Even though Dray had left the Jedi Order all those years ago, he did not allow his skills with a lightsaber to diminish. He would often practice in private. There were times he would even encourage his colleagues to shoot at him in order to keep up his defensive prowess. To add a greater challenge, he always insisted that their blasters were set to kill, rather than stun.

But, at that moment, the bothan realized he should have practiced more, his eyes wide as Vader barraged him with a flurry of fast, and rather unorthodox attacks. And given the fact that temple continued to collapse around them, Dray was faced with a new level of difficulty. Jumping back just in time to avoid be crushed by a falling pillar, Dray had just enough time to brace himself for one of Vader's attacks, which came in the form of faking a swipe to the Dray's side, the former jedi moving to block it, only to realize his terrible mistake when Vader suddenly changed the attack, whirling around in order to bring his crimson blade down on the bothan's head, who just barely managed to block the attack before his head was relieved from his shoulders. Though that did not mean he did not receive a new searing gash across his right cheek, the smell of bunt fur and charred flesh making him sick to his stomach.

Although he was probably more concerned about becoming COMPLETLEY blind after this duel.

But he would have to dwell on that later, for the moment Vader forced the Jedi's saber into the ground, he reeled back to attempt to deliver another killing blow across Dray's back, only to have the wind knocked out of him as Dray used his legs to sweep Vader's out from under him. In an a matter of seconds, Vader crawling on his back, desperately attempting to deflect the savage downward strikes from the bothan hovering over him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew were faced with another challenge. Despite having made it outside of the temple, the ground was become quite unstable. Pulling a topographical scanner, Feline took a quick reading of the surrounding area, all while trying to keep her balance. Unfortunately, the readings came that came back were not good.

"THE AREA HAS BECOME UNSTABLE!" she shouted over the thundering noise of breaking rock and crumbling earth.

"SEVERAL UDNROUND STRUCTURES ARE COLLAPSING!"

"WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THE STAR!" Faolahd shouted over the noise, the wookie bolting for the ship, followed closely by his colleagues. However, Siv noticed that Aleah had stayed behind, her attention solely on the collapsing temple, her eyes wide in worry as she kept trying to find any sign of Dray.

"ALEAH!" Siv, desperate to get the nelvaanian woman's attention, only for his cry to fall on deaf ears. Ripping his helmet from his head, Siv tried again to call to Aleah, again to no avail. Unfortunately, Siv could not call again, for in a matter of seconds, a spray of blaster bolts rang out, the crew quickly trying to find whatever cover they could, which was minimal as the only really cover would have been diving into he many rapidly forming crevices in the ground, which were only growing larger by the send.

"BLAST 'EM!" a 501st trooper shouted, the rain of blue bolts growing by the second as more and more troopers converged on the team. Unfortunately for the one trooper who gave the order, he and a few other unfortunate clones could only let out short, ferried screams before they found themselves crushed under falling stones, many others following suit or falling to their deaths in the deep chasms. But luckily for Aleah, when one clone grabbed her from behind, she was pulled from her catatonic state just in time to push them out of the way of a falling boulder.

"GET OFF ME!" Aleah grunted as she began rolling on the ground with the trooper, his grip so tight that she couldn't even break her arms free. But, if Aleah knew what was happening in the still crumbling temple, she would realize she had it easy.

Within one of the narrow passageways within the temple, heated dust and rocks erupted from the walls as the green and crimson clashed in the confined space, the bothan and Sith trying to make do with the amount of space they had in order to trying to land a blow. Luckily, they did not have to stay in this position for long, as they exited into a rapidly crumbling anti-chamber, three other passages leading to who-knows-where. But, despite being cut out from the force for nearly forty years, Dray was able to sense the best escape route for him…the tunnel to his left, which would most likely lead him put of the temple.

However, his train of thought was broken when he felt a searing pain in his left thigh, the blackened cloth and skin underneath a clear sign of Vader scoring a direct hit on the bothan. And unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it, reeling back his hand, suddenly extended it, the force projected from the flat, gloved palm sending Dray back hard against a wall, the impact knocking the wind out of his lungs and the clarity from his head as his brain rattled around, his vision blurred as a result.

"It is quite impressive that you have lasted this long against, Dray Flang."

Despite the sudden grogginess in his head, Dray managed to cast his shocked gaze towards the black-armored warrior before him. And while he couldn't see it, the bothan knew that Vader must have been smirking under his mask.

"Yes, I know who you are. I read of your exploits during my studies at the Jedi Temple."

A long, very unnerving silence followed, the only sound being the consistent destruction happening around them. But one thing was for sure, Dray knew that the smirk beneath that menacing faced had grow into a full, sinister smile.

"How the mighty have fallen."

With that, Vader raised his saber, the Sith lord ready to strike the killing blow that would end the life of the once great Dray Fang. But, just as he prepared to bring the blade down, he suddenly froze. He didn't know why, but for some reason Vader felt he had no control of his body. And it was only then he felt…something prod his mind. And the moment he looked into he one green eye of the former Jedi, a pure defiance in his gaze, Vader knew what was happening.

"N-NO!" Vader managed to grunt out as Dray stood to his feet, the jedi soon slowly outstretching his hand towards the face-plate of the Sith's mask, the bothan tapping deeper into the force than he had in years as he penetrated deep into Vader's mind. And the deeper he went, the more he found to torment his opponent. But what he found was truly…horrifying.

"Skywalker," he whispered in disbelief.

