I'm back for another chapter, this one just flowed off the fingertips. It helped that we were only going over the syllabus for most of my classes the past couple of days, so I got this chapter done before the homework started flowing in. Now for someone else to read the disclaimer.
Mara: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfiction. Star Wars is owned by Lucasfilm, Disney, and George Lucas. Please support the official release!
Chapter 5: The Battle of Takodana
Starkiller Base, Assembly Grounds
The mass rally was impressive. Those who were present would never forget it. A thousand or so stormtroopers and their officers fronted assembled TIE fighters and lesser machines of war. Around them rose the central edifices of Starkiller Base. Towering still higher above the buildings were the snowy crags of the surrounding mountain range that simultaneously shut off and shielded the central portion of the base from the world around it.
Glorying in the moment, General Hux stood at the head of the assembly flanked by his senior officers, all aligned atop a raised platform backed by an enormous crimson-and-black banner stamped with the insignia of the First Order. Enhanced by artfully concealed amplification, his voice boomed across the troops assembled on the parade ground.
"Today is the end! The end of a government incapacitated by corruption! The end of an illegitimate regime that acquiesces to disorder! At this very moment, in a system far from here, the New Republic lives and wheezes, staggering onward, depraved and ineffectual and unable in any way to support the citizenry it claims to serve. Meanwhile a host of systems are left to wither and die—without aid, without care, without hope. Drowning in its own decadence, the New Republic ignores them, unaware that these are its final moments." A hand swept sharply downward.
"This fierce machine which you have built, to which you have dedicated your lives and labor and upon which we now stand, will bring a final end to the worthless Senate and its dithering members. To their cherished fleet. When this day is done, all the remaining systems in their hundreds will bow to the dictates of the First Order. And all will remember this as the last day of the last Republic!"
Turning, Hux solemnly gave the signal as the assembled thousand turned to face the mountainous, snowy landscape. He shouted one word, a single word that would ultimately be responsible for the death of billions of sentient and even more non-sentient lives. "FIRE!"
Deep within the mountain, engineers and techs concluded the final firing protocol for the new weapon. A last connection was made.
Above, the rally ground was silent. Then, at a great distance, an impossible blast of light shot into the sky. Despite the remoteness of the actual firing zone, the light was so bright that despite their protective masks a number of the troopers had to cover their eyes. The blast was followed by a terrible concussive roar as a vast column of atmosphere was displaced. In spite of the distance, everyone was pushed back and many were knocked down by the ground tremor that followed.
Imperial Star Destroyer Finalizer
Kylo Ren stood on the bridge of his ship, watching the blast from Starkiller Base streak across the stars. His troops were ready to launch, but Hux had been insistent on having him watch the ceremony. It was both beautiful and deadly at the same time. The vile Republic wouldn't know what hit it. Soon, the blasts would connect with the Hosnian system and their precious Senate would be no more. Without their leadership, the New Republic would soon collapse as each star system would attempt to assert their power. Without the support from the New Republic, the Resistance would be hunted down at their leisure. That was when the First Order would swoop in and restore order as the Empire would reign once more. Ren watched until the beams seemed to speed off into the distance. All at once, five pinpricks of light grew from insignificant specks to sizable dots before disappearing altogether. Ren closed his eyes, feeling the rapid loss of life in the Force. He drew no pleasure from it, accepting that what had happened was for the good of the galaxy. The First Order was in prime position to take control, as soon as Skywalker was destroyed and these mysterious Force users found and neutralized.
"Sir, we have confirmed that the Hosnian system has been completely destroyed," one of the technicians reported, looking at his readout.
"Anything else Ensign?" Ren asked.
"Only that Captain Phasma is eager to commence the attack."
Ren nodded. The sudden loss of life in the Force had strengthened the dark side and he was eager to taste its power. He felt some of it still shy away from him. Angered, Ren let what parts of the dark side Force he could access flow through him. "Tell her to begin landing her troops. I'll be down shortly."
Jade Shadow, Hyperspace
They were about halfway to the planet when it hit them. Kat was the first to feel it, as she had been mediating in the back of the Jade Shadow. The only warning she gave the others was a strangled shriek of fear and agony before the young Jedi fainted, escaping the turmoil into unconsciousness.
"Kat!" Dannard cried before he doubled over as the deaths in the Force hit him with the force of a runaway reek. He couldn't stand, the fear, the agony, the destruction was too much for him. Mara and Leia both gasped as they felt the tremor in the Force. Leia swayed in her chair, leaning against the console for support. Mara, being a Jedi Master, managed to control herself, though the protocol droid noticed her grow very pale.
