Chapter 62 – Chaos on Mandalore

Author's Note: A lot happens in this chapter. Just read the title :)

And yes it's another several-year time jump, but it's time for the plot to kick in again, isn't it? ;)

~ Tirana Sorki

To Guest (1): Vos wasn't dead in OWK yet, but it's already been years past that. Plus, this is a different universe in which Vader is deadlier, and he has another Inquisitor who genuinely cares about what she's doing and is very deadly as well. The chances of Vos surviving for an extended period is… fairly low, unless he was completely in hiding like Marr was, which he wasn't. Again, I agree it would have been interesting to have them interacting, but so far we've only been including a focus on characters who directly tie into what we have planned for the climax. :)
There's not much of a "not being able to save Anakin" involved. Obi-Wan didn't even TRY to help him. He turned on Anakin immediately and tried to kill him, while Anakin was the one trying to make him stand down. And yes, the situation is a bit different in here, but the point still stands. And Obi-Wan didn't 'suffer' a fraction as much as the children that had their lives ripped away from them, like Anakin, Ahsoka, Marr, Caleb, Cal, and Nari. And no, in Canon, Obi-Wan didn't show a shred of sympathy for anyone. He never has. He's not empathic. At all. I'm not going to change his personality just because I wish he wasn't so cruel. And Obi-Wan DID fall apart after ROTS. Entirely. He cut himself off from the Force and abandoned everything he used to be. And all that? He did it for himself, blindly focusing on Luke, not because he cared – because he didn't care about Luke – but because he needed something to ground himself with. Which is completely understandable considering everything he'd been through. If Obi-Wan really had an atom of empathic-ness in his body, he wouldn't have been literally torturing Anakin every time he had a chance, and he wouldn't have flat out refused to offer Nari any assistance whatsoever. But like I said, none of that matters, because this has already diverged from Canon. And as for Obi-Wan and Marr's reunion, I'll just say we'll get there when we get there. ;)

Guest (2): Yeah, there's no question that Vader is far stronger than Marr ever could be ;)
Things may not be about to go quite how anyone is expecting, but Marr is definitely gonna be preparing Mandalore for battle against the Empire. :D

Guest (3): Marr rescuing Koth's daughter would be really interesting. :D He definitely would if he found her, though I don't know what happened to her in Canon. So far, we've only included characters who are very important to the final plot and ew can't wait to get on to some of the later things I have planned, so… xD It's a really cool idea, though, and we're thinking about using it in another fic. ^-^

Thank you all so, so much for reading and reviewing! 💖💖💖

~ Rivana Rita

Marr had no intention of letting the word get out about how he had the Darksaber, but the word started to spread anyway. So, he should hardly be surprised that, almost four years later, pretty much everyone already knows that he has it.

Even if he never officially did anything about it, many seem to have to have decided on their own that he's their new leader, especially those against the Empire. It's... a huge responsibility, but it's proving to be a little easier than he thought. Probably because he's not outright ruling, not yet. He knows how to be a leader, but sometimes, he still struggles with it.

It's also not a surprise when the Empire finally takes note of it. He'd almost expected it when some of the top Imperials on the planet ask for a meeting with him in the capital.

The Empire is... not impressed, to say the least, when they found out he is the Mand'alor.

They're giving him boring, unnecessary speeches about how the Empire is helping Mandalore so much, but he can see the veiled threat beneath their words. They want to see if he's actually on their side, of if he's just pretending. It's a careful game on both sides, because while he won't outright say something against the Empire when they aren't ready for a fight, he won't claim to support everything they do.

And, of course, they can't outright threaten him, not that he'd be intimidated by anything they had to say, anyway.

Now, they're trying to talk him into supporting the use of some weapon which he is highly concerned about simply on principle. He doesn't know the details – they won't tell him, and he needs to be careful about outright asking – but it can't be for anything good.

This might be working for now, but he gets the feeling that it isn't going to last much longer. He can only hope that when chaos erupts, everyone is ready, and that this time, his family will be able to come out together. That is what he fears most: losing everyone he loves as abruptly as last time, again. It's been thirteen years since everything fell apart, and it was hardly over thirteen years after he joined the Order that things starting spiraling down before. It feels like history is repeating itself, so yes, he's scared.

**w**

The last thing Marr was expecting, though, is for Sabine to show up not long after his meeting with the Imperials. "Sabine?" he asks in surprise, then frowns.

He can feel her distress in the Force as she steps inside, taking off her helmet. "I... need to talk to you," she says, and how upset she is, is obvious in her voice as well.

