The Siege Of Agamar
Agamar
All of the citizens were gathered in the hangar bay, alongside the militia of droids. Citizen count was roughly twenty-five people, a variety of species intermingled, but also present were a few children as well, worried about what this town meeting was about. They were outnumbered by the ensemble of battle droids that Kalani had assembled. B1s, B2s, commandos, magnaguards, droidekas, a few buzz droids that lingered on the floor. If this had been a battle in the Clone Wars, they would have been massacred on the spot. They weren’t the smartest, but that many could easily kill them right there and then.
“… Well. That’s uh… that’s quite the legion of droids,” Lyra said, astounded by how many there were.
“By this estimated count, I say that’s about a company and a quarter’s worth of soldiers,” Rex commented.
“We have 42 B1 units, 35 B2 units, 27 commando units, 21 Magnaguards, and 17 droidekas,” Kalani calculated.
"Not factoring the droids you destroyed," Tawni added.
“… I see,” Lyra nodded, looking at the entire group before them. “Well, we can still try to get them to Yavin IV. And as promised; we can provide sanctuary for your people. We have refugee housing for citizens,” she said, smiling softly at the governor.
The Separatist’s expression didn’t change, remaining neutral, but gave an understanding nod. With everyone gathered around a holoprojection, the group along with General Kalani looked at a display of the entire base’s interior and exterior. The map showed everything they would need to see, along with all possible exits, ventilation, everything.
“Well, if we’re going to try and get you guys to Yavin IV, we need to know how much you and your droids will be packing,” Lyra asked, directing her attention to Kalani. “We have enough room to house the citizens, they will be safe in the Sweetie Drop when we leave, and maybe a few droids, but we won’t be able to take your entire army. You have shuttles, right?”
The projection showed an area of the outpost, the hangar bay with a row of shuttles parked.
“We have twenty Sheathipede-class shuttles. But they have no weapons,” Kalani said, pointing to a section of the hangar on the projection, showing the shuttles.
“Maybe not, but they can still get you all out of here,” Rex said, rubbing her chin.
“What about all of your flyers?” Flurry asked.
“Flyers, what flyers?” Lyra questioned.
“When we were exploring, I saw some droids hanging up there," she pointed, showing the hanging droids that hadn't moved from their positions.
"The Vultures. We should be able to move them as well," Tawni continued. "They're short range, but we have several deployer stations that should be able to take them, along with a few gunships and Tri-fighters."
"What about any heavy artillery?"
"We have no cannons, and only a handful of Octuptarra-class droids," Kalani informed. "We won't be able to take them off-world without a ship strong enough to carry them."
"Then we come back for them," Lyra clapped her hands together. "So, shall we help you all pack?"
In no time at all, everyone got to work to consolidate as much as they could. Citizens gathered whatever personal items and gear they had on hand, shoved into suitcases and storage bins that would be pushed up into the Sweetie Drop. Carts and wagons were pushed and hauled back and forth from the housing areas, trying to help gather what they could carry.
One of the B1 units held a manifest, checking off every citizen that had brought items over to check, while Lyra and Tawni worked to push the suitcases and cargos into the cargo bay of the Sweetie Drop. Adagio performed an inventory check on the simple blasters and firearms, seeing how much they had on hand that could still be used to fight. Rex and Flurry however did repair work on a few of the flyers that had been removed from the ceiling. One of them, a Vulture, stood in place as Flurry patched up some loose wiring and cables on the chest.
"Wee-tah, oob bi!"
"No kidding," Flurry conversed. "So you guys have buzz droids? Is that how you took out ships?"
"I always hated those buggers," Rex bemoaned, fixing the final attachments on the vulture's leg.
"Cheep, cheep, cheep," came from Cheep who pushed a cart of some rockets stacked together.
"The special armaments?"
"Chirp. Chirp chup churp choop," Cheep nodded.
"Wee-tak! Bo nichi runa!" The droid asked.
"Don't worry V4-6," Flurry smiled. "You'll be coming home with us, I promise," she patted his head. "We're not leaving you guys behind. That's not what Rebels do."
--
Inside the Sweetie Drop, a few civilians were stacking some boxes in the cargo hold, with the help of a few more battle droids and IG-11. Lyra and Tawni were joining them, pushing them along the inside so they could fit in as much as they could. The work was long and tiring, but it was necessary. And in an hour or two, they managed to get all of the necessary luggage of the citizens, including Tawni Ames, inside.
Both of them sighed as they sat down at the living room booth, out of breath and exhausted.
“I appreciate you offering to help transport everyone. But are you positive they can fit in here?”
“One of the last major missions we had was fitting on the remains of a Rebel cell in here; it was seventy-five people.”
Tawni raised a brow. “… how did… w…”
“Don’t ask, we found room,” Lyra massaged her temple. “But we can still get them in here, I promise.”
“Understood,” the governor said, rather emotionlessly.
Lyra looked at her, noting her sullen demeanor as she sat in the chair to take a break. Thinking for a second, Lyra walked over to the cupboards, pulling out a few cups. Reaching for the fridge, she poured some blue milk into the cups to share, and walked back over, offering it to the woman.
“Blue milk?”
“I only drink on anniversary nights,” Lyra shrugged. “I have that, soda, OJ, purple stuff, lots of drinks from Equestria…”
“Blue milk is fine, thank you,” Tawni said, taking a sip.
Lyra sat next to her, taking a sip as well. “Is… everything okay, Governor? I-I mean, if you’re not okay with leaving, I can understand.”
“No, that’s not what’s bothering me,” Tawni said, setting her cup down. She scrunched her face as she tried to think. “I’m not sure how much your Rebellion is going to be open to me, or my people.”
“Because you’re… ohhh,” Lyra realized, hissing a bit. “Ohhh right… that’s… that’s going to be awkward.”
“Wonderful,” Tawni deadpanned.
“May I ask something though?”
