Beyond - Legends Star Wars: Purity (post-ROTJ AU)

When will you be updating this story?

 

yeah i am curious as well.

 

Hmm, soon, I hope. I have another couple chapters ready to go, so I'll try to get one posted pretty soon.

 

@Gemma, Force Smuggler, WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, JediMatteus, all right, I'll give you a chapter. ​

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Growing Pains​

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Owen grimaced as he pulled on the unfamiliar combat uniform. It wasn’t the most uncomfortable gear he’d ever worn, to be sure–he’d had to endure far worse, to be sure, when he’d first become a mercenary. And Jedi robes positively chafed, in his opinion.

But something about being in a military uniform was just awkward, to him. Owen had never been one for following orders; he played by his own set of rules. That’s just how it was. Over the last few years, he’d grown more accustomed to being a more straight-laced player, even up to the point of asking the Jedi Council to make him a Jedi Knight.

Military, though? It made him uncomfortable.

He finished gearing up. The uniform consisted of a green jacket and blast vest, black pants, boots, and gloves, and a green helmet with a full-face visor. He tucked his combat batons into his boots, his lightsaber into a jacket pocket, and his blasters into holsters. Then he picked up a combat rifle provided by the Resistance.

His chrono beeped, and he allowed himself a small grin of satisfaction. He was up and ready to go before the rest of his battalion was even awake. They began to pull themselves out of bed. Their CO, a Cathar with a patch of reddish fur on his cheeks and a blue filmy substance in his eyes, walked into the room.

“All up,” he snapped. “Out onto the parade grounds, give me a hundred press-ups and then a two-mile jog. Go, go, go!”

Owen and the other men in the battalion rushed out of the barracks. It was pouring rain, and the clouds in the sky made the dawn light even dimmer. Raindrops pelted Owen’s visor as he stepped outside. Immediately, he dropped to the ground and began doing press-ups as fast as he could.

…six, seven, eight, nine, ten…

He glanced up across the field and saw the female troops also doing their morning workout. They all wore uniforms like Owen’s, so it was impossible to tell them apart, but in the Force he distinctly sensed Balii. He could tell she was flustered, not used to this kind of thing–but also determined to excel.

Owen finished his press-ups, hopped to his feet, and sprinted out toward the woods. A few other soldiers, as fit as Owen was, jumped up and followed. The others continued their set of press-ups. Owen reached the tree line and jogged into the woods, dodging trees and jumping over roots without hesitation.

Jungle combat had always come naturally to him. He had grown up on Yavin IV, so he felt at home in densely wooded areas like this. As he ran, he lost himself in it, letting his whole being become devoted to the task of running the course. Rain continued to slap against his visor and soak his uniform. An automated fine-tuned beam passed across the visor, disintegrating the rain water so Owen could see.

He thought about Ben. It was odd, being away from him. They’d spent the better part of three years together, and had become practically inseperable. Waking up to train alongside a bunch of strangers from his battalion instead of with his own brother was uncomfortable. He missed Ben.

But he had no doubt he was doing the right thing here. He had to press on.

He came back to the camp in ten minutes. Quickly, he entered the barracks, stripped off his wet clothes, and changed into his off-duty clothes. Then, he walked toward the mess hall to get breakfast. As he entered the mess, he looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of his friends.

He saw Wraith Squadron in one corner of the room, the twelve pilots conversing quietly amongst themselves. Soldiers and pilots were intermingled around the rest of the room. Finally, Owen saw Jaina, Damien, and Zekk sitting with their squadron. He got a tray of food and went to sit with them.

“How you doing, ground-pounder?” Jaina asked.

Owen grinned. “Not bad, cloud-head. How’s the flying going?”

“I think Hardpoint Squadron has some real potential,” Jaina said. She gestured to the other Jedi pilots–Sanola Ti, Izal Waz, and a few others Owen didn’t recognize. “We’re working on Force-meld techniques. Even the non-Jedi are benefiting from it.”

“Good.” Owen took a bite of what he thought were supposed to be hawkbat eggs. “How long will it be until we see some real action, do you think?”

“Not long,” Jaina replied. “We have to keep the First Order on the back-burner or they’ll push us clean out of Imperial space.”

