Shadowlands, Kashyyyk - Mid Rim
3rd person POV...
At the crest of the low incline that the Weeping Tree used to sit on stood Jarik, Ahsoka, and T'ra. Before them lay the body of their friend, Codi, the broken halves of the cane placed on his chest and his hands resting over them. The expression on his face looked peaceful, as if he were only sleeping.
Jarik and Ahsoka held each other's hand and looked over their deceased friend in silence while T'ra stands on his opposite side, her expression full of sorrow. She raises her hand and uses the Force to sink the fallen Jedi gently into the ground, dirt and roots springing up to cover him until he's completely covered. Once he's gone T'ra lowers her hand with a small sigh, mourning his fate.
"He is one with the Force now," T'ra says quietly. "One with her."
Jarik glances up at that, slightly confused.
"Her?" he inquires.
"He lost the woman he loved," she explains sadly. "I knew her little, but I could see their hearts belonged to one another."
Jarik looks down grimly at that, feeling a heavy pang in his chest as he can relate all too well with the feeling. Whoever it was that Codi had lost, Jarik can wholeheartedly agree and hope for what T'ra said: that he is one with her.
Ahsoka shares her husband's sentiment, a faint tear dropping from one eye.
"He was a good friend," she says.
"Yes, he was," T'ra agrees.
The three Jedi remain in silence for a short while as they wordlessly pay their respects to their lost friend. Eventually, however, T'ra lifts her head up to look more directly at the two before her.
"I must thank you, young Jedi, for what you have done here today," she tells them. "You have rid this world of a great evil."
"We couldn't have done it without Codi," Ahsoka replies.
"Nor will his memory ever fade," T'ra says softly in return. "Nevertheless... I do wish he had not fallen."
T'ra lowers her gaze and looks away, a clearly troubled and guilt-ridden expression on her face over her role in Codi's death. Jarik and Ahsoka both share a worried glance with each other, sympathetic to her plight but not quite sure how to respond, given how unique T'ra's circumstances were.
"Master Saa, are you... sure you're okay?" Jarik asks in concern.
T'ra ponders in her thoughts before responding, letting out a sigh.
"I don't know. I remember very little of it. Only the pain, fury, grief..." she shakes her head, haunted by what she felt. "One does not recover from such an ordeal so easily."
"I can barely imagine what that must've been like," Ahsoka remarks, troubled.
"And I must hope none ever shall," T'ra states softly.
"Do you remember who did this to you?" Jarik asks her.
T'ra frowns, shaking her head once more.
"In all my years of life I have never witnessed such a being before," she replies anxiously. "I fear what else such a creature may do."
"Was it a Sith?" he asks her.
"I do not know," she admits.
Despite her unease and fear, T'ra musters a small smile on her face and turns to face the two Jedi once more, looking first at Ahsoka.
"You must be Anakin Skywalker's padawan, Ahsoka Tano, yes?" she inquires.
Somewhat surprised, Ahsoka nods her head in confirmation.
"I am," she answers, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Forgive me, but I'm afraid I do not know much about you, Master."
"You are forgiven, young one," T'ra reassures her. "We never had the chance to meet before, but I've heard plenty from one of my students, Mace, who often sought council with me over the mishaps of your master."
Ahsoka raises a brow at that and shares a glance with Jarik, both of them baffled and somewhat annoyed, yet also more amused than anything.
"Makes sense," Jarik scoffs while Ahsoka rolls her eyes.
T'ra merely smiles in reply, also amused herself, and turns to Jarik.
"You must be Jarik Shan, then. Master Kenobi's apprentice," she deduces.
"I am," he confirms.
"It is an honor to meet you both," she says.
She inclines her head to them respectfully and they follow suit. Sharing another look with Ahsoka, Jarik takes a small step forward.
"Master, I'd hate to rush things for time after everything that's happened, but... there's a lot we need to ask you about," he tells her.
"Of course," she acknowledges, her smile fading. "I take it that the Empire still reigns?"
"Unfortunately so," he confirms grimly. "It's been nearly two decades since the Republic fell, and though a widespread Rebellion is amassing steadily, Palpatine's rule doesn't show any signs of ending soon."
T'ra listens intently, taking note of the years she missed, and Ahsoka continues.
"We've always tried to keep an eye out for any surviving Jedi, but with very little luck. We also have different responsibilities that keep us occupied," she explains with a. heavy sigh. "I know it's a lot to ask of you after everything that's happened, but we could really use your help."
"I understand..." T'ra murmurs quietly. "Truly..."
T'ra remains silent for a bit as she ponders the things they told her. She turns away from them, taking a few steps, a burdened expression on her face.
"When the Sith came, they hurt me... hurt me in ways I did not imagine possible," she whispers, her voice wavering. "To leave this place... to leave h- him... I'm not sure I can do it."
Jarik cautiously but steadily approaches the Neti Jedi Master and places a hand on her shoulder.
"I know what it's like to be hurt like that, Master. Believe me. But please don't stay to remain in sorrow," he tells her gently. "It won't help anyone."
T'ra glances at his hand and then him and Jarik notices her eyes were a bit teary, though she blinks them away.
"Yes... yes, you are right," she nods in acknowledgement. "Thank you."
Jarik offers her a small smile in response.
