Hera held her arms tightly against her chest as she watched Sato's reaction to the news. The older man pushed his fingers into his eyes. Keeping them shut in the hope that everything would be alright when he opened them.

He was exhausted, Hera could tell, and her news was only making his day feel longer.

"Who else have you told?" Sato asked with a sigh.

"No one yet," Hera replied. "You're the first,"

Sato let out another winded breath. He shook his head, rubbing his forehead as he tried to think.

"The other commanders will not take this news well," Sato finally said.

Of course, Hera knew that better than anyone. The Spectre's favour wasn't exactly up there, especially since Ezra was among them.

"What about the Bridgers?" Sato asked. "Do they know?"

Hera went silent for a while. She did not want to think about how Mira might react. "No," She replied simply. "I'm not even sure what we can tell them,"

Sato nodded. Everyone, himself included, understood Hera's plights well enough.

"Do you have any leads on where Ketsu might have taken Ezra and Sabine?" Sato asked hopefully. "Or any contacts which can give you some hints on how to find them?"

"We can only guess that she's taken them to Crimson Dawn. Kanan has tried contacting some of his old allies and pirate friends in the criminal underworld, but so far we don't have anything good,"

Sato took a sharp breath in. His eyes wandered away from Hera as his mind sunk itself back into his deep thoughts.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Sato asked after considering all the options he had thought of.

Once again, Hera's answer was negative.

"Then we'll need to prepare for the worst," Sato said, a look of resignation on his face. "I'm sure you are aware of the dire situation the Rebellion is in today. There's no easy way to say this Hera, but we can't spare any resources trying to rescue Ezra, especially since we do not even know where he is,"

Hera wanted to protest of course. She wanted to protest almost as badly as she wanted to defeat the Empire. But she knew Sato was right. Any mission no matter how dangerous had its costs. And the costs for rescuing Ezra right now was too high for the Rebellion to bear.

"I'll inform the Bridgers and the rest of Command while you chart a course back to base," Sato offered. Hera gratefully accepted. She was already drained from the mission. There was no way she could handle delivering bad news now.

"Thank you Commander," Hera replied.

"These are dark days, Hera," Sato said, mirroring her defeated look. "We need to stay strong for our people,"

Hera simply replied with a shake of her head. It was difficult for her to remain optimistic.

"I'll see you back at base Commander. Good luck with the Bridgers,"

Sato was about to drop off but stopped just as he heard Kanan's frantic voice.

"Commander Sato, Hera!" Kanan came running into the bridge.

"Kanan? What's wrong?"

"We received a transmission from Ketsu," Kanan explained as he ran to the console. He tapped a few buttons, and the message from Ketsu was displayed for all to see.

It was a rather long one, first detailing her many apologies about the situation. Ketsu apologised for lying about the base and for kidnapping Ezra when they had put so much trust in her. The next part then explained her plan, and how she intended to fix everything.

She and Sabine were going to use the Empire as a distraction to escape. They had it all thought out, and needed nothing else from the Spectres.

Her message ended by explaining that regardless of what she said, the Spectres had every right to not trust her. So, to compensate, she gave them the completely riskless role of waiting. Waiting for her signal that they had escaped, and were at a safe distance from their captors to be picked up.

Sato and Hera went through Ketsu's message twice over. It sounded too good to be true. And it probably was. The phrase 'It's a trap!' lingered on the tips of each of their tongues. But yet, one statement rang true in the message. Trusting it would be a completely riskless endeavour. If all they had to do was wait for the signal, wouldn't it be worth a shot?

"Why would Ketsu kidnap Ezra just to bring him back to us?" Sato was the first to break their silence.

"I don't know," Hera admitted. "Maybe she felt guilty. Or maybe Sabine somehow changed her mind,"

"Or maybe it's a trap," Sato reminded her about the elephant in the room.

The room fell silent once more, only to be broken again this time by Kanan.

"Can't we just give it a shot?" He suggested. "If all we have to do is wait, can't we just confirm it for ourselves once they get out with Ezra? We don't have any other options after all,"

Kanan's idea was sound, and Sato seemed to be getting more acclimated to it. "We can't wait for too long though," Sato replied. "One rotation. If after one rotation we still hear nothing from them, you guys need to return to base,"

Hera nodded in agreement. "We'll keep you in the loop once we hear from them,"

"That'll be much appreciated Hera," Sato said before dropping off from the call.

