Chapter 21: Ashes to Ashes...

With Tails, Caleb, and Seth…

"Ah, about fucking time." Seth remarked as he stepped out of his cell, which had been opened through the masterful hacking of Tails. Eyeing Caleb, he said: "That my armour you've got?"

Caleb nodded and handed it to Seth, who made to head back into his cell to change, but turned back to them, asking: "You mind getting this mask off of my face?"

Tails and Caleb both obliged, pulling the mask off of Seth's face, jumping when they saw his condition: "You looked better with the mask off, buddy." Tails remarked.

Seth shrugged. He looked a right state, with his nose, lip, and head bleeding from various cuts that the mask had given him. "Blame the mask." He said. "Now could you possibly relieve me of my bonds?" He asked.

Tails saw to that, taking some water from his canteen and spilling them over Seth's manacles, which shorted out and fell uselessly to the floor.

Seth nodded, took his armour back from Caleb, and motioned for them to look away while he started to change, which they did.

Only for that to be the cue for Roman to come flying into the both of them, sending the trio sprawling.

"Morning!" Roman called out jokingly as he leapt to his feet and engaged Argo, who converged on him with surprising speed, throwing rights and lefts in an effort to pound Roman into submission.

Ducking and dodging where he could, Roman did the same, except he kicked at Argo's legs, particularly his left leg, in an effort to cut Argo down to his size and enable him to finish Argo off with a submission hold of some kind.

So far, these kicks had had no effect. Argo's legs were seemingly too thickly built for Roman's kicks to have any effect on them.

Seeing this, Tails made to try, except he kicked Argo directly in the back of the knee, seeing his results as for a moment, Argo's knee buckled.

Only for Argo to look at Tails, grab him, and fling him into the opposite wall, which he then sank down, the impact nearly driving him into unconsciousness.

Argo smirked in triumph, only for his knee to suddenly buckle beneath him again, as he felt another kick in the back of it. Going to one knee, he saw Roman appear right in front of him, peppering him with rights and lefts, wearing down Argo before attempting a fight-ending kick.

Only for Argo to catch his leg, and use it as leverage to swing Roman as hard as he could into the wall.

As with Tails, Roman was nearly knocked unconscious, but was brought back from that brink by Argo grabbing him by the throat and lifting him high above his head, before suddenly slamming Roman back down on the floor with a savage chokeslam. After that, his hand still around Roman's throat, he began to apply pressure, beginning to choke Roman, who instinctively began to kick and struggle.

Choking and gagging, Roman started to try and kick at Argo's knee, hoping it would buckle beneath the behemoth and enable Roman to catch his breath.

No such thing happened, and Argo applied more pressure.

Now Roman could feel the darkness begin to close in, but still he struggled, holding onto consciousness harder than he ever had, even harder than when Elias had nearly killed him during the Battle of Mobotropolis two years beforehand.

Argo grinned in savage glee, finally close to ending the life of the fox who had been nothing but a thorn in his side. Until he felt something pressed to his temple. It was the last thing he ever felt before the sound of a blaster shot sounded, and Argo's world went dark forever.

Lowering the blaster, Seth holstered it with a snarl of: "Block that, bitch." Looking to Roman, who was recovering, Seth walked up and knelt by Roman. "Not how you guessed our reunion was going to go, huh?" He asked.

Roman chuckled as he allowed himself to be helped up by Seth, the two friends sharing an embrace.

"Thanks for coming to rescue me." Seth said. "I know you risked a lot to do this, especially given you were ordered by Sally not to rescue me."

Roman scoffed. "I'd pick your sorry ass over Sally any day." I replied. "No offense to Sally, but she's not as close to me as you are. Remember that conversation we had on Coruscant, just before the Clone Wars started?"

"What, when you were off to Geonosis?" Seth inquired. "What about it?"

Roman folded his arms and said: "The thing that I've thought about the most when I thought about why I was doing this was what you told me that day. When you said to me that we were brothers. Brothers-"

"In all but blood." Seth finished. "Was that the only reason?"

Roman shook his head. "You've also got a kid on the way." I said. "Plus, Ahsoka needs you."

Seth chuckled before asking: "Speaking of Ahsoka, how is she?"

Roman made to respond before Roman heard a sudden shout of pain from nearby that he knew was Ashley. Seth realised it too, and the pair of them rushed to where she'd been duelling Alec, finding her on her back, shuffling away from Alec, who now had her sword as well as his own. It wasn't long before Roman saw that he'd slashed her across the leg, and deeply. Rage welled up within, and the vulpine Jedi drew his pistol, immediately opening fire.

Seth did as well, drawing both his pistols and firing on Alec, who upon realising reinforcements had arrived, dropped Ashley's sword and fled.

Lowering his pistol, Roman scowled. "Fucking coward." Roman growled as he ran over to Ashley, helping her up. "Can you walk?" Roman inquired.

Ashley nodded. "Yeah. I can still fight." She replied, taking a few uneasy steps on her wounded leg.

Rolling his eyes, Roman tore a few strips from her jumpsuit quickly, mainly around her abdominal area, and made a makeshift bandage for the wound, tying it around her leg. "There you go." Roman said.

Ashley nodded. "Thanks." She replied, limping over and retrieving her sword. Looking over to Seth, she smiled. "Morning, Seth."

"Morning to you too." Seth replied, before turning to Roman. "Now, about Ahsoka…"

As if on cue, Roman's comlink crackled back to life, as Blaze's voice broke through:

"Roman, if you've got Seth, you need to get back here pronto! Ahsoka's just hit nine centimetres. By my count, you've got about one hour to get back here so Seth can be here in time for the birth."

