Jedi: Remnants

by QueerNoob

Seven years after the events of Jedi: Survivor, Cal Kestis and his family have established the Hidden Path on Tanalorr and life is good. He and Merrin have trained Kata Akuna, now a teenager, as a Jedi and Nightsister along with several other Force-sensitives. But a strange experience Kata has will soon reveal that things are not all that they seem... (Cal x Merrin) (Long fic)

10. Chapter 10 - Nightmare

10 / Nightmare

Chaos erupted in Haven. People in the square turned their heads to the sky and began shouting, screaming and running in every direction. Kata was rooted in place, unable to do anything but stare at the enormous ship looming above, eyes wide and panicked breaths being forced through her body. Cal also stood frozen beside her, the reality of what they were seeing sinking in.

The Empire was here.

Another boom, another ship dropping out of hyperspace had the two of them turning their heads to the west, where they saw another Star Destroyer looming above the Western Expanse. A gasp left Cal's mouth as he realised they were doing exactly what he'd feared: cutting those in the west off from support from Haven. Kata took a step in that direction, unsure of what she could do, but wanting to do something. Cal held his arm out in front of her.

"It's too late." He said simply.

"But we have to help them." Kata protested.

"We can't."

Kata's eyes widened.

"But they'll all die! There's six hundred people over there!"

"There's nothing we can do now!"

Cal turned towards his Apprentice, not having meant to shout at her. The way she was looking at him threatened to tear his heart in two. He bent down in front of her and gripped her arms with his hands, looking into her wide brown eyes.

"Listen to me," He said more gently. "The only thing we can do now is defend Haven and save everyone we can."

Kata's eyes darted between his, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She couldn't comprehend the thought that they had to just leave almost half of their people to die. But she knew he was right; even if they left now, they wouldn't make it in time for most of them. The Empire worked swiftly, as she well knew. In a matter of hours, this would all be over, one way or another.

"Right." Her response was barely a whisper.

"The alarm," Cal jerked his head behind her. "Go."

Allowing her body to take over, Kata left him, only hesitating briefly, and sprinted for the offices. When she reached them, they were empty, the Anchorites already having cleared out. Sister Taske probably wasted no time in preparing them to defend the town; they were likely outside and armed already. Kata rushed behind Sister Taske's desk, finding the control panel, BD-1 leaping from her shoulder and beginning to push buttons. Kata found and pressed the hidden button beneath it to activate the alarm. It began to blare and red lights blinked above her.

"BD-1," Kata addressed the droid. "Are the town defenses active?"

"bwee-oop!"

"Good. Come on, let's go."

She held out her arm for him and he clambered onto her back as she sprinted back outside. She heard it before she saw it, the sound causing her to look up to the sky; the all-too-familiar scream of tie fighters closing in. She saw them, hundreds of them, approaching rapidly from the Star Destroyer above. The defense turrets were shooting them down, but their numbers were overwhelming. She widened her stance and pulled her saber from her belt, activating both blades, preparing to defend herself as three of them pulled quickly into range. One of them fired right at her as it passed overhead and she managed to deflect most of its blast directly back at it. She saw the green lasers rip through the ship and it immediately caught fire and spun out of control, disappearing behind the mountain where she heard it crash.

Keeping her weapon drawn, she hurried back down to the square, where she could see Jedi rushing in from every side, lightsabers of all colours drawn, at the ready. She looked up as she heard ships passing, seeing they were Imperial troop carriers, heading for the Southern Expanse. She rushed down to the square to join her fellow Jedi. Many of them were the Padawans from Master Horos' class this morning, though she couldn't see him now and thought he must be at the docks already. Every single one of them was a face she recognised and she was suddenly terrified for them all, knowing what they were about to face. Cal stood in the centre of them; she could see his orange blade as he was directing Jedi to their stations.

"Redarr, Pollus, get to Pyloon's, get people outta there and get them to the ships!"

"Yes, Master Kestis!"

"Ondam, Na'vida, Gilli, Niss, with the Anchorites, defend the South Gate!"

"Yes, Master!"

Kata made her way between the others towards him, careful not to touch anyone with her saber.

"Cal!"

"Kata!"

"myam-wam!"

Cal's face was relieved and he placed his hand on her shoulder as she reached him.

