There was a blur of red that came in to Finn's Skywalker's eyes as he awoke. It was confusing, his body felt weird, it felt sore. The last thing he remembered was everybody holding on as they made an impact on the planet. Poe sat in the command chair, buckled up, Finn and Rey sat next to each other, holding hands, as did Jannah and Rose.
But now that he was waking up and his eyes were calibrating, he began to look around in his surroundings. The first thing he had noticed, he was hanging in a cage, with blue glowing cuffs around his wrists and ankles. The way his extremities felt numb, he only guessed it was meant making it harder for him to connect to the Force.
He was in a large great hall, it was empty, but it looked like a caste. Finn had never seen anything like it. The cage he was trapped in was atop an altar. There were two spiral staircases going down to the bottom floor, which he assumed was the pew if he was on the altar.
"He's awake." He heard. To his side, he saw two hooded figures watching him. Getting a better look, one man was slightly purple skinned, yet still looked human, were as the other was a pale human.
"Where am I?" Finn tried to wrestle with his restraints. He realized that while still in his clothes, his lightsaber was nowhere near him.
"On Kesh, filthy devil." Said the Purple-skinned man.
"Filthy devil?" Asked Finn, confused and even slightly offended. He looked at them and took a deep breath. "You want to let me go and drop your weapons." He said, attempting to mind trick them.
The response he got was not the one he had been expecting. His windpipe began to close on itself as he realized he was being Force Choked. Whoever these people were, he had severely underestimated them.
But then the hold on him was released. "You think you can corrupt my mind with filthy Jedi Tricks?" Said the Human male.
"Calm yourself, Korsin." Said the Purple skinned man, establishing himself as older. "There is much to do with him yet."
"Who are you people?" Asked Finn. "Where are my friends? Where is my wife?"
"You are in no position to ask questions, filth." Said the Purple man. "Your mere survival depends on our mercy. But since you are so curious, I shall tell you. You sit in the great Sith Temple of Kesh."
"Keep dreaming., we killed the last Sith." Replied Finn.
"Arrogance will not do you well as a prisoner. Let me kill him, Lord Hilts." The human man said, Korsin.
"That Sith was but a mere imposter. The remnant of a once great Order, one that we will bring back once we've destroyed this makeshift Republic of yours and we find the great Sith Meditation Sphere."
"The what-a-what? Who are you?" Asked Finn.
"Greetings, I am Varner Hilts, leader of the Sith Order and a Keshirian. As for the other thing, something you need not worry about. For you are part of a far greater step in our plan. " Said Hilts.
"I don't care at all. What plan is that?"
Hilts smirked and stepped forward, taking off his hood. He was indeed purple skinned, long white hair and a long white beard, as well as a scar going down his face. "Your wife, we felt a strength in her unlike any we've felt in quite a long time. She'll serve us another way."
"If you hurt her I swear-"
Once again, he began to get choked. "I told you, you are in not position to be arrogant." Hilts said. "You have a certain strength yourself, one I'm not afraid to admit I respect. I may even give you a respectful death when I am done with you."
"The Republic'll stop you." Finn replied.
"The only people in the Republic that could stop us are our prisoners." The younger man said. "Who would've thought that when we sent people to you, you'd come straight to us."
Finn raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I sent my finest people to kill the last living Skywalkers, it turns out they were on the ship we captured. We planned to kill the Force sensitives and take the rest, much like we did with that little team you sent, we wouldn't expect the last two Jedi to risk themselves like that."
Hilts then began to speak. "All that was left for our team in Tatoonie was three little children to take care of."
Finn's heart dropped to his stomach as he heard that. He felt his ears begin to grow hot. "If you touched them-"
He was interrupted by Hilts throwing a hand on the ground. A small brown human hand, one that seemed to materialize all of Finn's fears. He looked back up at the man, anger burning in his eyes. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"Our team met some… Resistance at your homestead. Quickly taken care of, however." Hilts said with a grin.
With that, the two men began to walk out of the great hall, leaving a struggling Finn furious, wondering as to what was going on, and in wonder of where his wife and friends were.
In a lower level of the Sith Temple, in almost a prison yard with cells, each containing a different amount of Republic soldiers that had survived the crash: Poe, Rose, and Jannah were all put in one cell together. A big mistake for the Sith.
