Chapter 44 The Path Ahead (Part 2)

Hospital, Lothal...

Kanan was about ready to fall into a panic as the day he had been both dreading and desperately longing for had finally arrived.

It was the day that his and Hera's son would be born.

He was there holding her hand as the labour carried on, Hera was as stoic now as she had always been and he loved her all the more for it.

"You know, my biggest fear was to have to go through this without you." Hera said as she continued the hard process. Kanan smiled as he wiped the sweat from her brow and reassured her.

"You'll never have too." He said quietly to her.

Outside of the delivery room Ezra, Zeb and Chopper sat in the waiting room, the tension as they waited for news was driving them all crazy. In fact both Ezra and Zeb were starting to get worried that Chopper was going to go on some sort of rampage if it went on any longer.

Fortunately a distraction appeared as Sabine came down the corridor, seeing from their expressions that she was not too late and behind her was Cham Syndulla, Hera's father.

Ezra, maybe wound up with all his feelings did something that if he had been calmer he would never dream of doing.

He walked up to Sabine and before she could open her mouth...he kissed her!

The others all looked on in surprise, even Chopper. Sabine was surprised too but was soon kissing him back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They stayed like that for awhile before the doctor finally emerged and Ezra & Sabine broke apart now both blushing while everyone gave them a smirk.

Then they were let into the delivery room and saw Kanan standing there with a huge smile on his face and tears in his eyes but he moved to allow them to see the sweat covered Hera who had a small bundle in her arms. They all approached and looked at the tiny baby.

"Meet Jacen." Hera said with a tired smile on her face. They all looked at the little baby especially Cham who was actually smiling as he beheld his grandson. The boy clearly took after his father, looking human but it was still his first grandchild. He gently took the baby and smiled as he looked down at him. He looked over to Hera who was smiling too.

"Hello Jacen, I am your grandfather and I am very happy to meet you." Cham said with warm eyes and a smile.

Farrgio System, Inner Rim...

Luke and Mara were cruising around the system that was deemed too dangerous to navigate by just about every single space pilot around.

Luke was a natural pilot but even his skills were being tested by this place he thought with a drop of sweat falling from his brow.

Why was he doing this? He asked himself again as he narrowly avoided another asteroid.

"What in all of the galaxy do you expect to find here?" Luke asked Mara again who he noticed was as unnerved as he was about this place.

"As I said before the Underworld Alliance is struggling to find bases in this region that the Empire won't guess in a day. A few thousand years ago this pirate haunted the Inner Rim and no-one could ever find his base. He was only stopped when the Jedi eventually pinned him down in a raid, but he died before telling anyone where his base was. While some thought he had stored some great treasure there its the base we want."

"And you think its here?" Luke asked her with disbelief. He was struggling and he had the force to help him! An ordinary pilot without major help would have no chance.

"Its the only place that makes sense when you consider everywhere else has been searched." Mara said as she pointed to something on the scanners. "There's a weird signal coming from that planetoid in the centre. Try there next." She told him as they dodged another rock that would easily have smashed their small ship into pieces. Luke knew he should stop and tell her to find somewhere else but for some reason he just couldn't find it in him to refuse her.

So he flew them over to the planetoid and as they flew around around it, something came into view that changed his opinion on this theory.

"That's a docking port. We're in the right place." Mara said with a little excitement. Perhaps due to the fact that everyone had dismissed her idea that this system was the place. Luke himself was certainly reconsidering his earlier scepticism as he moved the ship into the docking port.

- x -

Donning breathing masks with an air supply both Luke and Mara left their ship and went into the facility that seemed to be built into the planetoid itself. Mara had a blaster pistol in hand while Luke kept a firm grip on his lightsaber and his senses alert. Torches lit the dark corridors that had been carved out of the rock itself until ancient lights kicked on, making both of them jump as they readied themselves.

When nothing came they didn't relax and Mara told him.

"Keep your wits about you, don't act like a hapless farm boy." She warned him and Luke just glared at her which actually made the corner of her mouth lift up slightly as she knew she had annoyed him.

They kept on moving but nothing happened, searching around they found no piles of treasure but they soon came to a major open area. A glowing blue channel of energy flowed through it and that was when they heard the clanging of droids, they turned and saw what looked like a small army of droids that looked ancient coming straight at them.

Putting away her pistol Mara pulled her lightsaber from her belt and they both ignited them. The droids did not seem to be armed with any kind of weapons and seemed be using tools or their own arms to attack. They were clearly not built to fight as they were slow and cumbersome, Luke and Mara using their lightsabers to cut down any that dared to come close to them.

Luke loved the sight of Mara fighting, it seemed strange to say but she was easily the most graceful woman that he had ever seen. She twisted and pivoted with the skill and precision of a champion dancer but soon they saw that the droids where just continuing to pile on towards them.

Both of them broke off the engagement and leapt with the force to the next gantry above them, then to the next one and the one after that. The droids unable to keep up stopped still as their primitive logic circuits just didn't know how to process it.

