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...

7. Web for the Unwary Fly

Chapter 6: Web for the Unwary Fly

In the personal quarters he had arranged for himself prior to his arrival, Darth Vader sat meditating. While the facility's head staff ran around repeatedly failing to achieve anything, he was busy reaching out to their new foe. The monster was still on the rampage, although this time headed in a direction of their choosing. This small victory did little to ease his mind on the subject, as it was only a plan half completed. The ultimate test lay in the final phase Sakal had planned. He had little faith it would succeed, if only because Sakal, like everyone else on this planet, was proving himself to be extremely lacking in ability.

However, he had to admit to one thing and that was how one of them had managed to make something stick. Doctor Boll's concerns about this reptilian titan being more than it seemed stayed in the back of his mind for a good while until he could no longer ignore them. He could not deny that the monster seemed to have a thinking brain behind its brute muscle. As the Bivall had suggested before, it was a disturbing thought. Vader decided to meditate on the matter, reach out through the Force and try to use it to determine what they were truly facing.

What he felt was both greater than him and yet shockingly familiar. He could feel pain, great unimaginable pain. A pain that boiled over into wrath, into a blinding wave of rage that was all encompassing, all consuming. It permeated everything, all thoughts and feelings. For a moment, Vader feared he would be lost in it as it reminded him greatly of his past. He too had felt pain, terrible unimaginable pain. And that pain fed his anger, his rage and his hate. It had made him stronger than any Jedi before him.

However, through the Force he could also sense something else. A concept he had abandoned, pity, a tinge of mercy, some sense of compassion driving the rage. It was a contradiction in so many ways, one that flew in the face of his master's teachings. This monster was indeed powerful and anger did play a part in that power. Destruction was in its blood it seemed. But it was not the sole source of his power, there was something else, a sense of justice or perhaps a differing concept of morality. This creature was more than just the surface layer of rage, it was more complicated than that.

Ultimately he could not place it. The Force could reach out and sense the creature's emotions and thoughts, but the connection was too muddled. The beast's mind was not the same as his, it was far more complex. He could not attune to it. He doubted any Force User could, not alone anyway. The ability to speak through the Force to other species was a difficult enough skill to master on one's own. There were probably none who could do it now.

The meditation had revealed that this monster was at least sentient to a degree, as Boll suggested. That it remembered some kind of wrong done to it, some pain inflicted on it, was proof of that. He wondered if it was in anyway similar to his pain. Did a brother try to destroy him? Did a mate turn on him? Did a family lie and mistreat him? Did a parent die in front of him? He doubted it. The similarities were cosmetic more than anything. The creature didn't hate, unlike Vader. What made the reptile strong was something else. His rage came from somewhere else. Vader's came from hate, that was all he knew now.

If nothing else, that proved one thing to him. However powerful Alpha Predator One was, it paled in comparison to his own power. Hatred combined with the Force knew no limits. It was greater than any form of energy that the monster could siphon from their reactors. And before this war with the giant lizard was over, he would prove it.

Just then, Vader's thoughts were broken by a disturbance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an Imperial Officer, a Lieutenant Commander from his own forces, rush into his room. The Sith Lord could already sense he had urgent news. He did not bother to turn or stand to face the Officer as he addressed him.

"What is it, Lieutenant Commander?" He asked, his voice booming.

"We have completed our analysis as you ordered, Lord Vader," he stated. "We believe the orders for the unauthorized flight of TIE Fighters that attacked Alpha Predator One originated from this facility. We suspect it was transmitted through one of the communication terminals an hour before the attack began."

Yes, he remembered. When word came to him that TIEs from orbit had been diverted from their stations to attack the monster he had ordered a full investigation. Sakal's plan was shaky enough without someone sabotaging it with their foolishness. However, they still needed to find the culprit.

"Search the facility's computers until you discover the exact origin point," Vader demanded. "Then determine who precisely gave the order."

"We're doing that now, Lord Vader," The Lieutenant Commander stated, slightly unnerved as he did. "But, uh, there is more. We recently received word from our blockade in orbit. There has been... an incident."

That was enough to force Vader to rise and turn, his hands clutched into fists as he looked at the nervous officer.

"What kind of incident?"

---

Ahsoka returned from her meditation after a little more than an hour. By now, everything was unloaded from the transports. To all outward appearances they were ready for their assault, even if it was a few miles away still. However, they wouldn't be going anywhere until they knew what they were facing at the facility. That meant waiting for Moira's Raiders to come back with a recon report. No one expected it to be very encouraging when it arrived, but they were all trying to be hopeful.

"So what were you meditating on exactly?" Kanan asked rather bluntly as Ahsoka approached.

"A number of things," she replied simply, before quickly shifting the conversation back on to him. "Kanan, have you felt anything specific about this creature that is attacking the Imperials?"

Kanan looked a bit bewildered by the question, but despite his suspicious glare he did answer.

"Only that I'm not so sure it's just another one of this planet's mutations," he admitted. "There's purpose behind the rage. It's not just pure instinct. I didn't even have to focus that hard to sense it when we were near the thing. It's intelligent to a degree."

"I felt the same," Ezra added. "Like he was angry at something, but it felt more personal and directed. A memory of pain, but it was vague. I couldn't really figure it out."

Ahsoka just nodded. She suspected Kanan was about to ask what the questioning was about, but they were interrupted by the sound of starfighter engines overhead. They looked to see a small flight of ARC-170s flying above them and moving into position for landing. Moira was back with her recon team at last. Now they'd get some answers as to what they were about to face.

The Corellian pilot landed a few feet away from them and quickly rushed over to deliver her intel. For once, she didn't look all that happy. The usual swagger her planet's people were so well known for slightly more subdued. She perked up a bit, however, when she saw Hera among the group.

"Hey, you're the twi'lek who manned the gun right?" She asked, stretching out her arm. "Moira Thal, leader of Moira's Raiders. That was some fine shooting, especially since you were using a blind gun."

"Well you did help," Hera replied, taking Moira's hand in her own and shaking it. "Hera Syndulla, pleasure to meet you. I've heard a bit about your exploits in the Outer Rim. You've been hitting the Empire's supply routes pretty hard for awhile now."

"Eh, it pays the bills," Moira shrugged slightly. "Ticking off the Imps is it's own reward some days."

Hera looked over Moira's shoulder to her fighter, giving it a good once over with her eyes.

"You've really decked out that old 170," she noted. "Didn't think you could get that many guns on one. How does it handle?"

"Well enough," Moira insisted. "Added armor and weapons slows us down a bit, but we make up for it with maneuverability and some juiced up boosters when we're in a pinch. Added firepower also helps us rip through the shields faster. When you're trying to take out a ship's engines, that's what really counts."

Ahsoka interrupted the pilot meet and greet with a cough, catching both Moira and Hera's attention. They did, after all, have more pressing issues. Moira instantly got back on track and relied her findings. They weren't promising.

"Sorry to say, but the Science Facility is under heavy lockdown," she warned. "Place is crawling with Stormtroopers. They got our approach vector covered and I saw quite a few anti-air turrets installed throughout the complex. The real issue though is their Walkers, specifically AT-ATs, lot's of them. With even more coming in from the looks of it."

"Sounds like they've been building up their defenses for awhile then," Kanan observed.

"One guess why," Zeb added. "Big grey and angry is making them nervous."

Given what they were protecting, it wasn't a surprise they were taking precautions. What was a surprise was how many they had gotten. Moira showed them a holodisk that contained images of the giant walkers. AT-ATs were stationed around the perimeter, at least two full companies' worth. If more were on the way, that didn't bode well for them.

"There's no way we have enough people to punch through all of that," Hera observed.

"Could we bomb them with our air support?" Sabine asked. "It would be risky, but not as much as taking them all head on with ground units."

"I don't have nearly enough bombs or Y-Wings to take them all out," Moira told her. "Combined with the other squadrons outside of my Raiders, maybe we can kill a few. But there will be a lot more showing up soon, long before we can get there."

It sounded like they were in for a very hard fight. They had weapons capable of standing up to an AT-AT in their arsenal. The problem was, none of them were in great supply. Cutting through the defenses wasn't impossible, but getting enough through to successfully carry out the raid was highly unlikely. And eventually the Star Destroyers and their TIE fighters would respond to their attack. They wouldn't have air superiority for long when that happened.

"So what's our move then?" Hera asked. "They probably already know we've landed by now. It won't take them long to reconfigure their plans to repel us instead of the monster."

"More than likely," Ahsoka concurred. "I'm afraid our original lightning assault is out of the question now. For this raid to succeed we need reconsider our options."

"We have options?" Zeb asked, not sounding like he believed they did. "We're not going to last long against these kind of odds. We can't just barge in now. That giant lizard already rang the alarm bell before we even arrived."

"Indeed, he got us into this predicament," Ahsoka agreed. "So perhaps, he can get us out."

Everyone stared at Ahsoka like she was insane. eyes widened, brows turned up and more than a few of them doing a double take. Kanan seemed the most perturbed out of anyone. To be fair, Ahsoka admitted that she probably was crazy. The thing was though that Zeb was right, they didn't really have many options.

"Whatever happened to not letting the rogue element dictate our mission?" Kanan asked her.

"That was before we suspected it was sapient," Ahsoka informed him. "Before we knew it was intelligent and not just an animal fighting to reclaim territory from intruders. You said it yourself, Kanan. There is a mind behind the rampage. Ezra senses it too. As do I. This creature, whatever it is, might in fact be more than brute animalistic muscle."

"That doesn't guarantee anything," Kanan argued. "We don't even know why it seems to hate the Empire so much. Just because it's not their friend, doesn't mean it's ours."

"Besides, sapient or not, it's still an animal," Moira interjected. "You can't just ask it for help."

There was a brief silence at Moira's words, a silence that made the red-headed pilot think twice about her words. She looked to everyone around her, confused by their disposition.

"You... can't just talk to it," she reiterated, unsure of her of her words now. "That's crazy. Right?"

"Actually..." Ahsoka tried to begin, but Kanan stopped her short

"You cannot seriously be suggesting what I think you are," he interrupted with a growl. "Have you ever tried to connect to something like that? Ever at all? Because I don't think any Jedi ever has."

Moira still looked really confused, turning to Sabine and Hera for an answer.

"Mind getting me in the loop here?" She asked.

"Jedi have an uncanny ability to speak to life through the Force," Hera explained. "They can tame wildlife, sometimes even control it. Like the fabled Jedi Mind Trick, but a little more invasive."

"Ezra's actually a bit of a pro at it," Sabine noted, pointing to the young padawan in training.

Moira turned to the ashen haired young boy who was sheepishly trying to hide whatever pride he felt behind a shy little smile. Moira just remained spell bound by the information.

"Whoa, I heard you Jedi could do some crazy stuff, but never this," she admitted. "So, what, you can actually control this giant lizard you keep mentioning?"

"In a way," Ahsoka admitted. "Although, it's a bit more complicated depending on the creature in question and the skill of the Force User."

"And no Jedi I have heard about has been able to convince a giant lizard that's as tall as a skyscraper on Coruscant to follow his or her commands," Kanan stated bluntly. "And if this thing is sentient, it probably wouldn't work. The more feral an animal, the harder it is to control. If it's intelligent, that just makes it even more difficult. It could just as easily decide not to listen to us like how stronger minds can resist mind tricks."

It wasn't a simple technique to be sure, Ahsoka knew that. Mastering the ability to speak and tame animals was no easy task. Even Ahsoka hadn't really covered it when she was still at the temple. She had only taught herself about it much later on. However, there were other ways to achieve the same result.

"We don't actually need to get him to obey us," Ahsoka explained. "If this monster is sentient, if it has a real thinking mind behind its rage, we can appeal to it. Through the Force, we could reach out and connect with the creature, truly understand what lies behind its aggression. At the very least, we could figure out what motivation it has. If it has one at all of course. All we'd need to do is combine our efforts and-"

"No," Kanan declared abruptly. "Absolutely not. I know what you're about to say and I'm not putting Ezra at risk like that. He's not ready for it."

"Not ready for what?" Ezra asked, sounding rather annoyed at Kanan's comments. "What does she want us to do?"

Kanan turned to his padawan, the look on his face growing ever more serious as he continued to speak.

"You know how Jedi can pool their abilities together, not just in combat but in other ways too," he explained. "Ahsoka wants us to merge our thoughts together as one and focus them on the monster's own mind. In theory we could break through to the inner workings of it's mind and speak to it in a sense. It's also very dangerous for any unexperienced Force User to try."

Kanan looked to Ahsoka grimly as he spoke, the Togruta didn't take the bait though. She remained perfectly stoic in the face of her fellow ex-Padawan's remarks. Her silence, however, let others answer for her, specifically Hera.

"To be fair, Kanan," She spoke up suddenly. "No Force User here has ever rose above the level of Padawan. So Ezra isn't the only one at risk."

"All the more reason not potentially crack our minds open trying to get into that thing's head," Kanan argued, turning back towards Ahsoka as he did. "From what little we know about this creature, we know it is extremely angry. Filled with rage and a desire for destruction. Connecting with anything like that through the Force is extremely dangerous for the unprepared."

Ezra looked between his master and Ahsoka, not sure if he should but in or anything. They were talking about him more than anything, at least Kanan was. It wasn't without reason, he knew that. However, he still felt like he was being left out of the conversation a bit.

"We can be careful," Ahsoka tried to assure Kanan. "If we work together in tandem, keep constant contact through one another within the Force, we should be able to overcome any danger."

"I thought I was being careful too last time I tried something like this," Kanan informed the Togruta. "It almost backfired. Ezra opened up a part of himself, a dangerous part. One I hadn't prepared him for and he still isn't ready to be exposed to."

Ezra knew what he was speaking off, the Dark Side. It wasn't long ago when they had tried to use Frynocks to fight the Imperial Inquisitor they encountered. It had worked for a time, but during the battle Ezra left himself vulnerable to the Dark Side of the Force. Through it, he had saved their lives, but he had almost lost himself to it and he felt really wrong after it was over. As if something was out of place within himself, like someone else had been using his body. He didn't like it.

"But that couldn't happen again," Ezra tried to suggest. "There's no one like the Inquisitor to rile me up this time."

"What about the megaton lizard itself?" Kanan asked.

There was a brief silence, one that even shook Ahsoka from her stance a bit. It was an acknowledgment of Kanan's point. From what they knew of the monster, it was not all that attuned with the Light. That posed a risk, as Kanan pointed out.

"We start trying to connect with something potentially malevolent and we're risking way too much for something that might not even work," he stated. "When we were en route to this planet, me and Ezra got a glimpse of something. It was powerful, primal and angry. It had to have been that thing. We connected to it by accident. Trying to talk to it on purpose is a step I'm not sure we're ready to take."

"I am not saying there is no risk," Ahsoka admitted. "But there are ways to mitigate it. All we have to do is find a way to show the creature we mean no harm to it. Then it may open itself up to us willingly."

Kanan thought that over a moment and then turned to Ezra. Before his master even said a word, the young padawan spoke up on his own behalf. This was him they were talking about anyway, more so than the monster itself perhaps.

"Maybe it's worth a shot," he suggested. "Yeah, we saw that this thing was dangerous and it's probably not the most receptive animal out there. But if it's as smart as we suspect, maybe we can convince it to help us like Ahsoka says. And I'm not so sure it is malevolent. Maybe it's just angry. We all get angry, even you."

"Anger in and of itself doesn't lead to the Dark Side, true," Kanan admitted. "But it doesn't exactly help either. It clouds judgment almost as much as it fuels a fight. We'd be opening ourselves to something we don't fully understand, with a mind that's fixated on rage for the moment and seems to be just constantly seeking destruction. As Jedi, we shouldn't be doing that just on a whim because we're in a tight spot. That's how we got in this mess in the first place, because we let Palpatine use a monster for his war plans."

"Yes, that is true," Ahsoka consented, her voice low but still adamant and unwavering. "But that was us giving in to what he wanted, listening to him instead of what we knew was right. Jedi were meant to protect all life, to listen to it, to commune with it. This monster may not be like any life we've ever encountered, but it is still part of the Force in some way. We need to reach out to it, not push it away. Give it a chance, try to guide it and understand it. Whatever pain or anger this creature feels might indeed be dangerous, but that doesn't mean we should turn our backs on it either."

Kanan eyed Ahsoka strangely, as did Ezra. They didn't deny that she had a point, but Ezra wondered, as did Kanan, about her tone. They couldn't be sure, but it sounded like there was a bit more to that speech of hers than just talking about the monster itself. It was like she had some kind of personal experience with the subject firsthand. Before they could think more on it, Ahsoka offered an ultimatum.

"If you don't want to risk using the Force to speak to it, maybe we can do something else instead," she offered. "We could always lead the creature towards the Science Facility somehow through other means. We would just need to figure out what it wants."

Kanan just sighed.

"Look, I'll consider the first option, but only because we don't exactly have many and under the condition that I think it's relatively safe," he conceded. "But I think we should leave it as a last resort. Let's try and lure him towards the bad guys first, then we can discuss trying to talk to it."

Ahsoka nodded, agreeing to the compromise. However, Moira's holo communicator suddenly started chirping loudly. The red-headed pilot answered it and a hazy image of Jetty appeared on screen. Before any of the Ghost crew could ask why a battledroid was on the line, the machine started to give a report.