Just then Ahsoka furrows her brow and turns away from them, looking up at the treeline. Through the Force she can sense... something... calling out to her. A warning, focused on people she knows. Jarik notices the change in her and approaches her quietly, waiting for her to explain.
"Mara's in danger," Ahsoka finally says. "So are the others."
"From what?" Jarik asks in concern.
Ahsoka frowns, trying to get a sense of what she's feeling, but nothing conclusive. However, something she can sense is the faint trace of the dark side, which is a vital clue that she needs. It's not terribly strong, so it can't be Sith, but it is something notable.
"An acolyte," she deduces.
Jarik's expression becomes stern and grim.
"We have to move then," he states.
He and Ahsoka look back at T'ra, who is standing above the place where Codi is buried and looking down at the ground. Reminded once again of who they lost, the pair feel sorrowful, but T'ra then lifts her head up and her eyes shine with resolve.
"Let us show the Sith that Jedi are not easily beaten," she declares.
Imperial Complex, Kachirho - Kashyyyk
Mara, Boil, Tarfful, and Cara continued running through the hallways of the Imperial facility as fast as they could, but Lumiya kept pace with them the whole way and was even catching up. The dark lady lashes out with her whip to try and catch one of them, but Mara jumped in the air and twirled around to deflect it with her saber and then resume running, and Lumiya growls at her.
As the group rounds the corner Mara spots a control panel by the wall and slashes her saber through it to forcefully close a blast door before Lumiya got through. Still running, the group spares a glance back only to see the metal door bend and crumple inward before it's blasted down with the Force, and Lumiya continues her pursuit.
"Would've been nice to see the Jedi break through doors that quick in the war instead of slowly cutting it with a lightsaber!" Boil yells in complaint.
"Hey, it takes a lot of concentration to do that!" Mara protests.
"Tell that to her!" Cara scoffs.
Lumiya leaps forward with an enhanced burst of Force speed, slashing her whip once more, but Mara throws out a wild Force push that intercepts the dark lady and sends her flying back. The group then reach the hangar and Cara slams another button to close the blast door. In front of them is a troop transport that the rest of the escaped rebels had commandeered.
"Everything ready? Cause' we gotta go!" Cara shouts urgently.
"We're ready!" Mari replies.
Like before, the blast door is broken down with the Force and blasted into the hangar. Mara stops and holds her hands out to stop the destroyed door from crashing into them and then sends it back, only for Lumiya to slice it apart with her whip. At the transport, Ulvac looks up in alarm and gestured two shock troopers forward.
"Grenades!" he cries out.
Priming a pair of thermal detonators, the shock troopers hurl the explosives at Lumiya and she's forced to jump away in order to avoid being hit. She stumbles upon landing with a pained grunt.
"Mara!" Rex shouts.
She whirls around to see Rex toss her lightsaber over to her and she catches it, igniting the blade and getting into a defensive stance while everyone else boarded the transport. Lumiya starts getting back up when Boil waves to Mara from the transport.
"Come on, lets go!" he exclaims.
Glancing back to see everyone on board, Mara springs back to join them while Lumiya snarls and makes another dash. She slices her whip out in a wide arc but Mara jumps over it and lands on the ramp of the transport, which is now hovering and taking off for the exit. Lumiya stops and furiously watches as her quarry escape from the hangar. She raises her arm to her comlink.
"The prisoners are escaping!" she growls to the Imperial officer listening. "Pursue them!"
Ittummi, Kkowir forest - Kashyyyk
The Empire's artillery troopers were making short work of the enemy, thanks to their mortars. Any houses that wookiees attempted to hide in would be targeted and promptly destroyed. A few of the defenders tried to fire upon the artillery troopers, but the infantry troopers were right there to defend them.
As more homes were destroyed, the wookiee civilians were being herded towards the center of town, out of range of the mortar shells, but that circle was quickly shrinking as the Empire's forces pushed on relentlessly. More and more defenders were shot down by stormtroopers or blown up by mortars, dwindling their numbers.
From his position inside the lead transport, Kahdah observes the battle through holographic diagrams and monitors, calmly assured of victory.
"Not long now," he comments. "Circle the camp and push forward."
"Yes, general," Cody nods.
Giving the order to his men, Cody watches behind Kahdah in silence as their forces move to surround the small city, taking transports and infantry to secure any open space around the entire perimeter while artillery troopers continued their bombings.
From one home, Katarra emerges with Lowbacca in her arms, the child crying at the chaos and noise, just as a mortar shell hits the roof and brings the structure down. Katarra gapes at the sight of her ruined home, distressed, but the roars and cries of her people pull her attention to them, seeing everyone running around in a panic. Roaring loudly to all of her people, she tries to get everyone to group together and lead them to safety, but suddenly the warriors among them begin to fall from red laser bolts as the Empire's troops close in.
The remaining defenders try to push back the tide of Imperials, their explosive crossbows proving invaluable, but despite their best efforts every stormtrooper taken down is just replaced with another. Eventually, with all the wookiees gathered together in the city center, the stormtroopers move to surround them on all sides and cut off any escape routes. When the very last wookiee defender is shot down the Empire's forces halt their attack, and the battlefield becomes silent.