Soon the pair arrived at the very top where they saw a panel with a red screen. Luke carefully checked it and saw no obvious signs of trouble and so he put his hand on it.

"Skywalker! What are you doing?!" Mara demanded, wondering just how dumb you had to be to just touch something when you had no idea just what it did but Luke was preoccupied with what was happening.

"The controls are telepathic, they connect to you when you touch the screen." Luke said, trying to describe just what he was experiencing. "I can sense all of the systems, the droids have been maintaining the place on automatic, the station can manipulate gravity to pull in asteroids for a constant supply of raw materials or make paths for ships to come and go. Its ancient, hundreds of thousands of years old. I changed protocols on the droids so they won't attack us now." Luke told her, it was like having a computer screen inside your mind and all you had to do was think and it happened.

Mara was feeling extremely happy that they had found the base and it was even better than she had imagined with the greatest defence they could ask for. But at the same time she couldn't help but wonder just who had built this station and why.

That was a question they might never get the answer too but she was just glad they had it and she had to hand it to Skywalker, he was a far better pilot than she had given him credit for she thought and wondered if he was a naïve a guy as she had thought him but this thing between them...it was something neither of them could fight and wondered just where it would lead them.

Kaldera Prime, Kalderan Space...

The chilling sound of Darth Vader filled the bridge of the Executor as it hung in orbit of the Kalderan home world. The rest of Death Squadron was arranged around the planet as they glassed it from orbit, green turbolasers falling all over the surface and rendering it a lifeless cinder.

As they had done to every single other Kaldaren world.

But even now it was not done, Vader thought with anger as he knew many of their people had fled in ships and would need to be hunted down. But the one good thing about this was that they were no longer a threat to the Empire and would at last allow him to focus on the Rebellion, not least finding Anakin Skywalker and killing him along with his entire family.

They would never doubt who was the poor imitation he thought with anger and disgust, but also the Emperor too Vader thought with determination to see that old man dead and buried where he should be, or perhaps rotting on a spike somewhere he thought with determination.

He had used this campaign to remove any true loyalists to the Emperor, Death Squadron was his and his alone he thought with dark satisfaction. He had two apprentices of his own who would do his bidding and ensure the loyalty of his servants, one a growing force on the battlefield and to potentially command his army while the second was a pilot who could serve as a perfect spy or lead his fleet whenever he had need of it.

The only frustration was that he had lost the services of the Harrower-class Heavy Cruisers and the dependable if somewhat limited Admiral Pellaeon as they had been diverted to reinforce the Core Worlds ahead of the expected invasion from the Rift Alliance and the Rebellion.

He had instead gained a large fleet of his own in return he thought with pride. The Executer, a Super Star Destroyer, Eight Imperial-class Star Destroyers, Five Victory 2-class Star Destroyers, Twelve Arquitens-class Light Cruisers, Twenty Lancer-class Corvettes and 2 of the rare Interdictor-class Star Destroyers.

Quite a powerful fighting force, Vader thought and knew now that all that remained was to find an ally on Coruscant to ensure he could strike at the Emperor, kill him and take the Imperial throne for himself, then he thought with eagerness he could focus his time and resources on finding Skywalker and ending him forever.

- x -

Little did Vader know that his attempt to destroy the Kalderans was not as successful as he had imagined, the large refugee fleet retreated into the Unknown Regions and their ships would not go away as he had imagined, they would adapt into a nomadic species and would haunt the space lanes for years and even centuries to come. An insane xenophobic species that could not be reasoned with or destroyed so easily.

They were already the bogey men of the space lanes and now they would be even more zealous in their stealing and killing...because of Vader.

Kessel, Outer Rim...

The chaos of the Imperial retreat from the Outer Rim had allowed the Underworld Alliance many opportunities but this one could be easily the most lucrative.

Kessel, source of some of the best spice in the galaxy had been all but abandoned and the few Imperial units there were all concerned with trying to keep order, sure that the Empire had not abandoned them and would soon return once the Rebellion had been beaten back.

But a couple of months had passed and no sign of reinforcements from the Empire and now to make matters worse the Underworld Alliance had learned of the situation. The other factions in the war might have overlooked Kessel but the value of the planet had kept it in their minds.

Talon stood on the bridge of the Errant Venture with Booster Terrick, watching as the fleet he had assembled assembled to challenge the Imperials. The Ravengers in their M-Ship heavy gunboats flanked them with Interceptor-IV modified freighters, then came the Corellian Corvettes and light freighters and the old X-Wings that had been lend leased to the Underworld Alliance by the Rebellion.

It was quite a fleet they had assembled which headed straight in to battle. The Imperials had a space station and a number of smaller warships that were used to catching smugglers not fighting fleet battles but never the less they jumped into action.

The Errant Venture had the large turbolasers so it busied itself with the space station while the smaller ships engaged the rest. The Interceptor-IV freighters despite their limited armament fought with the Imperial Tartan-class corvettes and the light freighters and X-Wings busied themselves with the Tie Fighters while the M-Ships began to strafe the larger ships and station.

