Star Wars STAR WARS: EPISODE XII: LEGACY OF THE FORCE

IC: Darth Talon

Battle of Jakku

Darth Reave had fled.

Talon knew that others would likely follow in his example, the longer this battle went on.

The longer they were losing.

But this was all they could do. Keep the TIE swarms away from the larger ships so that they could do... whatever they could do.

Talon knew she couldn't win them this battle.

But she could buy them all more time.

After all, they were losing. But they were not defeated.

Suddenly, some of the TIEs near her were destroyed... as a new X-Wing joined the battle.

"Who is that?" she asked in the comms.

In his cockpit, a Zabrak Jedi, who was believed to have been lost at the start of the Battle of Jakku six months ago, smiled as he began to help thin down the swarms of TIEs.

Eeth Sazen was alive.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

OOC: I know I stopped playing as Eeth for Legacy of the Force, but I thought it would have been a fun surprise to have him come back, since it is the final battle.

 

OOC: Combos with @Sinrebirth @Lady_Belligerent @Mitth_Fisto and @Silvertough

IC: Barriss, Iudex, Jaina, Zeseem

The Final Battle

It all felt so over the top.

Jaina Fel barely glanced at the others Palpatine had gathered for his theatrics. She didn’t care, in fact it annoyed her because it meant more beings in the way.

She’d been a loner when it came to facing an enemy, or at least she would rather face them with someone she knew well.

These beings didn’t have a child being held hostage, so she doubted they were as desperate as she was. There was nothing, or no one she wouldn’t sacrifice to have Roan.

Her Aunt Mara would’ve been the ideal person to face Palpatine with… maybe. Jaina would still rather do it alone.

“Really, old man,” Jaina asked in a bored tone, “while I appreciate your flair for the dramatics, we could’ve done this without bringing in a crowd.”



"This is over, Palpatine. My apprentice said it well enough."

She smiled warmly at Jaina.

Barriss looked around in shock, recognizing many of the figures that stood besides them.

Master Yoda, Kenobi, and Windu.

Dooku.

Luke.

Even Jaedec Ren and the other Knights of Ren.

But most shockingly of all, there was...

"Master Luminara," she whispered under her breath, almost saying 'mom' before she caught herself.



"My old Padawan," she said, with a smile, an expression which said she definitely heard what Barriss had nearly called her. "Well done, Sunrider."

"My blade is ready... to serve the Daughter of the Light."

The three Palpatines raised their hands, and began summoning an infernal storm of electricity.

Iudex rose to his full height, taking in the mass gaggle of other supposed heroes and villains arranged before the Palpatine duo and Snoke with disdain. This was excessive. As if they were mere toys lined up by a child to fight an imaginary war in their room.

How long before the child grew bored of their antics and tossed them all back into the toy chest?

He sighed, giving those on his "side" one final look over. There were Jedi and Sith alike. From those he as Iudex knew of before he was forced into this timeline, such as Luke and the members of the Jedi High Council, to those he was less familiar with. Some, like he, he supposed, had been ripped from different timelines as well.

Finally, his eyes fell upon the unmistakable face of Shimmer, and finally, after so much time had been wasted trying to figure out his purpose within this timeline, he felt clarity of mind. She wasn't his Shimmer, not really. But the feelings that had erupted within his vessel's heart had felt real. That was enough.

With a relieved sigh, Iudex stepped forwards, unfazed by the overwhelming display of power exploding out from the trio of Palpatines. It didn't matter. Somehow, soon, they would all be dead. Someone will have killed 'em. Simple as.

A thud and man with a red blade humming stood besides the Knight of Ren.



“Have to say, I didn’t expect you to be the last one standing. My bet was on Vicrul, not going to lie. But kudos to you kiddo.”

He handed over the lightsaber.

“You’re the Ren now. Go kick Palpatine in the crotch for me, would ya?”

Age caught up with Atin-Kot.

