Chapter 21: Endgame, Part 3

Admiral Daala had contacted Mara the second she was close enough the Knight Hammer to get the communication. The encrypted line was only used for capitol ship to ship comm. It was time; the smugglers were mobilized in landing shuttles. They shot out of the hanger bay just as several star destroyers exited hyperspace, Kratas had come which meant the Death Star was destroyed, phase one was complete, phase two was halfway done.

Mara escorted the landing craft in a gamma class assault shuttle, with Alecto and Captain Zax along with her in the cockpit, as well as a team of six smuggler commandos, each armed with a big compact blaster rifle. Along with the shuttle a couple dozen bombers and twenty four TIE fighters escorted, the bombers were to clear the palace of any ground to air defenses, and the TIE's were to shoot down any enemy ships. The assault shuttle headed the convoy. Mara shot down a TIE fighter as it engaged them.

"What happened to Kallisto?" Mara asked.

"We still don't know." Alecto replied. "I don't like it, she and General Derevko have simply vanished."

"We even tried inverting the encrypted channel to talk to her and find her." Zax added. "We got nothing."

"I don't like it either." Mara said. "She can't have just disappeared."

"What if she was shot down?" Alecto suggested.

"I can sense her though, faintly. But there is so much going on I can't pinpoint it. Her and the general are somewhere out here."

"I do think she is a spy." Alecto said. Mara shot down another TIE. "And so is the general."

"Yeah, I think you're right. They're collaborating."

"You think they'll try and stop us from getting into the palace?"

"Two traitors, against two hundred highly trained smugglers, hardly. No I think Kallisto might try and stop me from killing Vader. If she does I'll gut her first."

Alecto did answer right away.

"What is it?" Mara asked.

"We've been partners in the smuggling business for years. I never would have guessed she was working for someone else."

"She was working for a rouge Imperial group for a while wasn't she?"

"Yes."

"Maybe that's how she came to work for the others."

"Maybe."

Mara shot down another TIE and flew through the wreckage; a dangerous thing to do especially of a piece of flak was to get caught in anything. Thankfully it didn't. They were approaching Coruscant now, the convoy was miles under the ongoing space battle. Daala had succeeded in destroying five star destroyers with the loss of one, and now it seemed to be a stale mate. She couldn't seem to kill anymore, and those on the opposite side were not able to kill any of hers. The convoy entered the atmosphere of Coruscant, just above the Imperial district; Mara could clearly see the palace. The old Chancellor's office it was. A mushroom shaped building new towers jutting out of it; one of them was Vader's throne room.

Mara kept the shuttle's altitude high about a thousand feet over the palace, it looked as big as her dinner plate. The group of landing craft kept the altitude as well, the guard of TIE's patrolling around them and the TIE bombers swooped down toward the palace, dropping low charged explosives just to clean the guns off the surface. Mara watched as they began dropping their payloads, covering the tops and sides and towers of the palace with mushroom cloud explosions and black smoke. So far no emergency response TIE fighters, maybe they would get lucky.

It seemed not, Mara had thought to soon, her radar read a flight wing of TIE's approaching from the north, directly ahead. They came into view, one flying in front, the other eleven divided on each of its sides slanting back into a wedge. The guard TIE's of the convoy shot to intercept, they tied off in individual dogfights, an enemy TIE shot down an ally. Mara took the chance and blasted it into fiery debris that fell down to the very streets of Coruscant where gangsters dealt in death sticks and the homeless walked in rags.

Mara glanced down at the bombers who were coming back up, getting close enough to speak as the encrypted channel was only for capitol ship to ship comm, you could still communicate though if you were in a fighter, you just had to be extremely close to the fighter whose pilot you wished to speak to, or you had to be orbiting a capitol ship's communications relay dish. The bomber leader began to circle Mara's shuttle.

"Task leader, report." Mara said into the comm.

"Guns have been… care of. Proceed with landing." He said. Amazingly there was only one short burst of static.