In the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo had always prided himself on his survival instinct but he had somehow signed on for this! He jerked the controls hard and his co-pilot said.

"Sir, we have a leak of fuel near the aft section." Bollux or BLX-5 was known, his companion Blue Max who was housed in his chest as they went off to deal with it and Han frowned as he saw the leak was causing them to lose speed. He quickly told his main gunner.

"Jenny, we're gonna lose some speed soon for a bit, keep those fighters off us!" He told her as he weave a snaking path through a fighter screen ahead. Jenny's response was quick and curt.

"Do you want a go?" She told him with a sharp annoyed voice as she was extremely busy keeping the fighters off of them from one of the laser turrets.

"Calm down sweetheart." Han said as he did another duck and roll to throw off their enemies, he always got out of these things and he had no doubt that he could now. Jenny almost growled at him but went back to shooting instead so they might live another day.

Han was hoping to strike it rich if he could get into smuggling the spice here, it would be make him rich and hopefully all of them too. Him and his small crew he thought a moment later as they continued the battle, winning after a long hard day of struggle allowing the Underworld Alliance to set up its own operations on Kessel.

Krant, Mid Rim...

After word of mass slaughters of the Krantian colonists had reached Liber8 and the Rebellion Kagame had sent a force to help the people of that world under the leadership of two people who knew that world well...Echuu Shen Jon and Naat Reath. The planet had been their hiding place during the Jedi Purge and they had only left it a short time ago when Kagame himself had brought them out of hiding.

There was no one better to liberate this planet.

They knew places that could serve well as a base like the Jedi ruins or the Sith Temple in the forest, allowing them to land their attack force undetected and move through the thick forest to the enemy camp and retake the Ghost Base where the rebels had originally stationed themselves.

Echuu and Naat both had their lightsabers out, leading the soldiers into battle and using the force and blaster deflection to break enemy lines and retake the stronghold before taking the fight straight to the cities of the colony, forcing the Imperials into a retreat to the recently terraformed moon Hanoon.

So Echuu and Naat, eager to finish the job took their force and followed them there.

The new fields and canals were a distinct improvement over the dusty and rocky surface of only five years ago but it was not the reason that they were here as they pressed forward towards the newly established cities, liberating them one by one until they reached the final one, New Geddes where Moff Yittreas had built a fortress for himself.

The Jedi used artillery to weaken the fortress before storming it, Echuu and Naat proving that despite being older than when they had fought in the Clone Wars they were just as strong if not stronger for their greater experience, their soldiers following them into the building as the gates and ray shields fell. Their green and blue lightsabers acting like a beacon for their troops as they pressed forward.

It was like yesterday for the two Jedi, remembering the days when they had been master and apprentice fighting the early battles of the Clone Wars, especially that Devastator Crisis. But this time instead of teetering on the edge of the dark side, they were in harmony with themselves and each other.

Naat had conquered her demons regarding her brother's death and Echuu of his former apprentice, they had both loved Stam and come to terms with their grief together over their years of hiding and surviving.

Now they worked in total unison with each other, moving like they were one, always covering for each other and complementing each other's fighting style. They were unstoppable as they cut through Stormtroopers until they reached the command centre where the Moff was hiding. The almost skeletal looking man in a dark Imperial Navy Uniform looked ready to surrender but Naat threw her saber around in an arc before bringing it back to her hand, slicing him cleanly in two.

They probably should have taken him alive to be tried for his crimes but long messy trials would only anger the population, better this way they both thought so their people could move on and leave their monsters in the past, where they belonged.

With the fortress firmly in their hands they signalled Kagame who did not take long to answer their call.

"I hope things go well on Krant. Has the planet's population been freed and the tyrant removed?" Kagame asked them and Echuu nodded.

"He is dead and the planet and its moon have been liberated. They are open to joining the Alliance." Echuu said with a smile, taking some enjoyment in that. Never in killing however the people he killed might deserve it, he was no monster but he was wise enough to know that you must sometimes do it to ensure the best for the people.

"Excellent, they deserve their freedom and the security of knowing that they never need fear that monster again. Well done to you both." Kagame said with a smile before the transmission was cut so the pair of them went to celebrate with their soldiers and the locals, it promised to be a very lively evening.

Death Star Construction Site, Simocadia System, Inner Rim...

The retreat from the Outer Rim had a harsh effect on the Second Death Star Construction, they had managed to get a working hyperdrive into the vast object before it had happened and just in time for them to move it to the uninhabited Simocadia System where work had been accelerated with the growing threat of Rebellion.

The number of resources dedicated to the project had increased to get it even vaguely operational in time to be of any use to the Empire. At present speed though it would not be truly operational for at least another two years and that was unacceptable for the Emperor.