Not necessarily physical age, for he had spent much time in stasis, joined by Ahsoka, on Atrisia, in the dark-side equivalent of the Bogan Collection. But in soul, he was four millennia beyond his time - and the Taung had vanished from the galaxy. That kind of age cut deep, and Atin-Kot felt it.

It slowed him.

And the Sith saw it.

A bolt of red lightning arched free from Snoke's hand, and the Taung took the hit before realizing, downing the Jedi Knight.

Besides him, the spirit of Bastila Shan, his old comrade, soothed, placing a hand upon his arm. "You have done all you can."

And so, he felt life slip, or, perhaps, it was just that his spirit was crushed, beneath the weight of the Dark Side.

Snoke smirked. “One down.”

Jaina didn’t flinch at witnessing death, she’d survived wars and fully expected death to happen. In this case it helped that it was a being she didn’t know… for once.

“Was that supposed to frighten us?” Jaina spoke out. “Because that was hardly impressive from a sleemo that steals babies.”

This drew the attention of all three of them. They hurled the immense collection of power at Jaina, focusing entirely on her -

Zeseem stood fast, contained. He mourned his brother Atin-Kot, but where the darkness crushed his brother Zeseem swam in it. His lessons and meditations on Jakku had been a master class in refinement. Which perhaps was the better place to spend ones time when short on it.

Power could be cultivated and grown to immense and absurd levels! The Emperor's had all shown him that. But they had also shown that weakness in their fears and culling of their own. A spear could beat a horse, a rapier could beat the greatest broadsword, and a blaster shot was more sure of a kill than a bomb - if one was a master of themselves and their chosen weapons. Zeseem had never been a swordsman, preferring Mastery of the Force over brawn despite his larger build. Now he put all that refinement and control, all that suffering and endurance to a singular task.

To swim through the darkness and destroy the three enemies before them now that they were distracted and focused together on a single target. If he was fast and precise enough he hoped he could possibly destroy not one but two of them in succession with the Force, wiping away their existence with a light piercing blast before the third blocked. As with all things though, he would have to go with the current and hope he could navigate the flows and eddies to victory, and send these evils to chaos where they belonged!

Palpatine took the hit, stumbling as a hole opened in his chest, but Sidious deflected it.

Snoke turned, snarling, and flexed his hands, intending to send Zeseem tumbling into the abyss -

Iudex took the offered lightsaber from Ren with a raised brow. His words probably would have had an effect on Ap'lek Ren, unfortunately, such a moment was wasted, as Iudex had since found a way to keep his host's mind fully suppressed within his own.

He activated the gifted saber with a flourish, appreciating the familiarity of finally having a second lightsaber to wield in his off-hand again. It felt right, to take the lighstaber of the Master of the Knights of Ren as his own. Perhaps, a version of himself in another timeline had done such a thing. Curious.

Iudex smiled. Genuinely. How odd it felt to feel almost whole again. Almost. All that was left was his rage. That was easy enough to detonate.

With a satisfied chuckle, the old Falleen Sith dropped all of his mental barriers and opened himself up fully to his inner wellspring of hatred. Raw power surged through his host's smaller frame, unsuited to accommodate it fully. Irrelevant. A crimson filter slowly washed over his vision, until all he was able to see were the Palpatines. Good.

In inadvertent sync with Zaseem, Iudex launched himself forward with a force-propelled sprint. Using Zeseem as a distraction, he followed in his wake, only leaping out of his shadow upon the culmination of his attack on Palpatine. Not even a full heartbeat later, Iudex had closed the gap, the lightsabers once held low in his grip now slicing up from below in twin arcs, fully intending to remove the outstretched hands of Snoke.

Barriss was at a loss of words. What had Luminara called her?

Daughter of Light?

Was that what she was now?

She turned to look at the fight, at the three Palpatines launching their attacks while some of her allies went on the offensive.

But Barriss just... stood there.

She didn't attack.

Instead, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and focused.

She focused on all of the connections around her... and drew strength from them.

Because she meant what she had said before. Palpatine was empty. He only cared about himself, about his power. And he was alone. Two other versions fighting with him and he was still alone.

