Star Wars: Force of Nature

by General Rage

In a carefully laid trap, the King of Monsters is hit with a devastating super weapon. While the Nations of the World cheer they do not realize they have not destroyed him, only sent Godzilla to a new world. It is here the Atomic Titan shall come face to face with a new enemy, as he walks straight into a war long ago in a Galaxy Far, Far away...

5. Prayers by Night

Chapter 4: Prayers by Night

Ahsoka Tano wasn't new to the role of a battle commander, she had grown up in a time of conflict after all. What made it different from then was the feeling of isolation, the feeling of being alone. These days she felt more alone than ever. When she was a Jedi, she could take comfort in the fact that she had fellow comrades in arms. People who she felt knew her, understood her and who she could call friends without hesitation. Now, as she walked through the hangar of her Command Ship, she was reminded how much had changed. She wasn't leading Republic Soldiers anymore, she was commanding rebellious misfits. People from across the Outer Rim who had various reasons for striking back against the Empire. She was the only person with Force Sensitive powers among these soldiers, the only one who really knew what the Jedi were truly like, the good and the bad.

She supposed she had no one to really blame for a lot of that save for herself. She had made her decision and it had both benefited and cost her much. She had long grown to accept that, but it didn't take away the sense of loss. Even though her departure from the Order was under less than pleasant circumstances, she didn't hold her former Jedi Masters at fault. Was she still disappointed in them? Of course, how couldn't she be? That didn't mean she still didn't think back to them fondly now and then.

But when she did, all she could think about was what had happened. She thought of Master Plo Koon being shot down by his beloved Wolf Squadron. Luminara dying in Imperial captivity, slaughtered like an animal. The younglings she had trained... no she didn't want to think of that. And Anakin, she really didn't want to think of that. Not after what had happened at Lothal, not after what she sensed, what she suspected.

Ahsoka supposed they should've seen this coming, the clues were there. No one bothered to look carefully enough, not even her. The Council had admitted it themselves, the war had clouded their vision, the Dark Side had taken hold within The Force. In the years that followed, Ahsoka had thought long and hard about what they did wrong, what she did wrong, and how this had happened. It wasn't too hard to piece together in hindsight, especially with a little help from friends of hers.

The main crux of it was this, they had compromised too much. The Jedi had let themselves be pushed to the side, giving more power to the military, letting others fight their battles. People like Tarkin, who fought wars for his own reasons, not to help others in need. At the same time they had allowed themselves to be swallowed up by the culture of war. They became the heads of armies, led them into battle and it changed them without them even knowing. Not corrupted, but changed. They weren't peacekeepers anymore, though they tried desperately to retain that title. Ultimately, they had been fighting for the wrong reasons.

The chief wrong reason of course being Palpatine. They fought for him, protected his government, did his dirty work for him. At the same time, he had built up a military structure that the Jedi commanded in theory, but was answerable only to him in practice. It was clear to Ahsoka now that he had been the Sith Lord the Jedi Council had been so concerned about. He ordered Dooku's Separatist Alliance around while he played the kindly champion of democracy, the perfect plan for a Master Sith. He could keep the conflict going as long as he wanted until the Jedi were weak enough to destroy. There was no other answer in Ahsoka's mind.

Who else but a Sith Lord would so callously call for the execution of all Jedi. An order that, as she had been told by a friend, every Clone in the military had been conditioned to follow without them even knowing. Who else would turn the Republic into an Empire? Who else would turn the Jedi Temple into his new palace, as if it were a trophy. They had been fooled, plain and simple.

She saved herself by leaving, but she couldn't save the Jedi. The day she heard of the attack on the Jedi Temple, when the Clones she had fought beside for so long had turned on the Order, her heart sank. She had felt ill, mentally and physically. She hated herself for awhile, feeling she had cheated death, cut herself off from her usual instinct to help and hid. Then she picked herself up and decided that giving in to despair was not her way. The Jedi were gone, but she was still alive and she could still make a difference.

She wondered if Kanan and Ezra could ever truly understand the why though. Why had she left what was pretty much her life? She didn't expect them to. The thing was though, the entire experience had opened her eyes to some rather disturbing things. Her greatest enemy had been her best ally in that time. A Council of men and women she respected had turned her back on her. A Republic she defended was ready to execute her. A friend she cared for and trusted, who's life she saved twice, had framed her to achieve her own agenda. The greatest Jedi in the galaxy had been unable to tell she was innocent, admitting even their judgment had been clouded. Nothing had felt right anymore.

Even after they apologized and admitted they were wrong, she couldn't go back. The words just came out and when they did she just knew it was what she wanted. She decided to leave, that she was done and she couldn't stay. Was she sure it was a good idea at the time? No. But it felt like the only real choice she had. Just as before when she decided to fight back against the Empire. Even now, she didn't regret it.

It was why she didn't feel she had anything to teach Kanan. He never left the Order, it was taken from him. As for Ezra, he had a Master now, one that believed in something that she had abandoned. What did she have to offer either of them? She didn't know. Hera seemed to think she did, but she was always an idealist first. Ahsoka had to be realistic.

She had given up a life that Kanan was trying to bring back through Ezra. What right did she have to become a teacher to either of them given her past? Would they even want her? Maybe Ezra, but not Kanan. She could tell he wasn't comfortable with her, with this larger rebellion thing. In time perhaps he would, but not now.

The Command Ship was similar to the one she had been on during the Lothal mission, before it was lost. Finding pilots to fill it was difficult, but she managed to locate a number willing to take on this dangerous mission. She mainly looked for people who seemed a bit crazy, but at least competent enough that she wouldn't need to worry about them going AWOL during a fight.

The crazy part was mostly because they were the only people who would probably want this mission. They were thrill seekers, the hot shots with something to prove. That of course meant a number of them were oddballs, none more so than one particular group she had decided to oversee personally.

In the middle of the hangar sat a few familiar aircraft sporting very different yellow and orange paint schemes. ARC-170s, Ahsoka had seen plenty of these fighters during her years fighting the Clone Wars. Back then they were some of the best starfighters around, but they were quickly replaced by the cheaper TIEs soon after.

These ones were heavily modified though, in fact Ahsoka hazarded to guess that all of the starfighters in front of her were complete custom jobs. Some of the components looked to have been stripped from other ARCs in order to replace lost or damaged parts. The guns strapped onto the wings were of a more modern design, probably packing a bigger punch and faster firing rate. The engines were upgraded as well, capable of greater speeds than the original factory-built ones no doubt. All in all, the people who repaired these old fighters had invested a lot of time and money into them.

Said person in charge of these fighters was standing in front of Ahsoka just a few feet away, wearing a golden orange flight suit with black sleeves and white leggings. Over her head was an old fighter's helmet, also white with a black strip down the middle, with a pair of bright blue tinted goggles strapped to it. The helmet hid the woman's red hair, but only just as it poked out in a pony tail near the bottom. The woman quickly turned and threw a rather sarcastic salute at Ahsoka as she approached.

"Hey there, Commander," she greeted casually. "Here to tell us we're off the leash?"

"I'm just here to make a formal inspection of things, Moira," Ahsoka explained simply.

"Want to be sure you're getting your money's worth, huh?" The woman asked in retur. "You don't need to worry, Ms. Tano. Moira's Raiders is the best damn pirate gang in the Outer Rim. Just point us at the Imps and you'll be planetside in no time."

Moira's Raiders had made quite a name for themselves over the years. They weren't the most infamous or deadliest of freelance fighter squadrons out there, but they were the most brazen by far. They had jumped more Imperial Convoys in a few months than most pirates did in years. They were fairly successful at it too, never sticking around in one place for long. They had been using an old Separatist Alliance Cruiser to host their slowly growing fleet of starfighters and bombers. In fact, a lot of their equipment was scavenged old ships that they had ruthlessly upgraded and jury rigged to match against the Empire's TIEs.

However, they had to leave behind their floating home in space for this mission. Their raids were getting noticed and their cruiser was currently sitting in a secret Rebel repair dock. It had gotten into a scrap with a Star Destroyer and had barely gotten away. Ahsoka came to them with the Tsuburonda job only a day later. Repairing their cruiser was a part of the contract, as was a hefty sum of credits and upgraded starfighter parts. Moira Thal, the Raiders' leader, drove a hard bargain to be sure. In all honesty though, Ahsoka needed every experienced pilot she could convince to come on this little endeavor of hers. So really it was worth the higher price, especially with Moira's track record, which was impressive given what she was flying around in.

"Sixty One confirmed Imperial kills over the last year," Ahsoka said, recalling Moira's dossier. "I have to say I'm a bit surprised given your choice of craft."

"Well it has been a slow year," Moira shrugged nonchalantly, a self-assured tone in her voice. "I'd have gotten more, but our motto is to snatch, grab and hyper out before the Imps can do anything. To be honest though, TIE pilots aren't exactly expert fighters, they're trained to rely on numbers not on skill. And those who are any good are stuck inside a flying metal death trap. You shoot one down in space the pilot ain't coming back, period. Makes me think they should've kept the V-Wings around longer, those ships would've been more of a challenge."

Moira was very certain of her skills and abilities. Her background did state she grew up in the Corellian system, maybe that was just common for her people. Ahsoka looked away from the pilot and towards her starfighter, colored in gold, orange and red paint as well as her gang's symbol, a Corellian Butterfly dive bombing from above, its stinger out and ready to strike.

"Why an ARC-170?" Ahsoka asked, she didn't need to ask why she picked a bug as her insignia. Corellian Butterflies were far from the most docile of creatures. "It's a rather old starfighter by today's standards."

"Old but effective," Moira argued. "This grandma's design is near perfect for any dogfight. It's swift, it turns fast and it hits hard. All it needed was some upgrades, specifically the kinds we made so it only needs one pilot. Hell, I bet if you guys tried to mass produce a ship that looked like an ARC, you'd have the TIEs running scared. The only problem is finding the right parts to repair them when they get damaged. Going through Incom is risky, they still make the parts and don't ask many questions, but the Empire does. Easier to just scrounge around in abandoned Republic bases and blackmarket suppliers."

Ahsoka knew Incom, the corporation was a huge arms suppliers. From what her sources said they weren't really fans of the Empire, but weren't interested in rebellion. Not yet anyway. They were still someone to consider as a potential future ally. Moira was right about one thing, getting an arms supplier to make them starfighters would certainly even the odds.

"Alright, you like the classics, I can accept that," Ahsoka relented. "But how exactly did you get so good at shooting down Imperials anyway? Your file stated you used to be a bartender."

"I ran a bar for pilots that my dad owned," Moira was quick to correct her. "He was the squadron leader for Corellia's Airborne Militia. They protected the system from pirates and other criminals who all thought they were hot shots in the air. My dad even shot a few Seppy fighters during the Clone Wars when their fleets started eyeing our system. The militia was part of the reason the droids never managed to invade us. Everything I know, I learned from my dad. You can't run a bar for starfighter pilots if you aren't a crack flyer yourself."

"I suppose not," Ahsoka concurred.

Moira didn't run that bar anymore now though, as her dossier detailed in full. When the Empire took over they hadn't wasted much time in setting up shop on Corellia. After a few years, they shut down Moira's bar citing it as a gathering place for 'reprobates' and 'criminals'. In its place they set up a Imperial Security Checkpoint. Her life stolen from her, Moira decided that if they wanted to treat her like a criminal then she'd become one. She found an old fighter, recruited like-minded individuals and set about making trouble for the Empire.

However, just because her dossier and background proved she was no friend of the Empire though, it didn't mean Moira believed in taking it down. She was in this for no other reason than jabbing a thumb in the eye socket of any Palpatine stooge who was nearby. She had said as much when Ahsoka first recruited her for this mission. It was a shame, despite her bravado Ahsoka honestly believed they could use more pilots like Moira. They needed people with experience, people who could teach that experience to others if possible. They needed leaders for this fight. However, every leader was only as good as those who followed her.

"Perhaps you could introduce me to your squadron now," she asked the plot. "I only ever really spoke to you over the holo-transmission."

"Sure thing, Commander," Moira grinned back. "That way everyone will know who to put in the history books. They're over here, follow me."

Moira led Ahsoka around her ARC-170, revealing a small table behind it. Sitting around it were three other pilots, none of them what Ahsoka expected. There was an Ithorian wearing brown flight gear, similar to a jacket, but with some added armor plates along the arms. He was wearing goggles as well, although these ones had clear glass. Next to him, a Jawa. Rare to see them off of Tatooine. This one had a series of bandoleers stretched over his shoulders along with a blaster pistol in a holster on his hip. The little hooded fellow certainly seemed to be loaded. There was a Red Nikto, partially dressed in the traditional hunter garb of his people. However he was wearing a pilot's helmet over his head, the respirator was currently hanging off from the side, allowing Ahsoka to see his face.

However, the oddest edition was one yellowish green bipedal reptilian with a small mohawk of feathers cresting along his head and spiky horn bits jutting out along the sides. His red eyes seemed to lock onto Ahsoka's immediately, his tongue flicking out as he did. A Trandoshan, fighting on their side against the Empire. Ahsoka had to resist the urge to act defensively. She had known a lot of Trandoshans, none of her experiences had been good. Now here was one staring her in the face and supposedly helping her. If nothing else, her interest had been re-ignited once again. She really wanted to hear Moira's story behind this little squadron of hers.

"Raiders, meet our employer," Moira said, introducing the Togruta to the team. "Commander Tano here is paying us in parts and fixing up our home. So do be on your best behavior boys. Commander, these are my wingmen. The Ithorian is Anglyph, our go-to dive bomber. He leads our Y-Wing group. The little yellow eyed one beside him is Baraz Gonza, our munitions tech. He also flies as Anglyph's gunner. The Nikto with the helmet is Ro'Das, he's what we call our aggro. Goes for the enemy's throat and gets them off the bombers and us so we can finish them off."

Moira then stepped over and slapped the Trandoshan's shoulder.

"And the big lizard here is my second, Gorossk," she declared proudly, the Trandoshan flicking his tongue out again. "Runs interception duty on the bigger targets most of the time. You know his people, always out for bigger prey."