"Copy that, proceeding with landing." Mara said. She nodded to Alecto, Alecto nodded back and sent out the beacon to the rest of the convoy, which comprised of four landing shuttles, all easily fitted in a hanger. The palace had around fifty of them; they made a line all the way around the mid section of the mushroom shaped roof. Mara and the others headed down.

XxX

"Lord Vader," A man wearing a gray Imperial uniform addressed as he came into the throne room. Vader and Leia were both watching the battle in space; it had reached a stale mate. They knew what the guard was going to say before he even opened his mouth, they had seen the convoy of transports fly from the battle to land. "We read four transport shuttles in coming to the palace.

"It is of no consequence. It will be a force of one hundred and fifty, maybe two hundred. All storm troopers. You should have no problem dealing with them."

"Actually sir…" The man trailed off. "They seemed to be highly trained units, and not storm troopers. They've split into group and are securing the floor of the palace they landed on."

"Commando units damn it! Shut down every turbo lift in the palace when you get back to the security room. Did you create a new secure line that bypasses the jamming signal like I asked?"

"Yes we did milord. Unfortunately the signal is very strong. We assume it has to do with—"

"I don't care what it has to do with! I want to know if it will work!" Vader yelled, his mechanical breathing getting louder. "Will it?"

"Yes it should, but there will probably be some static—"

Vader didn't let the man finish his sentence; he hurled a comm at him, which he caught surprisingly fast. Good reflexes.

"Program the secure line into the comm." Vader snapped.

"Yes sir." The man said.

He began to quickly work on it, pressing buttons to adjust its frequency, Leia continued to watch the battle unfold and Vader stood there tapping his fingers on the desk. Finally the man stopped and handed to comm to Vader.

"Good work. See to it that the lifts are shut down."

"Yes sir."

Vader began to furiously enter a coded frequency into the comm. Leia turned her attention to him.

"Who are you—"

"Ravan." Vader snapped cutting her off. Her eyes flashed a dark red, not completely black like they would if she was indeed furious.

A burst of static emitted from the tiny comm and then Ravan's voice came through, interrupted with static.

"Ravan here… is contacting—"

"This is Vader son." Vader said into the comm. "A small army of commando units has invaded the palace. I need you down here, take your ship and land in the private hanger under my throne room, use the activation codes. Take the secret stairway, the turbo lifts will be shut down."

"That won't… them if they want to… you."

"I know, and I think only one person will be coming to face me, which will make it easier. I sense Mara Jade."

"Yeah…" Ravan trailed off.

"What?"

"I met her… the battle. We had a dogfight… landed in the… hanger and fought. I tried to depressurize it… she escaped."

"We'll kill her here."

"Copy that. Ravan out."

XxX

10 Minutes Ago

There were no ground entrances to the Imperial palace, no one important enough to be in it would ever walk on the ground. Therefore the main entrance was on the mid level of the palace, where all the landing platforms were. Each platform led into a hallway that went around the circumference of the palace, the main entrance was to the south and there were conveyor belts on the floor that went in the direction of the doorway. Thankfully Mara and the smugglers had landed on four different platforms, each no more than a thirty second walk to the entrance which had been locked down.

A band of white armored troopers had taken defensive positions in the hall which was lined with pillars, the turbo lifts had been shut down and security was going to cut off the power momentarily. Then it happened, the lights dimmed and faded, the troopers were left in darkness, they clutched their blasters nervously, flicking the thumb safety on and off, making sure they had good aim at the door, should a person come through.

Red emergency lights came online, they lit the hall up enough to the point that you could see where you were going, yet it was still dim. The red light refracted off the troopers armor, giving them all eerie red tinges. They kept their weapons trained on the door. There was a snap hiss from the other side that made them jump. Every one of them disengaged their safety and made their weapons ready to fire.

A spot in the middle of the closed door began to glow faintly, and then it became lighter and orange until finally the end of a blood red lightsaber poked through. One trooper was actually stupid enough to open fire, three shots flew out of his weapon, two hit the door causing tiny black marks, and the last hit the saber. The bolt bounced off and flew back at the one who fired it, hitting him in the middle of his eye visor. The trooper fell down dead, a smoking hole between his eyes.