"What is it?" he asks. As Sabine grew older, he hasn't spent much time around her, but he knows her well enough. Something tells him that the reason she's coming to him about this is more because everyone is starting to see him as the Mand'alor, though.

She takes a seat across from him, squirming almost nervously for a moment. "It's about... You heard about the Empire building a special weapon here, right?"

For some reason, he gets the feeling he will not like the way this is going. He's been trying to get more information about it for a while already, but the Empire is being... elusive. And he gets the feeling he is not hearing the whole truth. "I have," he confirms, "Why?"

"There's a contest going on, among the cadets," she explains, looking decidedly uncomfortable. It's weird to remember that she's literally preparing to become a stormtrooper. He's less than happy, but he can't spread his opinion about it. "They want to see if someone could design a weapon that can target beskar armor."

That's what they're up to?! Alarm hits him instantly. He already knows that this isn't just some experiment or something. They're planning to use it. Almost nothing can get through beskar, and if they specifically want a weapon for that... This does not sound good at all. "Sabine, thank you for telling me about this," he says, grimly, "Can you tell me what else you know about it?"

She carefully studies the floor. "I – I joined," she blurts, "We... we aren't supposed to talk about it with non-Imperials, but I helped them make it, and I didn't realize they were actually planning to use it, but – but they are. I need to stop them. I need to destroy it, but I don't know how. I – I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I'll help you," Marr promises. There's no use in telling her that she really shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place. It's not as if she hasn't already figured that out. He doubts the other Mandalorians will be that understanding, but they'll have to deal with it later. "We'll take care of it."

"They're going to know that someone said something!" objects Sabine, biting her lip.

Right. That's the other problem. And he's not delusional enough to think she didn't take a great risk coming here in the first place. "It is quite likely that they'll trace it to you," he admits with a sigh. He has to be honest in that regard. Now is not the time for giving her useless false hopes. If they find out she told someone, she could be killed. "It's not safe for you to go back."

"But what would I do?" Sabine protests, looking up sharply.

He really, really hates to tell her what he thinks she needs to do. "Being as far away from all this as possible will be best," he replies, reaching over, laying a hand on her arm, "Until all of this quiets down, it might be best if you... left the planet entirely."

"Left the planet?" she asks, almost incredulously, "But..."

He can only imagine how she's feeling. (He understands better than she'd realize, actually. He knows how it feels to be taken from his family, his friends, the only life he's ever known, and be throw into a chaotic galaxy with nothing more than his armor, which is exactly what is happening to her now.) "I'm sorry, Sabine," he says, quietly, "But it'll be safest for you that way. The Empire won't stop looking for you, and I know there's many Mandalorians who will be upset. I can help you find somewhere to go." It's the best he can offer her, at this point. The Empire will be trying to kill her, and... it'll be safest for her if she's away from all of it until things start to quiet down.

**w**

He hasn't dreamt of his past in a long time. Dreams of the Clone Wars still frequently fill his nights, but it's become more and more scarce over time. He'll often think of his past, and he'll often remember their voices sometimes, but it's been years since Marr had a vivid dream of the blood-stained battlefield, with the white-armored bodies of clones scattered about. (He doesn't know what happened to the clones. He doesn't know what happened to Cody. Did he kill Obi-Wan? Or did Obi-Wan kill him? Are they still alive, or are they both gone?)

Marr stumbles through the field, the scent of smoke still lingering heavily in the air. He doesn't know why he's bothering, because he knows no one is still alive here, but he needs to see. He wants to know with certainty, and he's done it so many times before.

That's when he sees something... no, someone. His master, and... Anakin. They're motionless, as still as ever, but Marr moves closer anyway, because he's long come to terms with the fact that they're dead, has seen their bodies in his dreams more time than he could count, even before the war ended. But he could swear they're still breathing. They're still alive. Maybe they're injured, but they're still here, and they're alive, and that's all that matters.

Mar jolts awake with a start, breathing heavily. The image is still lingering in the forefront of his mind. He doesn't know why he's dreaming about them now. It's not as if he has in a while, though maybe he's spent too long with... what used to be Anakin's tools. All traces of his presence on them are gone now though.

It takes a moment for Marr to remember that it wasn't real, but it's not, it can't be. Anakin and Obi-Wan are gone. He knows they're probably dead, but he can't stop remembering, wondering. What if they are still out there? No, it's pointless to contemplate. He hasn't heard a word about them, and Marr knows them enough to know neither of them would stay out of the fight. They wouldn't. Everyone would know it if they're still alive.