"I do know his people," Ahsoka replied, trying her best to not to reveal discomfort. She probably wasn't doing a good job of it though.

Gorossk just snorted slightly at her, but not in a defensive way. It was more of bored and familiar snort, as if he had heard similar responses before.

"I thought you Rebel types were open to anyone who wanted to lend a blaster to the cause," he stated, the familiar sound of his species' hissing speech filling the air as he did. "What? Trandoshans not allowed to hate the Empire now?"

"No, it's just rare to find one that does," Ahsoka explained rather coldly.

Maybe she was being unfair in her response, this Trandoshan had never hurt her personally. But after being hunted down by a whole gang of these lizard people, nearly dying on several occasions just to fill a spot on their wall, Ahsoka didn't really care. She wasn't much of a fan of these particular aliens. As a Jedi she would've been taught to let go of grudges. To an extent she understood that and didn't want to hold animosity towards a potential ally. On the other hand, she wasn't a Jedi anymore. She looked to Moira to ease her concerns, hoping for some kind of explanation.

"This isn't exactly an orthodox group you have here," she told the pilot.

"Way I hear it, that's par for the course with you Rebel Cells," Moira replied. "What matters is they're all good pilots and none of us are fans of wrinkle-face Palpatine."

"I'd still prefer some insight into this," Ahsoka informed her. "How exactly did you end up recruiting them all?"

Moira's grin finally gave way to a more stoic look. Apparently, this subject was a bit touchy.

"Same as most people, the Empire screwed us," she answered sternly. "Anglyph was a farmer who got booted off his land because it was on a natural gas pocket. He got them back by blowing up the extraction plant they set up over the site and ended up with an Imperial bounty on his head. Ro'Das' village got used for target practice by a flight of TIE bombers. He teamed up with me to get some revenge. And Gorossk, well, he used to lead a hunting party until they decided to stab him in the back... literally."

"Didn't want to hunt Wookiees for Imperial slave work," Gorossk explained, his voice hissing in disgust at the memory. "No real honor in that, it's disrespectful of the prey and turns the hunter into a lowly thug. You kill or you get killed, end of story. That's what a real hunt is. The Clan only thought of the credits though, not principles. Ambushed me and left me for dead in the forest with a blade in my shoulder and my guts bleeding out."

"How'd you survive that one?" Ahsoka asked inquisitively.

"Would you believe the Wookiees?" The lizard-man asked in kind, a smile appearing on his face as he did. "One of their patrols found me half dead and for whatever reason decided to keep me from dying. Took a full month to recover and I decided to never hunt a Wookie again when it was over. Moira helped me hunt down my old Clan. Now... I hunt Imps. Far more satisfying than Wookiees any day."

He sounded pretty sincere about that, no matter how odd it sounded coming from a Trandoshan. She knew better than to assume everyone from a certain species acted and felt the same, but it was still bizarre. Trandoshans prided themselves as great hunters, their culture almost revolved around it. To hear about one giving up on hunting a specific species, let alone Wookiees, was strange.

"You're telling me you swore off hunting Wookiees because they saved you?" She asked skeptically. "Not to insinuate Trandoshans are incapable of honor, but help me understand how you got to that point."

"I respected my prey more than others," Gorossk explained plainly. "Every Wookie Hunt always proved costly. They were great fighters, tough to bring down. My Clan felt we'd have an easier time of it if we went after women and children more, but I told them no. We only ever hunted warriors, the most skilled among their tribes. A hunt should be a challenge, it should test your skills. You don't prove your strength by killing the weak, I told my hunting brothers. Obviously, they didn't agree."

Ahsoka raised her eye brow, almost impressed by the lizard's words.

"That almost sounds like a Jedi saying," she noted. "Refusing to exploit those weaker than you, I mean."

"It's just simple logic," Gorossk elaborated. "You don't prove yourself a hunter by picking easy prey. Real hunters go after big game, things that are predators themselves, things that can swallow you whole or rip you to shreds. My Clan only cared about the money we could get from becoming slavers, not in challenging themselves or the purity of the hunt itself. In the end, the Wookiees I hunted for years proved themselves better friends than my traitorous hunting brothers."

"Gorossk here is a regular Trandoshan progressive," Moira finally chimed in. "To him, hunting on the Empire's credits ruins the whole point. That and focusing on the Wookiees because of a thousand year old grudges is a waste of time. Especially when there's a whole galaxy of vicious monsters out there to kill."

"In any case, the Empire has better weapons, better gear, better training," Gorossk explained, flashing a toothy grin as he spoke. "Hunting them is a far greater challenge than any Wookie. It also doesn't hurt that they deserve it more either. Joining Moira opened my eyes to a whole galaxy and something far greater than any Wookie Hunt could ever be."

It was the closest to a sense of moral high ground she could expect from a Trandoshan. Ahsoka supposed she owed him the benefit of the doubt then. After all, if her last days as a Jedi had taught her anything it was that former enemies could be great allies given the chance. However, Moira hadn't filled her in on their last member.

"What about your Jawa friend?" She asked. "I supposed the Empire bombed his sandcrawler or something?"

"Well, actually," Moira said, rubbing the back of her neck rather sheepishly. "Baraz kinda snuck aboard this Imperial shipment of Thermal Detonators we hijacked and we got stuck with him. Apparently he left his tribe when they got fed up with his destructive streak. He's pretty obsessed with guns and bombs you see. He's a valuable team member regardless. The upgraded guns on our fighters? His doing. He even modifies our rockets and bombs to be twice as effective in battle. Swarm missiles, cluster bombs, he can make anything with the right components. Guess it comes with being a desert scavenger."

Baraz spoke up in his high pitched weird little language at that comment. He then started laughing, or giggling, it was hard to tell with the way Jawas sounded.

"Don't worry, Baraz, I'm sure the Commander has something really big for us to explode down on that planet," Moira assured the Jawa. She leaned over to Ahsoka and whispered to her. "You do have something we need to explode down there right? Cause he gets awfully snippy when we don't at least make some kind of fireball on a mission."

"I wouldn't have asked for your help if I didn't require an extra big fireball of some kind," Ahsoka jovially assured her.

Moira seemed to relieved at that information. With all that said, Baraz did seem a bit unstable. Ahsoka only cared about whether or not the Jawa's bombs would be enough to kill a Zillo-Beast clone though. So she wasn't going to argue about having an explosion happy former desert dweller on call. At least not in this case.

Ro'Das stepped up next, standing beside Gorossk as he spoke. He kept his arms crossed as he stared Ahsoka down.

"Alright, let's be honest here," he began rather sternly. "You're here because you wanna know if we're committed right? That's what all these questions are about. We get it, we're working on your payroll. To you, we're just mercs, little better than bounty hunters even."

"A fair assumption, if a bit harsh," Ahsoka shot back with a glare. "If you were in my place wouldn't you want to make sure of who you were trusting the lives of your people to?"

"I suppose," Ro'Das admitted with a shrug. "We're not in this for your rebellion, that's true. I only believe in doing enough damage to it until it falls apart. What comes after it's gone I don't really care. All I ask is you don't question our commitment, especially when it comes to me."

He leaned in close to the Togruta's face and scowled.

"I watched my village get burned to ashes," he growled. "They attacked from a hundred feet in the air and didn't even bother to take a second look back. They just left, like we were nothing to them. Every TIE pilot I see I kill. Doesn't matter who. Trust me when I say this, I'm not really here for the money. I'm here to kill Imps. Plain and simple."

"I won't question your resolve to do so then," Ahsoka promised, holding her ground. "I do question if you understand the stakes involved. That goes for everyone. This isn't your typical convoy raid. It's a major Imperial stronghold."

"Don't worry, we remember what we're supposed to do," Moira assured Ahsoka, stepping in between her and Ro'Das. "We'll break through to the surface and help you get to that science facility. You do your thing and we'll do ours. Simple as that. We need to get paid after all, Anglyph needs a new translator after he busted his last one in a raid awhile back."

The Ithorian spoke a set of garbled words through his twin mouth on either side of his head. From what Ahsoka could understand Anglyph was defending himself, saying that the engine was improperly shielded. That he crashed because the engine crew messed up and thats why his translator got busted.

"Don't blame Jetty for you getting shot down, Anglyph," Moira shot back. "He does the best he can with what we have. We wouldn't be flying at all without him."

"Who's Jetty?" Ahsoka asked.

Moira suddenly slapped the side of her head.

"Oh right, I forgot him," she said shaking her head. "He's our chief mechanic. Runs our pit bots back on the ship. I'll call him out for ya. Jetty!"

Moira looked back to one of the ARCs with a Greater Krayt Dragon's head emboldened along the side. Ahsoka presumed that was Gorossk's ship, but she didn't dwell on it long. Tumbling out of the engine block beneath the chassis of the starfighter was a golden orange and yellow striped droid. A droid with a silver painted head with black of his eyes. A droid that looked very familiar to Ahsoka because she had dismantled several thousand of them. It was a Trade Federation Battledroid, covered in grease and oil, but unmistakably a battledroid.

"I'm almost done with the primary power converter, ma'am," it spoke in the still annoying high-pitched whine of a voice Ahsoka so readily recognized. "Sorry about the mess, I got my leg caught in some wiring on the way out."

"Never mind that right now, Jetty," Moira told the droid. "Meet Ahsoka Tano, our employer."

Jetty clamped over to Ahsoka and started shaking her hand.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," it said, the first time Ahsoka could ever recall a Battledroid being pleasant with her.

When Ahsoka pulled her hand away it was covered in grease. Jetty looked rather embarrassed when he realized what he had done.

"Whoops, sorry," he apologized. "I forgot. I never really have much time for a clean-up wash. Ships need fixing, you know."

Ahsoka brushed the oil off her hand with her pants.

"Why do you have a battledroid as your mechanic?" Ahsoka asked Moira.

"He came with my ship," Moira replied rather succinctly. "When I started fixing up the wreck after I bought it I found him lodged in the engine. No idea how he got there. I repaired him, reprogrammed him and now he fixes up our craft after missions."

"It's a living," Jetty proclaimed. "Beats being shot to pieces by laser fire. Course every now and then the engine backfires and my motivator gets partially fried."

"Before you ask, no I could not reprogram the voice box," Moira sighed, almost as if she was anticipating the question. "I think the Trade Federation had that built in to the hardware with these models. I have no idea why. Maybe they thought a squeaky voice would be more customer friendly."

Jetty's head lowered sadly at the remark.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I wish I had a cooler voice," it admitted.

"It's okay, Jetty," Moira said comfortingly. "Finish up on Gorossk's ship and start on Anglyph's Y-Wing when you can. Then you can go on break and shutdown for awhile."

"Roger, Roger," Jetty said, his arm jumping up and sticking out its thumb like some nervous tick.

Jetty clamped away back to his starfighter while Moira looked back at Ahsoka.

"He's a bit accident prone, but he's surprisingly good with starfighter engines," Moira stated in the droid's defence. "The thumbs up thing is a glitch that happens whenever he says 'Roger, Roger', but it's not a problem, trust me."

Truthfully Ahsoka didn't have a problem with it. Droids followed programming, they didn't really have a choice in that regard. So if Jetty was now working for the good guys, fine. She just really wished she'd never have to hear those annoying voices ever again.

"Just make sure he gets you ready for the attack, we'll be arriving in system soon," Ahsoka informed her. "It'll be your job, along with every other pilot here, to break through the Star Destroyers guarding the planet and get us to the surface."

"We'll get through," Moira promised, sounding fairly confident in her declaration. "My team may be unorthodox, but they can tangle with whatever the Empire has to throw at them. I just hope you got a plan to even the odds a bit in our favor."

"I do," Ahsoka assured her "It's already in motion don't worry,"

At least she hoped it was. If Hera's team didn't deal with that gun soon, then it wouldn't matter how good Moira's people were. They weren't going to make landfall, not with the planet shooting back up at them. The whole plan now hinged on them. And maybe that giant lizard they had encountered staying as far away as possible.

---

The probe droid was doing its job perfectly. None of the Stormtroopers guarding the base paid it much attention as it spied on them. The images were transmitted back to the Ghost where the whole crew watched them with rapt attention. From what they could gather, the place had been sealed up pretty tight. Everyone suspected that the monster's continuing rampage was responsible for the increased security. At least they wouldn't be taken by surprise when they attacked.

"They got a lot of Stormtroopers patrolling the area," Kanan observed. "It also looks like they've deployed auto-turrets to supplement the turbolasers they have along the perimeter."

"That's not gonna do much if that monster attacks," Zeb noted.

"I wager they're hoping to drive it off rather than kill it at this point," Hera suggested. "The turrets don't concern me though. It's the added Stormtrooper presence, that and the AT-ST they have walking around."

The two-legged walker was stomping around the perimeter, scanning the entire area. These things were different from the the AT-DPs they had encountered consistently on Lothal. Those things were for smaller scale occupations. AT-STs were more heavily armed and armored, equipped with concussive grenade launchers and missiles. It wasn't going to be easy to get past that, not without some decent explosives.

"I could plant a charge on one of the leg struts," Sabine suggested. "That would take it down, but I'll need a distraction of some kind."

"What about getting to the orbital gun itself?" Ezra asked. "The control room looks like its the most heavily guarded out of everything in the facility."

From what they could see of their objective, the gun was a three-barreled weapon attached to a large platform that could pivot the barrels in several directions to adjust its aim. The weapon itself was lodged into the side of the larger building that made up the complex surrounding the gun. Two large struts on either side of the gun dug into the ground beneath the gun, keeping it steady and no doubt reducing recoil. It was an impressive looking weapon, almost as large as an eight-story building. Any ship that went up against it wouldn't last long.

The probe could see into the control room for the gun using its different scanner settings, revealing a number of security checkpoints with auto turrets and Stormtroopers guarding the approach. The hallway they occupied probably housed the servers and computing systems required to properly aim and fire the weapon. At least that would mean they'd had a lot of cover to use.

In all, there were about thirty Stormtroopers guarding the complex, both inside and out, not counting the AT-ST outside. The turbolasers out front made a frontal attack inadvisable. However, the probe eventually picked up a weakness in the defensive perimeter.