The lightsaber began to move up, leaving behind a smoldering orange line. It made an arch; a half circle, the saber came down and connected it. Then it pulled out, the hole it had cut was no bigger than a head. The thought crossed more than one troopers mind as to how the raiding party would manage to get in, and most importantly who was leading them. The circular piece of metal flew off the door, like a soda bottle's lid after being shaken too much, it smashed into one of the troopers directly in the face. There was a sickening spat and crunch as his face crushed in and his bones stabbed his brain killing him quickly, he fell down with the circular piece of metal on him.

Two down and still the enemies hadn't even breached the palace. The storm troopers shot out of the hole immediately, hitting nothing but the window behind in the hallway. What were they planning—suddenly it became quiet clear.

"Take cover!" Cried one trooper. A blinking silver sphere flew into the hall, the troopers scrambled and ran to escape the thermal detonator's blast but it was too late. The detonator exploded, effectively killing every trooper in the hall and blowing out the door. It flew into the wall of the hallway outside, smashing through and sliding down the palace's domed roof. Mara Jade and Alecto walked it at the head of an army of smugglers, all dressed in hodge-podge armor and carrying a different weapon, all extremely deadly, they ranged from long ranged blaster rifles, and long ranged pistols to scatter blaster rifles and commando blasters. Alecto carried a long range blaster pistol in her hand, its barrel long and silver and its handle black. Mara carried in one hand her lightsaber, and in her other a compact and wicked looking blaster.

Two storm troopers rounded the right corner of the hall, Alecto raised her pistol and shot one neatly in the face before Mara could do anything. The other ran back behind the wall. They kept on walking, blasters raised. Mara grabbed a thermal detonator off the back of her belt, flicked the switch and threw it hard. It hit the end wall and bounced to the right. There was a scream and boom, a blast and a storm trooper's body flew to the left. They reached the end of the hall, Mara pressed her back to the right wall and Alecto to the left. Both peeked around simultaneously, Mara saw a storm trooper, actually twelve and shot one neatly in the chest, Alecto also had a visual on seven and shot two cleanly in the head before the rest opened fire. The bolts flew across the hall and went past ally troopers. Mara and Alecto backed away to let the smugglers take care of them.

"Alright listen!" Mara called when it was done. "Attack group A, with me we're going to the right, B with Alecto to the left spread out when you find new hallways. Take this entire floor. The palace's power has been turned off which locks us out of the upper floors but prevents them from sending reinforcements. Once the floor is ours take up posts, watch for anything suspicious and do anything you can, Alecto and I along with captain Zax and a few commandos will blow open the turbo lift shaft and climb up to find a kill the Emperor, another group will go down to the sub basement where the security systems are controlled and the power generator is. They will turn it back on and the rest of you will take the palace under Lieutenant Cazano's command. Move out."

Present Time

Another trooper fell with a smoking hole in his head. Alecto lowered her pistol just as another rounded the corner, this time Mara killed it. They had reached the turbo lift lobby. It was a square room in the center of the palace with five turbo lifts in the middle of it. Zax and a few smugglers were behind them, the rest were securing the floor, and the plan was proceeding well. As Mara and the rest entered the room she sensed something and stabbed her humming red blade to the right, killing a storm trooper. He fell down with a black hole in his abdomen.

"Anyone here able to blast open one of those turbo lifts?" Mara asked.

"You have a lightsaber, how come you can't just cut it open?" Asked a painfully, annoyingly familiar voice. Mara whirled around to face a masked smuggler.

"Take it off Nigel." She ordered. Nigel reached up, grabbed his mask and pulled it off. "Why the hell are you here?!"

"For the thrill of it man! I wanted to pump some thunder into my veins."

"Damn it Nigel!" Alecto yelled. "Why can't you just do your job and be my pilot?"

"Kallisto's." Nigel corrected.

Mara ran behind Nigel and grabbed the collar of his black suit, forcing him ahead toward the lift doors.