He lacked true connections.

And this galaxy... the galaxy was built on connections.

Perhaps that was why Palpatine had lost time and time again. Because he was but one man against an entire galaxy. One man who believed himself to be the center of the universe, the main character of this story.

But... he wasn't.

He was just a sad old man. A part of a much larger story, a much larger galaxy.

It was bigger than any of them. It transcended them.

And being surrounded by so many individuals, Barriss did feel connected to them. To their stories.

It was beautiful.

Allowing those connections to flow through her, Barriss almost seemed to glow as she extended her hand toward the three Palpatines... and reached.

Snoke's hands were sliced clean off, and he howled, even as Barriss reached out, and two of the three Palpatine's seemed to recoil, lit golden for a moment, as if isolated. Sidious, for his part, snarled, igniting not one, but two blades.

Ahsoka stretched out too, but Sidious was a blur, moving swiftly and swinging for Iudex while he was committed -

A spectral hand shoved him, the blade scorching his shoulder rather than splitting him in two -

Shimmer smiled at him.

Then, Sidious looked to her, snarling -

The attack was about to hit Jaina -

During the endless hours in Vergere’s Embrace, Jaina had daydreamed of ways she would get her revenge on those who took away the privilege of her son knowing his father. So much had been taken from them… and she didn’t care that all she thought of was her son and Jagged. She was beyond caring about anything, or anyone else.

The depth of her ire had been building while the others were chiseling away at the multiple versions of Palpatine. Jaina had crouched low, her muscles taut, poised to spring.

But when Sidious chose to target Jaina, she was really to launch herself at him. The blade of Galen’s lightsaber sprang to life when she lept towards the Sith like a human battering ram directed at his chest. She had the Force, and fury to propel her.

The giant lightning ball hit the ground, missing Jaina, but shattering the floor they had all stood upon. Palpatine and Snoke were tugged back by Sidious, who leapt to the rear of the arena, even as holes opened beneath Ahsoka, Barriss, Zeseem and Iudex -

Jaina was suddenly mid-formation with the three Palpatines!

As the floor beneath them began to shatter, Barriss jumped... and she did not come down.

Instead, she found herself floating in the air, levitating herself in the air with the Force.

And she looked down, seeing Jaina with the three Palpatines... before using the Force to pull herself toward them, to help Jaina.

Time slowed to a crawl. Before Iudex, illuminated by his twin crimson blades, stood the recoiling Snoke, agonized as his hands were forcibly cut from his wrists. A wild grin spread across Iudex's cheeks as within his imagination he saw vivid sprays of arterial blood foutaining from Snoke's twin wounds. Once more, he regretted the limitation of violence a lightsaber could provide him.

Ah well.

With blood pounding like a war drum within his ears, Iudex stepped into the cut, flourishing his blades to get them back into position for one final, fatal thrust through Snoke's chest.

The force exploded in warning behind him. He didn't question it. Without obstruction, he dropped his mental barriers, and at once was shoved out of the way of an unseen attack from Sidious himself. The blade fell upon and then sliced through the meat of Iudex's shoulder as he was shoved out of its intended arc.

Hissing through the initial shock of the wound, Iudex fed upon the pain, using it along with the momentum of Shimmer's shove to propel himself back at Snoke, ignoring Sidious completely. The drumbeats within in his ears had evolved, now just a deafening roar within Iudex's skull. Wait.. was he the one screaming?

Irrelevant. He wanted blood. Needed it.

The floor beneath him began to break away after the impact of one of his ally's attacks as he charged. Iudex lept, managing to get airborne just as the rock underfoot fell away. Snoke had been pulled back out of harm's way by Sidious. It didn't matter. He would chase him to the ends of the galaxy if the hunt required it.

Iudex landed a moment later, unblinking eyes watching as the three Palpatines surrounded one of the others. Distracted? Once more he fell upon Snoke, his lightsabers a mesmerizing cascade of thrusts and cuts.

