CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ochi of Bestoon grunted as he was thrown into the cockpit of his own ship. As he struggled to right himself up—not helped by his newfound lack of feet—Kane and Luke Skywalker rushed past him and seated themselves at the controls of the Bestoon Legacy. He grabbed onto the side of a chair behind the pilot’s seat and hoisted himself up onto it, peering over Kane’s shoulder as he buckled himself in.
“You’re really pushing your luck, Skywalker,” Ochi muttered.
“I’ll admit, I’m surprised you haven’t killed us yet,” Kane Skywalker remarked.
“Kind of hard to do that without a hand and two feet. Besides, I still need you alive to get that damn map from you.”
Sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, Luke Skywalker looked between the two of them, his face still awash from confusion. No doubt he was wary of Kane for the Vader-esque armor he was wearing, though from what Ochi had gathered from their brief conversations, they were already familiar with one another.
“I’m really looking forward to getting caught up to speed,” he muttered.
“And I’m sure we’re all looking forward to hearing how the hell you are still alive,” Ochi retorted.
“Good luck with that because your guess is as good as mine. Last thing I remember is becoming one with the Force after helping Toah fight Darth Vorath.”
“I’m afraid your efforts may have been rendered moot,” Kane said quietly.
Luke frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
Kane said nothing at first and the Bestoon Legacy started to head up towards Lothal’s sky. Ochi noticed that there appeared to be fewer Star Destroyers surrounding the planet, though it made little difference; his ship had clearance codes that would get them past the blockade and on to wherever it was they were heading. Once they were past the fleet, Kane started to punch in coordinates into the navigational system.
“I’m afraid you are not the only one who has found a way to defy death.”
While Kane allowed Luke to take the time to contemplate over his words, the clone of Vader pulled the hyperdrive level and the Bestoon Legacy jumped into hyperspace.
* * *
“Admiral, we’re getting overwhelmed,” a Bothan officer called up from the crew pit of the Welmo Darb. “I’m not sure how much more we can take.”
Admiral Nek Bwua’tu eyed the officer from where he stood on the bridge of his flagship. “I’ll be the judge of that, lieutenant,” he said coolly. “Return to your station.”
The young officer bowed his head and returned to his tasks. Bwua’tu then brought his eyes back to the viewport, watching as the five Star Destroyers drew closer and closer to Mon Cala’s defense line. There was a certain sort of irony, he liked to think, about using an old retrofitted Imperial Star Destroyer against these newer Resurgent-class models. He doubted it would remain amusing for much longer however, as the Welmo Darb shook from the weight of the First Order’s assault, TIE fighters zipping by to perform strafing runs.
The indicator for the bridge’s holoprojector chimed and Bwua’tu ordered another officer to turn it on. Within moments, the holographic image of Admiral Cha Niathal was standing behind him on the bridge, her bulbous eyes narrowed.
“This battle is turning into a lost cause, Bwua’tu,” the Mon Calamari woman said. “Any reinforcements from Coruscant aren’t going to arrive in time, if there even are reinforcements on their way.”
“What do you suggest we do, Admiral Niathal?” Bwua’tu asked, looking over his shoulder to look at her. “Abandon your home planet to the enemy?”
Niathal seethed at his words. “I am not suggesting we do anything,” she said stiffly. “I am merely providing you with my assessment of the situation.”
“An assessment I did not ask for,” Bwua’tu replied, turning back to face the viewport. “Proceed with the defense of Mon Cala until further notice. If there are any changes to our plans, you will hear them directly from me. Is that clear, Admiral?”
“Yes, Admiral,” Niathal answered in a low tone.
“Dismissed.” Bwua’tu waved his hand and the hologram dissipated into particles. Silence reigned over the bridge as the Bothan admiral continued to observe the battle.
* * *
“Toah! Toah, what’s wrong? Come on, get up!”
Rey shook her teacher’s unconscious body, yet the older Jedi failed to stir. Master Nira Maren was on her knees beside him, waving a hand over him. Rey wasn’t sure if the Mirialan Jedi was trying to use some Force ability to wake him up, but in any case it wasn’t working. She looked over to Mara Jade, who was watching Toah with concern yet her green eyes appeared to be elsewhere.