“Might as well,” Tawni sat up straight, laying back in the chair.
“Why did you join the Separatists, or Storm Army, or… you know?”
The governor let out a sigh as she tried to find a way to explain. “I’ve been a Separatist all of my life. We may not share the same ideals as your Republic, but we never had malicious intention toward anyone. All I wanted was for the Confederacy of Independent Systems to remain just that; independent. Not under strict control that took basic freedoms. But when the Separatist leaderships were overthrown, and the Storm King rebranded us… I was ready to leave.”
“Well when you’re under the Storm King’s watch, I think almost anyone would want to leave his rule,” Lyra said with a giggle.
“I only stayed because despite his twisted belief for power, I still believed in coming together with the Republic in peace; ending the wars that the Storm King had started. I even joined fellow senators to pitch such a treaty… but you know what happened? Our plea for peace was rejected, in favor of continuing the war effort,” Tawni sulked. “I learned a valuable lesson that day; peace was never an option for anyone.”
Lyra awkwardly shifted in her chair, gazing at Tawni with an uncomfortable expression.
“When I returned to Desix, I heard the news all over the Holonet. Clones suddenly turning on the Jedi. The Storm King killed in cold blood on Wunderbar. And then my biggest nightmare came true… the Republic being transformed into the Galactic Empire; inflicting themselves on citizens, but worse.”
“They came to Desix, didn’t they?” Lyra feared.
Tawni silently nodded, still not moving from her current position. “An Imperial tried to siege my power, but I captured him with the battle droids. Clones then raided our home, trying to get him back. I wasn’t ready to hand him over, but… this clone. I never knew his name, but he shared similar ideals as me, not wanting to resolve the situation with violence. But it was too late. Next thing I know, I was shot in the chest and was knocked out.”
“How did you not die?”
“I… I don’t know. I didn’t have armor, and I should have died there and then,” Tawni admitted. “When I came to, I… I was alone. I found myself laying in the middle of the castle’s square, and I was still in pain. I tried to look for help, but no one was there. My people were completely gone, my battle droids destroyed, the resources I instructed to be grown were taken… the Empire took Desix. I had no choice but to run… and run,” she admitted. “They eve… they… they took someone I loved, someone who I held dear to me,” her eyes closing as one tear went down her face.
Lyra softly patted her shoulder, trying to offer some comfort, however little she could.
“Kalani took me in, gave me a home when I couldn’t find anywhere else. I vowed to never let my guard down, nor open to anyone who threatened to inflict their will onto me, or my people. It doesn’t matter who I was before. To the survivors of the other Separatist/Storm Army holdouts I was their governor, but to me… I was stupid. I tried to solve a problem humanely, and look where it got me.”
Lyra patted her shoulder. "You're not going to let one bad experience stop you from continiuing to do things in a peaceful way, are you?"
"How will I know it will work again? We may have agreed, but your leaders... they might not be so friendly," she warned.
"Well... then we have to try," Lyra smiled.
She felt a small chirp coming from her com device on her wrist. "Oh, it's my wife. Do you mind if I take this?"
"Please, go ahead. I'm just going to sit still for a minute," Tawni nodded.
Walking off, Lyra headed towards the cockpit of the ship, closing the doors behind her. Sitting down, the Jedi flipped a few switches and turned a few knobs to the proper frequency she needed. Sitting up right, she looked behind her to make sure the door was closed. She even adjusted her hair a bit from the back, making sure none of it was stuck in her collar.
The hologram came through; showing a sweaty, greasy, but still adorable Bon Bon Heartstrings present.
“Hey baby, how’s it going?” Bon Bon asked. “Did you make it okay?”
“Yeah, we did. We uh… we found out the source of the signal,” Lyra said with some hesitation. “Let’s just say when we get back, you’re going to have a lot more folks to repair.”
“Ooh, more droids? What kinds?”
“I… It’s best for you to see yourself,” Lyra sighed as she spun the pilot’s seat around like a bored child.
“Hon? Is everything okay?” Bon Bon asked, setting the wrench down.
“I… I dunno. With how chaotic things have been lately, what with Adagio joining, the clones, and after what happened today? Flurry’s starting to ask more questions about the past, and I’m wondering if maybe she’ll start to ask about.. you know who,” Lyra hinted.
“Ohh…” Bon Bon understood.
“I know I shouldn’t lie to her, I do. And I want to tell her but… now’s just not the time to tell her any of this,” Lyra scrunched her face with her hands. “But I keep thinking she’s going to learn one day, and… we won’t be able to do anything to help her.”
Bon Bon was quiet on the other end of the hologram, trying to think of anything supportive she could say.
“Well, that’s something for us to figure out when the time comes. It may not be tomorrow, it may not be today… maybe not some time after. But when it comes time for her to learn, we’ll be there. We’re partners, babe.”
Lyra looked back at her wife with a loving expression in her eyes. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too. See you when you get home?”
“Of course. Keep that workshop open, we’re gonna have a big order of droids to patch up when we get there,” Lyra winked. “Love you baby.”
“Love you too!”
Lyra flipped off the projector and flopped back in her seat with a small but happy smile. The reality of needing to tell Flurry was stressing, but as she thought more and more, she did realize it would have to happen one day. But if both of them talked to her about it, maybe all of them… maybe they could help her adjust to such a bomb of a truth.
A fleet of Star Destroyers huddled together, standing outside a nearby system for an important meeting. The meeting, while nothing exciting, was important to require the heads of a few ISB members, and a Grand Admiral or two. Midnight, during all of this, was in her quarters. Quietly, she meditated to calm herself, and reach in the Force. She wanted to find Flurry Heart, if she could see her. She would be getting strong in the Force, but it was a matter of when.
However that session quickly ended as her enclosed pod opened up like an oyster, revealing an Admiral standing there, waiting for her attention.
“Admiral Pryde. What is it?”