As soon as three Keshirian guards walked past them, Poe turned back to his friends. "This is bad. We need to escape from here, we need to find Finn, and we need to find Rey."
"Finn's close." Jannah said. "I can feel him. I don't know where Rey is."
"Eh," Poe shook his head. "If you ever need to find Rey you find Finn first, everyone knows that."
"So what's the plan, oh-fearless leader?" Asked Rose.
Poe tried to peek out the cell, but to no avail. "They're going to start separating us any second."
Jannah looked for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "I have a plan." She said, she pulled them closer, whispering it to them. Poe looked at her. "It's kind of risky." He said.
"What other choice do we have?" Asked Rose. "I'm with her."
"That's not fair, you're always with her!"
Rose looked over at Jannah, a small smile shared between the two before they kissed and parted. "You're damn right I am."
Poe sighed, looking at them. He then sighed and dropped to the ground, pretending he was choking to death.
"Guards! Guards!" Jannah called out. "Help!"
Three Keshirian guards returned, running towards the cell. "What's going on here?"
Jannah, who was acting panicked, took a moment to look at them as if they were stupid. "He's choking! Can't you see?"
They got closer, and as soon as they did, Jannah's fist clenched and she pulled towards her. The force pushed the guards heads against the metal bars, effectively knocking them out.
"I cannot believe that worked." Poe said, immediately stopping the fake choking. Jannah ran to where the two guards had gotten knocked out, pulling one closer and searching him before finding the key to the cell.
She would open it and drag the three knocked out guards towards them, inside the cell.
Within moments, the trio were dressed in the Sith Guard clothing the Keshirians wore, putting on the helmets to cover their appearance.
"Follow me." Jannah said as they exited.
Back on the Republic Military Base, all hell had broken loose. That explosion hadn't been a figment of their imagination. A Ballistic SD had hit the domed military base in Coruscant and immediately after, hundreds of small black Starfighters, the look of which had never been seen before were swarming the skies of Coruscant.
"A Warship has just jumped out of Hyperspace! We are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack! This is not a drill!"
Ezra, Kanan, and Aayla all looked at the intercoms and turned to each other. "They're here." Said Ezra.
They exited into the hall, and ran outside, where red alarms were going off, soldiers were running around even more panicked than before. They were getting their weapons ready. Pilots were on their way to the hangars to attempt and fight what was happening.
In the skies, dozens of batlike Starfighters began to swarm and shoot around the city of Coruscant. Kanan and Aayla were both left shocked, they had never seen anything like this. A grand scale battle.
Past them ran various pilots, getting into X-Wings, Y-Wings, Carriers, all getting up to the sky as soon as they could. Meanwhile, the jet black starfighters began to fire upon the city.
And then suddenly, it appeared.
A giant mega-class warship, pitch black. There was a large crystal visor in its front, various weapons all around it. It almost looked like a hawk, except it was a hawk big enough to block out the sun.
"What's that?" Aayla asked, awestruck.
"That's one of their warships, the Omen II , named after the ship they crashed in." Answered Ezra.
Within moments, small shuttles fell from the Omen. Kanan could only assume they were soldiers ready for the ground attack.
All around them, explosions began to occur. The three took cover as the soldiers landed on the ground. It seemed they were storming the base. "You think they're looking for you?" Asked Kanan.
"If they were, this is not the way to do it." Ezra said. "They're destroying the city." For the first time since Kanan had met the old Jedi, he saw fear in the man's face. It was comforting to know he was human, but discomforting because he knew that meant that this was something way out of their control.
They ran back inside, bolting down the corridors until they ran into the President and Commander Connix.
"Commander!" Ezra exclaimed. "It's them- It's the Sith."
"None of our signals picked them up." Connix said, rather worried and surprised.
"They're attacking the city." Law said. "We have to fight back, we cannot leave the city defenseless."
"Then what do we do?" Asked Kanan.
Ezra looked at Connix and Law, unsure of what to say. Connix would step forward, but before she could say anything, entrances blew open and fire began to regan. An all out assault had erupted.