Roman scowled and said: "We're on our way." He said, before looking to Seth. "Ahsoka's fine, and she's here, but… she's in labour."

It wasn't long before Seth's eyes widened in horror. "What?!" He exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's too early, she's supposed to be due in a month!"

"Well, clearly your son or daughter had other ideas." Tails said as he joined them, alongside Caleb.

Roman placed a hand on Seth's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too bad, bud. We have an hour before she actually starts giving birth. That gives us plenty of time."

Seth seemed to relax before he perked up once more. "My lightsaber." He said. "The Grand Inquisitor has it, and I'm not leaving without it."

Roman frowned. He'd have preferred to avoid combat with Elias, but it was a secondary objective of his, which he now had little choice but to accomplish. "Fine." he said. Looking to Ashley and Caleb, Roman told Caleb: "Get Ash back to the ship. Me, Seth and Tails will deal with Elias."

Ashley's face fell. "But-"

"No buts, Ash." Roman said. "As much as I'd prefer you to stay with me, Ahsoka needs you more than I do, right now. Plus, you need that leg looked at."

Ashley made to protest, but she nodded, realising Roman had a point. Walking over, Ashley kissed Roman as passionately as she could, knowing full well it could be the last they would share. Breaking the kiss, she looked deep into Roman's eyes, making her feelings known that way. No verbal exchange of words would do right now; their eyes made whatever statements needed to be made. Stepping away from Roman, she said: "Be careful." Before limping off.

Roman watched her go before looking to Caleb and saying: "You're in command until or if I get back. If me, Tails and Seth aren't back in an hour, don't wait. You get the fuck out of here."

Caleb frowned. "Ashley won't like this." He remarked.

"I know." Roman replied. "But I'd rather she hated me for doing this and still be alive, than her loving me and having died for it."

Caleb nodded understanding. "One hour." He repeated.

"One hour." Roman reiterated, before he, Seth and Tails turned and ran in a different direction. They had a Grand Inquisitor to find, and Roman had an idea as to how he could do that.

With Elias…

Elias was nearing the Prison block when his comlink came to life, an all too familiar voice coming through:

"Elias! I know you're here and you know I'm here!" Roman shouted. "If you have any balls at all, then come and face us!"

Elias smiled and said: "Very well. But we fight on my terms. Come find me, if you dare." With that, he turned from his path and headed towards a room he knew would serve him well in the coming confrontation with Roman and his friends.

Both his lightsaber and the lightsaber that formerly belonged to the Third Brother hung on his hips, so Elias would not be caught unready for the obvious three on one fight he expected. Though he also had a third lightsaber on his belt, that which belonged to the Jedi Seth Kerran. He no doubt expected that the lightsaber was one of the reasons the Jedi wanted a direct confrontation, so that they could retrieve Seth's lightsaber, and kill Elias in the process. The fact of the matter was, Elias thought the Jedi were wasting their time. Seth could easily construct another lightsaber for himself.

Elias suddenly stopped to wonder: What if they had another reason for wanting to retrieve Seth's lightsaber? What if Seth wanted his weapon for another purpose other than using it against Elias? Pushing the thought aside, Elias walked on. Seth was a Jedi, and a Jedi needed a lightsaber. That was the only plausible explanation for Roman demanding that Elias face them.

Elias stopped as he found himself contacted by General Okada, who sounded fearful:

"Grand Inquisitor, Lord Vader just contacted us! He requests to speak with you personally."

Elias scowled. "Inform Lord Vader that I am otherwise occupied, and that I will contact him later once I am finished with what I am doing." With that, he cut the connection, and continued on his way.

The Main Bridge…

The colour drained from General Okada's face as he heard that last statement, as he turned fearfully to face the hologram of Lord Vader, who stood with his arms crossed.

"Is the Grand Inquisitor on his way?" Lord Vader asked, his tone suggesting that the general had best consider his words carefully.

Swallowing nervously, Okada announced: "Unfortunately, the Grand Inquisitor is busy dealing with some intruders at this time. He assures me that once these intruders are dealt with, he will contact you."

Vader's arms unfolded as his hands found his belt, on which a lightsaber hung. "Intruders?" Vader inquired.

Okada nodded. "Jedi, sir. They must have come on board in an effort to rescue their fellow comrade."

Vader fell silent, until all that could be heard was his breathing.

Okada drew in a sharp breath, imagining an invisible hand wrapping around his throat as Vader choked him to death.

Finally, Vader spoke: "Inform the Grand Inquisitor that there will be little need to contact me. I am on my way to Mobius now." With that, Vader's image dissolved.

Okada took a few breaths before contacting the Grand Inquisitor: "Grand Inquisitor, Lord Vader has requested that I inform you that there will be little need to contact him. He is on his way to Mobius now." He heard a sharp intake of breath, as the Grand Inquisitor demanded:

"What did you tell him?!"

Okada's tone became impassive as he said: "The truth. There are other Jedi on this ship, are there not? Perhaps he is coming to take you to task for your failure."

The Grand Inquisitor could be heard swearing on the other end of the comm, before he replied: "Maybe. But by the time he arrives, you won't be around to see him." At that, the comlink cut.

Okada took a few steps back as he removed his hat, running his hand through his sweaty dark blonde hair before putting his hat back on, just as Colonel Stark appeared through the main door to the bridge.

"General, I've received reports that the rebels have been pinned down in the main hangar." Stark said. "It's only a matter of time before they're overwhelmed."

Okada nodded. "Good." He replied, before keying the intercom: "Attention all units. This is General Stannis Okada. Press your attack immediately. I want the Freedom Fighters dead within the hour."