"Look here," Hera pointed out on the holo image. "Near the back of the complex. That looks like a maintenance hatch."

Hera's finger hovered around what seemed to be a hatch on one of the buildings at the back of the main complex. It was still behind a wall they'd need to get over, but the hatch could get them inside without having to fight their way through the Troopers outside.

"They must use it to get inside the gun's capacitor systems for fine tuning," Hera reasoned. "If we can slice our way inside we could work our way up to the main floor and then the control room."

"That still leaves us with a lot of Stormtroopers to fight through," Zeb warned. "We need to even the odds a bit."

"What if we turned their defenses against them?" Ezra asked suddenly, an epiphany striking him. "Could we slice the autoturrets' targeting systems? Turn them on the Troopers?"

Kanan rubbed his chin in thought, thinking through Ezra's idea.

"It's possible," he concluded. "Chop should be able to hack in. But we'll need to find a terminal with access to the auto turrets."

"That still leaves the Troopers outside though," Sabine warned. "Once they realize something is wrong they'll storm the building to take it back."

"Then we need to keep them out in the open," Kanan reasoned. "One of us could get on the roof, turn one of the turrets they put up there against them and keep them away from the main entrance."

"If you can clear the area of gunners, I could provide air support with the Phantom," Hera suggested. "But some people are inevitably going to get back inside, so we'll need to be ready for that."

This wasn't going to be an easy mission to pull off. They were alone on this one, no giant monster was going to help them avoid getting spotted. At least without a Communications Tower, the Empire couldn't warn their friends once the attack started. They were all still worried about the AT-ST too. Sabine could probably take it down like she suggested, but doing it earlier would probably alert the rest of the garrison that something was wrong.

"Well, if we're starting out with stealth instead of a full fledged attack, maybe we can try and use that walker to our advantage," Sabine suggested. "If I can't blow it up, I could take it over. Problem is getting on top. I could use the roof I guess."

"Destroy it or take it, we just need it out of play," Kanan told her. "Our main focus is getting control of the main building and with it the control of the gun. We then hold that position and clear out what's left of the Stormtroopers around it. We're going to need to divide their attention as much as we can. They have numbers on their side, so we have to take that away from them."

The team nodded in response, but before they could continue, Ezra's eyes shot to the holo image.

"Hey look, something is coming into frame," he informed the others. "Get the probe to focus on it."

Hera hit a few buttons on her terminal and had the probe reposition. It spotted what appeared to be an Imperial shuttle coming in for a landing in the complex's courtyard just outside the main control building. The doors to the shuttle opened wide and out stepped five Stormtroopers. These weren't you regular Bucketheads though, their armor was a darker shade of whitish-grey, with a large visor surrounding the eyes on their helmets. They had a tube connected from their helmet's chin to their chest and each of them had a jetpack strapped to their backs.

"I got a bad feeling about those guys," Sabine noted aloud.

"They're Jumptroopers," Zeb instantly recognized. "Just what we needed, Imperial Special Forces. Why are they here?"

"The monster's attacks must've spooked the Empire worse than we thought," Hera determined. "They're not taking half-measures anymore. They're escalating, using every advantage they have to keep the big lizard away. Chances are these guys aren't the only ones out there."

"This changes nothing," Kanan stated firmly. "Jumptroopers or not, we're heading in when it turns dark. We just need to adjust our plan to be ready for them. They still think the biggest problem they have is that monster. We're gonna show them how wrong they are."

---

Klusto entered Doctor Boll's room quietly, spotting the Bivall scientist hard at work at her holotable. The holo in front of her displayed Alpha Predator One, as well as relevant data. Beside her, on a small examination slab, was the scale of Alpha Predator One they had received a few hours ago. Apparently Sionver had be hard at work trying to decipher what information she could from the sample. If the amount of data on her screen was any indication, it was quite a bit.

"Sionver," he said aloud, grabbing the doctor's attention. "I thought you should know. Lord Vader has decided to throw us some reinforcements. 501st Jumptroopers, the best of their kind. He's equipped them with heavy weapons, Arc Casters, high explosive grenade launchers, rotary blasters, rockets, you name it they have it. He's sent them out to critical positions close to where Alpha Predator One has been seen. They'll more than likely be engaging him again soon. Hopefully they'll be more effective against him."

"It never hurts to be optimistic, I suppose," Sionver shrugged, keeping her eye stalks glued to the screen. "After what happened in the Badlands though, I'm not so certain it will be that easy."

"I share your concerns, Sionver," he assured her. "That's why I and the General are hoping you've made some headway in your research. Brute strength won't defeat this creature, we know that now. We need to out smart it instead. Have you learned anything from the scale?"

Sionver turned to the sample on her examination slab beside her.

"I'm still curing the biological samples I took from it," she explained. "It'll take more time for it to be fully analyzed. However, I have been able to make a number of interesting discoveries. The first of which is that the scale itself is radioactive, to a slight degree. I can only assume the monster itself is the same."

"That's not too much of a surprise, given most of the animals on this planet are radioactive themselves," Klusto noted.

"Yes, but there's something peculiar about this," Sionver explained. "It's not so much the scale is covered in radiation, it seems to be resonating with it. Like its generating it. I need to run more tests to be sure. I have been able to get a better view of its molecular structure though."

Sionver waved Klusto over and he Commander eagerly obliged. He took up position behind her shoulder and stared into the holographic image. The picture of the monster was replaced with images of what Klusto assumed were the creature's cells in various conditions and states.

"I tried to simulate potential damage to the cells through a number of tests," Sinover explained astutely. "Extreme heat, cold, electrical impulses, acid, toxins, poisons, even subjected the sample itself to number of blade tests with different weapons. I wanted to see if we had anything that could pierce its hide."

"Thorough as always, Doctor," Klusto smiled at her admiringly.

"As you can see by this sample, it appears the cells were most disrupted by electricity," Sinover continued, pointing to the appropriate image on screen. "However, not long after I recorded these images, something disturbing happened."

Sionver changed the holo to display a different set of images of the same samples. What Klusto saw was astonishing.

"Why, they don't even look like they've been touched," he realized, his eyes glancing across the set of images. "How long did this take?"

"Only a few minutes, the shock damage sample taking the longest at five. These were all done on small scale though and separated from the body of course. However, it means this creature has a potentially tremendous regenerative factor. Which would somewhat explain its ability to brush off the majority of our soldiers' weapons."

"I suppose we should've realized this sooner," Klusto reasoned. "Many reptiles have the ability to regrow their limbs. Even Trandoshans can do that from what I understand. I've just never heard of them regenerating this fast. It's remarkable... and somewhat disturbing to say the least."

No wonder they didn't seem to be making much headway. This creature could recover relatively quickly from anything they threw at it. If they wanted to actually kill this thing, they'd have to keep up the fire until it stopped moving altogether. Something they couldn't really do when it was utterly demolishing their forces at the same time. It could take a lot of punishment and recover from it as well.

"That still doesn't explain how its able to survive some of our most powerful weapons systems," Klusto noted. "Is its hide really that thick?"

"Hide, skeletal structure, the scales being practically built like armor," Sinover listed off. "It's comparable in that regard to the Zillo-Beast actually. Energy weapons burn more than anything and the tests show the creature is highly resistant to extreme heat of any kind. You want to put it down, you need to get past its armor altogether. Otherwise you're nothing more than fire wasp stinging a Greater Krayt Dragon to it."

"At least we know electricity can hurt it considerably," Klusto considered. "Other than the mouth and eyes though, I can't think of any real weak points in that armor of his."

"I can," Sionver assured him.

She switched the holo-image back to the picture of Alpha Predator One. She then highlighted a section at the back of its lower waist near its tail for Klusto to see.

"Creatures of this immense size usually need a secondary brain," Sionver explained. "Again, similar to the Zillo-Beast. It needs that secondary brain in order to properly function it's lower half. If we destroy that, in theory we can paralyze the monster and make it an easy target. The problem is all those dorsal fins in the way, acting as extra armor and I can't be sure if there's a tougher layer of bone protecting it. We'd need something of particular high yield to break through it."

"Any other points of weakness?" Klusto asked.

"Under the arms, near the shoulders," she suggested, pointing to the image. "If it had the same layer of armor on its back there it wouldn't be able to smash and punch things like it does so effectively. I doubt shooting there can kill it though. At this point, the best we can hope is that we can drive it off."

Klusto couldn't help but agree. They were going to need something a lot bigger to kill this thing, but they could injure it, wound it even. That much was clear. If they could hurt enough, maybe it would decide this little rampage wasn't worth the effort. Animals didn't regularly pick fights with sentient species unless they felt threatened. Then again, nothing about this animal seemed regular.

"I'll be sure to send your report to our troops on the front as soon as possible," Klusto assured. "They'll need to know every detail they can if they have any hope of stopping this thing. As always, Sionver, your work proves invaluable."

"I'm glad someone thinks so," the doctor replied.

Klusto did his best to comfort the doctor, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't let Vader's threats concern you, Doctor," he told her. "He was probably just grandstanding. He knows he needs you to complete the prototype on time."

"I appreciate the attempt to console, Klusto, but I don't think Lord Vader was acting," Boll replied rather plainly. "I've heard stories about him. So far they're all proving true, if not underplaying him in fact. He's ruthless."

Klusto nodded, he knew she was right. He was just trying to lie for the sake of both their nerves. He was doing a pretty bad job of it too, considering he didn't feel much at ease either.

"Well, once this whole business with the Zillo-Beast is finished we won't have him breathing down our necks anymore," he stated. "And you'll finally get the credit you deserve for all the hard work you've put into this project."

"Given the less than favorable policy the human controlled Empire gives to other species, I doubt that," Sionver informed him. "I'll just be happy to see all these years of service finally produce something of value. I don't need recognition from anyone to feel a sense of worth."

"You deserve some kind of credit, no matter your species," Klusto argued. "You're helping to insure peace throughout the galaxy with this creation of yours. And it is your creation, no one can say otherwise. You've brought an extinct species back to life and have made it work for the benefit of the galaxy. Be proud of your achievement, I know I'm proud of you."

Klusto somewhat awkwardly placed his hand on top of Sionver's, smilingly as he did. Boll, however, just as quickly pulled herself away from him. She turned her head and moved towards the examination slab.

"Commander, please," she said defensively. "This is not the time."

"We're not on active duty," Klusto claimed. "I can't imagine a better time."

"It's not that," Sionver assured him. "It's just... not appropriate."

Klusto sighed and removed his officer's hat. He walked around to the other side of the examination slab, forcing Sionver to look at him.

"How many times do I have to explain myself," he declared. "I don't care if you're an alien and I don't care if that is frowned upon."

"You should considering the damage it could do to your career," Sionver argued.

"Worst they can do is force me into retirement if it bothers them so much," Klusto replied confidently, a grin flashing on his face. "To be honest, I've been at this for so long I wouldn't mind getting forced out of the game. Maybe I'd find a nice place on Ord Mantell or Alderaan if that happened. As long as I had the right person to share it with."

Sionver shook her head, but couldn't suppress the urge to laugh just a bit.

"I'd probably bore you to death talking about genetic sequences and amino acids," she warned jokingly.

"Not at all," Klusto assured her. "I find that to be your most enduring feature. Most people go for outward appearances, or traditional forms of beauty. For me, it's always been about intelligence as well as beauty. And you Sionver are probably the most intelligent woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"You are far too kind, Commander," Sionver answer back graciously, doing her best not to blush. "To be honest though, if I were as intelligent as you think I am I wouldn't have been struggling with this project for so long."

"All great advances in science take time," Klusto retorted. "The fact you persevered through those difficulties is a testament to who you are. That, and admittedly, your crest is, um, a lovely shade of red if you don't mind me saying so."

Sionver playfully rolled her eyes and turned back away. She walked over to one of her lab tables nearby as Klusto followed after her. He got particularly close this time.

"You're very persistent, Commander, I'll admit that," she stated, just as the Commander took her hand in his and turned her around. "But this... this won't work, for either of us."

"Sionver, please," he began again, this time more earnestly. "This project is going to be completed soon. If Sakal is right, he and I are likely to be placed in charge of commanding these creatures of yours. In the meantime, you'll probably be shuffled off to some other project. Somewhere your talents won't be recognized like they should. I can help you avoid that, I want to help you avoid that even if it may potentially cost me in the long run. More importantly, I don't want us to lose contact with each other. I'm not asking for you to decide right now or even soon. I'm just asking for you to give this a chance. A chance to make it work."

Sionver sighed again, shaking her head.

"Klusto... I don't know," she admitted. "You're a good man, you've been good to me at least. You've always been there to listen and defend me when things got tough with Nulon and Sakal. But, this is different. I won't deny I'm flattered, but I honestly wonder if you understand what you're asking."

"I'm just asking for a chance," Klusto assured her. "Let me prove it to you. You're a brillant woman, Sionver, and there's not that many like you out there. I care about you and, even if you don't feel the same way... I don't want us to grow apart."

Sionver took a deep breath and finally exhaled.

"Okay," she relented. "I'll consider it. A date, something, we'll work it out later. After this business with the Zillo-Beast and Alpha Predator One is concluded though, not before."

Klusto's face suddenly brightened up, a great smile crossing his face. He brought Sionver's hand up to his lips and kissed in gently. He then gingerly released it.

"After the testing of the prototype is complete then," he declared. "We'll work out the details then. I promise you, Sionver. You will not regret this."

"I expect I won't," Boll replied with a courteous bow. "I look forward to whatever you will eventually plan."

"As do I, dear Doctor," he said, returning the bow. "Now then, we best return to our duties. As always it has been a pleasure, Sionver."

Klusto left the room soon after, a slightly greater burgeoning sense of ease in his walk as he did. Now he had an even greater reason to put this monster down than before. Sakal would probably gawk at him, everyone would. Let them, he didn't care. After seven years of flirting and courting, he was finally being let in. Nothing could possibly spoil this moment, not even that big stupid lizard stomping about. That was until he got the report a few moments later, that said big stupid lizard was on the move once again. This time it was through the mountain pass and Klusto had a good idea where he was heading.