Zeseem felt the floor gave way beneath him and instinctively grabbed at his belt. Pulling free his bulky cable launcher fired as he fell at a hole where someone used to be, catching the edge with the hook and using it like a whip with the Force sent himself swinging over and up through another hole, using the barest of edges of toes to launch himself forward at the unwounded Snoke. Aiming for a surprise attack to crush that man's mishapen head with his staff and the Light side of the Force.

The other Force spirits - Luminara, Shimmer, Ren, Jacen, Anakin, Mara - they hovered above the opened ground, and as one pushed out, bringing a sense of order even if the debris of rocks still existed, they were no longer pinwheeling around.

Barriss arrived next to Jaina, the red-robed Palpatine, smoke rising from his wound, snarling a Force Wound at them in his voice, as he had against four Jedi Masters in his office decades ago -

The twin red lightsabers he had in hand blazed, and he dove between them, cutting low at Barriss and Jaina high, with speed unparalleled -

Snoke lifted his hands and with a surge of the Force brought his hands back, as if re-growing flesh -

His palms met Iudex's attack, a barrier and then a blast of lightning, brief, dazzling -

And then Zeseem's staff struck his head, and Snoke fell to the ground -

Ahsoka was suddenly rushing through the gap, slashing at Sidious's midriff -

A bolt of fiery lightning hit the Togruta and sent her flying backwards, off the edge -

His hands raised, and with a boom of power, Darth Sidious struck the tangle of Force spirits, who cried out in unison -



Unfortunately for the red-robed Palpatine, Barriss also possessed more than one lightsaber.

While the first of her lightsabers ignited to block Palpatine's low strike, her second lightsaber ignited and swept through Palpatine's upper half...

Jaina dropped prone to the ground, she felt the blade as it slashed over her back. The powerful weapon burned thru the fabric of her suit and scored her flesh.

As quickly as she’d dropped and felt the searing along her lower back, Jaina flipped upward in a tight turn aiming her boot for Palpatine’s chest.

Zeseem braced at the last second. Staff in hand he attempted to Force Absorb the assault and then unleash it back upon their attacker. He cried out in pain and recognition of the Jedi that were not standing with him yet. Of his brother and of that Togruta that just gone flying that he could spare the mental wherewithal to save from her flight. All he do was try now and pass judgment for these and other crimes.

Iudex's blades came down in a crushing arc atop Snoke's head. In his mind's eye he could see them cut through his skull, see the life finally fade from the monster's eyes, see himself finally, finally standing atop Snoke's desecrated corpse victorious.

But not yet.

Snoke raised his palms upwards, managing to catch and hold Iudex's blades in place.

Tutaminis? Iudex snarled, recognizing the technique for what it was. It only delays the inevitable! Gritting his teeth, Iudex poured more of his strength into breaking the barrier being projected from Snoke's palms. This wasn't a test of strategy. That wasn't Iudex's way. Not yet. Not in this timeline. He just wanted to smash it through sheer savagery.

He could sense Snoke matching his strength, managing to keep him locked in place. Iudex swore, his teeth gnashing together through sheer exertion. He would break this last barrier. He would prove himself as superior to Snoke. He would win. He had to.

But.. it didn't ultimately matter.

Zaseem instead struck first, having gone completely unnoticed by either Snoke or Iudex in their paired struggle. Zaseem's staff impacted the back of Snoke's head, wrenching it forward. That break in concentration was enough for Iudex to strike.

With a final roar, Iudex's blades broke through Snoke's barrier. A beat later, the blades were piercing the old clone's flesh, aimed straight for his heart.

Zeseem intercepted the flow of Darth Sidious, and attempted to reflect it, but he was no Rey or Ben or Jaina.
The bolt overwhelmed his defenses and began to burn him alive -

Barriss's second blade went through Palpatine's waist, and Jaina kicked his upper torso free of itself -

Snoke's defenses gave way, injured as he was, and mid-recovery, and the blades went through his heart -

Both Palpatine and Snoke exploded in a blue flame that would hurl back Jaina, Barriss and Iudex -

The spirit of Luminara caught Barriss, the spirit of Ren, caught Iudex, begrudgingly, while the other spirits tried to support Zeseem in his agony -

Leaving Darth Sidious.