"Ma'am, the hack of the probe network was a success," he declared happily in his nasally voice. "We found what Fulcrum asked us to. The Empire is currently tracking the creature towards a large mining quarry several miles due Northwest of our current position. He'll be there by late mid-day. And from the sound of their transmissions, the Empire has a surprise in store for him."

Moira looked to the others.

"You guys better decide what we're going to do about this big lizard you keep going on about," she told them. "Cause it sounds like the Imps are about to force a conclusion of a sorts."

---

Sakal and the rest of the chief staff were standing in the Command Hub when Lord Vader arrived. For once, the General wasn't concerned. In fact he was glad to see him as they could now finally share the full details of their plan. Already sitting on the table nearby was a large canister, a glowing greenish haze shining through its glass. This was Sakal's answer to their giant monster problem and he suspected Vader would approve of his solution to their ails.

"Lord Vader, it is good to see you," Sakal greeted. "Everything is on schedule, the reptile is on his way as we speak to the quarry where we've laid the trap."

Vader said nothing, only looking towards the canister for a brief moment. Sakal didn't understand why he wasn't speaking, but the General just continued on with what he had planned.

"Yes, the canister we'll get to that," Sakal insisted, taking Vader's attention away from it. "But there are other elements to the plan. Klusto already has the hologram prepared."

The Commander activated the holographic table nearby, presenting a digital representation of the quarry. It was rather deep circular entrenchment into the earth, a cone burrowed out of the rock. They harvested metals and other materials the stone was rich with there. They used trains on repulsorlift tracks to transport the daily haul back up to the top of the quarry. Now it would serve a different purpose, the open grave for the monstrosity plaguing them.

"The quarry has been turned into a miniature prison of sorts," he began pointing out several pieces of machinery installed along the edge of the pit and inside it. "These are ray shield generators, aligned both within and outside the quarry. The shield can be opened from the top slightly upon remote. This will allow us to cut the creature off from residual radiation but give us a way to attack him from above."

At this time, a digital representation of the monster began to walk into center of the quarry. Once it reached it, several large objects appeared around the creature on the display. They surrounded the monster with an energy fence, keeping him trapped behind beams of man-made lightning shooting between the poles.

"We've hidden these electrical field towers inside collapsible steel containers," Sakal explained. "When the monster is lured between them with the radioactive waste we've set up as bait, we will drop the containers and activate the towers. They will create an electrical fence and keep him trapped long enough for the first stage of our attack. That's where the canister comes into play."

Boll brought the canister over and set it down along the side of the holographic table carefully.

"When we were ordered to create the Zillo-Beast clone," Boll began, sounding slightly despondent as she explained. "We needed a contingency if anything went wrong. So we manufactured as much of the only thing we knew was capable of destroying it, the poison gas I developed to kill the original creature."

"Doctor Boll assures me the gas is just as deadly to other organisms as it is to the Zillo-Beast," Sakal continued proudly. "Once the monster is trapped, our forces will saturate it from every angle with missiles and chemical throwers loaded with the stuff. Then comes the final blow. We'll open the top of the ray shield, which will be activated at the same time as the towers. Since it won't be able to flee from the gas, trapped behind the electrical fence, it will be weakened and unable to fight back. With the top of the ray shield opened, we'll have TIE Bombers that we've requisitioned from the blockade fleet to fly over and drop their payloads down into the quarry. Payloads laden with more gas of course, as well as high yield explosives."

"Our own forces will be protected from the gas within their vacuum-sealed armor," Klusto plainly added. "The electrical towers may not hold him indefinitely, but they'll keep him in place long enough. At least until we have him appropriately saturated. He'll be unable to fight back against us. He'll either choke to death or be killed from the sustained fire of our heavy weapons. This is one fight Alpha Predator One is not going to win."

Sakal waited for Vader to give his blessing or more of criticism. It did not come though, he just stared, looking between the canister and the hologram. It was unnerving to say the least, trying to figure out what he was thinking behind that menacing black mask. Finally, he broke the silence.

"An interesting plan, General," he declared. "It may in fact work. Perhaps you can redeem yourselves. As soon as we remove one final obstacle to its success."

"Obstacle?" Sakal asked, confused at Lord Vader's words.

"Yes," he slowly replied. "A traitor to be specific."

Traitor? What was he talking about? Before Sakal could even ask, Vader supplied the answer.

"My technicians have uncovered why those TIE fighters nearly ruined your scheme to lure to the creature in," he informed the General. "They were given a direct order to set course for the test area island and engage the monster at will. The order came from this facility."

"That sounds more like negligence than-" Sakal began, before Vader interrupted him again.

"The order was also issued suspiciously around the same time as another attack," the tall dark-clad man continued. "Rebels who have assaulted and destroyed three Star Destroyers with our own Orbital Gun, breaking through the blockade to the planet's surface. They are amassing for an attack, more than likely on this very facility."

Sakal was shocked by the news. Rebels had found them and actually landed on Tsuburonda and they were coming here. How did they find out about this project? How the hell did they get a hold of their own Orbital Gun? Vader didn't seem interested in answering those questions, in fact he didn't seem to have any questions at all concerning the matter. He was focused only on those in this room at this moment.

"My technicians located the terminal the unauthorized flight order was issued from," Vader explained, slowly turning his head about the room. "It came from the office of one of the senior staff in this room."

Vader's gaze finally landed on Nulon and was soon joined by others. Sakal stared at the Overseer, astonished by the revelation Vader had shared. Nulon, a traitor? It didn't really make much sense to Sakal. He was incompetent to be sure, but a rebel? The Overseer himself didn't really look good. The man frantically looked about the room, his mouth agape at the accusation. He quickly put up his hands defensively.

"Wait, wait, it's not what you think," he tried to assured them. "I'm not a traitor! I didn't mean to-"

"Your actions diverted critical resources away from the defense of the Star Destroyers," Vader stated, approaching slowly and viciously towards the Overseer. "TIE fighter reinforcements that could've turned the tide against the Rebel forces and prevented them from breaking the blockade. The monster's presence simply gave you the opportunity needed to do so."

"No, Lord Vader, please," Nulon nervously denied. "I merely wanted to ensure that the monster was defeated. I felt added air support would help."

Sakal now approached slightly, as Vader began to back Nulon towards the window.

"You went behind my back?" The General shouted angrily. "You jeopardized the entire operation and issued orders without my knowledge!"

"I didn't want to chance matters," Nulon frantically declared. "Every other plan you made failed spectacularly. I didn't want to bank on you failing to lure it in, I wanted it dead. So I asked for a large squadron of TIE fighters to start hitting the creature while it was in the middle of the fight with the Stormtroopers on the island!"

"You almost ruined everything, you idiot!" Sakal shouted at him. "All because you were afraid of looking stupid again!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about the details of the plan, I couldn't relay them," Nulon informed him, nearly tripping over himself as he walked backwards towards the window, Vader encroaching on him further. "I'm only guilty of trying to take matters into my own hands. I'm no traitor! I had no knowledge of the Rebel attack!"

"So I am supposed to believe you simply have poor timing in regards to growing a spine," Vader spat back at him, closing the gap between them even more.

Nulon began clutching backwards towards the window, sweating pouring from his brow and his teeth chattering wildly. He was whimpering incessantly as Vader moved closer. Everyone in the room could feel his fear and abject terror as the right hand of the Emperor bared down on him.

"Lord Vader, please, I didn't mean to jeopardize the operation," he pathetically pleaded. "It was poor judgment on my part, nothing more. I apologize, I sincerely do! I'll make it right! I promise! I'll send forces to eradicate the Rebels! Throw them off the planet if we have to!"

"No you will not," Vader replied, unmoved by the Overseer's begging.

Nulon pressed himself against the window as Vader looked down on him. He looked so small up against the black figure, shaking like a dying leaf on the edge of branch in the wind. Sakal didn't know what to think. He was angry with the man, of course. That didn't mean he liked seeing him so badly frightened.

"I would interrogate you in order to discover the truth," Vader explained, his face nearly touching Nulon as it glared at him. "But I neither have the time or the equipment to do so. At the moment, I now must consider you are one of two things, a traitor or an incompetent liability. You have shown proof of both. And I cannot afford either."

Vader suddenly turned around, facing away from Nulon. The Overseer looked confused for a moment, as did everyone else. Why the sudden last minute reprieve? Perhaps Nulon was to be carted into the brig until further notice? Yes, to Sakal that seemed most likely.

Then, without any warning, Vader ignited his lightsaber and thrust it backwards. It pierced through the Overseer's chest, stabbing him through the heart. Sakal looked on in terror, Boll gasped, placing her hands to her mouth while Klusto backed away from the scene and towards the Doctor. Vader turned back slowly towards Nulon, his grip tightening on his lightsaber as he did. He then slowly pulled the red blade out, watching Nulon's pained expression as he did. The Overseer's breathing was more sporadic and heavy. He clutched at the hole in his torso, burning smoldering hole left where the blade of light had gone through him. He fell to his knees grasping towards Vader pleadingly.

That was when the Dark Lord stretched out his hand and, through some invisible force, threw the Overseer into the window. The glass shattered and Nulon flew out into the open sky. He then plummeted towards the ground like a sack of rocks. Sakal turned his sight away as the body started to descend. Vader turned back towards the stunned Senior Staff members that remained, his lightsaber still active.

"We will deal with the monster first," he declared coolly and dispassionately. "The Rebels will be hunted down as soon as it is destroyed. Work will continue on the Cyber Zillo-Beast prototype as planned. In fact, you will complete all final preparations as soon as possible. I will no longer accept failure, incompetence or excuses of any kind. You will prove your worth to the Empire or suffer a fate not unlike that of Overseer Nulon."

Everyone remained silent as Vader looked at them. Boll eventually bowed her head and Klusto followed suit. Sakal just saluted, trying to maintain some sense of dignity. With that, Vader deactivated his lightsaber and began to walk away.

"Destroy Alpha Predator One, General," he ordered as he left. "I would hate to be forced to repeat this lesson."

And then he left, leaving all who had just witnessed Nulon's death paralyzed with fear. Sakal watched as he exited, hardly able to breathe from the shock of what he had just saw. A colleague had been killed right in front of him and the man who did it had barely felt a thing while doing so. Despite what Lord Vader had said, he didn't believe him for a second when he had said he would hate to repeat the action. In fact, he was probably already looking forward to it.

It brought a grim reality up to the surface at last. Either he killed Alpha Predator One or Vader would kill him. There was no other alternative. Moments ago he had been confident, proud and sure of himself in the face of Vader for once. It had been a fleeting moment, one he would never feel again so long as Vader was concerned. He looked back to the window that Nulon had been ejected out of. Whether he was a traitor or not didn't matter, Sakal now knew he had been right to be afraid. Not of the monster out there, but of the one inside with them, looming over their shoulders like a dark shadow.

Sakal refocused his mind back on the matter at hand. He needed to kill the damn lizard and fast. Before Vader felt the need to repeat his lesson on him next.

---

Kamo didn't know what to expect when they arrived at the quarry. A big bomb, a new super weapon they were developing, maybe just more tanks and guns, that's what he was thinking they'd be using. Instead, he was surprised to see the plan had been switched up a little. For some reason there were a lot of Ray Shield Generators positioned around the edge of the pit and inside it. They made up several layers of protection that covered the entire quarry. It didn't take long for him to figure out what they were doing.

"They're going to lock him inside," he told Arch and Devo. "They're turning the quarry into a prison cell."

"Fat lot of good that will do," Arch cynically stated. "He'll just break out somehow. Probably overload the ray shields or something with his bad breath."

"Maybe there's more to the plan," Devo suggested. "I doubt Command just wants to contain him, not after all the trouble he's caused."

Kamo suspected the Lieutenant was right, the Empire wasn't much for just capturing troublemakers. Even if this thing was just a giant lizard, it had been making a fool of them for awhile. They couldn't let that slide. They had to kill him, just trapping him in a bubble wouldn't be enough.

The trio of Troopers eventually made their way to a small command post where fellow soldiers were being assigned stations for the coming battle. Datapads with instructions were being given to every Trooper as they arrived. Apparently there was little to no time to give a full briefing to everyone. That meant the big reptile was already on his way.

They were also being assigned weapons, mostly launchers. The stand out though looked to be a modified flamethrower pack. Kamo remembered how some of the Clones had used them in the war, specifically on non-clankers. You couldn't really burn a droid. It was a pretty cruel way to go, but that was the nature of the entire conflict with the Seppies. Compared to what Count Dooku's cronies had done, setting said cronies on fire didn't seem nearly as bad to him.

However, Kamo soon realized that the modifications for the packs weren't there to allow them to hold more fuel or to shoot farther. The hazard symbol on the back, the greenish glow from the containers that had been plugged into it, the fact the nozzle looked more like a sprayer and that it lacked an ignition flame were all dead giveaways. These throwers no longer contained fuel, they had something far worse than that inside. A fact all but confirmed when he overheard the Trooper handing out the weapon's list of the safety instructions.

"Remember, make sure your armor is sealed before firing," he warned them all as he handed out the gear. "Be sure to aim with the wind too. Otherwise its going to come back on your squad and not the target."

Kamo approached along with Arch as the squad in front of them collected their packs and walked on. He probably should've just taken the pack himself and done the same, but he couldn't help but ask the nagging question in his mind aloud. His thoughts were still swimming, wondering about the mockup town and what it was for. Now this matter had popped up out of nowhere and it just seemed to convenient for them to just have this stuff on hand.

"I didn't know we had chemical throwers," Kamo said to the Sergeant of Arms. "I figured the Senate banned them."

"The Senate does a lot of things," The Sergeant replied gruffly. "Don't mean we have to listen. Besides, when emergency measures get called down, the rule books on what we can and can't use go out the window. This is an emergency and I doubt the Senate is going to give a crap about us using gas to kill the overgrown angry dewback that's running around."

Kamo eyed the green-glowing gas canister plugged into the pack. It looked strangely familiar somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Before he could question further, Arch did it for him.

"What's it loaded with?" He asked.

"Don't know, don't care," the Sergeant of Arms answered plainly. "All I know is that they say it will kill the lizard and I'm hoping they're right. Now do you want one or not? Because if not, I'll assign you another position."

"We'll take a few," Kamo answered quickly. "We need every advantage we can get."

The Sergeant of Arms handed the pack over to the old Clone, gave another to Arch, listed off the safety requirements and sent them on their way. Arch double checked his suit's seals as he eyed the thrower in his hands. He didn't seem all that comfortable with it.

"Never thought I'd be using these," he stated. "I guess Command is getting desperate to kill that thing."

"Only thing we haven't tried so far is choking him to death," Kamo shrugged. "It's a better plan than I expected. This quarry isn't a cell, it's a gas chamber."

"Yeah, and we're the admission system," Arch half-heartedly joked.

The Scout Trooper didn't seem all the enthusiastic about that fact. Maybe, like Kamo, he suspected there was something off about them having a gas weapon here. Why hadn't they used it before on other mutants? What did it do? How long had they had it here? Was it part of the reason the Empire had set up shop on this planet? Kamo couldn't say for sure. All he knew was that it didn't sit right in his gut. Something was odd about this, he just didn't know what exactly it was. Not yet anyway.

After getting their weapons, the two found Devo by a repulsorlift shaft that headed down into the quarry caverns beneath them. He eyed the throwers on their backs for a moment, but quickly put the matter aside. He apparently had other matters on his mind.

"My Jumptroopers are going to be running interference for you guys while you hit him with the spray," he explained. "The idea seems to be to hit him from all sides so he doesn't know where to focus his attacks. Where did they station you?"

Kamo looked at his datapad and quickly read the contents.

"We're on one of the mining trains, mid-levels," he explained. "They're going to have them loop around the quarry and pump gas at him as will travel along. It should achieve full saturation of the quarry, if everything goes as planned."

When did anything go to plan though? Never, as far as this creature was concerned at least. Kamo didn't voice that though, he didn't want to showcase his concerns right now. On the whole he thought it was a good idea that could work. It was just he kept getting a nagging feeling that it wouldn't be so simple.

"Just keep your armor sealed," Devo warned. "One slip up and you'll be the ones saturated."

At that moment, a klaxon alarm sounded, alerting every trooper in camp.

"Alpha Predator One sighted!" Shouted an Officer over the comms. "Approaching target area at rapid speed! All hands to stations!"

That was their cue. Kamo and Arch rushed into the lift, while Devo moved to reconvene with his fellow Jumptroopers. As the lift began to descend into the caverns below where their train waited, Kamo did his best to steel himself. This was it, their last best chance to take this thing out. With any luck, this gas would keep the lizard from thinking straight and it wouldn't be able to outsmart them this time. All they had to do was keep him contained long enough for the gas to do its job. But he doubted the monster would die so easily. Cornered and wounded animals always fought back all the harder. This thing was more than just an animal though and that made it all the more dangerous.

---

He could smell a storm rolling in on the horizon, hear the distant thunder from miles away. An ominous omen to some, but a timely chorus to Godzilla. He could sense the desperation of his enemies, their feeble efforts on that island were proof enough of that. It was only a matter of time before they were broken and he'd be finally free of their presence. The White-Clad humans would fall and Godzilla's new dominion would be assured.

He could already see where they had taken the energy he had sensed from before. A large pit carved deep into a large plateau, no doubt created by the humans so they could feed their need for whatever resources this world held. Scavengers, parasites, leeches, always seeking to burrow and drill and break the ground to satisfy their selfish wants and desires. The only thing that set this pit apart was how deep it was compared to others on Earth. They had really dug deep, he could already feel it just from the vibrations he felt as he stomped forward.