“Can you help him?” she asked the older woman, desperate for any kind of help.
Mara seemed to hesitate before answering. “I think I know what might be causing this.”
Rey nearly leapt to her feet. “What?”
“Ever since Lothal, I’ve been sensing some sort of growing darkness; like a storm gathering. At first I thought it was just the First Order… but now I realize it might be something else. Just before he passed out, I saw something flash in my mind….”
She trailed off and Rey resisted the urge to grab the other woman by the arm and shake her. “What is it? What did you see?”
A haunted look fell over Mara’s eyes. “I saw the man who took my husband away from me. The man who took so many of our loved ones from us.”
“Darth Vorath,” Nira murmured, her eyes widening.
Rey looked between the two of them. “Isn’t he supposed to be dead?”
“Yes,” Mara said. “And yet somehow… somehow I sense that he has returned.”
“So what do we do about it?” asked Finn.
Mara glanced at him. “First we have to get out of this current situation,” she said, gesturing to the battle outside. “Then we can worry about Vorath.”
“I don’t see how that’s happening any time soon,” Finn said. “Short of some miracle, I don’t think—”
“Wait,” Chek Urhed interjected, pointing out the viewport. “Some ships are dropping out of hyperspace.”
Everyone turned to see a group of assorted frigates and cruisers — none of them Star Destroyers to their relief — warp out from the blackness of space and converge towards the battle between the Alliance and First Order forces, opening fire on the latter.
“Looks like Coruscant responded after all,” Finn said.
Mara shook her head. “I don’t think Coruscant sent these ships.”
“What makes you say that?”
As he said this, a Corellian freighter that Rey swore she had seen before flew in to join the Alliance fighters in taking down TIE fighters.
“Call it a hunch,” Mara said.
* * *
“General! Unidentified ships have just jumped out of—”
“I can see that!” General Hux snapped, standing on the bridge of the Finalizer. “Concentrate fire on the defense fleet! Redirect the Conqueror and Subjugator towards those ships!”
As the crew carried out their orders, Captain Peavey glanced at Hux, appearing offensively calm about the whole situation. “I count well more than five ships among their reinforcements, General,” the older man said evenly. “They seem to have us outnumbered.”
“Numbers mean nothing,” Hux snarled back. “We still have them outmaneuvered. They will fall in no time.”
“You said the same about the ships defending Mon Cala,” Peavey pointed out. “And yet they have yet to fall.”
Hux glared at him. “Do you intend on making further remarks, Captain? Or would you like to make yourself useful?”
Peavey clamped up and turned away from him, though Hux did not miss the look of disdain that momentarily flashed on the other man’s face.
That’s what I thought. Straightening his uniform, Hux barked out to the rest of the crew, “Press on with the assault. Victory is within our grasps.”
* * *
“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Poe exclaimed as he flew alongside the Millennium Falcon, weaving their way through the swarms of TIE fighters. “Thanks for the timely rescue, Captain Solo.”
“That’s two you owe me, kid,” Han Solo gruffly replied over the comm. “Now shut up and fly.”
Still grinning to himself, Poe opened his channel to the rest of his fighters. “You heard him, Rogues. Let’s turn the tide against these Imps.”
“We’re with you, Black One,” responded Rogue Eight. With the loss of their leader, the remaining fighters in Rogue Squadron had flocked to Poe as their leader, even though technically he was no longer a member of the Alliance Starfighter Corps. Perhaps after this battle, the Senate would brand them as actual rogues. Poe found it difficult to see the downside in that. After all, the Resistance could always use more fighters.
As the X-wings resumed their fight against the TIEs, Poe received multiple reports over his comm. Gold Squadron had just completed another successful bombing run on the Fellfire, disabling its vital systems. If they kept this up, with the additional help of their reinforcements, the remaining four Star Destroyers would be taken out in no time.
An excited warble from BB-8 prompted Poe to let out his own cheer. Thankfully, his comm was muted so that no one could hear him (or reprimand him).
* * *
Toah jolted awake and shot up only to be gently pushed down by a pair of hands.