"They're dropping troops in from the south." She informed him.

"I saw," Cal nodded. "They're trying to surround us."

"Where are Merrin and Greez?"

"I don't know, they're jamming our comms, I can't get a hold of them."

"Master Kestis!"

Many heads turned to see a very large Dowutin woman approaching, her purple saber drawn.

"Where do you want me?" She asked.

"Lysana, take this group and defend the East Gate."

"We will hold it with our lives. Come, Padawans, time to put your training to good use!"

She gestured for four of the Padawans to follow her with her ridiculously large arms and led them east toward the living quarters. Three more Padawans suddenly approached from the direction of the Archive, one of them was Jynna, her yellow lightsaber immediately catching Kata's eye.

"Master Kestis, where should we go?" She asked him.

"You three, to the docks, help Master Horos defend them and get civilians onto the ships!"

As they were about to follow his orders, Kata reached out and gripped Jynna's left arm with her hand, stopping her.

"Jynna! Be safe." She warned.

"Don't die, Akuna." She smiled before releasing her and turning away.

"You either..." Kata whispered to herself as she watched her run toward the docks.

A terrible feeling rose in her gut and she said a silent prayer to whatever powers may be listening that Jynna would make it out of this alive.

"The rest of you, with me," Cal instructed, snapping Kata from her thoughts. "Form up around the square, we'll make our stand here. The only other way into Haven is through that passage."

Cal gestured with his lightsaber toward the main gate and the stairs and tunnel beyond it.

"They will be forced to come through four abreast, but they will come quickly and there will be many. Thousands of them, but we will stop them or die trying."

Cal looked at Kata as he said this, so desperately wanting to send her away from the fight, to protect her, to protect them all. Many of them were her age, younger even, just children still. He was suddenly thrown back in time, when he was the same age some of them were now, when the Clones had turned on them, and the life he had known was taken from him. Now it was happening again, here on Tanalorr, to all of them. He would not wish the nightmare they were about to face on his worst enemy. But they were not beaten yet. He swallowed his fear deep down.

The scream of tie fighters breaking through their defense line approached and Cal turned to the sky. Barely getting his saber up in time as they fired, he deflected lasers at the middle ship, then threw his saber at the left one as it broke formation, taking them both down. Then he reached out to the third, gripping it with the Force, seeing it buckle and strain under his hold, and hurtling it straight into the mountain's face where it exploded in a ball of fire and debris. His weapon returned to his hand and he faced the Padawans before him, many of their eyes wide with either awe, fright, or both.

"We are Jedi, this is what we do; defend the innocent against an enemy that wants to bring us to our knees! The Empire took your friends, they took your families, they took your homes, but you are still here! Will you let them see you on your knees tonight?!"

"NO!"

"Will we bow down to these oppressors and cower before their machines of terror?!"

"NO!"

"Or will we stand as one, as Hidden Jedi, and defend our home to our last breaths?!"

"YES!"

"Trust yourselves, trust your training, trust in the Force, and we will prevail!"

A great battle cry erupted from them all as they began to fan out around the square, preparing to fight, to defend their home, a fire in their hearts lit by his words. Cal approached Kata in the centre of the square, his expression telling her what he was about to say.

"Kata—"

"I'm staying, Cal."

He reached out to touch his hand to her cheek, smiling proudly at her.

"I don't think I could stop you if I tried."

Kata smiled back, her emotions threatening to spill from her eyes again. Movement beyond him caught her attention as she saw the troop carriers landing on the cliffs before them.

"They're coming." She stated calmly.

Cal closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned to face their fate. He twirled his lightsaber and stood beside her, preparing to face the onslaught.

"You ready?" He asked.

"I'm ready, Master." She nodded.

They heard another clap of thunder, drawing their attention to the darkening clouds above. And as if the very planet herself were defending against the attack, Tanalorr began to rain down her icy deluge upon the invaders as they broke through the main gate. The residents of Haven were used to these conditions, whereas the Imperial troops would not be, which would put them at a disadvantage.

They came just as Cal said they would; four by four down the passage, but they came quickly. Soon, blaster fire was barraging them and they were deflecting it back, Stormtroopers dropping like flies. Kata kept her focus, trusting the Force and her instincts to guide her actions. They were rapidly drawing closer, stepping over the bodies that were piling along the path, and Kata had an idea. She sheathed her saber quickly and reached out with both hands, green streaks of Magick trailing from her fingers as she held as many of the Stormtroopers in place as she could, the strain giving her an instant headache that she tried to ignore.