Did they think they could hide the energy he had sensed in something so far beneath the surface? More arrogant folly on their part. There was no cavern, artificial or otherwise that could deter him. He could already tell there were large portions of the pit's carved out sides that he could walk down on. They had practically given him a staircase. Perhaps they hoped to trap him somehow then, lead him in and collapse the rock on top of him. A possibility, but he highly doubted it. Even if they did intend to lure him in, he could just climb out. It would just be another futile attempt to confine him.

He recalled how the humans back home had tried this before. They had used an island of course and not a pit, but the premise was the same. Put him some place isolated and forget him, like a common animal at one of their zoos, as they called them. They at least had reason to think it would work, it had with the others, his fellow titans, his kindred of sorts. Oh they left to stretch their legs now and again, but more often than not they kept themselves confined for one reason or another.

For example, Anguirus, one of his more trusted allies over the years. When the first version of his robotic doppelganger arrived, Anguirus had warned him of the danger and helped him defeat it. When other threats loomed, Godzilla had counted on the stubby little spike ball to back him up. However, Anguirus never had the same grudge against humans. He was a great warrior, but he had no desire to seek combat. The human's island offered him peace and he rarely saw a reason to leave anymore.

Rodan had been far less forgiving of the humans, especially after what they had done to him over the years. However, the ancient flying saurian had grown tired of the constant struggle. Despite everything, Rodan had just wanted a place to roost and for the humans to stay out of his way. The island was a decent enough compromise to him.

Then there was poor Titanosaurus, a poster child for the abuses of man. He had been mind controlled, brainwashed, mentally tortured by one group of humans or another. All in efforts to use him against his own kind, mainly against Godzilla himself. The poor aquatic dinosaur's brain had been under such strain from all the attempts to contort and bend his will. He wanted it to stop and so he let the island become his retreat. His anger against the humans for what they had done to him had been dulled and while he still had inner strength and a warrior's spirit, his will was not nearly as strong as his heart. He too had compromised and let the humans jail him. It was better than becoming their tool again.

And of course there was Baragon, who half the time wasn't really sure about anything. He was far too lazy and complacent to ever be a real threat to man. He preferred to just lounge about the beaches of the island soaking up sun. The same was true of Gorosaurus, who thrived on the four square meals of meat the humans flew in to keep him and other carnivorous kaiju content. The Gargantuan twins were too busy constantly battling with each other now and then to care about man. The yellow one in particular seemed to want to keep the green one stuck on the island with him, like he was another jailor inside the jail. Kumonga just sat in that crater eating whatever the humans threw down into his web, Kamacuras just hung around said crater nibbling at scraps and Kamoebas just slept at the bottom of the bay all day like the big fat hedonistic turtle he was.

Capitulation, laziness, contentment, compromise, surrender, that's what characterized those who stayed on that Monster Island. Creatures who let the humans cordon them off to a secluded little corner of the world so they could do as they please with the rest of it. Godzilla could never accept that, never let the humans shut him up and forget he existed. He wouldn't give them that satisfaction. A king did not bow to maggots because they felt they were owed their piece of land. The very thought of letting them get away with their crimes outraged Godzilla. The idea they could just lock him away was just an added insult.

Only one other of his kind was able to avoid captivity. However, it was only because she fancied herself more defender than judge. Mothra, always the kindly pacifist willing to defend man from evil within and without. The literal avatar of Earth itself, her offspring carrying the legacy through the genetic memories of times past. Godzilla had known her almost as long as Anguirus and Rodan. Like them, they had once been enemies, although that view had softened.

She still interfered from time to time, but Godzilla had grown past trying to do away with her. It was pointless, she'd be reincarnated eventually anyway. Besides, she had become more busy battling her alter ego, the far less peaceful and more malevolent Battra. Like him, Battra disliked mankind as much as Godzilla, but his reasons were more generalized and not nearly as personal. The black moth's actions seemed only to be a dark reflection of Mothra, the yang to her yin. Acting only because it what he was manifested as and not because of anything man had done to him. It never felt genuine and it was why Godzilla never counted him as a friend.

Mothra at least was a creature he could reason with, one who at least felt sincere. That didn't make her right, but at least Godzilla could respect her commitment. They clashed from time to time, but she had also assisted him when the humans went too far on something or other. She never saw things in absolutes like he did, perhaps it came with having an evil twin. To her, humans weren't wholly bad or good, they were most of the time misguided or at least had the best intentions. Godzilla felt the viewpoint was embarrassingly naive, but he could tell Mothra believed in it with all her soul. That conviction was enough to earn his respect.

For decades now she had been trying to spread that philosophy to him though. Of course, their discussions were not like that of humans. They communicated through thought, movement, smells and sound that were beyond the feeble understanding of man. It was the language of his kind, one of gesture and thought that few outside their world could comprehend. Only Mothra's people of Infant Island seemed to truly connect with that of the Kaiju. It was because of this connection that Mothra argued her case, that man and monster could live together as equals. All it required was a sense of mutual respect and cooperation. She kept expressing some high hope for him as well, that Godzilla could move past his rage and anger, forgive the humans for the pain they caused. To her, he could be more than just a symbol of punishment and destruction. Godzilla could be a defender, a force for something greater than revenge.

Godzilla rejected this outright. Man did not deserve a defender, it did not deserve protection, it deserved retribution. Their sins could not and would not be forgotten. He refused to be broken like his fellow Kaiju, forced onto an island to grow fat and lazy. Mothra had her throng of worshipers, but they were nothing but stupid little insects bowing to her and every offspring she spawned like dumb monkeys. They only listened to her because she was akin to a God in their eyes.

Likewise, the humans attacked him because they recognized that this was true of him too. To their eyes, he was near as close to a God as any being on Earth. It was why they hated him, why they attacked him, hurt him, hounded him, he was a living reminder of their sin and the adjudicator of their reckoning. Man had to kill what they could not control, it had to kill what did not give in to them. For no one could be God but them it seemed and Godzilla's very existence challenged that. He had greater power than they ever could and that scared them.

But he didn't have to concern himself with those fearful little cowards. He had a new set of like-minded humans to deal with instead. Only this time, they were fewer in number. They didn't cover this planet like a cancer, they could be snuffed out and this world disinfected. Then he could rule a new kingdom in peace, with no arrogant little insects seeking to reassert themselves to a position they could never obtain. Mothra could have her worshipers, mankind could have Earth. He'd settle for this planet, a new kingdom where he could rule in relative peace at last without surrendering in order to achieve it. A world that finally belonged to him once more. True paradise and not the fake one that had been constructed on that stupid island. All he had to do was keep fighting until his new enemy broke and he knew it wouldn't be long until they did.

Stepping onto the edge of the pit, Godzilla peered down to see the large rocky ledges left along the sides of the chasm. There were small structures on various levels, possibly there to house those who labored here when they weren't scraping away at the rock. At least their little worker hovels would allow him easy access to the pit. He descended the stone staircase slowly bit surely, smashing the little buildings beneath his massive feet as he walked. All the way down, Godzilla expected to be attacked, expected the humans to start shooting. However, this time, the White-Clad soldiers didn't appear. They were probably hiding, quaking in fear as their prideful leaders held them back for the moment. They would strike soon though, but he'd have the energy source by then.

He reached the bottom of the pit at last and looked around. Nothing but mining equipment and containers strewn across the rocky floor. As Godzilla moved forward and looked for the energy source he heard something rumble behind him. He turned just in time to see the stone steps explode one after the other. Rock tumbled away from the cliff, sliding down to the pit floor. Godzilla moved away before the rock-slide could bury him. It was easy enough, he had gotten far enough away already. The humans were too slow with their little trap. They thought he couldn't climb out of this pit. He'd show them how wrong they were soon enough. First though, he'd get the energy source.

Soon he sensed it, in the very center of the quarry, between several large upright metal structures, was a big metal container holding the energy he sought. It was a bit bigger than he had suspected, the flying machine had probably just added its cargo to what was already inside this thing. No matter, it only meant more energy for him. Godzilla now approached the container rapidly, tired of waiting to claim his prize. He walked up to the metal box and bent down to grab it in his claws. Then, without warning, it exploded in front of him.

The blast blinded Godzilla for a few brief seconds while the shockwave forced him to stumble backwards. When his sight returned, bits of shrapnel and debris were embedded in his arm now. As for the energy, what little remained was dispersed now. He began scraping away at the shrapnel stuck in his scales, only to have his attention torn away by another sound. The large metal structures around him suddenly collapsed, revealing large metal poles inside. Suddenly, the poles came to life and electricity began to shoot between them. Within moments, the bands of artificial lighting formed a fence around him. Not longer after, another electronic sound whistled from above as a red shield energy covered the top of the pit. A second barrier of red energy then activated beneath that, blocking off the upper levels of the pit.

The humans had managed to trick him somehow, he should've suspected it from the start. Things had seemed far too easy. If they thought they could trap him though, they'd find themselves gravely mistaken. He'd break free of this multilayered cell easy enough, he had plenty of time in any case. However as he roared up at the walls, he heard shots being fired from the rocky cliffs. He looked to see what looked to be human trains racing around the different sections of the quarry's levels and small human aircraft lifting up into the sky. They started firing what looked to be more missiles and shells, but none of them hit him directly. They crashed down all around Godzilla within the electrical fence perimeter. Mere seconds after landing they started spewing out some weird green cloud began to creep towards him, slowly surrounding him as more missiles and shells landed.

Gas, they intended to kill him with gas. For a moment Godzilla wondered if they were truly that desperate, but as he sniffed the air, a foul odor entered his nostrils and he felt a slight pain in his throat. The pain slowly started to rise and Godzilla realized the truth. It was happening again. These humans had made a weapon that could hurt him, like that one all those years ago that had nearly killed him. Just like this gas it was intended to suffocate and eat away at him. He only escaped from it by the slimmest of margins.

That blasted weapon had come back to haunt him once before and now these humans had created something very much like it. The White Clad army had reminded him of his pain as well as added to it. He would not let them succeed, he would not die like this, to a coward's weapon of suffocation made by these insects. But more and more of the gas started to cascade around him, he could feel his life ebbing away slowly. It would only be a matter of time, so he had to act quickly. He would not let this quarry become his tomb.

---

The Ghost arrived shortly after the creature entered the quarry. Looking on from above and out of sight of the Imperials below, they watched as the monster was bombarded with green gas. Imperial Transport Gunships fired missiles loaded with the toxic stuff at the giant lizard while trains carrying chemical launchers fired gas shells all around him. The monster was being smothered to death, slowly but surely. Hera watched through the magnified scope on her dashboard as the reptile struggled to break free of the electrical barrier that surrounded him. She imagined he'd figure a way out eventually, but he was still stuck beneath the quarry's ray shield. He'd never get out in time before the entire pit was flooded with gas.

"What is that stuff?" Zeb asked, looking over Hera's shoulder. "Looks familiar."

"It was on that old footage of the Zillo-Beast, remember?" Sabine reminded him. "It's the same gas they used to kill the original one on Coruscant."

"We should've suspected this," Ahsoka reasoned, sitting across from Hera. "The Empire would need a way to control their genetically-modified clone if it got out of hand. So they made more of the gas just in case. Easy to do, considering they pretty much own every pump on Malastare now."

Hera looked back to the scope, watching the creature continue to roar and struggle to break out of the electrical barrier and escape the growing cloud. For once the poor thing didn't look nearly as terrifying as it had when they had first saw it. Instead, it looked like any ordinary creature just trying to survive in a desperate situation. Hera could sympathize with that at least.

"If we're going to save him we need to act fast," Hera informed everyone. "Turning off those ray shields and stopping the Imperials from filling his lungs with toxic fumes would be a start."

"We need to get in first," Kanan was quick to point out. "We can't exactly do any of that from out here. We have to find some kind of lift or back door into the quarry that bypasses the shield."

Hera pulled the magnified scope off the struggling lizard and surveyed the surrounding pit. Eventually, she spotted something that stood out among the rock. She instantly pointed to it, a maintenance lift guarded by Stormtroopers, exactly the thing Kanan had said they needed.

"They must use that to get works down into the deeper regions of the quarry faster," she observed. "It's outside the ray shield and I only see a few guards, single squad."

"Heh, we can get by them easily enough," Zeb chortled. "They're probably not even expecting us."

"We can land in the rocks about a mile away and ride in on our hoverbikes," Kanan quickly devised. "Take them fast and hard, then get ourselves down below. That's when the hard part starts, they got a lot of men down in those tunnels by now, we'll be heavily outnumbered."

"With any luck they'll be too busy killing the monster to bother with us," Ahsoka suggested. "We move fast enough and the Imperials won't know what's going wrong until it's too late and our scaly friend gets his second wind."

Kanan nodded in agreement, quickly devising an additional element to the plan itself.

"We'll need two teams to pull this off fast enough," he stated. "Ezra, Ahsoka and me can got after the chemical weapons. Hera, you should lead the others to help shut down those ray shields. Whoever manages to succeed first can link up with the others and help finish their job."

"And then we figure out a way to talk to him, right?" Ezra asked expectantly.

Kanan just looked at his apprentice incredulously.

"One step at a time here," the older Jedi told him. "I'm still not big on that idea just yet."

"I'm just wondering how we're going to talk to it if we decide to," Ezra explained. "I mean, how exactly is this going to work?"

"I'll walk you through it once we're ready," Ahsoka assured him. "For now, your master is right, one problem at a time."

Kanan huffed slightly at that remark, Ahsoka ignored it but Hera just rolled her eyes. She was happy he wasn't as confrontational as he had been before, but she could tell when he was holding back on a sarcastic jab. Before she could mull further on the subject though, Chopper started wortling at them all. Something about a transmission from their escort, Moira's Raiders. Hera opened a channel and Moira's holographic image appeared on the dashboard.

"We got a problem folks," she warned. "Jetty just managed to pick up a wing of TIE Bombers on long range sensors. No idea why they're on approach for the quarry but I think it has something to do with our big friend down there and the green cloud slowly choking him to death. Estimated arrival is in about half an hour."

"More gas I bet," Hera guessed. "They'll open the Ray Shield just long enough to drop it in, and likely not big enough for the monster to climb out anyway."

"Then we need to act fast," Ahsoka reasoned, turning to Moira's image. "Intercept the bombers, Moira. Do not let them reach the quarry. When we shut down the ray shields, fly in an provide fighter supporter to take down the Imperial Gunships."

"No problem," Moira assured them. "We'll take as many out as we can and regroup when we're done. Raider Lead, out."

Moira ended transmission, leaving the crew of the Ghost and Ahsoka by themselves once more.

"They're really not taking any chances this time," Zeb noted.

"You know how the Empire is," Sabine spoke up derisively. "If they can't control something, they just wipe it out. And they throw everything they have into crushing it."

"Well if we still want to stop them then we gotta act fast," Kanan declared. "Hera, take us down. We need to get into that quarry now."

Hera nodded and turned the ship towards the rocks below. She had to admit, of all the missions she had gone on, this one's objective was a bit odd. She had faith that Ahsoka was right about this creature, but she understood Kanan's concerns too. Hopefully, if they succeeded, the big lizard would be grateful. Both because they really needed its help to complete the raid and because she really didn't want to get eaten by the big angry dewback.

---

For the moment, Kamo hadn't been able to use his chemical thrower. The creature was already being gassed by everything else and was still not past the electrical barrier. When the time came, the orders would come down and they'd unleash everything in their packs. So far though, the gas was doing its work. Every missile and shell that landed near the big lizard was choking the life out of him. And trapped behind the electrical barrier as he was, he could not flee to safety. They finally had him.

Kamo watched as another volley of missiles from the gunships cascaded across the creature's back and up towards his head. Even now, the beast was growing sluggish, his swipes and jabs slower than usual and his stance wobbling slightly. It wasn't exactly an honorable fight to be sure, but he doubted any Trooper here cared. After seeing so many of their friends get killed by this thing, escaping every ambush and fighting off every assault, fairness didn't matter anymore. They just wanted Alpha Predator One dead and Kamo couldn't rightly say he disagreed.

"Yeah, choke on it, you dumb grey cold-blooded son of a womp rat!" Arch shouted over the creature's pained screams. "Choke on it hard!"

The Private's cries were echoed by nearby Troopers, some even whistled. The men arming the launcher on their flatbed even took a moment to join in before they fired off another shell. The shot went straight up into the sky and then fell back to earth close to the lizard's head. The scream from the beast elicited a laugh from several Troopers.

"That's what you get when you mess with the Empire!" Shouted one.

"Not so badass now, are ya?" Another tauntingly asked.

Kamo would've joined in with the cheering, but he wasn't about to celebrate prematurely. Until the creature stopped moving, until it stopped breathing, this was hardly over. He knew as much because he suspected the giant lizard felt the same. That was what they taught in the first days of training back on Kamino, know your enemy, think like him and never suspect he will quit easily. If you think that for a moment, then you might as well shoot yourself then and there. Because Clone Troopers don't quit and neither do their enemies. This monster was a survivor, Kamo knew that now. He wouldn't stop fighting, not when he still thought he had a chance.

Once again, Alpha Predator One charged the barrier, slamming his massive girth against the field. The attack only caused him to scream louder, his attempts to break through useless. As the reptile pulled back, he dropped on all fours in front of one of the poles. The Troopers once more started cheering, thinking this was the end, but Kamo knew better. He put up his hand and shouted over them all.

"Quiet," he yelled aloud. "He's not even close to done, not yet."