Rey and Ben finally landed on the largest piece of debris, blades ignited, one yellow, one blue. Ben went to help up his sister, Jaina, and Rey moved between the bolt and Zeseem -

Darth Sidious ceased his assault; he had been formed from memory, and he knew that Rey and the Spirits of the Jedi had caused a feedback loop that destroyed the original. He learned. He would not die. He would be reconstituted; Reborn. He was the Rebirth.

The Sith Eternal Emperor glowered at them with eyes burning yellow.

"I have shed the identities of Palpatine and Snoke," he spat, as Ahsoka climbed back into the fray, having clung to the edge of the rocky planetoid. Palpatine snarled. Only Atin-Kot remained dead and gone.

"You are all nothing to me. NOTHING!"

He attempted a massive Force Drain, attempting to draw the very life essence from their bones -

Jacen and Anakin Solo stepped in, as did Luke and Leia -

They caught the assault with opened hands, trapping his attack -

"Now! Finish him!"

They cried to Jaina, Rey, Barriss, Ahsoka, Iudex, Ben and Zeseem -

’Finish him!’

It echoed through her mind.

Her beatings from Bevin had taught her that brute force was best against Force users, but did she have anything left in her to fight with?

Roan. She must do it for Roan.

Jaina sprang at the beast who had taken away her son with every ounce of physical energy she had in her. She used the Force to guide her lightsaber forward and into a powerful downward slash.

Zeseem screamed in agony through clenched teeth. The blade had never been his mastery and as the flames licked at his form, if not for the spirits coming to his aide he was not sure he would of been able to stand the assault until help had come by Rey imposing herself and causing the torrent of an attack to end.

Despite this being a mindscape, Zeseem still breathed heavily as took stock of his own body and pictured what healing and compensations he needed to work with to keep himself going. This remaining enemy tried to perform a drain, ironic or poetic though it was considering this entire situation might so be considered. Attacking and having his attack contained gave them an opening. The others seemed to be moving forward with their strengths and Zeseem would not fall into the trap of acting outside of his own strengths again. What would his Master say to such foolishness after all. "Stasis." he softly muttered through heavily lidded eyes as he attacked with his mind and the Force to freeze this being he knew as nothing more than child's story the others seemed to fear. A shadow on a cave wall dancing to flickering memories. Trap the light and shadow in the preternatural stillness of the Force, to pause every thought, every action, every flowing in and out of all things. No life, no death - only the Force in perfect tranquility and stillness. As two gave them room to breath and act, so he would act to ensure this shadow had no chance to writhe upon the edges of their psyches to respond to their own attacks.

Separate to the fact he was currently hurtling through the air, Iudex found himself feeling pleasantly lighter than he had thus far since being brought into this timeline. In some part physically, but most dramatically in a spiritual manner. Ap'Lek, after having control over his body ripped away by Iudex, still managed to pop back into the forefront of their shared body on occasion. But now> Upon seeing Snoke actually perish?

Merciful silence.

Iudex landed awkwardly after the blast, assisted in part by the reluctant spirit of Ren. The feeling was mutual, and it went unacknowledged by him. The remaining foe proved itself a more pressing focus of Iudex's attention anyway.

He had recovered slowly, it seemed, as he watched the other survivors of the battle each launch into their own final attacks. He was amused, if only slightly, to see that it was mostly Jedi leading the charge, both through the Force and with a lightsaber. He figured then that if Sidious was to be defeated, the only acceptable method would be to do so through the unmistakable power of the Dark Side.

Iudex chuckled at the irony of that, ignoring the wave of exhaustion that immediately rippled through his body as he once more began concentrating energy within his core. Static electricity filled the air around him. Iudex chuckled again, flexing his fingers as the familiar tingling of energy filled his form. He had missed such naked displays of power.

He hummed in delight, or maybe that was the sound of the lightning surging out from his extended hands towards Sidious, he couldn't tell, ultimately, he decided it didn't matter. Only Sidious' death did.

