Chapter 64 – Empire Day
Author's Note: There's another time skip here. ^-^
~ Amina Gila
Fifteen years. It's been fifteen years since everything fell apart. Today is the anniversary marking the official worst day of his life, and it infuriates him that there's people actually celebrating it. There is nothing Marr despises more than Empire Day, and he knows that's never going to change. A celebration of death and destruction, which many people are forced to celebrate by mandate.
He always goes out of his way to avoid hearing any of the Emperor's speeches, because it just makes Marr stand there imagining the day that he's finally destroyed for everything he's done. For taking his family from him, for whatever Sidious did to Anakin and Obi-Wan, for everything he's done to the galaxy. So yes, Marr hates this day, but he has a mission to focus on right now, so avoiding the celebration isn't an option, even if he would very much like to spend the day mourning.
Working with Saw turned out to be more helpful than Marr was expecting. Saw has a way of getting ahold of lots of information from the Empire, and often unlike the larger part of the rebellion, he usually takes more action against it. They haven't actually accomplished much, but the numbers of people resisting are steadily growing. They need to do more, though, Marr knows. That is what he's preparing for, after all.
It's hard to believe that it's been about two years since he left Mandalore. He's only had contact with Bo and his sister once, when he went back to get armor for Vizma. She's old enough for it now at twelve years old, and she needs it to protect her. The armor she has was a melted down and reformed version of what was once his father's.
It's... fitting.
Marr moves as indiscreetly as he can through the streets of Lothal, with Vizma trailing behind, staying out of sight as much as she can.
"The Rodian has to be somewhere, but it won't be in plain sight," he muses, more to himself than anything. Saw heard about a Rodian named Tseebo who the Empire is hunting, though why, is a mystery to him. Regardless, it's creating an enormous disruption. Whatever the reason is, Marr knows he needs to find the Rodian first.
Mandalorians are a rare sight, but no one is giving either of them more than a second glance as they make their way through the streets. Lothal seems to be a place where all species and people are welcomed, for which he is grateful. It means no one pays them much attention. To be fair, most people – including the Imperials – are also all gone to the Empire Day celebration parade, and... what's this he's hearing about some new TIE fighter design?!
"Shouldn't we go check this out?" Vizma asks, looking up at him.
While the celebration is a good way to get people out of their path so he can focus on trying to find Tseebo, this is important, too. "Let's have a look," Marr agrees. Whatever this is, it doesn't need to go into production. That much he does know.
He pushes his way through the crowd of people, just as a sudden explosion rings out. The TIE fighter... exploded? He blinks, moving closer through the smoke filling the air. Yes, it blew up. Someone either sabotaged or bombed it, but he thinks bombing was more likely. There must be other rebels nearby.
Marr rapidly scans the area, trying to spot them. They aren't easy to miss, especially when he sees a Lasat trying to take someone's head off with his blaster... someone who is dressed suspiciously similar to the Inquisitors he countered on Mandalore. What was happening on Lothal that Marr walked into without realizing it?! Clearly, this Rebel cell either includes a Jedi or is extremely dangerous to the Empire, and that's all Marr needs to know to follow.
Stormtroopers start chasing the group – he makes out maybe four individuals – and Marr whips out his blaster, taking down several of the stormtroopers in rapid succession before following.
He and Vizma follow the other rebels as they make a dash, winding through the streets.
"Hey, thanks," the youngest calls – a black haired boy with a sense of wildness in his Force presence, which makes Marr wonder who he is. "Who are you guys?"
They pause, briefly, and look at each other. Other than the boy, there's a Lasat – a species Marr had thought was almost extinct, another crime by the Empire – a man who looks not much younger than Marr himself, but something about him looks oddly familiar, and...
What in the –
Sabine gasps, and he feels her shock; she's probably gaping beneath her helmet.
"Sabine," he breathes, a multitude of emotions he hasn't dealt with since he and Vizma left Mandalore crashing back to the surface. He wanted to help her, but he didn't. He told her to run, even if he wishes he'd been able to give her something more. She left with little more than the clothes she wore, to make her way in the galaxy, much like Ahsoka had years ago.
"We need to move," the man interrupts, taking off again as another stormtrooper approaches.
Marr instantly shakes himself back to present. "Later," he agrees, and they take off running. The man contacts someone to pick them up, but the city is on lockdown, so it's too difficult for their pilot to come.
"I know a place we can hole up till things call down," the boy offers. Interesting. He must know his way around here. "But 'shoulders' here might have a problem taking my route."
"Then we need another option," the man declares.