As Kamo predicted, the creature's brain was kicking into gear. Through his macrobinoculars, the Clone saw the big lizard digging his claws into the earth. Soil and stone were thrown into the air, as the titanic reptile burrowed beneath one of the barrier generator poles. Once the others realized what was going on, their murmuring and jeers silenced completely. Alpha Predator One took only less than a minute to rip into the rock floor of the quarry and reach the bottom of the generator pole. He then snapped his jaws into the hole and pulled out several wires and bits of metal. The pole started to wobble and shift. Sparks shot out from its base as the monster ripped into it.

Then, suddenly, Alpha Predator One pulled the pole free of its mooring. The electrical tower toppled to the ground. The barrier's circuit was broken and electrical energy fence vanished. The overgrown dewback then picked up the downed tower and, using it like a club, smashed another of the poles with a single swing. He then tossed the pole through the air, where it spun several times over until it smashed into the the rock wall of the quarry. As bits of stone tumbled down from above, Kamo turned to the Stormtroopers.

"Alright, he's out," he told them all. "They said this was gonna happen. He's still trapped though, only difference now is we gotta earn this. You all know your stations, so get to it!"

The Stormtroopers moved into position as the repulsorlift train started up. As they begun to move around the track, Kamo and other troopers armed with chemical throwers took up positions along the side of the car. The fired their packs, launching out clouds of gas down into the pit below. Their train would circle the entire quarry, creating a wall of green mist that would kep the monster back. Other trains manned by Stormtroopers themselves were doing the same, creating layers upon layers of gas to saturate the area.

Meanwhile, Alpha Predator One rushed out of the center of the quarry, roaring in defiance as he did. The tanks and gunships circling kept firing their payloads at him, while the beast did his best to avoid the shots. Right now, he was trying to avoid the choking clouds, the only real move he had for the moment. Now and then, the creature kicked a rock or swung an arm at his attackers, but the effects of the gas had still dulled his senses and reactions. As long as the gas kept circulating through his system, he'd be on the defensive.

"Spray in intervals," Kamo ordered. "Don't use up the whole pack! Fire shells along his path as we move! We got to keep him corralled until the TIEs show up!"

When that happened, then they'd have him for real. He'd be hit with tons of gas from the air, along with high explosives. He'd be too weak by then to withstand that kind of assault. They just had to keep him weakened long enough for that to happen. The lizard wouldn't let up, he would't quit. Well, neither would they. Today, in this quarry, Alpha Predator One would die.

---

The Stormtroopers on guard near the lift could hear the monster's cries, but got no satisfaction from it. They were being denied seeing the death of the overgrown Trandoshan that had caused them so much trouble. It was rather disheartening to them to be so close and yet so far from the best seats in the house. However, the monster's screaming also had the effect of masking a roar of another kind, that of three hover bike engines.

Before they even knew what was happening, the bikes were upon them. Kanan, riding on the first bike with Ezra holding onto the back seat, fired two shots into one Trooper before skidding his bike to the side. The bike slammed into the side of another Trooper, knocking him to the ground. He and Ezra both jumped off and began shooting at the Stormtroopers still standing. At the same time, Sabine, on a second bike, fired off her own shots into the Imperials as she ran circles around the area. Hera raced in as well on a third bike, but didn't fire. Instead she let Zeb jump off the back of the vehicle and tackle a Trooper to the ground. When he got up, he unleashed his Bo-Rifle's staff mode and began shocking the Imperials around him.

One last bike slammed into the back of a Stormtrooper who tried to fire on Sabine and Hera as they circled. Ahsoka let off the throttle slowly and turned the bike into a skid. She leapt off the bike, landing gracefully before rushing into a Stormtrooper and striking him in the neck. As he grasped at his injured neck, Ahsoka ducked low and swept her leg across the ground. The Stormtrooper fell onto his back where the togruta then stomped on his head, knocking him out.

"Nice to know I still got it," she said, dusting off her hands. It had been awhile since she had been in the field directly.

It was all over in under twenty seconds, the Stormtroopers taken completely by surprise. Kanan's swift strike plan had worked, they would be able to get inside the quarry caverns undetected as the troopers hadn't had time to report their attack. Chopper, racing in from the rocks where they had launched their charge, rushed over to the lift's controls and hacked in. It unlocked and everyone quickly piled on to elevator.

"We best put our breathers on," Hera said as she opened up a pack she had brought with her. "We don't want to suck in any of that gas."

Everyone grabbed at one of five breather masks that would fit over their mouths. Chopper didn't need one of course, being a droid and all. Sabine's helmet would work to keep the green mist out on her end, so she didn't need one either. Everyone else was vulnerable though, even the Jedi among them. The gas had been designed to kill monsters, but they all suspected that didn't make it safe for regular people to breath in.

As everyone strapped on their masks, Zeb slammed his fist on the lift controls. They started their way down into the caverns, right behind the ray shields. They could hear the monster's struggle growing loud as they dropped lower and lower into the quarry's caverns. Finally, the lift stopped and they all piled out. They moved out towards the open air and looked down into the pit, where the giant lizard was lashing out against the Imperials desperately.

"Okay," Kanan told everyone as Ahsoka and Ezra joined him. "We'll start hitting the Stormtroopers and their weapons. Get them off the big guy."

"Looks like they're using the mining trains to saturate the area," Ahsoka noted, pointing across the way to train racing along the edge of the pit, a green smoke pouring out from its side.

"They're spewing out the most of the gas," Ezra reasoned. "We should go after them first."

"It's as good a place to start as any," Kanan agreed, turning to Hera's team. "Think you can find the ray shield generators?"

Sabine nodded and held up her wrist computer.

"I can focus in on their electronic signature," she assured. "Once we find them we can start taking them apart. But we'll need to take out a lot of them to bring down the grid."

"We'll handle it," Hera confidently stated. "Just stop those trains."

The teams went off in different directions now, heading down opposite ends of the cavern. Kanan only looked back briefly at them as they took off down their corridor. Already they could hear the monster's roar bellowing close by. The big lizard was moving closer to them it seemed, probably trying to find a way to get out of this pit. He could also hear Imperial gunships speeding by, positioning to attack the monster from a different angle. Moments later the sound of missiles firing could be heard, followed by another pained roar. The Imperials really weren't letting up on this attack, that was for sure.

It didn't take long to find some repulsorlift tracks, nor did it take them long to hear a train coming down them. What happened next would take a little finesse to pull off. The three Force Users waited in th shadow for a moment, listening to the approaching train. As it got closer, Kanan turned to Ezra.

"You ready?" He asked hurriedly.

"I've leapt on to faster moving objects before," Ezra replied, although sounding a bit nervous.

"Just let the Force guide you," Kanan told him. "You'll be fine."

The train soon coasted into view and, in an instant, all three Force Users leapt towards the train flatbed as it passed. They landed on the car, although Ezra sort of rolled a bit and knocked into the back of a Stormtrooper with a chemical thrower. The Imperial turned, surprised at what was lying at his feet. Ezra smiled nervously up at him through his gas mask. Before the Trooper could react, Kanan used a Force Push to send the Buckethead flying off the side of the train.

Already the other Imperials aboard were shocked to find three interlopers among them. One of them, not seeing the breathing masks they were all wearing, fired his pack at them. Gas spewed out at Ahsoka, but even if she wasn't wearing a mask it wouldn't matter. She used the Force to push the gas out around her and then back at the Stormtrooper. His own sealed armor protected him, but it wouldn't matter in another second. The togruta ignited both of her white lightsabers and cut through the green cloud and the Stormtrooper within it. Kanan had already pulled out his own lightsaber, as did Ezra who had quickly gotten back to his feet.

"Jedi!" Shouted one of the Stormtroopers in a panic. "Holy crap! Jedi!"

"Don't just sand there!" One of the less frightened Troopers screamed as he fumbled to get his rifle out. "Forget the gas and blast them!"

The Trooper finally managed to get his rifle out, just as Ahsoka sliced through it and Force Pushed him into his own men. The other Stormtroopers on the flatbed started opening fire, only for their shots to be deflected by the three Jedi standing before them. The laser bolts struck at their shooters, or cut into the packs they still wore. Gas seeped out of them, covering the flat bed in green mist. The only things anyone could see were the blades of light from the Jedi now.

Ahsoka, Ezra and Kanan raced through the toxic cloud, using the Force to guide them. They struck quickly as they moved along, cutting down the Stormtroopers as they fired wildly into the green fog. When they exited the cloud, the three of them leapt over to the second flat bed for the train. More Stormtroopers and a mortar cannon were set up there, their attention broke away from the creature.

"I got the launcher," Ahsoka told the other two. "You take the Troopers!"

Ahsoka flung one of her lightsabers out in front of her, letting it spin through the air. Stormtroopers rushed to get out of the way, dropping down to the deck as the blade spun towards them. The saber finally cut into the cannon itself, slicing it in two across the magazine. The gunner had just barely gotten away before it exploded.

Kanan and Ezra kept blocking shots from incoming laser fire. They only stopped briefly to knock the Bucketheads off the side of the train with Force Push attacks. When enough of them were thinned out, they charged forward. Kanan cut down one Trooper as he tried to back up. Ezra did the same, slicing through the rifle before tossing the Stormtrooper off the moving train with his Force Push. Ahsoka joined in shortly after, racing ahead of the two and leaping into a spin. Her blades to cut the last two Troopers down in quick succession as she landed between them.

With the flatbed clear, Kanan race dup to the engine car. He found an Imperial Officer working the controls. He grabbed the man by the collar as he feebly fumbled for his blaster.

"End of the line for you," he said as he tossed the Imperial off the side, the slam of the Imp's body into a rock behind them clearly audible as they continued to race along the track.

Kanan turned back to Ezra and Ahsoka, who both had incredulous looks on their faces.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Can we refrain from train puns, please?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yeah," Ezra sheepishly agreed, scratching the back of his neck. "It's... kinda lame."

Kanan just rolled his eyes.

"Look, it just came out, alright?" He said, trying his best to defend himself. "I'm sorry."

Ahsoka pushed past him and took up the train's controls.

"Let's see if we can use the on board computer to find the other trains," she suggested. "Should make this a lot easier."

"I got it," Ezra said, taking out one of his security spikes and placing it into the computer. "I may not be a splicer, but I should be able to bring up the tracking program. Should tell us where to go."

"And then we'll just switch tracks and ride the train to the next target," Kanan determined. "They will figure out what's happening eventually when enough of the green gas gets shut off."

Ahsoka nodded in agreement.

"We best not get used to these trains being easy targets for long," Ahsoka reasoned. "Let's hope we can hit enough of them fast enough to give that monster some literal breathing room."

"And that Hera has already started on those Ray Shield generators," Kanan added, hearing a pained roar from the monster as he spoke. "That lizard doesn't stand a chance otherwise."

---

It was hard to say who had the more difficult job. Three Jedi against Stormtroopers wasn't exactly good odds for the Empire, but then again there were a lot of trains and a lot of Stormtroopers. Hera's team at least didn't have to worry about moving targets, but they were just as sufficiently guarded as anything. As they found when they located their first Ray Shield generator, there were a lot of Troopers protecting the thing.

They were all armed with Arc Casters, which was odd until Hera figured it out. That electrical barrier had held the monster at bay for awhile, obviously electricity didn't agree with it. They were here to keep the lizard away from the generators. They weren't expecting Rebels. That gave them an advantage.

"Toss in a grenade," she told Sabine. "Then we rush them in the confusion."

"I got a few modified ones," the Mandalorian replied snarkily. "You want orange, purple or crimson?"

"Just throw one," Zeb growled.

Sabine shrugged and tossed out one of the explosives. It landed near the feet of one Trooper, bounced slightly and then blew up in mid-air in a cloud of fire and purple paint smoke. While the Bucketheads struggled to comprehend what had happened and wipe the paint off their visors, Hera and her team moved in with guns blazing.

Two Stormtroopers went down hard as the twi'lek nimbly filled them full of holes. She then slid into cover behind some rocks. Zeb's Bo-Rifle managed to take out one Trooper in the initial charge and force another behind cover. When he got out from behind the rock, he found the tip of an extended Bo-Rifle staff smashing into his face. Zeb then swung the rifle around to strike a second Stormtrooper in the chest. The blow was hard enough to send the Buckethead flying into the ray shield generator with a metallic thud.

The Stormtroopers started falling back, firing Arc Casters at the Rebels. However, with their enemy now taking up positions around the generator, they were a bit hesitant with their shots. They didn't want to damage their precious equipment after all. Sabine opened fire on them, taking up position near the corner of the generator itself. Her dual blasters were more than enough to cut through the enemy armor and Hera and Zeb joined her, the Stormtroopers pulled back entirely.

"They'll be back with friends soon," Hera warned. "We need to get to work."

Chopper rolled up out of cover and set about the task of hacking into the ray shield generator's systems. The quickest way to destroy this particular model was to get inside its guts. That required them to hack into and open up the power coupling at the back. Once Chopper had plugged in and managed to do just that, Sabine placed a timed charge onto the power source and closed the generator up.

"Best move back," she warned. "We got about twenty seconds."

The Rebels headed into the rocks, just as the Stormtroopers returned with more men. They began firing on the Rebels. Zeb returned the shots in kind, giving them all enough cover to reach relative safety behind the rocks. The Stormtroopers continued to fire at the Rebels behind their new found cover, already taking positions around the generator as they did. A mere five seconds later, it exploded into a ball of fire, taking both them and machine with it. Hera and the others poked their heads up from behind the rocks and faced them towards the outside. The first ray shield was still up, it only fizzled for a slight few seconds before it returned to relative stability.

"I think we'll need to kill at least two more to break the connection completely," Sabine suggested.

"That's going to take a lot of time," Hera informed her.

As she spoke, a high pitched alarm sounded throughout the quarry. It wasn't enough to drown out the monster's roar in the background, but it was still loud enough for every Buckethead nearby to understand. Already, Hera could hear the clamping feet of more Stormtroopers approaching their position.

"There goes the Empire not knowing we're here," Zeb grumbled.

"Move people," Hera ordered. "We have to take down this first ray shield before they can reinforce their positions."

"And what about the second?" Sabine asked, as they jumped from cover and began running through the quarry's caverns.

"Remember what Kanan said," Hera told her. "We're tackling one problem at a time here."

---

Kamo heard the explosions along with everyone else. For a moment he thought it was just a stray shot from one of the gunships. Then he saw the Ray Shield flicker slightly, followed by the sound of the alarm. He looked to Arch he seemed a bit confused at it all.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"Not sure," Kamo said. "I'll check with Devo."

The Jumptrooper wasn't with them, he was leading his squad of Jetpack soldiers as a backup unit in case anything went wrong. And something had gone wrong, because before Kamo could contact him, the Lieutenant's voice came on the radio. He did not sound happy.

"Sergeant, we got intruders," he stated in a flat angered tone.

"What? We have Rebels in the quarry?" The Clone shouted in astonishment. "Why are they here? What did they do?"

"We've gotten reports of one group that destroyed a Ray Shield generator," Devo answered. "And we've lost contact with one of the trains. It's not shooting gas anymore."

Kamo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only were there Rebels on the planet, not only were they inside the quarry, but they were trying to stop them from killing Alpha Predator One. Why the hell would they want to do that? Were they just crazy enough to think this thing was their friend because the Empire wanted it dead?

"What do we do?" Kamo asked.

"Nothing," Devo ordered him. "Stopping the monster is top priority. We take men away from their positions now, the damn thing gets the advantage. Keep pouring on the gas, double time. We gotta make up for what we just lost. I'm going after the group hitting our Ray Shields, I'm sending other Jumptroopers to protect the trains. Don't worry, we'll stop'em."

The Lieutenant certainly seemed confident. It didn't sound like there were too many Rebels down in the quarry anyway, maybe they could handle them. Although, Kamo had a nagging feeling it was going to be harder than that. He turned to Arch, who seemed a bit disturbed at the news.

"Rebels? Here?" He asked nervously. "I didn't think anyone even knew the Empire was set up here. What do we do?"

"Our job," Kamo told him. "That big lizard still needs killing. We keep pouring this gas on and we'll accomplish just that. We need to finish what we started."

"But we can't just do nothing," Arch noted. "If they're hitting the trains we're going to lose a lot of coverage real fast."

Kamo knew the Private was right. If they wanted to keep the monster bottled up down below, they had to keep hitting him hard. That meant they'd need to get closer, pour more gas directly down his throat. He could see the lizard was circling the edges of the pit now, looking for an opening to scramble up, one that was free of gas. They needed to close that. Kamo turned to the engineer up front.

"Switch tracks up ahead," he ordered. "Take us lower! We gotta pour it on faster!"

"That's gonna put us dangerously close to the big ugly reptile," the engineer warned.

"Just do it!" Kamo ordered again loudly

The engineer just nodded and input the new heading into the computer. In a few seconds they were headed onto a new track that would take further down into the quarry. Kamo knew they were taking a risk, that not only would the monster be closer but they could run into the Rebels hitting the trains too. But it was a risk they had to take if they were going to kill Alpha Predator One. And if they did meet these Rebels, Kamo would make sure to crush this little insurrection of theirs. He'd put them down, no matter who they were.

---

Godzilla continued to search for a way out, a way to climb from the bowels of the pit and back to the surface. But every wall he searched was coated in a green fog of death. More and more of the gas kept colliding into his face, fired by the human flying machines and tanks that hounded him. His mind could not focus, his senses dulling with each gulp of air. All he could do was hold what little breath he had and try not to suck more of the fumes in. The gas seeped in, however, insidiously entering the gaps in his teeth and nostrils. It began stinging at his eyes like a thousand wasps. His skin felt itchy and pained.