Barriss noticed Ahsoka climbing back into the fray and she let out an audible sigh of relief, though beyond that she couldn't focus too much on Ahsoka still being alive.

They still had Sidious to deal with.

For a moment, Barriss wasn't sure what she could do. But then she saw Jaina, springing toward Sidious...

And Barriss decided to help her.

Closing her eyes, Barriss reached out and lent her strength toward Jaina, helping guide her blade toward its intended target...

...so that they could finish this once and for all.

Darth Sidious was exposed, and their attack meant they had him.

He had one hand holding back the pantheon of blue and red Force spirits opposing him -

Jaina launched forward -

He tilted his free hand to deflect her aside, and Barriss's power reinforced her, keeping Jaina Solo on path -

He hissed, went to snap her neck -

Iudex's lightning and Zeseem's stasis seized upon him, and he staggered, the Force Drain giving away and he was exposed -

Jaina's blade found it's mark, rending Darth Sidious -

He snarled, and clawed for her -

Ben Solo and Rey Skywalker rushed him, blades severing his hands -

And then, with the help of Iudex, Zeseem and Barriss -

Jaina Solo's blade emerged from his back, and with a howl, a wave of darkness erupted from him like a storm -

White exploded outwards, and they -

WOKE!

OOC: @Sinrebirth @Lady_Belligerent @Mitth_Fisto @Silvertough

 

Rhoen, Syal, and Val
The final battle

There wasn't much more to do, he'd given his orders the Venture and gotten an affirmative. All there was to do was press ahead and wait for the coming fireball. The pilot's skin itched, this slow agonizing wait as large ponderous shapes maneuvered around the battlefield. He was unaccustomed to this. In his X-Wing everything came at him quick and sharp, and could be reacted to just as fast. With these large Vessels everything happened at half speed, it felt like he was fighting underwater.

His eyes took brief glances to his sensors waiting for the crimson arrowhead to get into position. In the moments that felt like an eternity he thought back on the old vessel. It'd been around since he first took to the skies a relic by some measures, but it had been an integral part to so many operations, and a safe haven for his family during their tumultuous life. It had served honorably well past the point that it was feasible, well past the point of it's usefulness it kept going.

And now he was about to kill it. To cast all that history to the side and destroy it just to clear the way. But he didn't have any other choice, the screen needed to be cleared, if it wasn't the whole galaxy would be doomed. In every fight sacrifices needed to be made he'd seen many pilots die just to buy everyone else a little more time. It never felt good, there was always pain associated with it. Though he hoped that this time all that was lost was an aging capital ship, and not the many lives that were aboard.

Besides, he was sure that the old girl would want to go out in a blaze of glory.

He watched as the escape pods and any other vehicle that could be used hurried away from the stricken ship. Then it was more waiting, a few seconds, then a minute, then another…then…

A bright flash and a wave of fire and debris that ripped through the line of carriers. The ray shields on the Megador were just able to protect the ship but only just. The shields gave up their last and Rhoen pressed on. The Scythe was doing it's work carving through the dreadnoughts that still barred the way. And soon the way was clear, the TIEs had fallen back, Thrawn had quit the field and now he just had to drive his spear into the heart of the beast.

Rhoen gave all power that he could find and gave it to the engines, even activating the life support on his flight suit so he could shut it down to give just a little more to the power plant. The Millennium Falcon, Wild Karrde and Lady Luck arrayed in front of him as he kept moving forward. They would have to provide his fighter cover…he had a feeling his family would have their hands full, if the dozen TIE Defenders that appeared on his scopes was any indication.

***

Val had kept fighting splashing TIE and TIE to the point where she didn't even keep count any more, kill count didn't matter, all that mattered was seeing this fight through to the end, a fight that had been going on since before her father was born. It was time to end it, to let her generation be the last one to see war, to see families torn apart and planets killed. By all the stars in the sky she was going to see this through.

