Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 90- True Identity
Daniel scowls to himself as he fires his laser cannons, downing a TIE bomber attempting to attack the Rebel Dream. The bomber explodes for Daniel's 34th kill of the day.
The arrival of the Grand Fleet at Exegol had really begun to turn the tide. With the ships of the new fleet of the Dark Empire still in atmosphere and out of range, it's not as difficult for the Grand Fleet yet. But as the new Sith ships are beginning to rise out of the atmosphere, it won't be long before they join the battle. Several thousand starfighters are attacking the new Sith ships to keep them occupied while the rest join the Grand Fleet in attacking the fleet in orbit.
"This is Captain Parker! I've got three TIEs on my tail!"
Daniel swivels his head and quickly sees a Mustang streaking past him, with three TIE Whisper starfighters on its tail. Daniel quickly banks right, desperate to save his squadron leader.
The TIEs are firing wildly, and laser bolts are streaking all around Parker's Mustang. But as the seconds pass, the TIEs are getting more and more accurate. Daniel throttles up even faster and closes on the TIEs. He's already used up his supply of air-to-air missiles, so he has to rely on his laser cannons.
One laser bolt hits the wing of Parker's Mustang, but his shields just manage to deflect the bolt. Parker throws his Mustang into a series of wide, looping turns to try and keep the TIEs from getting a good shot on him. The TIEs try to pursue him, but Daniel finally gets within range.
Daniel squeezes the trigger, and one of the TIEs is blown apart. The other TIEs are too focused on Parker to realize what's happening quite yet. Daniel stays locked on their tails, trying to center his gunsight on the trailing fighter. It takes him a few seconds, but he soon gets a good angle, and squeezes the trigger, blowing a second TIE apart.
The last of the TIEs realizes what is happening and breaks away from Parker. However, in doing so, he crosses across Daniel's nose. Daniel sees this and reacts quickly, squeezing the trigger and sending a stream of laser fire across the TIE's path. One of the bolts blows a wing off, and the TIE goes spinning out of control. 37 kills for the day.
"Thanks, Daniel. I owe you one," Parker calls out as he snaps his Mustang into a tight turn towards a nearby Star Destroyer to make an attack run on the ship.
"Yeah, you do," Daniel says with a smirk before he flips into a Split S manuever as he scans for new targets.
As he does, he sees one of the Grand Fleet's Star Destroyers explode after taking serious punishment from multiple Star Destroyers of the Dark Empire's fleet. "We can't last forever if they outnumber us like this!" Daniel calls out over the general radio frequency.
Aboard the Enterprise, Jonathan has been paying close attention to the battle. Finally, he calls out, "Is the superlaser ready?"
"Yes, Grand Admiral," the captain of the Enterprise calls out.
"Good. Clear to fire!" Jonathan calls out.
The weapons officers quickly begin final preparations to fire the superlaser. In a matter of seconds, the weapon is charged, and they flip the switch. In the prow, the beams combine into one, and a massive beam shoots out and connect with the lone Mandator-IV dreadnought in the First Order's fleet, vaporizing it instantly.
All across the Grand Fleet, sailors and pilots cheer as they see the Enterprise score its first ship kill with its superlaser. The spirits of the men on the ships of the Dark Empire, who were not aware of the existence of the Enterprise due to being separated from the galaxy, quickly sink as they realize the firepower that the Terrans command.
On the Enterprise, Jonathan grins brightly as he sees the dreadnought vaporize. Then, without warning, the ship's radio comes to life, and everyone on the bridge can hear the voice of Lando Calrissian, "Impressive, Admiral Page. And now, there are more of us."
Jonathan begins smiling a real smile, and he shouts, "Hard to starboard!" The helmsman starts a hard turn to starboard, and within a minute, Jonathan can see the most wonderful sight.
A small ship goes flying past the Enterprise's bridge. It's Kyle Katarn's ship, the Raven's Claw. And following behind it is a massive fleet, drawn from all across the galaxy, from every faction opposing the First Order: the remaining ships and fighters of the Resistance's fleet, remnants of the New Republic's fleet, Mandalorian ships, ships from the criminal underworld that have rallied under Boba Fett, and many ships and fighters of just ordinary citizens that have finally come forward to fight for their freedom. And the fleet is made up of ships of all kinds, from tiny starfighters and cargo vessels to the largest warships available to the free people of the galaxy. And in the midst of the fleet is the Lusankya, the sole surviving Executor-class Super Star Destroyer of the New Republic's fleet.
In the cockpit of the Raven's Claw, Lando laughs as he and Kyle dive into the midst of the battle. As they do, an old X-Wing flies past them. "Nice flying, Lando," Wedge Antilles calls out from his cockpit, back in the cockpit for the first time in many years. Wedge then banks right to intercept a TIE fighter and fires his laser cannons, scoring his first kill since 2019.
"Yes," Jonathan says under his breath. Then, he orders, "Hard to port! Recharge the superlaser!" With Lando here, they have the numbers to offset the Dark Empire's numbers advantage.
