Shesprer stood in the middle of the gathered crowd outside among the trees. Almost everyone was there, but he couldn't see one of them anywhere. Ken. He was definitely awake, Shesprer knew that. He had seen his open and empty tent. But where he was now remained a mystery. However, Shesprer was not worried that anything had happened to him.

"Quiet!", Duke called out to begin his speech.

"Comrades, the big day has now come! Get ready everyone to go! Once you're done packing, come back here to review the battle plan! And then, off we go! Come on!"

Just a few minutes later everyone was fully equipped and there with their backpacks packed. Duke looked through the rows again to make sure everyone was there. He seemed to be looking for someone. Had he even noticed that Ken was still absent? Shesprer thought about telling him straight away. He then raised his hand.

"Ken's still not here if you're looking for him."

"Yes, I see that now," replied Duke, slightly annoyed. "And neither does Iasa. What…"

"She won't come either," Ken's familiar voice came from the side.

All eyes turned to him. At first, Shesprer was just happy to see him. However, when he perceived its aura, he saw a strong seriousness and determination. And then he realized what he had just said.

"What does that mean now?" Duke asked.

With a serious look, Ken walked over to him and pulled out a small holoprojector.

"It's best if you hear it from her yourself."

He pressed the appropriate switch and a holo-image of Iasa appeared. While she spoke, everyone stood still and listened, spellbound. When the hologram disappeared again, no one said a word. Everyone was probably too shocked. Even Shesprer couldn't believe what he had just heard. Iasa had withdrawn for family reasons and now Ken should be her new leader? Nobody was prepared for such a sudden change.

"I know this may be sudden," Ken spoke to everyone to encourage them. "It may even seem like betrayal to you. But I can assure you that Iasa knew what she was doing. Choosing me, a Jedi, and someone she'd only known for a few days couldn't be arbitrary. She saw something in me. She knew I was a natural leader, something I didn't even know myself until recently. She trusted me. And you all trusted her. And so I ask you not to trust me, but to trust her judgment. I swear by the Force that I will carry on her legacy with dignity."

"Hey," Duke interrupted. "There is no need to convince us any further. If Iasa has chosen you, then we will follow you, come what may."

He knelt before him, whereupon everyone else did the same, including Shesprer.

He was impressed with what Ken had become. There was nothing left of the naive, hesitant, even whiny boy. Before him stood someone who had found his resolve and accepted his role. As he himself said, he had become a true leader, someone who gave hope to others and who took responsibility. Something Shesprer hadn't done yet, but he knew he wanted to follow Ken. If necessary, to war, and even to death. Because Ken always knew what was right.

The Jedi smiled a little. "I knew I could rely on you. Now stand up. We have a battle to plan."

The others stood up again.

"Then please tell us your plan," Duke requested Ken.

"As already stated, it will be necessary to disable the defenses before the major attack," Ken began. "Now that we have the necessary codes in our possession, a small force must first enter the base and do this."

"And what does "a small force" mean?" a warrior interjected.

"Me, Duke and Ornan," Ken replied dully.

Quiet murmurs spread. Shesprer also wondered what exactly he was up to.

"Is it really so smart to only do this with three people?", Duke voiced everyone's thought.

"Do not worry. After all, we have a perfect leader on our side." He looked over at Ornan.

"No problem," he dismissed it with a casual wave of his hand. "We can do it. I know the building inside and out."

"Okay," Duke sighed, still unsure. But he trusted Ken.

This showed Shesprer that Ken now also came across as much more confident and charismatic. It was now much easier for him to convince people of himself and assert himself.

"How long do you expect it to take to get from the entrance to the control room?" asked Ken Ornan.

He shrugged his shoulders. "If all goes well, probably twenty minutes."

Ken turned back to everyone. "Then the three of us will get a twenty minute lead. When these are over, the main force should move forward and as soon as they get there, storm the base without hesitation and secure the outside area. We will then join you as quickly as possible and then take the base together from the inside."

To Shesprer the whole thing seemed a bit improvised.

"And who should take command of us?", a warrior asked.

"Thanks for the question," said Ken. "I continue to be in command of the entire operation. But for the short period of my absence, I will hand over command of to Shesprer."