"We have intercepted a signal coming from the Agamar System. It seems to be a group of Rebels contacting the rest of their alliance with some news. Apparently, they are gathering more allies; CIS allies. I believe this may be the last CIS holdout that we have been searching for.”
“Who sent out that transmission?”
“A Jedi Master, Lyra Heartstrings.”
Midnight knew immediately what to do. "If she's there, so will Flurry Heart. Gather two Star Destroyers, we'll heading there personally.”
“What about our current project? Should we send it to Agamar, we could easily—”
“—We are not going to destroy Agamar. I’ll be coming as well, I want those Rebels, alive. You may destroy any battle droids that are online, they're useless to us now. But leave the Rebels. Understood?”
“Yes, Lady Midnight.”
Hours had gone by, and the Rebel team was making good time. They were almost done with the evacuation, just a few more crates and they would be ready to leave. In the open hangar bay, several battle droids in the hangar started to work as fast as they could, shuffling the cargo crates into many shuttles as they could. They needed as much ammunition and firearms as they could, the Rebels would need these for sure. They even tossed a few of their shutdown allies into the ships as well, hoping to bring back as many as they could.
But as more of them worked, they felt a soft thud hit the ground. And another. And another. The ground shook underneath their feet, even shown more by the oil spill on the ground making vibrations. They looked outside of the base, gazing off in the distance. It was hard to see, but they could see some black specs out in the barren lands.
Two of the droids, dashed forward to get a closer look. One of them held up a pair of binoculars, trying to get a closer look at what laid ahead of them. At first when he zoomed in, he was seeing a giant piece of metal prodding in the ground. But that piece of metal started to move. He looked straight up, seeing what appeared to be a cabin control with a set of turrets attached. Zooming out, the picture became clearer. Several Imperial walkers were marching across the ground, heading in their direction.
“Uh oh... Imperial walkers are approaching. We must alert the General.”
“Roger roger,” the other B1-unit replied, accessing the coms. “General, Governor, we have a problem. There are several Imperial walkers approaching. About a hundred miles across from us.”
"What!?"
--
Tawni looked outside with her binocs, seeing the waves of walkers coming their way.
"How did they find us?" Tawni stammered.
"Well, we weren't going to be hidden for long," Lyra groaned. "We have the citizens evacuated from the homes, but we need to finish refueling the shuttles. Does anyone have any heavy cannons or tanks?"
"We have only a few tanks, and three Octuptarra droids. We won't be able to transport them off-world," Kalani calculated.
"No, but they'll buy us some time," Lyra shook her head. "Send out the Octuptarras. They're big enough to be a target, they'll have to focus on them while we finish."
Tawni let out a small sigh. "I don't want to... but I see no other choice."
"Agreed," Kalani added, before relaying the orders through his com devices. "Activate the Octuptarra units and seal the hangar doors."
The Imperial walkers were always a sight that stood for the mighty force of the Empire. In the early days of the growing development, they once used the former Republic AT-TE walkers, stripped of color and all in stark gray. But as their weapons advanced, so did their desire for bigger, better weaponry grew. And so, eventually came the Imperial AT-AT walkers. Bigger and stronger than the predecessors from the Clone Wars, with the only downside being they were extremely slow. But the slower speed only provided more anticipation for the pilots to approach their goals, and for everyone inside to have a complete strategy prepared.
Leading the walkers was an Equestrian general; Admiral Spears. He had earned many medals and promotions through his multiple victories on a few battlefronts. Now the battlefields he participated in were considerably minor, but they all had ripple effects that led to a larger victory for the Empire regime. Leading the walkers, he focused on the outpost that drew every so slightly closer to them. Locking on, he watched as the hangar doors sealed themselves, locking down from anyone getting in.
"Admiral Spears, what is their progress?" Midnight spoke.
"They've sealed the hangar doors of the outpost. It appears we caught them in the middle of the evacuation," the Equestrian admiral informed. "We're still on approach. And, wait a minute... hmm. My lady, we have some targets coming our way," he looked at the scanners. "Three of them."
"Take care of them, and bring the doors down. They can't stay hidden forever."
Across the barren landscape were three droids, towering the same height as the AT-AT walkers. Three legs, three eyes, and three turrets that fired. With each blaster shot they made, the turrets would spin around for a different eye to focus and take a shot. At first, they were just moving forward in a straight line, until two of them started to break off, going to the left and right. The one in the middle, the leader, kept marching forward, spinning the eyes and turrets around with each shot. It aimed for each one of them at a time, with the blasts ineffectively inflicting damage to each of the hulls of their armor.
"This is a game, isn't it?" Admiral Spears spat. "These are the forces of the almighty Storm Empire? The Rebels must be desperate if they're relying on them."
The walkers fired directly at the Octuptarra in the middle, striking the main central brain and watching it collapse onto the ground with a tremoring thud. The other two remained focused on moving from the sides, moving quickly to intercept. But that plan quickly backfired as well. The one on the left wasn't able to avoid being targeted by the walkers who started to turn around, tilting the body around like an animal and fired multiple turbolasers into the central brains, making a second large explosion that shook the ground.
Tawni and a few citizens gazed out the main window of the outpost, watching the Octuptarras become obliterated quicker and quicker.
"We're losing them fast, how much time do we need?" Tawni asked through her coms.
Inside, the droids, citizens, and Rebels moved faster to finish refueling the ships, pumping them all with the energy they needed. "We're almost done, we just have two more shuttles left to go!" The battle droid called, pulling a massive pipe off one of the shuttle's ports.
And with everyone's help, they moved just in time. They fueled up the ships, while the last Octuptarra stood it's ground.
Turning around to the side of the walkers, it fired nonstop, testing the plating of the armor. Realizing it did no damage, it focused to look lower at the ground, maybe at the feet. Just like before, there was no damage being done to the mammoth of a machine. But as the walkers kept going, the droid noticed something; the neck. The neck didn't look as armored as everything else, maybe that was the key?
