Ok, let's keep this ball rolling folks, we're on fire right now and we're not slowing down I the slightest. So many arcs we've been dying to get to at last and we're bull rushing right to them.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 91: To be a Rebel.
"You know… I can't tell whether to be proud, disappointed or both."
Ahsoka winced at this, sitting in a private room with a transmission table at its center.
On it was the exasperatedly amused Anakin Skywalker who was giving his Padawan a mixed look of "I should be mad at you, but then again…".
"So, to reiterate," Anakin began pacing, holding up his hand as he readied himself to list his grievances against his padawan. "To make sure I get this clear, I turn around for one minute and in that time, my wife managed to rope you with your boyfriend and best friend into a favor for her own friend to help liberate her planet. And not only that. You dragged Scott and Hope into it and somehow wrangled Domino squad to do the same."
"That was actually Senator Cham's… request…" Ahsoka trailed off, seeing the look she got from her master.
He let out a withering sigh, eyes gazing up at the ceiling on his end.
Like his Padawan, Anakin was in a private room aboard his Venator, The Resolute.
"You couldn't have just called or sent a message or just something, Snips. Not leaving it for me to find out from the Jedi Temple and then my wife calling to say "sorry for stealing your Padawan from under your nose"."
"Aw come on, Master, how many times have you gone against the Council or Orders to do what you believe was best?"
"This is a completely different circumstance. You were asked to… ok, this isn't really insubordination but at the same time it is and… dammit Ahsoka, now you've made my head spin."
"Sorry Master." She earnestly said, seeing him wave the apology down, letting out a sigh.
"Couldn't be helped." Anakin said with a mirthful smirk. "How are you holdin' up?"
"Well enough, I guess." Ahsoka replied with a look of uncertainty. "Could be better without the dangerous aliens almost killing the resistance group."
"I heard." Anakin frowned deeply.
"You heard?" Said the Togruta in confusion.
"Got a brief conversation with Steve and the others on what's going on over there."
"Seems Hope and Scott beat me to it."
"More like you took a bit too long to call." Anakin retorted.
"Sorry, but I needed to help Barriss and Peter get the resistance group settled into a secure hideout and properly patched them up."
Her Master 'hmphed' at this but nodded all the same. "How's Peter?"
She had a small smile. "Being Peter, you know how he is."
Skywalker's head bobbed up and down. "Least he's keeping himself in high spirits. Or tricking himself into doing so."
"What? What makes ya say that?"
"He told it to me once, didn't ya know?" Anakin revealed, a bit surprised his Padawan hasn't known of this already. "Most of his attitude is merely masking the fear he has whenever he's in action."
Ahsoka blinked, resting her chin in her palm with a thoughtful look. "I never knew that."
"The relationship is fresh, give it time." Her master advised. "You'll pretty much know each other inside and out eventually. Padme and I are still building our relationship bit by bit and so are you."
A soft smile graced her lips. "You're right. Can't assume everything will come out right away."
Skywalker nodded. "And what about Barriss? Her master call her yet?"
Ahsoka shook her head. "She's tired, for starters. Just exhausted herself healing the others."
"Well, she may not show it, but Luminara's not reacting as she did back on Geonosis, I can tell ya that much. Kinda reminds me of how my mom used to worry about me. Difficult for some but hard to miss for me. She's worried but some of her concern is lowered since you, Peter, Domino, Scott and Hope are with her."
'Least Master Unduli has faith in us.' Were Ahsoka's thoughts on this matter.
"And have you all started taking action yet?"
"If it were merely the droids, we'd start first thing tomorrow. However, with these Chitauri and whatever else is with them, we need to actually stay patient, observe and train to deal with them." His Padawan let out a frustrated sigh.
Her Jedi Master gave a firm nod. "Good. Don't want to have any unnecessary losses all so soon into this operation. There is no time limit on getting the rebels to take down Sanjay Rash. You've got plenty of time to get things prepared."
"Might've had more in the jungle if it weren't for the surprise attack."
"Not everything can go as initially thought and intended. Have to adapt at a moment's notice." Said Anakin. "Anything else you've done thus far?"
"We've been scouting mostly, gauging the public and all for their opinions on the new regime."
"And?"
"And it's mixed." She bit the tip of her thumb. "I would have thought that the people would have all hated this new King but we've heard some accepting him, glad that Onderon were returning to their independent roots."
"Any reason why?"
"Having protection and showing it. If it was merely with the droids, the results waver, due to how clanky they all are for military strength. Ultron also added to making the galaxy all sour to even consider having droids around even more. With the Chitauri and those other aliens, whoever is providing these external forces is making quite the effort and some people appreciate it."
"What about those who are opposed?"
"Others residing in Iziz are rather hesitant, given how unsettled they are by their "new protectors". They're scared that if they end up acting out of line, these unknown forces would cause them harm or worse."
"Wouldn't be the first time such a thing happened, surely won't be the last."
Ahsoka chewed the inside of her cheek, mulling over a litany of concerns in her mind when one came to mind.
"Master, this may seem a bit random but what do you know about Onderon?"
Anakin cocked an eyebrow at the question with Ahsoka elaborating a moment later.
"When we came here, Barriss mentioned that when we were studying the history of our order, Onderon came up. I remember that Exar Kun, the Jedi turned Sith Lord, came here at one point."
Skywalker's expression changed into one of understanding.
"Ah yes, well, hard not to know why. Onderon became the home of another Jedi turned Sith. His name was Freedon Nadd."
"Freedon Nadd?" Ahsoka repeated. "A Jedi turned Sith?"
"It's an old Sith Legend as it is an ancient Jedi tale. One that the Order has tried to… I wouldn't say buried but just not encouraged to be researched." Anakin said with a roll of his eyes. "That's a different can of worms I don't wanna get into. But to shorten the story here, Freedom Nadd, like Exar Kun in his time, was probably the most talented Jedi of his age. And also arrogant. Like extremely so. Makes me look like a Shiny with how he flaunted himself."
Ahsoka was unable to hold back her snort at her Master's self-deprecation.
"He left the Order after feeling he got cheated. Apparently, he was being overlooked for progression to the next stage, yet not given a proper explanation on the reason why. He left and got trained by another Ancient Sith Lord and established his lineage here… the same one that still rules Onderon today."
It took her a moment to register what her master just said but her jaw dropped a second later, eyes widening in disbelief.
"W-wait, wait a minute, what?!" Ahsoka nearly shouted. "Are you serious, Master?"
"Yeah," Anakin couldn't fight his dark chuckle. "Hell of a situation you put yourself in, huh Snips?"