He needed the Death Star especially now, three previous overseers of the project had been executed painfully for falling behind schedule and people who had said to transfer resources from the project towards fortifying defences or increasing the fleet had often met the same fate.

This meant it had fallen to Prince Xizor to get the project moving and with the blessing of the Emperor to operate in the open he had managed to get things moving, the basic structure and hyperdrive had been installed and the superlaser was now in place but it was still lacking much of the superstructure and facilities.

But it was intact enough for Xizor to bring his little plan into being.

Being in charge had allowed him the opportunity to assign his own people and mercenaries to security, his own pilots to deliver supplies and the use of slave labour meant the workforce was not particularly loyal to the Empire either.

Apart from the engineers and scientists working on the superlaser there was only a token Imperial force here now.

Exactly as Xizor had planned, he flew to the enormous structure in his personal space yacht with a flight of Starviper class fighters for protection. He smirked as he had everything exactly as he wanted, years of kissing ass had finally delivered to him to the ultimate weapon.

Guri at his side was silent as she worked through the details of his operation, he had levered a lot of the Black Sun's resources on this and it would be a disaster for anything to go wrong, maybe even fatal as the Pykes, the Hutts and the Underworld Alliance would all take advantage of their lack of funds and resources. The Black Sun might survive but who knows Xizor thought with cold detachment as to his mind there was no way that this could go wrong, he had covered all of the angles and would be able to bring the Emperor and anyone else that crossed him to their knees with this weapon.

He could have waited till it was more complete but that would merely bring a greater Imperial presence and he wasn't having that so he was making his move...today.

"Send the message to my people, the word...is now." Xizor said with a cold smile and Guri nodded before sending the signal.

- x -

On the temporary command bridge at the centre of the enormous structure Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod the Imperial Officer assigned to the project did his best to make sure that they kept to the schedule which was a miracle in itself given the incredible and impossible targets that the Emperor enforced on them.

Around his staff worked with the Prince's people and this honestly was a mixed blessing for the Moff as he was uncomfortable with allowing civilians and outsiders into such a delicate project, but their help was the only thing keeping the construction moving at the pace the Emperor expected.

The Trandoshan mercenaries that were acting as security frequently came to the bridge to receive orders so the sight of the vicious looking aliens did not arouse suspicion straight away nor did the fact they were all armed.

Meaning the Imperials there did not react quickly enough to save themselves when the Trandoshans all shoot or clawed them to death.

It was a scene before repeated all over the Death Star, the Imperial guards and personnel being killed by the Black Sun mercenaries, the only place where they were not stationed was the primary fire control chamber where a group of scientists who were working on the primary weapon locked the door as they learned of the uprising.

"Hurry!" One of them urged his fellows as he did his best to keep the criminals out while they did their best to sabotage the weapon. They couldn't allow such a dangerous thing as the superlaser to fall into the hands of the enemy.

"Working on it!" Another of them shouted as they worked the controls frantically and yelled out in success as they rendered the computer system and firing controls useless. But then the door burst open and although they had been ordered to keep the scientists and engineers alive the mercenaries lost control and killed them all.

Xizor when he found out was livid, especially after learning of the damage to the computers and superlaser, he commanded for them to find experts who could fix it immediately as the Death Star was going nowhere in its present state and the superlaser wouldn't fire.

It was harsh blow, Xizor thought as he had been counting on being able to move against the Emperor today! Now before the Imperials realised just what he had done, he needed to get this fixed before anyone discovered it he thought desperately.

Lake House, Naboo...

Mace Skywalker was blind folded as he swung his lightsaber in a sequence of moves, Depa stood opposite him with her own lightsaber and parried each one.

"Every single form of Lightsaber combat has its own advantages and disadvantages. Form 1 is easy to learn and good for dealing with multiple opponents but poor when facing a highly skilled single opponent. Form 2 is the opposite as it is highly effective against a single opponent but weak against multiple enemies at once not to mention being poor at blaster deflection. Form 3 is perhaps the most effective defensive form around but has no offensive ability. Form 4 is fast moving and hard to predict, perfect for smaller and quick fighters but leaves the wielder highly vulnerable since its sole defence is based on the user being fast enough to evade attack but will also make you tire quickly. Form 5 is perfect for larger and stronger people allowing them to batter their opponents defences while being able to return to a defensive position when needed but can leave you vulnerable when dealing with fast moving opponents. Form 6 is a mix of all of the different forms so while it has a bit of everything, it does not have anything special about it except it is useful for those planning to incorporate force based attacks and duel sabers or a saberstaff. It also doesn't do well against multiple opponents especially when dealing with blaster fire. Every Form 6 user who fought in the First Battle of Geonosis for example died due to that weakness." Depa told Mace who nodded as he parried her strike.

"So what makes Form 7 special or different?" Mace asked her and Depa explained to him as she let him press the attack.

