Chapter 24
The Rakata Temple
Ahsoka, Sabine and Luke starred in awe as they enter the field in which the Temple laid upon. "Look at this", Sabine pointed out. There was several carvings surrounding the temple door. The carvings displayed numerous purgills going up and down the door frame. In the middle was some sort of superweapon, drawing energy from a nearby source. "The Starforge", Thrawn explained as he joined them, "What I was able to translate indicates that the ancient race that once ruled these lands used those blasted creatures to create this thing", Thrawn tried explaining in depth as he pointed to the image in the middle. Luke took this in as he patted Artoo's dome, "What was the purpose of this superweapon?", he asked the Chiss. "Apparently it wasn't entirely a superweapon. More of a factory, if you will", Thrawn spoke back. Ahsoka and Sabine stood anxiously as they couldn't wait any longer. "You're sure you're up to this Luke? Its alright, we can wait a little longer for you to fully recover", Ahsoka said timidly as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine Ahsoka, really I am", Luke tried convincing. He was wearing a black officer outfit. It was a bit tight, especially around the old saber, but Luke was too embarrassed to speak up, especially with Ahsoka and Sabine at his side. "Plus, I think Sabine will kill me if I take up more time", Luke added shyly as he tried avoiding the death glare from the Mandalorian. He didn't know if she was staring at him or at Thrawn, but he was just afraid to ask at this point. "Alright then", Ahsoka declared a bit unease, "Thrawn, you said that Ezra opened the door, but you couldn't. Why?".
"Only one with the force can open it", Sabine interrupted. Everyone turned to look at her, the young Mandalorian was reading the carved language on one of the pillars. "I gladly remembered the translating book on Mandalore", she explained noticing the confusion from everyone else. "To open the doors, you must focus on the energy field. Only those that poses the power of the Ones may disable the shields", Sabine read out loud. "Ones must've been the name of the force used by the Rakatan", Luke concluded as he slowly walked towards the shielded doors. He activated his lightsaber and softly dragged it across the shields. It hummed as it absorbed the energy of the blade. "You said you tried firing an AT-ST to destroy the shields?", Luke asked amusingly. "Yes, we tried several methods", Thrawn confirmed, "But we gravely underestimated the shield's capacity to hold". Luke considered this as he turned off his lightsaber. "That's because this shield is made of living energy", Luke stated as he rejoined the group. "Living energy?", Sabine questioned as she tried to hold her laughter, "I'm sorry but there's no such thing as a living energy shield. I think you hit your head pretty hard back on the Jedi Finder. Or perhaps maybe even on Mandalore", she said sarcastically. "I know it sounds ridiculous", Luke confessed. He turned to Ahsoka, settling his blue eyes onto her, "But I can feel it. Tell me you can feel it as well", he asked her quietly. Ahsoka closed her eyes to feel her surroundings. It's true, she started hearing a faint singing coming from the energy shield itself. It almost sounded like a Kyber crystal. It was trying to lure her in, telling her that it can show her the future. Ahsoka opened her eyes immediately. "This temple, it's a trap!", she said suddenly. "A trap!", Sabine repeated after her, "Are you saying that Ezra fell into a trap!?". Ahsoka nodded as she looked back at Luke. "It lures force wielders in. No escape possible".
"We have to try, for Bridger's sake", Luke replied. "Luke's right Ahsoka. You have to try, you promised. I don't care if I only get the body, I just want him home", Sabine stated. Ahsoka looked at the young Mandalorian and then back to Luke. Sabine was right, she had promised to find Ezra. Nothing would stand in her way. "Alright", Ahsoka said as she placed her hand on Luke's shoulder, "Let's do this". Luke and Ahsoka held their arms straight in the air. They focused on the shield, desperately trying to communicate with it. It continued to sing as its whispers started to vanish. Sabine and Tharwn watched in amazement as the dim yellow shields started to flicker. "It's working!", Sabine shouted in glee. Luke and Ahsoka continued to focus on the shields. It let out a groan as it suddenly stopped. Luke and Ahsoka opened their eyes, confused. The shields flickered again. The ground started to shake violently as the shields deactivated. The stone door slowly opening up. "We did it", Luke said in a hush voice. Sabine and Ahsoka walked in, but they noticed that Luke didn't join them.
"Luke aren't you coming?", Sabine asked the Jedi. "Uh yeah, I'm going. I just need to tell Thrawn something", Luke replied as he handed a comlink to Artoo. "Thrawn, I need you to alert us if anyone comes near this temple. I believe we're being followed. Make sure they don't pass. Artoo will stay here and assist you", Luke whispered to the Chiss Admiral. Thrawn nodded in acknowledgement as he returned with his squad of stormtroopers. Luke patted Artoo's dome, "I won't take long", he told the little blue and white astromech droid. He then followed Ahsoka and Sabine. The stone door shutting behind them.