"That's not helpful, skyguy." The Togruta responded with a groan, throwing her head back and letting it fall on the couch she was sitting on.
"Just saying it like it is."
He only got another groan in response.
"What should I do, Master?" Ahsoka asked, a bit desperately. "I feel a bit out of my depth here."
"Hey, stow that talk Snips." Anakin sharply said, crossing his arms. "That's not the Padawan I know and train. Keep your head up, Ahsoka. You've been beating the odds for months, years now and this is just another step in your journey. I know I've trained you well and Padme wouldn't have asked you to come if she didn't have faith in you."
"Thanks."
"All I can do now is tell you to take things one step at a time. Ask for help when needed and just talk instead of burying it."
"...I take it you've taken Sam's offer, huh? Sounds like something he'd say."
"No, not yet." Anakin shook his head. "That's… that's gonna need a bit more time. Wait, have you spoken with Sam?"
"Yeah, Barriss brought me along for one of his sessions." Ahsoka had a loving smile blooming on her face. "It really helped."
"No problem. With what's happening on your end, it's more than we initially thought. We'll do what we can to get you some reinforcements and assistance. Just try to stick with the mission parameters as much as needed. Jump in when necessary."
"Thanks Master." Ahsoka stated, giving her master an appreciative look. "Be sure to tell Rex I'm sorry again for stealing Domino Squad. And for him to complain to Padme about it. Oh, and can ya tell Deliah that she needs to really be upfront about her intentions with him."
Skywalker rolled his eyes at that. "I don't think you need to tell her that." He then snorted. "You should have seen his face the other day. He nearly walked in on her bathing."
The Togruta openly gaped in shock with a laugh soon escaping her mouth. "Shut up!"
"No, I'm serious. I think it was planned."
As the pair devolved into story time and gossip, over in another room, Ant-Man, Wasp and Spider-man were having a conversation of their own.
Currently, the trio spoke with their fellow Avengers, three in particular.
The three that fought against the Chitauri in New York four years ago.
"Well… this shit just got complicated." Natasha commented with a bland expression.
"Cap, what are we gonna do here?" Scott asked, clearly worried about their situation. "I mean, yeah Stark nuked these bastards years ago but the fact that they're here-"
"We're not sure how to proceed with this." Hope finished off for her boyfriend. "They're here with these other aliens that I know we haven't seen anywhere else in the galaxy."
"This is most bizarre and disturbing." Thor was the first to speak, arms crossed with a deep frown. "The Chitauri are not of this galaxy and I've seen the images you have of the other species here. I don't recognize the ones with all those arms but the ones with the insect faces are called Sakaarans. I was unaware they had made their way into this galaxy."
"Are you sure it isn't Loki?" Nat asked the Thunderer, who shook his head with a solemn expression.
"He died in my arms, Natasha. It can't be him."
Steve Rogers had a look of deep contemplation.
"You mentioned years ago that Loki got this army from somewhere else, another source. Do you know who it was?"
"I have been attempting to uncover this for some time now but due to other circumstances in the nine realms, my quest for such a thing had to be put on hold."
Hearing this, Steve knew now wasn't the time to delve into what else Thor might know.
"Putting a pin on that, what about their presence on Onderon?"
"They're scaring everyone here, Cap." Peter responded. "Most of the population is fearful of them being here. Others are oddly accepting them, due to circumstances."
"And have you guys gone into the palace?" Romanoff inquired.
They shook their heads at this.
"Scott and I were gonna scout it out today." Hope said. "We've been primarily mapping out this city, looking for locations to hit and possible areas of dissension. Their leaders, Saw and Steela, told us that there are several neighborhoods that can be used to recruit more people, it's just…"
"We're not rebels." Peter finished for her.
"I can give it a try since, you know," Scott said, leaving his known backstory unspoken. "Maybe rally the troops or something."
"Do what you can." Steve said. "You guys are more than enough to take on the Chitauri and these Sakaarans. They relied on their numbers to get to us and tire us out. Taking them out is easy enough, just keep them from grouping up on you."
His teammates didn't respond, instead nodding along to this.
"What about training?" Nat spoke up. "These aren't battle droids. Can't use the same tactics against the Chitauri and Sakaarans like you do on those walking tin cans."
"We've been helping Domino squad make some new lessons to take these guys out." Hope stated. "We've begun training them but we can only do so much here until it's tested on the field."
"Don't do anything unnecessary." Steve scoffed at what he just said. "Well… anything more unnecessary."
"Have there been any leviathans?" Thor abruptly asked, causing Peter to visibly shudder.
"Oh God, Thor, please don't tempt fate like that."
Thor cringed slightly. "Ah, apologies, young Son of Parker."
"What's the plan for now?" Nat asked.
"Well, like we said, some training to start us off, we're gonna scout out the palace today and Steela figures some hit-and-runs should be done for now. At least try to start stoking support for the rebels." Hope listed off.
Steve nodded in approval. "Stay sharp and keep your eyes peeled for anything else. If the Chitauri are here, who knows who or what else could be waiting for you."
-Scene Cut-
Now that they were in the city, the real work begins.
After getting a lay of the land, the plan for their operations to shape.
To win this battle, they needed to win the hearts and minds of the people. Target those sympathetic to their plight on top of showing that this new regime can be toppled.
Have the people be reminded of the fierce independence they pride themselves on and get them to turn against the alien forces that now subjugate the city.
Easier said than done considering they were only a few dozen, close to a hundred and they needed to convince a city of hundreds of thousands.
If it were merely the droids, things will be a tad simpler and easier to convince the masses. Yet the Chitauri and Sakaarans made the rebels have to get more creative.
The former was of a hive mind yet only to some extent. They showed cohesion, independence and aggression that made them difficult to take out.
The Sakaarans were even worse as they displayed a greater degree of intelligence and acted on suspicious activity whenever they managed to recognize it.
Ant-Man and the Wasp were instrumental in keeping the occupying force on their toes. Their shrunken size kept them all in a constant state of confusion and anger as they couldn't see just who it was that kept attacking them.
This in turn gave the rebels the opportunities they needed in taking out squadrons of these aliens with rapid efficiency.
Domino Squad proved essential in being as effective as these raids were. With their training and participation, there was a ruthless efficiency in how their enemies were being dismantled.
The droids were quick and easy, and the Chitauri and Sakaarans, while difficult at times, met the same result.
Yet still, all did not go as well.
Two of their hit-and-run teams were completely killed off with only one managing to survive.