In came dozens of soldiers, clad in black tactical uniforms and helmets with black visors, led by men clad in the same uniforms but red. They were led by others in black clothing, their faces uncovered, holding red lightsabers. From what Kanan could see. Republic soldiers fought back, the lightsaber wielders -the Sith-, deflected the blasts easily, cutting down anyone they came across.
Behind them, their soldiers shot back, taking men down. "We have to go, RUN!" Exclaimed Ezra. The group began to run down the free corridor, narrowly avoiding blaster fire. As they ran, the Old self-proclaimed Jedi stopped, opening his black robe, revealing his lightsaber hilt. Taking it in his hand, he turned it on and the green blade emitted from it.
Kanan watched him as the four Sith neared him, soldiers in tow. Behind them, Republic soldiers began firing at the foot soldiers. That included Connix and Law, who had picked up blasters on the ground and began firing. Kanan and Aayla took cover before the older brother stared down his younger sister.
"Go find Ben." Kanan told his sister, looking at the lightsaber. "We have to get off this planet."
Aayla looked at her older brother, doubting her ability to do so, but then he put a hand on her new hand and her saber. "Mom was right, you have to trust in yourself a lot more… And I can't do this without you."
Aayla looked at her older brother for a moment and then she took a deep breath. "We'll meet at the Ghost , stay safe, please." She told her brother.
Kanan shot her a little smirk. They clasped hands and regarded each other, and with that Aayla was off towards where the Force led her to her brother.
Kanan took a deep breath and focused. "Be with me." He said. This was his chance to prove to everyone he had what it took to be a Jedi, he was going to show them he was worthy of the Skywalker name.
And then he activated the lightsaber. He didn't yet know the history behind this lightsaber, all he knew is that using it felt right .
He turned to where Ezra had begun to engage the fourth sith, the old man not seeming so old when he swung his saber. The force rejuvenated him.
And suddenly, Kanan was in the fight. He dashed past Ezra and fought one of the Sith, and older man. "Kid-" Ezra said, blocking a hit from two different light sabers. "Get out of here!" He exclaimed.
One Sith almost got the best of Ezra, but a blast hit her in the head, one shot from a certain Commander Connix. The Sith woman fell to the ground. "Nice shot, commander!"
Kanan didn't listen. Instead, he took on the Sith man, he would slash, and the young Skywalker would prove his agility by dodging hits quickly before he jumped up and kicked the man square in the chest with his two feet, knocking him back.
The Sith cried out in pain, and then angrily shot out his hand, hoping to choke him. For a moment, Kanan felt his breath cut off, but then he grit his teeth and he fought back mentally, breaking out of his grip and pushing the Sith full speed ahead into a group of the troopers, effectively taking them all out of the battle.
That left Ezra dealing with the final Sith, who had a double bladed red lightsaber. He was proving to be a worthy opponent. He was quickly tiring the old Jedi. But he didn't know Kanan Skywalker was after him next. He slashed the blue blade straight through the hilt of the dual bladed lightsaber, breaking it. Without hesitation, Ezra slashed his green blade straight through the neck of the sith, beheading him.
The old man, having proved himself in the face of the Republic Soldiers as a Jedi, then brought his hands together, a pure ball of light side force energy and shot it straight to the approaching troopers, blinding them and sending them tumbling.
"Let's go!" Law said. "We have to get the Jedi out of here!"
Ezra and Kanan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, President?" Asked Ezra.
"I can see what is necessary. The Jedi are the only ones who can stop this threat. Can we trust you?" The President said.
"Well- Yeah? But what are you implying?" Asked the old Jedi, once again.
"You guys have to get out of here, we have to save the last Jedi so you guys can fight this threat, we have to keep Coruscant resisting." President Law said.
"Absolutely not." Said Kanan. "I want to get my parents back, but we can't leave the Republic to fight this itself. "
"Right now, you're the last hope of the Republic, you'll need your parents to fight this, and only you can get them back." Connix told Kanan.
Ezra was quiet for a moment, very hesitant. He did not feel right about this.
"This is the plan now, Bridger, that's what I'm saying." Law told him. He looked at her and he sighed, nodding.