With the Freedom Fighters, Main Hangar, 5:20 am…

"That didn't sound good!" Silver shouted as he levitated a nearby cluster of fuel cells and threw them at the oncoming Stormtroopers, sending them all up in a ball of flames and screams.

"Tell us something we don't know, Silver!" Shadow snapped back in annoyance as he returned fire, catching a single Stormtrooper before being forced back into cover.

"Great, now we'll likely be dead within the hour." Cassian remarked dejectedly as he too fired back at the Stormtroopers, of which there seemed to be increasing numbers.

"We can't give up! Keep up the firing!" Shatter shouted as he fired. He had since ran out of ammunition for his blaster rifle, and had since thrown it aside, opting for his dual pistols instead.

The same fate had befallen Tusk, who now was also stuck with his pistols.

Crankshaft was also fighting back, his programming doing its job as he fought as well as the clones.

Most unfortunately, E-123 Omega was no longer in the fight, as extensive damage had disabled him until such a time that they could repair him.

Suddenly, one of Cassian's men fell, his body shot full of blaster bolts.

"Bran!" Cassian shouted as he dropped down to see to his friend, grasping the man's hand.

Bran looked to Cassian and tried to say a few words, but they caught in his throat as he choked on his own blood.

Silver saw this and swore as he psychokinetically grabbed a pile of boxes and threw them at the Stormtroopers, just as an explosion suddenly threw several Stormtroopers off of their feet and sent them flying. Looking to the others, he realised it couldn't have been either of them, as none of them had any more explosives on them.

Then, Rouge, who was also looking around, saw what had caused the explosion. "Look!" She shouted.

Silver looked, and a grin found his face.

Fighting their way towards the shuttle were Ashley and Caleb, the former limping as if wounded, and the latter covering her as best he could. Turning to the others, Silver shouted: "I need covering fire!" Before sprinting out of cover towards them, throwing up a psychokinetic shield to protect them as they neared the shuttle. "Where are Roman, Tails and Seth?" Silver asked as they reached cover.

"Went off after the Grand Inquisitor." Ashley replied as she was helped behind cover. "He has Seth's lightsaber."

Silver swore under his breath before contacting Blaze: "Blaze, lower the ramp, we have wounded!"

With Blaze and Ahsoka…

Blaze swore under her breath at this. She wasn't overly keen on leaving Ahsoka at any point during such a crucial time, but she knew that it was needed. Looking to a wearied Ahsoka, she said: "Stay put and rest up. I'll be right back."

Ahsoka gave a pained nod, her entire face tight with pain. She was not in a good state. Her face's normally bright orange colour had lightened to a more sickly shade of orange, and her face glistened with sweat.

Blaze reluctantly left her and headed into the cockpit, where she hit the switch to lower the ramp, before gingerly walking down said ramp to find Silver with a wounded Ashley, who had a bloody makeshift bandage around her leg. Sighing, Blaze took her and helped her inside, sitting her down near Ahsoka, quickly running back into the cockpit and flipping the switch to bring the ramp back up. Then, she returned to her patients. "Where're the others?" She asked. "I only saw Caleb and you."

"Gone off after the Grand Inquisitor." Ashley replied. "He has Seth's lightsaber."

"Makes sense." Ahsoka groaned, her hands on her belly. "He always did say he wanted to give our baby his lightsaber when they were old en-"

She never finished, as a fresh contraction forced another scream out of her.

Blaze shook her head in frustration as she grabbed her medical kit and started quickly dealing with Ashley's leg wound, grabbing several strips of scotch tape and placing them over the wound to help keep it closed until such a time that she could stitch the wound up, and then wrapped a fresh dressing around it before returning to Ahsoka, quickly looking at the clock. It was almost half past five. If Roman, Seth and Tails did not retrieve Seth's lightsaber and defeat Elias in half an hour's time, they might not return in time to be present for the birth, something she was well aware Seth wanted to be present for.

"I wouldn't worry, Blaze." Ahsoka said with a weak, pained, but optimistic smile. "Seth somehow has a knack for impeccable timing." Just as another contraction shocked a scream out of her.

Ashley grabbed Ahsoka's free hand, holding it like she would were she shaking hands with someone. "It's the same with Roman." He said. "I'm sure they'll get here in time."

Blaze nodded appreciatively at Ashley's encouraging words. It was all she could do to keep her own spirits up.

Meanwhile, Star Destroyer Devastator, Hyperspace…

The entire room fell silent as the doors to the bridge opened, enabling Darth Vader to stride in, his breathing serving as a herald to his arrival.

All eyes turned to the Dark Lord of the Sith, who eyed these with plain indifference before walking up to the main viewport of the ship, ignoring all the frightened whispers from junior officers that he passed. Let them be scared, he thought. He preferred it that way, that people followed him out of fear rather than conviction. It was as his master, Emperor Palpatine, or otherwise known as Darth Sidious had said:

"People will always be afraid, Lord Vader. But rest assured, convictions can always change."

Vader now pushed the thought from mind and merely focused on the blue vortex of hyperspace, imagining it dissolving and revealing the planet of Mobius before them, as well as the three Star Destroyers he knew were there, with one of them showing signs of damage.

He had never been to Mobius before, but had heard many, many stories of it from Roman the Fox, when Vader had formerly been Anakin Skywalker. But that was a different time, a different person. Now, Vader was merely focused on doing what he intended to do: Arrive above Mobius, travel to the Star Destroyer where the Jedi were, and assist the Grand Inquisitor in executing them, if the Grand Inquisitor had not already done so.

And then he would kill him.