“Heard from your dad?”

“Not yet.”

“I’m sure he’ll turn up.” Owen saw Balii walk into the mess and gestured her over. She nodded in confirmation and went to get her food. “What do you think about this figure in black? What’s with his lightsaber?”

“I don’t know,” Jaina said. “But I don’t like it.”

“That space station he killed Master Hamner on,” Damien said. “I wonder if we could check it for holorecordings of the fight.”

“Not a bad idea,” Zekk said. “If we can analyze this guy’s fighting style, we’ll have an advantage.”

Balii came over and sat down beside Owen. Savara dropped into the seat beside Zekk and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Zekk’s face warmed.

“How are you guys adjusting?” Owen asked.

Balii had come from a fairly primitive background, all things considered, but she had been physically fit for most of her life. On the other hand, Savara was the daughter of a nobleman, so she’d never faced anything as rigorous as military training.

“It is strenuous, but nothing I can’t handle,” Balii said.

“I’m glad I’ve been undergoing Jedi training the past year or so,” Savara said. “I think it helped prepare me a little better for this.”

Owen nodded. “Good.”

The mess’s intercom kicked on then, and an announcer called for pilots to get to their ships. Jaina and Damien told the others goodbye and rushed out with the rest of Hardpoint Squadron. Owen and the others gathered up the empty food trays and dropped them in the cleaning chute. Then, they ran out the door to find out what was going on.


* * *



Jacen ran a hand through his hair. It felt odd, being as short as it was. For years, he’d worn it long, past his shoulders. Now, it was short and prickly. But it was more practical, and it didn’t fall in his face. There was a certain advantage to that…especially at times like this.

The wind was blowing furiously in the clearing. Jacen spun and slashed his green-bladed lightsaber in a diagonal blow. His opponent jumped back, barely avoiding the blow. Jacen stepped in, swinging another strike. His opponent raised her blade, catching his strike on her blue blade. She stumbled back and barely kept a grip on the hilt.

“Focus,” Ben called from the edge of the clearing. “Keep your attention on the fight at hand. Your focus is elsewhere.”

She nodded curtly. “Yeah…focus.”

She readjusted her grip on her hilt, gripping it two-handed, up by her right cheek, angling the blade downward. Jacen stepped in and feinted at her left side. She arced up the blade in a smooth parry. Jacen shuffled back, avoiding the hot tip of her blade.

“Good,” Tenel Ka said.

Jacen smiled and decided to show his opponent what it was like when he really cut loose. While she was distracted, looking at Tenel Ka and Ben, he lunged in, opening up with a flurry of tight, arcing strikes. Taken aback, she tried to put her blade in the middle of his arc, but that only ended with her saber flying away through the air. Ben snagged it with the Force, pulled it to his hand, and clipped it to his belt.

“Not bad,” Jacen said. “You’ll learn.”

Reina Lockam smiled shyly. “Thanks. This isn’t really my thing, but I’m Force-sensitive, and I want to be able to protect myself properly if the Purists come after me.”

“You will,” Ben said. “You’re making great progress. Unfortunately it’s going to be tough to find all the parts you’ll need to assemble your own lightsaber. Until then, you can keep using mine.”

The four of them turned and walked back toward the camp. Seha saw them coming and headed to Ben’s side. Jacen took note of the lightsaber clipped to her belt and frowned slightly.

“Where’d that come from?” he asked.

“My aunt,” Seha replied. “She had an extra.”

Jacen worried about Seha. She wanted to be independent of any Force-using faction, but she also wanted to reap the benefits of being a part of those groups. She preferred to use a blaster, but still expected lightsaber training and even owned one, now. It was dangerous, not being firmly set in one camp. It could cause her to be influenced.

His flutter of doubt must’ve been evident, at least to those who knew him well, because Ben frowned and cast a glance at him. Jacen gave him a half-smile and a shrug.

“Brant and Wes just got back from Coronet,” Seha said. “I think they’ve got news.”

“Good,” Ben said. “Then let’s go meet them.”