He needed out of this pit, fast.

Godzilla began pounding on the walls of the quarry, smashing his tail and fists into everything. He'd shake this entire open wound in the rock apart if he had to. He'd make a stairway of stone, metal and bodies to pull himself out of here. Cracks formed in some of the lower levels of the pit, while some tunnels collapsed or became blocked by the miniature earthquakes. One of the gas-spewing trains crashed into a large rock that had fallen onto the track. It careened off the side of the cliff and down to the quarry floor.

Godzilla seized his moment and rushed towards the edge of the pit where the train had fallen. The humans would probably clear the rubble soon, probably within minutes if they were this desperate to end him. He used what little support he could find to scramble up the steep side of the quarry, intent on reaching the big red shield above. He'd blast it with his ray if he had to at point blank range. He had seen the thing flicker, it was weaker than before. He could destroy it.

Then, a gust of green cloud suddenly hit him from overhead. A new train had arrived quicker than he thought it would, carrying more soldiers with gas. The mist attacked his throat and Godzilla coughed loudly. His grip loosened, his feet struggled and he slipped from the side of the quarry wall. He slid all the way back down to the bottom roaring in anger all the way. When the dust settled from his tremendous crash he staggered back into a standing position.

His body was giving up, but his will would push it on. The King of Monsters would not surrender to these white-clad army men and their dishonorable weapon. If it took destroying every train, tank and flying machine in this pit to escape, then so be it. As another flight of enemy gunships flew in for another attack, Godzilla turned and swiped his mighty tail across the sky. Even with his reflexes dulled, he was still fast enough to catch the dive bombing aircraft. The tail crashed into their sides, destroying four outright and sending a fifth flying towards the quarry wall.

---

The gunship collided next to the track and exploded. Fire and metal were sent cascading all across the train car. Kanan pushed Ezra down as the shrapnel came for them, Ahsoka ducked behind a crate of the gas canisters loaded onto the train. Some of the Stormtroopers weren't so lucky. One caught on fire as he was close to the gunship's fireball. Two more took large pieces of shrapnel that penetrated their bodies and one other was tossed off the side from the shockwave.

There were still quite a few Stormtroopers around though and they weren't about to give up just because some gunships were falling from the sky. They fired shots back at the Jedi, taking up cover behind canister crates as well and making it harder to deflect the shots back at them. Kanan's attempts just ended up hitting the crates instead as the the Troopers ducked back down after each burst of bolts.

"This is taking too long," Kanan grumbled.

Not about to be held up by Imperial grunts at this stage, Kanan pulled out his blaster with his other hand. Deflecting the shots with his saber, he fired back his own at the Bucketheads. The added blaster shots, combined with Kanan's quick trigger finger, managed to out shoot two of the Stormtroopers with on shot each through their heads.

"I don't remember that move at the Temple," Ahsoka quipped jovially back at the Padawan turned Master as she blocked more shots.

"Just something I picked up on my own," he explained.

Not to be outdone, Ahsoka flung one of her lightsabers across the length of the flatbed. It curved around to the side and sliced into one of the Stormtroopers firing from behind a stack of crates. The blade then whizzed through the air and back into the Togruta's hand.

"Old school tricks still work," she noted aloud.

There wasn't much time to compare techniques, however. Screaming in from seemingly out of nowhere appeared four Jumptroopers armed with Arc Casters in hand. They didn't waste time in firing on the three Jedi, streams of electricity cascaded all around them. Ahsoka took the brunt of the incoming fire, blocking it with her twin sabers. The arcs of lighting jutted out haphazardly, but at least she was able to deflect them away.

"Could use a little help here, guys!" She called to Kanan and Ezra, straining from the effort at holding the attack back.

Ezra was quick to respond, deactivating his lightsaber and firing it's stun gun mode off instead. The blast hit one of the the Jumptroopers. The flying Buckethead careened towards the floor, slamming face first the train car and then falling off the side. With one less Arc Caster firing away, that gave Kanan an opening. He ran at Ahsoka, putting away his own lightsaber and pulling out his blaster again.

"Keep your legs apart!" He shouted at her from behind.

Ahsoka only looked back for a microsecond in order to understand what he was doing. She distanced her legs apart a bit more and let Kanan, now dropping onto his back mid-run, slide through them. His blaster pointed skyward, he fired shots into two of the Jumptroopers, hitting one in the chest and another in the pack. The ruptured in the pack sent the Trooper careening into a far wall, while the other dropped dead to the floor.

With one Jumptrooper left, Ahsoka found his Arc Caster shots much easier to handle. She kept the stream focused on her saber, moved the blades back slightly and sliced outward with them. The Arc Stream was deflected right back into the Jumptrooper, the beam shocking the Jumptrooper and flinging him into a stone pillar. Ahsoka deactivated her blades and let her arms drop.

"You okay?" Kanan asked her as he stood back up.

"Holding back four streams of pure electricity isn't easy," she admitted, sounding a bit tired. "Just give me a minute to catch my breath."

"I don't think we have a minute," Ezra warned suddenly. "More incoming!"

The two older Jedi looked to where Ezra was now pointing. An Imperial Gunship was headed their way, no doubt loaded with Stormtroopers aboard. They were not about to lose another train it seemed. The gunship opened fire on the train, energy pulses raked the flatbed. The Jedi were forced to hide behind what remained of the chemical launcher just to protect themselves.

"This is getting really tedious now," Kanan shouted, more furstrated than angry. "Let's wait until they're about to unload their men, then we hit them with a Force Push all at once."

"Good idea," Ahsoka concurred. "On my mark."

Ahsoka peeked out past her cover and saw the aircraft turn. Troopers were already getting into position to jump off it and onto the moving train. They'd never make it though. As they got close, the three Jedi threw out a combined Force Push that slammed into the side of the Gunship. The Transport shook violently as Stormtroopers were flung out the opposite side of the open doors. The craft itself was forced away from the train for a few brief moments. It moved back into position and was seemingly preparing to launch a barrage of missiles at them in retaliation.

That was when a large snout jutted up from below and smacked it across the side. The craft lost control and descended to earth in a ball of fire. The face of the monster now took over the view past the caverns roaring loudly as he did. The Jedi stared up at the snarling beast, yellow eyes of anger darting all around as they did. Suddenly, it raised it's gigantic fist and slammed it into the repulsor rails behind them. It smashed it's hand again, and again, each time gaining on the train itself.

"Did he have to try this while we we're on it?!" Kanan asked aloud in anger.

"Run for it!" Ahsoka cried out.

The trio rushed up the cars, heading towards the engine cab. The engineer had already left it, leaping off the side of the train and rolling around the ground in a ball. The three Jedi piled into the cab, Ezra being the last. The young Jedi took his lightsaber and cut the connection between them and the cars behind while Kanan shifted the engine into high gear. The engine rocketed away from the flatbed cabs, just as the massive fist of the monster smashed into where they had been moments ago.

"Looks like we're making an impact," Ahsoka observed. "We've managed to hit three cars in quick succession and he's already back on the offensive."

"Still wondering if that's a good thing," Kanan told her. "And it's not going to matter if those bombers reach us anyway."

There was another distant explosion. As they rocketed past an open hole in the caverns overlooking the pit, they saw the red Ray Shield flicker again, more visibly this time. Hera had hit another generator and the barrier was now seriously weakened.

"Well we're making progress at least," Ezra optimistically stated. "The first barrier is going to be down soon."

"We still have the second to deal with and a lot more trains to stop," Kanan reminded him.

"Given what we just saw, perhaps if we take out enough we won't have to destroy them all," Ahsoka suggested.

Kanan just shrugged at the suggestion, it wasn't like he could back out of this plan anyway. They were too far along in it. That of course did not mean he was about to sign on for Ahsoka's crazy scheme of talking to the thing. However, if this massive reptile continued to give the Empire trouble regardless, he was just fine with freeing him from this trap.

"Where's the next train?" He asked.

"Further up the quarry," Ahsoka noted as she looked at the console. "It's moving down though, probably to counteract what we're doing."

"Think we can head them off before they get into position?" Kanan asked. "It would give the big guy some breathing room."

"If we hurry through the next series of junctions maybe," Ahsoka told him as she set a course.

The engine soon diverted towards an upward intersection while the distant roars of the monster echoed behind them. He was certainly hurting, even Kanan could tell from the sound of bellowing. He wasn't giving up though, he wasn't laying down and dying, not the Empire. Kanan took solace in that knowledge, recalling his own experiences after Order 66. If nothing else, he could respect the creature for that alone.

---

The smoking remains of the Ray Shield generator and it's defenders were strewn about the ground. Hera and her team stood several feet away, hiding in a recently constructed mine shaft, thinking about what would come next. They may have had one Ray Shield on the ropes, but the second one further up was still active. Hera wasn't sure they could get up there and destroy three more like they did down here, not with this method.

Zeb kept watch over one end of the tunnel, his Bo-Rifle down the corridor. The next Generator wasn't too far from their current position, but Hera didn't want to wait to come up with a plan. She pulled Sabine and Chopper aside to discuss the situation, trusting Zeb to cover them in case the Stormtroopers spotted them.

"Nothing yet," he told them. "Not sure why they're not coming to investigate. Can't mean anything good."

"They know we're coming for the next generator," Hera suggested. "They won't risk taking people away to find out what they already know. They'll wait for us to strike before ambushing us."

"Great, so no matter what we decide, we're the ones walking into a trap now," Sabine noted. "How are we going to destroy three more generators up top with all this going on?"

Hera didn't think they could. If they could bring the Ghost in, they could probably just hunt down and shoot the generators. Problem was, you couldn't get the Ghost into this place while the second Ray Shield was active. So that made the obvious solution redundant.

"Is there any way we could just turn them off?" Hera asked, rubbing the side of her head.

"In theory, on these models you could find their frequency and scramble it," Sabine offered. "The individual generators can't transmit to each other after that. This forces a hard reset to clear the system. But it's not going to solve the problem. The shield is only going to be shut down for less than a minute. By then, the Empire will have activated the manual override and have the whole network switched back on. Once they figure out what caused it, they'll just switch frequency wavelengths for the network. That monster isn't going to climb out in sixty seconds or less."

No it wouldn't, only destroying enough Generators would kill the shield for good. However, sixty seconds was more than enough time for a ship or two to get inside the quarry and attack the generators themselves. Problem was, there was no way Hera could get out of here and back to the Ghost in time to set that up. Luckily for them, they had other options as she soon remembered.

"Wait, Moira's Raiders are still tracking those bombers," she reminded Sabine. "They're on their way here now."

"Hey, yeah," Sabine replied, realizing what the twi'lek was saying. "We could give them an opening to get inside and have them finish off the generators for us! They'd be able to do it much faster than we could."

Hera nodded at the very thought, it could work. However, she suspected there would be hurdles. The Empire wouldn't make it that easy to mess around with their equipment.

"What would we need to pull this off though?" She asked Sabine thoughtfully.

"A transmitter for one," the Mandalorian explosives expert informed her. "That and Chopper will need to steal the frequency codes from the Generator Network. We could have him hack in through the next one we hit."

"That's going to take a lot of time to pull off," Zeb warned. "We'll have to wait a bit before we blow the generator up for it to work."

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Hera told him, standing up and pulling out her blaster. "Come on, let's move."

They left the mine shaft and made their way towards the next generator. It didn't take them long before laser bolts started flying at them again. The team dropped behind a mineral container, as the Stormtroopers kept pouring on the fire upon their position. Behind the troopers was the Generator, so close yet still out of their reach. Zeb jumped up to fire a few shots of his own back at the Imperials, managing to shoot one in the face. However he quickly dropped back down as more laser bolts started hitting their position.

"They've probably already called their friends to attack us from behind," he warned Hera. "We need to take that generator fast."

"We'll split their focus a bit," Hera decided. "I'll go left, Sabine will go right, Zeb, you stay here and draw their fire and Chop, you flank them. No one suspects the droid."

Chopper worbbled sinisterly at the comment and started rolling off towards the right side of the cavern. He was followed by Sabine who vaulted over the container, firing all the way. Her shots managed to force the Stormtroopers down long enough for her to roll into safety behind a large rock. As the Stormtroopers opened fire on Sabine's position, Zeb lurched up from behind the container to open fire again. Drawing some of their focus back to him. Hera in the meantime had already slinked off the left and into the cover of a stone pillar along the edge of the quarry pit. With the Bucketheads still distracted by Zeb, she opened fire on them. One of the Imperials went down after several shots hit his torso.

Split between three separate firing positions, the Stormtroopers did not see Chopper sneak in from their left flank. It wasn't until one of his electrical stun blasts hit one of the Troopers taking shots at Sabine that they realized he was among them. The appearance of the droid unnerved the Stormtroopers and they moved redirected their fire towards him. Chopper quickly bolted behind the generator before any of the shots could hit him. The momentary distraction, however, gave the others the opening they needed.

Zeb fired several shots from his bo-rifle as he charged forward, hitting two Troopers as he closed in. He then extended the staff and swung out towards one of the Troopers, hitting him in the face. Sabine also ran forward, firing her dual blasters at the Stormtroopers once more as they went after Chopper. Her shots managed to kill two. She then leapt over their cover and fired into the Bucketheads as she kicked the last last one in the chest. At the same time, Hera nimbly moved in, shooting one of the Troopers as they aimed for Zeb. She then body checked the other Stormtrooper into the Generator itself head first.

The Generator was now theirs and Chopper was already hard at work splicing into its network. Everyone quickly moved to keep the droid covered, knowing that the Empire would be after him specifically now. They moved the barriers the Stormtroopers had hid behind to protect Chopper, expecting reinforcements to arrive soon from the ground. Instead, they heard the approaching roar of jet packs.

Jumptroopers raced in from down the corridor and from outside. Armed with Arc Casters, the flying Stormtroopers fired electrical streams down at the Rebels. Hera and the others dropped to ground as the streams struck all around them.

"We need to keep them away from Chopper," she shouted. "Spread out!"

Zeb and Sabine nodded, taking off once more in separate directions. The Arc Caster streams chased after them as they ran. Sabine strafed the area, her shots slamming into one of the Jumptroopers as she ran. The squad leader motioned his men to drop to the ground to avoid further casualties. They turned off their packs and landed on the ground, where they continued their assault.

Blasts of electricity slashed at the rock Zeb was now using as cover. Zeb fired back but the Jumptrooper used his back to quickly rocket himself over to a container for better cover. Even when they weren't flying, these Bucketheads weren't easy prey. He moved forward this time, firing as he went. Blaster bolts kept the Jumptrooper pinned behind cover. When Zeb got closer, however, the Trooper rocketed out of his position. Zeb only just narrowly avoided being run down by the speeding Imperial, rolling back onto the ground. For a brief second he had a good shot on the Trooper's pack. The shots managed to puncture the pack and caused it to explode, taking the Jumptrooper with it.

Hera had a more difficult problem with two of the Jumptroopers pinning her down. They used their packs to jump in a creeping fashion towards her. They were trying copy her team's strategy, splitting their focus. She would show them why it wasn't wise to try and copy someone else's strategy though. She stopped firing for a moment and looked to her surroundings. She was currently behind a crate container mining equipment but there was a stone pillar overlooking the pit just a few feet away. Getting to her feet, she ran towards it and slid behind it just as an Arc Caster shot fired close to her, slicing at the ground.

She knew she could still be flanked, Jumptroopers weren't going to be stopped by the open pit. However, she'd be able to hear him coming when he closed in. She fired two bursts at one of the Jumptroopers, forcing him to delay his next move forward. As she fired on him, Hera heard his friend rocketing out into the open air of the quarry. She kept pretending to be duped, kept letting the Imperial think he had the jump on her. As the rockets drew nearer though, she got ready. Suddenly she turned and saw the Jumptrooper flying in for the kill. He fired his Arc Caster first, but Hera able to drop low. She turned her blaster on the Jumptrooper and fired several bursts into him. The shots cut the Imperial down, sending him falling into the quarry, where the Monster was currently battering his tail against the stone wall.

Hera turned back to her other problem, the remaining Jumptrooper who was now charging forward, Arc caster constantly shooting. Still in her prone position, Hera crawled out of the destructive beam's constant assault on her position. She wasn't sure if the Trooper knew she wasn't behind the pillar anymore, but she knew he'd figure out where she had gone to eventually. Hiding behind a mineral container now, Hera kept low as the Jumptrooper started scanning for her. As she lay on the ground, she saw the container was on a deactivated repulsorlift cart. An idea quickly formed in her head. She quickly started pressing buttons on the control panel, stating the cart back up. As it lifted off the ground, it caught the attention of the Jumptrooper but it was already too late.

Hera kicked the cart with both her feet towards the Jumptrooper. The large container sped towards the Trooper who jumped on top of it with his pack. He took aim at Hera with his Arc Caster as the cat kept moving, only for his aim to be disrupted when it slammed into a rock just behind them. The crash caused the Jumptrooper to fall to the floor, as mineral rocks fell everywhere. As he stood up among the smoke to attack again, Hera unleashed a full burst into the Imperial, taking him down for good.