It was nothing personal. In fact, Vader often considered the Grand Inquisitor as one of the best Inquisitors he had trained. But even the best failed sometimes. And the Grand Inquisitor had failed.

This got Vader thinking: What if when he arrived, the Grand Inquisitor was already dead? What if, in his desire to avoid Vader's wrath for his failure, he had committed suicide?

Vader pushed this aside. The Grand Inquisitor would suffer his punishment with the honour and dignity with which he had served the Empire ever since its proclamation. At least, Vader expected him to.

A voice from behind drew Vader's attention:

"Lord Vader?"

Vader turned, and he saw several Inquisitors kneeling before him, flanked by Imperial Shadow Guards.

The foremost of the Inquisitors rose, and said: "We're ready, my lord." He was a young Pau'an in perhaps his middle thirties, with light grey skin and the golden eyes of a Dark Side user. His teeth were filed to points, and his face was decorated with blood red Sith tattoos. He wore the standard armour of the Inquisitors, albeit in a similar fashion the Grand Inquisitor. Or perhaps a direct twin of the attire.

Vader folded his arms. "Very good, Grand Inquisitor. Head down to the hangar bay and await me in my shuttle. I will join you once we have arrived over Mobius."

The Pau'an Inquisitor nodded, and headed out, leading the rest of the Inquisitors off of the bridge, flanked by the Shadow Guards.

Vader again returned to looking out of the viewport, He would remain there until he arrived on Mobius.

With Roman, Seth and Tails…

The trio found themselves in the reactor room, having sensed Elias was somewhere close by. Looking around, Roman barely had time to look around when he heard a voice say:

"Looking for someone?"

Roman turned, and found himself staring towards his target.

Elias stood in the middle of a bridge connecting the platform Roman, Tails and Seth were on to the main control hub in the middle.

Spreading out his arms, Elias looked around and eyed Roman: "Feel familiar?"

Memories of Elias fatally stabbing and murdering King Acorn and his own fall flowed through Roman's mind, but he pushed it down as he stepped onto the bridge. "You got something that belongs to my friend here!" Roman called out, gesturing to Seth. "He'd like it back."

"Oh, you mean this?" Elias asked, reaching behind him and raising the object of Roman's request: Seth's one remaining lightsaber. "And why might I want to do that?" He asked.

Roman scowled. "One last fight." He replied.

Elias' face curled into a smile as he nodded. "Fair enough. Catch!" At this, he threw the lightsaber into the air between them.

Reaching out with the Force, Roman caught it, pulling it towards him and handing it to Seth. With that done, all three Jedi ignited their lightsabers, two blue and one green blade flaring to life.

Elias smiled and took both his own lightsaber and that of the now deceased Third Brother from his belt, and ignited both, the crimson blades painting his visage a demonic red as he removed his mask, throwing it aside. Spinning his lightsabers, Elias held them in front of him in an 'X' like pose, before bringing them to his sides as he tensed up into a battle stance. "Shall we begin?" He asked.

Roman, Seth and Tails all eyed each other, and together, the trio charged Elias, as the Grand Inquisitor moved to meet them. The two sides met in a flash of red, green and blue.

The Main Hangar…

"Incoming!" Caleb shouted as a heavy blaster was brought upon their position, raking it like a plough through a field.

One of Cassian's men wasn't so lucky, taking several shots before he flew back, dying.

Cassian ran over as best he could, and knelt down, recognising the dying man as Wexley.

"Looks like I let you down again, boss." Wexley said in-between sounds of choking.

Cassian shook his head and said: "You died fighting, Wexley. That's not letting me down. That's making me proud. Proud to call you a member of my crew."

Wexley nodded before he let out one last gasp, before he finally lay still.

Cassin sighed and folded the man's hands over his abdomen. For all his faults, Wexley had been a faithful member of his crew, and deserved a decent burial. Cassian decided he'd take the body to Wexley's family, and stand with them as they gave him a funeral.

He was driven from his mournful thoughts as Caleb grabbed him, saying: "Take cover!"

Cassian shook his head and left Wexley's body where it lay, returning to cover as he fired back.

The heavy blaster had stopped firing whilst it cooled down, granting everyone a brief reprieve from its heavy fire whilst they returned fire against the Imperial Stormtroopers. Any thermal detonators or grenades that were thrown by the Stormtroopers were thrown back, and any blaster fire the Imperials fired at them, was returned in kind, with a hail of blaster fire from the Freedom Fighters.

While all this was happening, Silver contacted Blaze: "How are things in there, Blaze?" He asked.

"Better than they were." Blaze replied. "I'm still worried about whether Roman and the others will get here in time. Both Ashley and Ahsoka assure me they will, but with every passing minute, I'm not so sure!"

Silver sighed. "Have more faith Blaze. They'll be here."

Blaze was silent before replying: "I hope you're right. For mine, and Ahsoka's sakes."

Silver nodded before ending the communication and psychokinetically throwing a few boxes at the Stormtroopers. He too hoped that Roman, Seth and Tails would get here soon. He was just a little more confident that they would be.

With Elias, Roman, Seth and Tails…

Any passer-by would be forgiven if they thought the flashes of green, blue and red were just flashes of energy. When in reality, they were the flashes of clashing lightsabers, as Roman, Seth and Tails continuously attacked Elias

The four were currently in the main control hub of the reactor room, Elias standing right in the middle, with Roman, Seth and Tails attacking from all angles.

Roman backed away from one of Elias' counterattacks before attacking once again, slashing at Elias' midsection in an effort to bisect the Grand Inquisitor into two separate halves.

Using one of his lightsabers, Elias blocked, whilst using the other to stab at his face, disengaging the one he had blocked Roman's blow with in order to defend against another attack, this time from Seth.