And that was a crushing blow to Saw Gerrera. He came back with new injuries and a spirit wrought with grief.
It was a bit of reality still slapping them in the face that not everything can go unscathed. The camp attack had a few of his men perish but to have two squadrons all get killed under his command nearly destroyed him.
Steela had not fared that much better, having one of her own squadmates nearly killed off had it not been for Ahsoka and Peter's intervention.
"Well… this could be going better." Were Peter's first words upon their return to the secret base.
"We've taken out a dozen of their patrols and we're losing." Saw said in clear frustration.
"No one said it was gonna be easy." Hevy stated.
"Yeah, but no one said anything about this." Saw retorted, throwing a nearby cantina against the wall, banging his fist on the chair he sat on, looking utterly distraught. "I lost two teams. Two groups of friends, dead and gone. And it was done under my watch."
Fives then seated himself in front of the distressed Onderonian and gave him an intense look.
"You're beginning to understand now what's at stake." The ARC trooper slowly said. "I'm not saying that you didn't before. But you can't deny your idealism got in your way. You believed in an absolute and now, you see that wasn't the case."
Saw only hung his head but Fives grabbed his shoulder and shook him, making the Gerrera brother look back up at him.
"This isn't something that you can so easily avoid." Fives stated. "Our Captain Rex, he suffered the same thing. At the start of the war, before we joined the 501st. All of Torrent Company nearly got wiped out on Teth. It was just Rex and two other of our brothers, both of whom who've also died in the war. You need to learn to steel yourself and carry their names and push yourself forward. To learn how to make sure you don't make the same mistakes again. Captain Rex said, in every mission, there are two missions. One that's rational and one that's hypocritical and irrational. Getting the job done and making sure the boys come back. And you now know that the second one will always be the hardest to achieve."
Saw had a single tear fall from his eye.
"So get up, Saw Gerrera," Fives looked towards all of the Onderon Rebels. "All of you get your ass up 'cause a new school is in session and we're gonna grill you all till you're as close as you can be to our level."
From the sidelines, the rest of Fives' batchmates watched on until Hevy snorted.
"He's been watching all those motivational movie scenes from Earth." The ARC commented, Echo and Cutup suppressing their snickers quiet enough that they can barely be heard.
In the meantime, Lux Bonteri stepped forward, looking to the off-worlders for guidance.
"Is there a possible way to maybe cripple these new threats?"
The Avengers took center stage, holo-images of the Chitauri and Sakaarans appearing in the center of the room they stood in.
Peter pointed to each alien individually as he explained what he, Scott and Hope had learned from their teammates.
"The Sakaarans are like any normal being out there. Mixed bag there. Some can be smarter than others like we've seen and others as dumb as a rock. The Chitauri, they have that hive-mind of theirs. We can perhaps whip something up with Karen to limit such use or give them a wicked headache. Don't know about their more animalistic buddies."
"That's for the new guys but there are still droids they have on patrol." Steela reminded him. "There is still a large contingent of them here, numbering in the thousands.
"We actually have something in mind for them." Lux spoke up. "Ahsoka, Barriss and I did some recon of our own and found something that could help us in our fight."
Barriss silently stepped forward, changing the display of the Chitauri and Sakaarans to a new image of some kind of machinery.
"There's a power generator that feeds substations across the city. We hit that, the entire grid falls." Ahsoka said with a confident grin.
"How does that help us?" Asked Saw. "Battle droids are no longer linked to central control. They operate individually."
"Yes, but they still need power to recharge." Barriss revealed. "If we take out this facility, it will knock out the power grid, and then it will only be a matter of time until the droid army is brought to a standstill, literally."
Echo looked over the generators in deep thought. "If we carry out this plan at nightfall, we'd maximize the strike capability."
"Okay. We just need to figure out how to destroy the power station." Eyes soon landed on Spiderman, Wasp and Antman. "Can't you just swoop in, plant bombs and set them off?"
"We could, but… we found out there's shielding. Was installed right after Rash ascended to the throne. My money's on his backer making it happen."
"Got anything to resolve this issue?"
Scott pulled out a holo-disk, displaying a holographic blueprint of the power station with various blinking dots.
"Got these plans from one of the droids for the grid's layout. There are sentries at every access point, inside and out."
"We can't sustain combat against their numbers." Saw muttered out.
"But our size makes us perfect for mobility and surprise." Steela added in. "We need something with heavy firepower if we are to blow up this facility."
"If we give them enough trouble, they'll call in for reinforcements." Lux surmised.
"Like a tank."
"Exactly."
"And more of their buddies."
"...Sadly so."
"With the tank, we'll just need some people providing cover while we hijack it."
"And then we use their own weapon against them."
"Not like we're already doing so with some of the rifles we've taken off of them. But a tank is something to look forward to acquiring."
"I mean, who doesn't like claiming they own a tank?"
"Sounds like you guys got a plan here."
"We'll leave you to it."
"Wait, where are you guys going?" Saw asked, seeing Scott and Hope going in a completely different direction.
"You guys handle the generator." The latter instructed. "Scott and I are gonna scout out the palace. Nat already asked us and we figure, better late than never. Even try and see where they're keeping King Dendup."
"Uh…"
"We'll be back." Scott assured, his helmet forming around him save for his faceplate. "You guys are just gonna be training than hitting a power generator that'll cause a lot of noise. No big deal. We'll be in and out of that palace before ya know it." And then his face plate slapped down over his face and he shrank, landing on a flying ant with Hope rolling her eyes at her boyfriend.
"Be careful you guys." She stressed. "I don't need to tell you how it's not that simple anymore."
"Please return safely yourselves." Barriss stressed. "I feel a dark air on this planet and it's worrying me. Please, as we've heard from our masters and allies, nothing unnecessary unless absolute."
With a nod Wasp donned her helmet, shrunk down and took off after her boyfriend, leaving the rest in the base.
"So, what should we do first?" Saw quietly asked.
"Training and planning." Was Ahsoka's immediate order. "All of us need to start relearning how to fight, how to conduct our missions, all of it. Domino squad will be drilling you guys."
"And we shall save the generator for another day." Barriss stated firmly. "We had only just discovered but we have no idea of what defenses and countermeasures may be in place."
"Lux and I can stake it out for tonight then." Steela volunteered, Bonteri nodding in agreement. "We'll report our findings and have us get circled out with another pair."
"Saw and I will be the next." Fives spoke up. "For now, everyone get to the basement. Training begins now."
"I'd advise you to have your Force healing on standby, Commander." Cutup said good-naturedly to the Mirialan Padawan.