Shesprer briefly thought he had misheard. How could Ken trust him with something so important after he had so recently disappointed him?

"I must object!" Shesprer shouted. To his surprise, Ken's smile remained, as if he had expected this. "I can not do that. I can't lead anyone, especially not such a large group. I can't even take responsibility for myself."

"You're wrong," said Ken. "You already had that."

"What?" Shesprer asked. "But you blamed me exactly about that two days ago."

"Then you misunderstood me," said Ken. "I criticized you for concentrating too much on yourself and constantly only thinking about your success. You always neglected to care for others."

"Then you can't trust me with command of her now."

"I wouldn't if I hadn't already noticed an improvement in you. The last battle showed me that you are fully capable of putting your ego aside when necessary and taking your role in the battle."

Shesprer was pleased with this praise and that Ken acknowledged it. But despite everything, he didn't feel ready.

"Don't worry," Ken said. "All you have to do is lead them through the jungle to the base and stand outside for a moment. Then I will join you again and take command."

"Okay," Shesprer then gave in. He was right. What was supposed to happen? And he would probably learn best under pressure. But even if Ken was a good leader now, he was not a teacher like Master Hysha. It was still best to question his decisions further.

"Alright?", Ken asked the crowd again. Everyone replied, and Ken set off with Duke and Ornan. He turned back to Shesprer.

"With you too?" he wanted to reassure himself.

Shesprer nodded. "Yes."

Ken returned his nod. "Then may the Force be with you."

….

A few hours later, Ken could finally see the outline of the building peeking through the trees.

"We're here," Ornan told them. "Follow me and don't make a sound."

They approached carefully until there was only a row of trees between them.

Ken looked up and was amazed. Ornan definitely wasn't understating. There were heavy gun turrets at regular intervals all around, which could certainly take out an entire troop with one shot, and up to the last floor there were turbolaser batteries at important points, which were removed from a dreadnaught. No expense was spared under any circumstances. But it was also clear if you had something to hide from Mandalore himself.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Ornan said.

"Yes," Duke confirmed. "It's just too bad that this is exactly what will be our downfall now. How are we supposed to get anywhere near that?"

"I wonder that too," Ken agreed. "Seriously, not even a whole battalion could hold out here for long."

"Don't worry," Ornan said. "Everything here is controlled manually. If we are quick we won't be in danger."

"Then let's go," Ken decided and wanted to run across the open field.

"Wait a moment," Ornan stopped him. Ken stopped and looked at him expectantly.

"I wanted to say that there are tons of cameras in there. So once we're inside, we have to act quickly if we don't want to be discovered."

Ken nodded at him. "Understood. Then let's go now."

They quickly burst out of the bushes and ran towards the building as fast as a swoop bike. Once there, they all pressed themselves against the wall and hid in a blind spot from the cannons. Nothing moved.

"Seems like we went undetected," Duke commented.

"Yes," Ornan said. "Now there is just one problem. The door can only be opened from the inside."

"What?" Duke was stunned.

"No problem," Ken reassured him. Before Duke could ask any more questions, he connected to the gate through the Force and pushed it open just enough for them to fit through one at a time.

The other two were amazed.

"Be amazed later," said Ken. "Go in now before it closes again."

Following this, they squeezed through the gap one by one, and when everyone was inside, Ken closed the door carefully, without making a sound.

"So far, so good," he gasped. They found themselves in a large entrance area, which was divided into several paths at all corners. Looking up, he could see all six floors, as well as the guards patrolling there. They quickly retreated to a dark corner.

"Where do we go now?" he asked Ornan.

"There," the Mandalorian said, pointing to the back left corner of the room.

Ken motioned for him to go ahead. "Then lead us."

They ran along the wall until they reached the wide corridor.

Once there, they immediately pressed themselves back against the corner when they saw three guards.

Ken indicated to them what they had to do and they both nodded to show that they understood.

Immediately afterwards, Ken jumped out of the corner and unleashed a Force blast on the surprised guards, who then flew back down the hallway. When the other two emerged, they aimed their blasters and shot the two outsiders while they were still flying through the air. Ken jumped between the blasts towards the one in the middle and stabbed his lightsaber deep into him.