With a grim look across both their faces, Hera and Kanan collapsed onto the chair. Their long day was only getting longer. But at least now, the end was in sight.

Scared wasn't exactly the word Sabine would use to describe her current situation. She was concerned, maybe, but definitely not scared.

Sabine tried to keep the fidgeting and twitching to a minimum. The last thing she wanted was Ezra noticing her predisposition about Maul. His concern was sweet, but so undeserved. Especially after all the things she had put him through.

Despite her efforts, Sabine knew that Ezra was 100% aware of her emotions. His occasional attempted sneaky glances were like an open book for her. Thankfully, he had mostly kept to himself and not done anything to explicitly expose her worries.

"Hey uh.. Sabine?" Ezra suddenly said.

So much for keeping to himself, Sabine thought as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"What's up?" She tried to say as nonchalantly as possible.

"Would it be better if you hid somewhere instead of directly meeting Maul?" Ezra carefully proposed.

Sabine narrowed her eyes, already knowing where Ezra was coming from. She parted her lips to say something, but was interrupted by some more of his rambling.

"Only because you've seen each other before," Ezra quickly added. "Actually, it wasn't even that long ago," He rubbed his chin. "Hey, that's actually a good ide- I mean I think it's a good idea for you to hide since you've just met him not too long ago,"

Like an open book," Sabine thought, smiling. Although she did appreciate this beating around the bush habit from Ezra.

"You're not entirely wrong," Sabine replied. "But I'm not leaving you alone in a room with that freak. Qi'ra's office is dark, and has a lot of stuff to hide behind. I'll sneak in while you talk to him. That way, if he starts looking for a fight, it'll be two on one,"

It was a compromise which Sabine proposed, and one which Ezra accepted.

"Well, if he's a Sith, I don't think you could help out much," Ezra joked.

Sabine stabbed a finger at his sides. "I will leave you here in a heartbeat,"

And that was that.

Eventually, the uncanny group consisting of Ezra, Sabine, and the mindless Crimson Dawn goon ordered to bring them there arrived at their location. As Sabine mentioned, Qi'ra's room was dark. She had ample time and space to manoeuvre behind a couch before Maul was the wiser. And although Ezra could not see him, he could sense him. His dark presence stuck to the walls of the room like mouldy grime. Maul was there, and he wasn't trying to hide.

"Leave," Maul commanded.

The Crimson Dawn goon nodded his head mutely and turned away.

Maul's yellow eyes glowed in the darkness of the room. They remained stubbornly planted on Ezra. Watching and taking note of his every movement.

"You have a strong connection in the Force," Maul said, standing up. He slowly moved towards Ezra, his steps echoing throughout the room.

"So do you," Ezra replied.

Maul chuckled at Ezra's words. "I meant for an Inquisitor," He finished, pacing towards him and standing over Ezra.

Keeping his posture firm and steady, Ezra turned to face Maul head on. There was not an ounce of fear in his eyes. Maul could tell, and he was impressed by it.

"They took you when you were very young, didn't they?" Maul phrased his words like a question. But he already knew the answer.

"They did the same to me too," Maul continued without waiting for a reply. "I don't even remember the faces of my parents,"

Ezra frowned to himself. The similarities between him and Maul were apparent, and Ezra did not like it.

"What do you want?" Ezra asked.

"I want what you want, to take down the Empire," Maul replied. "If you would allow me, I'm sure-"

"I know that's not what you want,"

Maul's eyes seemed to twitch as Ezra interrupted him. His calm expression breaking for the first time in their conversation. For a moment, it seemed like Maul would have snapped himself. Forgone his original plans to remain calm and just let his anger do the talking.

But somehow, Maul kept himself in check.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Maul replied softly.

"You're right," Ezra answered. "All I know is that you like to work with criminals,"

Maul's lips curved ever downward, his displeasure being made all the more apparent.

"The criminals of the Galaxy are simply a tool of convenience for me to use. I am not one of them. I deal with them, because they have use to me,"

Ezra didn't bother to hide his lack of interest in Maul's explanation. "Just tell me what you really want," He said with a winded sigh.