She only gave him a small, amused smile. "Try not to hurt them too much, lieutenant. We need them in fighting shape.
"Naturally, Commander."
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Iziz…
"Brother, why do you refuse to fight? Would it not be effective in beating back those who rise against us?"
Maul shook his head, not looking back at Oppress. "This is not our fight to have, Savage. All this is, in the end, a means to an end." Maul stated educationally.
Savage frowned at this in thought. "You don't plan on continuing our occupation here?"
"Once we find what we've come for, yes. We will focus our attention elsewhere while Onderon would merely be a passing thought."
The taller brother was now curious as to why his sibling didn't put much strength into holding this planet. He was even utilizing the aliens that came from beyond the galaxy to aid in holding down the capital city.
The two Zabraks were merely biding their time for the unforeseeable future. With the information Maul acquired from King Dendup, they were finally going to find the Tomb of Freedon Nadd.
Rumors of its apparent demise were a gross exaggeration. Perhaps stemmed further from the Jedi Order.
From what Maul recalled, the last time the place was used was during the tyranny of Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus. After that, it was briefly visited by Darth Bane, around the time when he began his Rule of Two era.
They were so close to their little goal, he could taste it.
A number of things he wished could be there. Only way to be sure was to excavate the long abandoned tomb.
Originally, the tomb once occupied Freedon Nadd's corpse, kept within a Mandalorian iron sarcophagus. It was later relocated under Iziz's palace, courtesy of one of Nadd's descendants but was put back in its tomb after the Beast Wars; where Exar Kun later came across it during his pursuit of knowledge which eventually ended in his ascent into becoming a Sith Lord.
Since then, rumors had been sketchy on its current whereabouts.
Some believe it was destroyed, others that it had moved to Dxun whilst a few claimed that it was thrown deep into the wilderness of Onderon itself where the savage beasts have reclaimed the tomb for themselves.
In Maul's mind, that would be a sort of poetic irony that the Beasts that once plagued Iziz and Freedon Nadd's rule would eventually take his tomb in the end. The universe tended to have that type of humor.
"I imagine you have many questions, Savage. Don't hold them to yourself. Knowledge is another form of power that you must utilize."
The taller Zabrak contemplated on this.
"You came here for this temple though I have been wondering, who is this Freedon Nadd?"
"An old Sith legend, one the Jedi tend to brush aside because, like many Sith that have come before, Freedon Nadd was a Sith of their own making." Maul released a mirthful taunting chuckle. "The fools really, all of them. The Sith and the Jedi. Both as short-sighted as they are in the long term. Yes, the latter has stood for far longer than the former, they are no less idiotic and plainly foolish as they are with their actions. They, on numerous occasions in history, were the architects of their own worst nightmares coming to pass."
"And with Freedon Nadd…?"
"A simple person, dreaming of joining the Jedi and standing beside them. He excelled in his training, was praised by the masters for being a quick learner for his age. When the time came for his ascension to knighthood, he was oddly overlooked, much to Nadd's confusion. He sought out answers as to why this was so. The Jedi Master who he came to never gave him a straightforward answer, believing her means of explanation would be enough with alluding to the truth. The Sith would've been held back for years if she actually told Nadd the details plainly instead of goading him further with philosophical talks."
"So what? He left the order right then and there?"
"Not until he killed the Jedi Master, out of frustration and answers. It was her actions alone that cemented his turn to the Dark Side. After this, he traveled the galaxy until he soon came across the spirit of the great Sith Lord, Naga Sadow." Though he had long since discarded his attachments to the Sith, Maul still held great respect for the old Sith that came before him. "He taught him everything about the Sith and made him a lord."
Maul then released a raucous laugh.
"But truly, it shows, doesn't it my brother? The Jedi are often the architects of the greatest evils that would eventually inflict their will upon the galaxy. So much suffering if not for their useless belief in compassion when the time calls for ruthless calculus. In their indecisiveness, their want of teaching a "lesson"," Maul's expression morphed into brief disgust. "They created a lineage that would haunt them for thousands of years. Nadd's spirit would cause the fall of Exar Kun while prophesying another Jedi, Ulic Qel-Droma becoming a Sith and their war on the galaxy and thousands of years later, Darth Zannah would be gifted Freedon's Holocron and it benefited her furthering the plan of Darth Bane's Rule of Two."
"I have been taught to believe the Jedi quell their emotions and work to create peace." Oppress murmured with a sneer. "I had not realized how fallible they truly are."
"It is the great lie the Jedi have managed to enact upon the galaxy. Many Jedi are more rash and impulsive by nature, whether they like to acknowledge this or not. Padawans and Knights could be simply told "your ego is getting in your way through progression, you must re-educate yourself to the core teachings so you may know why we didn't choose you." And yet, their mentors can't seem to come to terms with the idea that they must "lower themselves" to properly teach a simple but important lesson. Pride, in the end, is what causes the downfall of countless Jedi. Their arrogance leads them to the Dark Side or their death."
Savage was silent, digesting this information piece by piece. While not a "thinker" in a sense, Maul understands that his brother is one that needs to understand and learn in a more methodical manner with bouts of immediate trials to hone and sharpen his skills.
Sharpening and educating the mind shall allow a great power for his sibling to tap into in due time as he did.
After all, each person is different in order to properly learn and cement knowledge onto themselves.
"What shall be done with them?"
Maul was quick to know who his brother was referring to, in which he gave the appropriate response. "Nothing."
Savage gave him a bewildered look. "Nothing?"
"Not in the way you're thinking. I merely mean to assure our continued anonymity in the galaxy. The Chitauri and Sakaarans will distract these Jedi and their allies from knowing of our identities. Let them speculate on who it may be as we aren't here to spectate everything."
The Apprentice hummed. Maul took note of his expression, knowing he wants to say something, but is hesitant.
"Brother, I have told you that if you have questions, ask them without hesitation. I am here to further your training and power and every step you take is part of your growth."
"When we reach the tomb, what do you perhaps plan to do from there?"
"Furthering your training." Maul said immediately.
"How?"
"Freedon Nadd held unique knowledge, which I hope can properly augment your strength."
"You are quite gracious about this, brother."
Maul gave him a nod. "You need much which is needed to face off our foes. The Tomb is a step to such a destination."
Hearing this, Savage couldn't help but voice a particular group of enemies.
"What of those Avengers that are in the galaxy? We've spoken about the Jedi and Sith and-"
"The Avengers," The snarling rage his brother gave off stunned Savage into silence, actually making him reel back. "Those unruly wretches. They are insects that will pay for their transgressions in due time. Of that, I can assure you, Savage."