"Oh dear, it seems that you aren't feeling well, General Leia and Mistress Mara," Threepio said, curiosity in his voice.
"So much death," Leia groaned, "I haven't felt something like this since…"
"Aldreraan," Mara finished grimly. She had only felt pain like that once before in her life and when she had found out the cause, it had shaken her to her core. There was only one thing that could cause pain to radiate through the Force like that.
Leia looked stricken. "But how?"
Threepio started. "Uh, General Leia, incoming transmission from Home Base."
"What?" Leia asked quickly. She was still reeling from the aftereffects, but she remained in General mode nonetheless. Jedi or General, Mara was impressed at how she kept her cool in both dimensions.
"It seems that…oh dear." Threepio looked incredulous.
"Spit it out Goldenrod!" Mara snapped. The sudden drain caused by the Force wave had made her irritable.
"Well, it seems that the Hosnian system has been…completely destroyed," Threepio announced, sounding as if he couldn't believe it. "That can't be right."
"An entire system?!" Dan was floored. "But, how?!"
"I don't know," Threepio answered, "There is no record, no data relating to a weapon of such magnitude. Admiral Statura is prepping a reconnaissance team as we speak."
"Good," Leia said. The mood had gone from somewhat cheerful to dark. She spared a moment's thought for her envoy, Sella, who had been on the Republic capital world when it had been destroyed. And another moment for all who had perished, regardless of their personal or political beliefs. First Alderaan, now the Hosnian system. No one, she knew, should have to be witness to the death of an entire world. Now she had been subjected to two. It must not be allowed to happen again. "The First Order is behind this."
"They built another Death Star?!" Mara was outraged. "Look Leia, I know you said the New Republic didn't take them seriously, but come on! How could anyone in the New Republic not see these guys as a threat?!"
"We don't know yet what caused the Hosnian system's destruction," Leia pointed out, "It could be another Death Star, it could be this Centerpoint Station you told me about, it could be something completely new."
"By the Force, I hope it's not Centerpoint," Mara groaned. "That's the last thing this war needs; a long range planet buster."
"That's not the worst part," Leia said ominously. "Most of the New Republic fleet was stationed in the system. We've lost a big part of our military…"
"And because you guys tried to disband your military so that you wouldn't get labeled as the Empire part two, we're looking at a major disadvantage," Mara stated, recalling the short history lesson Leia had given her while briefing her on the situation. "Great. It'll be just like the old days running with Talon Karrde."
Leia smiled, as she remembered the old smuggler. She had her eyes on other goals. "We need to get my brother back."
"We'll find Farmboy," Mara said reassuringly. "I promise. He may be in hiding, but he can't hide from his wife forever. I just hope he isn't too broken."
Leia looked at the former Emperor's Hand, perplexed. "Broken?"
"Well, this event, where your son betrayed him," Mara began, unable to say the name Ben still. It was weird to talk about Leia's son in such a negative light. She missed her own son and wondered how he and her Luke were coping without her. Knowing Luke's devotion, he'd have probably found those pirates by now. Mara definitely didn't envy them. "And killed…me and the rest of his new Order, the only reason why I think he disappeared is for one of two reasons. One, his ship broke down on whatever planet he had been searching for and he only had enough power to transmit the map off world before losing communications. The second, is that he did that Skywalker thing where he places the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders and blames himself for everything that happened, even the caf pot overflowing, which can break a man's spirit if it's too great. I know my husband is strong, but without me there to support him, I don't know if he could take such a loss."
Dan had recovered enough from the Force wave to stand up, color returning slowly to his face. "Master, the chrono is saying we'll be leaving hyperspace soon. We need to get ready."
"How's Kat?" Mara asked, before turning back to Leia. "We'll finish this conversation later." She turned back to the young Knight, who was tending to the unconscious Katerina. "More importantly, I need her awake."
"I gave her a stim-shot," Dan said, showing Mara the used needle. "She should be up in a bit." As if to punctuate that statement, the female Knight shot up, eyes wide as she tried to remain calm.
"Master, something horrible has happened and I don't know how to describe it!" she began hurriedly.
Mara faced her former part-time apprentice and gave her the look that Kat knew meant to shut up and listen. "Kat, I know, I sensed it too. We'll find out more about it later but for now, I'm going to need you to fly the Jade Shadow."
Kat was confused. "Why me, Master?"
"Because I sense we're about to be in battle and I know you have the skills to keep the Shadow in one piece," Mara explained. "I'll take Noslen with me and see if we can locate this BB-8 unit in the confusion."
Right on cue, the com came to life on the control panel. "General, this is Black Leader, sensor scans are picking up a Star Destroyer in the system. We'll know more once we come out of hyperspace, but I think the First Order beat us here." Mara gave her sister-in-law that knowing glance.