Jacen followed the small group as they headed for the landspeeder parked close to the edge of the camp. Wes and Brant were busy unloading supplies, aided by Lowbacca and a few others. Jacen grabbed a crate with the Force and moved it from the speeder onto a stack. Ben went over to the two men and began speaking softly.

Jacen paid them no mind and instead helped unload. Ben had taken a leadership role even more than before ever since the group had come to hide on Corellia. He was the boss here, and Jacen was content to let him handle the important stuff and bring it before the rest of them at his discretion.

Tahiri bumped Jacen’s shoulder playfully with hers as she unloaded a box. Jacen smiled and bumped her back.

“How you holding up?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean your sister leaving,” Tahiri replied. “Are you all right?”

Jacen nodded. “I understand why she went. Don’t get me wrong; I’d have preferred it if she and the others had stayed. But…I can’t fault them for going.”

Tahiri sighed. “Yeah, me either.”

They finished unloading the boxes. Ben walked up to Jacen and grabbed him by the shoulder. Jacen looked up at him. Ben jerked his head, indicating for Jacen to follow him away from the group. Jacen nodded and followed. When they were out of hearing distance, Ben turned to Jacen.

“There’s a slave ship coming through Coronet tonight,” Ben said. “Wes confirmed it with his contacts.”

Jacen hissed. “Dur Gejjen is letting them dock?”

The Rangers had long suspected that Gejjen, the current head of state of Corellia, was a Purist. If he was letting a shipload of Force-sensitives–“slave ship” was just the Rangers’ code for that–dock here, it was almost certain that he had ties with them.

“Seems that way,” Ben said. “But it presents us with a problem.”

Jacen instantly knew what Ben meant. “If we free the prisoners, then we reveal that we’re here on Corellia.”

“Exactly.”

“Unless…” Jacen said thoughtfully.

“Unless what?”

“What if we took the Wanderer off Corellia, and then jumped back into the system, rescued the prisoners, jumped back out again, and then doubled back and came right back here? A good enough pilot could lose any pursuers easily.”

Ben frowned. “That…isn’t a bad idea. I’ll go aboard the Wanderer and see if it’s possible to calculate a course that will let us remain safe.”

“I’ll prepare the team.”

Jacen turned and headed back for the group as Ben kept walking toward the ship. Tahiri glanced up in concern.

“Everything okay?”

Jacen nodded. “Get ready. We’ve got a mission.”


* * *



Damien pulled on his helmet and settled into his cockpit. His astromech droid, a dark-gray-and-blue R6 unit, tweeted happily.

“Ready for takeoff, Arsix?” he said.

Arsix beeped confirmation. Damien checked his systems. The new T-70 X-wing he’d been provided was a marvel; it was faster and more durable than the XJ model he’d flown as a Jedi, and its sleek design allowed for better maneuverability in the atmosphere.

“Hardpoint Squadron, check in,” said the squadron’s CO, Ijix Harona.

“Hardpoint Two, standing by,” Jaina said.

“Hardpoint Three, standing by,” Sanola said.

The rest of the squadron continued checking in. Damien listened idly as he pulled his restraints on and finished powering up.

“Hardpoint Eight, standing by,” Damien said.

As the last pilot checked in, Harona ordered liftoff. Damien brought his fighter off its thrusters and followed Harona up into the atmosphere. Damien looked down as he ascended and saw that Blue Squadron was also coming up.

“What’s going on, Lead?” Izal Waz asked.

“First Order’s attacking Yaga Major,” Harona said. “We’re being sent to intercept them.”

“Just two squadrons?” Jaina asked incredulously.

“We’re the initial attack group,” Harona said. “General Ematt is going to come in behind us with his group and mop up.”

“How big is the enemy force?”

“Not big,” Harona replied. “One Star Destroyer, four squadrons of TIEs.”

Damien frowned. Two squadrons of X-wings seemed dangerously small to be taking on that many enemies. But then, he supposed they’d only have to hold off until Ematt’s group arrived.

“Prepare for the jump to lightspeed,” Harona said. “In three, two, one…jump.”

Damien pulled his hyperdrive lever, and the stars blurred into blue streaks. They were committed now, he thought. No chance of turning back.


