The feeling of cold dread washes over the Spectres, the entire cave system seemingly dropping degree after degree to the point where one could conceivably see their own breath, or at least that is how it feels.
In reality, the temperature remains the same, but the air seems to cut harsher, more viscous waves across any exposed skin, and an ever-growing feeling of dread fills the caves. No longer is it solely Kanaan and Ezra who are awake, now the others have been roused from their rest by the growing darkness. Beside their partners Sabine and Hera both move to grab their own weapons and gear while Ezra and Kanan both hurry through getting dressed or armoured and armed.
Ezra for his part is just finished pulling his armour over his new leg when the force screams a warning at him. In moments his lightsaber is in hand and ignited as a shadow launches themselves into the room, a red blade held aloft. As the figure closes, however, a pulse emits from beside the bed, a repulsive firing toward the figure and knocking them out of the room momentarily and giving Ezra time enough to stand and close his belt clasp.
Above them simultaneously a pack of Vornskr dash through the tunnels into where Kanaan and Hera had been sleeping minutes before. Kanan, for his part, immediately turns to face them, becoming aware of the threat as they bound into the room. However, it is Hera that ultimately starts to put down the beasts unleashing a steady stream of fire toward them while Kanan dances around her trying to hold the now circling creatures at bay.
Back down with Ezra and Sabine the would-be assassin has recovered and come running back into the room a pale trail of green blood leaking from under their mask. As soon as they place eyes on Ezra however they quickly make their way toward him, only turning their gaze away to make sure Sabine isn't about to ambush them.
In moments they have closed the distance and honestly it is all Ezra can do to keep them at bay. The strikes levelled against him are powerful, yet lighting quick, and promise a quick death as payment for any mistake he should make. He finds himself being pushed back, further and further towards the walls of the caves that had once protected them, but now entrap them.
Sabine for her part seeing this is quick to come to her husband's aid and in true Mandalorian fashion, she doesn't even consider her safety as she does. Instead, she draws her Darksaber and launches toward the figure, meeting them in a clash of blades and giving Ezra just enough time to move before he would have been trapped and ultimately killed. However, this brings about a new problem as the assassin turns their attacks on Sabine, who lacks the foresight granted to Ezra by the force. Sabine does her best to hold off her attacker, steadily moving away, giving as much ground as she can to avoid the attacks all together rather than face the force aided swing head-on. However, she isn't given much choice as after several moments the figure manages to level a strike that she has no choice but to block.
For several moments they remain standing, the weight of the force bearing down on her as the assassin tries to overpower her. Then, at the moment before her defence breaks, and just before Sabine would have paid the ultimate price for her bravery, her gauntlet shifts just enough to point toward her enemy. Without hesitation, Sabine activates her gauntlet, and instead of a blazing blade of energy scorching through her she launches a molten stream of flame into the face of her attacker the liquid sticking and cloying to their armour and mask and causing them to stumble back.
This moment proves to be all the opportunity the pair need as Ezra who had been trying to find an opening that would allow him to strike without endangering Sabine launches himself at the assassin. Gone is the hesitation of the Jedi of old, gone is the self-doubt he had felt at his injury, and instead in its place is utter martial fury. In moments he is attacking, his blade coming down on his enemy who is still aflame. His blade narrowly missing the decapitation shot as they manage to block barely. However, Ezra is no longer being held back and has instead immersed himself in the force. He launches a flurry of blows at the assassin, overhead and slashing swipes that would have spelt death for anyone else, but as it is their killer manages to evade or avoid the worst of the damage, instead sustaining only minor injuries. But in focussing their energy on avoiding Ezra, the assassin has made a fatal mistake. From where she had stood practically forgotten moments earlier, Sabine takes her Darksaber and with silent fury swipes for the assassin, rending their head from their shoulders.