Maul was feeling more and more grated about Ezra's cavalier attitude. A part of him even wondered if Ezra was worth the effort. But ever the optimist, Maul pressed on.

With a flick of his wrist, Maul used the Force to call something from his table to his hand. The small triangular object landed in his palm with a thump, and instantly Ezra felt a concentrated surge of the Dark Side washing over him.

"What is that?" Ezra asked. His voice betrayed him as interest once more filled his eyes.

"See for yourself," Maul tossed the object into Ezra's hands.

The item glowed slightly brighter as Ezra caught it. Almost as if it was reacting to him, approving his contact.

Ezra could feel emotion coming from beneath the walls of the object. Something was hiding behind its shell. Something living, something with intention.

"A Sith Holocron," Ezra immediately realised. But not on his own.

"You hear it too," Maul noted, smiling. "It whispers to you, shares secrets about you that you don't even know,"

The whispers Maul spoke of were drawing Ezra in. It showed him glimpses of the future. Visions of a supposed unavoidable fate. Ezra saw and heard it all, and it nearly overwhelmed him.

But just as he was suddenly pulled into it, he pulled himself out.

"And what does this have to do with me?" Ezra asked plainly before passing the holocron back to Maul.

The surprise on Maul's face was evident as the holocron returned to his hands. But he kept his composure, placing the holocron in his side pocket..

"The holocron is alive," Maul said, telling Ezra what he already knew. "It tells me what I want to know, and how to achieve my one desire," Maul pointed his fingers to Ezra. "Whether you believe me or not, we both do want the same thing. To destroy the Empire. And this holocron told me how,"

Maul reached his hand out, offering it to Ezra.

"The holocron has shown me that the only way to rid this Sith infection across our galaxy is to have somebody like you by my side. We need each other if we want to defeat the Empire,"

Ezra narrowed his eyes. "You want me to be your apprentice,"

But Maul shook his head. "I want an equal. Not someone who only grovels at my feet, but someone who can stand beside me,"

"Find someone else," Ezra simply replied.

"There is no one else," Maul growled. "The children I was supposed to acquire were stolen from me. The Inquisitor who was hunting me tried to kill me after I used him to get this holocron,"

"Inquisitor?" Ezra asked. He searched his memory for what he remembered of the other Inquisitor's assignment. And a singular name eventually popped up in his mind. "Eighth Brother?"

Maul let out a laugh. "The Empire sent him to hunt me. But he was weak, a pathetic excuse of a warrior even for a former Jedi. When he realised we were trapped in that temple together, he wasted no time in letting himself be used. He became my apprentice, but he was a pathetic excuse for one,"

Ezra clenched his fists. He had no love for the Inquisitors. But death was not a deserved fate for anyone.

"What happened to him?"

A vile smile curled its way to Maul's lips. As if the memory of what happened pleased him so. "I gave him the only thing he deserved. Death,"

Actual resentment flowed its way onto Ezra's face. The death of a former colleague affecting Ezra in a surprising way.

"You should be happy that he's dead," Maul continued taunting, his hands slowly moving towards his saber.

"He wasn't yours to kill," Ezra said, his desire for battle bubbling into his expression.

Maul was twitching in anticipation. Shaking with elation at the opportunity to beat down one who he saw as inferior to him.

But all of a sudden, Ezra calmed down. His eyes no longer shone dangerously at Maul. But instead, they looked at him with sympathy.

"But he wasn't mine to kill either," He said gently. Ezra's sympathetic look turned into one of regret. Regret for the unfortunate fate of the Eighth Brother. "Despite all that they've done, they did not deserve death. They deserve redemption, a chance to fix themselves," Ezra turned his face back to Maul. "Just like you,"

"Like me?" Maul's face twisted and contorted. His breath came out in short bursts as he gripped his fists into balls. "You think I want your pity?" Maul reached for his saber at his side, igniting it as he clutched his head. The whispers in his mind were getting louder and louder, and they all told him one thing.

"You do not get to feel sorry for me!" He screamed, pointing his saber towards Ezra. "You're just an Inquisitor. A fake. You are nothing compared to me!"

Maul charged at Ezra, waving his saber like an insane man.

Ezra tried to dodge out of Maul's first attack. But he was better than the Inquisitors he fought before. The missed attack only opened the way for Maul's next one. Reaching his hand out, Maul flung a crate towards Ezra, hitting him square in the chest and sandwiching him against the wall.