"Cal!"

He understood at once the window she was giving him and he pulled back and threw his saber forward, the orange blades spinning straight through the middle of the enemy ranks, slicing through what must have been a hundred of them. He reached out with his hand and took control of his weapon from where he stood, directing it into the troops that remained standing until there were none left standing, then he pulled it back to his hand. Kata panted from the exertion and he turned to her with a grin she hadn't seen on his face since the two of them had blown up those AT-ATs on Cato Nemoidia.

"Good thinking, Kata." He praised.

"There will be more coming." She replied breathlessly.

Kata took the second of respite they had to look around her and immediately wished she hadn't. At least four of her fellow Padawans lay dead in the square, blaster holes through their bodies, sabers on the ground beside them. She went to one nearest her, who was still alive, panicked breaths causing his chest to rise and fall rapidly.

"Be still, Utri," She instructed him. "You're ok."

Cal rushed towards them and lifted the Padawan's head onto his knee and pressed his hand to the blaster wound on his neck. Not dissimilar from the one that had left Cal his scar, though this was deeper and would kill him soon if he didn't help him. Cal closed his eyes, breathed deeply and focused. Kata watched him as his face contorted, knowing the exertion it took to use the Force this way. Soon, Cal pulled his hand back and the mark on Utri's neck was more or less gone. The Padawan gasped, finally able to breathe properly again and Cal panted from the effort of his energy transference. Utri looked up at them both, his eyes wide.

"Thank you, Master." He stammered.

"On your feet, Padawan." Cal responded.

He and Kata helped Utri to his feet and Kata handed his lightsaber back to him, which he took with a shaking hand. Cal placed his hand on Utri's shoulder to get his attention.

"Head to the docks, they'll need your help there." He instructed.

Kata knew what he was doing, that after suffering a near-fatal wound like that, Utri would be in shock and scared, that he would be useless here now. Redirecting him would give him a moment to shake it off and be ready to fight again. Utri nodded and started to run towards the docks to the west.

"The others?" Cal asked.

"I think they're all dead." Kata responded.

Cal felt incredible sadness at hearing her say that, knowing what must be going through her mind right now. He wished he could've spared her from this.

"Cal!"

Kata's head had whipped up towards the gate and Cal turned just in time to deflect blaster fire again. They faced the next group of Stormtroopers as they had the last, the bodies now piled on every square inch of the path, nowhere else for them to go but into the ravine below. When it was over, three more Padawans lay dead and Kata started to feel herself spiral. She couldn't bear to look at them, to see their lifeless bodies and vacant faces, their glazed eyes staring at nothing, to know that she had failed them.

"Master Kestis!"

Cal and Kata's heads shot up at the sound of a Youngling screaming his name. A small, red-haired girl sprinted towards them, panicked pants leaving her mouth, her face tear-streaked and wild. Cal sheathed his saber, knelt down and caught her by the arms as she reached him.

"Mala, what is it?" He asked gently.

"It's Master Gidun! The roof fell in, he's trapped in the Temple with the others!"

Kata's head shot up towards the temple and she saw a few more Younglings emerging, but no sign of the rest, or Master Gidun.

"Corr," Cal called to one of the older Padawans. "Take her, ferry the Younglings to the docks!"

"Yes, Master!"

"Stay with Corr, Mala, don't stop until you see Master Horos or Merrin." He instructed.

"Yes, Master!"

Mala ran to Corr, who offered her his hand and they ran towards the docks. Cal stood and turned to Kata, igniting his saber once more.

"Let's go. The rest of you stay here, hold them back!"

Cal and Kata sprinted up the stairs and into the Temple, sabers still drawn. As they made their way through the tunnel and into the cavern, they saw more Younglings trickling out and Cal shouted at them to get to the docks, having to hope they would find their way and the Padawans would defend them. Their feet splashed in the gathered pools of water in the cave as they ran up towards the Temple proper. Kata couldn't help her eyes resting briefly on Maven's body, still in two pieces on the cave floor nearby, anger rising in her again as she remembered who it was that had brought all this death to Tanalorr. As soon as they headed down the passage, they could see it had collapsed at the far end, only a small gap at the side allowing the light through, the Younglings squeezing through it one by one.