"Nah, it's fine," the Lasat replies, withdrawing his comm. "Spectre-2, can you make it to the Old Market?"
"Affirmative." A woman's voice crackles over from the other end – she must be their pilot. The Lasat climbs up the wall, and the others set out for... whatever the boy knows.
"Who are you?" Vizma asks.
"What are you doing here?" Sabine throws back. There's something different in her presence now. She's older, and it's changed. Hardened. Many things have changed since she left for Marr, and the same is true for her. Sabine's presence was always warm – it still is now, though it's in a way that cuts and burns if you move to close. She's lost trust in people, for some reason.
"The Empire is after someone, and we came to find them. We found you instead," Marr replies, "We had to leave Mandalore. The Empire found me there."
They leave the conversation at that, likely to continue later. Sabine still seems wary, but not overly so. The boy leads them through a roundabout way through the city to an abandoned building. There's a mark on the door that Marr identifies as the Imperial off-limit warning sign, which is... interesting.
The boy opens the door, and they file inside, closing it behind them. Marr immediately pulls off his helmet, turning to Sabine. There's so much he wants to say, but he doesn't know what or where to start.
"It's good to see you," he admits, finally, "I feared the worse."
"I survived," she replies, flippantly, carefully. She removes her own helmet, setting it down on one of the furniture pieces scattered throughout the room. Her hair is dyed orange and blue, and her armor has been painted random swirls of pink, orange, and a few other things. Marr doesn't take a closer look; he's never been one to understand art.
"Who are you?" the boy inquires. He suddenly seems withdrawn again, now that they're calm and alone, no longer in danger.
"Marr," he replies. If Sabine weren't here, he might think twice about trusting them, but it's fine. He can feel it in the Force; these people are trustworthy. Sabine found good friends out in the galaxy, and for that, he is grateful. "Marr Vizsla. This is my daughter. Vizma."
Sabine's eyes widen slightly, and she turns to the other armored figure for maybe the first time. "You've grown."
"These things seem to happen," she shrugs. "We left home right after you did." There's a brief pause before Vizma moves forwards and pulls Sabine into a hug. "It's too bad I can't feel this through my armor and all," she grumbles.
The other rebels are having a quiet conversation a short distance away, before the younger turns to something on the other side of the room, pushing a piece of furniture out of the way. It reveals a floor beneath, though it looks like it was carefully hidden away, reasons for which Marr can only imagine. It's common these days.
There's a quiet sound from below, and the boy gasps, leaning over the edge. "Tseebo," he calls. What? He's here? "Tseebo, it's me. Ezra Bridger."
Marr moves forwards, but the Rodian emerges from the compartment moments later anyway. He's... he has implants in his head, which Marr has heard Imperials do before, and it makes him sick.
"That's the Rodian the Imperials are hunting," Sabine realizes, "You know him?"
"Name's Tseebo. A friend of my parents," the boy – Ezra – replies, "But something's wrong. What's that thing on his head?"
"It carries info," Vizma replies, "Something we need to get before the Empire does."
"They implant lower-level technicians with cybernetic circuits," Sabine elaborates, "Personality sacrificed for productivity."
"Tseebo's productivity is 19% higher than average Imperial data worker," the Rodain declares.
"Tseebo went to work for the Imperial information office after the Empire took my parents away," Ezra replies, and it makes Marr's heart ache. He's so young still, and he's likely been alone since.
"Your parents? You never told us," Sabine frowns.
"What's to tell? They've been gone for eight years. I've been on my own since I was seven."
He's only fifteen...
Marr shakes it off. He can tell the boy is uncomfortable, and he's here on a mission, even if he would like to hang around Sabine a while longer. "Tseebo has information in his implants the Empire doesn't want us getting to," he declares, "We need to access it. See what it is."
"I can do it," Sabine offers, "I need a few minutes."
"Sure," Vizma says, perching on a table. It creaks under her weight.
"Careful," he warns.
"I fought Imperials when I was ten," she whines, "I won't be hurt by a table!"
"I'm worried for the furniture's sake, too," he replies dryly, "That's property damage."
"No one worries about property damage except you."
Marr sighs. Sometimes... He's neglected to tell her of the fact that her mother was once a terrorist and still has many of those habits. Vizma is much like her mother, though in a far lighter way. Her streak for violence remains, though, but he hopes to tame it by the time she's old enough to do serious damage.
He glances back to the others. The boy has disappeared into the compartment, wanting to be alone for a while, and he finally senses the man's eyes on him. He looks so familiar, though Marr can't place it. Maybe he just reminds him of someone...
"I saw one of the Inquisitors here," Marr says finally, "Who are you? I can't imagine Sabine alone would be enough to send an Inquisitor after."
