Chapter 37 – Freedom for Onderon

Author's Note: In which the battle on Onderon continues. ^-^

To Guest (1): We don't know much about Legends, so there will not likely be any more legends characters appearing. :P Theseus could feasibly train will Ventress though. And him training with Dooku would be cool as well, but that would require him to turn traitor to the Republic, something he would never want to do.

To Guest (2): Yeah, Dooku training Theseus would not be easy for him, since he would have to turn his back on the Republic. And he cares about Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka too much to do that to them. He would never want to betray them.

To Guest (3): We haven't actually read Dark Disciple, so no, there won't be anything from that book appearing in this fic. :)

Thank you all so much for reviewing! :D

~ Amina Gila

Theseus moves silently through the streets again, dropping the holodevice he's carrying in a nearby stand before moving on like he didn't do anything at all. Time for the next step of the plan.

"It's time," the message finally cracked through his comm, and he pushes the button on his. All across the city, large holograms of Steela appear.

"People of Onderon, the time has come to take back our freedom. We have all been deceived. King Rash is a traitor who has sold Onderon to the Separatists for the crown. But Onderon is ours. We need your strength to reclaim our planet and restore our sovereignty under our true king, King Dendup!"

Steela really is good at giving these speeches. It's no wonder she accidentally got herself appointed as the official rebel leader only the night before. He didn't have a very good first impression of her, but now he's beginning to rethink that.

Glancing around, Theseus doesn't miss how a number of the surrounding civilians are murmuring quietly to each other, some of them nodding seemingly in agreement over what she said. This may have been the next very important step in freeing Onderon.

Of course, when they're getting support is when everything has to promptly fall apart. The Separatists announce the scheduled execution of King Dendup the next afternoon. Being the reckless idiot he is sometimes, Saw promptly takes off to try saving him on his own. Of course, that works out splendidly. Theseus feels a mix of irritation and fond exasperation.

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Ahsoka sighs as Theseus follows her back to their room.

"I don't either," he agrees grimly. Going to openly rescue Dendup like that, especially when that's what the Separatists are expecting, could easily get them all killed. "But it's their choice. I don't know what we can do."

"Me neither," Ahsoka sighs, sinking down onto the bench, "They're have to be the ones to make the decisions, but..."

"Yeah, and their minds are already made up," Theseus agrees, "Come on, let's call our masters."

She nods as she dials the frequency to their comms. They answer almost immediately, and they start giving their nightly update.

"I sense fear in you," Obi-Wan comments.

"The rebels are divided. If they try to rescue the king now, I'm afraid we might lose them," Ahsoka explains.

"If they go through with this, they could easily destroy themselves entirely," Theseus agrees.

"We cannot control their fate," his master reminds.

"I know," he sighs.

"It's just... they're risking so many lives to save one," Ahsoka sighs.

"Do not underestimate the king's power. He represents hope and he's critical their success," Obi-Wan says. True. But that will only make a difference if they don't get themselves complete wiped out in the process of trying to save him.

"I feel responsible for them," Ahsoka admits finally.

"I know you do, Snips," Anakin speaks up at last. He's been quiet almost the entire time. "But remember, purpose must come before feelings."

"Step in only if you must, but remember," Obi-Wan cautions, "If this experiment is to become an effective strategy, they must learn to survive on their own."

**w**

The next afternoon comes much too quickly. Theseus finds himself standing next to Ahsoka admit the throngs of people here for the execution, though both of them have their hoods pulled up to avoid recognition.

King Rash steps forwards to give his announcement about how Dendup is responsible for terrorist acts, and bla bla bla, before the droid guards shove the former king onto his knees, pushing his head through the ray shield.

"Wait for my signal," Steela whispers to the others. Theseus still can't believe she seriously decided to come out here without any disguise. It's not like the droids don't know who she is.

"Ready weapons!" shouts Rash. The droids raise their electrostaffs, preparing to strike.

"Now!" Steela hisses. Several of the rebels instantly open fire, blasting the two guard droids. Lux runs forwards, throwing smoke bombs onto the platform, blinding everyone. The rest of the rebels run forwards, freezing Dendup and Saw, before racing back down the steps.

But what they don't see – and what Theseus has no way of warning them about – is the group of super battle droids barging through the crowd. The one in front fires a blast, shooting down the rebel in front. Moments later, they're surrounded on all sides.

No, no, this was exactly what Theseus was afraid of. He exchanges a tense glance with Ahsoka. They can't stand back and let the rebels die. "We need to do something," Ahsoka whispers in agreement. The two more forwards together, pushing their way through the crowd.

"Yeah, I think now counts as time for an emergency intervention," he agrees in a low voice

"Surrender now, or die," warns the droid general.

"It's over. Do as they say," Dendup advises.