"Form 7 is not so much a fighting style as a state of mind." Depa said, being the sole true practitioner of Form 7 otherwise known as Vaapad left alive now. "It is fuelled not by movement or technique but your own internal emotions and also to some extent that of the enemy. You take the emotions that you feel especially the dark ones. You use those emotions, letting them run through you to give you greater power, pushing yourself to feats that seem beyond anything you can do without them. With practice and enough skill you can even absorb the emotions of your enemy and use them to empower yourself even more. But it is extremely easy to get lost in those emotions and fall to the dark side, that is when you fall into the original version Juyo. Intense discipline is required to maintain control. That can make you seem harsh and uncaring at times but it lets you use the dark side without falling to it." Depa said, giving him the first lessons in Vaapad while Tash who was also included in this watched from the side waiting for her turn.

"Is it really that powerful?" Tash asked Depa who nodded.

"It can be, we all draw strength from the force but to be able to draw from both the light and the dark sides of the force at the same time? Those who have achieved that have been among the greatest and most powerful practitioners in history and highly accomplished. But these lessons can be exceptionally harsh on whoever is trying to learn however if they have the discipline to master themselves, the benefits are immense." Depa said as she finished with Mace who was sweating as he took off the blindfold and walked unsteadily to the bench where he gave Tash a look of encouragement before taking a much needed sit down. Tash nervously got up and walked into the centre of the room and put on her own blindfold as she ignited her lightsaber.

In another room Anakin was training with Wila who was now wielding a training saber of her own as he spun rocks around her, he was making them come in at different angles so she would have to use the force to block each one and he had blindfolded her to make sure of this. She was struggling and he could sense her growing frustration but Anakin smiled and reminded her.

"Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them. Let the force guide you. Trust your instincts." He said gently and Wila winced as another stone struck her and went to pull the blindfold off but Anakin told her.

"I forbid you to take that off. If you want to leave this room then you are going to have to learn to let the force guide you."

This only served to annoy Wila.

"This is stupid! When will I ever need this?!" She demanded as she raised her lightsaber and Anakin seeing her frustration told her calmly with a smile, remembering his own annoyance with this part of Jedi training.

"What if you lose your eyesight? Being blinded even temporarily could end up being the death of you in any situation. Not to mention learning to feel things before they happen will make you better able to defend yourself from opponents especially those that try to shoot you or attack you with a lightsaber. Now, stop trying to force it, just relax and let the force guide you." He said, trying to let her understand just how to do this.

Wila finally began to calm herself and took a deep breath and readied herself before he starting sending the stones towards her, this time she finally allowed the force to guide her and moved her arms in time to block each stone that came at her.

"See, you can do it." Anakin said with a small amount of pride in her accomplishment, he wondered which forms might be best for her and settled on Form 4 Ataru as it was perfect for smaller, more agile fighters like her but he would also insist on her learning Form 3 Soresu to make sure that she had something to fall back on if an overwhelming assault did not work for her. Beyond that he would be curious to see just what she might choose to specialise in when the time came.

It was later that day that he received word from the Rebel Spy Network that Prince Xizor had seized a battlestation the Empire had been building, capable of destroying an entire planet. It had been a few years away from completion and they had been looking for a location to attack it but Xizor had beaten them too it. According to all accounts he planned to use it to destroy Coruscant the moment it was operational and while that would hopefully bring an end to the Emperor the planet was home to only the force knows how many people and they did not deserve to die.

So they would need to move fast Anakin realised and sent the message out to get a taskforce together as soon as possible, the galaxy's fate might well be decided in this battle.

Imperial Fleet on route to Second Death Star...A Day Later...

Admiral Gilad Pellaeon was standing on the bridge of his personal flagship the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimera as it led his fleet of Harrower-class heavy cruisers towards what he could only consider certain death if the Death Star's superlaser was working. He just hoped that for once Imperial Intelligence were right that the dratted thing was disabled or it would likely tear his fleet apart.

He held such ridiculous super-weapons in the great contempt, they were a waste of time and resources that would be better spent on other projects like the navy to make a more effective fighting force. Now this one was threatening to destroy countless people if it wasn't stopped, the Emperor wanted to reclaim it but if necessary Pellaeon was permitted to destroy it to make sure Xizor could not use it against the Empire.

And as loyal as he was to the Empire Pellaeon was leaning towards that option not least of which was to make sure that his fleet and men were safe. Stopping the fleet for one last drill before they went into battle Pellaeon was surprised to find another fleet was doing the same thing!

But particularly because this was a Rebel Fleet!

"Hands to Action stations!" He called out and wondered just what had given them such bad luck, they didn't have time or the ships to spare for a fleet battle against both the Rebels and then Xizor! Pellaeon thought with gritted teeth, knowing this was going to severely weaken them before they even saw the Death Star.

But then to his surprise, a channel was opened and a figure appeared in front of him that he had not seen in over twenty years.

"General Skywalker." Pellaeon said respectfully before Anakin responded with a nod.

"Admiral Pellaeon, it has been a long time." Anakin said.

There was a lot of tension in this discussion, once they had been allies against the Separatists and trusted each other with their lives. Even now that they were on opposite sides in this war they still held each other with great respect.