They walked down the pathway. Observing every detail in the temple. The walls had burned out blaster marks and old slashes perhaps caused by a lightsaber. Truth be told, the inside of the temple looked more like a battlefield than it's exterior. There was a large room, ancient lightsabers scattered everywhere. "Maybe he's in here", Sabine said with hope in her voice. Luke bent down to grab one of the several lightsabers. They all had a unique design, but the one that caught his eye seemed to have an exhaust port installed. He activated the blade, a deep purple cross bladed lightsaber came to life. But not even a second later, it died back down. "This is all ancient, how long do you think these were here?", Luke asked Ahsoka. Ahsoka didn't immediately respond back. She was having flashbacks to when she had joined a younger Ezra Bridger and still alive Kanan Jarrus to the sith temple of Malachor. And when she fought her fallen master.
"Ahsoka?", Luke called out, noticing that Ahsoka didn't reply. Ahsoka quickly snapped out of her daze, "Yes Luke?", she asked clearly trying to cover up her discomfort. Luke set down the old lightsaber and walked towards the older Togruta. "It's alright. Nothing can hurt you now", Luke said softly as he embraced her in a small hug. A small, barely audible snort interrupted the scene. Luke sent a glare at Sabine, "Way to ruin the moment", he told her. "That wasn't me", Sabine argued. Suddenly another snort was heard, this time louder. Everyone turned around towards the source of the sound. They saw a silhouette crawling on all fours. Sabine pointed her flashlight towards the creature. The creature let out a holler as it avoided the source of light. It moved quickly towards the safety of the dark, to quick to see what sort of creature it was. But one thing was certain, the hand was human.
"Ezra?", Sabine called out towards the creature. The creature stopped for a brief moment, confused, as if it recognized that name. Sabine let out a worried smile as she stepped closer to the energetic creature. But before she could get any closer, it ran in the opposite direction. "After him!", Ahsoka yelled. They quickly ran after the creature, running deeper into the dark temple.
Thrawn and Artoo stood in the entrance of the Temple. Several squads of stormtroopers standing behind them. "We have a squad of potential hostiles headed your way", the scout trooper said over the comm. "Copy that trooper", Thrawn said as he turned off the comlink. He signaled all the stormtroopers to be ready to fire. Rustling could be heard far ahead. The trees shook as loud footsteps starting to get within range. Slowly a large red hand emerged from the dense forest. Thrawn eyes's squinted as he saw a large humanoid come out of the forest. He stood seven feet tall, was heavily built, and had dark crimson red skin.,From far away, Thrawn would've confused him for a young Rancor. If it wasn't for the six people behind him. He noticed that one had a tracker, Luke was right. They were being followed. "Open fire!", Thrawn commanded. All the stormtroopers fired at will. Several blaster bolts going straight towards the humanoid. But a sudden bright blob came between them. Thrawn watched in horror as all the blaster bolts started to halt mid air. And all of it being stopped by the same seven foot tall humanoid. "Get down!", one of the troopers yelled out before being hit with his own blaster. Thrawn jumped out of the way as their own fire came back towards them. Artoo let a shriek as he strolled towards the safety of the bushes. Another round of stormtroopers came up from the overheads. They rained down their fire power, in hopes to confuse the group below them. The six humans took cover as it rained rounds of fire. But the humanoid simply let out a deep laugh that chilled everyone to the bone. The humanoid raised his hands to the sky, before letting a storm of lightning ensue from his fingers tips.
All remaining troopers screamed in pain as they were cooked alive by this powerful wave of energy. Their burnt helmets falling towards the ground before Thrawn's feet. Thrawn got up, dusting some of the dirt off of him. The group slowly walked towards him, weapons in hand. "Grand Admiral Thrawn", a feminine voice spoke out, "We finally meet". They got closer to Thrawn, an estimated 5 feet away. Thrawn could see the imperial logo on one of them, it was faded, but it was the imperial insignia. "No need for titles", Thrawn replied calmly. He slowly reached for his small blaster clipped to his belt. But before he could grab it, it flew up in the air. And it was suddenly crushed by a large red hand. The one that spoke earlier took her helmet off. It revealed a beautiful young women with striking red air. "Mara Jade", she introduced herself, "The Emperor's first hand". Thrawn visibly clenched at the mention of the Emperor. "What is your purpose here", Thrawn asked as he stepped back. "First, I came to rescue you", Mara replied, "You should be thankful". Thrawn frowned, "At the cost of my men?", he asked sarcastically. "A small price don't you think?", Mara equally replied in the same tone.