Sabine continued to preoccupy the Jumptroopers on her end of the cavern, slowly moving back towards Chopper who was continuing to slice the Generator's network. Her blasters kept firing back at the encroaching Jumptroopers, rocketing across the ground from cover to cover. As an Arc Caster raced past her head, nearly scorching her helmet, the young Mandalorian ducked behind mining equipment crate.

"Alright, enough of the kid gloves then," she declared.

She pulled out one of her specialized grenades. She then rolled it across the ground towards the Jumptroopers, where it exploded in a bright blast of orange and crimson. She then flipped down her optic scanner, revealing thermal outlines of the Jumptroopers within the smoke. She fired several shots, taking one of them out. She then retreated back towards Chopper, as more Arc Caster blasts from the remaining Jumptroopers. She dropped onto her side beside the droid, who beeped at her triumphantly.

"Chop says he's got the frequency!" Sabine shouted in delight.

"Then it's time to leave!" Hera shouted back from her own cover. "Plant the charge and let's get out of here!"

Chopper quickly opened the power source hatch and Sabine dropped one of her time charges into it. With that, the Rebels pulled away from the Generator, retreating further into the caverns of the quarry. Hera suspected the Jumptoopers to chase after her, but they pulled back instead. Their leader must've realized it would be a bad idea to get near something that was more than likely about to explode any second. Which it did in a giant fireball that erupted across the cavern. The Rebels ducked behind a rock just as the final seconds ticked down, avoiding the shockwave and explosion altogether. When the dust and smoke had cleared, Hera looked outside the nearest opening towards the quarry. The first Ray Shield layer flickered for a bit and then disappeared altogether. They had done it, but their job was still only half finished.

"We need to get to a transmitter," Hera told them. "Then we call Moira and tell her our plan."

"There's probably a communications station nearby," Sabine told her. "I'll try to lock onto its signal through the Imperial Channels, guide us in."

"Right now, let's get out of here before those Jumptroopers come back," Zeb requested.

The team headed off again, moving into the dark of the quarry caverns. Hera hoped they find a transmitter soon and that Moira would be up to the task. They were halfway done, they couldn't trip up now.

---

Kamo looked to see the first Ray Shield fail above them. As he grimaced, he stared down at Alpha Predator One, currently smashing his tail along a repulsor rail below them. A large explosion revealed the destruction of yet another train. The pit may have been covered in toxic smoke, but the lizard was regaining ground regardless. There wasn't enough gas being pumped into his system.

"At least we've only lost one of the Ray Shields," Arch noted aloud. "He still can't get out. Besides, the bombers are on their way. Those Rebels are just saving us the trouble of turning an switch on and off."

"Yeah, but the different layers were supposed to act like an airlock of sorts," Kamo reminded him. "To keep as much radiation out of the quarry, drain him of power. We lower one, power it back on when the bombers come through, then do the same with the next layer. Now he's going to get a boost of radiation from the atmosphere when we drop it."

That bit of news made Arch growl slightly.

"We can still kill him right?" He asked. "The bombers will finish him off so long as he's stuck down there with all the gas."

"Yeah, but now we gotta work harder to keep him pumped full of the stuff," Kamo told him. "That, and hope Devo can stop those Rebels from destroying the second layer."

The track suddenly shook violently, knocking Kamo and Arch over onto the backs. Scrambling to their feet through the pounding, they both looked over the side to see the monster pounding on the wall with his tail. Whether he was trying to cause an avalanche to try and get out or just destroy more trains didn't matter, Kamo wasn't about to let this lizard get the best of him.

He rushed over to one of the crates holding the gas canisters and pulled the top off it. he grabbed one of the larger containers and lugged it towards the side of the still speeding train. Arch and the other Troopers looked puzzled.

"What are you doing?" The Private asked.

"The chem throwers aren't enough," the Clone informed him. "We want to hurt him now, we got to hit him with the whole pack at once!"

Kamo threw the canister, now a makeshift bomb, down on top of the monster's head. It smashed down right near the beast's eyes. The canister shattered, releasing its toxic cargo, the monster stopped smashing his tail into the wall and stumbled away, coughing and screeching in pain, scratching at his eyes like mad. It wasn't long before the other Stormtroopers followed their Sergeant's example. They tore open the assorted crates, grabbed the canisters inside and began throwing them over the side. For once, the reptile's massive size proved to be a disadvantage as few canisters missed the creature's girth. They broke open across the monster's back, on his head or shoulders, but a precious few hit the lizard on the nose.

In all, Alpha Predator One would inhale over a dozen full canisters on the nose. The rest were just as potent, the gas now encircling the creature's head. The beast ran from the toxic cloud, screaming in pain as he did. All the while, the Stormtroopers above cheered in victory. All save Kamo, who just looked on at the pained monster sternly.

"Think that will be enough?" Arch asked tepidly.

"Doubtful," Kamo replied. "We still need a lot more gas and we're running out."

"Well that's what the bombers are for," Arch noted.

"We need a plan B in case the bombers aren't enough," Kamo explained.

The Clone's mind was already racing, thinking up a new strategy in his head. He thought back to his training, how they taught him to be relentless against the enemy. To use every resource against him in order to destroy him. That you never give up until they're dead and buried. And most importantly, they told him when things go wrong, you improvise.

"We need to have the remaining gunships gather up what's left of the gas canisters from the remaining trains," he reasoned. "Then they can drop them and their own payloads on top of the monster. That should deliver enough gas to finish him if the bombers fail. Get Devo on the horn."

"Sure thing," Arch concurred.

The Private was about to get on the comm-link, when Devo's voice came through the radio first.

"Sarge, Arch, I'm tracking one group of Rebels through the caverns," he began "They're up to something, not sure what. I can handle them, but another of my squads just reported in. Their friends are hitting another of the trains right now. Something is weird about their reports, they could use some help. Can you intercept?"

Kamo responded quickly.

"We'll try to make it," he told him. "While I got you, I have a new plan. It might be only shot we got at killing the monster now."

---

The door's lock blew apart, smoke billowed out of the now open entrance. Sabine rolled through the smoke and opened fire on the surprised Stormtroopers at the controls with her dual blasters. The Imperials dropped to the floor, one after the other, as the other Rebels rushed into the room. Hera took up the controls with Sabine, while Zeb took watch on the door. Chop quickly sliced into the communications system.

"Alright," Hera said. "Let's contact Moira. Hopefully she's taken care of those bombers by now."

Sabine patched into the Raiders' communication channel and zeroed in on their frequency.

"Spectre Five to Raider Lead," Sabine spoke into the comm. "Come in, Raider Lead, what's your status?"

"Hey fellow rebel rousers, how's the mining business?" Moira's voice replied back.

"Going pretty good," Hera answered back. "What's the status of the bombers?"

---

Another blazing bolt of green sliced through the air, cutting into Moira's wing. She turned sharply into a roll, letting the bomber pass before she rolled back up behind him. She fired a burst of bolts that ripped through the craft, causing it to explode in a fireball of red mixed with green.

"Doing our best," she told Hera. "There are swarms of the Imps though. We've cut through several of their squadrons, but Jetty is detecting other wings coming in. Backup most likely, their buddies must've radioed their Command Ship. We can take out the rest of these guys, but their friends will complete the mission if they fail. Empire isn't taking any chances with this big lizard it seems. You almost got him clear?"

"Not quite," Hera regretfully told her. "We're going to need that air support sooner than we thought. We've found a way to lower their Ray Shield for a short time, long enough for you to get inside. You can locate and destroy the Generators faster than we can at this point."

Another set of laser bolts cut across Moira's nose as another Bomber escort tried to take her out. Moira pulled up on the stick, avoiding the shots while getting onto the TIE's tail from below. As she followed him up into the clouds, she let loose with her guns and blew the little craft to bits.

"Yeah, probably could," Moira said as she flew to avoid the falling debris. "How many do we need to hit?"

"Three, that's how many we took out," Hera explained.

"Easy," Moira confidently replied. "Stay on the horn, I'll let you know when I'm in position with the team. Drop the shields then and I can guarantee you they'll be down for good soon enough."

"We'll be in touch," Hera assured, the transmission ending soon after.

Moira contacted Jetty now and the old battledroid soon responded.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked.

"Going to need you to find us a new target, Jetty," he told him. "See if you can isolate the output frequency those Imperial Ray Shields are using."

"Roger, Roger," Jetty replied, Moira imagining him doing his 'thumbs-up' tick as he spoke.

If Moira was being honest with herself, it did seem like these Rebels were asking a lot of her lately. Ultimately though she didn't mind. She could probably bargain extra fees with Ahsoka after this. Besides, the whole idea sounded really fun to her anyway.

"Let's mop up these Imps, boys," she told her wingmen. "We got us a new target."

---

They had eventually caught up to the train, but this time the Jumptroopers were quicker to show up. Now, Kanan, Ezra and Ahsoka had to deal with both the regular grunts and their more elite counterparts. Arc Caster shots and laser bolts were constantly being held back or deflected by the Force Users, the Imperials barely giving them an inch to advance. They had overcome the shock of Jedi attacking them at this point and the Jumptroopers were doing their best to direct the defense of the train. That didn't mean the trio wasn't holding their own, as a few of their deflected shots did manage to take down some of the Stormtroopers. However, the Jumptroopers were quick to move up and take their place.

Finally, they were all forced to take cover behind one of the canister crates as the fire became more focused.

"It was so much easier when we just had to worry about mindless droids," Ahsoka grunted as she huddled with her fellow Force Users.

"At least they're too busy shooting at us to be spraying gas," Ezra said, trying, and failing, to sound optimistic. "I think we need a new plan."

"I got one," Kanan suddenly told them.

Ahsoka and Ezra noticed the Jedi was looking up at the ceiling that was speeding by. Overhead were a number of large rocks embedded in the ceiling as well as small stalactites left behind when the caverns were first carved out in the quarry. Both Ahsoka and Ezra instantly understood Kanan's plan. Ahsoka tossed her lightsaber into the air, alongside Kanan. Their blades cut into the ceiling above and large chunks of stone fell from on high on top of the Stormtroopers on the flatbed. Ezra wasn't nearly that good with a lightsaber, but he was still strong with the Force. He felt out with his senses, felt the rocks tumbling down through the air, reached out and pushed them with an invisible hand. The falling stone that looked like it would miss a Trooper, ended up side-lining him instead.

The Jumptroopers weren't completely helpless of course, as they managed to fly out of the way of the falling debris pretty quickly. Their packs gave them more than enough speed to stay ahead of the collapsing rocks. Regardless, the Jedi had managed to push the Imperials back a bit. They moved out of cover again, rushing forward along the flatbed. Some of the slower Troopers were cut down as they charged forward, they weren't lucky enough to get any of the Jumptroopers, but any thinning of the herd was welcome at this point.

Ahsoka's blade sliced down one Stormtrooper as he fired wildly at her. Her dual sabers were more than enough to block every shot until she was close enough to slash across his chest. Ezra continued to used his blade to deflect shots, managing to knock a bolt right back towards its shooter near the back of the train. It only wounded him, but it took him out of the fight so that was good enough. Kanan blocked an Arc Caster beam before using the Force to send the Jumptrooper firing it flying off the side of the train. They were now on the second flatbed, closing in on the engine car.

"Keep moving," Ahsoka called out. "We've almost-"

The Togruta's call was cut short by an explosion that rocked the side of the cavern. The Jedi turned to see a second train, racing along an adjacent repulsor rail towards them. There were Stormtroopers crawling all over it, unexpected reinforcements. Before long they were caught in the massive crossfire between what was left of the Stormtroopers on their train and this new train. Once more on the defensive, the Jedi ran for the cover a nearby crate. Kanan turned back briefly, however, using the Force to push three of the Stormtroopers on the other train clear off the side. He then ducked behind the crate with the others.

"Well this just got a whole lot worse," Ezra grumbled.

"We're outmatched on this one," Ahsoka told them. "I think we should use the crate, send it flying at the Reinforcements. The gas won't harm them, but it will give us a chance to cut the rear car free and coast away."

"May be our only chance," Kanan concurred. "Let's aim for the center of the car."

Kanan looked over their cover briefly, trying to gauge their target in advance. As he did, he saw the flatbed of the opposing train filled with enemy soldiers still relentlessly firing at them. All except one, right near the center of the cars. He was a Stormtrooper, with blue markings covering his helmet. He was just standing there, looking on, not firing a shot, frozen. Kanan would've been confused, if not two seconds later after spotting him did he see the other Trooper ceasefire as well. Along with a shadow that creeped over the entire cavern itself.

Kanan turned to see the menacing face of the giant lizard monster bearing down on them. Suddenly, his mouth opened and he plunged his face into the track ahead of them. Both trains suddenly jolted to a violent stop as their engine cars disappeared. Several of the passengers were thrown either off the train entirely, or dropped to the floor. The Jedi only managed to not go flying because they were already clutching onto the crate, which was magnetized to the metal flatbed for stability purposes. The monster's jaws then wrenched both trains off the tracks, pulling them into the pit.

"Why does the creature we're attempting to save keep trying to kill us?" Kanan shouted in anger as their train was pulled into the air.

"Come on! Run!" Ahsoka told both him and Ezra. "Move!"

Both Master and Apprentice wanted to ask, 'where to?', but neither had the time to voice it. They followed Commander Tano's lead, running along the now bending and cracking flatbed. Stormtroopers screamed as they fell of the twisting cars into the pit below, or scrambled to the safety of solid ground while they were still close enough to it. Suddenly, the train was pulled entirely off the track and the three Jedi began sliding down the now falling train car. It would've been the end for them, if they did not see another cavern opening just below their own.

"Jump!" Ahsoka shouted at the two as they neared the edge of the now destroyed and tumbling train car.

The Jedi pushed themselves off the car, with all their might. With the amplified power of the Force, rushing through them, they flew through the air with relative ease. Even as rock and debris fell all around them from above. Their haphazard leap didn't offer them the chance for a graceful landing, as they slammed into the ground and rolled into a heap. With aching joints from their tumble, they looked back at the monster. They saw what was left of the train dangling from the reptile's mouth, the engine cars of both trains trapped in the beast's teeth. He shook the train's remains about in anger before finally releasing them, sending both derailed trains spiraling into the quarry wall.

"You know," Kanan growled, panting as he spoke. "If we do end up talking to that thing, it better be really grateful for all the trouble we went through to save it."

"We better get moving," Ahsoka said, standing up and crushing the dirt off her. "The Imperials probably think we're dead for the moment. We should use that to our advantage. The Empire has lost quite a few trains between this and our big friend."

"You think they have a backup plan?" Ezra asked.

"I would," Kanan answered for Ahsoka. "Better not give them the chance to implement it."

The Jedi made their way through the caverns, the giant lizard's screeching roar echoing in the background as they did.

---

The darkness slowly faded around Kamo as his senses returned. When the monster had abruptly stopped their train, he, Arch and a number of other Troopers were thrown off it. That was at least what he imagined had happened after he had hit the wall and blacked out. Picking himself up out of the dirt, Kamo looked over to the ruined tracks, then to his fallen comrades. Most weren't seriously injured, thankfully. Of course, they couldn't say that about everyone. Everyone who hadn't been lucky enough to get thrown from the train or manage to jump off it was nowhere to be seen.

That included the three Rebels, the ones who... Kamo quickly shook his head. No, he had been imagining things. He had to have been. You could get a lightsaber off the black market, easy. There had been reports of tons of dissidents who did just that. It couldn't have been Jedi, impossible. Then again, how did those Stormtroopers get thrown from the train? The ones before the giant lizard had attacked?

He shook his head again, wildly this time. They couldn't have been Jedi, it was impossible. There was no way. No, it was a trick, that was all. Some kind of trick, either of the mind or something else. It had to be. In any case, they were dead now. The monster they had been trying to save had pulled them out to their own deaths. He couldn't see them anywhere among the survivors, no trace at all. They were dead. If they were real Jedi, they'd have survived. Yes, they had be dead. They weren't real Jedi. It was a trick, there was no other explanation.

Before he could ponder further though, Arch started shaking his shoulder.

"Sarge," he began. "Devo tracked the Rebels down. He's closing on them now. Think we should help him out?"

Why not? It wasn't like they could do much more here. Their train was gone after all. They just had to hope that by now, their plan B was already in effect.

---

They waited by the transmitter for several agonizing minutes. Waiting for Moira's call to come back. Every second they stood here was another second they could be found. Hera didn't want to waste time trying to find another transmitter though. They needed it if they were going to scramble the signal for the second Ray Shield long enough. Sabine at least used the time to get everything ready to go, jury rigging the transmitter with the help of Chopper to tap into the network and send the scrambling frequency.

"Alright," she said sticking her head back up from below the mess of wires beneath the gutted transmission terminal. "Everything is ready. We just need to hit the switch and the scrambling signal will go out to the Generators. We're good to go when she says so."

"Good," Hera told her. "Cover the door with Zeb, me and Chopper will activate the transmitter when-"

Something suddenly knocked against the side of the doorway and rolled inside, a grenade. Zeb rushed away from the door and jumped behind a computer console just as a small explosion erupted close to where he had been standing. Instantly, Hera and Sabine joined him in his cover. Hera held her hand up to Chopper, telling him to stay by the transmitter.

"Did you see who threw the bomb?" Sabine asked Zeb.

"It came out of nowhere," the Lasat answered. "I'm lucky I still have both of my legs."