The taller Zabrak gave his brother a look, him wondering what had Maul suddenly exploded in such a manner.
In due time, he shall learn.
-Scene Cut-
On a building on high, a lone figure in a black suit with white lenses narrowed his eyes as he overlooked the objective of the mission right now.
Peter Parker was perched at the very top of the building that was his reconnaissance spot that gave him full viewing of what he, his girlfriends and allies were here to destroy.
Night had fallen upon the city, the time to strike the power generators was nigh.
They just needed the right opportunity to make it so. After waiting patiently for a long while, studying the patrols in getting the right batch to hit, the time was now.
"All squadrons in position?" ARC Trooper Hevy said from a nearby alleyway, Echo right behind him with a hand on Hevy's shoulder in preparation. With them were Ahsoka, Steela, Lux and several other rebels all arms and ready.
On the other side of the Power Generators, where several security towers resided, behind many booths and stands, ARC Troopers Fives and Cutup with Commander Barriss, Saw and their contingent of rebels lay in waiting.
"Shadow squadron, ready." Ahsoka spoke through the comms, one hand over her ear and the other hovering over one of her lightsabers.
"Shroud Squadron, ready." Barriss was the next to speak, looking back at her group, all nodding at her and she responding in kind, turning back to see several Chitauri and Sakaarans walking by in a militaristic march.
"This overwatch." Spider-man stated, hunching over before jumping high into the air into a graceful backflip. "Diving in."
Once reaching the height of his jump, Spidey's head was angled downward to his first target and that was a set of watchtowers.
In near blinding speed, he fired one web cartridge that burst into black webbing that covered the top of the tower and anyone else on top of it, silencing them immediately.
The neighboring tower guards saw this and were about to make some noise when Spider-man rocketed down from on high, slamming the two Sakaarans down to the ground. Both were knocked out and without even looking back, threw his elbow in the chest piece of a B1 Battle droids, destroying it instantly.
With them down, Spidey blended back into the shadows and moved silently to take down the next ones nearby.
"Any progress, Night Monkey?" Steela's voice rang in his ears.
The young Avenger halted in his step for the briefest of moments, his brow twitching at the giggling he heard from Ahsoka.
"...Why…"
He could feel Saw's smugness when he responded. "Why what?"
"Why that name?"
"You literally look like one from our jungles." Saw argued.
Peter rolled his eyes beneath his mask, ignoring the snickers and chortles from the rest of the team on comms.
"We needed something better than the obvious."
"You do realize Karen can keep out eavesdroppers."
Spidey soon snatched a Chitauri and jammed his hand to the back of its skull. Karen quickly went to work to lock out the connection before it could radio in for assistance through their hive mind. Once done, Peter knocked out the enemy before diving towards the neighboring droids. His symbiote formed blades in his hands as he sliced the heads in half, making him stare at his hand momentarily before shaking his head.
Awesome new developments can be appreciated later.
"Better safe than sorry."
Parker only shook his head, looking around and with his enhanced eyes, spotted Barriss' group. "Anyways… we're looking good. Towers are clear for the time being. You're good to go."
Barriss knew he was looking at her and she nodded, throwing her hand forward and her group rushed in.
Getting to their targets from the rear, Shroud Squadron soon went to work.
Tossing the EMP grenades, they rolled to the droids and Chitauri of the patrol group. Many droids were quick to go down with the Chitauri looking around in confusion. The Sakaarans didn't notice this as they were a bit further ahead.
Of course, they soon felt an invisible blast sending them away into a nearby wall -courtesy of Barriss- and the rest of her group took them all out in rapid succession.
Shadow Squadron began their own silent assault, Ahsoka needing to rely on her athletic prowess to move around.
She rolled up from behind a Sakaaran and jumped into a spinning kick with her heel cracking against the head of the foreign species to this galaxy.
Lux did his own move, diving shoulder first into the back knee of a Chitauri. It buckled from the attack and opened its mouth to let out a scream when Steela rushed in, clothed elbow burying itself into the Chitauri's mouth, muffling it.
Saw was utilizing a vibro blade, cutting up several droids and a single Sakaaran.
They were making progress.
It was going good.
And then they heard it.
The telltale sign of them being spotted.
A Chitauri spotted them and let out a screech in the air that alerted all the remaining guards to their position.
"There goes our element of surprise." Fives casually said, twirling his DC-17 blaster pistols.
Triggers were pulled, blaster fire flew through the night air, lightsabers ignited and a quippy Queens superhero let out a whoop as the battle began in full.
Cutup switched to CQC as he was surrounded by a half dozen enemies on all sides.
The ARC trooper pulled out his knife and stabbed the Sakaaran in the neck. With it falling over dead, he procured the enemy's weapon as he rolled out of the way from getting assaulted. Coming up in recovery, Cutup fired at several Chitauri behind him and delivered a spinning back fist to a droid that had its head popped clean off.
Steela had moved back, finding a proper position of cover, switching to her sniper rifle and began picking off one enemy at a time.
Lux ran alongside Saw, Fives and Echo, the two ARC troopers leading their younger comrades, calling out shots and targets they viewed can be taken out by them.
"Conserve your firepower." Echo advised, a jumping knee to the chin of a Chitauri letting out a sickening crunch. "Don't spray and pray. Pick your targets."
"Don't get overzealous." Fives tacked on, grabbing a Sakaaran's head and twisting its head, the audible sound of a neck snap being heard by the two young men.
They winced at what they heard but steeled themselves all the same, following the words of their instructors to the letter.
Telltale sounds of Droidekas were growing nearby. Whirling around, Lux and Saw saw a pair of the destroyer droids appearing and opened fire upon them before they could unfold. Some shots landed, but weren't enough to knock them off course. Once they quickly halted and became stationary, their shields flared to life with them starting to fire upon them and the squad.
"We won't last unless we take 'em out."
"We gotta get behind them."
Using the buildings as cover, the pair ran as hard as they could to navigate around and get to the Droidekas' blind spots. It felt longer for them than it should.
As this occurred, Ahsoka and Barriss blocked the Droideka fire as long as possible in order for one of their comrades to stop the recent arrivals.
It wasn't long before the pair spotted Lux and Saw from a nearby alleyway with both of them tossing their droid poppers into the Droideka barriers. One was successful in getting past the kinetic barrier, having the EMP go off and deactivating the destroyer droid. The other, however, wasn't successful as it bounced off.
This got the one Droideka to notice them.