With the battle all but won, Kahdah disembarks from his transport and marches down the main road, flanked by Cody and a squad of death troopers. When he reaches the front lines of his soldiers he comes to a stop, hands behind his back, and observes the gathered assembly of wookiees with cold eyes.
"Are there any stragglers left?" he questions.
"None, sir," Cody reports.
Satisfied, Kahdah allows himself a small smile and takes a few steps to the wookiee crowd with his arms spread.
"Your warriors are dead! The Jedi are beaten!" the Imperial general declares. "And your resistance, your... rebellion, is finished."
He grins, looking around at the wookiees that all stare back at him silently in a mixture of fear, grief, and anger. Near the front of the crowd, Katarra keeps a firm hold of Lowbacca, hugging him tightly, while glaring at the Imperial general. Kahdah notices her intense gaze, and the baby she's holding, and drops his arms by his sides.
"However, Emperor Palpatine is not unmerciful, nor do you need to suffer a tragic end," he tells them. "Submit to the Empire's rightful rule and cut out the stain of your treacherous acts and I promise you that your race may live on!"
There's silence for a short while as nobody responds to him, and his smile drops faintly.
"Do you accept this generous offer?" he demands expectantly.
Looking down at the baby in her arms for a moment, Katarra levels Kahdah with a stern glare and speaks. Kahdah waits patiently for her to finish and glances at Cody for translation. The clone commander frowns uneasily beneath his helmet.
"She says that our offer is empty. That all we promise them is slavery," he reports.
"A small price to pay for your treachery," Kahdah says dismissively.
A low growl of anger escapes Katarra and she snarls at him. Her statement is supported by a chorus of growls from other wookiees around her.
Cody hesitates before translating her response.
"She says their people will never surrender themselves to slavery," he says.
Kahdah lifts a brow and stares intently at Katarra, frowning as he sees her steely gaze. He narrows his eyes at her, frowning in disdain, but then a smile encompasses his face once more.
"Very well," he comments with a nod. "Kill them all."
Cody whips his head around to gape at Kahdah.
"Sir?" he asks incredulously.
"If they will not submit, then they must perish," Kahdah states.
"Sir, I must protest," Cody exclaims. "We don't need to—"
"I gave you an order, Commander!" he snaps back at him, his smile vanishing.
"But if we kill everyone then there would be nothing for the Empire to govern!" Cody argues earnestly. "We can resolve this, peacefully!"
Kahdah glares at the clone commander, anger and contempt filling his gaze.
"Perhaps you forgot, Commander, that there's no place in this galaxy for anything that rejects the Empire," he explains, his voice deadly calm. "If they do not accept Imperial law, then they do not deserve to exist! Now execute them, or suffer the consequences!"
Cody flinches at the cruel tone in Kahdah's voice, stunned, and he doesn't argue back. There's nothing to really argue anymore, Kahdah made his orders clear and will not change his mind about it.
Is this what his military service has come to? Massacring civilians?
He's done a lot of questionable things throughout his career, seen some things that he's been appalled by, but the Empire at its core means well, right? It stands for peace, freedom, justice, and security. And yet... is he really doing good, or is he just complacent in it?
So much for peace.
His blaster hand trembles as he hears the Desix governor's final words, his mind bringing him back to that moment: the first time he was introduced to the brutality of an Imperial officer. Despite everything he tried, it meant nothing in the end. He may not have fired the shot, but... he was complacent in her death.
Cody grips his blaster tightly in his hand. He will not be complacent. Not anymore.
Slowly, the clone commander reaches up with one hand and takes his helmet off to meet Kahdah's eyes directly, letting the Imperial general see his determination and resolve shining through. He drops his helmet on the ground.
"I will not execute unarmed civilians, General Kahdah," he declares.
Kahdah's face twitches with uncontrollable rage as he glares at Cody with venom in his eyes, feeling nothing but pure contempt and disgust for the clone.
"So be it," he sneers.
Ripping his blaster pistol from its holster, Kahdah takes aim at Cody with the intent to kill. However, before anyone could react a sudden explosion from the opposite side of the city center pulls their attention away and everyone, Imperials and wookiees alike, whirl around to see an Imperial troop transport crashing through a platoon of stormtroopers, flattening them, while from the racks on either side of it were full of rebels and wookiees firing upon the Imperials, causing absolute chaos.
Cody gapes at the scene, spotting Boil among the rebels shooting from the transport, but whirls around on instinct when Kahdah growls and shoots at him, but he just barely manages to duck out of harms way. Emboldened by the rebel ambush, one wookiee from the crowd charges at Kahdah with a loud roar and knocks him down with a heavy hit. However, he's immediately shot with a barrage of lasers from every death trooper guard, killing him instantly. Kahdah gets back up with a pained groan, holding his side.
"Kill them all!" he screams.
With the order given, Kahdah's forces take aim at the wookiee civilians while others around the circle are busy with the rebels. Several troopers open fire and kill multiple wookiees in seconds. Katarra roars in alarm and falls down with Lowbacca, her shoulder singed by a laser.
"NO!" Cody cries out.
Acting on instinct Cody raises his balster and fires upon the stormtroopers, killing three of them in seconds. For a moment he stands there, shocked by what he just committed to doing, but then shoves his emotions aside to focus on the battle.