"Rohm!" Cal shouted as he reached the rock wall.

"Cal! I can't move the debris!" Master Gidun called back.

"Get everyone out of the way," He instructed. "Help me, Kata."

He and Kata took a few steps back and pushed their hands toward the rocks with all their might, using the Force to blast the blockage open, rocks breaking apart and flying into the Temple's main chamber. Master Gidun and the rest of the Younglings peered out from behind their cover to the sides of the tunnel.

"Come on, come on, hurry!" Kata called to them.

"Follow the others!" Cal directed.

The Younglings rushed up the tunnel past them, Kata and Cal both breathing a sigh of relief that they were able to get them out. Master Gidun started to approach them, limping on one side.

"You're hurt." Cal observed.

Master Gidun held up a hand.

"I'll be alright," He assured. "Thank you both, I don't know what I—"

Master Gidun was suddenly cut off, a pained gasp leaving his lips. Cal and Kata recoiled in shock as the blade of a lightsaber pierced through his body. His eyes rolled back in his head and he was pulled slowly back by an unseen force until a black hand gripped his shoulder. The red blade was removed and his body dropped to the ground to reveal a dark robed figure standing behind him.

Kata stared in shock at the figure clad in black at the other end of the bridge, her breaths growing heavier. The image of him from her vision still so clear in her mind – like it had been pulled straight from her nightmares and into reality. A single, mechanical inhale and exhale left him, the sound the most chilling thing she had ever heard.

"It's him..." She whispered.

Cal's face hardened as his shock turned to recognition, and he stepped in front of Kata instinctively to protect her. He stared Darth Vader down, the behelmeted figure unmoving, and Cal understood at once that he was staring down his fate. He knew what had to come next.

"Kata... run."

Kata's eyes flicked up to him, she could just see the left side of his face from where she stood behind him. She thought she'd misheard him at first.

"What?"

"Find Merrin and Greez, save as many as you can," He turned his head towards her and his expression was pained. "I'm sorry, but you have to go on without me, now."

"No!" Kata objected.

Cal ignited his saber.

"BD-1?"

"bwoo?"

The droid stepped up onto Kata's left shoulder and Cal smiled sadly at him.

"Take care of her for me."

"brrllt-bwa-wap!"

"Cal, no! We won't leave you!" Kata echoed BD-1's protests.

"Trust in the Force, Kata, and yourself."

Kata couldn't believe what she was hearing, this couldn't be happening. She couldn't leave Cal to face Vader alone! She wanted to stay, to help him fight, she had to! But deep down she knew she was no match for him; that she would only get in the way and get herself killed. Her whole demeanour fell as she realised she had no choice, as she realised what this meant for Cal. He was strong, the strongest person she had ever known, but somehow she knew that against Vader, he didn't stand a chance. And she thought he knew it, too.

"Cal..." She whimpered.

Cal didn't turn, his attention on Vader now as the Sith began to approach slowly. A rumble rolled through the rock around them as something hit the mountain above, causing dirt to fall from the ceiling.

"Go," Cal ordered. "Now!"

Kata hesitated a moment longer, her eyes darting between Cal and Vader, before she finally turned and started to run. She sprinted back up the corridor, her footfalls echoing in the eerie silence. She stopped when she reached the end and looked back in time to see Cal turn towards her. He made eye contact with her and smiled through his pain, then he reached out and gripped the roof of the tunnel, pulling it down to cut off her view.

"CAL!"

"bwee-oop?!"

Their screams echoed in the silence as the rocks settled, the way into the Temple blocked once more. Cal had sealed himself inside with Vader to stop him reaching them. She knew facing Vader alone was suicide for Cal, that he was sacrificing himself to buy them time. As much as she wanted to stop, to scream, to try futilely to break through the rock and help him, she knew that whatever time he bought was precious – she couldn't waste a second of it. She leaned forward and touched her hand to the rock, closing her eyes as tears spilled from them once more.

"I won't let you down, I promise..." She murmured.

"wooo..."

"Come on, BD," She turned to descend the stairs. "We have to find the others."