"Let's go, kid." Ezra said to Kanan. The young boy was ready to protest but Ezra spoke before he could. "I'll train you. I was wrong, you're ready to become a Jedi."
Kanan's eyes widened. And with that, he followed Ezra, presumably heading towards The Ghost where he hoped Aayla and Ben would meet them, along with Korbin and Jacen Syndulla.
Meanwhile, Aayla Skywalker had been running towards the Quarters that Ben had been taken to. It was some ways from the Med-Bay area they had been in. She had begun to run, mustering all the stamina the force could give her, breathing in and out heavily, centering the focus of the Force with her breath.
Feel it flow through you, Aayla.
The voice of a woman rang in her ears. A woman that had lived generations before her, the woman who had owned the lightsaber she currently held.
The Force is strong in you.
As a trooper neared her, she deflected his blasts and slashed him straight across the chest, and he fell.
Continue the Journey I started, the journey that your mother inherited, the one you shall continue. Protect those you love… Protect Kanan… Protect your father… Protect your mother… Protect Ben...
When the voice said the name Ben, another voice spoke, the voice of her mother. Those words awoke something in her, for now instead of running with fear, she ran with determination.
She quickly came upon a Sith, who was mowing down Republic soldiers. Using a burst of force energy, she ran on the wall, the tip of the blue blade dragging it's edge on the floor. She jumped off and kicked the unsuspecting Sith straight in the head before plunging the blade straight through his chest.
The Republic soldiers stared at the girl with awe. She shot them back a smile before she continued on her way.
Moments later she would come across the wing in which Ben was meant to be. It was then that amidst the running Republic Soldiers, Sith Troopers, and Sith Warriors that she spotted them. Korbin and Jacen Syndulla, armed with blasters and with the youngest of the Skywalker clan between them, fighting back against the Sith.
When one of the Red-Lightsaber-Wielding Sith's neared them, Aayla parried his attack. He chucked in amusement as he slapped her straight across the face, sending her tumbling back.
Ben Skywalker did not like this. His brow furrowed, angry at having his sister get hurt like that pushed his hands out and almost sent the Sith smacking straight into the wall. However, as surprised as he was, he managed to fight back just in time.
That, however, had been the distraction Aayla needed to finally listen to her mother and not be scared of the damage she could cause. Focusing her hands together, a strong ball of gray force energy was sent flying straight towards the Sith Lord, causing him to be sent flying down the corridor.
And for a moment, there was peace. Aayla looked at her little brother, who smiled back at her. She took a step near him until the sound of beeping sounded. There was confusion, and then Aayla looked down at one of the Red Sith Troopers that had been taken out, who had just pressed a button. His visor began to beep rapidly.
Aayla and Jacen both realized what it was, but it was too late.
An explosion erupted, Aayla was sent flying back, feeling the heat and burn from the fire, as the floor caved in on itself and they began to fall straight through the floor, Aayla summoned some force energy, whatever she could muster help her not die during this landing. And as her back hit the ground, she realized that most big debris landed around her. However small pieces of shrapnel had given her multiple cuts and bruises.
As she managed to get back up, she realized that it had blown a hole in the building, they were on the outside now. Her ears were ringing, she could feel warm blood pouring down her head. Her robotic hand had been damaged. Though it had first had a glove that made it look like her skin, that was all damaged, all that was left were the robotic fingers.
She managed to push up to her feet, wondering where the hell it was that she had ended up.
It was all rubble.
Then her heart froze. "Ben?" She called out. There was no answer. "Ben!" She exclaimed once again. She began to breath in and out again, trying to get some stamina. She looked around, but there was no sign of the youngest Skywalker.
The feeling of dread she was getting was worse than the pain of having lived through a bomb detonation. "Ben?!" She called out again, near tears.
As she turned a corner, she came around two figures. One was lying on the floor, stiff and still. In the distance, Aayla could see a large piece of debris had pierced his chest. The other one seemed to be mourning him.
She grew more horrified as she neared them, their two forms becoming much familiar.
On the floor, lifeless was Jacen Syndulla. Crying over him, Korbin Syndulla watched. Her mouth dropped open. She hadn't known Jacen for a long time, but he had saved her and her brothers from certain death, he had a son, he had a life.
