Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 89- The Sith
Daniel snarls a bit as he dives to avoid a volley of turbolaser fire. As he does, he sees TIE fighters beginning to take off from the ships in orbit over the planet. And there's bound to be fighters coming up from the new fleet in Exegol's atmosphere.
"Incoming TIE fighters!" Daniel shouts over the radio.
"I see 'em! Let's give 'em hell," Poe calls out as well as he turns his X-Wing towards them, firing his laser cannons and blasting a pair of TIE fighters apart.
Daniel also quickly turns to engage the incoming TIE and quickly switches his armament switch over to his AMRAAMs. He quickly gains lock and fires a missile, then locks up a second TIE and fires a second. Both TIEs are blown apart as Daniel switches back over to his laser cannons. Centering his gunsight on a TIE, he vaporizes it with a burst of laser fire, barrel rolling up and over the fireball to blast another TIE out of the sky. In a matter of seconds, he's already racked up four kills.
Daniel quickly noses down and dives for the planet's surface, drawing several TIE fighters after him. However, Kenzo hangs back for a moment and quickly shoots down three of them. Daniel then throws his Mustang into a backflip manuever, firing his laser cannons as he does and downing the fourth TIE pursuing him. Daniel then rights his Mustang and banks hard right, Kenzo sliding into his spot off Daniel's wing.
"Keep it going, Kenzo! We keep them off balance until the fleet arrives!" Daniel calls to his wingman.
"I'm with you always," Kenzo responds.
As the fighters are continuing their attacks on the ships while fending off marauding TIE fighters, the big ships of the Resistance's fleet are engaging the closest ships of the orbital fleet. On the Rebel Dream, the ships gunners are keeping the ship's weapons firing constantly, focusing on two Star Destroyers closest to the ship. However, even with the upgrades and additional weapons on the Rebel Dream, she's no match for so many ships.
On the bridge of the Star Destroyer, Leia is continually monitoring the situation. So far, the Resistance and the Hammer Squadron has managed to hold their own, with just a handful of Resistance fighters shot down. However, the longer the battle goes on without reinforcements, the worse off they'll be.
"Contact Grand Admiral Page. I need an update on his progress towards our location," Leia orders.
Finn quickly starts attempting to contact Jonathan. However, as he's waiting for the call to go through, an officer manning the sensors calls out, "General Organa, we're detecting multiple ships coming out of hyperspace. Perhaps 16."
Leia feels a surge of hope as she looks out of the viewport. Seconds later, she sees a number of Terran Interceptor-class interdiction out of hyperspace. They are maintaining a respectful distance from Exegol, and spread out far enough that their interdiction fields will prevent any escape from Exegol. Then, seconds later, the officer calls out, "General, detecting a massive fleet emerging from hyperspace." Leia feels a grin cross her face.
On the bridge of the Steadfast, Allegiant General Pryde has been paying close attention to the battle while also directing the new Sith fleet as it prepares to leave the atmosphere and leave Exegol for the big assault on the galaxy. Suddenly, his attention is caught by a blaring alarm that begins to sound.
"What is that?" Pryde demands.
"Allegiant General, we are detecting a massive fleet emerging from hyperspace," an officer calls out.
Pryde looks out of the viewport, scanning everything within sight. For several moments, there is nothing visible. Then, as if a switch flipped, warships are dropping out of hyperspace by the hundreds. Masses of Star Destroyers, with hundreds of cruisers and capital ships mixed in. Pryde feels a chill run down his spine as he spots all three Freedom-class Super Star Destroyers drop out of hyperspace, along with the Enterprise. He realizes with the size of the fleet, along with all of the Terrans' Super Star Destroyers, that the Terrans are mustering everything they've got against them.
"Send an alert to all ships! We are under attack by a massive enemy fleet. Ready all weapons, and scramble all fighters and bombers!" Pryde orders.
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Enterprise, Jonathan gets his first look at the fleet that the Emperor has assembled. The fleet was even more massive than he expected. But Jonathan doesn't let that distract him.
"Scramble all fighters and bombers, and focus nuclear attacks on the fleet in orbit! Hold the fleet back until the nukes have detonated!" Jonathan orders.
In seconds, streams of starfighters and bombers are streaming out of the hangar bays of every ship in the Grand Fleet. Among them are a number of bombers, strategically spread out amidst the masses, that are armed with nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles. The Alliance had sent a large portion of their nuclear anti-ship missile stockpile along with the Grand Fleet. Doing so would seriously deplete their stockpile of these missiles, but now was the time to use them.
The bombers carrying the nukes quickly establish a comms-link with the starfighter carrier Midway, which is responsible for directing the nuclear strikes. The bombers call out to each other, and the Midway's controllers assign targets. One by one, the bombers lock onto their targets and begin launching their missiles. In a matter of minutes, 500 nuclear missiles are in the air. The enemy fleets still vastly outnumber the Alliance, but it should make things at least a little easier. The Joint Command thought about sending more, but Jonathan decided to keep them in reserve on different planets in case the assault on Exegol failed.