Leia rolled her eyes. "Understood Black Leader, have your squadron ready to engage as soon as we reach the planet."
"Copy that, Black Leader out!"
Takodana, Maz Kanata's Castle (or what remains of it)
A lot can happen in a standard galactic day. For the man who had woken up as FN-2187, it had been a day that could rival few others. The battalion of Stormtroopers that he was currently up against with the help of several smugglers, including the legendary Han Solo and Chewbacca, had once been his fellow warriors. Now, for the man who went by the name of Finn, they were his enemies. Finn's weapon of choice was normally the F-11D Blaster Rifle, as it was the only blaster weapon he as a stormtrooper had been raised to use. Unfortunately for him, with his desertion from the First Order, Finn had to improvise. Now he was using a weapon from ancient times that he had had no training with whatsoever. Then again, very few people nowadays were trained in the use of a lightsaber. Finn was realizing quickly that the glowing blade also made him a target. Ducking and dodging, he took one trooper by surprise, amazed by how easily the blue blade cut through the trooper's armor.
"Whoa," he gasped as the dead trooper fell off the blade, cut nearly in half as the blade cut through the body. It was a powerful weapon, but the lack of range didn't encourage his odds of survival.
"TRAITOR!" came the roar of a trooper Finn remembering bunking with for a time during training. Ironically enough, he remembered the trooper's ID number as TR8-T0R. The trooper dropped his blaster and pulled out the riot control baton and betaplast shield that Finn remembered from his riot trooper training. Obviously he wanted to make this personal. Gripping the lightsaber tightly, Finn met TR8-T0R's charge. Despite lack of any training with a lightsaber, Finn was athletic and courageous. In tandem with such traits, the saber made him a formidable fighter.
Unfortunately for Finn, TR8-T0R was also big, strong, and agile. Finn realized the fight would have long since been over if not for the trooper's regard for the lethal potential of the lightsaber. That didn't stop him from finally knocking Finn to the ground and raising his own weapon for a killing strike—only to be launched backwards, shot before he could deliver the blow.
Rolling over, a relieved Finn saw Han racing toward him, blaster in hand, with Chewbacca not far behind, smoking bowcaster in his hairy hands. The older man reached down and an unexpectedly powerful grip helped Finn to his feet. "You okay, big deal?"
Finn had to grin at that. "I'm okay, yeah—thanks."
They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a dozen stormtroopers, atop a nearby mass of debris and with weapons aimed right at them. Han started to bring his blaster around, then hesitated. The odds sucked. "Drop the weapons!" the lead trooper ordered. "Now!" Surrounded by blasters, they had no choice but to comply.
Han's thoughts were racing as a second squad of troopers appeared behind them. "How are we gonna get out of this one? There's too many of 'em," he muttered to Chewbacca. When no reply was forthcoming, he added, "Any ideas?" The Wookiee moaned a terse reply, to which Han responded with a half sneer. "Very funny."
"Hands on heads. Let's go." The lead trooper gestured in the direction of a parked transport. "Try anything and I'll shoot your legs off."
They didn't try anything. There is a time to take chances and a time to wait for opportunity, Han knew. What he didn't expect was that the opportunity would put in an appearance so soon.
Finn had never been so happy to see a squadron of X-wings. The familiar shapes came in low and fast, roaring over the lake and the forest as they blew apart the First Order ships whose pilots, feeling themselves secure, had nearly all landed their craft in the vicinity of the destroyed castle. A perplexed Chewbacca barked his surprise at the unexpected appearance of the non-Republic ships.
"It's the Resistance!" Han yelled, as hope surged within him. They had a chance. What surprised him was a Sorosuub Star Yacht that was closely behind the X-Wings. The squadron broke off and began to engage the TIE Fighters that had risen to counter the new threat, while the Star Yacht continued forward, turrets having appeared and firing at any TIE stupid enough to fire at it. Marked in black, one particular X-wing swooped in dangerously low, attacking at treetop level while keeping pace with the Star Yacht. Blast after blast took out parked and airborne TIE fighters, clusters of troopers, and support vehicles. Whoever was piloting was skilled enough to fire repeatedly without wasting a single energy burst.
As the captives dove for cover, another blast scattered their captors as they tried to fight back armed only with hand weapons. When the dust cleared enough for them to see, the three rose, and Han and Chewbacca recovered their weapons. Reaching for a trooper's blaster, Finn hesitated. It took him a moment of searching to find the dropped lightsaber. Turning his gaze skyward, he followed the black-stained X-wing as it looped around in an impossibly tight arc, coming back for another run.