"But before we take you away, we know you have something we want", Zyon interrupted. "Really?", Thrawn asked trying to play as a fool, "I have no idea what you're referring to". Mara showed him the tracker, it's indicating green light flashing vigorously. "We know you've met the Jedi", Mara explained, "So why don't you cooperate and tell us how to get in the Temple", she ordered. Thrawn simply chuckled at Mara's command. "You will never get anything out of me", he claimed softly. Ragnos chuckled at the Chiss's attempt to stall them. He grabbed Thrawn by the throat, lifting him up in the air. "For a Chiss, I thought you would be wiser", Ragnos proclaimed, "But you can't stop me from taking what's rightfully mine". Ragnos opened his palm as he settled in front of Thrawn's forehead. Thrawn flinched as he felt an immense pain entering his mind. He struggled to talk as the pain extended deeper into his mind. "Yes", Ragnos whispered as he let out a smile, "I see it. The way to enter the temple. Skywalker thinks he can outsmart me, how foolish". Ragnos threw Thrawn to the ground. The Chiss laid unconscious on the ground. Mara tied him up against one of the pillars, she had done her duty, now it was onto phase two. Ragnos stood in front of the temple doors, the shield actively humming. "The Jedi needed help to open it. But I don't", Ragnos extended his hand towards the temple. The shields started to vibrate as it was quickly deactivated, the doors opening in the process. "For the darkside is more powerful", he said before walking in. Artoo watched helplessly in the bushes. He watched as they entered the Temple, weapons drawn. Artoo raised his antenna for a hope someone would receive his transmission. It would take time for the New Republic to respond. But he knew just the droid who would answer him in a blink of an eye: C-3PO.
"There he goes!", Sabine shouted as they chased the creature down. They cornered him in a room filled with dusty armor. The creature growled as it backed up against the wall. Sabine pointed her flashlight at the creature. It let out another yelp as it covered his eyes. Sabine could finally see his face, and was shocked to see the results. It was Ezra Bridger, he had long hair growing past his shoulders, and a long bushy beard around his face. He had a skeletal form, his rib cage clearly visible. But what caught her attention was his eyes, they were no longer the dark blue eyes she had seen all those years ago. They were yellow, and a bright one at that. "Ezra", Sabine said cautiously, "It's me, Sabine and Ahsoka. We came to rescue you", she slowly lowered her blasters, signaling Ahsoka to do the same. "LIAR!", the delusional Ezra yelled at her. He lunged at Sabine, punching her face as he grabbed her bag. Sabine fell back, confused more than ever at what just happened. Ezra suddenly ignited a green blade, his old lightsaber at his hand. He pointed it to Luke. "YOU SENT HIM HERE TO KILL ME!", he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Ezra we aren't your enemy", Ahsoka stated her hands raised in the air, "He helped us find you", she tried clarifying. Ezra looked at her, then a at Luke. In a blink of an eye he charged at Ahsoka at a blur. The Togrutan didn't have enough time to respond, she only saw a green streak of light coming towards her. "Ahsoka!", Sabine shouted in horror. Ahsoka opened her eyes as the blinding lights shined towards her.
Luke Skywalker stood between Ahsoka and Ezra. His blade hovering inches over Ahsoka's head. She could the heat radiating off of the blade. Luke pushed the blade of Ezra off of his. "That is enough Bridger", he commanded. Ezra let out a hallucinating laugh as a response, "You have no power here Jedi!", Ezra said tauntingly. He shrieked as he lunged at Luke, their green blades locking into place. Ezra took his blade forcing Luke to stagger back. "When I'm through with you, I will have killed all the Jedi!", Ezra proclaimed eagerly. Luke huffed in amusement as he spun around avoiding another blow. "Amazing, you tend to get things wrong?", he asked in a sarcastic tone. Ezra kept swinging his blade at Luke, trying to tire out the young Jedi. Only streaks of green and white-yellow flashes became visible. But Luke kept up the pace, he casually dodged each blow as if it was merely a training session. He almost appeared to be toying with Ezra as he kept trying to find an opening to Luke's defense. Ezra suddenly let out a huge force wave, knocking Luke off his feet and sending him though the wall. "Luke!", Ahsoka shouted in horror as the wall collapsed on the young man.
Ezra let out another laugh as he turned his attention towards Ahsoka and Sabine. He whipped his lightsaber as it turned in a full circle. "You will pay for what you did", Ahsoka said darkly as she ignited her twin white blades. "Come at me, you Jedi wannabe", Ezra said tauntingly. Ahsoka lunged at the delusional Ezra. Her two blades striking fast. Ezra barely had time to set up good defense. The two exchanged blows as they continued to fight. They were now moving from room to room, Ezra throwing loose pieces of stone at Ahsoka. Ahsoka used her blades to slice any debri coming her way. They were now in some sort of platform. Ahsoka jumped high into the air as she pressed her blades against his. Ezra grabbed one of Ahsoka's montrals as he dodged her swing. Ahsoka grunted as she was thrown into a wall face first. Her lightsabers dangling from her grip. Ezra used this advantage to make a final blow. He raised his blade, the green hue reflecting off of Ahsoka's skin. "Now you will die!", he said before bringing his saber down. "Stop", a soft voice spoke. Ezra stopped midway when he heard the voice from behind him. He turned around to see Sabine Wren pointing her blasters at him. Tears ran down her face. "Don't do this Ezra. This isn't you", she said as tears continued to run down her moist face. "You think you can take me on Mando? The Ezra Bridger you knew no longer exists", Ezra said coldly as he gave his full attention to the Mandalorian warrior. "Yes he does", Sabine argued back, "Deep down, I know he's in there. Hidden away from this mess you've made".