“Easy,” Nira Maren said soothingly. “You’re safe. We just need to—”
“No.” Toah pulled her and Rey’s hand off of him. “I’m not safe. We’re not safe. Something terrible has happened.”
“We know,” said Mara Jade. “We’ve sensed it. Darth Vorath has returned.”
“We need to get to Damosus.” He struggled onto his feet, still feeling light-headed. “That’s where he is. It’s just off the Hydian Way—”
“We’re not going anywhere until the battle is over,” Mara said. “Some reinforcements have arrived but those Star Destroyers aren’t letting up.”
“I’ll go then.” Toah stumbled for the exit. “I have to. I have to stop him.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” Mara flicked her hand and Toah tripped over his feet, landing face-first onto the deck. This earned a harsh reprimand from Nira while Rey rushed over to him.
“I’ll go with you,” she said quietly. “I can help you—”
“No.” Toah shook his head as he got back up. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous.”
“Dangerous and stupid,” Mara said dryly. “Do you seriously think you can take on someone like Vorath all by yourself, Jarsan? Or has Farmboy’s righteousness rubbed off on you?”
Toah stopped to give her a strange look. “Farmboy?”
Mara sighed as she rolled her eyes. “I mean Luke.”
“Whatever the case is, I can’t just sit by and do nothing, knowing that he’s out there. Call it stupid all you want, but I have to stop him. Alone, if I have to. I’ve already done it once.”
“And leave us here to die?”
Mara’s words cut straight through Toah, enough to bring him to a full stop. He took a moment to collect himself, taking a couple deep breaths, before turning around to face the rest of the room. Faces of concern looked back at him. He closed his eyes but quickly opened them again; when he closed them, he saw those pinpricks of red in the darkness again.
“You’re right,” he finally said. “I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s just… I don’t want to believe he’s back.”
“None of us do,” Nira said softly. “But if he is, then we will defeat him together. We are stronger together than we are apart.”
Chek Urhed chuckled from where he sat. “I’ve taught you well, it seems.”
Toah allowed himself a small smile. “There’s a reason she’s on the Jedi Council and I’m not, even though I’ve been at this long than she has.”
“Hey,” Finn said, drawing everyone’s attention back to the viewport. “It looks like they’ve taken down one of the Star Destroyers.”
Toah looked to see that, indeed, one of the Destroyers was up in flames and falling to pieces as explosions wracked its flames. The four remaining Star Destroyers weren’t faring much better, with two of them suffering heavy firepower from the frigates and cruisers that had just dropped out of hyperspace.
Under normal circumstances, he would have felt elation at this. But knowing what darkness awaited them, he found it hard to muster the energy for celebration.
* * *
Light-years away, aboard his throneship, Supreme Leader Snoke was growing frustrated.
A wrench had been thrown into his plans. He had sensed Darth Vorath’s return from chaos, as well as Luke Skywalker’s own inexplicable resurrection. Bad enough that one of the greatest Jedi in existence had returned, but now Snoke had to deal with a competing dark side power. He knew that Kylo Ren was still on Damosus, where Vorath had emerged, but he knew that his apprentice would be no match for the ancient Sith. Nor did he expect General Pryde to deal with the resurgent Dark Lord in a succinct manner.
Complicating matters even further, the assault on Mon Cala was not proceeding as he had hoped. Somehow, the Alliance had received unexpected reinforcements, allowing them to turn the tide against General Hux’s forces. This would not do; he could not afford to lose even five of his Star Destroyers at this stage. He would have no choice but to call off the attack. He had no doubt General Hux would attempt to resist against this command. If that turned out to be the case, then Snoke would happily leave him to his demise.
Having completed his observations, Snoke dismissed his Attendant and the purple-cloaked humanoid departed with the Sith oracle stone. Opening a channel to the Supremacy’s captain, the Supreme Leader ordered him to set a course for Damosus. Once he felt the Super Star Destroyer moving to jump to lightspeed, he prepared to send a message to General Hux.
A wrench may have been thrown into his plans, but Snoke intended to remove it. His plan would succeed; he would make sure of it.
And the entire galaxy would pay the price.
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