"That's one helluva pilot!" he cheered, amazed at the skills of the pilot.
"Yeah," Han yelled as he beckoned to the younger man. "How about you appreciate the maneuvers from behind cover before you get your admiring self shot?"
Finn nodded, casting his eyes to a fallen stormtrooper's blaster. "Got it."
Han rolled his eyes at the young man. He had a lot to learn. He fired two quick shots in succession, taking out two bolder troopers who thought they could sneak up on him. He was still coming to grips with the fact that Maz Kanata had Luke's old lightsaber. That woman was always surprising him, even when he thought he had her figured out. Still, his surprised was nothing to the sight that greeted his eyes in the next five seconds. The Star Yacht he had seen with the X-Wing squadron opened a hatch as it buzzed over their position and two figures leaped out of the hatch, allowing the Star Yacht to start its evasive maneuvers. Han had the brief thought of wondering what suicidal thoughts had come into their heads when they landed with a simple grace in front of him. One of them was a young man in brown and tan clothes much like Luke had started to wear when he was training his new Jedi Knights before the massacre. The other was a woman in form-fitting black clothes and flaming red hair, the likes of which he hadn't seen in years. With three snap-hisses, a bar of blue light appeared in the woman's hands and two bars of green and blue in the man's.
"No karking way," Han breathed as the lightsabers began to spin and deflect blaster bolts. The Jedi were dead! Where had they come from? Sure, Finn was using one out of necessity, but that didn't make him a Jedi. Somehow, these two were Jedi. And the woman looked somewhat familiar.
"Captain Solo," Mara Jade Skywalker called to the bewildered smuggler as she used the Force to fling a daring trooper into a group of his fellows, knocking them down while the accurate fire of the smugglers finished them off. "Good to see you."
"Whoever the hell you are, you sure picked a helluva time to show up!" Han shouted back as he and Chewbacca exchanged shots with some troopers who had found decent cover. The Wookiee roared a greeting which changed into a battle cry as a couple shots exploded near his head. He recognized the woman.
"What do you mean that's Mara?!" came Han's incredulous response. Another roar was forthcoming. Mara smiled. She had missed that Wookiee, and with no Vong war in this dimension, he had survived. Incredible. Maybe there were some perks to dimension hopping after all. A blaster bolt whizzed by her head, reminding her that there were more important things to do at the moment. She sent the next bolt back to its sender and disarmed another trooper who had charged her with a stun baton, both metaphorically and literally as weapon and arms dropped from the unfortunate trooper. Mara quickly put him out of his misery and maintained a covering position on Captain Solo and Chewbacca.
Meanwhile, Dan had made his way over to Finn and was talking nonchalantly with the astonished ex-trooper. "Nice lightsaber you got there. I didn't think I'd get to meet another Jedi out here that isn't Luke Skywalker."
Finn was at a loss for words, pausing and staring at the man as he dove through a pack of stormtroopers, deflecting, disarming, and disabling the lot within a few seconds. "What the?!"
Dan used his green blade to deflect one shot while he impaled another trooper with the blue lightsaber. "Yeah, I kinda figured you weren't actually a Jedi, given I can't sense any sort of Force abilities in you whatsoever. Still, I gotta admit you fight well enough."
Finn was getting numb to all the surprises he had seen in one day. Here he was fighting next to a Jedi Knight. It was becoming surreal. "Thanks, I guess." He raised his blaster, then noted that the stormtroopers were beginning to withdraw. He gunned down one of the retreating troopers, wondering why they had given the order to retreat. He had just spotted BB-8 rolling towards Solo and that female Jedi, so it wasn't that they had captured the little droid. As he looked around for more stragglers, Finn found his attention drawn to a singular figure striding through the edge of the forest. He almost looked away before catching sight of and identifying the burden the cloaked officer was carrying into a shuttle of First Order design. Finn's spirits plunged.
"REY!" Oblivious to the blaster fire of the retreating troopers and the explosions of near misses from the dueling starfighters, Finn sprinted as fast as he could towards the dark figure. He didn't care if it was Kylo Ren, he had to save the one woman who had actually treated him as a person for once. "REY!" Focused as he was on his target, he didn't notice the young Jedi sprint past him, speed augmented by the Force. Noslen had heard the cry and sized up the situation at a glance. If anything, he had to try and keep this man alive. He blocked several bolts with his lightsabers as he drew closer to the shuttle the dark man was boarding. Dan could sense the dark side emanating from this man and readied himself as the man turned, a mask obscuring his features. He wasn't prepared for the sheer wave of Force energy that slammed into him however, sending him flying into a pile of rubble, nor was he ready to find himself pinned to that rubble. That man was powerful. Dan's blades were deactivated as with a flick of his fingers, the man pried Dan's fingers off the on buttons on his lightsabers. He was vulnerable. This wasn't good.