But for Vader, the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker, all he could hear was the voices of the past.

Voices of that caused deep anguish.

"I have to sort this out on my, without the council…and without you."

"YOU WERE MY BROTHER ANAKIN!"

"ANAKIN, YOU'RE BREAKING MY HEART!"

And then…

"It seems, in your anger…you killed her."

"NOOOOOOOO!"

The call of anguish resonated, both within, and without. And at that moment, Dray knew he had his chance. In a matter of seconds, the compromised Vader tried, and ultimately failed to block the massive onslaught brought on to him by dray, the bothan landing hit after hit on the despondent Sith, who cried out in anguish as the green saber was thrust into his left arm, cut into his right leg, slashed the control panel on his chest, until finally receive an upward strike across his mask.

And at that moment, Dray could only catch a brief glimpse of the scared face beneath before, with all the strength he could muster, using the force to hurtle Vader toward the wall, the impact so powerful that the faced crumbled around the dark sider, who was practically buried in rubble as Dray, upon recovering from the exertion, regained enough of his bearings to making his way down his escape route.

Meanwhile, back outside, the rest of the crew had made it to the Nova Star, Kenna immediately going over each one to ensure they did not have any life-threatening injuries. But, her train of thought was broken the moment she heard the worried voice of their cook.

"Where's Dray, and Siv…and Aleah?"

It was at that moment that the remaining crew realized that the aforementioned members were not present on the ship. And it was only when Clank pointed out the open hatch.

"I SEE SIV!"

It was then that the crew noticed Siv running towards the ship, a barely conscious Aleah holding onto him as he was practically dragging her to the ship, all the while returning fire to the pursuing clones, each still falling in droves into the ever-widening chasms, or being crushed by the falling debris. In the spur of the moment, Jens bolted from the ship, the crew too stunned to stop him as he bolted towards the young duo, the captain of the Nova Star firing upon the pursing clones in an attempt to give them cover.

"GET TO THE SHIP AND TELL THEM TO GET READY!"

But just as Siv and Aleah got past Jens, the dark-haired human gave out a cry of pain as a clone got a lucky shot at his shoulder, the man falling onto his back, letting out a loud grunt from the impact. Unfortunately for Siv, all he could do was watch as the clones converged on the captain, the Mandalorian youth unable to reach him as a massive chasm opened between them.

It almost seemed as if the captain was finished.

Until…

The ground still shook…but the debris stopped falling, floating in midair. The sight alone left everyone stunned, the sound of blaster fire having subsided as each clone and crew member gazed awe at the source of this display.

Dray, ignited lightsaber in one hand as the other was outstretched, the force-user not seeming to put in an effort as he began to walk towards the reaming troops, some bravely, or rather foolishly, attempting to gun down the former Jedi, who easily deflected the shots back at their chest or heads. This alone left the remaining clones feeling they would rather take their chances at the bottom of the chasm. And once he reached Jens, Dray, after extinguishing the pale-green blade, offered his hand to his friend, who took it with a grateful smile.

"I should have remembered you liked a grand entrance," he jabbed, the statement alone making the beat up bothan laugh a little as well. And as they entered the edge of the chasm, Jens ended getting a little more than he bargained for as Dray, with an amazing display of force ability, jumped over the chasm with ease, landing at the feet of a stunned Siv and a significantly recovered Aleah.

Unfortunately, the admiration would have to wait as Faolahd called from the ship.

"COME ON!"

Pulled from their thoughts, the foursome an ran towards the ship, Aleah and Dray lagging behind the other to give them a "push" if they needed it. And as they ran, Dray handed Aleah's staff back to her.

"Here ya go kid, he said, sending the appreciative girl a teasing wink just as Jens and Siv reached the ship, which Lyra now had hovering over the rapidly disintegrating ground. But, just Dray and Aleah leapt towards the hatch, the ground gave out from under them. This resulted in Dray having to grab the edge of the ramp…

And Aleah's outstretched hand.

"DRAY! ALEAH!" Siv shouted, the boy rushing to help, only to be held back by Jens as Kenna and Fang ran to help their comrades, Keena gripping the frame of the hatch, her arm linked to her brothers as he grabbed a hold of Drays. Unfortunately, without Dray's abilities keeping them at bay, the debris came raining down again, making Lyra take evasive maneuvers to keep the ship from getting pelted.

And needless to say, it made it difficult for both shistavaven's to properly pull their comrades in. And given the injuries he sustained; Dray couldn't haul them up either.

"KID! CLIMB!" he called to Aleah, who tried her hardest to climb up the bothan's body like a ladder, only to find that her body was too fatigued to do it.

"I CAN'T" she bellowed, only to release a yelp as a large piece of the debris hit close to the hatch, causing Keena's grip to briefly loosen, the sudden jerk resonating down the chain. And what happened next seemed to happen in slow motion, for all Dray and the siblings could do was watch as Aleah fell into the chaos below, the dense cloud of dust concealing her descent as her terrified scream fell on deafened ears.

But they couldn't wait any longer, despite the pleas of Siv.

At this point, the only thing they could do was go back to Theed and recover.

Unaware, that deep within the earth of Naboo, after the chaos had subsided, Aleah, banged up but otherwise unhurt, recovered consciousness…

Only to find she wasn't alone the small, naturally formed cavern.

Before her stood a mysterious, hooded figure…

Though their face was very familiar to her the moment the hood was lowered.

"Ahsoka." she gasped at seeing her old friend.