"Yes it has. I am right to assume you are here to destroy the Death Star." Pellaeon said with certainty, knowing it was far too big of a coincidence for them both to be here at this time otherwise. Anakin surprised everyone by nodding and then spoke himself.

"And you are here to reclaim it for the Emperor."

"Correct." Pellaeon answered. Anakin took a moment, looking to the force for guidance before saying.

"The path ahead might not bode well for either of us. While I would never trust an Imperial to keep his word, I might trust you." Anakin said which made Pellaeon blink that Skywalker was willing to actually trust him despite them being on different sides but he knew Anakin of old, if you earned his trust then he would always let you have it unless you gave him reason to think otherwise.

"What is it you propose?" Pellaeon asked, wondering just what was going on while his crew watched in disbelief. Anakin was in much the same position as the rebel crew on the MC80 cruiser Starlight looked at him.

"Fighting against each other would only weaken us and give Xizor more time to fix the superlaser. Until it is dealt with either way...we fight a common enemy." Anakin said.

The idea seemed almost like a fantasy, Rebel and Imperial working together? It sounded impossible but Pellaeon knew as did Anakin that fighting each other would only do the enemy's work for him. In fact Pellaeon was almost certain that he and his fleet would likely be destroyed if he had to face Anakin first as the rebel fleet was just as powerful as his and he knew how capable Anakin was.

It was outrageous to even consider it but a temporary truce would solve a lot of those problems.

Pellaeon knew he could be killed for making a deal like this but at the same time he was not going to destroy his fleet in a pair of battles that he wasn't sure he could win. So much to the shock of his crew he gave his answer.

"Until the Death Star is either recaptured or destroyed, we have a deal General Skywalker." Pellaeon said and Anakin nodded. The transmission cut out and his second in command came up to him looking shocked and appalled.

"Admiral! We cannot side with...Rebel Scum!" He said about to say he was taking command of this fleet but Pellaeon fixed him with a hard glare and told him with a cold stern voice.

"What else should we do then? Fight them, even if we win which is not certain regardless of whatever propaganda says then we will lose likely half the fleet at best. Not counting damage to the surviving ships. That will delay us for a month or more before we can even think of fighting Xizor and the Death Star's superlaser might well have destroyed Coruscant by then. So making an temporary alliance with our enemies to deal with a greater threat is a far better option than being foolish." He told the man who was far too cowled by Pellaeon's words and quickly fell back into line.

Pellaeon knew this alliance was not likely to hold but if it held long enough to deal with Xizor, then it was a move that was worth making regardless of the risks to himself and his fleet. Anakin was likewise having similar worries but it was the best option in a bad situation.

Second Death Star Command Centre...A Hour Later...

Xizor was growing increasingly frustrated as the engineers and so-called scientists he had managed to hire failed to get the hyperdrive or the superlaser working! Their inability to manage such a complex machine was only making him more and more anxious. He knew it would not be long before the Empire came to reclaim the Death Star, he had called together all of the ships that he could muster to defend the place until they could move it to somewhere else that was more secure.

Then the moment he feared came...but not in the way he had expected it.

A large fleet of ships did drop out of hyperspace straight ahead, composed of both Rebel and Imperial vessels!

Rebellion and Empire together! He thought with astonishment as never in a million years would he have seen this coming. An Imperial Star Destroyer was flying in with Harrower-class heavy cruisers, the hangers deploying Tie Fighters on mass while an Mon Calamari Cruiser came in with Nebulon-B Frigates and Corellian Corvettes not to mention X-Wings A-Wings and B-Wings came in to attack his ships.

Xizor fumed as he needed that superlaser now! The Imperials had at least put up the deflector shield to protect the Death Star before he had taken over but that would only keep them out for so long.

"Get it working!" He told his people with anger as he saw the battle taking place out there.

- x -

Outside three fleets clashed, the pirate Warlord-Class Heavy Cruisers and the Loronar Strike-class Medium Cruisers that Xizor had purchased or hired for the Black Sun's fleet were under heavy fire from the larger Imperial vessels, the Harrowers worked in pairs against a single one, tearing it apart before moving on to the next, Tie Bombers strafing them to aid in the fight while the Chimera would take care of a ship on its own. Tie Fighters clashed with the multiple different and oddly mixed Black Sun fighters and bombers.

Gilad was watching the battle and was busy co-ordinating his fleet as they pressed forward, he was actually impressed at the Rebellion and how well it fought. Their pilots clearly were extremely well trained and their ships highly adaptable. When they didn't have the resources they found other ways to make things work and the fact they were able to gather so many different types of forces and unify them in a combined attack that was highly effective...it was remarkable.

He found it a shame that they were enemies as he liked some of their ships and tactics, not truly the old fashioned navy he had been raised with but it was still very impressive.