"You think you're better than me?" Maul laughed, a mad look on his face. "You've killed Inquisitors, I've killed Jedi! I have more power than you can ever imagine!"

Maul was about to charge at Ezra again with reckless abandon. But before he could even take his first step, an explosion rang against the hull of the First Light. Lights flickered around the room as more and more explosions could be heard impacting all around the ship. Maul's anger dissipated long enough for him to stumble towards his comm.

"What happened!" Maul demanded.

"We're under attack my lord, it's the Empire!" Qi'ra replied.

Maul was snarling at the answer. He was on the brink of losing it.

"How many?"

"It's only one TIE fighter,"

The whites of Maul's hands could be seen as he nearly crushed the comm in his hand. "Just one?! I did not hire buffoons who are so incapable of handling a single TIE! What is happening?"

"He's taking out our defences sir, all of them!"

"You know who it is don't you?" Ezra suddenly said from behind.

Maul turned to look at him, a mixture of disdain and worry in his eyes.

"You can feel it too can't you? He's here, and he's here for you,"

"Sir, our scanners say that there's a Star Destroyer pulling up behind that TIE fighter. Based on their trajectory, it looks like they are preparing to board us. What are your orders?"

"You can't fight me and the Empire at the same time Maul," Ezra said with Sabine appearing beside him.

Maul returned his attention to the comms. "Do what you can, Qi'ra. I'm giving you command,"

Maul turned to Ezra with an unreadable expression. "I don't need Crimson Dawn to do my bidding," He crushed the transmitter in his hand.

A duel to settle their interests. It was the only thing on Maul's mind. But Ezra was done having to fight just to get what he wanted.

When Maul charged him, Ezra immediately ducked to the left. With the Force, Ezra pulled Sabine towards him, who reacted with a yelp as she was pulled into Ezra's arms.

Maul's attack sailed wide, missing the two of them. And once it did, Ezra refocused his efforts onto his opponent. He had Maul's legs in his eyes. They were the heaviest parts of his body, and also the hardest to move.

But it also meant that he was not going to expect someone to so openly attack it.

Straining against the weight, Ezra used the Force to grab Maul by his feet. Dragging him against his wishes and flinging him out through the window, landing who knows where on the First light.

"Did you just do that?" Sabine exclaimed in awe as she watched Maul's body fly out of their view.

"Yes, but you can praise me all you want later. It's time to go," Ezra urged as he pulled her to her feet before sprinting out of the room.

By the time Sabine and Ezra had made it to Mera's ship, the shaking had mostly stopped. Sabine at first was relieved that the Empire had stopped firing on the First Light. However Ezra was the first to remind her of the Empire's tactics.

The only reason the Empire stopped attacking was because they had already accomplished their objective. Now it was time for phase two, sending in the ground troops.

"How long until the ship is ready?" Sabine asked.

"We have… a problem," Mera replied, just realising that Sabine had arrived with Ezra.

Sabine furrowed her brows, trying to hide her frustration at yet another roadblock.

"What kind of problem," She said with a groan.

Lifting up a piece of her hull, Mera revealed a certain device welded against the thrusters of one of her engines.

"What is that?" Ezra asked.

"It's a parting gift from Qi'ra," Mera replied. "She installed it on all of our ships telling us that the only reason it's there is to keep track of us. And now, I find out that its actual purpose is to disable any ships which take off without her authorization,"

"Can't we remove it?" Sabine suggested.

But Mera simply shook her head. "Removing it without the proper tools will most likely destroy the engine. Our only way to bypass it is to disable it," Her eyes fell on Sabine. "I think this is where you come in,"

Sabine moved to take a closer look at the device. Her time spent in the Empire tinkering with devices like these came rushing back to her mind. She was familiar with its setup, its workings and its functions. There was a way to disable it, but there wasn't enough time.

"I could weaken its charge long enough for us to get out of here," Sabine concluded. "We won't have enough time for me to completely disable it, but I should be able to make it so it won't work properly,"

"What do you need?"

"Any tools you can find," Sabine replied.

Mera nodded and made her way back to her ship.