Allowing his military training to take control when Kahdah's troops turn towards him in retaliation, Cody ducks out of the way to avoid being shot by a few troopers and finds cover beside a wrecked house, returning fire and hitting a few stormtroopers. Hearing pained roars he looks over to see a few stormtroopers still shooting the civilians, one of them catching Katarra with a shot to the leg as she attempts to flee. She falls with a pained cry and loses her grip on Lowbacca, the baby squealing as he hits the ground.
Incensed by the brutality, Cody switches focus and lunges out of cover to attack the offending stormtroopers, shooting two of them dead with headshots before they could kill the fallen wookiees. He rushes forward, providing cover fire for Katarra as she picks up Lowbacca and limps behind a building and Cody follows her every step of the way, ducking to avoid a few shots and firing back in turn while backing up.
Meanwhile, the stolen transport continues to drive through crowds of stormtroopers, the infantry unable to avoid being hit within the city streets. When they have a moment of peace the transport comes to a stop, allowing most of the rebels to get out and join the battle on foot. Tarfful, Choyyssyk, and their remaining wookiee berserkers immediately rush to aid their fellow wookiees while Cara's group, aided by Mari, Tivik, and Idryssa, moves to join a firefight against Kahdah's main force. Mara also jumps out of the transport with her lightsaber blazing and is flanked by Rex and Boil.
"How's this for an ambush, bucketheads?!" Ulvac shouts gleefully.
While Rex and Boil cover her from the infantry, Mara dashes toward an approaching transport that was headed for the rebel's own. She leaps into the air and lands on top of it, cutting off its main turret on the roof, then drops down behind it to slash one of its repulsor engines, causing the back end to drop and drag across the ground. With the Imperial transport disabled, the rebel transport fires on it with its own guns to destroy it while Mara jumps away. Kahdah notices the issue and growls, lifting up his comlink.
"Artillery units, destroy that transport!" he yells.
The artillery troops switch their aim to focus on the stolen transport, unleashing a few mortar shells. The rebel transport shakes as a few shells explode on the ground beside it, and another house is destroyed. With the infantry in somewhat disarray, Choyyssyk leads a few wookiees on a targeted assault for the artillery troopers, taking down several. Likewise, Mara also follows the wookiees target and seeks out the artillery herself, cutting through two mortars with her lightsaber before incapacitating the troopers.
Meanwhile, after making sure Katarra and a few other wookiees weren't in any immediate danger, Cody switched his focus to his former general; Kahdah was still standing in the middle of the main street, giving orders to his soldiers while still protected by his death trooper guards. Feeling a burst of anger and bitterness welling in him, Cody starts advancing on Kahdak's location with haste. Across the city center, Rex and Boil were still crouched behind a street corner in the midst of their own firefight when Boil looks up to spot Cody charging through the battlefield, and he scowls.
"There's that son of a bantha!" he growls, taking aim with his blaster.
Rex glances over at Boil's comment and also spots Cody, though he also notices the direction he was headed.
"Wait, what's he doing?" he says quickly, pulling Boil back before he could shoot.
Boil grunts irritably at him and takes aim once more, only to see what Rex noticed. The two clones look on in surprise when Cody opens fire on Kahdah's guards, shooting two of them before the rest could react. Though stunned for a moment, the sight of their brother charging alone against their enemy spurs Rex to move.
"Come on!" he exclaims.
He charges out and Boil doesn't hesitate to follow after him, feeling the same emotions as Rex. Cody fires his blaster repeatedly and Kahdah backs away in alarm, two of his guards moving to shield him while the others advance.
The clone commander rolls under their fire and tosses a grenade, but one death trooper reacts quickly and shoots it when it was halfway between them. Cody stumbles back in surprise, cursing under his breath, and the death troopers rush for him quickly. Suddenly, blaster fire from Rex and Boil takes out one of them and Cody glances over in surprise to see his brothers moving up to support him. Shaking his head to readjust his senses, Cody resumes his charge as well and the next death trooper falls under combined fire from the three clones.
Noticing the threat to their general, however, multiple stormtroopers move to intercept the clones and open fire, forcing them all to find cover. Cody ducks behind some debris and a trio of stormtroopers advance on his position, only to be shot down. While the stormtroopers move to retaliate against the two clones, Cody jumps back out and rushes for Kahdah, shooting one of the death troopers in the face.
The last death trooper charges forward and shoots at Cody, but he rolls underneath it and tackles the death trooper with a shout, knocking them both down. They wrestle on the ground for a moment and Cody receives a punch in the jaw, groaning in pain. Kahdah steps forward to try and shoot Cody, but he manages to fire a shot that disarms Kahdah of his pistol, making him jump back in pain and let out several curses. Grinning in satisfaction somewhat, Cody bashes the death trooper in the head with his blaster several times and then charges at him once more while Rex and Boil keep the stormtroopers focused on them.
Cody tries to shoot Kahdah but the Imperial general manages to dodge the shot and retaliates by kicking him in the chest. Undeterred, Cody lunges forward and grapples with Kahdah, shoving him against the side of a house. Kahdah growls and pushes him back, throwing a heavy punch that connects with Cody's jaw. The clone commander staggers back, seeing stars, however Kahdah also hollers in pain as he used the hand that Cody shot just moments prior. Ignoring the ache and bruising in his jaw Cody yells and tackles Kahdah again, slamming him into the wall to stun him, then pulls him into a headlock with one arm and holding his blaster to his temple with the other.