Focusing on the twisting neck, the turret fired and got a direct hit onto the neck, making a massive explosion of fire. The walker tried to fight it, but the Octuptarra fired again, taking out the head unit in an inferno. Soon enough the walker's body limped forward and crashed onto the ground. Realizing the weakness, the Octuptarra got ready for round two.
But it was too late. The other two walkers got the hint, twisting themselves around to focus on the droid and fired simultaneously, completely destroying it. The last Octuptarra exploded before the legs collapsed with no power or strength holding it together.
"My lady, their walking defenses have been defeated. Should we destroy the hangar doors?"
"No. We'll be sending in the ground troops to force them out. Their evacuation will commence soon enough; destroy any that try to escape. Stand your ground."
"Yes, my lady," the admiral replied.
Everyone was gathered together, ready to fight. Battle droids, a few citizens, the Rebels, everyone was geared up for a fight. They were listening to the ground, waiting to her another tremoring stomp, the only indication that told them when the walkers were getting closer. But to their surprise, there was none. The ground didn't shake anymore, making everyone look at each other with worry.
Quietly, the hangar was brought to a stand-still, waiting for the next move. The battle droids didn't mutter or mumble, the only sounds were the clicking of their aching joints. Not a sound could be heard, until another rumble started to shake the ground around them. The engines of a ship coming to the ground were heard, opening up the doors, and several running feet pouring out to the ship onto the ground like ants.
"Okay... ready...." Lyra whispered.
Everyone stood ready for a fight, holding their feet down.
"Ready...."
Sweat ran down the foreheads of all living flesh, hearts racing a mile a minute. They were bracing for a fight, possibly a final stand if they had to. But they did not run. They stayed together, and waited.
Following her orders, the hangar doors opened and so the gang charged forward, shooting at the Midnight troopers as they started to flood the inside. While Lyra and Flurry deflected as many blasts as they could with their lightsabers. Rex, Eleven, and the battle droids fired back, moving as commandos, taking cover behind as much as possible, instead of the usual strategy of charging in waves. Tawni and a few other civilians who had blasters joined the fray, firing alongside the battle droids.
“Everyone, get to your ships!” Lyra ordered over the blaster fire.
Battle droids, one by one, started to make their way towards their assigned shuttles in hopes to escape. A few of them were destroyed by the Midnight troopers during the run, but a good amount of droids managed to dash onto the shuttle. Even a few droidekas managed to roll in time to climb aboard for the take off.
IG-11 marched in the middle of the hangar to attract the most attention, and unleashed his ultimate move; a walking tank of destruction. His scopes scanned all around him and his arms moved in all directions to take out as many troopers as he could. Captain Rex got a few good shots in as well, with many of them trying to blast at him, but the years of experience and training kicked in again as Rex evaded their fire like a master.
Joining Eleven, a few droidekas stood by the former assassin droid, protected in their bubbles as they fired at the barrage of Midnight troopers who tried to press forward. Their blasts had no affect on the bubbles, providing perfect cover for the time being.
Two shuttles managed to depart from the hangar, with the thrusters bursting with power as they flew to the air. Soon a third and a fourth managed to leave as well. Right behind the fourth shuttle was one of the deployer stations which took off like a rocket, firing past the hangar and into the skies, avoiding the fire from the walkers on the ground.
“How many did he say were working again?” Flurry shouted over the fire.
“Twenty, I think?” Lyra replied.
“That is correct!” Kalani responded, taking position behind some crates and shooting back at the Midnight troopers.
Three more shuttles started to leave, but one of them was shot by the walkers, and immediately crashed into the ground, exploding upon impact. The walkers shot at the remaining deployer stations and shuttles as they left, but it was too late. They took off into the skies, away from the walkers.
The group watched as the rest of the ships made it into the air, until Adagio spoke up. “Kalani, didn’t you say the shuttles had no weapons?”
“That is correct,” Kalani replied.
“Follow-up question. How can they escape when they have no means to defend themselves?” Adagio asked, putting her hands on her hips.
“Your logic is sound. But my droids have not reported any Star Destroyers outside the planet’s atmosphere,” Kalani replied.
“Uhhh, sir? There are three Star Destroyers out here, we can’t fight it, should we activate one of the stations?” A battle droid spoke from one of the shuttles.
Kalani looked at Lyra and company, who looked a bit fearful, but they gave him a simple nod. The tactician understood and spoke into his commlink.
“Unit B1-268, activate one of the deployers. You will need Vulture escorts to protect the fleet until we join you,” Kalani instructed.
“Roger roger.”
Outside of Agamar, one of the deployer stations stopped flying with the others and froze in place. Six hatches opened up, and a few droids were unloaded; four Vulture droids and two Tri-fighters. All at once, the flyers were activated and they rushed towards their assigned squadron to escort them to safety. As expected, TIE fighters emerged from the Star Destroyer and started to open fire.
Two of the Vultures spun around and charged towards the TIEs, firing their lasers at the fighters. Naturally, the TIEs quickly evaded their blasts and started to circle around to fight back. One of the Vultures extended their heads and said something unintelligible, and it’s four legs extended a little. Four missiles were seen pulling out and they all deployed at the squadron to distract them.
Quickly the two Vultures spun around, but one of them was blown up immediately by a pursuing TIE. The missiles that had been deployed soon started to chase the pilots. One of them successfully hit a TIE, blowing the ship up instantly. Another missile locked onto another TIE, but that missile was eviscerated before it could do any damage.
The remaining two missiles pursued a group of TIES were who about to make chase after the group of droids, but suddenly they collided in front of them and exploded to their surprise. But they saw something emerge from the explosion. At first, it looked like just parts remaining from the explosion, but these looked more round as they flew right at the TIEs. And to their surprise, all of the round balls that flew at them emerged, revealing a group of small, but vicious buzz droids.
"Oh no..." the pilot bemoaned.