Above Ezra and Sabine, the fight had not been going so well. The Vornskr were voracious Hunters with a fine attunement to the force, and for every shot that did land, a dozen or more missed, singeing only hair or barely coming close enough for their heat to be felt. Worst of all, Hera was running out of charge packs for her blaster, and without it, the Vornskr pack would soon overwhelm Kanan. Kanan, for his part, had become resigned that this would be his fate, but he was desperate to ensure that it would not be Hera's fate. Already he had decided that as soon as her blaster died, he would throw her to safety, even if it meant launching her out of the caves into the waves below.
However, before such a plan can come to fruition, there is a loud yell as Zeb comes racing toward them from where he has been climbing the rock face. His hair is more than a little singed, despite it's soaked through nature and his bow staff has several new dents in it. But that doesn't stop him from launching himself toward them his staff extended as he bats the Vornskr aside with quick flicks of his massive wrist before coming to stand opposite Kanan behind Hera.
Moments later the tide begins to turn against the Vornskr pack as Hera releases Zeb of his spare blaster and blaster cells and starts laying down even more substantial fire than before. By now the fury of the fire was overwhelming the beasts, and more and more were being felled until at last the last creature was decapitated following a last-ditch attack on Kanan.
Moments later as the body hits the floor, Zeb turns to say "glad that's over... hey, wait, where are the kids?"
As if in response from below them, Kanan feels the force pulse with pain and anger and something that feels utterly foreign. Turning to Zeb, he quickly says "I'll get them, you get Hera and get to the Ghost. We'll meet you at the stronghold once it's safe" before running off down towards where Ezra and Sabine are fighting.
Kanan arrives just in time to see Sabine beheld their would-be assassin and watch as Ezra seems to come back to himself again. Instantly the feeling he couldn't identify seems to stop, and he realises it had been Ezra imbuing and attuning himself with the force to fight his enemy. Running toward the pair, he yells out, asking "are you two alright?"
Sabine looks at Ezra for a moment and the way he is focussing on the dispatched assassin before shrugging as Ezra asks "what the hell was that?" Then turning to Kanan, he says "it, it fought like an inquisitor, but stronger, with more hatred and it felt, it felt like Vader."
Kanan walks closer to the body before using the force to take the fallen lightsaber from the ground. As his hand closes around the hilt, he feels a surge of the force and is greeted by visions of pain, and anger, and hatred. The hilt falls from his hand, landing with a clatter on the stone as Kanan visibly recoils as if burnt.
Just as he is about to respond, however, there is a loud crash sound from outside followed by the scream of tie fighters. Abandoning the subject for the moment, he instead commands "come on; we need to get out of here now!" Causing the teens to both start running with him toward the newly repainted Nightbrother.
As soon as the ramp has come into view, Kanan reaches out, opening it with the force and allowing them to all race up and into the ship. As he does, he vaguely hears Sabine muttering under her breath about what she'll do to any imperial pilot that dares deface her newest artwork, but that is cut off as Sabine pushes him away from the controls and instead situates herself at the weapons as Ezra takes the helm. They make quick work of rocketing through the camouflage netting.
The next several minutes are a harrowing experience for Kanan, and he swears he has lost several years off his natural-born life due to the manoeuvres Ezra was pulling. He doesn't know who had taught Ezra to fly like that, but whoever it was would give Hera a run for her money and hell for all he knows it could have even been Hera. Luckily though whether through skill or other means they find themselves clear of imperials after several minutes and rocketing over the ocean as they look for a place they can sweep the ship for tracers.
As they fly through, Ezra remembers his earlier question asking "what was that thing, Kanan?"
Kanan sighs as he remembers the feeling of darkness from the lightsaber, "that Ezra was a Sith stalker, an assassin, although I always thought they were just legends."
"Yeah, well that legend nearly killed us!" Ezra exclaims
"I know" Kanan sighs rubbing his temple as he says "and if the empire has decided we rank that sort of attention, then we are in more trouble than we likely realise."