---

The power station was in a bustle of activity. Stormtroopers carrying heavy weapons and gear were running all over the place, getting ready for the inevitable assault. Reports said Alpha Predator One was on his way to their position in the mountains on a direct path for the power station. No one knew why it seemed so fixated on the location, only that they couldn't let it fall.

The mountain pass power station was responsible for many of Tsuburonda's Imperial Installations. One of those responsibilities involved keeping the turbolasers running. If the station was destroyed, they'd be forced to reroute power to keep them operational. While that would keep them from shutting down, it would decrease their recycling rate. The turrets' rate of fire and damage output would drop substantially. It would also increase recharge time for a lot of their vehicles and equipment that ran on power cells. Their probe droids wouldn't be able to get power at nearby recharge stations either. They'd lose sight of the monster and their only means of effective communication within a few hours.

There was also the fear that they'd lose power to the Orbital Gun. It had an emergency power source that would allow it to retain its damage output. However, the complex's defenses would go offline and the gun itself would overheat faster. That would decrease its effectiveness.

Kamo and Arch were already in the middle of it, trying to help set up what defenses they could. Kamo didn't believe it would be much good, not after the canyon. However, they did get some extra help. AT-STs were patrolling the cliffs above them and apparently, someone had sent over some special forces. A platoon of Jumptroopers with heavy weapons. Kamo wasn't sure if they could kill Alpha Predator One, but maybe they'd antagonize him enough to drive him away.

"Didn't think we had Jumptroopers stationed here," Arch observed.

"They were probably brought in from a neighboring system," Kamo suggested. "That could mean we have reinforcements, or at least they're the first wave of more."

"I still say we should just bring a Destroyer down and blast the scales off that creature," Arch argued. "Why wait around for more troops?"

"The creature is too close to the power station now," Kamo explained. "We risk damaging it in the bombardment. Besides, I'm starting to wonder if a single Destroyer would be enough."

Before Kamo could elaborate on that thought, they were interrupted.

"Officer Kamo, we need to speak."

Kamo turned to see Agiri approaching with one of the Jumptroopers in tow.

"This is Lieutenant Devo, he is in charge of the Jumptrooper platoon sent to assist us in the station's defense," Agiri stated, introducing the Jumptrooper officer. "He wanted to meet you after I told him of how you wounded the creature."

"Your actions so far proved to be the most effective," Devo stated. "The creature more than likely was delayed in coming here because it was forced to lick its wounds. You bought us time, that will hopefully make all the difference."

"It was more of a spur of the moment kind of thing," Kamo admitted. "I got lucky to be honest."

Kamo tried to keep humble, but he kept looking to Agiri. It wasn't appropriate, but he kinda wanted to see the Lieutenant Commander's face when he saw that Devo actually approved of what he did back at the canyon. Needless to say, Agiri did not look all that that happy.

"My Jumptroopers have a plan of attack," Devo continued. "One we believe can help us in our efforts to drive the monster off if not kill it. The creature appears vulnerable to electricity and we have a working theory that suggests it has a secondary brain that helps control its lower bodily functions."

"So you're going to hit it with everything you got near those potential weak points," Kamo reasoned. "How are you going to accomplish that?"

"We'll handle that," Devo assured him. "What I need you to do is to spread the word among the men. I got the impression they respect you given the chatter I heard. We don't have enough Arc Casters to hand out, but we brought plenty of rocket launchers. We're going to distribute them to the Troopers. Your job is to have to shoot the creature in his mouth and under his arms. That should give my people the opportunity they need to bring this fight to the lizard directly."

Agiri suddenly intercut himself into the conversation again.

"I don't believe it is wise to entrust infantry operations to a Clone, Lieutenant," Agiri declared. "Now I am in charge of this defense and-"

"My orders come from a higher authority," Devo abruptly informed Agiri. "I have been instructed to carry out this strategy directly and personally, however I see fit. Commander Klusto assured me I would not have those instructions impeded in any way, shape or form. You are still in command in regards to defending this installation. I am tasked with either killing or diverting Alpha Predator One away. You retain command over the walkers, guns and your own forces. I require three squads worth of men in order to properly carry out my orders and I am requesting that Officer Kamo be placed in charge of them."

Agiri eyed the Jumptrooper suspiciously.

"Who exactly is this higher authority?" He asked.

"That information is classified," Devo stated astutely. "All you need to know, is that Commander Klusto himself assured me nothing would interfere with my orders. Anything more than that I cannot say."

Agiri groaned slightly, a look of defeat on his face.

"Very well, Officer Kamo will have his three squad command," he relented. "But I will be speaking to Commander Klusto after this battle is over and will formally be requesting more information."

"That is within your right, but not of my concern currently, sir," Devo replied simply. "If you excuse me, I need to prepare my men for the mission. Officer Kamo, I trust you will relay my intel accordingly."

"Of course, you will have your ground support, Lieutenant," Kamo promised.

Devo saluted and marched away. Agiri watched as he left them, a scowl on his face. He then turned to approach Kamo directly.

"You must feel real proud of yourself, Clone," he stated. "Thinking you can make me look the fool."

"I did nothing of the kind, sir," Kamo replied, his own temper starting to boil up to the surface. "Lieutenant Devo has his orders and I will do my best to assist him in carrying them out. If you really want to argue this, perhaps you should contact Commander Klusto instead of taking your frustration out on me."

"You forget that I am still your direct superior," Agiri countered, pointing a finger in the Clone's face. "If you honestly think I am going to let you humiliate me in front of these elite soldiers, you have another thing coming. If it were up to me, I would've stuck you on the cliffs above where you can't sabotage anymore of my attack strategies. My hands are tied in that regard, but not in this. You want to lead squads? Fine, but a Comms Officer cannot lead troops in that capacity. So effective immediately, you are no longer an Officer. You have been demoted to Sergeant."

Kamo didn't say a word, but Arch was quick to jump in.

"You can't do that, sir," Arch declared. "Officer Kamo is-"

"An insubordinate laboratory relic that I will not have undermining my authority again," Agiri rebuffed, staring down the young Private. "And if you start undermining my Command yourself, Private, you'll find yourself out of this army faster than you can physically comprehend."

Kamo pushed Arch back lightly and stepped forward.

"If this is how you want to play it, sir, then fine," Kamo stated. "Take away my officer's rank. I don't need it to lead and I don't need it to fight. But I will be taking this matter up with Commander Klusto at the nearest possible opportunity myself."

"Go ahead, Clone," Agiri dared. "You're lucky I don't just find a way to discharge you after your previous disregard for my orders. Klusto won't listen to a genetically degrading copy of a dead bounty hunter. Sooner or later you'll realize how truly irrelevant you've become."

"I don't need a reminder," Kamo shot back. "But I have just as much right to be a soldier in this army as you do. And if you think that my long years of service count for nothing, then you will be pleasantly surprised."

"I highly doubt it," Agiri answered in kind. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a power station to defend."

The Lieutenant Commander left, probably feeling pretty proud of himself. Kamo didn't care. Let Agiri think he somehow earned a petty victory. All that concerned Kamo was beating Alpha Predator One. Arch, however, was taking it a lot harder.

"This is wrong, sir," Arch said defiantly. "He can't just rip away your rank like that."

"Let it go, Arch, it's not our primary concern," Kamo told him. "We have a rampaging lizard on the way and we need to gather everyone up for the fight. Come on."

Kamo walked off back to the assembly area where the other Troopers were. Arch followed close behind.

"You really think the Jumptroopers can kill that thing like they say?" He asked the old Clone.

"No idea, but I'm hoping whatever plan they got is a good one," Kamo replied. "Best we all say our prayers and hope that these weaknesses they discovered have some weight to them. Whatever happens though, I get the feeling it's going to be a long night."

---

Ezra kept hidden behind his rock. The planet's three moons were cresting the horizon now as dancing purple and blue lights crisscrossed the skies. In front of him was the Orbital Gun complex, their objective. The weapon was pointing up into the night sky, ever vigilant for potential invasion. However, if all went as planned, it would soon be on their side and busting a hole into that blockade big enough for Ahsoka to fly through.

They were only a few feet away from the wall now. Searchlights were keeping watch over the perimeter though, as was the AT-ST. Ezra didn't understand why the walker wasn't leaving the exact spot they needed to infiltrate. It was getting tiresome waiting though. Chopper felt the same, as his low volume grumbles indicated.

"How do you think I feel?" Ezra asked the droid. "I wanted to be inside by now."

"They got this whole sector of the perimeter locked down," Sabine growled as she looked over her own rock nearby. "Even if the walker goes away, those searchlights have the whole area covered. We need a distraction."

"You want me to throw a rock at it?" Zeb asked sarcastically.

Ezra felt they could do better. In fact, he had an idea. Concentrating through the Force, Ezra searched for nearby life forms, particularly big ones. It wasn't easy though, the plains they were currently in weren't occupied by much. Being so close to an Imperial Base probably did them no favors either. Eventually though, Ezra did locate something of relatively decent size.

"Kanan," he whispered over to his master. "I think I found some friends who can help."

Kanan looked to him, slowly realizing what he had in mind. He could already see the form of the young man's plan in the look on Ezra's face. They were becoming that in sync with one another. Kanan liked the idea himself, they had done it before after all. It would work, if they pulled it off right.

"Alright, I'll help," he told him. "Direct them towards the walker. It will have to pull away if it doesn't want to get tripped up."

Reaching out with the Force, Ezra and Kanan peered into the minds of the organic creatures they had located nearby. A Jedi's connection to life itself enabled them to do many things, what Ezra had in mind was fast becoming one of his favorites. The creatures heard their call through the Force and were instantly drawn to their command. Suddenly a primal growl sounded through the night air, followed by the trampling of a dozen or so feet. Charging out of the thick grass and smaller rock formations appeared three black furry creatures. They had curved horns on the sides of their heads, a smaller nose horn and large tusks protruding from their snouts. The searchlights instantly looked towards them and the lookout called them out for the nearby walker.

"Guron Rammers!" The lookout cried. "Get back!"

The walker started backing away as the miniature stampede rushed towards it. Then it turned around and moved away from the oncoming animals. The lights tracked the Gurons' progress. When the walker had cleared out, the animals began slamming their heads into the wall.

"Stupid beasts," the lookout shouted aloud. "Cut it out!"

The Rebels wasted no time in closing the gap between them and the wall while the lookout was distracted. When they got there, they took shelter under the lookout's line of vision. The walker was already pulling away, moving to another sector along the perimeter. They still had the trooper above them to deal with though.

"Leave him to me," Zeb said, cracking his knuckles.

The Lasat dug his claws into the side of the wall and used his prehensile feet to further aid in his climb. The noise from Guron Rammers' assault disguised Zeb's ascent even, more as he closed in on the top. When he got to the lookout position, the Stormtrooper manning it was pulling out his blaster and taking aim at the Gurons.

"Honestly, I hate every stupid radioactive mutant on this rock," he growled as he took aim at the creatures below. "Fine, guess we're going to have Guron steak tonight and I don't even care if I get sick, I'm going to enjoy it."

That was when Zeb grabbed the back of the Trooper's head and slammed it into the back of the searchlight. Not only did this break the light, it also knocked out the Stormtrooper. Zeb's success prompted Kanan and Ezra to concentrate once more on the Gurons who ended their futile assault on the wall. They instantly charged back into the long grass, fleeing the scene.

"Thanks for the helping hand you thick-headed fuzzballs," Zeb quietly stated as he waved the retreat animals off.

Sabine sent a grapple line up the wall. Zeb helped secure it and then helped each of his teammates over the wall as they climbed up. Chopper, discretely as possible, jump jetted his way over the wall. The rest of them slid down the side to join the droid.

"Alright, we're in," Kanan noted. "Now, where's that hatch?"

They all searched the nearby building's wall until Sabine pointed directly ahead of them.

"There," she said. "I'll slice us in."

Sabine moved over and quickly got to work. As she hacked their way through the door, Kanan laid out the next phase of the plan.

"Alright, once we're inside we'll split up," he explained. "Chopper, find that auto turret terminal and turn them against the troopers. Sabine, move to the roof and take out any anti-air turrets so Hera has a clear run. Zeb, Ezra and Me will make our way to the Control Room. Lets make this fast and clean, people."

The door opened with a sudden hiss and the team all climbed inside. So far, the mission had been easy. Everything past this point was going to get progressively harder. Ezra just hoped nothing suddenly made things more complicated for them.

---

The rumbling earth beneath their feet announced the creature's arrival long before they even saw him. Alpha Predator One soon crested over the mountain pass horizon. It didn't bother announcing its approach with a roar, it just snarled as it closed the distance between itself and the station. The very sight of him made a few of the Stormtroopers a bit more wary.

"He does not look happy," noted one, backing away slightly.

"I got a bad feeling about this, sir," Arch said to Kamo, sharing in his fellow Trooper's concern.

Kamo slipped on his helmet and turned towards his troops. He needed to reassure them of their part in the plan, or the defense of the station would fail.

"You don't have to worry about killing him," he reminded them. "We're only here to keep his attention off the Jumptroopers and the station. Hit the weakspots and hit them often. The AT-STs should keep him back for a bit, now lets get to our positions, go!"

The Troopers took off in their separate squads, heading into the various buildings that were building into the mountainside. If Alpha Predator One wanted to get to the main reactor, he'd have to get past the buildings along the path. That was when Kamo planned to have his squads jump him. He and Arch, along with the rest of their squad, would be taking up residence in the administrative building. The others would get into the containment and turbine buildings.

"So where should we hit the giant grey trandoshan?" Arch asked as they all jumped into the lift. "Armpits or mouth?"

"Either, if you can see it then you shoot it," Kamo ordered.

While the Stormtroopers got to their positions, the AT-STs in the rocks above moved up. As soon as the monster got close, they opened fire. Missiles, grenades and laser bolts exploded against the monster's head and neck. The giant reptile turned to the rock face, fire continuing to pour down on him. Enraged, the monster smashed his claw into the mountainside. The rocks slipped out from beneath the feet of one of the walkers and it fell over the edge towards the ground below. It never reached the ground though, as the monster's other hand slammed into it. The walker was crushed between the mountain wall and the creature's fist.