Her sensors pinged as her Astromech put through a message from her mother. As her radio was killed the only way to communicate was to contact her Astromech and had them display the message. Her eyes took in the message.

8 Defenders coming at us

She tightened her grip on the controls, she was ready for this. She broke towards the pack putting her shields double front to deal with any pot shots that came her way. She tried to line up a torpedo shot waiting until she got a lock on the fighter. She didn't think she'd ever get a lock, but she hoped they would blink, break formation and give her the advantage. Though she heard her opponent trying to get lock on her. It would come down to who had the nerve. Val was unmoved as the tone went solid the warning ringing in her ears. At the same time she got her lock and fired, sending a quick burst of laser to follow after.

Without pausing to see if it hit she broke off as the missile warning blared. Turning hard she ditched the missile easy enough, and never lost sight of her opponent. She was bleeding speed but she needed to get her nose online with her target quickly before they could recover from their own dance with death. Turning harder she could feel the blood draining from her head, her vision starting to grey at the edges.

"Hick…" She took in a breath the muscles in her legs tightening to force the blood back into her head, to keep her conscious for just long enough to get her target lined up. "Ahhhh" she finally exhaled coming out of her turn and resting her crosshairs on the target. Pulling the trigger a burst of laser went flying out. She saw some hit the shields but a few more hit their target. It wasn't enough to kill but it looked like it slowed it down.

The full power of the engines slammed her small frame against the flight chair sending her screaming towards the TIE. More red lasers lept from her canons heading towards the Defender. It just escaped but this gave her the initiative. It pulled into a loop and she kept with it. It bled speed but that was the plan wasn't it. The Defender would slow down and Val would overshoot. But she wasn't about to fall for it. As they reached the top Val turned over and buried more bolts into the frame of the Defender. It banked hard she kept with it. It dove again and she didn't lose it.

Like a dog chasing a rabbit she ran it down. Her fatigue didn't matter, the weight of her limbs didn't faze her, the end was in sight, as soon as this fighter fell, they would be free.

In a desperate last ditch the TIE tried to throttle hop, seeing it's speed drop she matched it but she was still too fast. She angled her nose up just enough and fired a final burst that the TIE obligingly flew directly into. That was one down. As she came around she watched as her mother put an end to one that had been chasing her. Looking at her scopes, she could see nothing they were clear.

It all rested on her father.

***

Rhoen smiled as the final Defender died, snuffed out by the superior pilots. It was a fools game to bet against an Aquilla when the pressure was on. The rag tag group ahead of him had cleared the path, he had given everything the ship had to give, weapons, shields, lights. Everything was going to the engines, and they were screaming. He could feel the ship groan under the power pushing it towards it's destination. The moments ticked by second by agonizing second. The ship shuttered and shook as a few TIEs broke through and crashed into the hull. They came with more and more regularity. He gave a worried glance to his sensors, had they lost someone, or were there more TIEs than they expected or did the empire leave a final surprise for them. None of the above it seemed, the TIEs were just throwing themselves at the SSD hoping that enough of them would slow it down, but they were falling almost as harmlessly as rain on a landspeeder roof.

There was nothing anyone could do, the die had been cast and this would be the end. The distance once so insurmountable was now so close.

The alarm went off the something he'd setup to give himself enough time to escape once the time came. He set the controls and rushed to his exit and to the waiting fighter beyond. Hitting the door control, nothing happened. His eyes widened. He was a fool, he'd shut down everything he could…including the doors. He rushed back to the controls furiously turning the doors back on, but the light on the door wasn't lit.

He waited, and waited…it finally turned green, as the ship made impact.

***

She didn't see him. Syal Antilles Aquilla, didn't see her husband. The Megador had made contact with Starkiller but she didn't see an X-wing speeding away from the ship. Where was he, her heart sank.

"Rhoen?" She called out on the comms. "Rhoen answer me!" There was no reply "No…" She said softly the weight of everything settling on her chest like a lead fist.

Then she saw a blip, a resistance fighter flying away from the impact. "Rhoen?"