The console was suddenly hit by a massive surge of electricity, shooting out from the smoking doorway. Stepping out of the cloud appeared a Jumptrooper with an Arc Caster. He fired another blast at the console, raking electricity across the dashboard. The Rebels ducked down low as the beam cascaded across their position. As the stream passed over her, Hera lurched up and took aim at the Trooper, firing one clean shot at him. The blast didn't hit the Jumptrooper though, it hit his Caster instead. As the weapon started to spark violently, the Jumptrooper tossed it away and moved behind an adjacent computer console. He brought out a regular blaster rifle instead and started trading bolts with the Rebels.

"We need to hold him back until Moira is in position," Hera ordered.

Sabine fired her dual blasters at the Jumptrooper's position, but the Buckethead pulled back deeper into cover. He fired a blaze of bolts in response, hitting Sabine in the shoulder pad. She ducked back down, inspecting the damage.

"Ugh, and I just repainted this armor," she growled, clutching at her arm.

"If I could get close to him I could take him down in five seconds," Zeb grumbled.

Sabine pulled out another of her paint smoke bombs at that declaration, lobbing it slightly into the air.

"Let's test that theory of yours then," she told him.

She activated the paint bomb and tossed it over the console. It landed just a few inches away from the Jumptrooper. When it exploded, a plume of bright bluish green paint mist filled the air. Zeb bolted over the console, activating his Bo-Rifle's staff function. As he charged through the bright blue green paint cloud, his staff held high, he spotted the Jumptrooper trying to wave his way through the paint. Zeb brought his staff down on the Jumptrooper's head, than kicked his knee to break his stance. Finally, he swung the staff into the Imperial's chest and slammed him into the back of the wall. The Jumptrooper's blaster fell to the floor, but he kept fighting. He lunged at Zeb and grabbed onto the Bo-Rifle. The two warriors pulled and tugged at one another, trying to push the other over.

As the fight continued, Hera's comm-link suddenly came to life.

"Hey, we're in position up here," Moira called down. "You ready with that opening?"

"Chopper, now!" Hera called back to the droid.

The old clunky machine chirped back at Hera, popped out one of the robotic arms in his head and slammed it down on the activation button. A loud, lengthy siren sound filled the room as sparks surged from the transmitter. Zeb used the sudden noise to his advantage, grabbing at the Jumptrooper's leg with his prehensile feet. He tripped the Imperial onto his back and then punched him square in the face, knocking him out.

"That was more than five seconds by the way," Sabine commented.

Zeb just huffed, but Hera quickly brought their attention onto other more important matters.

"We gotta move, come on!" She shouted at the both as she ran past them towards the exit, Chopper right behind her.

The other Rebels followed the Twi'lek, while she called Moira back.

"Raider Lead, did it work?" She asked.

---

Moira grinned as the Ray Shield suddenly failed, leaving the pit open to the wide blue yonder once again. She was already pulled her starfighter into a dive when Hera contacted her.

"Like a charm," she declared. "Get to cover, Rebels, we're about to light this quarry up like it's an Alderaanian Fireworks Display!"

Moira and her squad used their boosters to increase the speed of their dive. They could see the lumbering monster below them getting bigger as they closed in. They also saw the floor of the quarry was filling up with the toxic gas. The poor dumb brute was going to suffocate in there if they didn't break him out soon. While Moira was still a bit sceptical about the whole 'Getting the Big Rampaging Monster on Our Side' plan as much as anyone else, she didn't mind setting him free. Anyone or thing that caused this much trouble for the Empire to the point they got this desperate to kill it was okay in her book.

"Hey, Gorossk," Ro laughed through the chatter. "Notice any family resemblance?"

The Trandoshan pilot hissed back through the comm.

"You were just waiting to use that one, weren't you?" He asked angrily.

"Focus on getting into the quarry people," Moira ordered. "Once we're in, we can't get out until the shield is down."

Moira and her squadron did manage to blaze through the skies and enter the quarry, just seconds before the Ray Shield came back up. Moira pumped her fist at the success, but quickly turned her attention to the real task.

"Alright, Jetty uploaded the specs of those generators to my computer," she told the squad. "Transferring them to you now. Hunt them down, blow'em apart. And keep away from the big grey mutant Krayt Dragon. We may be here to help him, but he doesn't know that."

The squadron split into pairs, Anglyph and Ro heading one way while Moira and Gorossk went the other. They circled the top of the quarry, the giant lizard still stomping around the pit below them and roaring. Moira tracked one of the Ray Shield Generator's to an open cliff. The Stormtroopers positioned there were quick to start opening fire. Their portable turret raked across the skies, forcing both incoming ARCs to pull away on the first run.

"Draw their fire and take out those turrets," Moira ordered Gorossk. "I'm going to try again."

Gorossk roared in from the right, firing laser blasts on the turret positions. The attack caused one turret to explode, killing its crew, while the others turned to fire on the incoming Trando. Moira then swooped in from the left, a clear path to the generator open to her. She let loose with a furious burst of laser fire, the bolts quickly burning through the heavy armor. Moments later, the generator exploded and Moira peeled off from her attack run before she crashed into the quarry wall.

"One down," Moira reported. "Ro, Anglyh, what's your status?"

"We got a lock on one in an open cavern," Ro reported. "Anglyph is angling for a drop."

Moira scanned the horizon, looking for her squadron mates. She spotted Anglyph's bomber on a bombing run towards the cavern in question. He dropped two proton bombs square into the opening and peeled off. A plume of fire ejected out of the cavern and the Ray Shield faded slightly yet again.

"Two down," Moira declared. "We got one more and the shield is offline. Anyone got a target?"

"I do," Gorossk informed her. "My two o'clock."

Moira looked to Gorossk and then to his two o'clock. There were two large repulsor tanks flanking the generator, significantly more dangerous than your average turret. It would figure Gorossk would pick the hardest target. She would've suggested another target, but Gorossk was already heading in for an attack run. Moira did her best to follow, watching as the tanks fired at them on their approach. Gorossk pivoted and rolled, dodging most of the fire. His shields absorbed the ones that he didn't dodge, but he was still taking a pounding.

Finally, the Trandoshan must've gotten a lock on one of the tanks. He fired a missile, which slammed right into the main turret and blew it clean off. He fired another missile at the second tank, hitting it in the side. A large blast of flame ripped through the tank, easily turning it into smoking scrap.

With Moira's way clear, she rolled her Arc into a attack pattern and fired several bursts into the generator. The bolts tore through the machine and soon caused it to explode. The Ray Shield above them soon vanished away, the sky once more open to all. It looked like it was all on the giant lizard to find his way out now, but Moira started thinking that something was wrong. Weren't there supposed to be a bunch of Imperial Gunships flying around? She hadn't seen any transports move to at least try to intercept them. She started looking down, searching for the transports.

She spotted one landing on a large strip of open land on one of the higher levels of the quarry. From what little she could make it out, it looked like they were loading something onto the gunships. On closer examination, they looked like crates. Yeah, that wasn't good. She radioed Ahsoka.

"Hey, Fulcrum," she began tepidly. "Imps are up to something. They're loading a bunch of stuff onto those transports. Not sure what it is, but it's probably meant for our big friend down there. Can you get a visual?"

---

"We see it, Raider Lead," Ahsoka assured her. "Stay on station, we may need you."

Ahsoka and her fellow Force Users had made their way out of the deeper caverns and to one the many staging areas. The monster had destroyed most of them when he waded into the pit, but there were still a few near the top of the quarry where supplies, men and vehicles were stored. They hid behind a small building where they watched as Imperial Gunships were loaded up with crates. It didn't take them long to figure out what was inside.

"That's where they're keeping their gas canisters," Ezra observed.

"Of course," Kanan was quick to reason. "The bombers haven't shown up, so they're going to just toss whatever they have left at the monster and hope it kills him. And with how much gas he's absorbed already, it could be enough."

"Then we have to stop those transports," Ahsoka declared. "We all need a ride out of here anyway. We'll take out as many as we can, zero in on Hera's position and pick up her team. Then we'll fly out of here and hope the big lizard finds a way to follow."

"We've done pretty much all the work for him," Kanan noted with a huff. "Would be pretty lame if he couldn't figure something out for himself at this point."

The Jedi moved in quickly, running towards the gunship. One of the Stormtroopers noticed their approach and turned to fire. Kanan and Ezra used their respective blaster and stun gun to take out the Imperials as they charged. The transport started to take off, a Stormtrooper inside taking up a gatling laser attached to the side and unleashing it on the Jedi below him. Ahsoka used her lightsaber to deflect the shots and then used Force Push to send the gunner flying out of the craft. She then leapt up into the fleeing transport and turned to the pilot's seat. She cut down the co-pilot when he went for his gun and then grabbed the pilot around his neck.

"You're in my seat," she told him menacingly.

With her free hand, she pressed down on the cockpit release control. She tossed the Stormtrooper outside and sat down in the pilot's seat. Ahsoka then moved the gunship into position for Ezra and Kanan to jump on. The Master and Apprentice then shoved the cargo of gas canisters out the side of the craft and down onto the remaining Stormtroopers on the landing pad below.

"Going after the other transports now," Ahsoka told them both from the pilot's chair. "Take up whatever weapons are back there and help me knock them down."

The commandeered transport flew after the convoy of makeshift bombers, chasing the other Gunships as they moved in on the monster. Ahsoka opened up the forward laser guns on the aircraft, blasting away until the whole flying machine suddenly went up in flames. As it tumbled out of sight, Kanan and Ezra took up the side gatling lasers and raked fire on the gunships. Their main targets were the crates of gas laden within, filling them full of holes and detonating the canisters inside. As gas leaked out, Kanan trailed his shots towards the cockpit and engines, as did Ezra. Their sustained fire managed to set the gunships ablaze along with the gas.

The Stormtroopers soon fired back, but the Jedi had the jump on them and, with Ahsoka at the controls, they never stayed a stationary target for long. Troopers who didn't blow up with their gunships were killed outright when the laserbolts raked the insides of their transports. Ahsoka's skills as a pilot ended up destroying quite a few of the gunships herself. The missiles she was firing were more than sufficient to take out any Imperial vessel in range. A single hit would blow apart the enemy gunship's backside and set the entire craft aflame.

However, even as they pushed through the gunships, they were still enough to escape their pursuit. They closed in on the monster below and the Troopers inside them began to roll the crates out of their craft. Crates began falling towards the beast from on high, makeshift bombs intent on choking the animal to death.

Then, from out of nowhere, laser fire hit the crates and blew them out of midair. Moira's Raiders raced into view, firing missiles into the gunships as they tried to break away. Moira's timing was near perfect, barely any of the crates hit their intended target. However, that didn't mean they were safe, as a giant tail started to lurch up into the air.

"Ahsoka!" Kanan called out nervously. "Turn!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" The Togruta shouted back.

The gunship and the Raiders turned violently, barely missing the tail swing. Although it wasn't really aimed at them anyway, the tail was attacking the bulk of the remaining gunships. So there was an element of luck to their escape as well.

"Contact Hera, pick our people up and let's get out of here," Kanan ordered as he jumped into the co-pilot's seat, removing the body of the Stormtrooper that was still there to do so.

Ahsoka nodded, but as she was about to contact the other Rebels, there was a rumbling thunderclap overhead. They turned their gaze skyward and saw dark clouds rolling in.

---

Kamo and Arch found Devo in a heap, lying in a communications room. The transmitter looked tampered with, a mess of wires and sparking motherboards evidence enough of that. Kamo didn't really bother to figure out what it had been for, it didn't matter now. The Ray Shields were down and the bombers still hadn't arrived. If they didn't get here soon, this plan was going to fail.

Right now, he just cared about getting the Lieutenant on his feet again. He was covered in wet bluish green paint, staining his once pristine armor. One couldn't tell if he was more mad at that or the fact he had been beat.

"Tried to take'em down, but they threw some kind of paint bomb at me," he explained. "Covered my visor. Then some weird looking Shaved Wookie thing attacked me with an electric staff. These ain't amateurs, Kamo. Not like some of the Rebels we've had to take on before."

"Forget about them," the Clone told him as he steadied the Lieutenant. "Let's get the hell out of here before things get even worse."

A terrible thunderclap and flash of light signaled for him that it just had. This time though, Kamo didn't suspect it was the Rebels doing. No, it was their other enemy, the bigger one. His old instincts kicked in and something told Kamo that they had just lost.

---

When the barrier went down, it was only a question of time. The storm he had smelt from before was now closing in over the pit. Godzilla stared up into it and bellowed loudly. This was his chance, the opportunity he had been waiting for. He did not know how the barrier had gone down, but it didn't matter. He was now free to exert a last ditch effort to escape this toxic gas hole.

Energy pooled in the back of his throat, building and swirling within him. When he released it, a tornado of power ejected from his mouth and shot straight up into the sky. It collided with the thunderclouds above, absorbed itself into them. Within seconds, lighting crashed down from the skies and into the pit. Godzilla huddled up, placing his spines towards the heavens and steeling himself.

Pain slashed into his back, striking and licking at his fins. They acted like little lighting rods all along his spine. It hurt, but it also energized him. The power of the lighting was transferred through his dorsal fins and into his body, fueling it with their sheer ferocity and chaotic energy. Godzilla's eyes glowed a brighter blue with every bolt that struck him, while his body jolted and pivoted from the strain. Yes, electricity did hurt him, but only when used properly by an enemy. When natural lightning could be harnessed, its potential could be used to fuel him instead.

As new found energy coursed through his veins, even with the pain searing across his whole body, Godzilla felt his full power returning. With a triumphant roar that shook the very sky he pounded his feet into the ground with a massive stomp. A fissure opened into the quarry and headed towards the rock wall. When it reached, it continued up it until the stone cracked and fell to earth in a massive tumbling rockslide.

Godzilla then powered up his radioactive breath once more and fired it at the gas still surrounding him. The beam caused the gas to ignite, turning the quarry into a sea of fire. Before, Godzilla would dare not risk this. The gas was sapping his strength, he needed all of his power to keep himself regenerating, using it to blow up the gas would've been ineffective, especially with more and more of it being pumped into the quarry by the second. Now the flow had ebbed and his full power had been returned to him. He did not need to hold back anymore.

He ran to the rockslide, as flames licked up all around him. He dug his claws into the broken and torn away stone, clawing his way up the side of the quarry. The fissure had torn open the quarry's wall. It was no no longer as steep. It was nothing more to Godzilla now than what a hike up a large hill was to a lesser creature of diminitive stature. Before long, Godzilla clambered out of the pit, finally escaping the trap the humans had set.

As he kept crouched on all fours, Godzilla took big gulps of fresh air. Free, once again, free. The humans had given it their very best shot and they had failed. As they always failed. They could not stop what he was. They thought they could contain him. They could no more do that than they could imprison a hurricane or halt an earthquake. With another triumphant roar piercing at the sky, Godzilla sent a message to the white clad army. That their coward's weapon hadn't stopped him, that nothing could stop him.

But then, suddenly, he stopped roaring. His victory cry ebbed. He thought he heard something. A voice in his mind, but not his own and not a memory. It called from outside, a feeling that he could not help but investigate. He turned to where the strange feeling was leading him, pulling himself to an upright position before slowly easing himself down again as he closed on the source.

When he did, he saw a strange looking humanoid, surrounded by other strange looking humanoids., standing near one of the white-clad army flying machines. These humanoids were not the same as the soldiers he had been fighting though. They were not clad in the colors of the army, they did not all smell of human and the strange creature in the center was acting odd. It held up its hand to him, its face lowered slightly as if deep in thought. The not-human creature did not seem aggressive, no threat triggered in his mind. All he got was some vague sounding thought nibbling in his skull.

Talk.

---

Kanan, as everyone else did, looked incredibly nervous and agitated at the same time. He looked rather incredulously at Ahsoka, still holding her hand up to the monster. She was clearly physically strained just trying to reach out to the lizard, but she refused to stop.

"Ahsoka, we got him out," Kanan told her growling. "Let's just go!"

"Not until we try," Ahsoka shouted, trying to maintain her composure.

"We said we were going to discuss this first," Kanan reminded her.

"We may not get another chance," she informed him. "He already recognizes we're not a threat now, I can feel as much. If we leave now, he may not consider even giving us a chance."

The giant reptile growled loudly at the group, its eyes darting from side to side. Kanan looked to Ezra, biting his lower lip. They didn't get the chance to think about the matter, didn't get the chance to evaluate and plan. This was a bad idea, he knew it was a bad idea.

"Could we figure out something before he eats us," Zeb asked through gritted teeth.

Damn it, Kanan thought. Ahsoka had forced their hand. He probably should've suspected she would. He was not happy, not at all. But he didn't have a choice now. He turned to Ezra.

"Alright, this is like training but different," he explained to the young Jedi as he kneeled down beside him. "Connect through the Force in tandem with me and Ahsoka. You'll be able to see, feel and sense everything we do. I'm not sure what will happen when we connect with that thing's mind, but be careful. Like I said we've-"

"Never done it with something this big," Ezra replied nervously. "Yeah, just tell me what to do. We gotta at least give it a shot."

Kanan sighed, put his hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and moved Ezra's to the other as well. The strain left Ahsoka's face slightly as the Force flowed through them all and reached towards the mind of the giant reptile in front of them. Everything started to blur slowly, like it would during a trance in meditation. The world melted away and soon Kanan was no longer standing near the quarry or his crewmates. In fact, he didn't know where he was.

---

Things came back into focus slowly, as an otherworldly landscape appeared before them. Dense jungle and fog, bluish hues from above as if they were beneath waves and slight molten red lighting their feet. Strands of light stretched down from nowhere as bizarre distant sounds echoed all around them.