She tried to stop her head from spinning and focus as she headed across the cavern, knowing she had a job to do. As she made for the tunnel out, she heard voices and several sets of footsteps rapidly approaching. She stopped and pulled her saber from her belt and her father's blaster from its holster as several Stormtroopers made their way up the last set of stairs and saw her standing alone.

"There's one, blast her!" One of them ordered.

Kata ignited her saber and stalked towards them.

"Get out of my way."

The troopers would've been wise to listen, but they were not wise. She saw them stop and prepare to fire and she flipped her saber to backhanded position. Sensing where the bolts would land, she deflected the first three in one fluid motion, killing two of the troopers and shooting the third with her blaster from under her saber arm. The last three spread out, two of them charging her with batons. She holstered her blaster and dodged the strike from the one to her left. They moved to strike her again and she parried with her lightsaber, knocking them off-balance. She took the opening and severed their weapon arm, jabbing her saber behind her through their torso as she turned to face the other. She casually deflected a bolt from the last ranged trooper as she approached the second melee one and ducked under their strike, slicing their legs out from under them. They started to crawl and beg her for mercy, so she silenced them with a stab to the back. The final trooper tried to turn and flee, but she drew her blaster and shot them through the back of the head, their body clattering to the ground.

She sheathed her weapons and looked around at the bloodbath for a moment, reeling a little from the fact that she had just killed six Stormtroopers single-handedly without a scratch on her. Under normal circumstances, she would have been impressed with herself, but she knew there were far scarier things awaiting her beyond this cavern. She hurried back outside and into the carnage.

The battle was raging on, both on the ground and in the sky now. She saw a few of their short-range fighters in the air, shooting down the tie fighters as they breached the defense perimeter. Many of their defense turrets seemed to have been destroyed, only a few still shooting at the Imperial ships. On the ground, Stormtroopers were scattered throughout the square and Kata could see several lightsabers still fighting them back, their numbers thinning by the minute. She could see another wave of troopers preparing to descend the path through the main gate. And in amongst it all, green flashes of Magick caught her eye and she zeroed in on one Nightsister making easy work of the troopers flooding the market.

Merrin!

Thank the Force she was ok! And nearby to her, Kata could clearly see a tall Mirialukan with a white double-bladed saber also cutting them down.

Teelo...

Were her eyes deceiving her? Why were they still here? And why were they with Merrin? She knew her questions would have to wait as her feet finally pulled her forward, taking out two more Stormtroopers as she pushed her way through the chaos.

"Merrin!"

The Nightsister's head whipped in Kata's direction at the sound of her voice. Her eyes widened as she saw her and BD-1 approaching.

"Kata!"

She sheathed her daggers and ran to her, gripping her face in her hands gently.

"brrwap!"

"Are you alright?" She demanded.

"No," Kata's voice shook. "I mean, yes, I'm fine, but—"

"Where's Cal?" Teelo asked, approaching her on Merrin's left.

"You're still here..." Kata muttered, confused.

"brrloop?"

"Kata, where is he?" They repeated.

Kata looked them up and down, not comprehending why they were there, knowing she had missed something, but having no time to understand what that was.

"In the Temple..." She finally choked out. "Vader..."

Teelo's eyes immediately shot up towards the Temple, a look of acknowledgement and fear on their face that quickly turned to determination.

"You two, get to Greez, get people on the ships and get as far away from Tanalorr as you can," They instructed. "Don't wait for us."

They started to leave, but Kata reached out and grabbed their arm, turning them back.

"Teelo, no, he'll just kill you too!" She begged them.

"I'm sorry, Kata, but I cannot leave Cal to face Vader alone," They explained, resting their green hand against her cheek, their eyes sad and withdrawn. "Have courage, young Jedi; you are the future."

Kata didn't understand what they meant, why they were here, why any of this was happening. All she understood was that they had been wrong, that this person before her couldn't have betrayed them, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing them, too.

"Merrin—"

"Go, Teelo," Merrin jerked her head towards the Temple. "Save him."

Teelo nodded once at her, then withdrew their hand from Kata's and started to back away.

"May the Force be with you!" They called as they turned and ran for the Temple.

"No, Teelo!" Kata yelled after them.

She couldn't stand to watch it all; to see her vision unravelling before her eyes. She reached out for Teelo, wanting to stop them, but Merrin held her back.