"Kill the Jedi," came the deep voice from the mask as he resumed boarding the shuttle. Dan was chilled by the voice as he threw all his power against the force holding him down, ignoring the two troopers that approached him cautiously. He managed to break free from the Force grip as he felt the dark man's attention turn away from him, but not before taking a blaster bolt to the shoulder. Despite his training with Master Sebatyne, the Corellian Jedi let out a cry of pain as he Force-hurled himself to the side, reactivating his green blade to try and defend himself with his one good arm. Two quick shots from Finn took out the stormtroopers menacing him, but it was too late for the woman Dan had spotted in the man's arms.
"No, no, NO! NO!" Finn was hysterical. "REEEEYYYYY!" No amount of shouting could bring back the shuttle as it and the rest of the battle group formed up, ascending rapidly until they were out of sight of even the powerful lens of BB-8. He sank to his knees, tears on his cheeks. "They took her."
With a neat parry, Mara spun, knocking the stun baton out of the riot trooper's hands and stabbed behind her, striking through the betaplast shield he used to try and defend himself and piercing the trooper's heart, killing him instantly. She let the dead trooper fall, noticing a quiet settle over the battlefield as the First Order fled. While these troopers were no match for her, she did notice that their hand-to-hand combat skills rivaled the old Imperial 501st battalion back in her days as the Emperor's Hand. These First Order goons were going to be a problem. She deactivated her blade and returned it to her belt, allowing herself to be swept up into a mammoth Wookiee hug from an excited Chewbacca.
"Yes Chewie, it's great to see you too!" Mara gasped as she used the Force to keep her ribs from cracking. The Wookiee groaned a question at her as he set her down. "It's a long story and I don't want to repeat myself any more than I have to. Where's Han?" In response, Chewbacca turned and pointed at Han, who was approaching the Jade Shadow slowly, BB-8 at his side. Somehow he just knew who was in there. Mara went to join him, but Chewbacca grabbed her by her shoulders, explaining to her that this was the first time in years that they were seeing each other. "Okay, I get it, let them have some alone time." She saw Dan approaching, supported by a dark-skinned human male who somehow had the exact same lightsaber she had. Checking her belt to see that the lightsaber given to her by her husband all those years ago was still there, she belatedly realized that her dimension hopping had now brought two of the same lightsaber into being. "Well, might as well and see how badly hurt Noslen is. Want to help Chewie?"
The Wookiee shook his furry head, indicating that he wanted to see Leia as well. "He needs a bacta patch!" the man supporting Noslen told Mara as they staggered forward. Mara felt a tap on her thigh and looked down to see an orange-skinned and very short being. What could be seen of the hairless pate beneath the simple gray cap was a withered, weathered yellowish-brown. Huge lenses that were as much goggles as glasses folded forward over both eyes. She was dressed simply and practically: baggy dark maroon pants tucked into handmade boots. A vest of some charcoal gray material was fitted over a blue-green sweaterlike shirt whose sleeves were rolled up to just beneath the elbows, exposing skin that was almost gold-colored. A buckle of some silvery material fastened a leatherine belt from which hung an assortment of tech. In contrast to the plain clothing, the collection of bracelets and rings she wore bordered on the ostentatious. When she spoke, Mara could feel the Force telling her to listen.
"It has been a long time since I have seen a Jedi of your caliber," Maz Kanata said to Mara, "And while I would normally offer you a drink, my home has just been destroyed, so I will offer you my advice instead. You have a long and difficult journey ahead of you, but I know you can overcome whatever is thrown in your way. You have the eyes of someone who believes in their own strength, but do not underestimate the First Order. The galaxy needs you in this dark time."
Mara could sense that this being was very old and very wise. "Thank you." What more could she say?
Sighing, Maz walked off. "Looks like I've got a lot of cleaning up to do."
I'll admit, the scene with General Hux giving the speech to the stormtroopers was copied from the novelization of The Force Awakens, but that's because I wanted to give that scene justice and I couldn't do it on my own. Blowing up an entire star system isn't something to take lightly. Alan Dean Foster has a way with words.
So there we have it, the Battle of Takodana and here's where things start to diverge from the original script. Yes, I buffed Kylo Ren. We'll see how buffed I made him later.
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Please leave a review, as any and all constructive criticism is welcome. As an author, I'm always looking to improve and I like to hear your thoughts about the chapter.
Until the next chapter my friends!
From your Nutty Buddy,
The Eagle Nut