Everyone pulled back from the firefight on the ground, evading the onslaught of troops that kept pouring into the hangar. Once everyone was away, they closed the doors behind them, and the battle droids got to work on sealing them tight so they couldn't get through right away. Lyra's eyes looked around; the citizens were all here, Kalani, Tawni, Adagio, Rex, IG-11, and Flurry here too. Cheep was back on the Sweetie Drop for standby, and there was a gaggle of battle droids still here to help provide protection for the unarmed civilians.
Lyra tried to clear her mind for a second and think, but a gust of energy caught her attention. A cold rush, yet no wind. A dark presence, yet nothing the eyes could see. A small gasp escaped her breath, as if she realized something. Something terrible.
“She’s here.”
“Who?” Tawni asked.
“Midnight. She's here.”
“All the more reason to get the hell out of here!” Adagio argued.
“Maybe so, but we still have bots to get off this rock,” Lyra retorted, trying to think. “Okay, what I’m about to do is risky, but it’s one we have to take," she looked to the rest of the battle droids who had finished sealing the doors. "Droids, stay with with the group and cover from the back. Flurry and Adagio, stay up front with Kalani and keep them moving. Rex and Eleven, stay in the back with the battle droids.
"What are you going to do?" Flurry asked.
“I’m going to distract her. I’ll buy you all some time. When you have everyone, contact me so I can join you all. We are going to win this war, no matter what,” Lyra determined. She looked down to her little girl, and she held her close in a small but comforting hug. “I’ll be okay kiddo. I promise. Stay safe.”
Flurry softly nodded.
“Rex, one quick word if I may?”
The captain wasn’t sure, but he gave the okay for the others to keep on the move to try and get everyone out. Lyra looked at the Captain dead in the eye with a heavy sigh, and spoke.
“Captain. If anything happens to me, I want you to promise me you’ll get my little girl out of here alive. She means everything to me.”
“I don’t understand, you—”
“—I don’t know. Look, I’ll be honest, the thought of having you clones back scared me. But not as much as what horrible things could happen to my little girl.”
Lyra held Rex’s shoulders and gave him a straight face. “Please. Promise me you’ll keep her safe.”
The captain could feel her seriousness and worry all rolling together. He didn’t know what was gonna go down, but he knew one thing. He was going to keep her safe, and he was getting out of here alive.
“I promise… Lyra,” he replied.
“Okay. I’ll be back. Hopefully not too long,” Lyra said to the crew. “Tawni, may I borrow some of your droidekas?”
Lyra’s cloak swished in the halls, walking with determination. As she made a turn around another corner, she froze. She felt a powerful sense of darkness beyond the doors across from her. Knowing what was to come, she pressed a button on her wrist-com, calling for her aid.
The doors opened slowly, grinding and hissing as they tried to pull open. And within the darkness, there was some quiet. Until the quiet was filled with the sounds of heavy breathing. Artificial breathing through filters. A figure stepped forward; clad in dark purple and black, mask obscuring the face entirely.
By her side were soldiers in black armor, with a few hints of purple. Their pauldrons were also in purple, and all of them were holding long-range blaster rifles. They had their weapons aimed at her, but Midnight slowly raised a hand, telling them to lower them and to not make a move. Understanding, the troopers lowered their weapons.
“For a time, I thought I had lost all I held dear to me. And now that I know the truth… I believe my meeting with my niece is long overdue.”
Lyra glared at her. “You lost the right to call her your niece a long time ago. I can’t imagine how Shining or Cadence would feel knowing what you’ve done, if they could have lived.”
Midnight was quiet. Dangerously quiet.
“I should strike you down. But… I’m feeling rather grateful, especially since you have trained my niece so well, and kept her alive all this time. We don’t have to end it like this. In fact… all I want is to see my niece one more time.”
“I don’t buy it,” Lyra sneered, still standing her ground but not reaching for her weapon.
“It is an unfortunate accident that she and I are on opposing sides. Our paths will cross soon enough. All I want is to see her before we resume our battle once more.”
Lyra still didn’t budge. “You’ll just convert her to your side. Torture her. Like you did to Trixie. Vinyl. Octavia. Anyone else I should remind you that you hurt?"
“I know Flurry won’t change,” Midnight retorted. “But she is all I have. I deserve to see my last family member one last time.” And then for a brief moment, the distortion in her mask suddenly stopped. She heard a distinct voice, one that she hadn’t heard for a long time. “P… Please… Please Lyra… I just want to see her…”
Lyra could hear how hurt she was underneath the mask. But with a frown and determined glare in her eyes, she still refused to lower her defenses.
“I know you miss her. But I’m her mother. And as her mother, I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Even if it means I have to fight you.”
Some more silence filled the hallway, as the Purge troopers looked at each other, and then to Midnight. They were awaiting her command to open fire, to end this woman’s life. She wasn’t going to let her just say that, was she?
“It’s a shame that our last meeting has to come to this,” Midnight said, her filtered voice coming back through again. “But before you die, I have more thing I wish to say.”
“What?” Lyra growled.
Midnight was quiet again, but only for a few seconds. “She doesn’t know now… but she will eventually. You can’t hide the truth from her forever. She will have to know.”
“Well as long as I’m alive, you can bet I’m going to do what I can to keep her alive.”
“How long do you think this cover will last?” Midnight pressed.
“Enough! Are we going to fight, or just talk?”
“… very well. If you wish for a fight… troopers. Raise your blasters.”
The Purge troopers raised their rifles and aimed them at Lyra.
“These troopers are a particular kind you fought beside long ago. Made from the very last jars grown on Kamino. I’m sure you won’t have issue handling them.”
“Sleemo, Please," Lyra deadpanned.
Her signal came clear, and rolling around the corners and right beside her was a set of four to balance the four Purge troopers; droidekas. All of them unfolded themselves into fighting positions and raised their bubble shields in defense. In addition, two Magnaguards ran behind her, twirling their electro-batons.