Then the other thing was that it felt as if she was feeling Korbin's pain, through the force. As if she knew exactly what he was going through, and exactly what he needed. She knelt down, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry." She said.
Korbin looked at her, tears running down. She could feel it. He wanted to be angry at her, he wanted to blame her and her family for getting her father involved in this mess. But the young Syndulla was a good man, because Jacen had been a good man, they knew there was only one side to blame for this. They knew that Jacen Syndulla had been a hero long before Korbin had even been born, at the Battle of Scarif, at the battle of Exegol.
And now, here he lied, losing his life. Jacen's head moved slightly to look at his son. "Don't… Give up." He told him, and with that, the light in his eyes faded.
Aayla hugged Korbin, he hugged her back, they took each other in for a moment before Korbin looked at the young Skywalker girl. "Where's your brother?" He asked.
Her worries came flying back. "I-I don't know, I'm trying to find him." She said, fighting back the tears.
The sound of Troopers near them made them duck and hide. "I think we have to go." Said Korbin.
"No!" Aayla protested. "I have to find my brother. I have to."
Korbin looked at her, he didn't want to turn back to face his father. He couldn't he was hurt, he wasn't going to stop being hurt for a while. But he knew what his father fought for, he knew the risks, and when he had chosen to travel with him, he took up that same responsibility.
"If we get killed it won't do your brother any good." He told her.
She looked at him, she looked back, hoping Ben would appear. She couldn't go back, not without him.
"I understand, trust me." He told her. "But right now I think you guys are our only hope. We have to make these people pay."
Aayla looked out one last time, hoping she would feel something… Anything. But there was nothing, and that scared her.
"Aayla, we have to go." Korbin said, wiping tears out of his face. She gritted her teeth, her heart beating hard.
They began to run towards they had parked the Ghost, sneaking past Troopers and Sith. That was when they saw it was surrounded by the Ghost. Someone had tipped them off, they recognized it.
As the two surveyed the area, they saw the Strike Team of Sith that had attacked them on Tatooine. Rhea leading them, while Xal followed with his young apprentice Raas, who had a black eye. Not one she remembered Kanan giving him. The girl who cut her hand was also there.
"Over there." Korbin pointed out. In the distance they saw Kanan waving over at them, across the landing strip, where they stood in a hanger right next to the…
"The Falcon!" Aayla yelled-whispered to herself. With one final look, Korbin and Aayla ran towards him, past the troopers, finally reaching the eldest brother and the Jedi Knight.
"Hey- Where's Ben?" Asked Kanan.
"And Jacen?" Asked Ezra.
Korbin took a deep breath, Ezra seeing the tears well up in his eyes. This was another first, now Ezra looked heart broken, hurt. "No…" He said, stepping back. "No."
Kanan also looked shocked. He'd just become friends with Jacen, the first one to ever look at him as if he were impressive in his eyes. He looked back at his sister. "Aayla, if you tell me-"
"I couldn't find him." Aayla said, fighting back the tears that were already rolling down her cheeks.
Kanan looked bewildered. He stepped towards his sister. "What do you mean you couldn't find him?"
"One of the troopers detonated a bomb in his suit, that's how my father-" Korbin didn't finish the sentence. "We couldn't find your brother."
"Then we go back and keep looking for him." Kanan ordered.
"We… Can't do that." Ezra said, looking as if he hated himself for saying it.
"Excuse me?" Asked Kanan, turning on the man who had just agreed to be his master. "Are you expecting me to leave without my brother?"
"Yes, I am." Said Ezra. "I expect you to remember that there are more than hundreds of people on this base who just kept fighting so that we could escape."
"You can't ask me to-"
"I don't want to, kid, I really don't." Said Ezra. "But look around us, the stakes are too high. You wanted to be a Jedi? Sometimes Jedi have to make difficult choices."
Kanan looked at his master, at his weeping sister, and the weeping Korbin Syndulla, who had just lost his father. He inhaled, taking in the view. Coruscant just a short while ago had been the sight of Hope, and within hours it was being taken by invaders who had been planning their attack for a long time.
Kanan couldn't speak, he just bowed his head as he began to walk up the steps of the Millennium Falcon. One by one, he was followed by the remaining members of their team.