* * *



Balii shuffled into the command center behind Owen and focused on the hologram in the center of the huge display table. Leia, Commander Skellers, and half a dozen other officers gathered around the table. The hologram showed Yaga Major, one Star Destroyer above, raining fire down on one of its cities.

“The planet’s not even defending itself,” Balii said. “Why would they attack it like that?”

Raylee Toch glanced at her. “They don’t need an excuse. They’re a bunch of brutal thugs playing at a military junta.”

“Yaga Major is held by the Imperial Remnant,” Owen explained. “The First Order is trying to take over Remnant space, so bombing the planet into submission is a way of showing that they mean business. They probably hope some of the Moffs will step back from their support of Head of State Reige and join them.”

“Oh.” Balii frowned. “But that doesn’t make sense. What kind of person would bloody their enemy’s nose and expect capitulation, not retaliation?”

“A vicious one,” Zekk said bluntly.

Someone shushed them, then. Balii took a step closer as twenty-four tiny X-wing holos appeared near the Star Destroyer. No sooner had they appeared than the Star Destroyer began pouring out TIE Fighters. Then the engagement was on.

“Come on, Jaina,” Owen said softly.

Balii put a hand on his shoulder to show her support. It was hard, waiting here and watching while her friends went out to die. She tried to reach out with the Force and lend them moral support. Jaina and Damien had to come back okay. They just had to…


* * *



The plan came together surprisingly quickly. Disguised as a pirating vessel, the Wanderer would drop out of hyperspace beside the Purist transport and draw it in with the tractor beam that Talon Karrde had so graciously added to it. They would extend a boarding tube and the Rangers would rush aboard and free the prisoners and defeat the Purists.

They would be dressed as pirates, but Seha had no doubt the Jedi would instantly be blamed for the attack. Still, if they could get in and out fast enough, they’d never find any proof.

Seha pulled on a fashionable red duster and buttoned it up to her ribcage. To add to the image that she was a pirate, underneath the duster she wore a loose white blouse that was unbuttoned to show a healthy amount of cleavage and a pair of skintight black pants. Her hair had been dyed jet black and was currently flowing loose around her shoulders. She wore a pair of DL-44 blasters at her hip and a snub-nosed silver pistol in one boot.

“How’s this?” she asked.

Tenel Ka turned and gave her a quick once-over. She nodded approvingly.

“Very convincing,” Tenel Ka said.

“Your disguise is great, too.”

Tenel Ka wore her red hair in a severe tail. Makeup under her eyes and on her cheekbones changed her appearance, since as the princess of Hapes she was by far the most well-known member of the raid team. She wore a black, full-body skintight suit and had a blaster on her right hip and two vibroblades on her left–despite the fact that she was missing an arm and could only use one weapon at a time.

Tahiri walked into the room wearing her costume–a tight, cropped white shirt with a black vest over it, red shorts, black knee-high boots, and a bright red leather belt with lots of buckles. She had her lightsaber displayed prominently, but it was long enoughed that it looked like a short pike of some kind rather than an obviously-Jedi weapon.

“All ready?” she asked.

The other two women nodded. The three of them headed for the cockpit, where Ben and Jacen were waiting. Ben wore a short-sleeved shirt and a tight black combat vest, and several days’ growth of stubble on his face added to his roguish look. Jacen’s outfit was similar to Tenel Ka’s–black and skintight. He had added a false scar to his chin. Each of them carried a short blaster rifle.

“Commencing takeoff,” Ben said.

He glanced over his shoulder as the Wanderer lifted off, caught sight of Seha, and blinked a few times. Then, he turned his attention back to flying. Seha blushed a little at his reaction to her outfit.

She put that out of her mind. Right now, they had a mission to accomplish.


* * *



Jaina’s X-wing rocked as she darted into the midst of the oncoming TIE squadrons. She fired as fast as she could find her targets, catching one TIE on its starboard solar panel and another right in the cockpit. These TIEs were more durable than the old Imperial ones, Jaina noted.

“Hardpoint Four, break port!” Harona snapped.

Jaina quickly found Four on her sensors and saw the X-wing dive in the specified direction just before a TIE swept over and fired. She turned and peppered the TIE with fire, destroying it. Harona pulled in behind Jaina.