The bombers that launched the missiles turn back to their ships to re-arm with conventional weapons as the missiles streak towards their targets. It takes only a minute for the first missile to find its target, striking an Imperial-II class Star Destroyer from the Dark Empire's fleet. The missile detonates and overwhelms the ship's shields, destroying the ship in a second. The rest of the missiles quickly begin finding their targets. Each missile claims its victim in a massive nuclear fireball. Although the fireballs quickly dissipate in space, the mass EMPs thrown off by the hundreds of nuclear detonations disable almost 300 more ships. Several more ships of the fleet are forced to move to avoid being hit by the disabled ships as they begin to drift aimlessly without power.
"All ships, advance!" Jonathan orders. As his order is sent through the Grand Fleet, ships begin to throttle up their engines and advance forward to engage the fleet of the Dark Empire.
The climactic clash between the Grand Fleet and the Dark Empire is about to begin.
(The Citadel)
In the corridors close to the lift platform, the sound of clashing lightsabers can be heard as Anakin and Ronen continue their duel with their opponents.
On one end of the chamber they're in, Ronen is engaged with the Knights of Ren. He's already killed one of them and is holding off the others with ease. His power in the Force far eclipses their power, even though he's easily the least powerful Force sensitive that came to Exegol on the Falcon. Of course, his double-bladed lightsaber does provide him with greater cover.
Ronen brings his saber up to block blows aimed at him by two of the Knights of Ren. He grins as he holds back their weapons, a hammer and a massive machete-like weapon, then slides one of the blades of his saber along the machete a bit before wrenching his saber to the side. The move sends the Knight wielding the machete smashing into his fellow, and both Knights go tumbling to the ground in a heap.
Ronen doesn't waste a second and leaps at one of the other Knights. The Knight brings his club up to block the blow, but Ronen flips himself upside down and deflects the blow with one blade before swinging the other blade around and carves open the Knight's head. Ronen then rights himself again and lands gracefully on his feet. He immediately whips around to face the four remaining Knights.
Across the chamber, Anakin is duelling the five Shadow Guards. To the surprise of the Guards, Anakin has deflected or blocked every one of their attacks. Even when one of the Guards tried to use Force lightning on Anakin, Anakin simply raised a hand and absorbed the lightning into his palm like Yoda once did.
Anakin is fulling immersing himself in the Force, and using his skills at enhancing his speed with the Force to fight off the Guards. He is moving at a speed beyond anything a mortal could achieve naturally, and the blade of his lightsaber almost forms a continuous halo of energy around him as he deflects the blows from the Shadow Guards.
One of the Guards tries a blow aimed at Anakin's head. Anakin dodges the blow with ease before he leaps back. The Guard tries to charge at him, but Anakin uses the Force to pick up rocks lying around him and send them flying at the Guard. Several rocks batter the Guard, throwing him off balance. Fast as a viper, Anakin lunges forward and down to slash across the side of the Guard's leg. As the Guard stumbles, Anakin brings his saber up and beheads the Guard in one smooth stroke. Before the Guard's body has even had the chance to collapse, Anakin uses the Force to grab hold of the Guard's lightsaber pike and send it flying through the stomach of one of the other four Guards. The Guard falls dead a second later.
Anakin spins his lightsaber in hand and gives the remaining three Guards a confident smirk. "Who's next?"
(Throne room)
As a lightning flash provides some light in the very narrow corridor that Ben and Rey are moving through, they can see something up ahead at the end of the corridor. Ben, who is in front, turns around to look at Rey, and the two share a comforting look before they turn their attention back to what's up ahead.
As they come out of the narrow corridor, they realize that what they had seen was a large stone structure. Long stone arms in several layers, like the legs of an insect. The two exchange a look before they turn back to whatever this structure is and begin to walk around it.
As the two young Jedi come around to the front of the structure, they realize what it is. A throne carved out of stone. Sith glyphs are carved into the back of the throne, and more at the feet. The throne lies in front of the stone arms, which seem to give the throne an even more ominous look, almost as if the background of the throne is a crown.
An unearthly chill rolls down their back, as they realize that this is the throne of the Sith. A throne that, according to records from the Book of the Sith that Luke had sent them, the Sith Emperor himself had sat on, as well as Darth Malgus for a very brief time when he had declared a new Sith Empire.
Suddenly, they hear something. A haunting, almost hissing chanting that fills the air around them. As they slowly turn around, they realize what exactly this room is. It is not only a throne room, but an amphitheater of sorts. All around the border of the throne room are rows and rows of seats, packed full of humanoid individuals all wearing black robes with hoods. All of them are watching them, chanting in an unknown language, but which they guess is Sith. They chant the same line over and over, the chanting seeming to ring in their ears. Ben and Rey just stare back at them, realizing that this must be the Sith cult that their intelligence assets inside the First Order have told them was inhabiting Exegol.
Then, all of a sudden, the chanting stops, but the hooded cultists continue to stare at them. Then, another voice rings in their ears, shaking their frames and piercing into their minds, saying, "Long have I waited."
An unearthly chill settles over them, and the dark side seems to swell in strength around them. Ben and Rey look at each other, sharing one last meaningful look before they slowly turn around. And as they do, they come face to face with him at last. Palpatine.
