Chapter 3
Clash at the Spire
Okay, folks let's get going with the next chapter. But first, let's check out the reviews.
1049: Glad you liked it.
Ultra Revanite: It will and it was.
Guest 1: Certainly.
Guest 2: Well, she did show up in Rebels proper, so I could give her a bigger part.
And now, my friends... Let's kick it up!
Lincoln walked alone in a cloudy black void before a pulsing sound was heard as the glow of a crimson Lightsaber illuminated the lined face of a tall man with red tattoos under his yellow eyes with black sclera.
Lincoln quickly pulled out his blaster and began shooting at the man only for him to deflect the blast away before leaping at Lincoln before he narrowly dodged the hit. The man then disappeared in a large mist befor an impossibly large replile came forth and roared before chomping down at the young Jedi.
"Lincoln!" Lucy shouted out the name of her brother as she bolted up in her bed, her heart pounding in her ears and her breath caught in her throat.
Just as Lucy managed to steady her breathing, she could hear crying from beneath her before she lowered the attic ladder and went in to Lisa and Lily's shared room.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.
"It would appear that our youngest sibling has had a nightmare." Lisa deduced as Lucy picked up the crying baby.
"Inky. Inky," Lily cried.
"Oh. I see. You had a bad a bad dream about him too." Lucy said as she held her infant sister close to her.
"It would appear that our guilt over our brothers partially self imposed exile has caused issues with all of our rem cycles." Lisa observed while sitting at her computer.
Since Lincoln left the Loud House, Lisa had been trying to use Lincoln's tracking device to find him. But found that somehow, the tracker had shorted out just after he left and had yet to reactivate.
"We should have never gone along with that bad luck crap. We should have just told him we knew what he was doing and offered him your bunker until it blew over." Lucy said as she finally got Lily to settle down. "Now, he's gone and we have no way of knowing if he's even..." She began to say.
"Do not finish that thought. Lincoln has extensive survival training and he is quite clever. I'm sure he will be fine." Lisa said as Lucy put Lily back in her crib. For now, we should retire to bed." She suggested.
"You're right, Lisa." Lucy said, agreeing with both points made by her younger sister before bidding her good night and returning to the attic where reaching the top of the ladder, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
When Lucy turned to look at what she had thought she had seen, she found that there was nothing there. Though she could have sworn at the glance that she has seen an imposing long haired ghostly man clad in some strange robes standing in her room. She shook these thought away, reasoning that it was just her stress mixed with her lack of sleep making her see things.
(With Lincoln)
High in the clouds of a planet, Lincoln was doing a hand stand on the top turret of the Ghost as Kanan, Zeb, and Chopper watched.
"You know, I thought this Jedi training stuff would be a lot more impressive." Zeb commented.
"Well if you'd like, I can wave around something shiny for you." Lincoln joked, gaining a smirk from Zeb at the comeback.
"Alright. That's enough with the quips. Let's try a different exercise now." Kanan said before Lincoln returned to his feet and walked over to his Master who then placed his Lightsaber in the boy's hand.
"When do I get my own?" Lincoln asked as he looked over the traditional weapon of the Jedi.
"Having a Lightsaber doesn't make you a Jedi." Kanan said.
"I know that. But isn't it tradition for a Padawan to make their own?" Lincoln asked, having studied that aspect of the Jedi from the Holocron.
"Sadly, it's not that simple anymore." Kanan said as he motioned for Lincoln to begin practicing.
Lincoln took several steps away from Kanan and entered in to a wide stance before activating the sapphire blade of the Lightsaber and pointed it down at an angle.
'Form VI.' Kanan noted with a raised brow as Lincoln began to move through the highly balanced sequences of Niman. In his studies, Lincoln was quick to determine that this form which hybridized the five forms created would be ideal for someone of his own forward thinking nature and Kanan couldn't help but agree with that conclusion.
"So, why is it 'not simple' to make a Lightsaber anymore?" Lincoln asked as he continued through the sequences of Form VI.
"In the past, we could just go to the planet Ilum to get the Kyber crystals used to power our Lightsabers. But a few years in to the Empire's reign, they started strip mining Ilum and put one of their largest blockades over it." Kanan explained.
"So, there's nowhere to get them." Lincoln concluded sadly as he deactivated his Master's Lightsaber.
"Not exactly. Historically, there are other places to find Kyber crystals and even other types of crystals that could power a saber. But when the Order fell, records were wiped to ensure the security of the locations. I learned what they were called but never where to find them or the other Kyber deposits." Kanan said as Lincoln handed him back the saber.
"Then we need to keep our ears open for rumors about the deposits or shipments from Ilum." Lincoln said.
"My thoughts exactly." Kanan said with a nod before all of their coma began beeping.
"Boys. You might want to get down here." Hera said from over the coms.
"We're on our way way." Kanan said as all of them went in to the galley of the Ghost to meet Hera and Sabine.