"I'll monitor the situation outside, find us a clean escape route," Ezra proposed. "There's not going to be a lot of time left over for us once you're done," Sabine couldn't agree more.

"Ketsu, help me out here," Sabine said as Ezra ran after Mera. "Now, I'm going to need you to follow my instructions exactly so that I don't accidentally blow up the ship," Confidence wasn't necessarily at an all time high among the Crimson Dawn Escapees.

Maul's mind went numb as he fell through the air. Being defeated in such a manner humiliated him to no end. The thought itself was nearly driving him crazy.

As he crashed into the levels below, his mind was still reeling from his encounter with Ezra. Maul refused to accept his defeat. It was a fluke. The one who was supposed to be his lesser could not have defeated him so easily. He got lucky, and Maul will make sure that he demonstrated that fact the next time they met.

"Sir," Came Qi'ra's voice from above him. So engrossed was Maul in his thoughts that he did not even notice where he had landed.

"Status report," Maul asked simply.

"Sir?"

Impatience flooded Maul's mind. He pushed his hands out swiftly as he stood up, suddenly gripping Qi'ra by her collar. Pulling her to eye level, he repeated his question with a growl.

"T-the attacks have stopped," Qi'ra stuttered. "Our scans say that they have launched several boarding ships, we expect multiple battalions of troopers to descend on us,"

"And what of the singular TIE?"

"He has stopped his attacks, at least for the moment,"

An alarm sounded just as Maul was standing up. Their docks had been breached by a fleet of unauthorised ships, and troopers were filling out in droves.

Releasing Qi'ra from his grip, Maul focused his mind. He could sense Ezra was still on his ship, but given the situation he was in, there was no way he was able to reach him without dealing with what was coming. Which only meant one thing.

He needed to fight. And he needed to win.

"Your orders sir?" Qi'ra coughed.

Maul turned to look at his second in command. Behind her stood the sum total of Crimson Dawn's men. Loyal towards the bitter end. But the only thing Maul felt about their loyalty was disdain.

Their usefulness had ultimately run its end.

"Fight well, and die well, criminal scum," Maul announced before igniting his saber and charging the troopers.

Qi'ra remained still after hearing Maul's battle cry. Her undying loyalty to Maul was being tossed aside like trash. Years of her life down the drain, heeding the commands of one who saw her as nothing more than a tool. Perhaps she didn't even amount to that in his eyes.

She reeled from the revelation. Everything she did she did because she believed in him. And now, everything she had was on the verge of destruction. She had accomplished much under Maul, but she wasn't going to let it all slip away just like that.

"Men," Qi'ra said, standing up with an unbridled confidence. "I want to thank you all for your undying loyalty. It is only with your continued support that our organisation has only flourished ever since Vos's death,"

"It is with you, that we have grown to such strengths. It is with you, that the Empire now sees us as a threat. And it will be with you, that we will defeat them, and take our rightful places as the new Emperors of the galaxy!"

Qi'ra raised her fist high. "Today, we fight or we die!"

Cheers of her companions resounded all around as they charged towards the infinite sea of Stormtroopers. Blaster fire rained from every direction, scorching metal and flesh alike. Crimson Dawn were outnumbered, but they more than made up for it with their stubborn will to live.

For every bolt Crimson Dawn fired, hundreds more rained down on them. Qi'ra watched as her companions, no, her comrades fell in droves against the endless sea of blaster fire. But with every lifeless body belonging to Crimson Dawn, ten times more belonged to the Empire.

Qi'ra and her men held her own, and of course, so did Maul.

He sliced through wave after wave of Stormtroopers. Cutting their numbers down by the hundreds. Repeating blaster emplacements were destroyed before they could even fire a single shot. Boarding ships were cut in half before their battalions could even set foot on the First Light.

The ferocity of the entire Crimson Dawn was on full display here. And the numbers of the Empire were rapidly dropping. But yet, the Empire's attacks did not slow down for even a second.

Qi'ra was losing the battle slowly. Her men were pulling ten, some even twenty times their weight. But it wasn't enough. For every trooper they killed, hundreds more took their place. The Empire was as relentless as Crimson Dawn was ferocious. And Qi'ra was running out of bodies to throw at them.

Raising a hand, Qi'ra ordered her troops to stay behind cover. Keeping them safe while they picked off who they could. But that only gave more space for more Stormtroopers to land. Eventually, from being outnumbered hundred to one, Crimson Dawn became outnumbered a thousand to one.