"Come on!" he shouted. "Continue!" He knew that in a minute at the latest everyone here would know that there were intruders.

The others caught up with him and Ornan ran ahead again. As they continued on their way, they killed five more guards until they finally reached the turbo-lift.

"How much further?" he asked Ornan as they got in.

"This turbolift will take us to the fourth floor. The control room is in the fifth, and above that is the laboratory with the experiment in question. The last two floors must be climbed on foot for safety reasons."

"Why is that now?" Ken asked annoyed.

"So that any intruders don't come and get to the two most important rooms just like that."

Ken sighed as the door closed and Duke pressed the button for the fourth floor.

"It's a good thing we're not just any normal intruders."

Ornan grinned. "Where you're right."

….

With a bottle of mushroom brandy in his hand, Cuyaes sat in his lounge in the base and took a few sips with pleasure.

As he looked at the glowing liquid, he remembered the night he sat outside with Duke and Ken and they drank together. His bad conscience came back to him. He knew that what he was doing was probably wrong. Only now he understood that these people with whom he had spent almost a year, with whom he had shared his food, his shelter, his bed, his worries and hopes and with whom he had fought battles, actually meant something to him. And now he had betrayed them.

He quickly dismissed the idea. Yes, these people may have meant something to him, but he did it all for his family. For his wife, with whom he had spent countless years and whom he loved more than anything, and his children, for whom he wanted to give them a glorious future. There was nothing more important to him than her. For them he would betray everyone, even start a war. Besides, there was no turning back now anyway. He should stop wasting energy thinking about it and get back to the relevant things.

When his comm beeped he picked it up.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Several dead guards have been found," reported the warrior on the other end. "We suspect someone broke in."

Cuyaes understood the situation immediately. So you were here.

"Switch everything to alarm immediately. All available troops should go to the control room immediately, I repeat, go to the control room immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Cuyaes turned off the comm, stood up, put on his helmet, picked up his beskar spear, and set off as well. There was no going back.

….

Ken and Duke, led by Ornan, frantically ran up the stairs that led them to the fifth floor.

One thing struck Ken as strange. They haven't encountered a single guard since they got out of the turbolift. It all seemed too quiet to him. Did they walk straight into a trap? But how would they know about their plan? And even then, if they managed to take out the defense, they won anyway. They're even ten minutes earlier than expected. A good cushion of time should anything go wrong.

"The control room is up there," Ornan called as they turned another corner. "Give me cover for a moment so I can open it."

As they continued toward it, Ken felt uneasy. And then he knew what it was.

"Stop!" he called to the two of them and they barely stopped before five Mandalorians emerged from both junctions in front of them, all with blasters in their hands.

"What?" Duke asked, shocked.

Ken was at least the same way. The fact that they were here could only mean that they knew about their plan and had been gathering here all along to set a trap for them.

But he actually didn't care. They could easily handle ten guards. He grabbed his lightsaber and charged forward, between Duke and Ornan.

He was so fast that his enemies didn't even have time to fire a shot before he reached them and killed two of them. But even then they got no further, as Ornan and Duke had already opened fire and sent three more to the army of the afterlife.

"That's enough now!" he heard a voice from the back of the hallway.

There were at least twenty other warriors there, including one in a red uniform among all the blue ones.

Ken knew that they had no chance against all of them, especially since they were between them.

He cursed himself and everything around him. How could they have found out about this? There must have been spies among them, there was no other possibility.

But he knew they had to try now. Failure was not an option. If they failed, the mission would be over and everyone else, including Shesprer, would die.

"Now put down your weapons and surrender, otherwise we will open fire."

Ken paused for a moment. This voice seemed somehow familiar to him. But he couldn't afford this distraction. He grabbed his lightsaber and attacked.

Shortly before he reached him, the Mandalorian took off his helmet.

Ken stopped in shock. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, although in a way that was the case here.

He saw Cuyae's face in front of him.

"Cuyaes?", he asked, still confused. "What are you doing here?"

However, before he could ask any further questions, a stun blast hit him and he fell to the ground, completely unconscious.