"Kata, listen to me!" Merrin shouted, forcing the Padawan to look at her. "Cal cannot survive Vader alone, but together they may stand a chance. If we do not get everyone onto the ships and leave now, we will all die."

Kata tried to get a hold of her ragged sobs and eventually nodded.

"Ok."

They heard the sound of marching feet approaching from the main gate, causing Merrin to turn.

"Ready yourself, Jedi, they are coming."

She drew one of her daggers and used her Magick to restore its spear form, preparing to face the next wave. Kata wiped the tears from her raw eyes and drew her saber, standing beside her. Before the troopers could reach them, a troop carrier flew by, dropping two Purge Troopers with electrostaffs between the onslaught and the two unbothered Nightsisters.

"I'll take the left one, you take the right." Merrin instructed.

Kata broke off from Merrin to face her adversary. The Purge Trooper stalked toward her, spinning his staff to intimidate her and she twirled her saber in response, utterly unafraid. She had never faced a Purge Trooper before, but she had seen Cal, Merrin and Teelo take them down, and knew how they moved. He came at her quickly, with precise, aggressive strikes, which she met with equal energy. She could feel how much stronger he was than her, but she knew all that meant was that she had to be faster and smarter. She used the Force to propel herself sideways, dodging around to his left, which he clearly hadn't expected. She spun her saber towards him and he barely blocked her in time, then with her saber and his staff locked, she split her saber apart and relented, causing him to stumble forward, now having no resistance against his weight. She swung upward and severed his staff with her left saber before turning and stabbing him through the chest with her right. The Trooper hung for a moment, the destroyed pieces of his weapon falling from his hands, then Kata shut off her saber and his body fell, too.

She turned towards Merrin in time to see her stab the other Trooper right through their throat, dark blood spurting from the mouth of their helmet. Merrin sheathed her dagger and pressed her finger to her ear.

"Greez? Can you hear me?"

Kata heard the static on the commlink.

"It's no good, they're still jamming us," She said, approaching Merrin. "Where is he?"

"With the Mantis, awaiting more evacuees, Mosey and Redarr are with him."

"boo-wee-oop!"

Kata was glad at least to hear Mosey and Redarr were still alive and that Greez was relatively safe, for the time being. But there were so many Stormtroopers in-between them and the Mantis she wasn't sure how they would get through. Kata saw a group of civilians running toward them from the direction of the docks as the Padawans that were left in the square were dealing with the last Stormtroopers of this wave. Kata was about to run towards them when she heard something. It was so faint, so distant, that at first she wasn't even sure she'd heard it. She looked up towards the west side of Santari's Peak, where some of the living quarters were. That side of the quarters had flames and smoke billowing from them, the Stormtroopers clearly having made their way through there, likely from the South Gate. So it was safe to assume their defenses at the South Gate hadn't held, and everyone that had been defending it was dead. So much death...

Then she heard it again, clearly, unmistakable this time; a baby's cry, emanating out through the smoke and ash-filled air from the direction of those living quarters. Kata's blood ran cold as she realised the living quarters weren't the only thing over there... the infirmary was, too. Nells and Porro.

"Get this group to the Mantis," Kata pointed toward the civilians with her saber. "I heard something over this way, I'm gonna check it out."

Without waiting for Merrin to protest, Kata started to run up the stairs.

"Be careful, Kata!" Merrin called after her.

Kata sprinted toward the infirmary, following the sound that was growing louder as she drew close. She shielded her mouth as she sprinted through the smoke-filled halls of the infirmary until she reached Nells' room. The fire burning in the room was so incredibly hot Kata instantly broke out in a sweat across her forehead.

"Nells!" She called, coughing. "Where are you?!"

She heard Porro's cries again, incredibly close, then a small voice with a lilted accent.

"Kata..."

She turned to her left and saw Nells, sitting in the corner of the room, away from the fire, clinging to her son who was swaddled in blankets. Kata rushed to her, about to ask her why she hadn't moved, but then she saw. The blaster wounds through her arm, her leg, her abdomen, blood soaking her clothes. She was barely breathing, barely alive, but still clung to her child, protecting him, her lightsaber still in her hand. Kata closed her eyes as she realised Nells must have been in here, asleep, still recovering having just given birth days ago, when the attack had begun. The alert would've locked down the infirmary, and she would've been trapped in here, just waiting for the Stormtroopers to come.