It cuts him to the core as the image replays in his mind, as he remembers their faces. Was it a dream, or was it a vision? Was the Force trying to give him a message, or is his mind still lingering in the past? It happens, sometimes, he knows, though maybe it's the events in his life right now, but this feels as if it's something more. He misses them so much.

He's never seen anyone as compassionate as Anakin, especially here. His family – everyone except Satine – were members of Death Watch, and even if they've changed, it says a lot about their attitudes as people. Anakin was never like that, and it makes Marr miss him more than words could ever say.

He misses Obi-Wan (he hasn't heard someone with that accent in ages, and is it stupid that he misses that, too?), all the way down to his most annoying and disturbing habits. He and Theseus may have never gotten along well, all things considered, but the bond they shared ran deep in a way it never could with anyone else.

He's a Mandalorian now. He's not Theseus anymore, and they're pieces of his past, but sometimes, it feels as though he'll never be whole without them. He knows he can keep going, but it's not the same. The Force will always be here to lead and guide him, but the main people in his life who shaped him and made him who he is are gone now.

Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la – Not gone, merely marching far away, he reminds himself firmly. Maybe they'll see each other again, someday, and if they died, it was honorably, as warriors.

Either way, he can't go home. You can't go back to a home that was long destroyed.

**w**

It's been a long time since Marr has planned out an operation of this scale, but he certainly still remembers how to do it.

"Someone needs to get inside with BD and destroy all plans and records of this weapon," Marr finishes explaining the plan, looking over the map of the facility based on what Sabine had been able to get. It's going to be a fight, and he can only hope that no stormtroopers who spots them will be around later to identify them to the Empire. The place where they're constructing the thing is away from any reinforcements, thankfully, so they'll have time before more arrive when they attack.

"I can handle that," Satine offers. Marr will never get used to seeing her wearing armor again. Apparently, they have been a 'bad' influence on her. Even if she still hates fighting, she's come to understand that there's times when it's necessary. And she definitely agreed that in this case, it is. (And she is highly insulted that the weapon itself is called the Duchess.)

"I can handle the diversion," Bo offers.

"Then I'll deal with the weapon," Marr decide. "Korkie, you're with me."

Bo, Anastasia, and the other small group who came with them will be able to handle the diversion on the far side of the facility, making the Empire think they were attempting to sneak inside but "accidentally" got security triggered. While the stormtroopers are busy over there, the others should be able to get inside unnoticed. And if something goes wrong, well... Marr already considered plenty of such situations.

Marr, Satine, and Korkie all crouch in the shadows near the edge of the facility, waiting. Going in on jetpacks is far too obvious, after all. The mission itself feels like it will go smoothly, but when he senses beyond that... something doesn't feel right. He doesn't know what though. It doesn't matter right now, anyway. They have to do this. The weapon must be destroyed no matter what. He doesn't know what Sabine was thinking, designing something like that, though he can grudgingly admit it was impressive she was creative enough to do so. No one else succeeded. It's a testimony to how brilliant she is, though he wishes she'd used it for better things.

Blaster fire finally rings out, splitting the silence of the night. It's mostly muffled since it's happening inside, but he can still hear it. Now they need to move fast, before reinforcements are called in.

The three of them – with BD close behind – instantly spring into motion, racing for the other back entrance of the facility. He opens the door with the Force, taking down the guards still stationed there. Once inside, he can hear the alarm blaring throughout the whole facility, directing everyone to the site of the disturbance.

"We split up here," Satine hisses as the three back against the wall, looking up and down the halls.

"May the Force be with you," he whispers. He doesn't know why he has a bad feeling that, for a fleeting moment, he almost thinks might have something to do with Satine. She knows how to fight, if it comes to it, and there's no reason anyone would be in the data center right now.

She nods before taking off one way with BD, while he takes off the other way with Korkie. He doubts he'd actually need Korkie's help, but it doesn't hurt to have backup if things came down to it.

They reach the construction room without much trouble. There's only about half a dozen stormtroopers right around there, and they're easy enough to deal with. Except that they managed to close the blast doors and lock down the doors to the room, which raises a few complications on how to get in.

Fine.

He wanted to go without using this, but it's the fastest option, and they'll be blowing everything up anyway. Marr ignites the Darksaber, stabbing into the door and cutting a hole small enough for them to climb through.

"I was expecting something... bigger," Korkie admits as they look around the room.

"They haven't gotten far, thankfully," Marr replies grimly. "Let's get these explosives set in place."

They fly – literally this time – around the room, planting explosives. They already scattered others throughout the facility as needed. It's going to be too destroyed to salvage anything from, once they're out of here.

"Information deleted," Satine finally reports through his comm.

"Clear out," Marr orders. Their job here is done.