“And I’m sure you remember how much these droids completely mowed down thousands of troopers without difficulty.”
Both sides stood off against each other, glaring at one another. Droidekas clicked, and Purge troopers primed. Midnight and Lyra gazed at each other, standing firmly on the ground, waiting to make the move to fight. Lyra made the first; extending a hand out, she forced Midnight away from her, sliding her across the floors, but not knocking her down on her feet. The Purge troopers took their chance to try and shoot her, only for her to pull out her saber at the last second to deflect them.
The droidekas started to fire, with two of the Purge troopers mowed down from the fire, and unable to get a shot through their bubble shields. Taking a chance, one of the droidekas folded itself up and rolled forward, before slipping back into attack mode to fight Midnight. The leader blocked the blaster attacks without much force, and extended a hand that reached inside the force-field without touching.
The droid inside started to fizz and buzz with electricity until it completely imploded on itself, collapsing into pieces. The other three droidekas continued to fire, while the Purge troopers took cover behind some walls. Taking a chance, one of them threw a thermal detonator on the ground which rolled nice and gently into the shield of another droideka. Several loud beeps occurred, and then the droid was zapped of life, destroying the shield and letting it flop on the ground.
Taking their chance, the Purge troopers moved forward to keep up the fight, blocked by the Magnaguards. One of the guards twirled their baton around as they blocked the blaster fire, distracting him for the time. One of the droidekas took the chance and turned around, blasting a few shots into his back, killing him. But that distraction allowed another Purge trooper to fire at it, getting it's attention.
Turning around, the droideka got ready to roll but during its mid-roll, the trooper fired multiple blaster bolts into the body as it tried to speed up, sending it crashing to the side and falling apart. Lyra, Midnight and three droids were all that remained, as they stood together.
"Your droids will not survive this encounter," Midnight warned, walking towards her. "I would not send them to fight again." Lyra looked at the droids behind her, giving them one nod. Following silent orders, the Magnaguards ran out of the hallway, with the droideka rolling after them to regroup with the others. Now the only ones left were Midnight and Lyra.
Midnight's hand reached for her lightsaber, letting the blood-red plasma blade shine in the dark hall. In turn, Lyra ignited her nature-green lightsaber as she stood in a fighting stance. The hums of both blades echoed as both masters of the Force got closer, but neither one of them made the first move. Both waited to make the first move, testing the waters to see how each other would react. Lyra braced herself, shifting her footing as she brought her blade up, and then feinted, thrusting out in a quick stab at the Sith Lord’s left arm.
Midnight flicked out her lightsaber and almost lazily batted away her strike, and the duel began in earnest. Lyra swiped her blade low, back and forth, aiming to cut Midnight’s legs out from under her, but the Dark Lady neatly stepped back and then lunged forward; her saber stabbing right for her heart.
Lyra pivoted to the right and struck her saber into the side of the wall, sending a cascade of sparks flying out. Midnight didn’t flinch at the bits of crackling heat that fell around her cloak, but pressed onward, implacable as a tidal wave. The Dark Lady of the Empire brought her lightsaber down in one sharp overhead slash; Lyra moved to block the attack and immediately regretted it—the strength in the Sith’s attack made her bones ache like they’d just been struck with a gravity hammer.
Doing her best not to cry out, Lyra sucked in her breath, and thought of Bon-Bon and Flurry. And with a surge of desperate hope, she called on the Force and thrust out her hand, pushing Midnight back. The Dark Lady almost seemed to slide backwards, still firm on her feet, before thrusting out her hand and pushing back. The Living Force seemed to shriek as the two combatants’ wills battered at each other, until, with an almighty bang like a thunderclap, the surge of power stalemated, and both Jedi and Sith were pushed back and away from each other.
For a moment, neither opponent said anything. Lyra and Midnight stared each other down; the Jedi’s golden eyes staring determinedly into the blank dark lenses of the Sith Lord’s mask. The only sound in the corridor was the steady hum of lightsabers, and the faint hiss of Midnight’s respirator.
“When Lightning Dust told me about a young Jedi who took her arm, I was curious as to who she was,” Darth Midnight said, all too calmly, “And when the bounty hunter I’d hired told me her name… I knew it to be true. And for the first time, I did not feel so alone.”
Lyra felt a sick chill creep through her gut at those words.
“You have done me a great favor, taking care of Flurry Heart all these years,” Midnight stated. “I owe you a debt, Lyra. Put away your blade and leave this place, and you and your wife will be left in peace. Otherwise,” she brought up her lightsaber, and calmly traced a simple “X”-shape in the space before her, “I will kill you and everyone else in my way.”
Lyra Heartstrings scowled, and resisted the temptation to make a very rude gesture for her response. “I don’t care what you have to say, or offer,” she snarled. “You’re not getting anywhere near her. Even if I have to die to make that happen!”
Lyra stepped to the left, bringing up her saber to deflect a strike from Midnight’s crimson blade. She moved to slash at the Sith’s arm, but Midnight parried her strike and followed up with an almost dismissive flick of the wrist; the resulting Force push shoving her several feet backwards. The Dark Lady didn’t let up. She came at Lyra with blow after blow, as steady and implacable as a machine, hammering away at the Jedi’s guard. Gritting her teeth, Lyra jumped backwards and pivoted to the middle of the hall, bringing up her saber as Darth Midnight strode towards her. And, as the Sith’s blood-red blade swung down at her mid-level guard… Lyra powered off the blade of her lightsaber. Midnight Sparkle’s swing cut through open air, and even as the Sith moved to correct her momentum, Lyra reactivated her blade and slashed at her opponent’s side.
There was a hiss of plasma and a faint spray of reddish smoke, and Darth Midnight let out a shuddering gasp and dropped to one knee. Lyra had drawn back on instinct after making the strike, and, knowing that to leap in and strike again would be suicidal, brought up her lightsaber and held it high, shifting her stance to the Form III style of dueling. An odd calm settled over her as she watched Midnight rise to her feet again.