"Get him out of here, please..."

Nells' voice was weak as she held her son out to Kata. She took him without hesitation, immediately checking he was ok. He was crying, wailing, but didn't seem to be harmed, the blood staining his blankets having come from Nells' wound. Kata didn't know how she had managed to defend him in her state, but she supposed that was what a mother did. Kata looked her in the eyes.

"I'll keep him safe, Nells," Kata's voice was determined. "I promise you."

The red-haired Jedi somehow managed to smile.

"May the Force... be..."

She didn't get to finish her sentence before her eyes glazed over and her arms fell limp by her sides, her lightsaber rolling onto the floor.

"wooo..."

Kata exhaled shakily, feeling overwhelmed by her emotions. It was too much; so much death, so much senseless loss. Porro screamed and Kata looked down at him as a tear fell from her eye onto his little cheek. She wiped it away and shushed him gently.

"It's ok..." She whispered, knowing that it was anything but.

Another rumble shook the mountain, much harder this time and a few objects in the room fell. Kata shielded the baby from the dust and rocks falling from the ceiling.

"bwee-woop!"

Kata looked into Nell's lifeless eyes before reaching over and closing them with her fingers.

"Don't worry," She whispered. "I'll make sure he knows what you did for him."

"bwa-boop!"

"I know, BD. Come on," She said to Porro. "Let's get you out of here."

Kata picked up his mother's lightsaber and she rose and shielded him from the fire and smoke as she left the room. She turned the baby's face towards her body to protect him as she ran back down to the square. She couldn't see Merrin and started to call her name, and she soon teleported in front of her, much to Kata's relief.

"Kata..."

Merrin's eyes rested on the child in her arms. Kata approached and handed him to Merrin, placing Nells' lightsaber on his tiny body.

"Nells is dead," She said listlessly. "Get him to the ship, please."

"You have to come with us now." Merrin reminded her, grabbing her shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding Porro.

"I can't."

Kata looked up at Merrin and could see the Nightsister about to ask her what she meant when an explosion sounded above them. They both looked up to see one of their fighter ships falling from the sky in a blazing fireball, shot down by the tie fighters. Merrin and Kata took cover as burning debris rained down around them.

"I have to get my Papa's fighter in the air," She explained to Merrin. "Our defenses are down, we'll never get the ships out of here in one piece unless we clear out those tie fighters!"

"You cannot fight them all on your own, Kata!" Merrin refuted.

"I can! I have to, it's our only chance! Do you have your compass?"

"Yes."

"When you're clear, transmit the data to the other ships and lead them through the Abyss."

"Only if you promise you will be right behind us."

"Do you trust me?" Kata asked.

Merrin hesitated and Kata could see her warring with herself on the inside. Kata couldn't make her understand – Merrin didn't know what she knew, hadn't seen what she'd seen. She knew there was only one way off this planet for her.

"Of course I do, Kata." Merrin conceded.

Kata placed her hand on Merrin's neck, realising there was a small, but fresh blaster mark there which she thought was strange, as Merrin never got hit when fighting. She dismissed the thought and looked into her mentor's eyes.

"I'll be right behind you." She promised.

Merrin nodded once at her and Kata threw her arm around her in an embrace, being wary of the baby in her arm. It was a quick embrace and Merrin pulled away to look at her face, like it was the last time she would ever see it, as it may well have been.

"Do not die." She instructed.

"You either."

"Go."

The two Nightsisters parted ways, Merrin teleporting away to the Mantis and Kata sprinting for the Archive. She tried not to dwell on the burning, ruined state the Archive was in, holobooks scattered all over the floor, flickering, smoke filling the air, and headed straight for the conference room. She wrenched the shelf out of the way with the Force to get to the lockbox before she pulled a thermal detonator from her pouch and activated it, tossing it in, knowing she had to keep the rest of the compasses from falling into the hands of the Empire. She hurried back out of the room and took cover behind the wall, putting her hands over her ears just before the blast went off, shrapnel and fire flying out of the room past her. When the noise stopped, she stole a glance back towards the lockbox, satisfied the compasses were definitely destroyed, before she made her way out of the Archive and headed for the hangar.

