Last time, Mace dueled the Second Sister on Lotho Minor in order to save Channett Jade and her unborn child, who she very promptly afterward gave birth to - a daughter by the name of Mara. Meanwhile, Kadann arrived on Nur to bring the Inquisitorius an ultimatum - cede their power to the Empire, Emperor or no Emperor, or be destroyed. Giving them a very generous one week to decide, Kadann left. On Coruscant, the Imperial Senate has been dissolved in all but name and the Senators sent home. Tarkin, however, decides to focus on the conspiring Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, sensing trouble for the already fragmented Empire...
We pick up with the second of those storylines first. Second Sister has returned to Nur and is less than pleased with how things have turned out. Having not only not drawn Cere Junda out of hiding, but also having lost her duel against Mace, she is absolutely livid at the news of Kadann's ultimatum and the death of the Third Brother. The Grand Inquisitor returns shortly after this - yes, that one - and is likewise brought up to speed. Both he and the Second Sister reaffirm the group's loyalty to Sidious - and only to Sidious. However, they know enough to know that even their power cannot contend with the full brunt of the Empire's military force. They begin making plans...
The week does indeed finish going by. When a detachment of the Imperial fleet makes it to Nur, however, they find a completely abandoned fortress. Kadann is less than impressed, thinking the Inquisitors have been shown for the cowards that they are, and orders a turbolaser strike to destroy their facility, giving them no more ground to go back to - or so he believes.
In reality, they have indeed escaped...more on that later.
Over the next few weeks, Channett and Mara settle in as members of the Pathfinder crew. Unfortunately, leads on surviving Jedi have dried up. If there are any more out there, they are lying very low. The three Jedi Masters meet via holoconference and decide the time has come to meet up again and to plot their next move. With the blessing of Bail Organa, they will meet on Alderaan at an appropriate time.
We haven't been keeping up with the others, so let's talk about what they've been doing in the meantime. Rund and Suyi, or rather Anakin and Padmé have been living in hiding in the House of Organa - Padmé as the former husband to Queen Breha's cousin Rilt and Anakin as one of Captain Antilles' guards. Obi-Wan has been more heavily involved in Anakin's rehabilitation, which has been going well. Yoda has likewise been on Alderaan, but has been leaving every so often for reasons unknown - a few of his presences in the meeting have been holoconferencing in from another location. For safety reasons, however, only Bail knows where Yoda has been or why.
Luke and Leia have started growing up, now rounding the age of three as we transition from 17 BBY into 16 BBY. Anakin and Padmé have also welcomed a third child, a daughter named Sola after Padmé's sister.
Yep. I'm going there. A third Skywalker child.
Also, a minor note to something the Prequel Trilogy never got around to explaining but has always bugged me: Obi-Wan gets the nickname "Ben" from Luke not being able to say "Obi-Wan" correctly. Minor complaint, moving on.
The Mareks and their son are likewise brought to Alderaan, making for the largest concentration of Jedi since the Clone Wars. Unfortunately for all of them, Tarkin has been keeping an eye on Alderaan. When his spies catch wind of the proceedings, he has a detachment sent out for a raid on the House of Organa. Bail and Breha spirit the Jedi and their families into hiding places within the Royal Palace, which Tarkin and his men search from top to bottom. With luck, they do not find the hiding places and are about to leave...when the Prophets of the Dark Side show up. Yoda and Mace, in particular, recognize Kadann and his ilk and begin to piece together why the Dark Side did not feel weaker after Sidious was slain.
Kadann does indeed reveal the hiding place, Yoda, Mace, and Obi-Wan fighting to cover the escape of Anakin, Padmé, their children, the Mareks, and Channett and Mara. The fighting is particularly brutal as the Prophets are not necessarily skilled duelists (particularly not when stacked against Mace and especially Yoda), but are very proficient in the use of their Force abilities. Eventually, Obi-Wan is instructed to flee while Yoda and Mace take on Kadann himself. Despite his stature, rather like Yoda, Kadann manages to make up through liberal use of the Ataru lightsaber style. Their fight goes through the palace from the ground level up onto the roof.
Once they arrive there, Yoda and Kadann engage in a battle of wills through the use of Force Lightning - much as Yoda did against Palpatine. Unlike the late Emperor, however, Kadann is smart enough to disengage and turn his power on Mace who, having been attempting to attack Kadann from the rear, is completely caught off guard by the attack and heavily electrocuted. The Prophet manages to force both Jedi Masters back, telling them that their defeat of Sidious was but a temporary setback - the will of the Force is that all the Jedi must die.
Mace refutes this, defiantly rising as the pain tears through his entire body.
"Not...today..."
"This is your last day...farewell, Jedi!"
Kadann prepares to strike the Jedi Master down with his lightsaber, and Mace catches it...barehanded. Of course, it's with his mechanical hand, but it's nonetheless impressive and badass. Now it is Kadann's turn to be caught by surprise as Mace Force Pushes him off of the roof, rushing to Yoda's aid and carrying the diminutive Jedi Master with him as he makes a break for it with literally one operative hand.
The pair escape into the Alderaanian mountains, hiding out there for a few days. Luckily, Yoda is up before too long and the pair have seen no sign of either the Empire or the Prophets following them. Contacting the spirit of Qui-Gon, the two Jedi learn that the rest of the Jedi and their families did indeed make it off of Alderaan and are waiting at a pre-determined rendezvous point. That being said, the Masters need a ship to get off of Alderaan themselves. Mace decides to perform some recon, sneaking into the city of Aldera to gauge the situation.
The Empire has fully taken over the planet. Queen Breha has been placed under house arrest and Bail Organa was taken away by the ISB, the Imperial Security Bureau. Mace manages to get a small cruiser for the Masters to escape in. The pair leave Alderaan quickly and quietly, luckily not catching the attention of the Imperial forces on the planet. The pair make a few blind jumps through hyperspace in order to shake off any potential pursuers before making their way to the rendezvous point: Ossus.
Indeed, in the ruins of an ancient Jedi Temple there, they find the rest of their group. Ram and Tialna in particular are very glad to see Mace alive. Upon learning that Anakin took charge in the escape attempt and managed to get everyone to safety, Mace is impressed. Mace and Yoda relate to the others what they have learned about Bail and they immediately begin to form a plan to rescue him.
It is eventually decided that Mace, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Mallie, Ram, and Tialna will go while Yoda, Kento, Padmé, and Channett will remain on Ossus to defend and train the children. Tialna manages to get a message through to Mon Mothma, whose planet Chandrila is going under some of the scrutiny that Alderaan did before the Imperial invasion. However, she is able to send some help to them in the form of Garm Bel Iblis, who was looking into a rescue attempt for Bail himself.
With the Jedi side by side and Corellian military support at their back, it seems a no-brainer that tehy'll manage to save Bail and hopefully soon after bring order to the galaxy. The plan is set - a raid on the Imperial transport carrying Bail to planet called Despayre.
Oh, yeah, we're doing this.
Stayed tuned for Part 10. It'll be the jailbreak to end all jailbreaks, and the plot will rush headlong into overdrive!
See you then!
And remember (since I haven't said it in a few chapters), the Force will be with you, always.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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