She tried to find Damien in the Force. It was hard on her, not being his wingman, but it was squadron protocol not to put romantically-involved pilots together. At least they had their Force bond. She found him, grimly determined and definitely okay. He and his wingman darted in and out of skirmishes, keeping their enemies on their toes.

Harona took the lead, and Jaina tucked in behind him and kept TIEs off his back. Despite their initial advantage, the First Order was regaining momentum now. Hardpoint Eleven had ejected as her X-wing blew up. Blue Five and Nine were both destroyed. And the First Order still had two full squadrons of TIEs, at least, plus that Star Destroyer.

“Now would be a great time for Ematt to show up!” Jaina growled.

“Patience, Two,” Harona said. “He’ll be here.”

Jaina hoped he was right. A TIE fired on her, catching her tail shields. She grimaced as her X-wing rocked. Her astromech beeped worriedly.

“Hang in there, buddy…” she said softly. “We’ll be okay.”



* * *



Jeramm Hux scowled as an ensign approached him from behind. Jeramm did not acknowledge the ensign’s presence, but went on reading the strategic reports from across the Remnant. So far, the Moffs still allied with Reige were sticking closely to their territory, but Jeramm knew that wouldn’t last long. The Resistance was sticking to its own territory, too, only harrying the First Order when it was certain they’d win.

The First Order was advancing fairly well into the Remnant territory, but whenever they got into position for a really deadly strike, they were pushed back. Something had to change.

Finally, he turned to the ensign. “What is it?”

“The attack force over Yaga Major has been attacked by the Resistance,” the ensign said. “Two squadrons of X-wings.”

Jeramm scowled. “Of course. Well, they should easily be able to handle that size of an enemy force.”

“But, sir–”

“We have more important goals to focus on, Ensign. Dismissed.”

The ensign nodded hesitantly and spun on his heel. Jeramm went back to examining the reports.


* * *



The younger General Hux frowned as an ensign approached him warily. Hux stopped and turned to the ensign, allowing impatience to show on his face but not annoyance. His followers had to be able to approach him, he knew. But they also had to know better than to bother him with something irrelevant.

“Sir,” said the ensign. “I took this to the Grand General, but…”

Hux sighed. As far as he was concerned, the wrong brother had gotten the Grand General rank. He, Hux, was a much better strategist and commanding officer than his brother Jeramm, who was too conservative for Hux’s tastes.

“Let me see,” Hux said.

The ensign handed Hux a datapad. “The Resistance has struck at our Yaga Major team. There is a danger they could do substantial damage.”

Hux scrolled through the report briskly. The Resistance forces had engaged the First Order strike team twenty minutes ago; by now either side could have a deciding advantage. And though there was a small number of Resistance fighters, Hux did not believe for a moment that they didn’t have a backup plan. Leia Organa Solo was no fool.

He made a snap decision. Every Star Destroyer was important to the First Order’s cause; if he was punished by his brother upon returning, then so be it. But he could not risk losing the Yaga Major group.

“Order the Finalizer’s captain to prepare all hands,” Hux said. “We set out immediately.”

The ensign saluted. “Right away, sir!”

There, Jeramm, Hux thought. That’s how you lead.


* * *



Jaina gritted her teeth as her X-wing danced away from a trio of TIE fighters peppering her with fire. Her astromech howled worriedly as her fighter turned so tightly the inertial compensators couldn’t entirely stop the G-forces. Jaina’s vision grayed.

“Need a little help,” she snapped.

“I’m coming, Two,” said Harona.

A moment later, one of the TIEs on Jaina’s tail turned to scrap metal. Jaina blew out a relieved breath and again took an evasive maneuver as the remaining two TIEs fired. Harona came back around to strike at one of the enemy fighters. He managed to do some damage to one, but didn’t destroy it.

Then, a blue-marked X-wing swooped by and blew one of them to atoms. Before Jaina could open her mouth to give thanks, the X-wing had come back around and destroyed the last TIE.

Whoa, Jaina thought.

“Thank you, whoever you are,” she said.

“No problem, Hardpoint Two,” the pilot replied.

“Who am I speaking to?” she asked.