Her father's ship was still there, thank the Force, untouched despite the chaos outside. The Empire probably not thinking there was anything important back here, not knowing how wrong they were about to be. She climbed up into the cockpit and jumped in, BD-1 settling himself behind the head of her seat and she closed the blast shield. She had flown other fighters like this one before, so she remembered how it worked. She started the ignition sequence and before long she was in the air, the blast doors opening automatically.

She flew upward in the direction of the Star Destroyer, still hovering overhead, until she could see the tie fighters tearing around above Haven. She didn't hesitate in shooting down every Imperial ship she could see, relying on instinct, muscle memory and the Force to guide her aim true. She destroyed ship after ship, chasing them down and manoeuvring around them, flying like she had never flown before. She secretly hoped Greez was watching and that he was proud.

Very loud explosions followed by rumbling caught her attention and she looked to her left, towards Santari's Peak, seeing the last evidence of the large ships passing over it having just attacked its surface. Her eyes widened.

"They're trying to bring down the mountain!"

"bwoow!"

"Cal and Teelo are still in there..."

"bwa-wap?!"

Kata thought briefly about trying to take on the bombers, but their weaponry far exceeded her own, and she doubted she could rip through them both before they turned her into space debris. She had to focus on her task and trust that Cal and Teelo were focused on theirs, if they were still alive...

They're alive, Kata, She had to remind herself. If they weren't, you would know it.

And she would know it; if Cal and Teelo had failed to subdue Vader, the Dark Lord would already be tearing Haven apart looking for the rest of them. She tried to put it out of her mind and continued to pursue the tie fighters before one final pass over Haven told her she had cleared the skies at last. She looked out of her cockpit towards where the Mantis and the Rogue were docked.

"Come on, Greez..."

She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally saw the Mantis take off into the sky and the five other ships full of evacuees follow its lead from the docks.

"We did it, BD!"

"myam-wam!"

Her celebration was cut short as another round of explosions from the bombers hit the mountain below and a massive explosion erupted from it. Kata and BD-1 watched in horror as the east side of the peak began to collapse, rocks and debris falling to the streets below, crushing the bodies that lined them. She couldn't bear to watch, but she couldn't look away, hoping against hope that she would see Cal and Teelo somehow fleeing the destruction, trying to spot movement, the glow of their sabers, anything. But she could see nothing – nothing but smoke and fire.

"bwoo..."

"There's nothing more we can do here." Kata's voice shook.

She pressed her throttle forward and joined the tail end of the convoy heading for the Abyss. They had to fly past the Star Destroyer to get there, and Kata could see a fresh round of tie fighters heading right for them. She willed Merrin and Greez to transmit the compass' data faster. The tie fighters drew into range and the ship ahead of Kata to her right was mercilessly shot down, the Padawan barely able to dodge the explosion in time.

"Come on..."

Finally the data came through, the coordinates appearing on her centre console. She punched in the confirmation and watched as the now five ships in front of her disappeared into hyperspace, the stars streaking by as her ship followed last.

The three minutes they spent travelling through the Abyss were agony, both Kata and BD-1 far too stressed to say anything. Kata kept her eyes on her controls, making sure they were still flying. After what felt like both an eternity and a second, they were ejected into space on the other side, Koboh and its Shattered Moon pulling into clear view. But they weren't the only objects they could see; Kata's mouth falling open as her eyes rested on another Star Destroyer orbiting Koboh. The smoke she could clearly see on the planet's surface even from this distance telling her that whatever attack the Empire had made there, it was already over.

She was suddenly grief-stricken for their friends in Rambler's Reach – Doma, Zee, Monk, Turgle, Pili, so many others... she recalled each of their faces. Just as she was starting to despair that none of them had survived, a ship jumping into hyperspace away from the planet's surface caught her eye. It was brief, but it was there, and she knew that someone had made it out.

Kata saw the ships in front of her beginning to jump away to whatever corners of the Galaxy they could run to. She punched in the coordinates for the rendezvous point Cal had assigned her in secret just days ago, preparing for this eventuality. She watched every other ship jump away, the Mantis being the last ship to go, likely waiting as she was to see that the rest of them made it away safely. Once she was alone, floating in space, she pulled her hyperdrive lever and made the jump to Alderaan.