"How do we know we can trust you?" the man inquires, a question which Marr has been expecting for a while.
"Because of this," he replies, pulling out the Darksaber. "I still have my old lightsaber, but my daughter uses it until we find a kyber crystal for her."
His shock flares into the Force. "You're a Jedi?"
"I was," Marr replies, a sudden sense of heaviness nagging at him, "Once."
"Theseus?" he asks, faintly, and something about that voice...
He remembers, suddenly, distantly. It's different now after so many years, but... now that he's actually looking for it, there's a distinct similarity in Force presence and physical resemblance too. He noticed the slight limp the man had earlier – it doesn't impair his fighting abilities or anything; it was simply there – and... he remembers Caleb was told long ago he was going to have permanent injuries from the bombing, despite being healed. "Caleb?" Marr asks slowly, disbelievingly.
All these years, he thought he was dead. Of everyone in his former family, Marr was the most certain Caleb would have died. He was only a padawan, after all. It's been a long time since he thought about him much. It was easier not to.
There's a heartbeat of silence where neither of them moves or speaks. Marr doesn't even know what to say. He never expected right here and now to get reunited with the person he once called his little brother.
Caleb steps closer, and the two of them embrace. Marr doesn't care that it's been years, or that all things considered, they hardly knew each other before. He spent all these years believing everyone he knew was dead. But he can't believe this. Caleb is here, alive, right in front of him. It makes him wonder again who else survived, of those he used to know. Maybe he'll find them someday, now that he's out here.
"I thought you were..." Marr trails off as the two finally pull apart. The others in the room have stepped off to the side to give them space.
"I did too," he says, faintly. "I thought I was one of the only ones left, and I didn't want to hope."
"Me either," Marr admits, "How – how were you able to escape?" He doesn't mean to bring up memories of that, but Marr himself never would have, most likely, if not for his armor and the crashing ship.
"I ran," he answers simply, which says enough for now. In the right place at the right moment, then.
"I hid on Mandalore, afterwards," Marr explains, "But now probably isn't a good time to get into this."
"I hid too," Caleb replies, "Until I realized I couldn't rightfully stay out of the fight anymore. And I agree, it's not a good time to talk about this."
"One more thing you should know," he adds, "I'm Marr now."
"Kanan," he says. "Kanan Jarrus."
It... it's strange, but he's not the same person he used to be. Marr isn't either. He's not really Theseus anymore, and he never can be again, but it doesn't matter. He's content with who he is, as a Mandalorian.
Sabine calls them over a few minutes later, having the information on the new TIEs and a five-year plan for Lothal and every world in the Outer Rim.
Vizma's eyes widen. "We've gotta get that to the others immediately!"
"Others?" Sabine repeats.
"We get information detrimental to the Empire from a group of people we know," Marr replies vaguely. He doesn't know how much more information we should go. "We need to get him off Lothal and to someone who can use that."
"We gotta smuggle him out of town first," Kanan says, and that's that.
**w**
"You get the transport," Marr instructs the others, "We'll be your air support."
"I really need to get a jetpack," Sabine mutters before she takes off after Kanan, Ezra, and Tseebo. It would make the mission a great deal easier too, if the Rodian would stop rambling non-stop as they tried to sneak down the street. He clearly doesn't understand the dangerousness of the situation.
He and Vizma settle on top of the transport, watching for any signs of trouble as they race away, heading for the outskirts of the city. There's going to be trouble. It's only a matter of when it shows up.
The officer at the checkpoint orders them to stop, but the transport only increases speed in response. "They're going to blast us," yelps Vizma as the walkers turn and take aim. Marr instantly activates his jetpack, and she does likewise, seconds before the first blasts strike the transport.
It shakes violently, but the shots don't get past it's shields as it continues racing for the exit. The officers all dive out of the way barely in time, and the transport overturns the walker in its path as it speeds by. They race past the checkpoint, back onto the road again.
Behind them, Marr can hear the sound of approaching engines, and looking down, he sees another transport and several Imperial bikers in close pursuit. He spins around, shooting at the stormtroopers on bikes who are currently approaching the transport. The first one goes down easily enough but the second one raises alongside the transport, throwing an explosive onto the side right before Marr shoots him down. The explosive goes off, tearing a hole through the side of the transport, but at least that shouldn't slow them down.
The other approaching transport opens fire, the blasts repeatedly striking the back of the one in front. Circling around, Marr flies for it, tossing an explosive of his own onto the side of it. It tears through the side, and he flies in through the smoking hole, knocking the first two stormtroopers in sight to the ground.