The people start shouting in protest as the group is led back onto the platform. "Calm yourselves!" Rash calls, obviously intending to pretend they aren't literally protesting his rule, "The threat is over. See for yourselves as these traitors all endure the same punishment."

Dendup's head is shoved through the rayshield again, the droids moving back into position. "The snake will not strike again," Rash growls.

Theseus continues to push through the crowd, realizing with growing panic that they'll never get not in time. Not unless they Force-jump up there, which would be more than likely to end up getting a bunch of the rebels killed rather than anything else.

Just then, the doors behind them swing open, and the General and a group of Onderoni military run into view, aiming their weapons at the droids. "Stop!" the General yells.

"What?!" Rash exclaims in shock.

"The only snake I see, sire, is you," the General snaps in response.

"Traitor!" the King spits.

"I was," he shoots back, "Not anymore." He steps forwards, grabbing the king and pressing the long handle of his spear up near his neck.

Cheers ring through the crowd, and Theseus won't deny his satisfaction. Finally, the people are showing what they truly want.

"What are you doing, General?" demands Rash angrily.

"Go," he orders, and everyone immediately takes off. The crowd parts to let them through.

"Everyone, go with them," he adds, giving his own soldiers a pointed look, even as they continue to protest. Finally, they give in as well, following, leaving him alone. All the droids immediately shift into firing position.

"What now, General?" Rash growls, "As soon as you release me, you'll be shot dead."

"Now!" Ahsoka hisses, and leaps over everyone's heads, landing on the platform. She Force-throws all the droids to the ground as Theseus lands behind her.

Shocked exclamations run through the crowd.

"Come on," Theseus urges.

"Follow me," Ahsoka commands.

The General lets go of the king, knocking him face first onto the stares before he turns, hurrying after them into the crowd. Theseus stays in the back, hand on his lightsaber as he prepares for the droids to give pursuit and open fire.

But they don't, because the moment they reach the bottom of the stairs, the crowd moves forwards, blocking the way. "Dendup is the true king! We want the Separatists gone! Save Dendup!" People in the crowd yell as the three hastily head for where the other rebels are heading. All in all, it seems this mission has been a success so far. Theseus only hopes it will stay that way.

**w**

"This will really help rally the people to our case," Saw states happily, as he and Theseus stand off to the side, watching as King Dendup finishes giving his speech. After the execution, they were forced to retreat back out to a hideout in the mountains again. Several of the other rebels, Lux and Ahsoka included, went back to Iziz to drop off more comms so the king could give a speech, rallying the people against the Separatist forces.

"Well, we shouldn't have to wait long to find out their reactions," Theseus agrees, turning to watch the horizon.

Sure enough, one of those large orange bird-like creatures soon flies into view, Lux and Ahsoka riding on its back. From the way Lux is grinning as he hops off it, whatever happened obviously went well. "The people are turning against the droids," he announces, "There's rioting in the streets now."

"That's a beautiful thing," Saw grins, patting his shoulder.

"We need to keep the battle in the outskirts of the city," cautions Steela, walking over to them, "Less structures and people."

"But less clankers," her brother argues, "Their main force is in Iziz. We should join the fight down there and take it straight to King Rash." He sees the reasoning, but it's hardly the right tactic. All it'll do is get a lot of people killed.

"We all want victory, but not at the cost of innocent lives! If we fight door to door, no one is safe," she objects.

"This is war, Steela."

"She's right," Dendup cuts in, "The more you draw the droids from the city to the highlands, the safer the people will be."

"My men await your command, my lord," the general declares. With him and so many other of the Onderoni military having joined up with the rebels, the chance of their success has grown a lot higher. Well, excluding the tiny fact that the Separatists now know Jedi are involved, so they're bound to bring in a lot of new toys.

"I believe there is a new contender," Dendup replies, then turns to Steela, "You will lead our forces, including the royal army. Steela is now the commanding general."

"Let's ride," Steela orders once the discussions are over.

"You planning to go with Lux?" Theseus queries, moving to stand next to Ahsoka.

"Yeah," she replies, "You could ride in with Steela if you want."

"No, I think I'll stay here with Saw," he decides after a moment, "Best to have one of us in both places in case something happens."

Ahsoka nods her agreement, then hurries back over to Lux as his animal finally lands. She climbs on its back, but Steela catches Lux's arm before he has the chance too. "Just in case," she whispers and kisses him. Theseus can understand why – they don't even know if they're going to see each other again – but that doesn't mean it doesn't somewhat bother him that they did that right in front of Ahsoka.

She's pointedly looking away but turns back to Lux as soon as he climbs on in front of her. The two exchange grins almost like they're sharing some sort of inside joke before the two creatures fly away.

Theseus decides to reconsider his position, and moves to join Ahsoka, Steela, and Lux on the top of the cliff once all the rebels are gathering for battle. If he's not going to be fighting down there, he'll be more at risk of being collateral damage than anything else. He really, really wishes they actually could fight, but unless it becomes urgent, they'll have to stick to sitting it out.