(The Citadel)
Ben and Rey stare at Sidious…no, Bane, in shock, at what they just heard. Never had they expected to hear something like that.
"Impossible," Ben says in shock, barely able to speak at all.
"Your mind is still so naive, young Jedi," Darth Bane responds.
"But how?" Rey asks in shock.
"You believed that Sidious had survived, but you cannot believe that I have?" Bane says mockingly.
"But you died! Darth Zannah killed you!" Ben shouts, remembering reading about that in the excerpts from the Book of the Sith that his father let him read.
Bane cackles in Sidious' horrifying laugh before he says, "No, she did not. She killed my body, but my spirit lived on. She did not know of my mastery of the ability to preserve my spirit beyond the death of my body. I took over her mind and body, dominating her and crushing her completely, for she was not strong enough in spirit to resist me."
"Since then, I have continued to preserve my spirit, taking the body of each new apprentice when they believed they could challenge me. Never once has one been able to resist me. Only the strong deserve to survive, and only the strongest Sith have the right to become the Sith Master. Until a Sith rises that is strong enough to destroy me completely, I will endure. And I have only grown stronger. Now, I am ready to take my rightful place at the head of a new Sith Empire."
Ben and Rey stare at Bane in utter shock as they digest this, their minds finally realizing what has happened for the last thousand years. From the beginning, it has always been Darth Bane. Each Sith Master was secretly Bane, and whenever an apprentice killed their master, Bane simply took over the apprentice's body to test if they were truly strong enough to replace him.
However, Ben remembers the story of two Sith from the Book of the Sith, two Sith who did not seem like they could have been Bane. "But…what about Darth Vectivus? And Darth Gravid?" Ben asks.
Bane finally drops his smile, a scowl crossing his face. "My greatest failures. Darth Vectivus was almost strong enough to defeat me. I inhabited his body, but I could not dominate his mind. He resisted me all the way until his death. As for Gravid, he withstood me at first, but I began to break him. However, his mind could not handle the strain, and broke completely. And so, I took control of Darth Gean and slew Gravid. Had Gravid withstood me better, he would have been worthy to take my place. But his mind was too weak."
At last, Ben feels the story of Darth Gravid making more sense to him. Gravid's madness that led him to try and destroy the teachings of the Sith came about because of the strain of trying to resist Bane taking control of his body. For a moment, Ben finds himself wondering how things might have been had Gravid succeeded in holding off Bane's spirit.
Bane laughs again before he says, "I am no longer the Sith I was. I hold the knowledge and training of a millennium within me, and all the Sith of my lineage reside within me."
A chill runs down Ben and Rey's spines as they realize just what they are up against. Darth Bane has had a millennium to perfect powers in the Force and grow in strength. Not only that, but he also has the wisdom and knowledge of all the Sith apprentices he has dominated. Perhaps this explains why his actions in the persona of Palpatine are not entirely like the Darth Bane they knew of from records: his personality and being has changed slightly as the minds of all the Sith of the last millennium have become his. And as this has happened, perhaps this action has caused his own Force potential to grow as well.
Bane smirks at them before he says, "If one of you wishes to become my apprentice, you must prove yourself."
"Never! We will never join the dark side!" Ben and Rey declare in perfect sync.
A wicked smile grows on Bane's face as he says, "Good. Then you will die." As he says this, the machine holding him pulls back, and Ben and Rey suddenly become aware of six figures melting out of the mist around them. More Shadow Guards.
Ben and Rey look at each other for a moment, sharing a reassuring look. Then, Ben draws his lightsabers, the sabers that once belonged to his grandfathers, and ignites them both simultaneously, the blue and purple blades springing to life. Then, Rey holds out her saber and ignites its blades. And without a word, the couple lunge forward to engage their enemies.
The Shadow Guards, their lightsaber pikes at the ready, charge forward to meet the two young Jedi. But in a matter of seconds, they quickly find themselves outmatched. Rey switches into Soresu-style dueling, the blades of her saber flashing around her as she deflects every blow from the three Shadow Guards facing her.
Meanwhile, Ben is taking a much more aggressive approach with the three Shadow Guards he is facing, attacking them with unrelenting fury. The three Guards are quickly forced onto the defensive, trying to deflect his blows. One of them jumps back to gain some distance, then raises his hand and shoots a bolt of Force lightning at Ben. To the shock of the Guards, Ben points Anakin's old saber right at the incoming lightning, allowing the lightning to run down the length of his sabers as he channels the lightning into his saber. Ben then whips around and slashes at one of the other two Guards. The Guard brings his saber pike up to block Ben's blow, only for all the lightning to be discharged from Ben's sabers as the blades collide. The burst of lightning sends the Guard stumbling back in pain, as well as short-circuiting his weapon. Ben then leaps forward and drives the blade of Adams' old saber into the Guard's chest.
Ben whips around to face the remaining two Guards and quickly manages to overpower one of them with the ferocity of his attacks, pressing the Guard back and back until he finally stumbles, at which points Ben cuts off his leg with one saber before removing his head with the other.