All the stormtroopers in the back of it instantly start shooting. He dodges the way of their fire as much as he can – ignoring the blasts that strike his beskar – as he shoots back at them, throwing the others out the door. Vizma flies in as soon as the entrance is open.
The last remaining person in the back, who must be an officer of some kind from his helmet and uniform, withdraws a long electrostaff-like object, activating both ends and swinging for him. Pulling out the Darksaber unless it's absolutely necessary would put all of them here at unnecessary risk, he knows.
He ducks away from the first blow, blocking the second with his arm and twisting around so the man is facing his back to the hole in the transport. Vizma promptly shoots at the man, and he jumps out of the way, giving Marr the opportunity to shove him out.
Taking down the two pilots is easy enough, so he shuts down the transport and then sprints back outside, flying upwards again to see a ship flying in, the Lasat standing on the open ramp. "Get on board!" the Lasat calls as Kanan carrying Tseebo along with him, clammers onto the top of the other transport, soon followed by Ezra and Sabine.
"We'll get back to our own ship," Marr calls back.
The ship flies down until its ramp is practically touching the top of the transport and the others hastily scramble on board.
"We have incoming!" Vizma calls suddenly.
Marr looks up sharply to see five TIEs flying in towards them, all of which promptly open fire on the ship. He flies towards them, pulling out the Darksaber, blocking a blaster shot as one of the TIEs tries to shoot at him.
He lands on the top of one of them, slashing through the wing and sending it spiraling out of control before he flies for the others. The other ship, meanwhile, finally starts shooting with its own guns, taking down another of the TIEs. Too many shots are striking the back of it, and its shields are going to fail if they don't get these things taken down soon.
He moves on to the next one as they continue to chase the ship, heading higher and higher up into the atmosphere. It's getting harder to fly with just a jetpack because of the wind, but he finally destroys the fourth one, before the fifth spins around, shooting at him furiously. Something about the way that pilot is flying... He's definitely a Force-sensitive, and Marr can feel the Dark Side around him. Another Inquisitor? Is there one or two of them here?
He tries to deflect away the barrage of laser shots, but one of them strikes his beskar, the force of the blow sending him momentarily spiraling out of control. "Daddy!" Vizma appears at his side in an instant.
"I'm fine," he assures as he gets his jetpack back under control, looking up to see where the ship disappeared too. They're both far away from him now, but he thinks the others should be able to handle the escape on their own.
Time to get back to his ship.
**w**
"We're going to stay here?" Vizma asks, looking up at him.
"For now," Marr replies. He already told Saw about what happened, and that he's planning to stay out here for now. How could he not, after all? He finally found Caleb again, after all these years. He only realizes now how much he missed him, and he wants to stay around him, if possible.
It's longer than he was expecting, though, before the others get back.
They finally land in the endless fields of grass, far enough away from any town that no one will find them. Marr directs his ship to somewhere nearby, and he and Vizma head over to join the others.
Kanan and a green Twi'lek are the first off the ship. "Marr," Kanan greets, and something about his expression seems a little graver than it did earlier, even if he's obviously still happy to be here, "Meet Hera Syndulla. Hera, these are Marr – formerly Theseus – and his daughter, Vizma." Interesting. He obviously knows this Hera very well, enough that she seems to know who 'Theseus' is. It's not a surprise, though. They've probably been working with each other for years. From the little he's seen, the group seems to act very much like a strange... family. (Not much unlike the one Marr used to have.)
"Nice to meet you," Hera greets, "We'll be glad to have your help here, if you're planning to stay."
"I am, at least for now," Marr replies, and Kanan seems to brighten a little. Zeb and Sabine step into view, heading down the ramp behind them.
"Where's Ezra?" Vizma wonders.
"He... needs some time to himself right now," Kanan answers.
Marr frowns. Did something happen? He doesn't ask. It's not really his business, if they aren't willing to share.
"I imagine you two have plenty of catching up to do," Hera says.
"We do," Kanan agrees, "You can... come onto the ship if you want."
"Sure," Marr agrees, moving past the others and heading up the ramp. He follows Kanan to his room, where they can talk uninterrupted. But now that they're here alone, he suddenly doesn't even know where to start. It's been so many years since he last talked to anyone who knew him this personally in the past.
"You said you were hiding on Mandalore?" Kanan is the first to break the silence.
Marr nods. "After I escaped the clones, I... didn't have much other place to go. I was in hiding elsewhere for a while, though. It was hard at first, because I didn't even really know how to survive in the outside world."
"I didn't either," Kanan admits, "I survived by stealing for a while, since I didn't know anything else."