With the Imperial general now restrained Cody opens his comm channel to the Imperial forces.
"This is Cody to all units! STAND DOWN!" he orders.
Keeping a firm hold on the struggling general, Cody marches out into the open to where everyone could see them.
"Kahdah is my prisoner! Stand down! ALL OF YOU!" he roars.
The Imperial troops closest to them take notice and turn their weapons toward Cody before pausing, seeing Kahdah being held in front of him. Across the battlefield other stormtroopers spot the issue and slowly but surely pause in their fight, prompting the rebels and wookiees to do the same. Cara stares at the scene, perplexed and bewildered.
"Wait, isn't that their commander?" Cara asks.
"Yeah..." Mari confirms, baffled.
"What, he just turned on them like that?" Tivik whispers incredulously.
Many combatants on both sides are frozen in place, unsure of what to do as Cody comes to a stop, Kahdah still restrained with a blaster pointed at his head. Kahdah growls, his teeth clenched in cold fury, though he doesn't have any fear.
Having leapt back into the city center, Mara watches the scene play out with wide eyes, amazed at seeing the clone commander from her dad's stories but also worried for his sake.
"Treacherous clone," he spits out. "And here I thought you were good product."
Cody scowls at him but doesn't take the bait.
"Here's what's gonna happen, General," he states calmly, his voice hard and unforgiving. "You're going to disengage from this battle and take our troops back to Kachirho, or else you're done for."
"A likely story, clone. The second you release me you have no bargaining power," Kahdah scoffs.
"That's not gonna happen, sir. I'll be with you every step of the way," Cody retorts.
Kahdah scowls angrily but doesn't respond. Just then the sound of heavy thuds, multiple, can be heard approaching from the forest. Kahdah chuckles while Cody is filled with dread. The rebels react to the sound with alarm.
"We got incoming!" Cara warns them.
The Imperial forces ready themselves for battle once more, taking aim at the rebels and wookiees.
"You're making a big mistake, clone," Kahdah sneers.
"Call off the men," Cody demands. "NOW!"
Kahdah says nothing in reply, keeping his head high. Suddenly, Cody's blaster arm is forcibly pulled away from Kahdah by an invisible force. Mara gasps upon spotting none other than Lumiya standing in the middle of the street a short distance behind Cody, her hand outstretched. Freed from the clone commander's grip, Kahdah hits him back before grabbing Cody's blaster and promptly shoots him in the chest, and Cody collapses with a yell of pain.
"CODY!" Rex shouts in horror.
Behind Lumiya, several Imperial scout walkers emerge from the forest and start circling the city, and Kahdah turns toward his troops.
"BURN THESE TRAITORS!" he roars.
The Empire once more launches into an offensive, this time bolstered by the scout walkers and additional troop reinforcements that Lumiya brought with her. The rebels scramble desperately to defend themselves, seeking cover wherever they can while Tarfful and Choyyssyk fight viciously to keep Imperial troopers away from their people. Enraged over Cody's downfall, Boil charges at Kahdah with Rex right behind him but before they could attack Lumiya jumps over the general and slashes her whip to hit them aside.
Mara jumps forward with a fierce cry of her own and blocks the following whip strike, that would've killed the two clones, then promptly engages the dark lady in a fierce duel. She swipes her lightsaber with great speed, lunging forward to close the gap between them. Lumiya backpedals quickly to avoid Mara's strikes, twisting and flickering her whip wildly to force the Jedi to back away from the many tendrils of her whip.
Boil groans in pain from the hit and struggles to get back up, supported by Rex, only for them both to have to jump aside when a few stormtroopers advance on them with guns blazing.
Meanwhile, the scout walkers that Lumiya brought waste no time in unleashing their firepower against the wookiee city, destroying buildings and enemy soldiers alike. The stolen rebel transport attempts to retaliate with its turret, but it proves no match as the walkers quickly open fire on it without hesitation. Still standing at the door of the transport, Ulvac makes a desperate leap off of it just as the explosive bolts hit and destroy the transport in a brilliant fireball. Rebel shock troopers close by were tossed to the ground by the explosion and Cara covers herself from a shower of dirt sent her way.
"Kriff!" she yells in panic.
"We're so farked!" Tivik exclaims.
"We have to retreat!" Mari shouts, looking for Tarfful. "Tarfful! Fall back to the Shado―"
Before she could finish her sentence, another shot from a scout walker hits the ground beside her and she's flung away in a charred heap by the explosion, dead before hitting the ground. Idryssa gasps in shock and Tivik is stunned while Choyyssyk bellows in rage and grief, charging forward.
A group of over a dozen stormtroopers that were advancing on the defender's positions come face to face with the enraged wookiee and he leaps up and lands in the middle of them, crushing one to the ground upon impact. Choyyssyk roars at the stormtroopers and attacks them, both shooting his bowcaster and simply bashing them with it hard enough to crack their skulls. A few laser bolts hit the wookiee, but he only snarls and continues attacking, killing one after another. Eventually, however, when there's only three out of fifteen stormtroopers left the blaster wounds take their toll and Choyyssyk falls to his knees in pain before one stormtrooper finally delivers the killing shot.