The Sith might have been wounded, but she was not out of the fight by any means. Indeed, she might have been more dangerous than before now: the Living Force practically buzzed with a cold, angry energy, as Midnight all too calmly touched one hand to the faintly sizzling gash on her left side. Lyra spotted the faint glint of deep red blood covering her opponent’s glove as Midnight pulled her hand away from the injury.
“I wouldn’t have expected you to use a trick like that…” The Sith’s voice came out quietly, but there was pure menace beneath her words.
“When you deal with bounty hunters, you learn a lot about tricks.” Lyra answered simply. The calm that had settled over her was still present, despite the faint chill that seemed to hang in the air as Midnight brought up her saber again.
“A mistake I won’t make again,” was all that the Imperial war leader said, and then she lunged forward.
The red blade came stabbing forward, faster than a sandscorpion’s sting, and Lyra found herself backing up under the renewed assault. Lyra shifted stances, calling on what she remembered of Soresu from the old lessons and texts, trying to conserve energy and deflect her opponent’s attacks as much as possible. But even with her injury, Midnight’s advance was relentless; if anything, her power seemed to be growing.
A newfound chill seemed to hang in the air as Lyra fought against the Dark Lady. Whether it was some Force power of Midnight’s or some sinking realization of how this was going to end, Lyra didn’t know. Nor did she want to know. All that mattered to her was that she had to slow down her opponent as much as possible. She could not let Midnight take her daughter away. She would not let this madwoman tear her family apart.
The thought of Flurry – and of Bon Bon too – fueled her, and as she deflected another rapid strike from Midnight’s lightsaber, Lyra Heartstrings twirled her own blade in a dazzling array of motions. Her lightsaber whirled around, creating a rapidly shifting shield of vivid green light, and as Darth Midnight paused in her onslaught, Lyra started to feel a newfound sense of hope. And then Midnight sharply brought up one hand and clenched its fingers into a vise.
Lyra Heartstrings froze in her movement, her throat constricting, and her lightsaber slipped from her hands with a strangled gasp, as the Sith Lord’s power lifted her, almost gently, off the ground. “Enough,” was all that Midnight said, before she swiped her hand to one side, and Lyra was slammed against the nearest wall and pinned in place.
The Sith Lady strode towards her, lowering her blade for the moment. Lyra choked, her eyes wide, spots dancing in her vision, but she would not give up. She tried to lift one arm, and gagged as the pressure on her throat doubled----So she reached out with the Force, focusing everything she had—all her thoughts, all her will, all the love and hope she had for her wife and her daughter—on the lightsaber that had clattered to the floor and deactivated.
The Jedi’s lightsaber didn’t move for an instant. Then it shuddered, and then slid along the floor, before it jerked into the air, and whizzed at the back of Midnight’s helmet. The green blade hissed to life, and the Dark Lady of the Empire gasped almost inaudibly as she moved to dodge the oncoming saber—
Her concentration flickered for a moment, and in that instant Lyra sucked in a deep breath of air. She braced her legs against the wall, and kicked off, even as she spun her still-moving lightsaber around to point back towards Darth Midnight. Lyra grabbed the hilt of the saber, and dropped to the floor, rolled forward, and in a second, sprang to her feet to stab right at the center of Midnight’s chest—
SHKKK.
Lyra froze. Her mouth opened in a muted scream, her eyes wide as, in a daze, she looked down to her stomach, and saw reddish steam curling out from the deep gash that Midnight’s lightsaber had just opened at her waist. For half an instant, there was no pain. Then, she dropped to the floor, paralyzed with agony. No… not like this… she had promised Bon-Bon, it couldn’t end this way…
A shadow fell over her, and Lyra’s eyes jerked upwards to see Midnight looming over her. "You fought bravely, like a true Jedi,” the Dark Lady said, her deepened voice sounding almost gentle. “For that, and for Flurry Heart, I’ll give you a quick death.” The red blade raised up high, just like an executioner’s sword, and the universe seemed to come to a halt.
Her golden eyes locked onto Midnight, slowly stepping towards her like a ticking clock. Every second drew closer to her end, and she wasn't ready. Flurry wasn't ready, she had to prepare her, what if she was never going to escape? What if she found out the truth, or worse, what if Midnight manipulated her to the dark?
Lyra's breathing grew heavy as she laid there on the ground, trying to cling on desperately to what energy she had remaining. Midnight's saber grew closer as she hobbled towards her, as multiple images flashed before Lyra's eyes. She looked to the saber, but all time stopped momentarily as a new vision entered her brain.
Slow deep breaths. Feet planted firmly on the ground as multiple Rebels fight around her. Mildly milky white eyes readjusting to get their vision back focus on an unknown figure as a teenager stands into a fighting position. She stays calm, confident, focused. And with an eagerness on her face, she makes the charge to fight...
Lyra's eyes closed with a tear of joy running down her face, accompanied by a smile. The energy of the Force reached out to her, finally taking hold of her.
And Midnight's saber swung down.
Flurry's head went up, turning to look back. The entire crew was behind the hangar, with a bay open for personal ships to be parked at, where the last of the civilians were racing inside. The only people left were a few battle droids, and the main rebels. All they had to do was wait for Lyra to come back and leave, but there was still a delay. The crew didn't want to believe the worst, praying only that she was late, or she had a hard time fighting off some soldiers.
The doors opened from deep within the dark hallways that led to the bay. Flurry and Rex slowly crept forward to look, listening carefully. Artificial breathing echoed inside, with clanking boots. Both Rebels backed up, realizing who was steadily approaching them. Stepping into the light was Midnight Sparkle, clutching her side from pain. Her breathing was still steady, but she did not look like she was going to go down just yet.
