ships wove through turbolaser fire. An interdictor cruiser dropped out of hyperspace and began to power up its gravity well generators. "Status?" asked Juno.

"Eighty percent;" said Galen through dry lips.

Juno gave a tight smile. They had it beat. Moments later, Galen said, "Make the jump."

Before the word 'jump' had even left his mouth, the stars turned to lines.