All hope seemed lost, and for a moment Qi'ra considered escaping herself. But she was forced to toss out even that option as a singular TIE fighter emerged and landed on the ship.

The TIE looked very different from the types Qi'ra had seen before. It seemed more sturdy, more advanced. She thought it belonged to the Commander of this attack, but it was much worse than that.

Not a second longer, a figure emerged from the fighter. He was clothed in all black, like a visage of evil. It wasn't his breathing which Qi'ra noticed at first. It was his presence. A heavy weight descended upon her and her men as they laid eyes on him. He wasn't here to fight. He was here to end it all.

At the appearance of this new threat, Maul reacted by using the Force to push all the troopers around him to the ground. It gave him the space and the opportunity to move towards his new opponent, challenging him in the hopes to gain victory.

"You are nothing but a Sith Pretender!" Maul shouted as he stood before his opponent. "A replacement for replacements, a false apprentice!"

Maul's anger had no effect on the man before him, who only stared through the lifeless orbs of his eyes.

"You are no longer necessary to my master's plans," Vader breathed as he ignited his lightsaber. "Surrender if you value your life, fight me only if you wish to suffer,"

Maul growled at his opponent's threats. He reignited his saber in response, twirling it as he prepared for combat. "The only one who will suffer is you, Vader. I will destroy you, and then I will come for your master. The galaxy is mine and mine alone!"

Maul immediately charged after his declaration. Both Crimson Dawn and the Stormtroopers knew to stay as far away as possible as the duel raged on. Neither side could assist their champions here. All they could do was watch.

As the duel progressed, the outcome was becoming more and more clear. Maul's attacks focused on ferocity. Channelling his anger to be as vicious as possible. Whereas Vader seemed more level headed, more effortless in his actions to block any attacks.

To outsiders, Maul seemed like a bottomless well of energy. But he was running dry. Fighting hundreds to thousands of Stormtroopers had already taken its toll on him. And using such an aggressive lightsaber form only drained his energy faster. He was only able to move by relying solely on his emotions. But emotions could only go so far before the body started failing.

Vader took note of Maul's slowing attacks and pressed his advantage. With each parry, he pushed forwards. Slowly throwing Maul off his balance. It was as effortless as before, until finally

Maul stumbled. His lightsaber escaped his grasp as Vader sliced it in half. The pieces cluttered to the ground as Maul watched helplessly. Once again, he had been defeated by someone who he saw as his inferior.

"Please," Maul began to beg. His death was certain, but his work was unfinished.

"The Emperor still wants you alive," Vader said coldly. He raised his saber, and was about to attack but was interrupted.

"No!" Qi'ra suddenly jumped out from behind her cover. She emptied her blaster into Vader, who simply deflected her shots with ease.

Even with an empty blaster, Qi'ra did not relent. She charged at him. If she had no weapons, she would use her body. And if her body had no use she would give her life. But her efforts were as futile as ever.

Having enough, Vader reached his hand out, choking Qi'ra where she stood. Qi'ra's struggles bore her no fruit. Her legs were inches away from the ground, and her life was slowly being drained from her eyes. Until eventually, with a crack, her body fell limp.

Qi'ra, head of Crimson Dawn, had fallen. And Maul was next.

Vader returned his attention to the snivelling former apprentice. Maul did what he could to move away from Vader, but everything he did amounted to nothing. Vader raised his saber once again, and slashed both of Maul's legs clean off.

Maul screamed in pain. He had lost his legs again, and was on the verge of insanity. With his mind gone, Maul senselessly pulled out the holocron.

"Help me!" He called to the holocron. "Please!"

But the holocron had become lifeless in his hands.

Vader's interest was piqued at the sudden appearance of such an artefact. He used the Force to snatch the object from Maul's hands. The holocron almost immediately came back to life the moment it landed in his palms.

"You hear it too don't you?" Maul began laughing hysterically. "Become my apprentice, and I will show you the powers it can unlock,"

Vader looked at Maul and his pathetic request. "You are no master and no Sith," He turned to one of his captains. "Contain him and prepare him for transport. I must report to my master about what we have found,"

"Yes my lord,"

"Raid the entire ship. I want all the data to be transmitted to the Executor,"

"As you wish my lord," The captain replied. "And what of the remaining Crimson Dawn survivors?"