Tarfful roars in dismay, the other wookiees similarly distraught and horrified, but there's little they or the rebels can do when the scout walkers turn their fire on them. The wookiee civilians are driven down the street, back to the city center, as the walkers unleash bolt after bolt, killing some of their number with each shot. Eventually they and the rebel soldiers, be they shock trooper, clone trooper, or Partisan, are driven back into the circle while Imperial stormtroopers rush to surround them on all sides.
Mara's fight against Lumiya continues with fierce intensity. The Jedi Padawan grunts in exertion as she uses all of her skills and talent to flip around and evade the deadly whip while attempting to get closer, twirling her lightsaber to deflect the tendrils that get to close. However, Lumiya proves to be just as acrobatic and evasive as Mara, flipping backward to avoid Mara's lightsaber whenever she got too close for comfort.
Gaining some distance Lumiya then snaps her whip out in a straight arc for Mara, who lifts her blade to block it. However, the whip entangles Mara's blade and Lumiya yanks on it with both hands to pull Mara closer, and she holds the whip taught and stares at Mara directly in the eyes, her own green irises hidden behind her goggles.
"So close, Mara, yet so far," Lumiya taunts her.
Mara scowls at her furiously, having noticed as the battle quickly began to favor the Imperials yet helpless to do anything about it as she dueled the dark lady. Gritting her teeth, Mara deactivates her lightsaber to free it of Lumiya's whip and then ignites it once more in a swipe at Lumiya's head. With the vanishing saber causing her to stagger back in surprise, Lumiya nevertheless quickly regains her footing in time to duck under Mara's strike and then thrusts her hands out with a Force push.
Mara cries out in surprise as she's sent flying back to where the rest of the rebels and wookiees are trapped. She grunts upon hitting the ground, but is helped to her feet by a wookiee stand behind her. She holds her lightsaber up, scowling in frustration and feeling rather helpless as Lumiya strides forward to stand beside Kahdah, flanked on either side by stormtroopers. Kahdah, thought clearly disheveled from the combat and injuries he received, still manages a smile of satisfaction as he sees his enemies once again completely at his mercy.
"An excellent day for the Empire, wouldn't you say?" he asks Lumiya.
The Emperor's Hand doesn't respond to him, however, and after a few moments he sighs in exasperation and shakes his head, hardening his gaze at the rebels.
"There will be no survivors today," he declares.
Just then a violent creak and groan of metal echoes through the air. Kahdah almost sighs in frustration at yet another occurance interrupting his victory before he notices what just happened, widening his eyes in complete shock.
One of the scout walkers was simply... tossed... high into the air, soaring in a wide arc through the sky before disappearing behind the treeline, the walker's fate only apparent by the distant sound of an explosion.
Everyone looked on at the sight in disbelief, almost missing when two figures leap through the air and land on the ground in front of Mara and the rebels. Upon landing the two figures punch the ground and an explosion of invisible energy is thrust outward in all directions, blasting dozens of stormtroopers away, while leaving the rebels and wookiees unaffected. Kahdah and Lumiya are both thrown back by the Force repulse and he cries out in alarm, scrambling back to his feet with wide eyes.
Standing clearly in front of the rebels is Jarik and Ahsoka, almost gleaming like beacons of light amidst their battered and beaten allies and adversaries. Mara gasps in amazement and a huge grin spreads across her face.
"Mom! Dad!" she cries out.
"Hey kiddo!" Jarik glances back at her, also grinning.
Their allies gape at the two Jedi Masters in a mixture of shock, awe, and wonder, unable to say anything, whereas Kahdah looks on in pure panic.
"Shan! It's Shan!" he exclaims frantically. "FIRE! OPEN FIRE! ALL UNITS OPEN FIRE!"
The scout walkers open fire on the large group of people but T'ra suddenly jumps in as well and holds her arms up to redirect the initial barrage of laser bolts out of harms way.
"We'll handle the walkers, get everyone moving!" Ahsoka shouts with authority.
Hearing her voice in the middle of a battle spurs Rex back into a familiar rhythm.
"You heard her, lads! Give em' hell!" he yells.
Emboldened by the arrival of the Jedi, the rebels and wookiees launch themselves into the fight with renewed energy, attacking any and all stormtroopers they could see. Jarik and Ahsoka ignite their lightsabers, the latter leaping towards the nearest scout walker, while T'ra moves back to protect the wookiee civilians. She uses the Force to grabs a nearby troop transport and then holds it in front of the crowd as a shield against incoming fire from the walkers.
Mara rushes up to her father's side and the pair begin advancing toward Lumiya. The dark lady takes an apprehensive step back, glancing between the two of them uneasily, before promptly making the decision to turn around and flee the area as fast as she could run. Kahdah gapes at her retreating form in disbelief.
"What?! Lumiya!" he roars angrily. "Get back here! COWARD!"
"Huh," Jarik comments, somewhat amused.
With Lumiya gone Kahdah whirls around to face the Jedi, his expression full of fear and anger, and he and his stormtroopers aim their blasters in anticipation only to be promptly blown away by a combined Force push from the father and daughter. Kahdah is thrown hard into the side of a building and knocked out cold.