"Nice job." Saw growled.
"You screwed me up." Responded Lux.
The pair dove apart, avoiding the blaster fire.
Saw dashed and rolled behind the deactivated Droideka, having it take the fire raining on him. He tried to find a good point to get out, but he couldn't get the timing.
Yet he was soon saved when he heard the sound of the EMP going off. Looking out from cover, Saw saw Lux on the ground with his arm stretched out with the droid popper not far away from his hand with the now deactivated droid.
Walking over, Saw hoisted Lux back onto his feet.
"Thanks."
"We're even now."
"Hopefully they'll call in a tank for backup." Said Lux.
"Or else we'll be doing this the hard way." Muttered Saw.
Looking over, they saw a lone droid had survived the assault. It turned around and took off, soon making a call.
"Patrol 118 to central. We've been ambushed by terrorists and need reinforcements."
Once this was said, a blaster bolt struck the droid in the head as it fell over as scrap heap.
Lowering her sniper rifle, Steela looked towards the others.
"This seems weird." She commented.
This got several looks from the others. "Weird, how?"
"Just seems… light. Too easy."
"Sorry I missed the party. Took out some folks coming up at the power station." Spider-man landed next to her. "Mind explaining what you meant?"
"Light as in, light on back up."
Saw Gerrera was then heard through the comms. "But we scouted it like this. This is the smallest patrol team."
"Then where is the response?"
"Didn't you just take out the one that called for it?" Lux pointed out. "It got the message out, didn't it?"
"So a response team is coming. Won't be immediate." Ahsoka said. "Come on people, we need to take out the generators, stat."
"I'll go on ahead." Barriss said, twirling about in a deadly dance with her lightsaber. "Hevy, Echo, Saw, with me. Get the explosives ready."
"Copy that, Commander."
As Shroud Squad was leaving, Peter's senses flared. Before he could give out a warning, someone appeared on the scene, leaping down from one of the buildings.
Cutup immediately whipped his Sakaaran blaster to the new arrival when he felt his arm halt mid-swing.
"What the hell?" He said aloud, thrown off by his limb freezing so easily by this hooded figure.
The robed figure raised its head and the ARC trooper was met with the startling sight of red eyes that did not look natural.
In fact, they appeared to be cybernetic and that wasn't the only thing that appeared more machine than man.
Within the two second Cutup had, he identified that the being under the cloak as a male Twi'lek with pitch black skin, golden cybernetics that appeared as veins and a look of cold malice in his red eyes.
That was all Cutup managed to discern before getting a punch to the chest that dented his armor and sent him careening back into a booth.
"CUTUP!" Fives shouted in horror, having seen this.
"What was that?!" Lux exclaimed in shock.
The black skinned Twi'lek removed his robe, revealing an odd set of what looked like metallic garments, a metal arm and leg and even his Lekku was encased in metal with cybernetics running up from the tips all the way to the rest of his head and down the rest of his body.
"You are all fools." The Twi'lek spoke, his voice unusually warbled, as if it had been tampered with. "You know not of what you are fighting against or for what is to come. It will not be today, nor will it be tomorrow. But know the inevitably of-GURK!"
The Twi'lek was swiftly cut off by Spider-man swinging around and planting his feet into the chest of the man, the impact sending him crashing into a building.
"Jesus with the monologuing." Peter quipped, landing on the ground, one hand on the floor, the other raised above and behind him. "If you're gonna attack, attack; don't talk."
"Hang on Cutup, don't move too much."
Spider-man's head whipped back to see Fives along with Lux and Ahsoka around the downed ARC trooper, helping out from the rubble he now lay in.
Peter jumped over to them, quickly moving to help the trooper, hissing at the dented chest armor.
"Hold on Cutup, this might hurt a little." The New Yorker said apologetically and as quickly as he could, ripped the chest armor off the Clone, hoping it was fast enough to not cause any more damage.
"That was custom made." Cutup managed out, tensing up in pain.
"Easy brother." Fives stated, pulling out bacta webbing and applying it over his batchmate's chest, relieved at the sound of Cutup exhaling from the pain lessening. "Don't move too much."
And speaking of movement…
The sound of bricks and wood being thrown aside was heard by the group, all turning to see the black Twi'lek walk out from the building he was kicked into.
Though he wasn't unscathed, that wasn't really the thing they focused on. No, it was more of the burning rage he held in his red eyes that landed upon Spider-man. Strangely, the red eyes began to glow and then came wisps and then-
*SPIDER-SENSE*
"Oh shit!" Peter yelled out, realizing what was about to happen.
Pulling out another web cartridge from his belt, the symbiote quickly injected some of its own boost into the webbing stored within before its host threw it on the ground.
A large web dome soon surrounded Peter and the group he was trying to protect just as literal beams that appeared to be burning were fired from the Twi'lek's eyes.
Still, the power behind the beams burned the webbing away and it managed to get through and hit Peter in the shoulder.
"Peter!" Ahsoka worriedly cried out.
"I'm fine." Spider-man waved her off. "Just get Cutup to safety. I'll handle this guy."
Going into action, Spidey fired off black webbing which struck the Twi'lek. It was quick to spread and encased him, immobilizing him… rather briefly.
From the encasement, the black-skinned Twi'lek seemed to float into the air as Peter had a small sense of Deja vu.
"Oh, you gotta be kid-"
The man practically exploded, having a Force blast repel both the black webbing and anything remotely near.
"Great. Haven't seen that since Kamino."
The onlookers had their own responses, yet it was the Togruta who voiced it.
"He's a Force-User?!" Ahsoka asked/shouted.
"What kind is he?" Parker questioned, body tensing up as the Twi'lek glared right at him. "The pissed off kind, far as I can tell."
"You shall suffer, Avenger." The Twi'lek said aloud, making the Queen native pause in confusion at the way he was being addressed. "We have seen what your kind can do and in time, you shall understand death. Loss. A true balance. And I, Blackout, shall be the one to deliver your serenity."
…
…
…
"Uh… what?"
The now identified "Blackout" simply fired another set of beams from his eyes, making Spider-man yelp, jumping about to avoid the lasers from scorching him.
They stopped when the Twi'lek felt several blast bolts strike his back, making him jolt forward.
He spun around, spotting Steela who jerked back upon being seen.
Blackout clenched his teeth, eyes aglow once more with power. Just as he was about to fire his beams, a web line snagged the back of his head and pulled his head back.
The beams were directed into the sky while Peter used his hold as leverage to pull himself in close and landed a powerful blow to the Twi'lek's spine with his knees. There was a loud crack heard, Blackout releasing a cry of pain but that appeared to only incentivize the man.