- x -

The Rebel Fleet was pressing against the Black Sun in other ways, their X-Wings and A-Wings engaged their starfighters supported by their corvettes while the B-Wings strafed the Interceptor-class frigates and Gozanti cruisers, paving the way for the MC30 frigates and Thranta class light cruisers to take out the Black Sun Corvettes.

Anakin was smiling slightly as he saw the efficiency of Pellaeon's fleet, remembering the days in what seemed like a lifetime ago now when he had been in command of a Republic Fleet. Pellaeon had always made his ships run efficiently and he hadn't changed even fighting for the Empire Anakin thought as he saw the precise and dedicated Imperial assault on the Black Sun.

The gunners on the Chimera for example were undoubtedly some of the most accurate that he had seen, each shot connected with its target and the formation of the support ships was exactly to plan.

It was a shame that they were on opposite sides of this conflict Anakin thought sadly, he would have been welcome in the Rebellion and a major figure in their navy but his loyalty was to the fleet that he served. He was dedicated to order and unfortunately that for him meant fighting with for the Empire.

Anakin turned his attention back to the battle and then saw an opening in the enemy formations and commanded.

"Green Squadron move to grid 45.67, Blue Squadron follow. We are punching through these lines." Anakin told them.

- x -

Green Squadron and its A-Wings plunged forward, cutting a path through the Starviper fighters the Black Sun was using and then Blue Squadron in their B-Wings came in to use their heavier armament to destroy the frigates that were blocking any further advancement. Tie Bombers came in after them and used their proton bombs to strafe and take out the Heavy Cruiser that tried to block the now expanding gap.

- x -

Xizor watched from the Death Star's command centre and saw that his fleet was collapsing into a chaotic mess that was being slowly crushed by the might of the combined Imperial/Rebel Fleet. Worse he saw the line nearest the shield generator collapse, meaning it would only be a matter of time before they destroyed the generator and the Death Star would be vulnerable.

He snarled into the communicator.

"We need that superlaser!" He demanded and the chief engineer answered back sounded incredibly harried.

"The superlaser is working your majesty but it is highly unstable! We need to conduct a few more tests to ensure it is safe first before we can even risk a test firing!"

Xizor however, fearful that the enemy would breach the shield before that and out of patience after days of being told the wrong answer turned to the fire control officer.

"Target the Mon Calamari cruiser and fire!" He commanded, almost shouting with his emotions so high.

The Fire Control Officer, a Weequay hesitated as he had heard what the Chief Engineer had said and didn't want to risk firing a weapon that was unstable. Given the sheer power of this weapon it was just too dangerous, but Xizor just glared at him. The sort of glare that promised not only would you die a long and incredibly painful death but so would your friends, your entire family and even your pets if you had them.

So with great misgivings he locked the superlaser onto the large Mon Calamari cruiser and pulled the lever.

There a great rumble as the reactor's output was increased to supply the necessary power to the superlaser and all of the crew just prayed that it worked.

- x -

Outside on the field of battle, Anakin's science officer a Mon Calamari informed him.

"Sir there is a massive build up of power coming from the Death Star. Its surging!" She warned him and all of them were momentarily terrified that they were about to be blasted into atoms.

But then they and everyone around saw a massive explosion radiate out from the main reactor that in a fraction of a second consumed the entire station in the blink of an eye. Killing Prince Xizor and most of the leadership of the Black Sun along with him.

The unexpected outcome left everyone in complete shock and confusion, however it did not take long for the remaining Black Sun forces to flee as they had no interest in being martyrs and dying for a dead man, they would flee to wherever they could and carry on their own business.

The Rebels and Imperials did try to stop them but they were no real threat and so both fleets regrouped.

There was a tense moment as the two fleets stood facing each other and for a moment a battle between them seemed extremely likely.

But Anakin and Pellaeon were both men of their word and so rather than waste their already somewhat depleted energy on a wasteful battle they both recalled their ships and mutually disengaged. Anakin was hoping that Pellaeon would be alright for this temporary alliance and certainly that he would not be held responsible for the destruction of the Death Star when it had been the complete fault of Xizor trying to use a weapon before it was ready. He just wished him the best and that they might meet again under more pleasant circumstances.

Anakin would if Pellaeon was ever captured by the Alliance or its allies make sure he was treated well but that would be a disgrace he would never wish on the man. He deserved better than that and looking into the future he could only gain a sense of what it might hold for the Admiral but he was soon smiling as he could tell whatever it was...it would be good.

- x -

Unknown to everyone, one of the fighters that the Black Sun had been using carried not a living pilot but a droid built to resemble a human woman.

Guri had been flying one of the Starvipers but seeing the destruction of the Death Star had made her leave the battlefield and as she did so she realised that for once she had a chance to actually be on her own and make an existence for herself free of any master. It might take a while but she was fairly certain that she could make a...life for herself she thought even though it felt strange as a droid talking about life. But she would make those decisions later she decided as she flew her fighter away to destination unknown.

Rift Alliance Conference, Mandalorian Flagship Infinity, Deep Space...One Week Later...