"She's getting away!" Mara exclaims.
She tenses up in anticipation of pursuing Lumiya but Jarik grabs her arm to hold her back.
"Leave her be, there'll be another time," he tells her. "Let's focus on helping the wookiees."
Mara scowls but nods in acknowledgement and understanding, and she and Jarik turn back to join the battle.
From her position on the roof of a house, Ahsoka throws her lightsabers at the closest walker. Her blades slice through its left leg like butter and the walker topples over with a groan. Retrieving her sabers, Ahsoka dashes across the house to avoid incoming fire from another walker and jumps through the air in its direction, her speed so great she appeared like a blur of white and orange to spectators.
While in the air Ahsoka reaches a hand out and uses the Force to crush the knee joint of the attacking walker, causing it to collapse. When she lands on another house, another scout walker swivels to take aim at her and shoots a laser bolt. Jarik then jumps up beside her and they make a Force shield that blocks the blast. Raising their hands the lift the walker off and ground and hold it in the air for a moment, then send it flying away to crash at the edge of the forest.
With the wookiee civilians, T'ra stands in front of the group with the transport held in front of her like a shield against the attacking scout walker. While the wookiees grew fearful and apprehensive as the transport continued to break apart under constant fire from the walker, T'ra remained firmly in place like a massive tree taking root against the harsh winds. Just as the transport was about to fall apart completely T'ra throws it at the walker, destroying them both in a single move.
The attacking walker is quickly replaced with a small platoon of stormtroopers seeking to overwhelm her, but T'ra deflects the incoming fire with the Force, holding them at bay, though she starts to waver from the intense barrage. Just then Mara jumps down behind the stormtroopers and attacks with her lightsaber, cutting through several before they noticed, prompting several to turn around and face her. She twirls her lightsaber to deflect blaster fire, taking a, uneasy step back as more turn to focus on her.
However, with Mara's distraction T'ra gathers the Force around her and then thrusts it out in a great blast of energy that sends all the stormtroopers flying, the massive Force push incapacitating. Mara flinches as the wave passes by her but is otherwise unaffected, and she gapes at all of the defeated troopers for a moment.
"Woah!" she says in astonishment.
"You fight well, Padawan," T'ra tells her, smiling.
"Oh, uh, thanks. You too," Mara replies timidly, unsure of how to respond.
With the walkers, transports, and most of the artillery troopers all taken out, the remaining Imperial infantry scatters in disarray. Cara leads her squad in swift and calculate strikes against the Imperials, moving around the battlefield. Tarfful likewise does the same with his own squad of wookiees, firing his bowcaster to kill scores of enemies while the berserkers launch themselves at the enemy with their swords, leaving carnage in their wake.
Close by, Kahdah starts to regain consciousness and looks up only to gape in disbelief and horror at the sight of his forces being trampled by such a small group of resistance that there was no good reason for it. A few stormtroopers nearby are shot down by Tarfful and Kahdah jumps back, scrambling to retrieve his blaster pistol. Tarfful spots him then, identifiying the Imperial general with a snarl, and rushes forward with a fierce war cry.
Terrified, Kahdah shoots at him with his pistol but Tarfful evades, crossing the distance with his massive stride until he's on the general in moment. Feeling somewhat vengeful, Tarfful discards his bowcaster in favor of his fists and grabs Kahdah's wrist in a vicious grip to disarm him of the pistol by crushing his bones. Kahdah screams in pain and Tarfful picks him up effortlessly, roaring in the general's face before turning and slamming him onto the ground so hard that his body simply crumpled like paper, killing him on impact.
Letting out a triumphant roar, Tarfful then retrieves his bowcaster and rushes back into the battle with his fellow wookiees, leaving Kahdah's body discarded in the dirt.
With the Imperial leadership now gone and their heavy weapons destroyed, it doesn't take long before the remaining Imperial forces are defeated by the combined forces of rebels, wookiees, and Jedi, ensuring a decisive victory.
Seeing only a starry haze of blackness, Cody feels more than sees what's going on around him as he stirs into consciousness, first feeling a terrible burning ache in his chest. He groans and struggles to lift himself up, only to fail, and sees extremely blurry shapes as he opens his eyes.
"―an hear me? Commander, respond!" a familiar voice was saying.
Cody groans in pain, blinking his eyes a few times to dispel the cloudiness of his sight. The blurry shapes morph until they're more clear and defined, revealing them to be Boil and Rex crouched on either side of him.
"Boil?" he murmurs quietly. "Rex?"
He tries to push himself up into a sitting position but groans again as his chest flares with pain. A pair of hands gently push him back down.
"Easy, sir, try not to move," Boil tells him.
"How's he looking?" Rex asks.
Boil shakes his head grimly, his expression anxious and worried.
"Not good. The shot punctured his diaphragm and part of his right lung," he informs him.
Rex looks down at the injury in concern.
"We need to get him to an infirmary―" he starts to say.
Hearing his brothers speak reminded Cody of their last conversation, filling his heart with grief and shame. He remembers also his allegiance to the Empire, and the things he chose to ignore in favor of what he saw as the greater good.
Hearing them talk about healing him, Cody reaches out suddenly to grip Rex's forearm, shaking his head.
"No... no... I need to..." he protests weakly.