Ezra slowly marched towards her, his lightsaber scorching the floor underneath it. Sabine stood her ground, never breaking eye contact from his. "I must admit Mando, you sure have some guts", Ezra stated as he marched closer to her. "That's because I know Ezra Bridger would never hurt me", Sabine said calmly as she dropped her weapon. "Such a shame you're not going to have a warrior's death", Ezra nonchalantly spoke as he ignored Sabine's comment. Ezra was now a feet away, he gripped his lightsaber tightly as he raised it in the air. Sabine closed her eyes, accepting her faith, but not before opening a holodisk. She felt the lightsaber coming at her, expecting the hot blade to go through her, with a painful entrance at her torso. But it never came. Sabine opened her eyes slowly. She saw Ezra's lightsaber inches from her face. Ezra's attention was fully on the holodisk. "Mom... Dad", Ezra spoke softly. He turned off his weapon, hands going limb. He slowly reached towards the picture, touching his parent's hologram faces. He suddenly staggered back as he lost his footing. "No, let the past die. They no longer have any meaning to you", a deep voice came out of Ezra. He grunted as he hit his head with the end of his lightsaber. "Get out of my head!", Ezra shouted at himself. "Do not let this pathetic Mandalorian turn you. Kill her! She is your enemy", the deep voice spat back. "I won't let you hurt my friends again", Ezra argued as he fell on his knees. He let out a scream as a dark silhouette came out of his mouth, it flew past Sabine and went straight to it's origin. A sith mask.
"Ezra?", Sabine asked as she cautiously walked towards him. Ezra was gasping for air as his hands rested on the floor. He looked up at her, his blue eyes returning once more. He stared at her as he slowly got back up. "Ezra, are you alright?", Sabine asked again worriedly. "You're just as beautiful as I remembered", Ezra spoke out. He suddenly blushed as he understood the words that came out of his mouth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Ezra said shyly before being cutoff by a hug. Sabine hugged him tightly tears continued to roll down her face. "You have no idea how long I dreaded to hears those words from you", Sabine replied as she gave him a peck on the cheek. A groan interrupted them with an echo of stone falling apart. "Ahsoka!", Sabine said shocked, "Are you ok?". The Togrutan had a bloody nose, and a purple bruised eye. She got up as she reactivated her blades. "Step away from her!", Ahsoka shouted at Ezra. Ezra raised his hands in the air for surrender. "Wait, I'm sorry, but that wasn't me", Ezra tried arguing. But Ahsoka wasn't having any of it. She charged at him at full speed. But she suddenly halted. "Sabine get out of my way", Ahsoka shouted. Sabine stood between Ahsoka and Ezra, her blaster pointing at the Togruta. "Ahsoka, he doesn't mean harm anymore. Please, you have to trust me", Sabine pleaded. Ahsoka looked down at her blades, and back at Ezra and Sabine. And for the first time, she felt shame. Ahsoka quickly deactivated her lightsabers and wiped her bloody nose. "I'll take your words for it", Ahsoka said softly.
"I'm sorry Ahsoka. Really, I am. The sith spirit promised me so much. I was an idiot for even believing it", Ezra explained shamefully. Ahsoka smiled weakly, "I understand Ezra. I know all about being possessed", she stated as she remembered her time on Mortis, "I'm just glad you're alive". Ezra smiled and hugged Ahsoka. "Thank you for coming back for me", he said whispering to her. Ahsoka returned the hug as Sabine joined in. Footsteps could be heard behind them, Ahsoka turned to see Luke who miraculously had no visible injury. "Luke", Ahsoka said breaking off the hug, "It's safe now", she explained as she welcomed the Jedi. "Ezra", Sabine said before turning her attention to Luke. "I'd like you to meet Luke Skywalker". Ezra stood tall, he extended his hand for a handshake. "Sorry about what happened earlier, I can explain", Ezra said nervously. Luke said nothing, he had his eyes set on Ezra. Determination in his eyes. "Is he mute or something?", Ezra asked Sabine and Ahsoka. But before they could respond, Luke activated his lightsaber and swung at Ezra...