"Do not stop firing!"Agiri ordered from his operations post near the reactor building. "Lay into that monster with everything you have! All turbolasers, join in the attack!"

The turrets on the perimeter began opening fire, hitting Alpha Predator One along his jawline. It earned another snarl from the monster, who turned back to the AT-STs again. This time, it grabbed one of the little walkers in its claws and pulled it away from the mountain cliffs. The pilot started screaming over the open channel, filling the helmets of every Stormtrooper tuned in to his final panicked words.

"I just want to say that this was a really stupid plan!"

The giant lizard then ripped the head of the walker off with his jaws and spat it back out towards one of the attacking turbolasers. The little metal head tumbled through the air before crashing down on the turret, its gunnery crew scattering away as the resulting fireball from the collision rose into the sky. The walker's legs were flung to the ground next, smashing into another turret with the same outcome as the first.

As Alpha Predator One easily pushed past the first line of defenses, Kamo's squad arrived on their first assigned floor. They got to a set of windows that looked right out onto the approaching monster. Kamo was the first to line up a shot with his launcher, he aimed right for the mouth. The next time the creature opened his trap to let out a roar he fired. A projectile exploded through the glass, racing through the air towards the roaring beast. It collided with the inside of the creature's cheek. A second missile, fired from Arch, hit the monster just beneath his arm. His mouth still smoking, the creature turned to the general the direction both of the shots had come from. They had gotten his attention, which proved the theory of the creature's weak spots as far as Kamo was concerned.

"Alright, pull back," Kamo ordered. "We need to get to the next position."

"Why?" Asked one of the troopers. "We got a clear shot right here."

"So does he," Kamo insisted. "Now come on."

The troopers followed their Clone Leader and they were right to do so. Just mere seconds later, as the pulled back to the stairs, something crashed through the side of the building. Sticking out of the structure's side where the squad had been standing just moments ago was an AT-ST, now on fire and its crew's bodies lying among the smoldering ruins. What was left of them anyway.

"It looks like we're just pissing him off, sir," one of the Troopers told Kamo.

"That's what the Jumptroopers want," he reminded him. "We keep the big guy's focus on us and that gives them the shot they need."

Up in the cliffs, the Jumptroopers were taking that very shot. Lieutenant Devo kept his eyes on the monster as it passed by. Now was their moment to strike. With a single had gesture, his Jumptroopers activated their jetpacks and boosted themselves off the side of the cliff. They flew towards the creature's back and landed on it. Using the monster's own scales to steady themselves, the Jumptroopers set about their work.

"Team One with me, we're going to the top of this cold-blooded mutant," He declared. "Team Two, head down and keep your scanners out. Look for the target and keep me appraised. Keep your boosters primed and at the ready. We're going to fry this thing's brain one way or another. Let's move!"

The Jumptroopers began their ascent, or descent depending on which brain they were headed for. Using their jetpacks the whole way would've depleted their fuel too quickly, especially on this living mountain. So they'd have to walk and only use their packs when they needed to. And when they found the brain, either in the head or near the tail, they'd light this creature up with enough electricity to power a small city. Devo just hoped it was enough to render this ugly lizard brain dead or they'd all be just plain dead.

---

Getting to the roof wasn't the easiest of tasks, but Sabine managed. She snaked through the upper maintenance corridors, trying to squeeze through the wiring and vents best she could. She suddenly appreciated Ezra's ability to get through these tight spaces. That kid was a lot more nimble than he looked.

Finally, she found her way into an elevator shaft and climbed into one of the lift cars from above. From there it was just a simple task of pressing a button. Once she was on the roof though, she soon found she had another problem in the form of the Jumptroopers. Despite how few there were, they had the roof covered. She quickly ducked into the cover of a large cooling unit on the roof, keeping her eyes on the patrolling Jumptroopers beyond.

Sabine had heard about Jumptroopers back in the academy, some of the best soldiers in the Imperial Military. They were well trained and better armed than your regular kind of buckethead. Tangling with them was dangerous. However, she did always want a jetpack of her own. Maybe this was her chance to get one, if she was lucky enough to grab one of course. Before she did anything though, she needed to check in with the others.

"Spectre Five to Spectre One," she said over the comm with a hushed whisper. "I'm on the roof, whats your status?"

"Outside the objective now," Kanan replied. "Spectre Three is inside security, he's slicing in. We're moving once the turrets have been turned. Should be any second now."

"Okay, I'll wait for the fireworks then," Sabine answered back.

She decided to analyze the situation while she had the time. There were five Jumptroopers, there were also the gunnery crews for the Turbolasers nearby. She was pretty outnumbered, but then again she had faced similar odds before many times. Nothing like Jumptroopers though. This was going to get complicated. She could try to attack now, get up behind at least one and take him out. However she probably didn't have that kind of time and she didn't want to risk blowing Kanan, Ezra and Zeb's sneak attack.

She had one idea though. She could see one of the turrets on the far end of the roof section. She had to take it out anyway, so if she managed to toss a bomb on it from here she could blow it up that way. The Jumptroopers would move to investigate. Then she could take out one of the nearby turbolaser crews, commandeer the gun herself and fire on the Jumptroopers while they were distracted. It was better than just rushing in and spraying laser bolts everywhere at least. The big problem was landing one of her explosives near enough to the turret. That was going to prove a bit difficult.

"Alright, Sabine," she told herself as she reached into her explosives pouch. "Your instructors used to say you had the best arm in the class. Time to see if that was just another lie of theirs."

She picked one of her sticky-bombs, designed to latch onto any metal surface and bore through the armor plating. If she could just get it to land on the gun it would do the job. She pulled her helmet's targeting specs on her antenna down to better triangulate the arc of her throw. It didn't guarantee success, but it would make it easier to figure out what she could do.

As she was thinking things through though, Kanan contacted her.

"Spectre Five, autoturrets are about to turn," he warned. "We're a go, do you read?"

"Loud and clear fearless leader," Sabine responded. "Loud and clear."

It was now or never. Sabine pulled her arm back and tossed the sticky-bomb. It tumbled through the air, end over end, sailing towards its target. She bit her lower lip in anticipation as the bomb descended, her fists clutching hard. Then there was a clunk, right along the side of the turret. The crew must've noticed something had hit them, but they wouldn't have time to figure it out.

She pressed the detonator in her other hand and watched as a glorious plume of purple and green fire exploded into the air and tore open the side of the turbolaser. The explosion's color contrasted perfectly with the lights in the night sky overhead. Sabine smiled, taking it all in. She expected the boom caught the Jumptroopers' attention more than the color though. She did hope the latter played a small role in at least keeping their eyes glued to it.

Either way, the response as she had expected and hoped for. The Jumptroopers moved off towards the exploded turret and Sabine made her move. She rushed out of cover, moving towards the nearest turbolaser to her position. The gunners were too busy watching her handiwork to notice her rushing up from behind. She knocked one in the head with the end of her blaster, causing him to slump against the controls of the turret. His back-up nearby turned to see the Mandalorian girl kicking the knocked out trooper off the gun's seat. She had already pulled out her other blaster and fired into the trooper's face.

By now the Jumptroopers had realized what was going on and they quickly turned back towards Sabine's position. Jumping into the gunnery seat, Sabine took up the controls and turned the turret onto the Jumptroopers. She pressed down on the trigger and began firing blasts at the jetpack wearing bucketheads.

Her first shot missed as the Jumptrooper rolled to the side. He opened fire on her position, peppering the turret with blaster fire. Sabine fired again but this time aiming high, anticipating his attempt to fly up. Her laserbolt caught the elite Stormtrooper as he rose up, before inevitably crashing back down to the roof.

A second Jumptrooper was already in the air, rocketing towards her and firing from on high. Sabine led her target as before and laid down a trail of turbolaser shots in his flight path. One of the shots hit his pack and the trooper spun out of control for a few second before it detonated.

The Jumptroopers were a lot faster then her shooting though. One managed to get through her barrage of fire and land on the turret itself. He aimed his blaster down at her and she barely managed to roll out of the seat before a hail of laserbolts could've filled her full of holes. She popped back up and fired her twin blasters repeatedly at the Jumptrooper. He ducked behind the turret as the shots came at him, only getting slightly nicked in the arm by one of the laserbolts.

Sabine wasn't about to let him take the turret and turn it on her though. She reached into her pack and tossed another stick-bomb at the gun position. She ran for cover as the Jumptrooper fired on her from behind the gun, probably hoping to give him or someone an opening to get in the gunner's seat. It wouldn't matter, in the next second the turret was lit up with a blast of yellow and orange. The Jumptrooper behind said turret took the full weight of said blast and was thrown several feet away.

Sabine climbed on top of the cooling unit she had hidden behind, trying to get a bead on the remaining combatants. Instead she saw a Jumptrooper rocketing right at her. She took a punch straight to her face, soon finding herself flung back to the roof. The force of the punch had knocked her helmet off, she could see it just a few inches out of reach from her as tried to sit up. The Jumptrooper then landed close by, leveling his gun on her.

"No way you came here alone, Mandalorian," he declared. "So either you start talking or the next hit takes off more than just your helmet."

"Never was much of a talker, buckethead," Sabine snorted back. "I prefer action!"

With a swift kick, Sabine hit the Jumptrooper along the side of his knee hard enough to break his stance. She then grabbed her paint sprayer, hitting the disoriented trooper in the face with a full blast of orange color. The Jumptrooper tried to wipe it away, leaving him open for the Mandalorian to deliver a double roundhouse kick straight to his own head. As he went down, Sabine rushed over, kicked his gun away and stamped her boot down on his chest. She aimed a blaster at his face, the tables now completely turned. Finally, the Jumptrooper could get a proper look at the intruder who had humiliated him.

"What the... you're just a kid!" He yelled up at her.

"And I took you down like a chump," she replied, not even trying to act humble about it. "That's gotta bruise the old Imperial ego a bit, don't it?"

Sabine didn't have much time to gloat though, as she heard another jetpack powering up. It was the Jumptrooper's remaining friend. He was now boosting up into the air and taking aim at her. With no time to do much else, Sabine stomped her foot down on the head of the Jumptrooper she was standing on. Then she took off running, scooping up her helmet as the airborne Jumptrooper fired down on her. Laserbolts raced after her. She managed to escape the barrage by sliding under a cooling unit. Rolling herself out the other side, she stood back up and readied her blasters. The other Jumptrooper was probably up by now and the Stormtroopers up here with them would be joining the hunt.

She couldn't stay in one place for long with that storm bearing down on her, so Sabine moved out of cover. Not even a second after she rushed out, did she find three Stormtroopers closing in on her position.

"Blast her!"

Sabine dove to the side as the laserbolts cut through the air towards her. She took aim at the trio of Bucketheads as she fell, hitting one twice in the chest, a second through the forehead and a third took two shots to his visor. As she hit the ground though, she heard one of the Jumptroopers land on a generator housing unit. He fired a blaze of laserbolts, forcing Sabine to roll away. She picked herself up and began running once more.

She had no intention of getting killed, but there were still some turrets she had to take out. If nothing else, she needed to make sure the skies would be clear for Hera to do her job. So she made a mad dash towards where the next gun was located. More Stormtroopers soon revealed themselves, firing at her from behind the ventilation and cooling units dotting the rooftop. Sabine ducked behind one ventilation unit as laserbolts tried to cut her down.

After taking a small breath, Sabine rushed out once more and aimed her blasters in different directions. Her shots slammed into one Stormtrooper's helmet and another's chest piece. She then fixed her aim on two more troopers to her right as she kept running, gunning them down as she charged past. She spotted the next turret, already turned towards her. She ducked for cover as a turbolaser blast cut through the air and slammed into a cooling unit, causing it to explode. Sabine grabbed one of her thermal detonators and rolled it along the ground towards the turret. The resulting explosion took out the gun and its crew, sending a plume of smoke and fire into the air.

"Just take out the crew on the last one," she told herself.

She hadn't forgotten about the Jumptroopers of course. She couldn't, they wouldn't let her. Moments after the explosion, one of them blasted through the smoke like a human missile. He fired at the Mandalorian, raining laserbolts upon her position. Sabine was once again on the run, this time towards the edge of the roof, the part that looked down on the courtyard below. The Jumptrooper stayed in pursuit, firing on her. Thing was, it didn't feel like he was trying to shoot her. More like he was corralling her, like a stray Nerf or something. When she got to the roof's edge she discovered why, as the second Jumptrooper flew up from below and aim his rifle at her.

"Ah, clever little buckets," she chortled under her breath.

She slid to the ground as the laserbolts from the Jumptrooper at the front fired, the blasts just barely missing the top of her helmet. She blasted away at the Jumptrooper as she slid, her shots managing to hit him a few times. His armor was tougher than the regular Trooper though and unlike one of his previous friends he was keeping his pack out of line of sight. The shots were still enough to throw the trooper for a loop though, which allowed her to keep a steady stream of shots going until she was practically underneath him. When she hit the lip of the roof, she pointed her blasters up and fired two simultaneous shots straight at the Jumptrooper's neck. As the Elite Stormtrooper fell from the sky, Sabine stood up and turned to her enemy. There was still one Jumptrooper left. Unfortunately for her, he was way too close for comfort.

The Trooper obviously intended to knock her off the roof with a ramming charge. Luckily, Sabine managed to take the blow and grab onto his respirator tube beneath his chin. She delivered her own series of punches in return as the Jumptrooper rose up into the air. Her knee kicked him in the stomach and he dropped his blaster. She went for her pistol and tried to put it under his chin.

"Stupid girl! We're already thirty feet above the roof and fifty above ground!" The Jumptrooper grunted at her. "You shoot me and we both die!"

"Then I suggest you get ready for a crash landing!" Sabine shouted back.

She grabbed the side of his shoulder and forced her weight to pull him down, enough to redirect his boosters back to terra firma instead of the moons. They rocketed down to the roof, closing in on the final gun position as they did. Sabine kept pulling and forcing the Jumptrooper to move where she wanted.