He spun around, grabbing Peter's wrists, surprising the wall crawler with his strength and his eyes glowed again.
His sixth sense blared with warning and on instinct wrenched a hand free and uppercut Blackout right in the chin.
Blackout seethed in pain yet remained standing, freaking out the webhead.
"Oh come on dude, can't you just knockout already? … See what I did-WHOA!"
Instead of an eye blast, Spiderman was hit with a Force push, sending him away.
The Twi'lek soon pulled out a pair of objects from his belt and was about to use them when black webbing quickly latched onto one of them.
"Yoink!"
"Hey!"
The symbiote webbing receded, having the object come into Peter's hand. Glancing at the side, he saw what it was.
"Okay, we got an Acolyte here." He soon leapt out of the way from another eye blast. "One with augments. Lovely." From the corner of his eye, Peter spotted his Mirialan girlfriend rushing out of the power generator with Saw in tow.
"Barriss, you might need this." He called out to her, throwing the hilt in her direction.
The Padawan was quick to respond, seeing the lightsaber coming toward her. Stretching out her hand, she used the Force to call the saber into her hand and activated it immediately.
Instead of seeing a red blade, she saw blue like her own.
"Strange." She muttered.
She could feel the blade was tainted in the Force.
The Mirialan was so used to seeing the Acolytes wield red hued lightsabers, she forgot some may stick to their original tools.
Yet something about this lightsaber made her rather unsettled, not just looking at it but grasping the weapon's hilt.
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she had to dive out of the way from the black Twi'lek's eye blast. Coming up from the recovery roll, she saw the man come right at her with a tainted green lightsaber.
"Give that back!" Blackout roared, jumping into the sky with his green lightsaber held overhead.
Barriss used both her own and procured lightsabers to hold back the enemy force user. She winced, thrown off by the power the Twi'lek held. With the blades in an X-formation, Barriss could feel the strength behind the blow as she skidded back. Using the Force, she did her best to push back against Blackout but he kept pushing her back.
Breaking the blade hold, Barriss performed some backflips to give herself some space. Blackout was quick to close the distance with barbaric swings. The strikes were soon met with Barriss using the Jar'Kai variant of Form III. Despite him using one lightsaber, Blackout was quick with his movements, which had Barriss struggle to keep up with. With whatever she couldn't block, she had to swerve and evade, swinging her blades at possible openings. Yet such openings were quickly closed.
They locked themselves into another blade clash, Barriss' arms trembling now. She visibly winced, something that caused sadistic delight for the Twi'lek.
"Weak." Blackout sneered, a manic look in his eyes. "Like the rest of your ilk. Not understanding the power that lies at your fingertips. To blind to-urk!"
Her arms were relieved by Spider-man rushing in, yanking him back with a webline.
"That's enough abuse out of you, bud."
When Blackout came in close, Peter delivered a double roundhouse kick across the man's head and chest. The attack sent him back before being pulled back once more for a series of punches and kicks that assailed his body. The last blow sent the Twi'lek away, crashing into a nearby structure with stones falling on top of him.
Landing near Barriss, Spidey looked towards her. "You okay?"
About to give a response, she heard an explosion in the distance. Glancing over, she realized it came from the power generators. Moments later, the lights in the city began flickering off.
Barriss could faintly hear a resounding cheer from the rebels.
She gave him a small smile. "I am now, love."
Blackout saw this and snarled.
He was so procured by combating against the Mirialan Jedi and young Avenger, he didn't realize the resistance fighters got to the power generators and took the place down. What he didn't know that earlier, they procured a Separatist tank and used it against them.
Over with the acquired tank, Saw and Echo hopped out of it with the latter pulling out a small disk with a glowing blue center and slapping it on the tank.
In an instant, the tank shrank down to a small size no bigger that Echo's finger.
"That's amazing." Saw said in total awe.
"It really is." Echo stated, grabbing the tank and pocketing it. "I always thank the universe for the Avengers coming to this galaxy and joining our side."
Their cheers were briefly overshadowed when they heard a mighty bellow. Looking over to the apparent source, the group saw red blasts going up to the sky.
"We should go over and help 'em."
Saw simply nodded and ran to assist the rest of the rebels.
They ran in just as Blackout began calling for a retreat, utilizing his eye beams as a means of escape, wreaking chaos and confusion to allow for his getaway.
-The Next Day-
Inside of Iziz's palace, Maul and Savage were calmly walking towards the throne room.
The corridors were filled with near darkness. Very little natural light seeped through, but did little help. Only firelight was present to help light the way.
They had just finished a training session, scorch marks, gashes and cuts running all along Savage's armor yet he stood tall, triumphant and strong.
"You're advancing well, my brother." Maul praised. "You're growth is astounding to observe. In time, you shall rival even the greatest of Sith Lords from the past and afterwards, exceed them."
Savage couldn't help but puff his chest out a bit more, holding his head higher.
To hear such high praise from his brother was a definite ego boost but one that he knew he had to temper.
Strong as he was becoming as time went on under his brother's tutelage, Oppress was well aware of the gap that still existed between himself and Maul. Every day, as his connection to the Force grew, so did his acute awareness of the power that his brother possessed.
It was staggering really. His brother had achieved a power that seemed unfathomable but he was learning that such a belief was just a mindset. One that was a self-imposed limitation that needed to be broken and Savage was feeling the fruits of his labors.
If only the feeling remained.
"MAUL!" Came a shout from down the corridor and the red-faced Zabrak didn't even react to the sight of Sanjay Rash stomping right towards him.
"Your majesty," Maul greeted cordially, unbothered by the raging Onderon that stopped right in front of them. "How may I-"
"You said you would get these terrorists taken care of." Rash all but snarled, interrupting the Zabrak and jabbing a finger in his face. "Now we have a city-wide blackout."
Maul simply shook his head, completely calm and collected. "A minor setback, I assure you. Nothing to worry about."
"Worry about?" Sanjay Rash parroted. "Without the power, the droids will eventually cease to function. Yes the terrorists actions may work for us, but it'll take time to get emergency power running throughout the capital. I'm already getting complaints left and right, which I'm being drowned in. If that wasn't enough, I heard the people were cheering for goodness sake!"
Throughout the night since the blackout, Rash has been getting brief reports of more and more droids being wrecked and taken down. Amongst all this, he could hear from the balcony cheering in the darkness with the various fires going throughout the city.
Savage growled at the way this king was addressing his brother and was about to move forward had it not been the subtle hand flicker of Maul that prevented him from doing so.