The moment he knows everyone is clear of the facility, he triggers the explosives. An explosion shakes the ground, the ball of fire ripping outwards as the building collapses in on itself.

"They definitely won't be getting anything from that," Anastasia quips, as they stand watching a moment, before taking off into the shadows. No, they definitely won't be. The weapon is gone. Hopefully for good. Time to get out of here.

**w**

"Is everything alright?"

Marr looks up as Bo-Katan approaches. "No," he answers, simply, "I think... maybe we need to leave." Go into hiding somewhere temporarily, he's not sure. But something is wrong. Very wrong. (Everything is about to fall apart again. Somehow, he just knows it.)

"Leave?" she echoes.

He nods. "I sense something –"

That's when a sudden feeling hits him, one that he hasn't felt since back on Dathomir. The Dark Side.

What?

He doesn't have a second longer to consider it, to try and reach out with the Force to determine the source, before all out chaos breaks loose.

Stormtroopers are suddenly swarming around the corner – how did they make their approach so quietly?! – and he knows they certainly aren't only in the front of the building where they're staying.

"You're under arrest," the stormtrooper who appears to be the leader of the group snaps, stalking forwards, though all weapons are now trained on him and Bo. Marr really wishes he'd left his helmet on.

"Is that so?" Bo asks coolly.

"What basis?" Marr demands.

"Treason against the Empire," another dark voice rings out. Marr turns aside sharply to see two masked figures stride into view. He can feel the Dark Side more strongly around them than anyone since Maul. So, they're Dark Siders. Trained Dark Siders. The Empire has those?! He shouldn't be surprised, but he is.

But if they're here, that can only mean one thing. Someone turned them in on the grounds that Marr was a Jedi. Saxon. Most likely.

It's happening now – the exact moment he feared all these years. Everything he built, the new life he's been living, it's about to collapse. But... he finds he fears it less now than he once did. He won't be still a child lost in the world anymore. He has a goal, a purpose, and he won't let the Empire hurt anyone in his family if he can help it.

"Surrender, Jedi," the other one growls, and they both withdraw the strangest looking double-bladed lightsabers he's ever seen. Its design is sloppy, as if it was made to be destroyed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Was that intentional, or is its maker an absolute idiot?

"And who are you?" Marr demands, eyes narrowed.

"We are the Inquisitors," the other replies, smugly.

"Get out of here," Marr orders, in a low voice.

"We are not leaving without you," Bo retaliates fiercely, and in a swift move, she draws her blasters, shooting at the stormtroopers in the front. They go down before they can react, and she yanks on her helmet, just as the others all open fire.

Marr yanks on his own helmet, igniting the Darksaber. This – it's going to be the first time he ever used it in an actual battle.

Marr lunges forwards at the Inquisitors, and they swing their blades up to block him.

None of the stormtroopers shoot at him, for risk of shooting the Inquisitors in the process, but all out chaos erupts with everyone else. Bo-Katan is fighting off the stormtroopers, and out of the corner of his eye, he can see Anastasia, Satine, and Korkie join in. He doesn't see Vizma anywhere right now, which is definitely a good thing, as long as she's safe somewhere

The Inquisitors attack him in a furious blur of constantly moving red – half thanks to the fact that they can get those things to spin on automatic which is the dumbest thing he's seen in his life – but very quickly, Marr begins to realize that they are far from the greatest fighters. Maybe years ago, he would have struggled, but he's grown now, even if he hasn't fought with his lightsaber in a long time.

Throwing one of them back, Marr turns his focus to the other one, slashing at him repeatedly, finally cutting through the center of his lightsaber, impaling him through the chest in the process. The other one lunges at him again, and he spins to parry the blow.

The battle with the others is still raging, and he can only hope that one of them has been able to get away to get the ship to take them out of here. They're way outnumbered, and he needs to get to the others. Marr finally finds an opening in the other's defenses, stabbing him in the side. With both the Inquisitors dead, he turns his attention back to the rest of the battle.

Just then, a ship – their escape ship – flies into view. And wait, is that Vizma in the cockpit?! He will not ask how she got there. The guns of the ship promptly open fire on the gathered stormtroopers. They all scatter, and Marr and the others blast into the air, flying for the open ramp.

Which would have worked, if some of the stormtroopers weren't equipped with jetpacks too. Of course, they are. They're dealing with Mandalorians. More and more, Marr is beginning to wonder how they're all going to get to the ship in time.

They're way too exposed up here in the air – since they can be shot from the ground and the air – and more and more stormtroopers keep coming. Korkie is the first to make it to the ship, positioning on the top of the ramp to shoot at their pursuers.