As Ben turns to face his final opponent, Rey finally begins to cut down her opponents. One of the Guards tries to slash his saber pike at her head, but Rey uses the Force to deflect the blade to the side, right through the stomach of one of the other Guards.
As the Guard Rey deflected stumbles away, the other Guard slashes at her, but Rey brings one of the blades of her saber up to deflect the blow upwards, then keeps the momentum of her saber going, bringing the other blade up and carving across the front of the Guard.
Rey quickly turns her attention to the last surviving Guard. Taking a gamble, she throws her saber at the Guard, the saber flying through the air like a boomerang. The Guard deflects it with his saber pike, but Rey then grips the saber with the Force and calls it back to her. The saber hits the Guard from behind, cutting him in half at the waist. The two halves of the Guard's body fall to the ground.
As Rey kills the last of the Shadow Guards facing her, Ben ducks under a blow from the last of the Guards he is facing. Ben then brings his hand up and lets out a Force wave that knocks the Guard tumbling. Glancing up, he sees a section of the ceiling high above that is cracked. Ben reaches up and uses the Force to rip a huge hunk of stone out of the ceiling and send it crashing down onto the dazed Guard, completely crushing the Guard.
Ben and Rey turn to face each other for a moment as they walk closer together. They share a reassuring look and a brief nod before they turn as one to face Darth Bane, holding their lightsabers at the ready.
Bane stares at them with malice as he declares, "Stand together, die together!"
Bane raises his hands towards the two, and without warning, both Ben and Rey feel themselves instantly immobilized, unable to move on their own. Their arms are forced back, and their lightsabers are sent tumbling across the ground. Bane then pulls them through the air and forces them onto their knees on the ground just a few yards in front of him. Then, they feel as if a presence is stabbing into their minds as Bane reaches within them. A second later, they see light flowing from their bodies towards Bane, and at the same time, suddenly feel a little more tired.
The light flows into Bane's hands. Almost as soon as it does, Bane recoils and gasps aloud. He looks down at his hands, and to his shock, his decaying, torn hands and fingers are beginning to regenerate.
Shock crosses Bane's face as he realizes what this means. "The life force of your bond…a dyad in the Force. Unseen for generations," he mutters. As he does, Ben and Rey are trying to break free of Bane's hold, but even as he's distracted, Bane has them restrained.
Bane lowers his hands slightly and raises his eyes to look back at the couple, wicked glee evident on his face. "And now…the power of two…restores the one, true, Emperor!" And with that, he raises his hands again and begins to suck their life force from them once more.
Ben and Rey cry out in pain as they struggle to break free, but Bane has them fully restrained. They desperately try to close themselves off, but Bane already has his grip on them. And as he sucks more and more of their life force away, his body slowly begins to be restored. In a matter of seconds, they can see a glow of gold under his hood as his eyes are restored.
It doesn't take long before Bane has drawn what he wants from them and he ends his attack. Ben and Rey fall to the ground, completely unmoving and drained.
Before them stands the reborn Darth Bane, still wearing the face of Palpatine, but now bearing the marks along his eyes that he had in his first life. His body has been fully restored and is back in its fullest strength.
The laughter of the Sith Lord echoes through the throne room as his followers bow before him. At the same time, several cultists appear out of a side chamber, pushing some kind of cart in front of them. They walk to a position just a few yards away from Bane, where they stop and bow. "My lord, it is ready," the cultists speak in the ancient language of the Sith.
Darth Bane looks at the contents of the cart and smiles. Resting on it is a set of armor, identical in every way to the armor he once wore before the death of his original body, forged by his followers. Bane laughs as he reaches out his hands. The pieces of the armor lift up and float towards him. Bit by bit, the armor assembles itself on Bane as he directs it with the Force. Soon, Darth Bane is once more wearing his old armor. With a satisfied smirk under his mask, Bane steps back and takes his seat on the Throne of the Sith.
"Do not fear their feeble attack, my faithful," Bane says to the cultists gathered in the throne room as above them, a massive opening in the ceiling opens up, revealing the battle going on above them. Bane smirks under his mask as he declares, "Nothing will stop the return of the Sith!" And as he says this, he raises his hands, and unleashes the most powerful Force lightning attack he has ever used.
Clouds gather in the atmosphere above the citadel, and a storm of lightning bolts streak out of the clouds in all directions, striking starfighters and warships of the Grand Fleet, the Resistance, and the Galaxy Fleet, disabling anything it hits.
Personnel of the allied fleets begin to panic as their systems are overwhelmed and begin to short out, and those within the atmosphere begin to fall towards the planet's surface.
In an instant, the course of the battle has been changed, and now the Allies' win seems in jeopardy.
And, I'll end there.
Hope you liked this one, and the explanation of Darth Bane's history since his presumed death and how he survived.
Also, for those wondering, the armor Darth Bane is wearing is the armor we saw the specter of him in the Clone Wars series wearing.
Now, next chapter will focus pretty much entirely on what's going on in the Citadel, and we will see the beginning of the duel between Darth Bane and our dyad couple. And boy, is it going to test our heroes like never before.
Next chapter will be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review, and stay tuned!