Roman backed away as he parried the blow, but jumped on in today, lashing out with a vicious kick that threw Elias temporarily off balance, allowing Tails to strike, cutting into Elias' back across his right shoulder.

Elias shouted in pain before drawing all of the Force energy he could muster into himself, unleashing it with a massive Force Repulse, one that threw all three Jedi back.

Luckily, the platform they were on was meant to have large groups of people on it, and so none of them fell to their deaths.

Seth nearly did though, dropping his lightsaber a few metres away as he toppled over the edge, barely managing to grab on as he held on for dear life.

Elias saw this and looked between himself, Roman and Tails. "Now three becomes two." He said menacingly.

Both Roman and Tails launched their attacks, and Elias blocked them all, nearly killing both Tails and Roman with his counterattacks.

Kicking Tails away, Elias focused then on Roman, whose defences he tested using one lightsaber, and the other to penetrate said defences.

To his credit, Roman defended all of said attacks, before he suddenly felt himself kicked back as Elias engaged Tails.

"It's funny." Elias remarked as he and Tails fought. "The first time we fought, you were the one with two lightsabers. Now the roles are reversed."

"Not so much that I can't beat you." Tails replied as he attacked, using the quick and aggressive blade-work of Ataru, the fourth form of lightsaber combat.

Elias blocked all of said attacks before suddenly switching off one of his lightsabers, throwing Tails off guard as the twin-tailed Jedi swung down, lashed out with a savage knee to Tails' temple before reaching out, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, and smashing the butt of his right hand lightsaber over Tails' head, hard enough that it knocked Tails out cold. With that, he threw Tails back, out of the fight. Turning, he found himself once more alone with Roman, at which he smiled. "And then there was one." Elias said, an unpleasant smile crossing his face.

With General Okada and Colonel Stark…

"General, just got a communique from the Devastator." Stark said, walking up. "They're almost here. ETA, fifteen minutes."

General Okada nodded his thanks and continued pacing the room, just as Frederick the Cat appeared, with his henchman Alec Devron Otranto at his side. "Where've you been?" Okada demanded.

"Gathering evidence of a horrible crime." Frederick remarked. "I've been looking for the Grand Inquisitor for quite some time now, and when I called upon him in his quarters, all I found are the bodies of Colonel Aryn and the Third Brother."

Okada's eyes widened. "The Grand Inquisitor… did he…"

"Kill the colonel?" Frederick finished. "No. That was the Third Brother's handiwork. Stabbed her multiple times in the abdomen before finishing her off with a lightsaber to the chest. The Grand Inquisitor found him there and executed the Third Brother for his crime, from what I can ascertain."

Okada nodded. "And where is he now?" the general asked.

"Likely dealing with the Jedi." Frederick replied. "It is his job, after all."

Okada smiled. "At least they're being dealt with." He remarked. He noted the absence of Frederick's other henchman, the one they named Argo. "Where's your foul smelling friend?" He asked.

"Dead." Alec said. "The Jedi killed him whilst freeing their comrade."

Okada frowned. "Well, you'd best head down to the hangar bay. Our troops could use some assistance."

"My place is with Mr Frederick here, with all due respect." Alec replied. "Not down on the front lines with that white armoured cannon-fodder you call soldiers."

Okada bristled at the insolence on Alec's tone, but held his own tongue, knowing if he made his anger known, it could end with Alec's sword in-between his ribs.

With Roman and Elias…

Throwing Elias back with a Force Push, Roman drove the Grand Inquisitor onto the bridge behind him, charging to press his attack.

Elias intercepted Roman's strike with both of his lightsabers and kicked Roman back, countering with a feint towards Roman's stomach before lunging for Roman's chest.

Roman sidestepped the attack, tripping up Elias as he did before spinning his lightsaber and bringing it down on Elias.

The Grand Inquisitor, with surprising speed, sat up and suddenly jumped, his momentum carrying him into a forward roll which, upon him getting up from, he realised had given Roman time to attack.

And so Roman did, feinting towards Elias' chest before suddenly turning his lightsaber away from the attack and slashing at Elias' throat, hoping to behead Elias at most, or cut his throat.

Elias backed away, blocking the blow with ease as he landed a brutal kick that nearly knocked Roman off of the side of the bridge.

Barely stopping himself from doing so, Roman nearly failed to duck Elias' attempt to behead him, countering by switching off his lightsaber, and punching Elias in the gut, following it up with a stiff left uppercut that sent Elias back a number of paces, adding a fierce Force Push that sent Elias back another few feet, back into the middle of the control hub. Using the Force to push him forwards, he leapt into the air, lightsaber raised and at the ready to cut Elias down the middle.

Elias barely dodged the blow, watching as Roman slashed through the control panel Elias had used to get back up, cutting it completely in two. Seizing the opening, Elias moved to stab Roman in the side with both lightsabers.

Ripping his lightsaber free of the panel just in time, Roman was able to parry the attack, kicking Elias back a number of paces before launching a fresh attack, pounding away at Elias' defences before finally knocking one of his lightsabers askew and slashing through the hilt, rendering the weapon useless.

Now back to his standard single lightsaber, Elias and Roman squared off once again.

"Now we're even." Roman said as he charged to attack Elias.

With Blaze, Ahsoka and Ashley, 5:45 am…

Another scream escaped Ahsoka as a fresh contraction raked her nervous system. Before this, she had thought she knew pain. She had injured limbs, been shot, been stabbed, and suffered other injuries besides. But nothing could compare to how she was feeling right now, which was as if a lightsaber was slowly cutting her in two, while her uterus crushed everything else into sawdust. "How much fucking longer?" She sobbed. She was tired of the pain, tired of the waiting. She wanted Seth, and she wanted him soon.