"What's up?" Lincoln asked as he walked up next to Sabine.
"Something that will probably be very interesting to the two of you." Sabine told Lincoln and Kanan before she turned the Holonet on.
"This is senator in exile Gal Travis. Here to tell you more information that the Empire doesn't want you to hear." A voice said before the image of woman with green clad in orange prisoner garb. "Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, one of the greatest protectors of the Republic, is alive and is being held without trial by the Empire. It is my position that she should be given a fair trial rather than be subjected to this unfair incarceration." The man said before Sabine cut off the transmition.
"Master Luminara is alive?" Kanan asked in shock.
"Did you know her?" Hera asked.
"I met her a couple times during my training. She powerful and very wise. We could definitely use her help against the Empire." Kanan said.
"Well, this is gonna be a tough one." Sabine said as she brought up a hologram of the prison where Luminara was being held. "This is the Spire. It was used to hold Jedi and... someone else during the Clone Wars. It's all but impossible to break in or out." She said.
"Key phrase there being 'all but'." Zeb commented, gaining a nod from Lincoln.
"Zeb's right. Everything has a weakness. The key is know just where to look." Lincoln said, as he pointed to a balcony opposite a set of mountains. "We can approach in the Phantom, extract Master Unduli and get out with, hopefully none of the Bucketheads any the wiser." He said.
"Sound plan. But what happens if we are found out?" Zeb asked.
"That's where you and Sabine come in." Lincoln said before pointing to the cell block. "Master Unduli is being held here, a level below the power center and two below the docks. We blow the power and the lifts then each group only has to fight their way through a floor and a half of troopers. Then it's just a matter of Chopper flying the Phantom back up to the Ghost and Hera flying in to pick us up." He said.
"Vomp bwa bwa bwa?" Chopped asked.
"Chop's got a point. How are you going to hack doors without him?" Hera asked as Lincoln and Sabine looked to each other with a shared smirk and nod.
Within a minute, Lincoln exited the galley and walked back in with a small blue probe droid that was painted white on the edge of the top and the two lines between its two red eyes.
"An ID-6 probe." Hera noted.
"I call him 'Sixer'. Sabine and I built and modded him with some the parts we got on that job with Hondo a while back." Lincoln explained as the droid joyfully beeped in greeting.
"It's good to meet you too, Sixer." Hera said with a nod to the the probe droid. "Alright. I'll lay in the corse. Everyone else, go get ready. We've got a Jedi Master to save." She said as the rest of the Ghost crew nodded and went to get ready. All except for Lincoln and Kanan.
"Beep bwoop?" Sixer asked as he floated next to him.
"I don't know, Sixer. Something just feels... off." Lincoln said while looking down.
"It's a disturbance in the Force. I can feel it too." Kanan said as Lincoln looked to him.
"What do you think is causing it?" The young Padawan asked.
"I don't know. But we have to be careful. We can't let our guard down for a second on this one." Kanan said, gaining a nod from his apprentice who then began to prepare his weapons for the mission.
A short while later, the ground team of the Ghost crew had gathered in to the Phantom as the Ghost entered the atmosphere of Styron Prime before the Phantom separated from the Ghost and Sabine flew it through the mountains as Chopper logged the flight in case he needed to fly back to the Ghost in the opposite direction.
"Alright. Let's get this done." Kanan said as he jumped down to the to the balcony where two Stormtroopers were standing guard. He then called upon the power granted to him by the Force to relieve them of their weapons before he pulled them to him and slam their heads together, knocking them out.
"Good job." Lincoln said as he jumped down next to his Master before turning his head to his right shoulder where Sixer floated up from the small docking pack that Lincoln was now wearing. "Alright, Sixer. You're up." He said as the probe droid floated down to the lock of the door as a hacking device lowered from his left side and he opened the door.
"Alright, guys. Stick to the plan and be careful." Kanan said as they moved for the lift and planted a charge at its base before entering.
"Sixer, you stick with Sabine. She and Zeb might need your help." Lincoln said as Sixer floated over to and rested on Sabine's shoulder and the lift game to a stop at the cell prison level.
The two Jedi made their way through the halls of the prison level, strangely finding their way to cell where Luminara was supposed to be with no issue to see only two Stormtroopers.
"The Jedi's cell is two levels down." Kanan said as he waved his hand softly and both troopers looked up.
"Come on. The Jedi's cell is two levels down." One of the troopers said as they both left.
"You have to teach me that." Lincoln said as the two came out from behind the corner.
"Just don't use it to cheat at cards." Kanan joked.
"No promises." Lincoln joked back as the two of them opened the door of the cell to find Luminara. But instantly, the two were able to tell something was wrong as they approached.
The two Jedi then watched a Luminara stood up, Lincoln's hand lowering to his blaster as she walked up and inside a windowed coffin and merging with a dried out corpse.