Sunlight flashing off metal catches his eye, and he looks up sharply to see the long columns of droids finally marching into view, practically covering the entire flat ground where they are. Tanks roll into view within their ranks.

All chaos breaks loose. Saw and the other rebels on those animals take off, flying overhead and throwing explosives into the droid's ranks. The rebels on the ground all immediately charge the droids, and everyone open fires on each other. Steela and Lux start shooting down at them as well, and at least for the moment, they actually seem to be winning.

Just then, a sudden deafening explosion tears right through a large group of the rebel forces. What?! Theseus' head snaps up, scanning the area trying to figure out where it came from. Smoke is hanging thickly in the air from all the fighting, so it's hard to actually see anything.

"Where did that come from?!" Steela cries.

"There!" Ahsoka yells, pointing.

Following her gaze, he spots several large cylindrical droid ships circling around the side of the canyon. Lux and Steela instantly shoot at it, but the blasts bounce harmlessly off the sides.

"Ray shields," Theseus realizes grimly.

"Yeah, and now we have its attention!" Ahsoka warns, as it flies straight at them, firing again. The large laser blasts barrage the side of the cliff they're standing on, making it shake violently.

"Any ideas?" Steela demands.

"Yeah. Run!" The Togruta whirls around and takes off.

They race for the waiting animals, Ahsoka and Lux leaping on one, and Theseus jumping off the side of the cliff to land on Steela's as they fly away in the nick of time.

The new droid forces rain constant fire on the rebels, forcing them all into a rapid retreat. Most of those who don't have an animal to ride or fly on don't even make it that far.

"We need to do something!" Theseus exclaims, running over to Ahsoka once they finally get off the animals back on the ground, where the others go to join the raging and now rapidly growing hopeless battle.

"I know!" she calls back, "Maybe we can –" Without bothering to finish the thought, she withdraws her comm, calling their masters, and rapidly explaining the situation.

Of course, Obi-Wan only delivers the bad news Theseus was already certain they were going to hear anyway. "Even Master Windu would be wary at this point. The Council will not engage or involve the Republic in an internal affair."

"But they'll never be able to do this alone anymore, with the Separatists full attention on them like this!" Theseus argues.

"They have a new gunship with a powerful ray shield. Nothing's getting pasts it," Ahsoka adds.

"I'm sorry, but they will have to find a way," Obi-Wan insists, "Do not stay there if their failure is certain." Don't stay?! They need to help them! Yes, this isn't the usual thing they get involved in, but now that they're here, they can't leave! "Evacuate who you can and return to Coruscant immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master," he replies reluctantly, as the connection breaks.

The battle around them is only growing more and more hopeless. The only chance they have now is retreating, and it seems the rebels are rapidly reaching the same conclusion.

**w**

Steela immediately takes control once they've retreated back to the Nest, issuing commands on what they need to do to prepare for the droid's arrival. What happens when the droids show up is anyone's guess. Unless they can find a way to get past those ray shields, they're pretty much doomed.

"You have to help us," Lux requests, turning to them.

"We'll do all we can to protect you, but we can't fight this war for you," Ahsoka sighs, regret clear in her tone.

Theseus wishes so much there was a way they could do more. But he does know one thing. When those droids so show, he will help, even if he's not actually attacking the droids.

Disappointment flashes across Lux's face and he turns to leave.

"We wouldn't have made it this far without you," Steela asserts.

"I wish there was more we could do," Theseus murmurs quietly.

"Wait, looks like we have company!" Ahsoka exclaims suddenly, pointing. Sure enough, a large ship is landing in the middle of the clearing outside. Steela and Lux withdraw their blasters as they run out there.

An all too familiar figure strides down the ramp. "Hondo?" Theseus utters in confusion. Glancing around, he sees other pirates unloading crates of something from the ship. What in the world are they doing here? The last times he ran into them, it was never under very good terms.

"Well!" Hondo exclaims, looking around, "Look what we have here." His gaze falls on Theseus. "Padawan Shan, my old friend, am I correct?"

"I'm surprised you remember me," Theseus retorts, eyes narrowed, "And for the record, we're not friends."

Hondo laughs. "I remember all of my Jedi friends." Fine. Whatever. This conversation is stupid anyway. It's best not to keep arguing. He's probably here for a reason.

"What are you doing here?" demands Ahsoka.

"You should thank me, child," he retorts, "I have brought you a gift from Skywalker and Kenobi. The latest from Sienar." What?!

One of the rebels reaches down, shoving off the top of one of the crates to reveal rocket launchers. "Rocket launchers?" Ahsoka realizes in surprise. What's going on here? Why is Hondo delivering them weapons?!