Blaze rubbed her hand soothingly over Ahsoka's swollen belly whilst gazing worriedly at the clock. It was now fifteen minutes until she had told Roman that Ahsoka would be ready to start delivering the baby. As well, she had learned from a saddened Ashley that Roman had given them that time period before they were to leave him and the other Jedi behind.

Ashley was also eyeing the clock. Please, Roman, please, she thought. The only other time she felt as powerless to help Roman as she was feeling now was when Elias had supposedly killed him during the sack of Mobotropolis. Nothing could have prepared her for that. And now she was worried that somewhere, Roman and the other Jedi were dying, alone and unloved.

A fresh scream from Ahsoka forced Ashley to put on a brave face for the labouring Togruta. "Don't worry, Ahsoka." Ashley said. "Like you said, the boys have impeccable timing."

"Well, that impeccable timing of theirs had better come up soon, or we're going to need to get the fuck out of here whilst delivering the baby, with or without them." Blaze said.

"Have faith, Blaze." Ahsoka moaned in-between sharp intakes of breath. "Remember what Silver told you earlier."

Blaze turned to Ahsoka and nodded. "I'm trying." She replied. "But sooner or later, we're going to need to face facts: That impeccable timing you said they had might not work this time around."

Ahsoka suddenly seized Blaze's hand, startling the pyrokinetic cat and eliciting a small cry of pain from her. "We can't give up yet, Blaze!" Ahsoka snapped, barely forcing down a cry of pain from a fresh contraction. "I am this fucking close to seeing my boyfriend again, and I won't have people like you trying to convince me it's not going to happen!" Ahsoka glared at Blaze fiercely before adding: "Fifteen minutes. All I'm asking is that you have faith for the next fifteen minutes until you said I'd be fully dilated. Then, and only then, will I start facing the facts."

Blaze looked surprised. Despite her obvious pain, Ahsoka was suppressing it just enough for her to make her voice known. No wonder Roman and Seth called her one of the toughest people they'd ever met.

With Roman and Elias…

Roman rolled back as he fell back against Elias' onslaught, readying himself for Elias' oncoming attack, as the Grand Inquisitor raised his lightsaber up high, preparing to bring it down upon Roman's shoulder.

Roman intercepted Elias' oncoming strike and pushed him away, launching a counterattack, with an overhead slash meant to divide Elias in two vertically.

Elias parried the blow, and countered with a left hook that he augmented with the Force, sending Roman flying back a few paces.

Getting to his feet, Roman blocked the blow that would have severed his head from his neck, and parried another that would have slashed him across the torso, retaliating with a left hand of his own to Elias' jaw, knocking him to the side. Pressing his offensive, Roman crosscut for Elias' torso, but this was blocked. Growing frustrated, Roman launched his next attack, which involved a mixture of stabs and slashes, ending with an attempt to slash at Elias' legs with the intent of removing said limbs.

Elias parried all of the attacks save for the slash to his legs, countering this by jumping over Roman as the blow nearly struck, and responded with a slash at the back of Roman's neck.

The vulpine Jedi spun to meet his strike, blocking it and locking their blades. It was now that Roman noticed that Seth had gotten up, and was prepared to attack Elias from behind.

Unfortunately, Elias noticed as well, and pushed Roman away long enough to push Seth back with another Force Push, one that knocked him back over the control panels. With that, Elias returned to Roman, who chose now to attack, catching Elias off balance with his immediate attack.

Roman commenced the attack with a brutal kick to Elias, chest, pushing Elias back a few paces before spinning around like a dervish, crosscutting for Elias' throat, a blow that was barely dodged by the Grand Inquisitor.

Roman refused to stop, battering at Elias' defences like artillery pounding enemy positions, finally kicking Elias back sufficiently for a possible killing blow, one he launched into, drawing back his lightsaber as he stabbed at Elias.

Elias parried the blow and kicked Roman back, deciding now was as good a time as any to finish the fight. Spinning his lightsaber again, Elias whirled around like a dervish, slashing at Roman in a manner that could be countered, and needed to be countered for Elias' plan to work.

Roman parried, and countered by slashing at Elias' head, hoping to slice it in two like fruit.

Jumping back, Elias ducked the next attack, and lashed out with his foot, kicking Roman's lightsaber out of his hand. With a triumphant roar, Elias slashed down at Roman, his blade slashing deeply into Roman's shoulder, from the base of his neck down to the middle of his shoulder joint, where the arm fitted into the socket.

Roman shouted in pain as he staggered back, grasping his wound, unaware of Elias' incoming kick, which brought him to his knees upon its making contact.

Spinning his lightsaber, Elias drew it back, preparing to drive it through Roman's heart and end the vulpine's life once and for all.

Roman closed his eyes and spread out his arms, welcoming his end as wholeheartedly as he could.

Only for the sound of two lightsabers igniting to come to his ears. Opening his eyes, Roman's eyes widened as he saw Seth, now holding both his own and Roman's lightsabers in his hands, begin to attack Elias, lightsabers flashing.

With Caleb and the others…

Caleb checked his watch as oncoming blaster fire thudded into the crate he was taking cover behind, frowning worriedly. It was now ten minutes till six o'clock in the morning, leaving just ten minutes for Roman, Tails and Seth to complete their sub-mission to retrieve Seth's lightsaber and defeat Elias before Caleb set in motion what Roman had ordered: Which was the immediate exfil of everyone but Roman, Seth and Tails. Not precisely his ideal ending to the mission. Turning to everyone else, Caleb shouted: "Ten minutes! Then we get the fuck out of here!"