'That was weird even by our standards.' Lincoln thought as he unclipped his blaster as he and Kanan both sensed something behind them and turned with their weapons drawn to see the man from Lucy's nightmare. "I'm gonna guess this isn't your average Imperial thug." Lincoln said with his blaster trained on their foe.
"I've heard rumors of people like this guy. Inquisitors. The Empire's Jedi hunters." Kanan said as he sparked up his Lightsaber as the tall man ignited the crimson blade of his own Lightsaber, the hilt of which had a bladed hand guard.
"Ah good. Then I can dispense with the tedious introductions." The Inquisitor said as he quickly moved in to attack Kanan, forcing the Jedi to move back as he blocked the assault of the agent of the Empire. "Hm. It seems that you trained under Master Billaba." He notes as Kanan's eyes widened. "Her particular use of Soresu is unmistakable." He said before he felt something pushing him and and turned to Lincoln while kicking Kanan in to the wall of the cell. "Did you really think that would work?" He asked.
"No, but it kept you from looking down." Lincoln said as he struggled to keep the tall warrior from moving as a cryoban grenade he had rolled under him went off, freezing the dark warrior's legs to the ground. "Come on!" He shouted as he and Kanan ran out of the cell, Lincoln throwing an adhesive grenade to block the door.
"We have to keep moving. That's not going to hold him for long." Kanan said as Lincoln signaled for Sabine to blow the charges.
"What happened?" Zeb asked as she and Sabine met up with the two Jedi on the agreed location.
"It was a trap. Luminara's long gone." Lincoln said as they ran out on to the landing pad only to be met by a group of troopers including four black clad ones, three of whom were holding staves and one with a metal sword, all of which were airing with purple electricity.
Without a word, Lincoln, Sabine, and Sixer began shooting at the troopers as Kanan and Zeb ran for the black troopers.
As the two older members of the group reached the melee combatants, Lincoln and Sabine managed to find cover while shooting down several of the Stormtroopers.
"They're gonna need some help if we want to make a quick escape. Cover me!" Lincoln said.
"You got it." Sabine replied to the young Jedi as he jumped out from behind the cover and ran towards the trooper holding the sword and called upon the Force to deliver a concentrated push to their knee, snapping it and causing the trooper to cry out in pain as they dropped their weapon which Lincoln then caught midair and used to block a hit from one of the staff wielding troopers before he could hit Zeb in the back of the head.
The battle continued with Lincoln, Kanan, and Zeb holding off off the black clad troopers fairly well until the door of the landing pad opened once more as the Inquisitor walked out, igniting a second blade of his Lightsaber before the hand guard of it folded out in to a ring which began spinning on the hilt.
'Okay. That's a bit excessive.' Lincoln thought as he, Kanan and Zeb readied themselves while the Inquisitor stalked towards them.
Just then, the Ghost came in guns blazing, forcing the Inquisitor and the black clad troopers back long enough for Lincoln and Kanan to jump up to the boarding ramp and use the Force to pull Sabine and Zeb up to them. Just as they were about to turn and run up the ramp, Lincoln caught site of the Inquisitor's Lightsaber flew towards them. Acting as quickly as he could, Lincoln spear threw the sword in to the path of the spinning weapons, knocking it off coarse as the group ran back in to the ship and made their escape while the Inquisitor called his saber back to his hand began to walk away, passing the black clad troopers and decapitated the one Lincoln had injured for his failure.
"Is everyone alright?" Kanan asked as everyone was catching their breath.
"Yeah. I think we're all fine." Zeb confirmed.
"Good. I'm gonna go tell Hera what happened and try to find somewhere for us to lie low for a while." Kanan said before leaving the rest of the group to head for the cockpit.
A short time later, Lincoln was going through his post mission routine of cleaning his blaster, his thoughts still heavily focused on the day's battle.
'I could barely hold him back.' Lincoln thought before he looked up to see Sabine holding two things. A med kit and her shoulder. "You okay?" He asked as the Mandalorian girl sat down and took off the top half of her armor, revealing the black sports bra underneath and her wounded shoulder next to it.
"It's a straight through. Nothing to worry about." Sabine said as she injected herself with a healing stim and placed a small patch of the front of her shoulder. She was about to grab another patch to put on her back when Lincoln grabbed one from the pack.
"Let me." He said as he gently placed patch on Sabine's bare shoulder, her wound only cementing what he had already been thinking. There were far more enemies he would have to face than just the one Inquisitor. Some would be even more powerful. He needed more power. Not for his own sake. But to protect his new found family and all those who found themselves under the boot of the Empire.
As if this thought from Lincoln acted as beacon, an ancient golden light began to glow brightly as the roar from a massive beast echoed through the cave it was in and through sands of a desert planet.
SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW
Well, there you go, guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next time, Lincoln goes to the exact planet you think I just set up. Until then and as always... Keep on keeping on.