"You just volunteered to see how far down the lift goes light off a flare when you reach the sub basement, or just curse at me like a moisture farmer. I don't care either way."

"You have to get it open first and—"

Mara pushed him out of her way and stabbed her blade into the door, cutting it off. It fell down into the shaft, seconds passed and they heard nothing, five more seconds and there was a faint ping as it reached the bottom.

"That's a long way down, are you sure you want me to go down there? Won't the trip be sort of slow?"

"Yes, but I have ways of making it faster." Nigel took a look down the shaft. It was lighted on the sides with small glow panels, not even enough light for a maintenance crew to locate their mini welding torch on their belt.

"What are those ways?"

"When you see the sub basement yell up."

"Yell up wha—"

But Nigel didn't get to finish his sentence, Mara gave him a hard shove, he stumbled and fell right into the shaft, disappearing into darkness.

"You just killed my pilot!" Alecto cried over Nigel's echoing screams.

"He was such an annoying little man." Mara said. Nigel's screams began to fade.

"Yeah I guess he was, replaced easily." Alecto agreed. There was one final dull smack that echoed through the shaft and Nigel died.

Mara turned to the smugglers behind her.

"Shoot magnet lines up, three for Alecto, Zax, and myself, three for the three smugglers that will accompany us and set up rappel lines for the other three who are going to the sub basement to deactivate this lockdown."

The six smugglers nodded and began to get to work.

XxX

Vader had called for more red robed guards, his total now ten. Leia felt he might be getting a slight bit of paranoia, after all she doubted a strike team of more than six could even make it up the shaft. Both father and daughter stood gazing at the space battle hologram, the backup power generators provided full power to the throne room thankfully. Leia watched wave after wave of TIE fighters escape the bottom hull of the enemy super star destroyer, just as one was shot out of the air an alarm went off and a computer voice came online, issuing from Vader's desk from a speaker near the holoprojector.

"Alert, alert, organic life forms detected in turbo lift shaft six." It stated in a synthetically alarmed voice. "Switching to Palace schematics in three-D graphics now."

And the image of the battle disappeared, swallowed by a new one of the mushroom shaped palace. Leia looked to the mid floor, as did Vader since that was the only point of entry the attackers could have taken. Six human shaped red holograms were making their way up the turbo a turbo lift shaft that led directly up to Vader's tower, which was a small tower, stretching only about five dozen meters off the palace. There were also three headed down.

Vader glanced at the security advisor he had called up, a young quiet man with neatly trimmed brown hair, dressed in a gray Imperial uniform and cap.

"Do we have any options?"

"Comms in the palace are still working milord on a secure line. We do have one." The advisor replied.

"Elaborate."

"We can contact the security controllers in the sub basement. There is a manual unlocking mechanism to release any turbo lift. Since the palace is on lockdown each turbo lift has been called to the very top of its shaft, if a certain one were dropped it could easily kill anyone."

"Do it then." Vader snapped.

"Just like that?"

"Your predecessor made the mistake of questioning my orders, I hope you are not so idiotic enough to do the same." Vader said icily.

"Of course not milord, it's just that this is the only turbo lift that leads up to this room, it could take weeks to—"

"I have other ways out of this room you fool. I don't need a turbo lift." Vader hissed, his tone getting colder. "Drop the lift."

"Yes sir." The security advisor replied. He pulled out a comm, pressed several buttons, and entered a code. Speaking into it clearly he gave a person from the security room directions. Leia frowned as the lift dropped. This Mara Jade was to help her when she made her move against Vader which she was planning to do very soon, as soon as the siege of the planet itself began. When Vader would be most distracted, and most prone to an attack, it was inevitable that this enemy admiral would over come the guard. Even with an opposing admiral as decorated in war as Piett, he would lose and Coruscant would be under siege. With no way to contact help it would be over in a matter of hours and the Empire would belong to those who were loyal still to its former Emperor. Leia would be the new Empress, with her power in the Force she would bend everyone to her will and make this treacherous galaxy a safer place.

XxX

"What the hell is that?" Zax cried.

"What is what?" Alecto snapped as she pulled herself up on her cable.