At the last second, she angled him towards one of the generator housing units and then jumped. The trooper yelped as he slammed into the unit head first and collapsed to the ground. Sabine landed just a few away, her blasters already out and aimed at the final gun's crew. She fired two shots, taking both Stormtroopers out before they could fire back.

"Well that was exhilarating," she stated as she ran for the gun. "Not how I wanted my first jetpack ride to go, but whatever."

As she took up the controls of the turbolaser she angled it down towards the courtyard. She could already see Stormtroopers rushing towards the building. They had certainly stirred the nest up, that was for sure. She'd need backup if she wanted to hold them all off.

"Spectre Five to Spectre Two," she said as she opened her comm. "We got clear skies. Better get here fast though, bad guys coming in hard and fast."

"Already on my way Spectre Five," Hera replied. "Hold them off till I get there."

Sabine started firing on the Stormtroopers below her with the turbolaser, blasting a few as they tried to make their way inside the main complex.

"I'll take out as many as I can," she promised Hera. "I just hope the others are doing okay."

She knew her fight on the roof had lasted longer than she had hoped it would. There were probably a few squads of Stormtroopers already inside the building. If they weren't on their way to Kanan, Ezra and Zeb then they'd making their way to the roof where they had heard the blaster fire. If she was lucky, the autoturrets Chopper hacked would keep the Bucketheads at bay for awhile. Not forever though and, lest she forget, there was still an AT-ST walking around. Sabine still had no idea how exactly she was going to hijack or destroy that thing now.

"Do what we always end up doing, Sabine," she told herself as she continued firing on the Stormtroopers below. "Wing it."

---

Alpha Predator One had pushed through the first line of defense with little effort. Already more AT-STs were moving into position on the ground and in the cliffs to keep the pressure on the giant. The monster seemed to feel the sting of their attacks, but just didn't care. His attack was slower than previous ones though. Kamo imagined Agiri thought he was wearing the lizard down.

The recently demoted Sergeant wasn't so sure. For whatever reason, Alpha Predator One hadn't used his beam attack yet. Perhaps what had happened at the canyon had left an impression and he was now being more cautious. If that was the case, than it was both good and bad. Good in that they didn't need to worry about the heat beam as much for the moment. Bad in that it proved to Kamo that the monster they were fighting was smarter than he looked.

There was little time to dwell on his fears, however. He needed to keep his disparate squads coordinated. As he looked out across the way from the building's top floor, he could see one of his teams positioned on the roof of the of the containment building. The monster was passing relatively close to them.

"Team Two, do you have a shot?" Kamo asked through the radio.

"Yeah, but he's damn close," came a response.

"Just hit him where it counts and pull back," Kamo ordered. "He can feel these missiles, so we know we're making a dent. We just need to be ready for when he retaliates."

"Copy, sir," the Trooper replied. "Firing one!"

At that moment a missile flew forth from the building, striking the monster beneath the arm. A second shot struck him in the teeth, eliciting a roar of anger. A third missile struck him in the eye, forcing him to close it. As he scratched at his eye, as one would do so if dirt were caught in one's own, he turned to the building, already starting to snarl.

"Okay, he's hurting, now pull back!" Kamo ordered on the radio.

He watched as the missile squad picked up and started running. The monster didn't have any intention of letting them get far though. He kicked at the side of the building, causing it to shake violently. He then smashed his massive fist through the side of the structure. When he pulled it out, he dragged a number of support columns and at least one floor with it. The roof of the containment building caved in and Kamo could only watch helplessly as the squad fell into the massive hole opened up in the building.

"Team Two!" He shouted frantically into the radio. "Team Two! Report status! Are you injured? What happened?"

There was a long silence for awhile as the giant lizard lumbered away from the partially demolished building. Kamo waited with baited breath, hoping his team had gotten far enough back. That they hadn't fallen too many floors. That they weren't currently skewered by pipes or fallen into some reactor runoff tank below.

Then, after a few short minutes came a sound.

"Sir, we're all okay," it said, out of breath and clearly still in shock. "Floor came right out from under us, but we only got the tail end of the collapse. Fell a floor, but not too far. Barely got out of the danger zone I think. Another inch and we would've plummeted to the basement with most of the debris."

Kamo breathed a sigh of relief, they were okay. He had pulled them out just in time. Hopefully he could do the same again with the next team.

"Pull out of that building, Team Two," Kamo ordered. "You've done your job. It's up to us now. Regroup at the final line of defense. If something goes wrong with this plan we'll need to lead this thing away from the reactor."

The monster was now approaching the turbine buildings, occasionally slamming his fist into the cliff wall. The resulting rock slides broke off large pieces of the mountain, taking AT-STs with them. The rocks crashed through a number of the smaller buildings below, smashing them and anyone around them to pieces.

---

Riding throughout the monster's rampage, Lieutenant Devo still found himself and his men scaling the massive titan. Devo wasn't sure if the creature could feel something so small creeping up his back, but he didn't want to take the chance. So he had his men take it slow. Not that it mattered anyway, they couldn't rush up this big grey monster if they tried. The creature kept smashing and crashing about, constantly moving. Each footstep was like a tremor and almost knocked them off a few times. Devo imagined the team lower on the creature's back were having an easier time of it.

When they neared the top of the head, Devo boosted up to one of the cresting smaller dorsal fins at the end of the row. Perching there beside his men, he scanned the creature skull. The scanner had a hard time penetrating the thick hide, but eventually an image appeared in the viewscreen of what looked like the creature's brainstem.

"There it is," he declared. "We fry that and this lizard is a vegetable."

But this was a two-pronged attack. Devo wanted to be sure they were ready to go at the same time before hitting the creature. The second they did, it would know something was up for sure. He radioed the second team.

"Have you boys got to the second brain yet?" He asked them.

"Not sure," one of his men answered back. "Scans are picking up something big and blotchy beneath our position. But I can't tell if its a liver or brain or whatever. They didn't teach us xenobiology at the academy, sir."

"Just tell me if it looks more like grey matter than its pancreas," Devo ordered. "If the answer is yes, shoot it."

There was a moment of silence as the trooper thought.

"Okay, I'm seeing a lot of veins, maybe the nervous system," he finally admitted. "I think it could be the target, but there is a lot of space between us and it from the looks of it. Like a second skull or something."

"We gotta take the chance these Arc Casters can do the job," Devo told him. "Get them lined up! On my mark, people!"

Every Jumptrooper readied their Arc Casters at the back of the beast's head, right where the stem was. Devo imagined the guys below were doing the same. He drummed his fingers on the trigger, let another crushing footstep sound and when the reverb stopped gave the order.

"Weapons free!"

Devo's squad fired all of their Arc Casters at once. The arcing lighting streams out from the rifles, slashing into the creature's skull. The monster let out a painful scream, his head shook about. Some of the Jumptroopers lost their footing on the writhing creature but quickly activated their packs and boosted back to their positions.

"Do not let up!" Devo ordered over the blasts. "Full charge!"

They poured the power on, the casters tearing into the monster's skull, assaulting his brain. Below, the same was happening with the second team. Devo could only tell though by the creature's back bucking slightly, suggesting he was hurting. He looked back for a moment and saw a huge pulsating blue ball of electricity further down near the tail. They were doing it, the caster had caught the second brain! They were killing it! It was time to amp up the assault.

"Kamo, Agiri," Devo radioed. "He's hurting! Open up with everything you have! Focus on the mouth and armpits! We need to keep hitting him!"

---

Kamo didn't need to be told twice. As Agiri's AT-STs up top continued to pour on the pressure, Kamo had his team in the turbine building open up on Alpha Predator One. His team in the administrative building did the same, firing missiles in relatively quick succession. The blasts collided with the monster's mouth as he roared, ripping into his throat and inside cheek.

"Choke on that you dumb grey bastard!" Arch shouted at the beast as he prepared to fire another shot.

The monster was in pain, anyone nearby could see that. Kamo, however, suddenly saw something else. The creature's eyes opened up and the old clone focused in with his macrobinoculars. He could see the pupils smoothing out into a vertical reptilian pupil. Like General Grievous' eyes, like before at the canyon. Yes, the creature was in pain, but pain only seemed to fuel its rage. Suddenly the creature began to turn, still roaring loudly, his scream deafening to all near. Windows shattered, Kamo's team clutched at their ears as it threatened to burst their ear drums.

Then Kamo saw it, slicing through the night sky like a scythe, the monster's massive tail. It smashed into the side of the mountain cliff with enough force to crack the rock face entirely. The AT-STs standing on it would fall with it like those before. The real danger was plain to see though. As the crack grew wider, creeping along the mountain at a rapid pace, Kamo realized where the tail had hit. Just above the turbine building.

"Team Three, get out of there!" Kamo screamed.

But he couldn't be heard over the monster's scream. The rock face finally gave way and several tons of stone fell towards the turbine buildings. Kamo watched as the falling boulders and AT-STs buried his men inside the building, utterly smashing the structure to pieces. Kamo didn't even bother radioing them, he watched a large piece of rock crash onto their exact position in the building. He knew they were dead.

But in truth, he soon realized the turbines weren't even the monstrous reptile's target. They were collateral. He was trying to get the Jumptroopers on his back, the ones shocking his second brain, off of him. And when that plan didn't prove to be enough, as evidenced by the ball of electricity resonating from his back, Alpha Predator One tried something else.

He pointed his snout to the sky, straight up to the three moons above him. Then his dorsal fins started to glow. Suddenly an energy blast shot out of the monster's mouth, straight up into the night air above. Kamo didn't understand why it was wasting a shot on literally nothing at first. Then he saw the ball of electricity near the back of the tail just vanish. When the blue glow died, it was nowhere to be see. Kamo needed a few second to figure it out, but it didn't take long. The giant lizard's spines weren't the source of the energy breath, they let off the massive amounts of heat the weapon generated. The dorsal fins had probably incinerated the Jumptroopers, cooked them alive.

Devo was near the top, on one of the fins. Kamo couldn't see his Arc Caster team's ball of electricity either. He tired to contact him.

"Devo, are you there?" He asked desperately. "Devo, respond!"

The response came not through the radio, but another ball of electricity striking near the back of the monster's head.

"I lost a man when the dorsals started getting hot and jump jetted off," Devo's voice informed Kamo. "But we're still in this game!"

Kamo was relieved, even with his fears of what had happened to the second brain team confirmed. At least they still had one group shocking this monster's brain cells. At least they could still hurt him. They could still win.

Then Alpha Predator One raised his head up and smashed it against the mountainside.

---

The plan had gone almost how they wanted it to. When Chopper sliced into the autoturrets' targeting systems the Stormtrooper within the server room were taken completely by surprise. Kanan had Ezra and Zeb wait a few moments while the fighting continued inside. They didn't want to potentially get caught in the crossfire. Kanan suspected they'd manage to take down a good chunk of the Troopers inside, but he didn't expect to get them all.

However about three minutes into the firefight, the shooting just stopped. He didn't think the Stormtroopers would be all dead by now, nor did he think they had managed to shoot every autoturret that fast. Something else must've happened and he didn't like it. He hoped that the other autoturrets located elsewhere in the base were still active, otherwise the Stormtroopers outside would be charging up the corridor any second now.

They wouldn't find answers to the little mystery standing out here though. It was time to head inside. Kanan took point as he opened the door. His blaster at the ready, Ezra and Zeb by his side, they entered the server room. They found several Stormtroopers slumped over dead, a number of destroyed autoturrets hanging from the walls and others still intact but non-operational. Something had definitely gone wrong.

"Chopper, what happened?" Kanan asked over the comm. "The autoturrets are offline."

A series of grumbling blurps growled over the commlink. Kanan's brow just furrowed at the droid's answer.

"What do you mean the server room's defenses have lost power? Get it back!" He attempted to order.

But Chopper just growled indignantly in response, informing Kanan why the power was gone. It had been cut manually, an emergency override in case something like this happened. It hadn't killed power to all the turrets, but it had shut off the ones in the server room. Which meant there were still Troopers alive in here, probably quite a few. A fact that was confirmed in the very next second when a blaster bolt blazed by Kanan's head. The Bucketheads were indeed still alive and already gunning for them.

"Oh just perfect," Kanan grumbled as he fired back. "Cover! Now!"

They all raced behind the nearest server they could find. They returned fire on the Stormtrooper defenders, but the Imperials still had them sufficiently outnumbered. Getting through them was going to be a bit more challenging than Kanan thought. He briefly considered taking out his lightsaber and just cutting everyone here down. However he decided against it, things weren't exactly that dire just yet.

"So what's the new plan?" Ezra asked taking a few shots at the Stormtroopers with his stun gun.

"I'm thinking," Kanan said gritting through his teeth. "I really thought the turrets would take out a few more than this."

"It's not so bad," Zeb tried to suggest, staying behind his server as it was pelted with blaster fire. "The autoturrets didn't get to hog all the fun after all."

"That isn't much of a bright side to this situation," Kanan glowered at him, then he returned to his more stoic and commanding look. "Ezra and I will cover you. Flank around the servers and take out some of the troopers."

Zeb just nodded and took off to do his work. All Kanan and Ezra could do now, was keep firing and make sure the Stormtrooper remained focused on them. Meanwhile, Zeb worked his way quickly around the servers in the room. Finally, he got to the direct flank of two Stormtroopers. He could've just shot them at this point, but that wasn't Zeb's style. No, he needed to get up close and personal.

He extended his Bo-Rifle, activating the electrical staff. He then charged forward to deliver a rising upper swing that socked one of the Troopers in the jaw and sent him flying backwards. The second trooper got smacked in the back of his head by the Bo-Rifle and pushed into the server he was using for cover. The staff shocked him for a few moments, pinned between it and the computer tower, before Zeb kicked him out of cover entirely.

Zeb looked out past the servers and immediately pulled back. Laserbolts crashed into his cover, the Stormtroopers were onto him. The shots currently hitting his position were being fired from further down the corridor and across the hall. He needed to get to the other side somehow. Thankfully, he could count on Kanan for a little extra help.