"We have more than just droids, in case you forgot." Maul boredly said.
Sanjay felt rage boiling over at the casualness of the former Sith Lord. "Yes, but they were "surprisingly" being decimated."
The Chitauri were having some problems, due to the power generators releasing a blast strong enough to briefly disconnect their hive mind. Before many could reconnect, a good majority were killed. The Sakaarans, however, were the group with the least losses on the terrorist attacks.
"Because of last night, the terrorists quickly won much of the people's favor. Every trespass is an embarrassment."
Maul remained calm, collected. His eyes boredly bore towards Sanjay Rash. "Rather disappointing to hear. It seems that the rebels are a bit more organized than they were previously. The attack against the generators proves this."
"Then you should send better reinforcements-"
"If I did, this world would be utterly decimated." Maul interrupted. "I will not send more than what I have present here. If I were you, have the royal militia actually take part in the patrols rather than standing guard here at the palace. See that the people's military is actually watching over them instead of just protecting their king. Because of how I see it, just my forces being out there will not have the people stay on your side much longer before they start taking extreme measures."
Leaving the seething king, Maul and Savage made their way to another place of the palace. A room they had taken for themselves draped with Sith architecture and furniture from Freedon Nadd's era.
Entering the chamber, the two Zabraks saw the kneeling Blackout.
"Blackout." Maul greeted, tone smooth and expectant. "I take it you had something to do with what occurred last night."
"My lord, I have failed to stop them."
"It's quite alright. No harm done." Maul looked at the black Twi'lek and noticed one of his lightsabers was missing. "Lost one of them, a pity."
"But my lord-"
"We are not here for an occupation, Zamuso." He reminded him. "We're only here until we have found what we came for."
Blackout silenced himself upon hearing his original name, lowering his head.
"Lord Ma-"
Blackout was silenced when seeing Maul's hand raised.
"What is wrong, brother?" Asks Savage.
The red skinned Zabrak glanced up, head tilting in a particular angle. "We have uninvited guests."
With the same raised hand, Maul quickly closed it. From the place he stared at, the spot exploded. Debris fell down from up high. If one could pay attention, they could hear the faint sounds of buzzing.
Curious looks soon focused more on Maul.
"What was it?"
"The voids I told you about, brother." Bringing his arm down, Maul's gaze still followed the retreating intruders. They weren't invisible, but just… overlooked. "If I were to wager, I say they were these size shifting Avengers I've heard on the holo-net."
Slowly turning his head, Maul allowed the Force to flow in and around him, allowing it to spread to encompass a wide area until he felt it.
The movement of the voids.
With a menacing grin in place, Maul raised his hand and concentrated, gathering a substantial amount of energy into his palm. Once the required amount was gathered, a repulse was sent throughout the entire palace but the target was only two individuals.
The wave reached the pair and they were thrown off guard, figuratively and literally, as they were sent careening out from the ventilation they were traveling in and promptly spat out from the palace.
Ant-Man and Wasp grew to full size upon landing on the ground, completely bewildered as to what just happened to them.
"The hell was that?" Scott asked in utter bafflement, sitting up and looking at the palace.
Hope groaned, sitting up herself whilst her helmet retracted.
"We were pushed out of the palace." Wasp stated rather than questioned.
"How'd that happen?" Lang asked, turning to his girlfriend who shook her head.
"I don't know…" Hope frowned, recalling what they managed to hear moments ago. "I heard a voice talk about Voids. Voids in the Force."
"I think they were referring to us." Said Scott. "Hard not to forget such a reminder."
"No, it's not that." Hope shook her head. "He felt us, knew where we were and focused on us and sent us packing. The only person I know of who was able to pull this off is that psycho acolyte bitch that kidnapped you."
Scott visibly shivered in horror. "Wait… you don't mean-"
"It wasn't Chezo, honey, I can assure you of that." His girlfriend quickly cut him off. "The voice was male, remember?"
Ant-Man paused, taking a moment to recollect his memories until nodding.
"Yeah… any idea who that was?"
Wasp simply shook her head. "Heard a lot of voices since coming here and never heard anyone like that. That voice was smooth and… I really don't like it."
Scott wordlessly placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a small hug, one she smiled at in appreciation.
"Well, much as we could do here, this was kind of a bust."
"No, I don't think so." Hope crossed her arms in thought, eyeing the palace. "That Sanjay guy we saw, he was too chaotic and frankly, a narcissistic asshole who makes me think that planning isn't his forte. But that voice that sent us out of there, I bet you that's the real power behind Rash. The way Steela, Saw and Lux described their former king, it really felt completely out of left field that he would be ousted and imprisoned for "betraying" the planet of Onderon. Their new king is just a power hungry animal with someone pulling the strings from the shadows."
"At least we know where Dendup is locked up, and where he gets his walks." Scott remarked, his girlfriend nodding in agreement.
"We better get back to base. It's time to catch up with the others."
"How should we explain this one?"
"Best we can. We gotta figure out who the real power behind the King is."
AN
And there we have it folks, one more to notch down and one more to go before we close out Onderon and on to the next arc after.
So… let's have a quick talk about the latest Mandalorian episode.
Frankly… I liked the episode a lot but at the same time, this episode, with the small bits of dialogue and what else we had seen, stems my burning frustration with the new canon and their depiction of the New Republic.
I'm not gonna ramble too long but here's the problem.
The New Republic in the original canon wasn't as close to as the stupendous incompetence I'm seeing in the Mandalorian. The legends New Republic not only kept their fleet, but made it their effort to continually use what the empire had, what they originally had and build and improve upon it every step of the way.
It's why I hate this dumb notion of "Oh, there's no point for a fleet or a war if there's nothing to fight". Like, you idiots, what kind of standing government doesn't have a standing army and fleet? That's civilization 101 people, god damn.
Jebest4781: Honestly, it's a terrible idea doing so as it's basically asking invading forces from not swooping in and attacking. Seen this in several series with naive notions things would be alright. Practically in present SW canon, you're literally paving the way for the First Order to begin waltzing in.
FMW: Once again, with every good the new canon does, there's a bad. The New Republic of Legends withstood the Swarm wars, the second galactic civil war, the Yuuzhan Vong invasion and so much more. I really hate the way they've once again neutered the New Republic and essentially made them a copy and paste of the Old Republic, the same one that caused its own downfall.
Well Rambling aside, on a more final serious note.
Rest in Peace Lance Reddick, a sudden and tragic death for a man who still had much to give.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.