"The Council is in agreement then?" Haron asked as he and the rest of the Rift Alliance Council met to discuss the newest member of their coalition. Word of the Death Star's destruction at the hands of the Rebellion had been a most welcome surprise as it had saved them all the trouble and ended any more of the Empire's supposed Super-weapons. The Empire didn't have the resources to build another Death Star or anything on that scale. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that they might try and make smaller ones but who knows.

The council members all nodded and Haron acknowledged it.

"Then by the sponsorship of General Rain Falls on the Ground of the Than...The Atrisian Commonwealth is admitted to the Rift Alliance." Haron announced and the other members turned the new representative of the Atrisian Commonwealth, General Tyzec Johc, a human male in his later forties. He nodded and took his seat at the table.

As interstellar states go it was a large enough, two hundred settled worlds that had now broken away from the Empire and now stood with them as an member state. It also was providing them with a launching point for strikes at the Core Worlds.

But the Empire had heavily fortified the area and any attempt to break through the Imperial defences was likely to be extremely costly.

Haron had not forgotten the attack on his son's wedding and he knew Ara hadn't either, they had both been looking for some way to get at Palpatine but the old creep had buried himself in too deeply on Coruscant that they just couldn't get to him.

It was extremely frustrating Haron thought with gritted teeth but they would find a way to get to him, there must be a way he thought as the meeting carried on with the conquest/liberation of the Expansionist Region and the Inner Rim, they would chip away his empire piece by piece if they had too.

Imperial Palace, Coruscant...

Palpatine sat on his throne with a growing rage, lightning streamed from his hands and blasted anything that it could reach, living things that were unfortunate enough to get hit were engulfed with the most incredible pain imaginable before being incinerated by the sheer voltage being achieved by Palpatine in his rage.

His ultimate weapon had been stolen and then destroyed by Xizor's mishandling of it which was bad enough, he didn't have the resources to build another Death Star and even if he did then he could not do it in the time. That robbed him of the last real chance he had to turn this situation around, the Empire that he had worked his entire life to build was now crumbling, more and more territory was being lost every day and the mood of the simpletons that populated it turned ever more sour.

He was losing control he thought with disgust at this weakness and then his mind was hit with another the ailments that had been plaguing him ever since his supply of the spice Melange had been cut off. Palpatine could feel the cold sweat running down his face, the rapid beating of his heart and the incredible pain in his head among others which had been dragging him down every single moment.

His doctors or the fools that called themselves doctors had told him it was expected to suffer side effects of coming off the spice but apart from some pathetic medicines that did little more than dull the edge of the effects they claimed there was nothing that they could do.

Palpatine had killed more than a few in an effort to ease his suffering and it had done nothing as a growing sense of dread came over him, the end was approaching.

Knossa, Ossus...

Master Yoda was in his chambers of the Jedi Library, deep in meditation as he pondered on the state of things. The state of war galaxy was finally starting to come around as the various factions began to tighten their grip on Palpatine and his Empire, driving it back and back slowly towards the Core Worlds.

The Fall of the Empire was all but guaranteed now and hopefully the return of freedom to the galaxy.

But he felt a familiar weariness grip him, one that had been coming more and more in recent times and despite his best efforts, even he could not elude the ravages of time. He had lived a long time even by his own species terms and seen to the establishment of this colony, even training Grogu but the time to become one with the force...was fast approaching. Yoda was not afraid of death, there was only the force after all but there were decisions he needed to make before the time finally came.

Great Temple, Yavin 4...

The powerful force aura of Yavin 4 still endured after thousands of years which was Anakin had returned to the small moon and sat at the very top of the large temple. With the Empire now in retreat it was safe to return here again and Shaak Ti was planning to open a new Jedi Academy here when the war was done.

Anakin though was deep in meditation, he and Padme had both been looking for a way to strike at Palpatine but he had dug himself too deeply in his palace on Coruscant and would not leave. The Core Worlds were highly fortified and he would need a miracle to get to him.

So he was using the force aura of the planet to see if he could gain any insight that might point him in the right direction but after hours of meditation he was getting nowhere and was about to give up and go back to his ship as the sun was dipping below the horizon when finally he managed to get a vision but it was extremely hard to follow.

- x -

Vision Begins...

The planet of Coruscant which Anakin knew well filled his vision and like the very last battle he had fought in the Clone Wars, there was a huge number of ships of many different kinds clashing in orbit with the Imperial Fleet, there was so much going on you could never see it all.

But that image dissolved and an asteroid replaced it, he had no idea just why this might be so important but looking he saw the familiar planet of Iego in the distance.

Vision Ends...

- x -

Back now on the top of the Great Temple Anakin frowned as he considered what he had just seen. He didn't understand how a single asteroid might be important but clearly something must be there worth their attention. Anakin would send a team to check it out but who knows, maybe it was nothing although he was fairly certain that the Force had given him that vision for a reason even if he had very little idea just what it meant.