"Shoulder fire. Very expensive," Hondo says by way of answer.

"Who paid for them?" Theseus inquires suspiciously. This was definitely Anakin's idea, he knows that much. Obi-Wan would never have come up with it on his own, or likely even approved if he heard the details.

"Very handsomely!" he exclaims, as if that answers the question. A blaster shot suddenly rings out and Theseus whirls around to see two assassin droids leaping up over the side of the hill, charging them. "Oh my, look at the time!" Hondo exclaims again, "Well, my work here is done." He turns, rapidly disappearing back onto his ship, and moments later it takes off.

Several of the rebels immediately start shooting back, and Steela calls her animal, which flies down over the hills, picking up the droids with its clawed feet and carrying them away. "They must have seen Hondo's ship," she grumbles.

"It was only a patrol," Ahsoka points out.

"Or so we can hope," Theseus replies, "Either way, the droids will be here soon enough, and we'll have to be ready."

"We should get these down to the others," Steela decides. Each of them takes one, and they climb back onto their animals, taking off for where the battle is already breaking out again. It doesn't take them long to find Saw, and Steela hands him the rocket launcher she's carrying.

"I hope they work," she sighs.

"There's only one way to find out," he retorts, then promptly runs out from where they're taking cover – ignoring Steela's protests – and aims it at one of the oncoming saucer-shaped droids. He fires a blast, and it strikes the side, exploding instantly. The droid spirals out of control, crashing to the ground amidst smoke and flames. "I love this!" Saw cheers.

"Distribute the rocket launchers and take out those gunships," Steela orders. Then her comm suddenly beeps.

"They're attacking the Nest," someone warns, "They're after the King/"

Steela is already running for her animal before the person is even finished. She takes off seconds later as Ahsoka and Lux scramble to theirs.

"Looks like I'm staying behind," Theseus concludes, turning back to watch the battle. They've reached the most crucial moment of it, and it's time for him to join. Theseus pulls out his lightsaber, positioning himself so he can protect them while they use the rocket launchers to shoot down the droid ships.

"Last one's mine," Saw decides gleefully, as he takes aim, firing. The blast strikes it spot on, and it spirals out of control, spinning towards one of the higher land formations.

Theseus is about to turn his attention back to the battle, since even if the droid ships are down, there's still plenty of ground forces to go, when one of the other rebels yells, "Look!"

He spins around to see Steela dangling off the edge of the cliff, barely managing to hold on. Saw drops his weapon, eyes going wide with panic as he runs towards her – not that there's even anything he can do from here.

But there is something Theseus might be able to do. Deactivating his lightsaber, he runs for the cliff. As he does, he sees Lux run to the edge, trying to pull her back up, but not managing to reach even close enough. Ahsoka appears at the edge moments later, pulling Lux back to safety, and then reaching out with the Force to lift Steela back over the edge. But for some reason, Theseus is pretty sure something is about to go terribly wrong. He finally skids to a stop below the cliff – or at least as close as he can get given the jagged rock formations everywhere – staring up anxiously at it.

With the commotion of the battle still raging, he can't tell exactly what happens, but there's a sudden flash of something – another blaster shot – and it hits Ahsoka. She falls out of sight, her Force grip on Steela breaking. The girl falls straight over the edge, plummeting far too quickly for the ground below.

"Steela!" Saw cries.

Theseus instantly reaches out, struggling to slow her fall with the Force. He's done this before, all the time with the clones when they jump off cliffs – or get thrown off courtesy of Anakin and Ahsoka. It's not that difficult. It's only thanks to their insanity, in the end of the day, that he knows how to do this. Tuning everything else out, he wraps the Force around her and slows her fall. Gently, he lowers her safely to the ground.

"Steela?" Saw cries, running over to her. He reaches down to help her to her feet and pulls her into a hug.

Theseus doesn't know why the moment suddenly makes him wonder what it would be like to have a biological sibling who he could actually be a sibling with.

You had that chance, a voice whispers in the back of his mind, but you chose to walk away.

He pointedly ignores the thought. "Are you okay?" he asks instead.

"Yeah," Steela replies, several long moments passing before she finally pulls away from her brother, "We need to get back to the battle."

A battle that, with the droid ships gone, they're now rapidly winning. It won't be long before the Separatists are defeated, and once the droids are destroyed, they'll be able to reclaim the capital. Onderon's freedom is finally within reach.

Final Notes: If you want to join our Discord to receive updates or just hang out, here's the invite link, and please delete the spaces! :) discord . gg / nqSxuz2

We also have a tumblr account (and delete the spaces): fanfictasia . tumblr . com

And! We have a YT channel for tributes! Please delete the spaces in the link. :D youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA

Finally, if you're interested, you can submit a SW gift fic request via the following form (delete the spaces): forms . gle / rmXWtRomMMaULuPa6