"Cody, if this doesn't get treated, now, then you're going to die," Rex points out.
"It's more than I deserve," he retorts, coughing. "You were right, Rex. A-and you, Boil. I... I'm sorry... for everything..."
Boil and Rex share an uneasy glance and the former places a hand on Cody's shoulder.
"Don't worry about that, Commander. You were only doing your duty," he tells him.
"No, I... I was never..." Cody shakes his head. "I betrayed―"
He collapses into another painful fit of coughing. Just then another voices cuts through to grab his attention.
"Cody."
The clone commander looks over and widens his eyes as Jarik slowly walks over, his expression heavy.
"Commander..." Cody murmurs.
Jarik kneels down beside him and Rex moves to give him more room.
"It's been a while," Jarik says with a small smile.
Tears start to well in Cody's eyes and he shuts them to prevent the flow, turning away from Jarik so that he couldn't see. All he can feel is guilt and shame, those feelings stronger than the pain in his chest.
"I'm sorry. I- I failed you, I... I failed you and Ge- General Kenobi..." Cody stutters, his voice shaky. "I'm so sorry... for everything."
Jarik looks down at him sadly, reminiscing his experiences with the clone commander during the war, recalling their friendship. He already knows that what happened wasn't Cody's choice, and never would have been had his mind been free. It still hurts to see him friend blaming himself like this.
"I know, Cody," he says gently.
Cody spares a faint look at his former Jedi Commander, seeing nothing but understanding and compassion in his eyes.
He collapses into another coughing fit once more, his breathing becoming ragged and heavy.
"I need a bacta kit, now!" Rex calls out urgently.
Cody ignores everything else, even his own pain.
"Commander... please forgive me..." he pleads quietly, his voice barely a whisper.
Jarik doesn't hesitate with his reply.
"I already have, old friend," he assures him.
A faint smile of relief pulls at a Cody before he closes his eyes and his breathing slows.
"No, no no!" Boil says frantically. "Where's that bacta?!"
"Be calm, friends," T'ra's voice cuts through their panic.
They look up to see T'ra approaching them with a calm expression, his gaze focused on Cody.
"Can you heal him?" Jarik asks hopefully.
T'ra nods her head and Jarik gestures for Boil and Rex to move back, giving her the space she needed. He steps away himself and they look on anxiously as T'ra kneels beside Cody and places her hand over his wound, holding it there for a short while. She takes a slow, controlled breath, closing her eyes, and then calls the Force to her.
A faint blue glow of Force energy emanates from T'ra's hand and gently settles over Cody's injury. The clones watch in amazement at the sight, having not seen anything like it themselves before.
"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me," T'ra recites, her voice a whisper.
THE NEXY DAY...
Imperial Complex, Kachirho - Kashyyyk
The darkened room was illuminated only by the blue glow of the Emperor's hologram, casting Lumiya in a cold light from her kneeling position on the floor. She kept her head down, avoiding eye contact as she knew her master rightfully infuriated with the news she gave him.
"How could this have happened, Lumiya?" he demands, his voice barely a whisper.
She flinches but otherwise doesn't react, managing to keep her voice level.
"The Jedi returned, this time with a third, and laid waste to our forces," she explains, pausing for a moment. "Their powers in the Force were... frightening. I dared not to challenge them in battle."
There's silence at first, broken only by a thoughtful hum from the Emperor.
"Wise indeed, my child. One must recognize when they are beaten and adjust accordingly," he remarks. "But what of the girl?"
"Mara Jade was skilled, but not enough to best me," she informs him.
"And?" he asks expectantly.
And there it was, the real issue that ultimately led to her failure, an issue which has the Emperor so displeased.
"...forgive me, my Emperor. I was careless and chose to capture her instead of kill her," she answers truthfully, lowering her head even more. "I did not anticipate the rebels would free themselves, and her, and for that I take full responsibility. Whatever punishment you see fit, I will accept it."
Sidious gazes down at his disciple with gleaming yellow eyes, his silence more than telling of how angry he was. Her honesty was commendable, but ultimately meant nothing.
"Indeed, you shall be punished. It displeases me to see you succumb to Vader's faults," he says, his voice deadly calm.
A frightened chill runs down Lumiya's spine at that, and she trembles to imagine what he had in store for her.
"However, there is much to learn from this ordeal, my dear," he continues to say. "You said there was another Jedi with Shan and Tano?"
Pushing back her fear for the moment, Lumiya recalls the details of what she saw.
"A Neti female, my Emperor," she reports. "I can only assume her to be the one the locals called the Weeping Tree."
The Emperor's yellow eyes gleam in recognition.
"Ah, I see... yet another Jedi whom Lord Vader failed to eliminate," he comments.
Lumiya doesn't have anything to say in response to that, and waits for the Emperor to address her before speaking.
"Return to me at once, Lumiya," he orders with a stern voice. "We must continue your training."
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Always fun to get a new chapter out! That's the end of the first story arc in LOJS V6, the Kashyyyk Campaign, and I think it was incredible! (I'm also biased lol)
V6 is honestly the first time I'm going into the story with every major plot point planned out, and it'll probably be my best one yet in terms of connectivity and emotional highs and lows. Thank you as always for the support and love you continue to show this series! On to the next part of the story!