Marr winces. And he thought it was hard for him. Caleb was only like twelve. And he didn't have someone like Ahsoka to help him survive. "Ahsoka was with me –"
"She's alive?!" he demands, eyes widening.
"I – yes. I mean, she was." He doesn't want to think about that though. He's always assumed she was, that he would know it if something happened to her, but he can't be certain. "I haven't seen her since we separated years ago, but..."
"Do you know of anyone else who survived?"
"No, I don't. Do you?"
Kanan hesitates for a moment. "I know Master Kenobi survived the beginning, but I have no way to know if he's still alive now. I picked up a recording from him, after I escaped. I was going to head back to the Temple but picked up a message warning all survivors to stay away."
Marr freezes, his breath hitching at the words. Obi-Wan survived. He's alive – or was, just like Ahsoka. Just like Maul had told him there was no way he could've died from it. It was easier to just accept that he had but... It seems like his past is coming back to haunt him now. He wishes he'd looked for his master years ago. Obi-Wan probably has no idea he's still alive, unless he's met Ahsoka since, which... is quite likely. (It also makes him wonder again what happened to Anakin. Is he...?)
"I have it here, if you want to see," Kanan continues, withdrawing a holocron and holding it out to him.
Slowly Marr reaches out, taking it from him, and opening it with the Force. He doesn't know if he's ready to see this – doesn't know what he's about to see – but he can hardly not after what Kanan just told him. He misses his master so much. He and Obi-Wan had many struggles in their relationship, and now he wishes more than anything they'd been able to repair them.
"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi," the hologram says in that painfully familiar voice he could never forget, and for the first time in years, he feels like Theseus again. He missed his master so much. It was easier to let go of Anakin and Ahsoka, no matter how incredibly painful that was, because their relationship was always more positive. With Obi-Wan, there was so much he regretted, so much he wished could've been different, and it made letting go of it harder, knowing he would never be able to fix anything now.
"Both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain." The words hurt so much, maybe because hearing it – and seeing Obi-Wan again, looking exactly as Marr remembered him – is reminding him all over again of how things once were. The time of being at the Temple has passed, and he long since accepted it, but everything about the past is coming back to haunt him now.
"We will each be challenged, our faith, our trust, our friendships, but we must persevere. And in time a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you always." The hologram flickers off at that, and Marr really wishes for a moment that the message would be longer, because this is... the first he's heard from his master in so many years, even if he's not here. But he could still be alive out there. Somewhere.
He probably kept on fighting, like Marr should have done from the start. Maybe. And anything could've happened to him and Ahsoka in all these years. That's the hardest part, he supposes, about accepting that Obi-Wan survived Order 66. Because if he did, it might not matter anymore anyway. He still doesn't want to hope for something he'll never get it.
"In time, a new hope will emerge."
It... means more than he could ever say, hearing that from his master. Hearing from someone else he once respected that there's actually hope they'll one day defeat the Empire.
He needs time to process all of this, so he's grateful when Kanan remains silent, letting him deal with his raging emotions.
"I don't think now is a good time to bring this up," Kanan says quietly, "But while we were gone, we ran into an... Inquisitor."
"That person from the Empire Day parade?" Marr asks, trying to come back to himself. It's not easy. He's thinking more about his past than he has since not long after everything fell apart, and he finds that he doesn't want to let it go. Not this time. He wishes he could go back, but it's pointless, because he can't. It's impossible.
"Yes. He tracked us, and we fought him again, but while we were doing it, Ezra used the Dark Side. He doesn't really remember what he did, but he used it to control an animal to attack the Inquisitor and saved me. I'm not sure how to... handle this. I don't know if I'm really the best person to teach him."
"I haven't seen you two interact much, but from what I've seen, I think you're doing fine," Marr reassures, "I can help him with it, though, if you want."
"Thank you," Kanan replies, "I know you have experience with that."
Marr nods. "It's no problem."
He has to admit that his mind is mostly elsewhere at the moment, though. If he's around here, he'll definitely take the time to help Ezra, but something tells him staying here will bring back more and more of his past. He doesn't know if he's ready, but... he's never wanted anything more, even if it frightens him.
Final Notes: If you want to join our Discord to receive updates or just hang out, here's the invite link, and please delete the spaces! :) discord . gg / nqSxuz2
You can find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (which is our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes; we also advertise our SW gift exchanges on there)
And! We have a YT channel for tributes! Please delete the spaces in the link. :D youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA
Finally, if you're interested, you can submit a SW gift fic request via the following form (delete the spaces): forms . gle / rmXWtRomMMaULuPa6