"What about Roman, Seth and Tails?" Cassian shouted.

"Roman's orders." Caleb said. "Ten more minutes, and we leave without him!"

Cassian was silent for a few seconds before snarling: "Oh, fuck!"

"Not my ideal ending, either!" Caleb replied. "But I guess Roman would prefer we all hated him but were alive to do so, rather than we love him and die doing so!" Caleb paused before adding: "His words, not mine."

Cassian frowned but continued firing, albeit with a heavy heart. He wasn't overly enthusiastic about having to leave Roman and his friends behind if they failed to appear within ten minutes. But if it kept him alive, then that was something he was prepared to do.

With Blaze, Ahsoka and Ashley…

"Ahsoka!" Blaze said, after examining Ahsoka once more.

"What?" Ahsoka shouted in reply, her voice hoarse after so much screaming.

"I've got good news and bad news." Blaze reported.

"Well, what is it?" Ahsoka asked.

"The good news is; you're fully dilated, and ready to start pushing. The bad news is: Seth, Roman and Tails aren't back yet."

"We still have ten minutes." Ahsoka replied. "If I can hold the baby in for that amount of time, then that's what I'm willing to do."

Blaze shook her head. "The contractions will do that for you." She said. "If we're going to do this, then we really need to get started now."

Ahsoka sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, Blaze was right. She couldn't delay the baby any longer. The baby wanted out, regardless of whether his or her father was there to witness it. Nodding sadly, she prepared herself by manoeuvring herself into a comfortable position.

Blaze prepared herself by grabbing the necessary tools for a delivery, such as some towels, which she laid beneath Ahsoka. Then she quickly grabbed some hand sanitiser and rubbed it into her hands to clean them both, for she risked the lives of both mother and child if she performed the delivery with dirty hands. Then, she grabbed a few surgical tools for if she needed to do anything to counteract any complications that may or may not occur during the birth.

As this was occurring, Ashley gripped Ahsoka's hand fiercely as both readied themselves. "Even if Seth's not here for this, we're here for you. Me and Blaze both." Ashley said.

Ahsoka nodded. "At least I'm not giving birth alone." She reiterated.

Ashley repeated the nod, and gripped her hand tightly.

Blaze knelt down in front of Ahsoka, and nodded. "Ready?" She asked.

Ahsoka nodded, and spread open her legs. "Ready." She said.

"Then on three." Blaze said. "One, two, three, push!"

Ahsoka gritted her teeth and did just that, feeling a steady buildup of pain within her abdomen as she pushed.

Blaze counted to ten as Ahsoka pushed, before saying: "And stop."

Ahsoka stopped and took a breather.

"On the next contraction; you push again, got it?" Blaze said.

Ahsoka nodded, and waited for said contraction to hit, before she started pushing again.

Only this time, Blaze became painfully aware that something was wrong. What she saw was not the baby's head, which gave Blaze only one other idea of what was wrong.

The baby was in the breech position.

With Roman, Seth, Tails and Elias…

Roman could only watch as Seth attacked Elias, forcing Elias back under the audacity of his assault.

Seth seemed to have used the ten or so days he had been in captivity to chiefly recover from the injuries he had suffered during the mission to rescue Caleb, and as a result, he was fighting as if he had never been injured.

Elias defended as best he could against Seth's attacks, but found himself driven back as Seth pressed his advantage. If there was one thing he begrudgingly respected Seth Kerran for, it was his mastery of using two lightsabers. Then again, that was something he expected for someone like Seth, who just so happened to be ambidextrous. Finally, he tired of defending himself, and lashed out with a small Force Push, small enough to throw Seth off balance, an action he exploited by launching his assault upon Seth, his fiercest assault yet, combining his knowledge of Makashi with his expertise in Juyo and Djem So, the three forms he had become extremely proficient in: Jabs and stabs at Seth with Makashi, complete and utter aggression through Juyo, and vicious counterattacks for any counters Seth attempted using Djem So.

Seth blocked all of these attacks, using his knowledge of Soresu to its maximum as he blocked and parried a variety of heavy blows that would have left any ordinary man in pieces. But Seth was no ordinary man, he was Seth Kerran of Mandalore, Jedi Padawan, and former pupil of Obi Wan Kenobi, the undisputed master of Soresu. He allowed himself to be driven back, all whilst stone-walling Elias' offence like the Grand Inquisitor's lightsaber was merely a toothpick. He did this as to allow him the correct amount of space between him and the control panels he knew to be behind him, which he could then use to turn the fight around, a tactic he had mastered when it came to lightsaber duels.

Finally, he was at the distance he liked, and broke away, running towards the main hub.

Elias followed, lightsaber at the ready for anything Seth tried;

Save for Seth's breath-taking backflip off of the control panel he had climbed onto, landing himself behind Elias, who yet again found himself off balance. "Surprise, motherfucker!" Seth shouted as he attacked, having retaken the advantage.

Roman, who was watching this, nodded approvingly, saying: "Keep going, Seth!"

Seth intended to, as his lightsabers crashed again and again against Elias' defences, until they began to weaken.

Both Seth and Elias realised this, and responded accordingly, hacking and slashing at each other like their lives depended on it, which it did, particularly for Elias.

Finally, Elias found a brief reprieve, finding himself and Seth in a blade-lock. As they pushed against one another, Elias eyed Seth's face, and an idea came to mind. It was a disgusting, vile idea, but it was an idea that could just about work. Pushing himself out of the blade lock, he lunged forward, grabbing Seth by the head and pulling him closer, before grabbing Seth's left ear with his teeth and biting down.