Rex looked to see if maybe Lyra was behind her, or if she was on her way. But one look at Midnight's belt made him realize what had happened.
"Flurry, we need to get out of here," Rex spoke.
Flurry glared at the lady of the Empire, standing straight. "Midnight."
The Sith breathed softly as she looked at Flurry, before steadily standing up straight. She didn't attack, didn't lunge. She just stood there, gazing at her, as if she was studying her.
Needing to buy the group time, Flurry charged at her, ready to attack, possibly strike her down. But a powerful force locked her body in place, keeping her still. She tried to fight it, but she couldn't. Midnight stood still, watching her struggle to fight control, then lifted a hand towards her belt, pulling the weapon away from her. The makeshift lightsaber flew to her hands, which she observed from all sides and angles. Solid weight, good metal, a bit junky from the weight, but modified enough that it could be held.
"I see that you've built your own lightsaber. Simple, but effective enough... though your technique needs refining."
Her hand let go of the teenager, and allowed her to grab her weapon back. In anger, Flurry tried to strike again, but Midnight stopped her from going further, locking her in place and pushing her back without hesitation. Flurry had to stop for a second. This woman wasn't striking her. Stranger still, she hadn't done anything to stop her team from trying to escape, everyone was ready to leave, but she didn't stop them.
Flurry looked at her again, a new disturbance in the Force clouding her senses. She didn't know what to think, but something felt off. The way Midnight looked at her, the way she looked at her saber, it felt as if she... knew her.
But Flurry's moment of thought vanished when she looked to Midnight's belt. Her regular saber was on the other side, but the new addition...
Dead silence filled the air. The sound of her heart beating intensely against her chest was all Flurry could hear. She didn't want to believe it, but it was true. She couldn't feel her mom's presence anymore, nothing in the Force told her she was nearby.
She was gone.
Flurry wanted to cry, or break down. But she didn't. If this monster was going to take her mom away, then she would take Midnight from the Empire! Her blood boiled and her fists were clenched, with grit teeth. Rex and the last of the crew waited for Flurry to run back to the ship, but she didn't. They didn't even understand why Midnight wasn't charging at her either. Flurry's hand slowly raised with open fingers aimed to the ceiling above. Several loud grunts and moans of metal echoed inside.
"Flurry, we need to leave, now!" Rex shouted.
Flurry ignored him. Midnight had to die.
She grabbed harder and ventilation started to collapse, falling down and slamming against the ground, beside Midnight. She didn't flinch from the sound, but she did look up when she saw the catwalk starting to shake and rumble. Moving quickly, she got out of the way just as the set of steel holding it up was broken and the bridge swung.
However, some folks stopped her from going further, not that she could. She could only grab a few things from her sight, even desperately throwing containers and crates at her but Midnight barely flinched.
"LET ME AT HER! I'M GOING TO KILL HER!!"
"Flurry, we need to go!" Rex pleaded, holding her with IG-11.
"No, let me go! NOW!!!" Flurry screamed, tears flying off her face.
They pushed and pulled her away, dragging her onto the ship until the doors closed, with Rex slamming the button.
"PUNCH IT, TAWNI!" Rex barked.
Tawni sat at the controls, activating the engines. A burst of flames ignited from the thrusters, and the ship lifted off the ground. The legs folded themselves inside, and blasted out of the hangar, punching through the skies. Holding the controls tightly, Tawni felt herself shaking as she guided the vessel out of the atmosphere, just barely evading the turbo lasers from the Star Destroyers above. The citizens held on tight, with the aid of the battle droids to whatever they could hold, trying desperately not to hurt themselves or break anything.
Out in space, Tawni was greeted by a horrible sight. What started as a big fleet of ships was now reduced to six shuttles, and three deployer stations remaining to follow them. Several Vultures and Tri-fighters were circling around the Star Destroyers, fighting them off as best as they could, but time had run out.
One last ditch effort came from one of the Vultures who charged straight at bridge of one of the Star Destroyers, exploding and shaking the inside of the ship as well. The Star Destroyer started to go down, anchored by the lack of power and being dragged down into the gravitational pull of Agamar.
Hailing the rest of the droids, Tawni watched as they made one final swoop around, coming towards the fleet to get ready to leave. Two of the droids; a single Vulture and a Tri-fighter, docked to the sides of the ship, magnetized in place. The last remaining two went underneath the ship, claming on like an extra set of thrusters.
“All units, jump to hyperspace and follow the coordinates,” Kalani ordered.
“Roger roger!”
“Roger roger!”
The admirals on board the other two Star Destroyers could only stare in disbelief as their lead flagship went down. They couldn’t fathom how one of those outdated rust buckets even fought them! They took out at least thirteen of their ships, shuttles included, how could they have won? They watched as the remaining six shuttles flew past them, along with the three deployer stations behind them above their ships.
The Sweetie Drop was soon to follow, with two remaining short-range fighters tailing; a Tri-fighter and a Vulture. The two ships lined up next to the two docking ports and magnetized themselves on, ready to join the ship to depart. And with all ships sharing the coordinates, one by one, they all jumped into hyperspace and fled the system.
Admiral Pryde scoffed in disbelief, not thrilled with their progress. Just then, a transmission came through.
“Admiral Pryde. How many of them escaped?”
“I’m afraid even with their heavy losses, they escaped. We took out most of their shuttles, only six remaining, but they escaped with deployer stations. And their main ship has escaped.”
“As expected. We did what we came here for. I’ve made my message clear to a particular member on that ship.”
“Should we start trying to track them?”
“No. Let them keep their short victory. I know I should be expecting a visit from one of them in a few days. Stand by while we return to the ship."
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Boy, this was an action-packed chapter! I liked the action with the droids versus the Imperials, that was fun to watch unfold.
And as for the section with Lyra... damn, that was sad stuff. I quite enjoyed the back and forth between her and Midnight before their duel. And then the aftermath of it... God, poor Flurry.