"Don't you hear it?"

"I hear it." Mara said.

"Hear—"

"Shut up!" Mara barked she heard it and sensed it, there was something horribly wrong. Then she knew exactly what it was, she looked up to see the turbo lift car plummeting down the shaft, producing red hot sparks on the walls. It was getting closer, very close. Alecto, Zax and the three others were staring at it too. They were wide eyed and speechless. Mara had anticipated Vader would do something. But unless this palace's security lockdown protocol was totally customized then it was impossible.

Apparently not, and she did not have the time to ponder the situation. Firmly planting her feet on the shaft wall and securing her harness to the cord she extended both hands as the lift drew closer, less than fifty feet away. Calling on all the Force she could muster she pushed against it. The lift began to slow, coming down still until it was only a foot above them. It stopped.

"How did you do—" Alecto started, being cut off my Mara.

"Get my lightsaber and cut a way in." She grunted.

Alecto didn't wait to be told a second time, nor did she argue. Carefully she unclipped Mara's lightsaber from her belt and activated it, surprised to see how light it was in weight. She sliced a hole in the bottom of the lift, equally surprised at how easily it cut, like butter being carved with a steak knife. She and the others moved out of the way as the round piece of metal fell down into darkness.

"Get in." Mara grunted.

Neither Alecto nor Zax nor any of the other three argued, each climbed into the lift, careful to stand at the wall, so as not to fall out of the hole. With one hand Mara held the lift, suspended it in the Force, and with the other she climbed in and unclipped her harness. Bringing both hands back into control of the lift she pulled it up, Vader had just made this so much faster.

XxX

"The lift is going up father." Leia pointed out.

"I am well aware of that!" Vader snapped. He turned again to his advisor. "Options, now."

"We haven't any options. We must wait for them to come and kill them ourselves."

This wasn't what Vader wanted to hear. The man began to lift off the ground. Leia felt a ripple in the Force, which turned into a wave as the man flew across the throne room and into the reactor pit.

"They are here." Leia stated.

She and Vader both looked down at the lift, the ten red robed guards were crowing around the door, Force pikes pointed right at it. Leia felt it then, an instant to late, another wave. The lift door was popped out of its frame, it flew at the guard and hit all of them, and about five flipped off of the guardrails around the reactor pit and began a long descent to death. The other five fell on the floor, shots escaped the open lift door and hit each on in the head. Then the killers came out, headed by a woman dressed in black, with long black hair, a man next to her who looked somewhat important, three smugglers, and finally a red haired woman with a smile on her face. Vader glanced at the tactical screen, she hadn't let go of the lift yet.

"Hello Lord Vader." Mara said, putting an icy emphasis on the word Lord.

"Hello Mara Jade." Vader replied with an emotionless and dull tone.

"And you must be Vader's daughter, Leia."

"I am." Leia said, her tone matching Vader's. In a flash of motion she leaped into the air did a double front flip and landed next to Mara. "Allow me to help you destroy him."

"With pleasure." Mara said.

"What?! I don't—" Vader yelled in confusion, being cut off.

"It was never my intention to join you and become a Sith father," Leia cut in icily. "I merely wanted your training so I could turn against you when the time came, it has."

"Funny." Mara said. "You betrayed Sidious and now she has betrayed you."

"I find nothing funny—" Vader cut himself off this time and immediately a chair was flying at Leia's face. She had no time and was unprepared to do anything, the metal chair smacked her in the face, and it blew her back. It was in slow motion, almost, the way she was spread out over the rail, and then she slipped and fell over the edge descending into darkness.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Mara… tsked. "She would have been a great help."

Mara dropped the lift while activating her blood red blade.

"Drop your weapons Vader, and I might not kill you."

Alecto and the others aimed their weapons up at Vader.

"Put them down." Mara commanded.

"But—"

"Put them down. This is my fight." Mara said firmly. But added: "Fire if I need help."

Mara leaped up next to Vader, and the last duel began.

This chapter is very long, yes, but chapter 20 still remains the longest, it beat this one by around a hundred words.