"Who else could escape a doomed Super Star Destroyer in just the nick of time?" She could hear that grin on his face, the I have just escaped death and I'm going to act like it was no big thing, smirk.

"Rhoen Aquilla, I don't know whether to slap you or kiss you when we get back."

"How about both?"

She couldn't help the laugh leaving her chest. "Both it is then."

"Hey…" Val's voice rang out over the comm channel, "Can you hear me."

"I read you Dancer 3." Syal replied.

"Good my Astromech finally got my comm fixed…Can we go home now?"

"Yeah," Rhoen replied, "Yeah we can go home."

TAG: @Sinrebirth @Lady_Belligerent

 

IC: Daire O’Loingsigh, Kaito Dyas
Mortis

They were late, as they would have loved to have their faces in front of Palpatine, but he was dead, and they were not. Gravestone was not there, though its location matched that of Vergere. Kaito had a rather malicious grin, and spoke quietly to Daire, “I have overridden the instructions, and the ship is about to go to where the Odessan Sith went in the Yuuzhan Vong galaxy.”

“Serves her right for stealing our ship.”

They looked around amongst the people there and one was missing, Daire spoke aloud, “Where is Ben Skywalker?” Ben Skywalker went to confront the classic Sheev trio. Now he was missing.

TAG: @Sinrebirth, Anyone on Mortis currently.

 

IC: Iudex and Ap'lek Ren
World between Worlds

...

It was over then, truly. So said the Force Spirit before him, at least. Iudex wasn't convinced by the circus act. He, like many of the others he figured, had survived the supposed death of a Palpatine in the past. They had each most likely celebrated those before times in their own various ways. This time, there wasn't a sense of relief washing over him. Nor a feeling of jubilation or triumph over impossible odds. He simply.. was.

His life, even before being taken against his will to this timeline, had been one of struggle against the various reincarnations of Palpatine and his ilk. Ap'lek, the degenerated clone of a mistreated servant of Snoke felt much the same way. If Ap'lek had been strong enough to overpower Iudex and retake control of their shared body, he may have even been able to voice such facts himself. But alas.

Iudex's regarded the Force Spirit that had supposedly brought them to this place with a critical eye. Could a Force Spirit possess the power it claimed to have? Perhaps. But ghosts had the tendency to fib, after all.

Still, it had offered him the chance to return to his own timeline, to rid himself of the prison cell that was Ap'lek's inferior body. Ap'lek was certainly in favor of the idea, before Iudex had overpowered the consciousness into submissive silence again. Iudex had too many questions that needed answering before he could remotely consider taking such a deal. Such as, "at what date would I return to?" "What's preventing me from being brought here again?" "How did I even change timelines to begin with?"

Those questions led to a far more simpler dilemma for him to parse though. A frown overtook Iudex's face.

Did he even want to return?

His frown morphed into a scowl.

Depending on when or where he was returned to, wouldn't that mean that he would have to refight Palpatine or Snoke? Even after so much time had passed after being brought over, he still struggled to remember the last thing he had done in his home timeline. His focus shifted, expressions softening fractionally. His thoughts fell upon a singular person. If he traveled back, he could see Shimmer again, could fall in love with her again. There had been flashes of recollection since his time here. Half-completed memories or dreams of his time with her. If he went back, he could make them true. Could make things right. Could..

Iudex raised his chin, staring the Force Spirit down. If he remained here, he could carve out a future that was for him alone. There were too many unknowns involved with being sent back. He had never been one to mess with fate. Iudex wasn't about to start now.

"I'm staying here." The words felt alien upon his tongue. Yet there was a feeling of iron-clad determination which backed them. "But not within this body. Not within Ap'Lek. Weak as he is.. he deserves to be the sole master of his own body. Spirit, grant me a facsimile of my true form and leave me be." He glanced about the World Between Worlds, at the faces of those gathered with him and sneered openly. "If we never see each other again, it'll be too soon." For those that had fought alongside him, there was the barest hint of sentimentality within his voice, but only marginally.


Tag: @Sinrebirth