Then he hears a far too familiar noise, and no, this is not going to be good. Several tanks roll into view around the corner, all taking aim on the ship. The ship where his daughter is, and –

"Get to the ship." Satine calls.

"What about you?" Bo yells back, over the commotion.

"Just go!"

With growing horror, Marr realizes what she's planning to do. No, he can't let this happen. He flies into the way of the first cannon shot, deflecting it aside with the Darksaber, back at the tanks down below. But if he's doing that, he can hardly cover himself from the stormtroopers shooting at him. Several shots strike him, some deflecting off his armor and one not so much, but he ignores it, focusing on protecting the ship.

Satine opens fire on the ones shooting at him, and the other two, somewhat clearing an opening for them to make it to the ship.

She'll never make it though. He knows it, can feel it in the Force as much as he can tell there's no physical way she could. She's still too far from it, and – several more blaster shots strike her, one hitting her jetpack, and it starts sparking, dangerously close to exploding. She pulls it off, tossing it onto one of the tanks as she lands on the ground in the middle of the stormtroopers.

"Satine!" Bo calls frantically, as she lands on the edge of their ship ramp, but it's too late.

A bunch of the stormtroopers fire at her, and she collapses to the ground. He can feel as their bond – they have a strong one by now after so many years, even if she's not Force sensitive – shatters.

No, no –

He doesn't fully register his own cry of denial, or maybe it was Bo's and Korkie's as much as his own, as he stares at her body on the ground.

She can't be –

Instincts kick in, and he streaks the rest of the way to the ship, landing on the ramp as it finishes closing, and flies away, leaving Mandalore behind, leaving Satine behind. Because she's dead. Sacrificing herself to save them.

He can't – doesn't want to accept this. She was... he can't put a label on their relationship, but they were close.

But she was definitely closer to Bo and Korkie than to him. Drawing in another deep breath, struggling to control his raging emotions – which are mostly nothing but shock right now – Marr turns to look at Bo. She expression is completely closed off, but he can see the pain and denial beneath it.

"Let's get out of here," she grits out, turning and sprinting for the cockpit.

**w**

It's a while after the ship disappeared into hyperspace – no real destination; they just need to figure out what to do – and everyone continues to sit there in silence. Everything is... exactly what Marr was afraid would happen. Satine is gone. It still feels as real as it did a couple hours ago. The Empire knows about them now, so no matter what they do, they can't return to hiding on Mandalore.

Another loss he's been through, because of the Empire. He will destroy Sidious for this, and for what happened to his old family, and for everything he's done to the galaxy. He will. Normally, he doesn't believe in revenge, but just this once... Besides, there's a lot more at stake here – like trillions of lives – than just that.

Vizma sniffs quietly, arms curled around him as she half-buries her face against his armor. He won't ask how that's comfortable.

"What are we going to do now?" Anastasia is the first to break the silence. Honestly, Marr thinks she's the most level-headed, at the moment. She cared about Satine and is definitely affected by this, but they weren't close.

"We go back to Mandalore," Bo answers simply, "And we fight. There's plenty of places to hide."

"If they know I'm a Jedi, they won't stop coming," Marr declares tersely, "I... I need to meditate on this. Give me a little bit." He hugs Vizma closer for the briefest moment, before running a comforting hand through her hair. She did just lose her favorite aunt, after all, the first loss she's ever experienced. More than anything, he'd wanted to protect her from this, but it's inevitable now, that she'll have to deal with it.

She's still so young, not quite eleven yet.

"I'll be back soon," he promises, standing up. Vizma lets him go reluctantly, and he slips away into one of the side rooms, settling into a meditative position.

He needs an answer on what he should do now. If he should go back to Mandalore, and go all out against the Empire, or what.

An image slowly begins to form before his eyes, and he instinctively knows the place he sees is Mandalore though it looks nothing like it anymore. Everywhere he can see, from one horizon to the other is nothing but burning flames. In the midst of the smoke and chaos – it feels like almost everything is dead already – droids stalk about, shooting anything left that still moves.

No, no – The image dissipates, and Marr jolts back to himself, dread coiling inside of him. Is that what the Empire would do the planet, if they went in open revolt? He can't imagine it, but... yes, he knows they would, if they thought Mandalore was really going to be a problem.

No, if Mandalore will fight the Empire, it has to be along with other systems. It can't be... what the Rebellion has been doing all this time. They need a real plan to take out the Empire and Sidious at once. Maybe there already is one, and he doesn't know about it. He'd have no way to know, after all.

But he knows what he has to do, now. He needs to find the rest of the Rebellion.

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