“Poe Dameron, Blue Leader,” he replied. “It’s a pleasure to fight alongside a Jedi, and an even bigger pleasure to fight alongside a Solo.”

Jaina smiled. “Well, thanks for the save, Blue Leader. Drinks are on me when we get back to base.”

“Blue Leader, this is Hardpoint Eight,” Damien said. “Thanks for saving my wife–and I think I’ll have those drinks with you.”

Jaina grinned at Damien’s feigned jealousy, but before she or Dameron could jab back, Harona cut in.

“Focus on the battle first,” he said. “Marital disputes can wait!”

Jaina dropped her eyes to her sensors. They’d defeated about a squadron and a half’s worth of TIEs, but in turn they’d lost almost half a squadron between Hardpoint and Blue.

“Now might be a good time for Ematt to show up,” she noted.

“He’s on his way,” Harona said. “Just keep blasting TIEs until he gets here!”


* * *



As soon as the Energizer–rechristened the Bloody Queen for this op–dropped out of hyperspace, the Purist vessel, a Clone Wars-era Arquitens-class cruiser, started to accelerate. Ben grinned darkly and took the ship in toward the Gozanti’s flank.

“Attention transport Solidarity,” Ben said. “This is First Lieutenant Elan Starcrest of the Bloody Queen. Unless you want your engines shot through, I recommend shutting them down and preparing to be boarded.”

The Solidarity’s only response was to open fire with its turbolasers. Ben chuckled and swung the Energizer about. Tahiri and Jacen opened fire with the Energizer’s cannons, aiming at the weak points in the Solidarity’s shields. As soon as they made a significant dent, Ben fired a single torpedo at the ship, right at the point where the engines met the hull. The blast was enough to shut down the engines due to fire hazard, but not enough to blow the whole ship to dust.

“Warned you, Solidarity,” Ben said. “Now we’re going to have to do this the hard way. Prepare to be boarded.”

He brought the Energizer alongside the other vessel and extended the boarding tube. Then, trusting his astromech droid Tweeter to handle the controls until he returned, he jumped up and went back to join the others. They already stood at the boarding hatch and had their weapons ready. Tenel Ka wielded a vibroblade, Seha a blaster pistol, Tahiri her lightsaber hilt, and Jacen a blaster rifle.

Ben raised his own rifle to his shoulder and nodded to Tenel Ka. With the butt of her vibroblade, she smacked the port controls, and the door slid open. Ben jumped aside as blaster bolts barraged through the opening. Jacen and Seha stuck the barrels of their weapons around the corner and returned fire.

Tahiri ducked and rolled a flash-bang grenade into the breach. Ben squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced as the grenade popped loudly. Then, he charged into the open hatch. Purist soldiers staggered around, their rifles swinging wildly. Ben grabbed one man’s rifle with the Force and jerked it from his hands before he could shoot a door access panel by mistake.

The Rangers quickly disabled the enemy troops. Ben shot down a few who began to recover their vision. The others were taken care of by swift blows to the back of the head. Once they had all been disabled or killed, Ben grabbed one of the survivors by the collar.

“Where’s the captain?” he growled.

“Kark you,” the Purist said.

Ben raised his hand as if to backhand the man for his insolence, but Seha clicked her tongue warningly.

“Now, now, dear Elan,” she said. “We mustn’t treat our guests in such a rough manner.”

“Guests?” the Purist demanded incredulously.

“Of course,” Seha said.

She strode forward, and Ben released the Purist and stepped back so Seha could face him. The man frowned at her.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“We may have raided your ship, but we’re not savages,” Seha said theatrically. “I am Captain Ahli Seltros. Anyone who surrenders to my crew will be treated fairly and released at our next port of call.”

“And if we don’t?”

She shrugged fluidly. “Then I’ll let Elan here kill you. Your choice.”

“The captain’s in the brig,” the man said quickly. “He’s going to execute the prisoners rather than let them be freed.”

“Thank you,” Seha said.

Ben knocked the man out cold with a swift blow to the back of the head. Then he gave Seha a worried look and rushed toward the brig. The rest of the Rangers rushed to follow him.