A machine has descended from the ceiling, and hanging from it is the man himself. Although, he hardly looks like a man. He looks almost zombie-like, with decaying flesh, a sunken face, and a terrifying visage. His eyes are pure white, his teeth broken, and mouth swelled beyond its usual size. He looks slightly hunched, and his legs look incredibly deformed. Later, they would describe him as looking like he been grown in a tube, but been taken out halfway through the process. Palpatine is no longer the man he once was. He is now fully consumed by Darth Sidious.
"For the day that the heir to Skywalker, and the heir to Revan, would come to me. Welcome to Exegol, my young Jedi. I have waited longer for this day than you would ever know," Sidious says. He smiles a very crooked smile and he says, "Have you come to take the throne from me?"
"No. We have come to put an end to the Sith once and for all," Ben snarls.
"As Jedi?" Sidious asks with contempt.
"Yes," Rey answers, somewhat breathlessly.
"No, your hatred. Your anger. You want to kill me," Sidious responds. He then smiles another crooked smile as he says, "That is what I want. Kill me, and my spirit will pass into you. You will kill me to gain my place, but I will remain. I always remain. I cannot be defeated."
Sidious stares them down, wicked glee evident on his face. He then turns looks beyond them to his followers around the chamber as he declares, "The time has come."
The cultists all sink to their knees in homage to their master. "With your hatred, you will kill me, and I will grow ever stronger," Sidious declares.
"You will never win. You want us only to hate, but we won't. Not even you," Rey declares defiantly, yet her hand resting firmly on her lightsaber.
"You are weak. Both like your parents. And only the strong deserve to live," Sidious answers.
"My parents were never weak. They saved me from you," Rey says in response.
"And my parents defeated you," Ben retorts.
"No. Your parents would have died, young Skywalker, but they were saved by his father. You have no help here. Your friends will fall to my guards, and young Ren will slay his sister. You are alone, and you are nothing compared to me," Sidious responds.
"The light will always win," Ben declares defiantly.
Sidious smiles wickedly at Ben's defiance. "Young Skywalker, you are so naive. You both have a heritage of darkness, descended from the greatest of Sith Lords of history. You will fall into darkness, or you will die. I have chosen my new apprentice in young Ren, but if you wish to take his place…"
"Never! We will never become Sith!" Ben shouts at Sidious.
Sidious lets out a terrifying laugh. "Then you will die. Nobody can stand against me. I am the Sith of a millenia. The powers of the dark side lie in me. Centuries of learning and power lie in me. Only the strong survive, and you are nothing compared to my strength."
"You will never corrupt us, and we will not fall for your tricks! Your tricks are at an end, Sidious!" Ben shouts.
Sidious cackles once more. "Oh, but I am not Sidious," he responds.
Both Ben and Rey feel confusion run through them. "What?" they both say in sync.
"The time has come, and soon the whole galaxy will know the truth. I am not Darth Sidious. I am much more than that," Sidious, or who they thought was Sidious, says, "The essence of Sidious, and all who came before, lie within me. For I am the work of centuries. I have taken them all into my being and dominated them, for I am their master. I am their lord. I have destroyed them all, for all of them were weak before me."
"I am the Sith'ari. I…am Darth Bane."
And, boom, I'll end there.
So yes, Darth Sidious, from the beginning of this story arc, and in fact, from the very beginning of The Rise of the Terran Alliance, was never Sidious. He was Darth Bane, the originator of the Rule of Two. Yes, Darth Bane has survived, and now returned to take his place as the Emperor once more.
I know that revelation probably threw you for a loop. I originally didn't have planned to do this at all, but I decided a little while ago that I didn't want to just go with Palpatine returning. Not long ago, I had plans for an entirely independent Star Wars story where Bane had survived all this time and returned, but with me graduating, I decided to cut down the number of stories I had planned to publish, and so I decided to take that plot device and use it here. I always realized that doing that would help exemplify how this battle was meant to be the ultimate battle between the legacies of the Jedi and the Sith, and the penultimate battle of good vs evil. I also felt that it would help provide even more of a challenge for Ben and Rey.
I tried to give some hints that Palpatine wasn't actually Palpatine without making it painfully obvious. If you noticed, Kylo Ren never referred to him as Palpatine, only as the Emperor. I tried to give some hints also in him speaking, like how his voice seemed to be mixed with others, and how he kept talking about he had waited for this longer than anyone could imagine. Also, the skull-like design I mentioned as being on the Shadow Guards' armor is the image of Bane's mask that we saw in the one Clone Wars episode. My last clue was him using some sayings and ideals that Bane held during his original life.
Now, in the next chapter, you will get the exact explanation of how Bane has survived and his history since the end of the New Sith Wars. Also, for those wondering about the illusion of Darth Bane that both Yoda and Philip Nelson saw on Korriban, I will just tell you guys now: that was an illusion of the dark side. Yoda said in that Clone Wars episode that the specter of Bane was an illusion and not real. And for those wondering how he looks, yes, Bane does look like Palpatine, because his spirit is inhabiting a clone body of Palpatine.
Alright. Next chapter will be up soon. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!