Vader turned to look at them. Their fear was on full display.

"Kill them," He said coldly before returning to his ship.

Only the cries of Maul and the remaining Crimson Dawn members could be heard as Vader left the First Light.

If what Ezra and Mera was seeing was to be believed, then they were in very dire straits.

Mera's scanners were telling the worst story it could tell in this situation. Every single shield generator, turbo laser or defensive element on the surface of the First Light had been wiped out. And the worst part was still on its way.

"That's the guy you used to work for?" Mera asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep,"

"Would I be correct in assuming that your piloting skills are the same as his?"

"Nope,"

With a roll of her eyes, Mera quickly reprogrammed the monitor to hook into the camera feeds of the ship. She cycled through the videos, eventually landing onto one which showed the status of the current battle.

And honestly, it was much worse than what they initially thought.

Mountains of bodies were strewn across the floor. It was a massacre, and on both sides. But the scary thing was that it seemed like the Empire still had more bodies to throw at them.

Ezra and Mera only managed to catch the tail end of the Empire's confrontation with Crimson Dawn. A look of horror crossed Ezra's face as she saw Vader crush the throat of one woman. Mera mentioned to him that her name was Qi'ra, and to Ezra's knowledge, she was the leader of this syndicate.

To top things off, even Maul, the one which everyone feared, was left grovelling after a short battle with Vader.

All opposition had been wiped out. And they were going to be next.

"It's time to go," Mera said simply. And Ezra couldn't agree more. The troopers were already beginning to raid the entire ship. It was a big ship, but they had more than enough men to cover everything in seconds.

Leaping off his seat, he immediately dashed outside the ship.

"We need to leave, now," Ezra urged.

"Not yet!"

Blaster sounds resounded somewhere nearby. The battalions of Stormtroopers were approaching ever closer now.

"Done!" Sabine announced, slamming the hull shut. And just in time too. Because not a second later, a group of Stormtroopers burst into the hangar.

"Over there!" The troopers said as they started firing on Sabine and Ketsu.

Ezra wasted no time in using the Force to throw a stack of crates over to them, buying enough time for the two of them to run into the ship.

"Let's go!" Ezra shouted. Mera didn't waste any time responding. She activated the hyperdrive on her ship, and jumped out of there within seconds.

Their escape had ended in a success.

Vader knelt down in a dark room. It was an isolated area on the Executor, known only to him and a select few. A blue holographic image suddenly appeared. The giant figure of none other than the Emperor stood before his follower.

"What have you to report, my old friend?" Palpatine asked in a friendly tone, as if he was an uncle talking to his nephew.

"Crimson Dawn has been disabled my master," Vader replied without lifting his head. "The leader, former Darth Maul, has been captured and we are now en route to your location,"

A sinister smile cracked on the lips of the Emperor. "Very good," He said delightedly.

"There's more," Vader continued. "I found this in his possession," He pulled out the holocron from behind him, showing it to Palpatine.

Palpatine took great interest in the artefact. His knowledge of Sith history told him exactly what it was, and its importance.

"You have in your possession an extremely valuable object, my apprentice. It is the key to activating an ancient weapon sealed on Malachor with power far greater than even we possess,"

Vader lifted his head for the first time. "What should we do with it my master?"

"Head to Malachor. Find out what you can about the temple there using the holocron. I will personally deal with Maul when he returns,"

"Understood, my master," Vader said as he stood up. "There is also another matter I wish to bring to your attention. The rogue Inquisitor, Thirteenth Brother, was seen to be on the First Light together with Maul. The records state that Maul intended to make him his apprentice, but escaped when we attacked,"

"I care not for a defective Inquisitor," Palpatine almost scolded, but his face softened as an idea reached him. "Take the Inquisitors with you to Malachor. It is likely that the Thirteenth Brother will be headed that way too. Give them this chance to redeem themselves from their failures,"

"It will be done my master," Vader said as Palpatine disconnected.

"Prepare my ship," Vader spoke into his transmitter. "And order the Inquisitors to come with me. The Emperor has given them one last chance to prove their worth,"

Thanks for reading! Once again, concrit is very welcome!