* * *

​

Sanola Ti yelped in surprise as a green laser bolt exploded above her port wing. Her astromech howled, and Sanola instinctively broke to starboard to avoid the follow-up barrage from her pursuer.

But that was the wrong choice. The TIE stuck doggedly on her and continued spraying her with fire. Her X-wing began to rattle and her shields dropped. Forcing herself to calm down, Sanola listened to the Force. She juked to port, avoiding a barrage from the TIE that would’ve blown her starboard wings off. Then she dropped toward Yaga Major, saving her astromech from being destroyed.

Still, the TIE kept doggedly on her tail. She headed for the Star Destroyer, hoping to lose her pursuer in the melee going on around the battleship. One of the Destroyer’s turbolasers rotated to track her. She barrel-rolled just in time to avoid being incinerated, and the blast caught the TIE behind her.

But now she was without shields in the middle of the thickest part of the fighting, and the Star Destroyer’s turbolasers were tracking her.

This is it, she thought. Sorry, Aunt Kirana.

Then, there was a ripple of space as a Resistance warship dropped out of hyperspace and opened fire on the Destroyer. Ematt!

Sanola breathed a sigh of relief as the Destroyer’s turbolasers stopped following her and turned to fire on the other warship.

“Hardpoint Squadron, form up!” Harona called. “We’re going to make a run on that Destroyer’s bridge.”

Sanola brought her fighter around behind Damien’s and accelerated toward the bridge, along with the surviving members of Hardpoint. They released their torpedoes as they approached the bridge, and the resulting explosion took the shields down. The Destroyer rocked.

“Good shot, Hardpoint,” said General Ematt. “Pull back; we’ll take it from here.”

Then another ship dropped from hyperspace. Sanola’s heart dropped all the way down to her feet as she recognized it.

“The Finalizer,” she whispered.


* * *



Seha kicked a Purist in the chest, sending him stumbling back into the wall. He pulled a baton from his belt and swung it at her, but she spun aside, caught his wrist, and jerked him to the ground. He tried to pull free from her grip, but she ended his struggling with a quick strike to his throat. He choked for a few seconds before passing out.

Ben and the others rushed past, firing their blasters and pushing the Purists back toward the brig. By now, the captain could’ve started executions; they had to hurry to save the prisoners. But despite the relatively small size of the ship, the Purists were holding them back fervently.

Seha grabbed the baton from the man’s limp hand and hurled it down the hall, catching a soldier in his helmet’s visor. It cracked and he stumbled away. Ben finished him off with a blast to the chest. Jacen and Tenel Ka cut down the remaining troops in the hall.

“Brig’s on the other side of this door,” Ben said. He tapped a command. “It’s sealed!”

“Step back,” Tahiri said.

She ignited her lightsaber and rammed it through the door. As she dragged her blade in a circle, Seha ejected her blaster pistol’s clip, loaded in a new one, and then pulled out her second blaster in her free hand.

Tahiri finished cutting through the door and kicked the circle in. She didn’t wait; she just jumped through and began batting blaster bolts back with her shimmering blue blade. Seha ran in behind her, blasters firing. They cut down the guards in the brig in moments.

“Stop!” growled a deep, raspy voice.

The Rangers formed a half-circle facing the center of the brig. The captain of the ship, a paunchy man with gray hair and a heavy brow, had a young man by the throat, his blaster held to the kid’s head.

“You’re obviously Jedi,” the captain said, motioning to Tahiri’s lightsaber. “I know you don’t want to see these people killed. Surrender or I shoot him.”

“There are five of us, Captain, and one of you,” Tenel Ka said. “You will not be able to follow through on your threat.”

“I can kill him before you kill me,” the captain said. “You may save everyone else, but can you live with his life on your conscience?”

Seha examined the situation carefully. Right now, the captain was facing Ben. Seha was to the captain’s left, where he only had her in his peripheral vision. The beginnings of a plan began to form in her head.

Ben slowly began to lower his rifle. Reluctantly, the others followed suit. Tahiri shut off her lightsaber. Seha tightened her jaw and slowly let her blasters drop to the floor.