Shouting in pain, Seth dropped Roman's lightsaber as he reached up to Elias' face, grabbing at it in an effort to get him off.

Elias felt a severe sense of nausea as he tasted Seth's blood, but he held on, and eventually pulled away, tearing off some of Seth's ear along with it.

Seth staggered back, clutching his affected ear, his eyes widening as his hand came away bloody.

Elias merely spat out the piece of ear he currently had in his mouth, before launching his attack.

Seth defended as best he could, gripping his lightsaber with both hands as he did so, but Elias suddenly grabbed at Seth's maimed ear and tugged on it, disorienting Seth to a significant degree.

Seizing his opening, Elias smashed Seth's lightsaber aside, spinning his lightsaber around several times before slashing across Seth's chest twice, once from shoulder to hip, then across his stomach area, before finally driving his lightsaber up to the hilt into Seth's chest.

"NO!" Roman howled as Elias tore his blade from Seth's chest, watching as he staggered back, before toppling backwards onto the floor.

Elias watched this with a hint of indifference before turning to Roman, and smiling. His lips and teeth were still bloody from biting off part of Seth's ear, which gave Elias a gruesomely vampire-like appearance, when coupled with his golden eyes.

Roman looked down at where Seth lay, and then back up at Elias. His breath came in long ragged gasps as an emotion welled up within him, an emotion he seldom felt, and one he had not felt since Frederick had shot Ashley two and a half years earlier: Rage.

Ignoring the protests of the wound to his shoulder, Roman called his lightsaber to his hand, ignited it, and with a savage roar, hurled himself at Elias.

The force of Roman's inaugural blow forced Elias back a few paces as he and Roman moved across the bridge, ending up in the middle.

Breaking the blade lock, Roman immediately barrelled into his attack, hacking at Elias like a woodsman chopping down wood.

Elias defended as best he could, but his defences were failing against the sheer fury of Roman's attack. As with Seth, he'd have to try something drastic, which he did, driving his fist full force into Roman's shoulder wound.

It had the desired effect, as the resultant rush of pain forced Roman to drop his lightsaber, finding himself at Elias' mercy.

"First Kerran, now you…" Elias said as he drew back for a coup de grace. He was interrupted when another voice shouted his name:

"ELIAS!"

Elias barely had time to back away as out of nowhere, Tails leapt over Roman and attacked Elias, his Ataru attacks catching Elias completely by surprise.

The two combatants stopped briefly, as Tails snarled: "You've killed enough people today. I'm not about to let you kill my best friend, too."

Elias scowled. "Pity. Because that's no longer your decision to make!" With this, he launched himself at Tails, who stood ready for him.

With Roman…

Oh no, not Tails too… Roman thought as he saw Tails and Elias begin their duel in earnest. He had been helpless to prevent what had happened to Seth, what difference would Tails make?

He turned to where Seth lay motionless, and felt determination fill him. He would not allow Tails to suffer Seth's fate. Tails was his padawan, and his friend also. Allowing this determination to fuel him, Roman once again got to his feet, grabbed his lightsaber, and charged Elias, joining Tails in his furious attack of Elias.

Masterfully, Elias managed to parry the majority of the attacks the two foxes made against him, but he quickly recognised his fatigue. The prolonged nature of his duel was tiring him out. Drawing on the Force, he managed a brief burst of counter-offence, but a sudden kick to the back of his knee put an end to that.

With a yell, Roman smashed Elias' lightsaber aside, before Tails' lightsaber slashed right through Elias' hand, leaving him unarmed completely.

Elias barely had time to scream in agony for the loss of his hand before Tails suddenly front flipped over him. The next thing Elias knew of Tails' presence was a large blue blade bursting through his abdomen.

With a cry that was part elation part fury, Roman drove his lightsaber up to the hilt into Elias' chest.

Elias' face fell as he looked down at the blade protruding from his stomach, as well as the lightsaber buried up to the hilt in his chest. Falling to his knees, Elias felt both lightsabers being evicted from his body like rent-avoiding tenants as he heard loud explosions beneath him. Looking down, he saw that something, perhaps his still-ignited lightsaber, had fallen into the main reactor, causing an explosion, and the imminent destruction of the Star Destroyer they were on. Looking up at Roman, Elias smiled painfully. "You think this is over?" He demanded. Shaking his head, Elias croaked: "You have no idea what you have just started. From here, it will only get worse." With that, his strength finally failed, and he toppled to his side and rolled onto his back.

So ended the life of the Grand Inquisitor, formerly known as Prince Elias Acorn, would-be king of the Kingdom of Acorn.

Roman watched the life drain from Elias before deactivating his lightsaber and running over to Seth, Tails not too far behind. Kneeling by Seth, Roman said: "We need to get him out of here."

Tails nodded. "It's what we came for." He replied before the room shook, as further explosions rocked it. The Star Destroyer was going to go up.

Roman saw this before saying: "Come on." And as best he could, what with his wounded shoulder, lifted Seth up and began helping him away.

As if on cue, Seth regained consciousness, turning to Roman. "I'm not gonna make it, Rome. Just get out of here." He croaked.

"Not a chance, Seth." Roman replied as he quickened his pace. "No-one gets left behind."

I told you I'd see you tomorrow :)

Anyways, not much to say here except as usual: Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read this chapter. If you enjoyed it, then leave a review in the appropriate section, informing me of what it was that you enjoyed, and what it was that you think I can do better. In the event that you really enjoyed it, then I invite you to favourite and follow this story, so that you will be among the first to read the final chapter, and the end to this story.

Again, thank you for reading, and I will see you tonight with the next chapter, which will bring an end to this heroic tale.

T-Rock14