Both Master and Apprentice were suddenly charging up through the servers, using Zeb's attack to get closer to the objective. They fired on the troopers attacking Zeb, taking their attention away from the Lasat. As they both ducked back into cover, Zeb took the chance to switch up his flanking maneuvers. He looked to the top of the servers, saw there was just enough space between the top of them and the ceiling to crawl along and start climbing. He reached the top of the server tower in a few seconds and began moving along it in a knelt crawl. When he reached the edge he jumped across, just barely sticking the landing. Luckily, his prehensile feet gripped the side and he scrambled up to the top.

Bo-Rifle still in hand, now retracted it to gun form, he began leaping along the line of servers towards the Bucketheads who had been shooting him before. He stopped only for a moment when he saw three Troopers behind another set of servers across from him. No better time to take them all down than now he supposed. So he started shooting, firing several shots at the group of Stormtroopers. With Kanan and Ezra's additional fire, he was able to mask the sound of his shots well enough. The Stormtroopers went down in quick succession before they could figure out what had happened.

One more leap to the next server and Zeb was now on top of the three Troopers who had been shooting at him before. With a powerful leap, he dropped onto them. Both his feet stomped onto the heads of two of the Stormtroopers, smacking their skulls against the floor. He extended his Bo-Rifle again and struck the remaining Stormtrooper's gun out his hands. He then jabbed the electrified end of the staff into the Stormtrooper's chest before swinging it one hundred and eighty degrees around and knocking the top of the trooper's skull with the other end of the weapon. Already stunned by the first blow, the second hit took the Stormtrooper down completely.

Now the only bad guys between them and door to the main control room were all nestled around said door. That didn't make things any easier, but it certainly freed up some space to move. There were eight troopers in total, all armed to the teeth and in good cover. Getting through their barrage of fire wasn't going to to be easy.

Kanan and Ezra rushed up to Zeb's position, managing to avoid the constant string of fire. When they arrived, taking cover among the servers across from Zeb, Kanan took stock of the situation and tried to figure out a solution. He could only think of one.

"Ezra, help me push this server over," he told his Apprentice.

"What? Why?" Ezra asked. "Won't that get rid of our cover."

"Maybe, but it will crush the Stormtroopers behind it regardless," Kanan informed him. "Then we can charge the remainder in the confusion."

Ezra just shrugged and followed his Master's lead. Reach out with the force, they pushed against the giant server tower in front of them. It started to shake at first, then slowly topple forward. In another instant, the server fell over. It hit the next adjacent one, causing it to tumble as well. Eventually the domino effect reached the end of the row. The stormtroopers behind that falling sever shouted aloud, panicking as the computers fell towards them. Some ran and Zeb fired on them with his Bo-Rifle when they came out into the open. He caught two, the rest ended up getting crushed beneath the falling electronics.

Before the dust had even settled, Ezra and Kanan charged at the door. The final four Stormtroopers were quickly taken by surprise, as Kanan got them in his sights. Firing off laserbolts in rapid succession, Kanan's quick trigger finger managed to take out all four of the troopers as he dodged their incoming fire. Ezra was momentarily disappointed he hadn't managed to take out a single Trooper on his own. Then he sensed something from behind them, crawling out of the server wreckage. He turned and saw a remaining Stormtrooper taking aim at his back. Ezra fired his stun blaster and the Buckethead collapsed to the ground for good this time.

Kanan surveyed the damage as Zeb approached. He noticed a large sparking power node on the wall, its blast shield opened. It looked like it had been smashed or shot. No doubt this was the fail safe the Empire had installed for their turrets. At least it only powered he guns for this room, they still had other autoturrets slowing the Empire down elsewhere.

"Well that was some good exercise," Zeb stated as he dusted off his hands. "What next?"

"We break through the door and take the main control room," Kanan reminded him. "Probably a bunch of Imperials in there though and they know we're out here. We need to get slicing through the controls fast."

There was a growling blurp from behind down the server corridor followed by an electronic whistle. They all looked to see Chopper rolling through the carnage they had wrought towards the door and them.

"Well just like you to show up after we've done all the hard work," Zeb grumbled at him. "Mind telling us where you've been while we were fighting the Stormtroopers in here?"

Chopper responded with an indignant series of blurps, explaining very plainly that he had been protecting their backsides. He had hacked into the door controls and set all the doors leading up to their position on lockdown. Now the Stormtroopers would have to cut through them as well as face off against the autoturrets to make it up here. That bought them some more time.

"Alright, good work, Chop," Kanan responded, doing his best to show he was grateful. "That should slow them down some. Now see about getting us through this door, would ya?"

Chopper just let off a tired electronic sigh, no doubt not feeling fully appreciated but what else was new? Regardless, Kanan was hopeful they were almost done with this ordeal. They almost had this complex under control. Once they took the control room, the rest of the enemy defenses would falter. At least that was what the hope was. He knew better than anyone how things could change in a short period of time.

---

They had been winning, they had been hurting it, killing it maybe. At least that was what Devo had thought. Now he wasn't so sure they had been winning at all. Even after getting his brains shocked, this thing kept going. For awhile after the monster slammed his head into the mountain, Devo was sure he was dead. That he'd been seeing a light or something soon, a voice calling him to beyond. Instead, he heard something else.

"Lieutenant Devo, do you copy? Devo, do you read?"

It was Kamo, he was sure of it. Opening his eyes at last, Devo realized he wasn't dead. The blow had just knocked him out. He was still, miraculously, on the giant lizard, lodged partially between some of his massive scales and one of the dorsal fins. Devo quickly forced himself out of his predicament, trying to put some distance between him and dorsal fin itself. He did not want to be cooked alive like his other men had been.

At that moment he remembered his squad and looked around for them. But he found no trace. They had not been as lucky it seemed. He was the only survivor of the strike team, the only soldier with an Arc Caster still on the monster. That wasn't going to be enough to kill it, that was for sure. Maybe it would be enough at least to drive the beast away from the power station.

"Kamo," Devo finally said through the helmet's commlink. "I'm alive, I'm alright. But the rest of my team is down. I'm going to try something else, lead this thing off the mountain. I need your help though. You still have missile teams in the game?"

"Yeah, he's closing on the administrative building," Kamo explained. "He's almost at the reactor. The ground defenses aren't even slowing him down anymore. He's just stepping on them."

"Just distract him for a bit, Kamo," Devo informed him. "If I'm lucky I can force him to leave, but I need to get back up to his head."

---

Over in the administrative building, Kamo just nodded in response to the plan before finally acknowledging the order.

"Alright, we'll keep him preoccupied," he promised. "We really did a number on his mouth before, maybe we can help you weaken him if we get him there again."

That was Kamo's hope at least. He got everyone ready along the top floor, spreading out their numbers to create maximum saturation. They'd fire every missile in their tubes at once, that would hopefully be enough to really hurt the monster at this point. As the creature strode past, Kamo himself lifted up one of the missile launchers and aimed it towards the beast's eye.

"Last chance people," he told his team. "Make it count!"

As the creature once again stomped forward, Kamo fired his shot. The rest of the squad did the same, hitting the beast all along his head. Eyes, nostrils, jaw, neck. They all took a full blast. The beast's face contorted into a rage, turning away from the administrative building, roaring in anger as he did. Kamo didn't want to wait around for the creature's eyes to turn onto them.

"Everyone, we need to get to the lower floors, move!"

Kamo's order wasn't fast enough though, as the monster turned towards the large building and peered directly into it. The monster spotted one of the missile troopers at the far end of their line and put his face right up to him. In a panic, the soldier slapped another missile into the tube and fired as the creature roared at him. The projectile went straight down the monster's throat and exploded, causing the beast to cringe in a form of disgust.

"Maybe you should stick to smoking death sticks," the trooper chided. "Gotta be healthier than missiles."

The monster did not appreciate the joke. Before Kamo could yell at the soldier to get out of there, the monster's hand crashed down into the building. The trooper was crushed as the reptilian claw cut through the side of the structure, the last thing Kamo could hear of him was a pained scream of death. The monster then started to turn and raised his tail high. Kamo knew what was coming next.

"MOVE!" He ordered again, ushering what was left of his squad down the stairs.

He dove in last, rushing down the steps as the massive tail decapitated the upper floors of the administration building. Concrete, wires and steel crashed down on them as they ran, pieces of debris falling in their path or on top of them. Kamo lost another two soldiers before they finally escaped the crumbling stairway. One was simply crushed by a large piece of concrete. The other fell when a piece of debris took out a large chunk of the stairs, taking him with it.

---

Outside, Devo watched the creature pull its tail back back to his side. He was't sure if Kamo was dead or alive at this point, but he put the thought out of his mind. He needed to end this, now. The force of the hit that Kamo's squad had delivered had clearly injured the beast in some capacity. He wouldn't get a better chance to do some real damage than at this moment. Boosting up to the creature's head with his jetpack, he perched near the monster's eye and pointed the Arc Caster down into the massive yellow optical orb.

"I'm not so easy to kill either!" He shouted at the monster, and then he fired.

A surge of electrical energy shot forth from the Caster and assaulted Alpha Predator One's eye. A roar of anger and pain sounded from the beast, echoing through the night air. The creature shook his head about, forcing Devo off of his head. As the lieutenant fell, he activated his jetpack and kept on shooting. He blasted the monster in the eye again, then near the wounds along his mouth. He went for maximum damage wherever he could.

"That's right, stay angry at me," he called out. "Stay focused on me!"

Devo now began flying back towards the mountain cliffs, intending for the monster to follow and keep following, all the way back down the mountain pass. He just needed to lead him away and the reactor just might be saved. A good plan, it might have worked. If not for the monster's hand suddenly rising up and swatting Devo.

The force of the hit sent the Jumptrooper flying backwards, straight into the administrative building. He crashed through a widow on one of the lower floors and slammed into a back wall. His pack stopped working, its electronics smoking. Devo was surprised he was still alive, but he could barely move. He wondered how many bones he had just broken as he lay against the wall.

Luck was still with him in a sense though, as Kamo soon appeared from out of the nearby stairwell. He rushed over to the Lieutenant, trying to see if he was still alive.

"Everything alright, sir?" He asked.

"No," Devo mumbled weakly.

Kamo had Arch help him up, placing him on his own shoulder. As they did, Alpha Predator One turned to the building again and began smashing the top floors once more. He was tired of playing around, he was taking this structure down, Kamo could just tell. They needed a fast exit. Thankfully, there was a turbolift system nearby. He had two of his men force the doors open. No lift, but they could still get down.

"Get out the cables," Kamo ordered next.

They quickly attached a series of long grappling cables to the sides of the lift and then tossed the ends down the shaft. Kamo had the rest of the team go first, then Arch, then him carrying Devo on his back. There was no time for slow descent so everyone started sliding down.

"Hold on, sir," Kamo told the lieutenant as he took hold of the cable.

They began to slide quickly down the line towards the bottom of the building. Just as they did, everything above them started falling apart. The monster was already collapsing the floors above. Kamo felt the cable burning through his armor as they slid further down the shaft. When they landed on the crashed turbolift in the basement below they only had seconds to get out through the doors. Debris and concrete exploded out the shaft as they all ran outside. The roof of the basement buckled as the building collpased on top of them, but it held, just barely.

"We need to find the emergency exit," Kamo told the team. "It's our only way topside now."

"What about the power station, sir?" One of the Troopers asked.

"I don't think that's our problem anymore," Arch regretfully filled in. "It's Agiri's."

A fact Kamo agreed with and didn't like hearing in the slightest.

---

Sabine kept firing down on the courtyard below. Forcing the Stormtroopers away from the main door best she could. She was just one gun against a small army though and they had a lot of room to move around. She tracked their larger groups, firing blasts as they tried to charge forward. Stormtroopers let loose fire on the Mandalorian above in retaliation. Sabine kept ducking every now and then, laserfire striking the front of her turret.

Things got worse though when she heard the door to the roof open up. Stormtroopers had finally gotten to the roof and they were now coming for her. She wasn't going to last long like this. As the Troopers charged towards her position though, she heard something else besides their footsteps. It was the engine of a starship swooping in from on high.

Screeching out of the night, the Phantom dive bombed the Stormtroopers approaching Sabine. Its guns opened up, cutting down the white armored soldiers with ease. The little starship came back around for another run, blasting what was left of the troopers. They fired back up at the Phantom but the ship was far to fast for them to do any real damage. When the last Stormtrooper fell, the ship flew back over the courtyard and began shooting the Stormtroopers below.

"Nice timing, Hera," Sabine said through the radio. "Cut it a little close didn't ya?"

"A little," Hera admitted. "Now let's clean up the Stormtroopers out here. Kanan is gonna need our help in there soon."

Hera continued to hover over the Stormtroopers, firing down on the courtyard and ripping into their numbers. Sabine did her best to help, firing on the scurrying Bucketheads as they tried to fight back. Her turbolaser blasts blew through the cover of one group. Sabine moved to the next target, chasing after one group of troopers as they charged across the courtyard. They were firing up at her, but she kept on target. A few good blasts and they were soon crumpled on the ground.

With Hera covering her back, all that remained was to clear the courtyard. Then they could get inside and help Kanan, Ezra, Zeb and Chopper with the Troopers that had gotten past. They still had problem to deal with though, the AT-ST. Sabine kept wondering where it was and when exactly it would show up. If they didn't take that thing out, they would be in serious trouble.

---

The AT-ST fired up at the massive foot above it, only to be crushed beneath it with relative ease. Godzilla could now see the source of the energy he felt. The main building was in sight, resonating with power that he could feel even now. The humans had fought to keep him from it, but their ferocity had only emboldened his resolve. They would not fight this hard if what he sensed wasn't truly here.

Their final defenses had fallen, their pitiful robotic machines of little consequence to his forward march. Even those ridiculous flying machines the humans from back home had were more of a challenge. In the end, they hadn't proven to be the greatest threat. No, it was a smaller group of humans, one who could apparently fly themselves who had truly hurt him more. They were gone now though, dead. The only outcome that was certain. They had tried similar tactics to those who had attacked him before. Their redundant strategy had cost them.

Still, they had hurt him again. Their weapons were proving to be a match against him. They were relentless in their pursuit to kill him, just as the humans from home were. Godzilla did not see this as courage though, as he suspected the humans did. No, it was arrogance, the same arrogance that permeated throughout their species. That of an unwillingness to accept the inevitable, to accept their punishment, to accept they were wrong.