"We're inside," Ahsoka told the others as they looked around.

"Inside where?" Ezra asked tepidly.

"We're sharing a collective vision together as we commune with the creature," she informed him calmly. "I imagine it's only a matter time before it notices our presence."

There was a low guttural growl from the darkness beyond their range of sight. The rumble echoed towards them, washing over them. It held thoughts, feelings, emotions. At first, it was hard to discern what they meant, as they were flooded with them. Curiosity, questioning, existence, along with other abstract constructs. They soon formed into a single idea.

What are you?

This was how the creature was talking to them, not through voice, not through words, but something else. None of the Force Users were sure what it was, but they decided they should answer.

"We're friends," Ahsoka approached respectfully.

Another rumble and series of thoughts washed over them. Different, strange, unlikely, untrue. The thought they formed was a simple one as well. Your kind are not friends.

"We are not like the soldiers you fought, we mean you no harm," Ahsoka reiterated. "We only wish to talk and understand. Perhaps we can help."

The answering rumble was one of disdain and aloofness. It said that he did not need help not from their kind. This time Kanan approached to speak.

"We have already helped you," he stated firmly. "We're the reason you got out of that pit. We shut off that shield, stopped those trains from pumping in more gas. We almost died several times doing that by the way."

Another rumble of disdain, with added emphasis of the concept pride and arrogance, self-importance and demands of respect. There was also a sense of disbelief and skepticism. Even if true I would have escaped, it said, you were not needed.

"Didn't look like that from where I was standing," Kanan argued back.

A louder rumble, demanding, insolence, great emphasis on pride and arrogance. It called for respect and even forced Kanan back slightly. Ahsoka reached for his shoulder and shook her head at him.

"We mean no disrespect," Ahsoka assured. "If anything we all know how truly powerful you are. More importantly, we realized that you were intelligent. It's why we're having this conversation in the first place. We just want to know more. For starters, can you tell us your name? If you have one that is.

Flashes from the strands sparked as light billowed and formed from them. This time, there were words. They were messy at first, but the slowly formed into something comprehensible. Perhaps they were translated into a form they could understand or simply how their minds came to perceive them. They flashed for an instant and then were gone. Apparently, there were many titles.

King of Monsters, Wrath of Nature, Punishment for Humanity's Sins, Child of Atom, Last of Kin, God of Destruction, Terror of Man, Scourge of Sea, Atomic Titan, Apex Predator. Eventually, though, the names began to fade, replaced by something else, a preferred title it seemed. It read Gojira first... then formed into Godzilla. Apparently, that sufficed for the moment or was the monster's favorite. They couldn't be certain. All the Jedi knew was that they felt a icy cold spike shiver down their bodies as the name grew larger and slowly vanished.

"Well, it's unique," Ezra compliment. "What does it mean?"

A flood of concepts filled the air in a torrent. Punishment, chaos, death, vengeance, power, everything and nothing. Ezra was quick to regret asking the question and brushed the thoughts away.

"Alright, fine, I walked into that, sorry," he admitted. "But, where are you from anyway? Are you native to this world?"

No thoughts this time, no words. Instead, hazy images began to form through the jungle, rock, fog and water around them. Images of a distant world, a distant time. Explosions, fire, chaos and war. Ships and tanks, machines and monsters. Battles that raged between him and all sides in a seemingly never ending conflict. The images went by so fast, it was almost hard to comprehend them all.

"He's not native to this world," Ahsoka soon realized. "He's from somewhere else. I don't even think it's in our galaxy."

"That doesn't explain how he-"

"Look," Ezra said, interrupting Kanan and pointing to one of the images.

A large purple and black ball of energy flew towards them before the image blacked out. An explosion erupted moments later, one of blue light and fire. When the image settled, they were looking out on the three moons of Tsuburonda. The images seemed to feed into their minds, telling them more about their meaning, forming a fuller understanding in time. Ezra was first to grasp what the images were speaking to him.

"Some kind of attempt by the people of that other world to kill him," he slowly reasoned. "But it didn't work, it sent him here to this planet."

"That must've been some weapon," Kanan noted. "Surprised he survived it."

Images of previous battles flashed again in front of them. An accompanying wave of thought washed over their own minds, more as a confident boast than anything else. It spoke of struggle, hardship and survival. I am not so easily killed, it said.

"We noticed," Ahsoka replied. "We've seen your previous battles with the Empire. You've done a lot of damage to them on this world. We share a common foe in that regard."

The next wave of thought washed through them, this one more simple. Similar, unremarkable, unsurprised, was what it contained. How expected, it said, a slight hint of boredom resonating in the sentence. It was an odd response, one that Kanan found suspicious.

"You have a problem with us fighting them?" He asked.

Another wave of thought, mostly the same abstract concepts as before contained within the rumbling. However, this time it contained 'history' among the ideas within and it altered the derived meaning considerably. Your kind always fights each other, it said, no matter the galaxy, you create petty wars among yourselves. Kanan now felt rather offended by the clarified accusation.

"How the hell are we petty?" He asked incredulously. "We're trying to stop the Empire from hurting people. That's a noble cause. A lot better than just mindless destruction at least."

A wave of thought crashed over them, pushing back Kanan as it did, the rumbling particularly directed at him as well. The wave itself carried ignorance and fury, disrespect and penance. It is not mindless, they spoke, it is punishment. They are arrogant and exploitative, it insisted, they deserve death. A second wave crashed over them, finality, absolution, freedom were all found within it. This world must be cleansed of them so that I may find peace, it said.

"But we feel the same way," Ezra insisted. "We want to stop the Empire. We want peace. Not just on this planet, but everywhere."

The wave of thoughts returned, more skepticism, more doubt, even more history. It's meaning was readily obvious. Your kind does not want peace. Before Ezra or anyone else could challenge the assertion, images began to flash around them. Weapons of war, crumbling cities, parading armies and boisterous military leaders. Towns set ablaze, whole forests burned to the ground by bombs, a sea filled with sunken ships from centuries past.

"Looks like his world isn't any better off than our galaxy," Kanan noted.

"So, you don't like our kind because of the people on your world?" Ahsoka asked. "Because of their war-like behavior."

The wave of thought cascaded down once more. Singular, fraction, semi-accurate, partial. These concepts soon spelled out a more concrete thought. Only part of reason, they said, conclusion from encounters. That wasn't good enough for Ahsoka though, she wanted a better explanation.

"Then why? Why attack them? I get that the Empire reminds you of them, but you said this was about punishment. What did they do?"

The next wave was small, it only contained three concepts. Retribution, Rage and Pain. They hurt me, was all it said. Within moments, images flashed before them. The same world as before but different, quiet, less crowded. Where the sentients Godzilla fought were nowhere to be found. They soon realized this was the past, a prehistoric time. Then it faded, grew darker, less inviting. Volcanos spewed fire. forests began to die, the land shifted and cracked. Godzilla sunk beneath miles of water and earth, fleeing as the world died away, slipping into prolonged hibernation as the energy that fed him ebbed. Then, suddenly the images went hot white and a deafening thunderclap howled at them. The Jedi staggered back as the images formed into a singular one. A cloud shaped like a mushroom rising into the atmosphere, fire engulfing everything, vaporizing what was near, tearing into and destroying everything else.

"That is one really big bomb," Kanan stated plainly.

The images continued, showing a Godzilla awakened by the blast. The massive influx of radiation pulling him out of his long sleep to a changed world. He too felt different, altered, as if the powerful explosion had changed him as well. Disturbed from his peaceful slumber, confused by the changes, grieved at being the last of his kind and enraged by those who's weapon had done this, he lashed out at the world around him. The images showed a city, one Godzilla set aflame with his rage. He was angered by what he saw built over what was once his. It was as if the humans had awoken him just to gloat.

Then, when he fell back into the waters, tired from his rampage and attempting to find peace after his sudden traumatic awakening, the humans struck back. This time with a weapon that seemed to boil the water around him, sear his flesh, burn away his very body down to the bone. It was excruciating. The Jedi almost felt like what they were watching was happening to them. Their bodies prickled and warmed, the felt like scratching and tearing, but it was only a fraction of the pain, not the full impact.

Godzilla was then shown, fleeing further down into the water, blood pouring from his ripped open body. He crawled on the seabed just to get away, slipping into a crack in ocean floor as his last resort. He had narrowly averted death by the slimmest of margins. The Jedi then saw Godzilla lay in wait for close to a year as his wounds healed, the creature's thoughts emanating outward to them like it had with all the images before. This time, however, it was more clear and direct. This was more of a meticulous thought process.

As Godzilla lay in recovery, he felt the far off explosions of more bombs like those that awakened him. The seeds of a cold conflict between nations still building. Godzilla came to understand humans as a vicious and self-destructive species. They created weapons that had brought him back and then made another specifically tailored to kill him, caring little for any other consequences it would do to the sea.

The thoughts swarmed in Godzilla's head until the formed a conclusion over the long months. That humans would always seek to destroy that which stood in their way, whether it was each other or nature itself. He would never be safe as long as humans survived on this planet, never be free. They would create more weapons, more tools of death. They needed to be cowed, subdued, beaten, taught to stop abusing their power. He'd do so by showing them what true power was, that nature could not be defeated. He would carve out a place in this world, by force if necessary. It was about survival as much as revenge. Ezra's own thoughts were stirred by the images he saw.

"You were angry over what the world became," Ezra reasoned, sounding a little distant as he did. "What you lost. What was happening to you and everything around you. So you turned against the world and everyone in it."

"And you did the same to the Empire because you sensed they were the same," Ahsoka added. "You attacked them because you knew they'd hurt you if they discovered you."

"More to the point," Kanan stated practically. "He quickly realized there weren't as many here as on his old planet. So unlike there, he stood a chance of chasing them off world or exterminating them outright. Leaving him finally at peace, just how he wanted it from the start."

For once the rumble was receptive towards Kanan, a wave of agreement, recognition and understanding washed over them. Images of the Stormtroopers and their weapons being destroyed appeared as well. Taking it all in, the meaning was easy enough to deduce. When the White Army is gone, I will reign over my new kingdom alone.

"Then we can help you," Ahsoka assured him once again. "The only reason the Empire is even here is because they're building something. Something terrible, like the weapon that hurt you. They're going to use it against a lot of innocent people."

Apathy washed over the Jedi as Ahsoka spoke. It asked aloud as it crashed over their minds, What do I care?

"Because if you help us destroy their weapon and the place they're building it in, the Empire will leave," Kanan reiterated. "That's what you want, right?"

Another wave of apathy, with an added concept of disgust flooded past them. I will not be your weapon, it said, I am no one's tool. Fight your own war, the thoughts spoke next, I am not part of it. Ahsoka tried to reassert herself.

"We're not asking you to be our weapon," she explained. "We're asking you to be an ally. The Empire is an enemy that we both share, who we both want off this planet for different reasons. What we're proposing is a mutual partnership."

Another wave of apathy and disgust, rage growing within. It said; I will not be party to your kind's wars. Your cause is not as noble as you claim. The displeasure within the wave continued as it rolled on. They use a powerful weapon, it stated, you ask me to act as a counter. It concluded with a final thought of utter loathing.

You wish to use me, you are no better than them.

Ahsoka's head dropped, she tried to think of a new angle, a new approach. Kanan looked about fed up with the whole thing, ready to give up. Ezra, however, strode to the front and stood attentively.

"You're right," he admitted. "We are asking you to get involved in our conflict. I don't know if that's right, but despite what you think, we're not like the Empire. If we were, we'd be forcing you to do this, threatening you, torturing you to comply, stealing people you love or destroying your family to get you to do what we want. But that's not us."

Ezra looked to both Ahsoka and Kanan briefly. His Master looked a bit puzzled, but he ushered him on. Ahsoka just nodded. Ezra took the cue and continued.

"Those humans on your world, they hurt you, but it's because they didn't understand," he argued. "Maybe they didn't want to understand. Maybe they were just scared. No one knows better what fear can do to someone than me or my friends. We realized we couldn't stop the Empire on our own, that's why we joined with each other, became a crew, a family. Now we're asking you to help us, that's more than any human or sapient being has ever done with you. We've never hurt you and to be honest we don't want to. If all you want is a place where you can find peace, where you can feel safe, then we share more in common than you realize. That's what we want, but we know we can't do it alone either."

There was a low rumble, but no wave. Ezra kept going, trying to wrap it up.

"Give us a chance," he asked humbly. "Let us show you we're different. Help us, please."

There was a silence around them for a bit. Eventually a rumble was sounded, a wave washed over them. Within they felt the concept of query, condition, interest, danger. The formed a question; This weapon could be used against me?

"More than likely," Ahsoka answered. "Especially now that you've escape this latest trap. They're probably getting ready to use it right now. It is being built at a facility to the east of here."

A similar wave followed, one that asked; If it is destroyed the White Army will leave?

"It's the only reason they're occupying this world," Ahsoka replied.

Another wave, but this one felt more hostile as it asked; You will leave as well?

"Yes," Ahsoka stated firmly.

A final wave crashed over them, conclusion, acceptance, alliance, convenience. I will destroy this weapon, it said, but not for you. As the thought finished, the jungle, ocean and rock started to fade. The images and strands of light vanished. They spelt out two final threatening words before they disappeared back into the ether.

Leave. Now.

And with that, the landscape in the vision evaporated.

---

When Kanan came to, he found Hera standing over him calling his name. He was tempted to wait it out and see how else she tried to revive him, but he knew he'd just get a thrashing later. So he sat up.

"What happened?" He asked.

"That thing just started walking away after a few minutes," she explained. "Then all three of you dropped to the ground."

Kanan looked and saw Ezra being helped up into a sitting position by Sabine and Zeb doing the same for Ahsoka. All three Force Users held their heads in pain, the strain of the connection to giant lizard obvious to all. As for Godzilla, he hadn't gotten far. He was stomping off in the direction of the Imperial facility, growing smaller as he walked into the horizon, his back turned to their little band. He looked over at Ezra specifically who slowly noticed his master stare.

"Okay, gotta hand it to ya there," he admitted to the young boy. "Good work, Ezra. This one is on you."

"Indeed," Ahsoka added with a beaming smile. "You truly are full of surprises, Ezra Bridger."

The others looked a bit confused by the statements of the two Jedi. Ezra, however, couldn't help but soak in the praise a bit, rubbing the back of his head and smiling meekly. Everyone else just wanted answers.

"Mind filling us in?" Zeb asked. "Is that thing helping us or not?"

"His name is Godzilla," Ezra informed the Lasat. "And yes, he's helping us. Sorta. It's complicated."

"Point is he knows we're not a threat," Ahsoka assured the group. "And he will assist us in the coming battle. I'll explain more on the way back, but we need to get moving. I don't think our new friend is going to wait for us to begin his attack."

The group got to their feet and began walking back towards the Ghost still concealed within the rocks. As they did, Sabine walked up alongside Ezra.

"Godzilla, huh?" She asked inquisitively. "Interesting name. I like it. What's it mean?"

"Again, it's complicated," Ezra assured her with a chuckle.

"Fair enough," She shrugged, switching to a new line of questioning. "So, what was it like in that thing's head."

Ezra grew a bit less jovial and turned his head slightly towards what little he could make out of the massive lizard.

"Illuminating," he said distantly.

---

They had managed to grab one of the Patrol Transports stationed near the back of the assembly area and flown out of the quarry. As they did, Kamo watched the giant lizard crawl out of their trap and stop suddenly, looking down at something. Still coming to terms with their narrow loss, Kamo looked through the macrobinoculars he carried and was stunned by what he saw.

The same three people from the train, the ones with the lightsabers. Not only were they alive, but they had their hands outstretched, their eyes closed, as if in a meditative stance. No, they were in a meditative stance, because they were communing with the monster. Only one group of people could do that.

Kamo froze in place, his mind racing. Some had survived, somehow they had survived. After all these years of thinking he had helped end them, now three were on the same planet as him. He thought back to the night he saw the strange leaping shadow. Yes, that had been one of them now, he was sure of it. They were alive, they were here and they were talking with that thing. It had been foolish to ignore his initial instincts and it had cost them.

There were Jedi on Tsuburonda. Survivors of Order 66, survivors of his attack on the Temple for all he knew. They were working with Alpha Predator One, intent on destroying the Empire's operation here and him with it. Fear and rage bubbled into Kamo's mind as he pulled the macrobinoculars away. His breathing grew heavy, his grip tightened. And then, in the very back of his mind, a voice came. a voice that repeated words long forgotten and now remembered. A mantra that he suddenly recalled speaking to himself over the screams of dying Jedi on Coruscant. Along with the words, those same screams returned. And then, out of nowhere, he spoke them in a robotic, menacing tone without even realizing it.

"Good soldiers follow orders."

---

AN: Well that can't be good. If you want more information on what that means along with other tidbits, check out the profile page for the latest behind the scenes update. For now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and all the crazy stuff that happened in it. Also, Eiji Tsuburaya's 114th birthday happened earlier this month. How appropriate that another installment of this series has been uploaded so close to a man who quite frankly created the genre I love so dear. At least the special effects aspect of it of course. I like to think Tsuburaya-san would approve of my attempts to live up to his legacy in this silly little story, as well as enjoy me naming a planet partially after him and one of his close contemporaries at Toho. Anyway, this has been a fun chapter to write. Please, don't forget to review, I do enjoy all your constructive feedback and interesting comments. I hope the story continues to entertain. Thank you all again for your support. Till next time.