“Good, I thought not,” the captain said. “Now–”

Before he could utter another word, Seha dropped on her haunches, whipped her spare pistol out of her boot, and put a blaster bolt through his head. The captain slumped to the ground and dropped his blaster. The young man fell to his knees and gasped in relief. For a moment, there was stunned silence in the brig.

“Get the prisoners out of here,” Ben said. “We have to hurry; someone may have called reinforcements. Go.”

The others scrambled around to do as he said. Ben gave Seha a worried look, but she just gave him a nod and tried to convey that she’d done what she thought was best at the time. He nodded reluctantly in return and then went to help round up the Force-sensitive prisoners.


* * *



The battle above Yaga Major was nearly lost when the Finalizer arrived. Hux saw the other Star Destroyer’s shields drop and knew the vessel was doomed unless he intervened immediately. He stepped toward the front of the bridge and glanced at the comm officer.

“Relay this message, full spectrum broadcast,” he said. “This is General Hux. All First Order forces, prepare to rally to the Finalizer. Resistance forces: flee or you will be destroyed. You will not get a second warning.” He turned to the weapons officer. “Provide covering fire for our allies.” Then, to the navigator, “As soon as they’ve formed up with us, prepare to jump to hyperspace.”

“We’re falling back, sir?” asked the navigator.

“This battle is not going to be won by smashing the Resistance,” Hux said. “We’d lose too many ships. No, this battle will be won because the Resistance will know they failed to deal a major blow to us.”

Slowly, the navigator nodded. “Yes, General.”

Hux watched as the Finalizer’s cannons destroyed a few X-wings and harried the cruiser. The other Star Destroyer limped toward the Finalizer and its TIEs returned to the docking bay. Some X-wings tried to pursue, but after several were cut down by tubolaser fire, they fell back toward the Resistance cruiser.

“All ships, back to hyperspace,” Hux commanded.

The other Destroyer leapt first. Once Hux was certain it was away, he gave a nod to the navigator. The man pulled the hyperdrive lever, and the Finalizer was on its way back to base.


* * *



Jaina sighed as she watched the Destroyers jump to hyperspace. At least they’d kept Yaga Major safe from the First Order…but they hadn’t succeeded in doing more than destroying maybe two squadrons of TIEs, all totaled.

“Resistance forces,” Ematt said, “return to Yaga Minor.”

“Roger that,” Harona said. “You heard the General, Hardpoint Squadron. Let’s go; back to base.”

As Jaina’s X-wing jumped to hyperspace, she slumped back in her seat and thought about this General Hux. The Finalizer had been at two battles she’d been present at already. She had a feeling Hux was going to be a thorn in her side.

Oh, well. It was best to deal with that when the time came. For now, they could at least celebrate that Yaga Major was safe…for now.


* * *



It took a long time to get the Energizer back to the Lockam territory without anybody noticing, but they succeeded. The Force-sensitives were packed onto a smuggling ship and sent off to the Unknown World where the Jedi were currently hidden, courtesy of Talon Karrde.

Seha, now once again wearing her typical civilian clothes of a dark blue jacket and black pants, stood at the edge of the woods and watched the sunrise. It was cold out; she zipped her jacket all the way to her neck.

“You know, I think I miss your disguise.”

Seha turned, saw Ben behind her, and chuckled. He walked over to stand beside her. She faced the sunrise again.

“Can you imagine how cold it would’ve been to wear that right now, though?” she asked. “No, thank you.”

They laughed together and then stood for a while, watching as the sun crested the horizon and began rising above the clouds.

“Beautiful,” Ben said.

Seha nodded. “That’ll be us, one day. Those of us oppressed by the Purists, I mean. We’ll rise above the damage they’re doing and show the galaxy the terrible things they’ve done. And it’ll be glorious.”

Ben wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I hope you’re right, Seha. I hope you’re right.”

 

Yay!

 

Super duper fast paced and showing how evenly balanced the two sides are. Poe is great ot see as well and how seamlessly the various teams still work together.

 

GOOD STUFF. I hope one day we can get some Luke scenes, like the early stuff you did. like seeing the balance of both sides of the conflict. How about some Han cameos too. I know this is about the kids adventures, but some classic characters would be cool here and there too. good job.