So just as before, he'd keep punishing them. He'd keep bringing destruction. He'd keep hitting them until they understood, until they accepted. This would be their first true lesson. The power thought they had harnessed for themselves would feed him instead. Then they'd see how little control they truly had.

As he approached the station, laser weapons opened up from ever corner. More of the AT-STs, turbolasers, even a few with those missile launchers that had pestered him so this night. Worthless arrogant insects, they should've run while they had the chance. Now they'd suffer.

A swipe of his hand sent two of the little two-legged walkers hurtling into the mountainside. He then stamped his foot on the ground, hard enough to create a small earthquake that cracked the earth and swallow up a few of the turrets themselves. He roared down on them, letting them know how small and insignificant they truly were.

He narrowed his sights on the main building, where he could feel the power resonating. As he approached, more laser fire struck him in the face, coming from a turbolaser below. He turned and saw the humans on the rooftop. As he looked towards them, they fled. Finally, they realized the futility. Most of them anyway. One stood his ground, calling back to the humans who ran, calling them cowards, idiots, fools. He tried to take up the turret himself and fire on Godzilla.

The reptilian titan closed the gap between him and the little human. Eventually he stopped shooting and got up from his seat in the gun. He stared up at Godzilla, eye to eye. He was in some kind of uniform, military no doubt. Grey with a weird hat. Clearly by the commands he had been giving, this was their leader. He was in charge, he had been the one who organized the attack on him, he had to be.

The human leader fired up at him, hitting him in the nose with his blaster and screaming. Godzilla just roared back and crashed his fist on top of the stupid little ape. Debris collapsed onto the little human, crushing him beneath it. If the hit hadn't killed him, that had. Without a leader, the attacks in the future would falter.

Godzilla now turned back to the main structure, where the power resonated from. He broke through the tower and dug his hands into the structure. He tore through the concrete, the electronics, everything until he felt it in his grasp. He tore the reactor out of the tower, clutching it in his massive grip. He could already feel the power pouring into his body, filling him with a strength he had never experienced before. Their energy was greater than that of a dozen of the biggest power plants on Earth.

And now it was his, all his. As it should be. With this power, he would burn the humans from the surface of this world. He would show them, all of them, how small they were, how insolent. They felt their technology gave them power, but it was an illusion. One he had exposed before and would soon do again.

---

Sabine suddenly couldn't fire anymore. Her gun lost all power. The turret just wouldn't work, period. The lights for the facility also flickered off for a moment before emergency power kicked in. Something had taken out a portion of the grid, it was the only explanation. It couldn't have happened at a worse time.

The AT-ST that she had been dreading suddenly decided to arrive. It opened fire on the Phantom, Hera easily dodged the shots of course, but it was a close call. Sabine knew it was time to act, but with no gun of her own she couldn't fire on it and she had no idea how to get to it to hijack it.

At least, not until she remembered the downed Jumptrooper from before. Abandoning the gun, she ran over to the defeated Imperial and ripped the jetpack off his back. She placed it on her, noticing it was significantly heavier than she thought. She quickly got it into position and took up its controls. She angled herself towards the AT-ST, knowing she really only had one shot at a proper jump. She really wished they had actually covered this thing at the academy, too late now.

She fired up the engines, launching herself into the air and forward towards the walker. Soaring through the sky, she kept her eyes focused on the walker's head. She strained against the g-forces, doing her best to keep her eyes open. When she neared the walker, she stretched out her hand, reachingfor the walker. She grabbed onto the top hatch latch and killed the engine for the pack. She landed with a thump on the walker. Taking a few breaths to recover from the rush, she slowly got to her feet and looked towards the hatch.

No turning back now.

She flung open the hatch, catching the attention of the pilots inside. She fired her blaster at them before they could react, taking them both down quickly. She now rushed inside and took up the controls herself, hoping that they were similar enough to the AT-DP. After a moment of familiarizing herself with the controls, she began moving the walker forward. She blazed a trail of laser bolts across the courtyard, taking down what was left of the Stormtroopers running about.

They turned on the walker in kind, firing back at the bi-pedal vehicle. They kept aiming for the eye-holes in particular, which had no protection over them. That was a major design flaw, an oversight on part of the designer, Sabine thought. She continued her assault regardless, forcing them to run from their cover as she trod over the battlefield.

As she neared one of the watchtowers overlooking the facility, she received fire from a team of Stormtroopers who had taken up residence in it. Sabine turned the walker towards them and launched a concussive grenade from walker's secondary weapon that obliterated the small fire team. She then turned the walker back to the courtyard and eyed the barracks for the complex's garrison. She opened fire on it, ripping the small buildings apart with laserbolts, destroying the munitions and arms inside.

Sabine continued the attack from there, Hera joining in by strafing the courtyard. They were routing the defenders. They needed to hurry the process up though. Kanan and the others were still inside and they were going to need backup sooner or later. With that in mind, Sabine pressed the attack on the now disorganized Stormtroopers, intending to wipe out the remnants and get inside.

---

When the lights went out for a few moments, Kanan knew something else had just gone wrong. As if they could afford another hiccup at this point. Emergency power had kicked in, yes, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. If the power went off, the defense would've had to reset and that meant the autoturrets were offline. All of them this time. That wasn't nearly as bad as the other bit of information he soon learned from Chopper. He hadn't yet unlocked the door, but it was unlocked. They could open it at anytime. The loss of power had reset the locks, they were all off now. That meant the doors Chopper had set up earlier were unlocked too. They'd have Stormtroopers on them in minutes, maybe seconds.

"We're out of time," Kanan declared. "We're going in, get ready."

The kid gloves were off now. Kanan activated his lightsaber and opened the door, revealing the shocked faces of a number of Imperial Officers and Stormtroopers. They had't been expecting a Jedi to be behind this attack it seemed. When they got over the shock, they started firing. Kanan blocked their laserbolts with ease, sending them flying back at the Imps. Stormtroopers slumped back against the walls as their own blaster fire was sent back at them. Kanan pressed forward, moving his lightsaber to block every shot thrown his way.

As he moved forward, Ezra, Zeb and Chopper moved with him. Standing behind their leader, they returned fire on the Imperials. Zeb unleashed a torrent of Bo-Rifle blasts, cutting through several Stormtroopers as they tried to seek cover. Chopper and Ezra used stun blasts, Ezra from his blaster and Chopper from his built in defenses. They hit a number of the Troopers as they sought better cover.

Kanan finally advanced on the lead Imperial, deflecting a laserbolt back into his hand and forcing him to drop his gun. Kanan put the blade's tip close to the Imperial Officer's face and glared at him. The Imperial placed his hands up defensively in response. He was beaten, he knew it.

"You're going to tell me how to operate this gun," Kanan barked at his prisoner. "Then you're going to tell what's left of your men outside and inside this complex to stand down."

The Imperial just laughed back at the Jedi.

"I'll tell you nothing," he declared. "Nor will I tell my men to stand down. You might as well kill us all right now, for all the good it will do you. I damaged the targeting controls myself. You won't be able to use it against our fleet. Without those controls you'll be shooting blind. If you have an invasion force on the way, you'll more likely shoot them instead."

"You're lying," Kanan grimaced back at him. "You wouldn't damage your own gun. You need it."

"Are you a hundred percent certain about that, Jedi?" The Officer asked in return.

Kanan continued to glare at the man, trying to see if he was lying. He couldn't tell. He knew for certain he had no time to deal with this. He deactivated his lightsaber and punched the Officer in the face hard enough to knock him right out. The limp body of the Imperial crashed against the control console and fell to the floor.

"You really think he damaged the targeting controls?" Ezra asked.

"No idea," Kanan admitted. "We'll need to do a full systems check later. Right now, we have bigger problems."

He could already sense Stormtroopers coming their way, bounding up towards the server room. Mere moments later they appeared at the door to where this fight had all started. Their rifles were raised, their fingers on the triggers. Kanan and the others got ready to return fire, instead they didn't have to.

An explosion ripped through the corridor behind the Stormtroopers. It was followed by several laserbolts that struck them from behind. The troopers tried to turn and fire on their attackers, but another explosion soon erupted in the middle of them. Rushing out of the smoke and fire appeared both Hera and Sabine. The Mandalorian offered a wave to her companions as she approached.

"Looks like we came to save your backsides just in time," she noted. "Sorry it took so long, a lot more Buckets than we thought."

"We managed to commandeer the AT-ST, so that's one extra resource we can use," Hera added plainly. "What's the gun's status?"

"After the loss of power, I'm not sure," Kanan admitted. "The Commanding Officer also claimed he destroyed the targeting controls. So that might be a problem."

Hera shook her head at that, knowing what that meant as much as Kanan did if it were true. Like the Imperial had said, they'd be firing blind if that was the case.

"We need to start s systems check immediately then," Hera declared, before looking towards their droid companion. "Chopper, get to it."

Chopper just warbled in response and rolled off to do his work. Kanan took charge of the other thing they needed to deal with.

"Zeb, Ezra, Sabine, start gathering up the stunned Troopers and get them some place we can hold them," he ordered. "This place has to have some kind of brig, find it. I'll start rounding up the ones still breathing here with Hera while we wait for Chopper's diagnostic."

"We're on it," Ezra dutifully responded. "Meet you back here when we're done."

As the three of them took off, Hera and Kanan found themselves alone save for Chopper. They took in their achievement, the Orbital Gun sitting outside the big window in front of them was theirs. They had pulled this off, Kanan was still a bit surprised they had.

"Well, halfway there," he observed. "At least we will be when Fulcrum gets her people down here. That is, if the targeting system is still intact."

"Even if it isn't, we'll find a way," Hera assured him. "We always do. Frankly, I'm more concerned about that power outage."

As was Kanan, he didn't know what it had done to the gun itself in general. The complex had its own power supply, but he suspected there would be some complications if it had lost a connection to the planet's power grid somehow. He at least had a theory on how that had happened though.

"Do you think that monster caused the blackout somehow?" He asked Hera, trying to see if they were on the same page.

"I wouldn't rule it out," Hera admitted. "It would be a pretty big coincidence if it wasn't actually."

Kanan nodded in agreement. He didn't like how this was all turning out. The monster was still a huge wrinkle and while it was preoccupied with the Empire for now there was no guarantee it would be that way forever. Then again, if the creature was behind the blackout, that suggested these attacks weren't random. That there was indeed some kind of intelligence at work within the creature, as he had sensed back at the airfield. Part of him wanted to find out more, to understand what this thing was. But for now it wasn't his chief concern. He needed to stay focused on the coming invasion, on stopping the Zillo-Beast cloning project. And he hoped the giant furious lizard would keep his focus on hurting the Empire.

---

Kamo and his squad finally managed to escape the basement, breaking out of an emergency escape hatch and back to fresh air. What they found upon their exit was devastated landscape. The mountain pass was choked with debris and broken vehicles. Fires raged in every structure, the power station itself in utter ruin. To Kamo, it looked like something had torn the reactor straight out of it. He didn't bother at guessing the cause, it was obvious.

As they navigated the destruction, looking for fellow survivors, they got a better picture of what had happened. Alpha Predator One had taken the reactor, chewed on it like a baby or pet would a toy or something. Then it just left, taking the reactor with it as it did, dragging it behind him. No one understood why it was doing that. They did know one thing for certain though, Agiri was dead. The monster crushed him with a single swipe of his fist. With Devo still badly injured, that meant they had no real leader.

The station was destroyed, their forces utterly routed and Alpha Predator One was still on the loose. This had been a disaster, worse than Solar Flare Field with even greater implications. They needed to get moving on this fast. As Kamo helped see to Devo's injuries, he gave Arch some instructions.

"We need to contact command," he told him. "Get on the radio, send out a transmission. Tell them we need transports as soon as possible. We need to get ahead of that thing and cut it off."

"And then what?" Arch asked. "Everything we throw at this thing just bounces off back in our faces. And now we don't have any heavy equipment."

"Doesn't matter, we need a plan of attack and we some kind of battleplan," Kamo informed him. "We need to get them a message about what happened. Something about that thing chewing on a reactor sounds iffy. They know more about this lizard than us right now, maybe they can tell us what it means. Give us a new plan, something. And we need to know where it's going if we're gonna pull any of that off."

Kamo got up and put a hand on Arch's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"I know we're up against the wall here, but we're not out of the game yet," he assured. "We can still win this, we can still take him down. We just gotta play smarter than this, better. We hurt him, Arch. We're getting closer to killing him. I know it."

Arch took a moment, but finally relented.

"Alright, I got your back, sir," he assured him. "I'll see if I can scrounge up a radio or something. It will still take awhile to get to them though, comm tower being down and all."

"Just so long as it gets through," Kamo replied sternly. "Go."

Arch took off and Kamo finally took breath. He put on a good show for the kid, did his best to sound confident. Thing was though, he wasn't sure of anything he just said. They had hurt this thing, they had wounded him, but it didn't feel like it had helped at all. They were just making him angrier, making him more determined to strike back at them. Kamo wasn't positive that they had anything in their arsenal that could stand up to this thing anymore. After tonight he knew for sure they weren't fighting a rogue angry giant lizard. They were fighting a living, thinking, killing machine. It had purpose, it had intent and, as far as Kamo was concerned, that intention and purpose was to kill every last one of them.

It was here to punish them, hurt them, ruin them. He didn't know why he felt that way, but something kept creeping into the back of his mind. He remembered seeing something the night before, something he didn't think anyone left alive could do anymore. This thing had shown up at the same time. It couldn't just be a coincidence. Something felt wrong, very wrong, he could feel it. Everything was starting to spiral out of control and he didn't even know if they were capable of stopping it now. Or if they ever had been.

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AN: Apologies for my longer than expected absence. My laptop unexpectedly crashed and I was unable to continue my work. This would've been up sooner otherwise. Hopefully it wasn't too long a wait for any of you. Check my profile for my behind scenes post and do remember to review if you can. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to next time. What is Star Wars without a space battle, right? Hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am.